Abstract Experiencing poverty increases vulnerability for dysregulated hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis functioning and compromises long-term health. Positive parenting buffers children from HPA axis reactivity, yet this has primarily been documented among families not experiencing poverty. We tested the theorized power of positive parenting in 124 parent–child dyads recruited from Early Head Start (Mage = 25.21 months) by examining child cortisol trajectories using five samples collected across a standardized stress paradigm. Piecewise latent growth models revealed that positive parenting buffered children's stress responses when controlling for time of day, last stress task completed, and demographics. Positive parenting also interacted with income such that positive parenting was especially protective for cortisol reactivity in families experiencing greater poverty. Findings suggest that positive parenting behaviors are important for protecting children in families experiencing low income from heightened or prolonged physiologic stress reactivity to an acute stressor.


Indigofera zollingeriana is one of legumes has a great potential to be used as an animal feed having high quality nutrients and is tolerant to different environmental conditions. The objective of this experiment was to study the effect of different row spacings between individual plants on growth pattern, forage yield, and quality of I. zollingeriana. Field experiment was conducted at Field Laboratory of Agrostology, Faculty of Animal Science Bogor Agricultural University, during the growing season of 2015/2016. The 4 spacings levels used were 1 x 1.5 m; 1 x 1 m; 1 x 0.75 m; and 1 x 0.5 m. The treatment was arranged in a completely randomized block design, with 4 replicates. Variables in this research were plant height, number of leaves, number of branches, plant population for each plot, fresh and dry matter yields, and forage quality. The results showed that narrow plant spacing increased plant height, plant population, fresh and dry weights, dry matter yields, as well as NDF and β-carotene contents. The wider the plant spacing the greater the number of branches and leaves per plant. It was concluded that increasing plant population by narrowing plant spacing remained the most effective way to increase Indigofera forage yield without negative effects of it on nutritive values, i.e., crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, ADF, and TDN.


We construct an explicit equivalence between the (bi)category of gl(2) webs and foams and the Bar-Natan (bi)category of Temperley-Lieb diagrams and cobordisms. With this equivalence we can fix functoriality of every link homology theory that factors through the Bar-Natan category. To achieve this, we define web versions of arc algebras and their quasi-hereditary covers, which provide strictly functorial tangle homologies. Furthermore, we construct explicit isomorphisms between these algebras and the original ones based on Temperley-Lieb cup diagrams. The immediate application is a strictly functorial version of the Beliakova-Putyra-Wehrli quantization of the annular link homology.


Anti-Discrimination Law and the European Union provides a timely and topical contribution to the growing body of literature in this area. The 1999 Treaty of Amsterdam expanded significantly the legal competence of the European Union for combatting discrimination. Traditionally, EU law has concentrated on discrimination between women and men and discrimination on the grounds of EU nationality. However, Article 13 EC created a new legal space for the Union to regulate discrimination on the ground of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age, or sexual orientation. This book aims to improve our understanding of the evolution of European Union law in the field. To this end, it considers the development of EU law and policy in respect of two specific grounds of discrimination - race and sexual orientation. It provides an account of the debate within the institutions and Member States, analysis of relevant case law from the Court of Justice, and coverage of the anti-discrimination directives adopted in 2001. The book further considers the relationship between national and European anti-discrimination law. A survey of national anti-discrimination statutes is presented in order to identify the variety of legal traditions which exist in this field. The diversity of these legal cultures impacts significantly upon the scope for and nature of EU anti-discrimination legislation. The author concludes by reviewing the principle factors which have influenced the evolution of EU anti-discrimination law and applying this to an analysis of the prospects for future development.


Resilience of the UK transport infrastructure network can be expressed as the imbalance between the physical condition of the network and the transport demands the network experiences. Forecasting changes of resilience in the long term (e.g. the 2050s) requires a structured, multi-disciplinary approach. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council funded Futurenet project developed a model architecture to formalise such an approach and this paper addresses one component: the assessment of the influence of physical processes on asset condition. This requires the development of new, integrated physical-based models that respond to detailed inputs of forecast weather events (e.g. UK Climate Projections 2009). The results are plotted onto the infrastructure network for visualisation. Subsequent combination with user demand will then enable determination of network resilience at a range of spatial scales. The project has highlighted the need for better datasets, more sophisticated physical-based mode...


Image composition is an important operation in image processing, but the inconsistency between foreground and background significantly degrades the quality of composite image. Image harmonization, aiming to make the foreground compatible with the background, is a promising yet challenging task. However, the lack of high-quality publicly available dataset for image harmonization greatly hinders the development of image harmonization techniques. In this work, we contribute an image harmonization dataset iHarmony4 by generating synthesized composite images based on COCO (resp., Adobe5k, Flickr, day2night) dataset, leading to our HCOCO (resp., HAdobe5k, HFlickr, Hday2night) sub-dataset. Moreover, we propose a new deep image harmonization method DoveNet using a novel domain verification discriminator, with the insight that the foreground needs to be translated to the same domain as background. Extensive experiments on our constructed dataset demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method. Our dataset and code are available at https://github.com/bcmi/Image_Harmonization_Datasets.


The Internet is one of the youngest and fastest growing media in the world. Its growth is still accelerating at a rate of about 7.3 million pages per day, doubling every eight months (Murray and Moore 2000), indicating that the Internet has not yet reached its highest period of expansion. Buried in this vast, quickly growing collection of documents lies information of interest and use to almost everyone. The trick is finding it. An abundance of search engine tools can be used to retrieve information from the World Wide Web. Search Engine Watch (2001) reports that more than 75 search engine tools are available and provide links to many relevant sources. Many tutorials are also available online, providing details on search engine tools and guidelines for effective searches. Students are using the Web as a source of information for both educational and personal topics. To conduct an effective search, students must understand the structure of various search engines. Not all search engines are created equal. Many do not always provide the right information, often subjecting the user to an influx of disjointed and irrelevant data. Without systematic instruction in information literacy, students cannot realize the potential of the Web. Students knowledgeable of both effective search strategies and criteria to evaluate search engine results can enhance their current studies and, more importantly, continue to update their knowledge through access to relevant and useful resources readily available on the Web. The Internet is a valuable resource, but it should be used with caution. The motto "An educated consumer is the best customer" is aptly applied to the Internet. To move toward the goal of creating "educated information consumers," we developed a hands-on exercise that was used in an introductory management information systems (MIS) course. The remainder of this article describes the exercise, including an introduction to information retrieval and a discussion about our experience. The lesson in information retrieval focuses on answering the following three questions: 1. Do all search engines find the same information? 2. How can we judge the retrieval effectiveness of these results? 3. Why do we get different results using different search engines at the same time, or the same search engine at different times? Information Retrieval Concepts We introduce students to the concept of retrieval effectiveness through a classroom demonstration. We ask three students to suggest different search engines, then using those search engines we perform a search. For example, we want information on mobile commerce in healthcare management, so we conduct a search using the terms "mobile commerce" and "healthcare management." We ask students to note the number of sites returned for each engine. Analyzing this number shows the large variations in the manner that various search engines retrieve sites. Preliminary results were: Google returned 19 sites; LookSmart returned five directory topics and 2,000 sites; and Metacrawler returned three sites. Clearly, the number of sites returned varies substantially. This can be attributed to the fact that different search engines are used, as well as the fact that each engine belongs to a different category of search tool. We then introduce students to the concepts of recall and precision. Recall and precision are two of the most widely used measures of information retrieval effectiveness. Recall measures how well an engine retrieves all the relevant documents, whereas precision measures how well the system retrieves only the relevant documents (Blair and Maron 1985). Relevancy, for the purposes of this exercise, is defined as whether or not a site is deemed relevant by the user who initiated the search. Otherwise, the page is noted as irrelevant. Figure 1, above, graphically represents the concepts of recall and precision. …


In this study, we examine the feasibility and acceptability of a 6-wk, interdisciplinary, occupation-based theater project for facilitating community engagement and substance use disorder (SUD) recovery in veterans. All data were collected at baseline, postintervention, and 6-wk and 6-mo follow-up intervals. Of the invited veterans, 24% consented to participate (n = 14), and 50% were retained (n = 7). Average attendance was 91%. Considerable improvements in social and occupational participation were noted at postintervention and at 6-wk follow-up but were not retained at 6 mo. No important change in self-efficacy was noted. Of the participants, 86% remained abstinent for 6 wk following the intervention. Theater provides a feasible and acceptable resource for potentially facilitating SUD recovery. Larger controlled effectiveness studies of theater are needed to examine whether robust and notable recovery outcomes in people with SUDs can be linked to participation in theater.


A rise in shareholder activism and recent changes in the SEC's proxy rules have been accompanied by an increase in shareholders' use of the proxy process. However, because of managers' control of the proxy process, issues remain concerning shareholders' ability to initiate change by voting. More generally, we hypothesize that certain features of the institutional and regulatory environment may allow managers to influence shareholder voting turnout and results. To the extent managers may strategically influence votes, they may disenfranchise shareholders and, conceivably, reduce the control rights of shares. We find evidence suggesting that managers hire proxy solicitors when ballots include nonroutine management or shareholder proposals, and bundle nonroutine management or difficult-to-pass issues with others in joint proposals. Managers also appear to craft proposals to be classified as routine to increase the number of votes cast in support of their proposals. We find routine management proposals were associated with increases of 13.55% of affirmatively cast votes. As many as 4.69% of management proposals might not have passed had they been classified nonroutine rather than routine. Some institutional features, however, appear to constrain managers' ability to gain shareholder votes. Notably, against recommendations from ISS, an advisory service providing voting recommendations to many institutional investors, were associated with 13.63% to 20.56% fewer affirmative votes for management proposals, depending on the specific type. Despite this type of constraint, however, we find evidence strongly suggesting that managers control the proxy process and receive a vote-getting advantage from doing so.


The traditional single-patch technique for repair of complete atrioventricular (AV) canal requires surgical division of the superior and inferior common leaflets. In the neonate and young infant, subsequent resuspension of very delicate AV valve tissue on the pericardial patch can be problematic. Selective application of the modified single-patch technique as described by Nunn (Australian technique) minimizes manipulation of the AV valve leaflet tissue. Previous reports have documented that since the late 1980s, the traditional single-patch approach with leaflet resuspension is possible with a mortality of 3% or less. A review of the initial 33 patients managed with the Australian technique was undertaken. The ventricular septal defect was moderate or large in 29 patients (88%). In the balanced canal subgroup, there was no early mortality; 1 patient underwent reoperative mitral repair for cleft dehiscence 1 year postoperatively, and 1 patient with heterotaxy required pacemaker implantation. In the unbalanced canal subgroup, 2 patients died perioperatively (22%). There have been no late deaths or new left ventricular outflow tract obstruction in either subgroup. Selective application of the single-patch technique currently allows excellent results for surgical repair in the neonatal period or early infancy. Even during the learning phase of the Australian technique, satisfactory results were achieved.


The subclavian artery serves as the major blood supply to the upper extremities. It also supplies parts of the head, neck, and thorax. One of the thoracic branches of the subclavian artery is the thyrocervical trunk (TCT).The thyrocervical trunk is an important vascular supply, as it yields arteries to numerous structures such as organs of the neck, muscles, and the brachial plexus. All this occurs in the tight space of the neck. Therefore, the thyrocervical trunk and its branches have an intricate interplay with the other structures found in their vicinity, which leads to several considerations of surgical and practical relevance. This review aims to confer a thorough understanding of this structure's anatomy along with shedding light on clinical applications.


It is almost twenty years after the 1st SSDBM was held in Berkeley (then called Workshop on Statistical Database Management). It is almost ten years after the first of a few workshops organized by the National Science Foundation on scientific databases. How many of the original challenges have been accomplished? How many are still here with us and need serious attention? What are the new challenges that have emerged that were not put on the table until recently?


Across a contact joint, different modes of heat transfer take place, namely, by conduction through the metallic junctions, by conduction of the fluid through the interstitial space and by radiation. They are in reality interrelated so that any solution to the problem must take into account the inter-dependent nature of these three modes. The greatest obstacle to the seeking of a satisfactory solution lies in the uncertainty of the size and distribution of metallic junctions engaged in contact and of the exact dimensions of the interstitial space which is usually filled with a fluid of a lower thermal conductivity than that of the metal. Under these circumstances, it is necessary to introduce an idealised contact model for the convenience of obtaining a mathematical solution. In this model the contact members are represented by two circular cylindrical blocks while the irregularities on the surfaces which are engaged in contact are represented by two protuberant junctions of cylindrical shape with a diameter smaller than that of the main blocks. The thermal resistance of these junctions, however small it may be, is considered to have a governing effect on the heat transfer characteristics of a contact joint and it is included in the formulation of the theory. The theory thus obtained can be conveniently extended to cover contact models other than the idealised one with cylindrical junctions. Since the shape of the asperities on a surface resembles a cone more than a circular cylinder, it is suggested that a more realistic contact model could be one having its contact junctions represented by a pair of conic frusta. By taking an appropriate equivalent thermal conductivity of the junctions, the theory derived from the idealised contact model can be applied without any modification. A simplified method for the solution of a contact problem is also suggested. This method under certain conditions yields results very close to those obtained by the analytical method. The merit of this method lies in its comparative ease of formulation. Experiments were carried out for the study of the fundamental phenomena of heat transfer across a metallic contact. In order to achieve this object it was necessary to eliminate some of the governing factors for others to be observed. To overcome the obscurity of the matching condition at a contact interface an artificial contact joint was introduced. This was done by inserting small steel balls and small aluminium discs between the contact surfaces for different experiments. The contact thermal conductance was measured under conditions in vacuum and with argon and helium gases, while the inserted objects were subjected to an applied load of various magnitudes. The test results agree favourably with the calculated values. They also confirm that the thermal conductance of a contact cannot be reliably determined from electrical measurements. The hysteresis phenomenon observed by a number of investigators was found to be due to the seizure of the contact junctions as well as due to the irreversible deformation of the material. The primary governing factors of heat transferred through the fluid path and through the solid path are the fluid contact parameter Kf, the solid contact parameter Ks and the contact area parameter X. By specifying the magnitudes of these parameters, it is possible to estimate the heat transfer rate through each path. By altering their values, it may also be possible to control the thermal contact conductance for a given purpose.


We demonstrate the improving balance of carrier mobilities in neat-film light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs) utilizing a cationic transition metal complex (CTMC) as the emissive material and a cationic near-infrared laser dye as the carrier trapper. This low-gap carrier trapper is judiciously chosen such that a significant energy offset in the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) levels between the CTMC and the carrier trapper impedes hole transport in the emissive layers while similar lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels of these two materials result in relatively unaffected electron transport. Since the CTMC neat films would intrinsically exhibit characteristics of preferred transport of holes, the balance of carrier mobilities would be improved by doping such carrier trapper. Electroluminescent measurements show that the peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) and the peak power efficiency of the neat-film LECs doped with the carrier trapper reach 12.75% and 28.70 lm W−1, respectively. These device efficiencies represent a 1.4 times enhancement as compared to those of the undoped neat-film LECs and approach the upper limit of EQE (∼15%) that one would expect from the photoluminescence quantum yield of the emissive layer (∼0.75) and an optical out-coupling efficiency of ∼20% from a typical layered device structure, consequently indicating superior balance of carrier mobilities in such a doped emissive layer. These results confirm that the balance of carrier mobilities in the CTMC neat films would be improved by doping a proper carrier trapper and this technique offers a general approach for optimizing device efficiencies of CTMC-based neat-film LECs.


During the Deep Propagating Gravity Wave Experiment (DEEPWAVE) 13 July 2014 research flight over the South Island of New Zealand, a multiscale spectrum of mountain waves (MWs) was observed. High‐resolution measurements of sodium densities were available from ~70 to 100 km for the duration of this flight. A comprehensive technique is presented for obtaining temperature perturbations, T′, from sodium mixing ratios over a range of altitudes, and these T′ were used to calculate the momentum flux (MF) spectra with respect to horizontal wavelengths, λH, for each flight segment. Spectral analysis revealed MWs with spectral power centered at λH of ~80, 120, and 220 km. The temperature amplitudes of these MWs varied between the four cross‐mountain flight legs occurring between 6:10UT and 9:10UT. The average spectral T′ amplitudes near 80 km in altitude ranged from 7–13 K for the 220 km λH MW and 4–8 K for the smaller λH MWs. These amplitudes decayed significantly up to 90 km, where a critical level for MWs was present. The average MF per unit mass near 80 km in altitude ranged from ~13 to 60 m2/s2 across the varying spectra over the duration of the research flight and decayed to ~0 by 88 km in altitude. These MFs are large compared to zonal means and highlight the importance of MWs in the momentum budget of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere at times when they reach these altitudes.


In the past few years, Europe has experienced an increase in several chronic diseases linked to dietary and lifestyle factors. In particular obesity is increasing at an alarming rate all over Europe, while warnings about it have intensified. As result nutritionrelated measures are ranking as first in the agenda of the EU political priorities. Particularly at the end of 2011 the EU introduced new rules on food labeling requirement by inserting a nutritional declaration. In this context the proposed paper aims to explore factors affecting use and understanding of nutrition information on food labels in Italy to provide useful guidance in the implementation of new nutrition labelling. The study presents some results of a direct survey on a sample of 400 consumers and provides a market segmentation identifying different profiles of consumers, through the use of PCA and Cluster Analysis. The results obtained from this analysis suggest the need to focus mainly on education campaigns and providing several indications for developers and marketers as well as government bodies that are interested in designing consumer communication strategies and effective health programs.


The integration of heterogeneity for assessing multiphase flow in porous media is a discipline developed since many years in petroleum reservoir simulation, hydrogeology and subsurface hydrology. The consideration of geological storage of carbon dioxide as a potential mitigation technology to reduce greenhouse gas emission into the atmosphere offers a new context for research developments on this topic. The role of geological heterogeneity distribution will be crucial on the CO2 plume migration and also on the pressure print extension. On one hand, CO2 storage reservoir characterisation should benefit from all scientific results published in the oil/gas engineering context: developed geostatistical tools, proposed strategies for uncertainty analysis, etc. On the other hand, CO2 storage context differs from petroleum as, for instance: a) the involved space and time scales are greater in the CO2-storage domain than in the hydrocarbon industry, b) the amount and availability of data is generally much more limited in CO2 case studies, and c) the use of flow simulation in CO2 storage studies is not for predicting the flow path from an injection well to producing ones, but for estimating the reservoir capacity performance, and safety (overpressure), d) the supercritical CO2 fluid properties differ from hydrocarbon one. As a consequence, new challenges arise and specific developments are still required for correctly assessing the hydrodynamic of CO2 geological storage. The main goal of the project H-CUBE is to provide appropriate theoretical and numerical models for accurate evaluation of the hydrodynamic behaviour of a CO2 storage complex and surrounding area. Particular emphasis will be placed on the determination of the CO2- brine flow with buoyancy forces and dissolution effect in saline aquifers with a methodology for assessing heterogeneity of the geological formations at several scales. This will consist in performing deeper studies on the impact of heterogeneities onto CO2 flow behaviours from near well injection zone (meter scale) to basin scale (~100km), in developing new techniques for optimizing the flow behaviour simulation (up-scaling and homogenisation techniques) and characterisation (proposal of appropriate reservoir descriptors), and in proposing suitable modelling and statistical workflows for assessing uncertainty analysis in function of the envisaged geological contexts. The project is decomposed in four main work packages that are described in this paper.


Abstract This essay contends that allies are vital for counterterrorism, but what we ask of them and their institutional form is quite different from what was asked of traditional alliance partners during the Cold War and its immediate aftermath. Despite these differences, some of the alliance dilemmas that plagued the United States in the past are likely to remain, though they will have different manifestations relevant to the war on terrorism. This essay concludes by arguing that, for purposes of the war on terrorism, the list of key allies has shifted and offers recommendations for improving US alliances.


A novel hybrid adaptive FIR/IIR filter configuration is presented. The aim is to reduce the main obstacles limiting the use of adaptive IIR filters: namely convergence and stability. The hybrid scheme attempts to exploit the good qualities of both system adaptive FIR filters (good convergence and stability) and those for adaptive IIR filters (sharp transition bands, lower order, and complexity). In this paper, the hybrid scheme is presented for a system identification problem, and the task is achieved in three main steps: (a) A training signal is applied to an adaptive FIR filter to achieve a near optimum approximation; (b) the FIR coefficients are mapped through the balanced model reduction technique to a smaller set of coefficients initializing an adaptive IIR filter; (c) there is a process of fine tuning (small adaptive stepsize) the adaptive IIR coefficients for further approximation precision. The IIR filter in the hybrid scheme makes use of the Steiglitz McBride algorithm that assures the stability of the filter. Furthermore, the convergence to the minimum error performance is enforced by the fact that the adaptive IIR filter is operating close to the optimum, requiring very small pole perturbation. The hybrid scheme is compared against the adaptive IIR filter initialized with a set of zero coefficients.


ABSTRACT In recent decades, palm oil, which forms one of the world's major bulk feedstock and oil crops, has been cultivated at an increasing scale to meet new demand. Oil palm expansion has driven not only socio-economic development but also serious ecological problems and environmental pollution through deforestation and fires to clear the forests. Uneconomic oil palm plantations can influence the balance of regional ecosystems and the carbon cycle. Many countries report national statistics on the area of oil palm, but few document the extent and locations of oil palm plantations. In this study, we produce and make available oil palm maps that include 15 countries with more than 10,000 ha of planted oil palms. Phased Array Type L-band Synthetic Aperture (PALSAR-2) images and high-resolution (<2.5 m) images in Google Earth were used to produce oil palm maps by supervised classification and visual interpretation. Two independent verification systems were used to evaluate map accuracy. The characteristics of oil palm plantations distribution and their environment suitability including terrain and climate conditions of the global oil palm planted regions are also discussed. The results indicate that the total area of oil palm in global in 2016 was estimated to be 29.49 million hectares (Mha) although the mapping result showed a good correlation with other records, but relatively large uncertainty in Africa. Most oil palm trees grow in warm (24–29.5°C), wet conditions (1000–4000 mm p.a. of precipitation), flat terrain (slope less than 8°), and low elevation (0–800 m); however, these growing conditions are slightly different in different continents.


The task of configuration management for software development environments is not well supported by conventional files, directories, and ad hoc persistence mechanisms. Typed, immutable objects combined with ubiquitous versioning provide a much more sound basis. A prototype configuration management system currently under development relies upon persistent objects provided by a commercial object-oriented database system. Mechanisms and policies developed for this prototype simplify programming with persistent objects; results include simplicity of both design and implementation, as well as flexibility, and extensibility. Initial measurements suggest that performance is acceptable.


This is a surprisingly long-delayed second edition of a very well known text book of cytology. It is a book for the bench, concerned almost solely with the practical problems of the recognition of different types of exfoliated cells in smears. Chiefly it deals with the cervical smear and its variants but covers usefully most of the important regions. The chapter on smears from solid tissues is, however, very limited, with nothing at all for instance on the C.N.S. The illustrations, mostly black and white photographs but with many matching coloured drawings and key diagrams, are numerous and good, and the descriptions sound. There is a very genuine attempt to deal in detail with such difficult problems as the recognition of the histiocyte in all its forms. The whole is well arranged, except that it is easy to confuse legends with text in places. It is a book by a cytologist for cytologists, and the correlations of cytology with histology reflect a limited outlook. There is relatively little on any wider aspects of the diseases dealt with. But within its own horizon, it is a most useful book.


PURPOSE
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of massage therapy on the masticatory muscles and occlusal splint usage on quality of life and pain in individuals with sleep bruxism.

METHOD
A randomized, controlled, blinded, clinical trial was conducted involving 78 volunteers aged 18 to 40 years with sleep bruxism. Quality of life and pain assessments were performed.

RESULTS
Significant differences (p < 0.05) were found on the physical functioning, general health state, vitality, role emotional and mental health subscales. A large effect size was found for all treatment protocols with regard to pain. The largest effect was found in the combined treatment group.

CONCLUSIONS
The findings of the present study reveal that the occlusal splint usage alone led to improvements in components of quality of life among individuals with sleep bruxism. Moreover, both treatments (occlusal splint usage and massage therapy on the masticatory muscles) led to a reduction in pain.


BACKGROUND
The production of recombinant proteins in E. coli involves such factors as host strains, expression vectors, culture media, and induction methods. The typical procedure to produce heterologous proteins consists of the following: (1) insertion of the target gene into a suitable vector to construct an overexpression plasmid, (2) transformation of a strain specialized for protein production with the constructed plasmid DNA, (3) growth of the host in a suitable medium and induction of the protein production at a right moment, and (4) further growth to get the maximum yield. There are hurdles involved in each of these steps, and researchers have developed many materials or methods, which often require special recipes or procedures.

OBJECTIVE
To eliminate the special requirements for the recombinant protein production by using readily available materials. Also to save time and effort in the routine protein production work.

METHOD
We started with a vector capable of producing a target protein fused to the C-terminus of the maltose binding protein (MBP). The mCherry (red fluorescent protein) gene was fused to MBP. It acted as a reporter in the initial screening procedure. The original lethal gene (barnase) was replaced with sacB. We chose 3 stationary phase promoters, and made hybrids of them by mixing halves from each one. The T5 promoter was replaced with these stationary phase promoters or their hybrids. The best plasmid was selected by the color intensity of the cell pellet. MBP and GST genes were inserted in place of sacB, and their production yields were compared with the original plasmid in the conventional way of expression.

RESULTS
We constructed an expression plasmid with an autoinducible promoter working in a host that was not specially designed for protein production and in a TB medium which did not contain any secret ingredient, nor was difficult to prepare unlike Studier's defined medium. This plasmid also contains a color indicator which turns red when protein production is successful. We tested our system with the maltose binding protein (MBP) and the glutathione S-transferase (GST), and showed that both proteins were produced to a level comparable to what the commercial medium and/or the specialized strain yielded.

CONCLUSION
We developed a plasmid equipped with an autoinducible promoter, a hybrid of the two promoters which were activated at the stationary phase. This plasmid does not need a special E. coli strain nor a sophisticated nor an expensive medium. It produces an intense red (or pink) color, which can be used as an indicator of a successful production of the target protein and as a predictive measure of the amount of the produced target protein. We speculate that this plasmid will have its greatest advantage when growing cells at low temperatures which would inevitably take a long time.  .


We have examined the spectroscopic properties of a sample of 19 optically bright, low luminosity Flat Radio Spectrum (LL FRS) sources. Our study focuses on the properties of their host galaxies, namely the nuclear stellar populations and dust content. In the optical, the objects in the sample are mainly dominated by the host galaxy starlight, which strongly dilutes the non-thermal continuum as well as possible emission-line features related to the active nucleus. We have computed the nuclear stellar populations contributing to the spectra of our objects. The stellar population synthesis has been performed by using a very reliable mathematical method, which yields a Global Principal Geometrical solution. Our results show that, for most of the objects in the sample, the populations are composed of old stars of solar metallicity, or lower; the populations are mainly composed of late-type stars, i.e. G, K and M spectral types, the young component coming thus from supergiant stars; the dust content is weak. Both the stellar populations and the dust content are in agreement with what is usually observed in "normal" elliptical galaxies. Similar stellar content has equally been found in the nuclear regions of galaxies hosting a Low Ionization Nuclear Emission Line Region, or LINER. The present work is important in illustrating the different applications of stellar population synthesis in the study of low luminosity radio sources. In fact, the synthesis allows us not only to obtain valuable information about the stellar populations and dust content of the host galaxies, therefore providing material for further studies on the connection between host galaxy and active nucleus, but also to reveal the so-far unstudied optical emission-line features present in the spectrum of our objects.


Elevational variation in species richness is ubiquitous and important for conservation, but remains poorly explained. Numerous studies have documented higher species richness at mid-elevations, but none have addressed the underlying evolutionary and biogeographic processes that ultimately explain this pattern (i.e. speciation, extinction and dispersal). Here, we address the evolutionary causes of the mid-elevational diversity hump in the most species-rich clade of salamanders, the tropical bolitoglossine plethodontids. We present a new phylogeny for the group based on DNA sequences from all 13 genera and 137 species. Using this phylogeny, we find no relationship between rates of diversification of clades and their elevational distribution, and no evidence for a rapid 'species pump' in tropical montane regions. Instead, we find a strong relationship between the number of species in each elevational zone and the estimated time when each elevational band was first colonized. Mid-elevation habitats were colonized early in the phylogenetic history of bolitoglossines, and given similar rates of diversification across elevations, more species have accumulated in the elevational zones that were inhabited the longest. This pattern may be widespread and suggests that mid-elevation habitats may not only harbour more species, but may also contain more phylogenetic diversity than other habitats within a region.


Eating disorders are alarmingly prevalent and potentially lethal. The proper assessment of eating disorder symptoms is therefore crucial for the early identification and treatment of those suffering from these serious illnesses. Current measures of eating disorder symptoms are either very narrow in scope (e.g., assess only one aspect of disordered eating, such as bingeing) and/or have one or more serious limitations, such as inconsistent factor structures and/or poor discriminant validity. Because several of the existing measures of eating disorders were created over 20 years ago, many of these limitations are the direct result of out-dated scale development methods and testing. The goal of this study was to determine the structure underlying the symptoms of eating disorders and develop a multidimensional measure of eating pathology based on this structure. To accomplish this goal, an initial item pool was developed to assess 20 dimensions of eating pathology. The initial item pool of 160 items was administered to a student sample (N=433) and community sample (N=407) to determine the preliminary structure of the measure using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The revised measure was then administered to independent samples of psychiatric patients (N=190) and students (N=227). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a 7-factor structure that showed excellent convergent and discriminant validity. The final measure was also internally consistent (median coefficient alphas ranged from .84-.89) and reliable over a twoto four-week period (r's ranged from .70-.84). The current study represents one of, perhaps, the most comprehensive scale development project ever conducted in the field of eating disorders and is expected to improve future basic and treatment research focused on eating disorders.


Combination of good oxidation resistance, thermal stability, hardness and high strength are great interest properties in engineering and, that are possible to obtain with the Ni-Ti-B ternary system. Mechanical alloying (MA) is an alternative method and cheapest for the synthesis of this kind of metal-ceramic materials with respect to the traditional melt and quench process. The transformation sequence of all the mixtures reported the formation of (ɣ Ni) phase with a nodular morphology and identified the additional presence of the TiB2 phase (needle morphology), which was more evident with the increase of titanium content (M2 and M3 mixtures) after 24 h of milling. Thermal activation of the milled powders showed the nucleation and growth of the Ni3B (O boride) and TiB2 (Hex) as the main phases after heat treatment, where the TiB2 phase (thin flakes morphology) was nucleated onto Ni3B matrix. Ternary alloy by MA took place under a metastable equilibrium, offering the possibility to form glassy alloys for compositions, which are not accessible by melting or quenching techniques.


Based on the experiment of a one-third scale, single-span, two-storey semi-rigid composite steel frame model with cross-stiffened steel plate shear wall under lateral cyclic loadings, the interactive effect between the joint stiffness and the cross-stiffened steel plate shear wall, the failure mode and energy dissipation mechanism of the structure system were analyzed, some important parameters were obtained in regard to load-carrying capacity, ductility, stiffness and energy dissipation capacity. The results showed that the specimen exhibited excellent ductility, energy dissipation capacity and great safety margin; the stiffness degradation of the joints was not serious, the requirement of ductility was lowered by setting up infill panels, the cooperative work between the frame and the steel plate shear wall was well; stiffeners improved the force condition of steel panels, increased the stiffness and load-carrying capacity of panels, lightened the pinch of hysteretic loops and reduced the noise and tremor of panels. The failure mode of the structure induced by buckling of stiffeners, local buckling and interactive buckling of infill panels,plastic hinges were formed at the bottom of column and semi-rigid connection, the in-plane deformation of specimen was bending failure. The research provides a basis for engineering application and theoretical analysis of the structural system.


Summary Arabidopsis thaliana seed germination is marked by extensive translational control at two critical phase transitions. The first transition refers to the start of hydration, the hydration translational shift. The second shift, the germination translational shift (GTS) is the phase between testa rupture and radicle protrusion at which the seed makes the all or nothing decision to germinate. The mechanism behind the translational regulation at these phase transitions is unknown. RNA binding proteins (RBPs) are versatile players in the post‐transcriptional control of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and as such candidates for regulating translation during seed germination. Here, we report the mRNA binding protein repertoire of seeds during the GTS. Thirty seed specific RBPs and 22 dynamic RBPs were identified during the GTS, like the putative RBP Vacuolar ATPase subunit A and RBP HSP101. Several stress granule markers were identified in this study, which suggests that seeds are prepared to quickly adapt the translation of specific mRNAs in response to changes in environmental conditions during the GTS. Taken together this study provides a detailed insight into the world of RBPs during seed germination and their possible regulatory role during this developmentally regulated process.


CD4+ T-cells have been shown to play a central role in immune control of infection with Plasmodium parasites. At the erythrocytic stage of infection, IFN-γ production by CD4+ T-cells and CD4+ T-cell help for the B-cell response are required for control and elimination of infected red blood cells. CD4+ T-cells are also important for controlling Plasmodium pre-erythrocytic stages through the activation of parasite-specific CD8+ T-cells. However, excessive inflammatory responses triggered by the infection have been shown to drive pathology. Early classical experiments demonstrated a biphasic CD4+ T-cell response against erythrocytic stages in mice, in which T helper (Th)1 and antibody-helper CD4+ T-cells appear sequentially during a primary infection. While IFN-γ-producing Th1 cells do play a role in controlling acute infections, and they contribute to acute erythrocytic-stage pathology, it became apparent that a classical Th2 response producing IL-4 is not a critical feature of the CD4+ T-cell response during the chronic phase of infection. Rather, effective CD4+ T-cell help for B-cells, which can occur in the absence of IL-4, is required to control chronic parasitemia. IL-10, important to counterbalance inflammation and associated with protection from inflammatory-mediated severe malaria in both humans and experimental models, was originally considered be produced by CD4+ Th2 cells during infection. We review the interpretations of CD4+ T-cell responses during Plasmodium infection, proposed under the original Th1/Th2 paradigm, in light of more recent advances, including the identification of multifunctional T-cells such as Th1 cells co-expressing IFN-γ and IL-10, the identification of follicular helper T-cells (Tfh) as the predominant CD4+ T helper subset for B-cells, and the recognition of inherent plasticity in the fates of different CD4+ T-cells.


Vibration-based Structural Health Monitoring methodologies have been developed in many different applications with the aim of damage diagnosis. Recently, purely data-driven methods have been gained popularity because these methods do not assume any linearity or model in their analysis. Data-driven methods use the measured vibration signals as data-input to extract features that can conclude obtain useful information for the damage diagnosis. In this work a methodology based on Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) technique is presented which decomposes the measured vibration responses in a certain number of principal components which reveal the rotational patterns at any frequency in the motion. One of the steps of the methodology is to create a reference state where the observations can be compared for damage assessment. The data used to create the reference state determines how the information is represented in the reference state and therefore how meaningful and informative are the feature vectors for damage assessment. This study presents of the effect of the data representation considered on the creation of the reference state when the data is introduced in the time or frequency domain. The results obtained are different depending on the signal representation and hence they should have different interpretation when the state is created based on vibratory signals represented in the time or frequency domain.


Schizophrenia is a heterogenous disorder presenting as episodes of psychosis against a background of cognitive, social, and functional impairments. Schizophrenia, a multifaceted neuropsychiatric disorder, is affecting approximately 1% of the population worldwide. Its onset is the result of a complex interplay of genetic predisposition and environmental factors. The clinical staging model of psychotic disorders implies that early successful treatment may improve prognosis and prevent progression to more severe stages of disorder. So, prevention and early intervention of schizophrenia are correlated with the prodromal phase, especially with "at risk mental state" (ARMS) and the prediction of their transition to a full-blown psychotic disorder. The psychosis prodrome includes nonspecific signs and symptoms (such as depressed mood, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and deterioration in role functioning), "basic symptoms" (thought interference, disturbance of receptive language, and visual perception disturbance), attenuated or subthreshold psychotic symptoms, neurocognitive deficits, and neurobiological changes measured via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Increasing improvements in the identification of those truly at "high risk" for psychotic disorder have paved the way of early intervention strategies in this population and increased the possibility of minimizing distress and disability and delaying or even preventing the onset of an evident psychotic disorder. The treatment (antipsychotic medication, psychological and social interventions) for young people who meet ARMS criteria should not only focus on the symptoms that constitute the ARMS criteria but also address the broader range of difficulties with which the young person might present. There are some ethical issues to consider when selecting specific treatment options, and the potential risks of treatment have to be balanced against the potential benefits.


We identified the microRNA (miRNA) expression signature of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) tissues by RNA sequencing, in which 168 miRNAs were significantly upregulated, including both strands of the miR-31 duplex (miR-31-5p and miR-31-3p). The aims of this study were to identify networks of tumor suppressor genes regulated by miR-31-5p and miR-31-3p in HNSCC cells. Our functional assays showed that inhibition of miR-31-5p and miR-31-3p attenuated cancer cell malignant phenotypes (cell proliferation, migration, and invasion), suggesting that they had oncogenic potential in HNSCC cells. Our in silico analysis revealed 146 genes regulated by miR-31 in HNSCC cells. Among these targets, the low expression of seven genes (miR-31-5p targets: CACNB2 and IL34; miR-31-3p targets: CGNL1, CNTN3, GAS7, HOPX, and PBX1) was closely associated with poor prognosis in HNSCC. According to multivariate Cox regression analyses, the expression levels of five of those genes (CACNB2: p = 0.0189; IL34: p = 0.0425; CGNL1: p = 0.0014; CNTN3: p = 0.0304; and GAS7: p = 0.0412) were independent prognostic factors in patients with HNSCC. Our miRNA signature and miRNA-based approach will provide new insights into the molecular pathogenesis of HNSCC.


The multitarget approach has gained increasing acceptance as a useful tool to address complex and multifactorial maladies such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). The concurrent inhibition of the validated AD targets β-secretase (BACE-1) and glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) by attacking both β-amyloid and tau protein cascades has been identified as a promising AD therapeutic strategy. In our study, curcumin was identified as a lead compound for the simultaneous inhibition of both targets; therefore, synthetic efforts were dedicated to obtaining a small library of novel curcumin-based analogues, and a number of potent and balanced dual-target inhibitors were obtained. In particular, 2, 6, and 7 emerged as promising drug candidates endowed with neuroprotective potential and brain permeability. Notably, for some new compounds the symmetrical diketo and the β-keto-enol tautomeric forms were purposely isolated and tested in vitro, allowing us to gain insight into the key requirements for BACE-1 and GSK-3β inhibition.


Background Despite efforts to incorporate experience of care for women and newborns in global quality standards, there are limited efforts to understand experience of care for sick newborns and young infants. This paper describes the manifestations, responses, and consequences of mistreatment of sick young infants (SYIs), drivers, and parental responses in hospital settings in Kenya. Methods A qualitative formative study to inform the development of strategies for promoting family engagement and respectful care of SYI was conducted in five facilities in Kenya. Data were collected from in-depth interviews with providers and policy makers (n = 35) and parents (n = 25), focus group discussions with women and men (n = 12 groups), and ethnographic observations in each hospital (n = 64 observation sessions). Transcribed data were organized using Nvivo 12 software and analyzed thematically. Results We identified 5 categories of mistreatment: 1) health system conditions and constraints, including a) failure to meet professional standards, b) delayed provision of care; and c) limited provider skills; 2) stigma and discrimination, due to provider perception of personal hygiene or medical condition, and patient feelings of abandonment; 3) physically inappropriate care, including providers taking blood samples and inserting intravenous lines and nasogastric tubes in a rough manner; or parents being pressured to forcefully feed infants or share unsterile feeding cups to avoid providers' anger; 4) poor parental-provider rapport, expressed as ineffective communication, verbal abuse, perceived disinterest, and non-consented care; and 5) no organized form of bereavement and posthumous care in the case of infant's death. Parental responses to mistreatment were acquiescent or non-confrontational and included feeling humiliated or accepting the situation. Assertive responses were rare but included articulating disappointment by expressing anger, and/or deciding to seek care elsewhere. Conclusion Mistreatment for SYIs is linked to poor quality of care. To address mistreatment in SYI, interventions that focus on building better communication, responding to the developmental needs of infants and emotional needs for parents, strengthen providers competencies in newborn care, as well as a supportive, enabling environments, will lead to more respectful quality care for newborns and young infants.


From October 2 to November 20, 2017, a working group of individuals representing  multiple NDSA member institutions and interest groups conducted a survey of  organizations in the United States actively involved in, or planning to start, programs to  archive content from the Web. This effort builds upon and extends a broader effort begun in three earlier surveys, which the NDSA Web Archiving Survey working group has conducted since 2011.The goal of these surveys is to better understand the landscape  of Web archiving activities in the United States by investigating the organizations involved;  the history and scope of their Web archiving programs; the types of Web content being  preserved; the tools and services being used; access and discovery services being offered;  and overall policies related to Web archiving programs. The responses from this survey  document the current state of U.S. Web archiving initiatives and the comparison with the  results of the 2011, 2013, and 2016 surveys enables an analysis of emerging trends. This  report describes the current state of the field, tracks the evolution of the field over the last  few years, and points to future opportunities and developments.


The valley of the Temples in Agrigento is one the most known wonders of the ancient Greek time to be still standing is South Italy. Chosen as an emblematic location in the center of the island, it is the exemplary site used to assess the potential for electric mobility in terms of energy and environmental benefits of electricity over standard fuels. Such an assessment is performed by means of a life-cycle approach, including the use of the Life Cycle Assessment methodology, the use of the standard ILCD-PEF indicators and the development of a parametric analysis investigating the impact of different electricity penetration levels in the local transports system. The results identify relevant energy savings in the electricity mobility scenarios (5-6%) as well a mixed trend for the environmental impacts: some indicators would show some relevant reductions (e.g. -70% for GWP) but others would grow as relevantly (e.g. +50% resource consumption for PV generated electricity). The research is developed in the context of the project Innovation for greeN Energy and eXchange in Transportation (i- NEXT).


Background: Given the importance of mother's milk for very low birth weight (VLBW) infants, it would be helpful to know which circumstances are most favorable for milk expression. Objective: This study aimed to estimate the volume of milk obtained by mothers of VLBW infants as a function of proximity to the infant and use of the kangaroo position during the actual expression. Methods: In this prospective cohort study, when the infant was stable and the mother had established a breastfeeding routine, she was given a notebook in which to record the location of expression and the amount of milk expressed for 10 consecutive days. Breast milk expression volumes were recorded and analyzed. Results: Data were collected on 26 mother-VLBW infant dyads and 1642 milk expressions. The first early morning expressions (n = 276, 17%) were conducted at home. Thereafter, 743 (45%) expressions were conducted far from the infant, either in a different room within the hospital or at home, and 623 (38%) were performed in proximity to the infant (beside the incubator, during kangaroo mother care [KMC], after KMC, or during kangaroo father care). The mean milk volume was significantly higher when expression was conducted in proximity to the infant. When only milk expressions conducted in proximity to the infant were considered, volumes obtained during KMC (107.7 mL, 91.8-123.5) and after KMC (117.7 mL, 99.0-136.5) were significantly higher than those obtained beside the incubator (96.9 mL, 79.9-113.9), respectively, P = .0030 and P = .0024. Conclusion: Milk expression conducted in proximity to the infant, particularly during and immediately after KMC, is associated with higher milk volume.


Lecture capture technologies are increasingly being used by instructors, programs, and institutions to deliver online lectures and courses. This lecture capture movement is important as it increases access to education opportunities that were not possible before, it can improve efficiency, and it can increase student engagement. However, this is just the start for how capture technology can be used as it only considers an objectivist learning theory approach in deployment. As a result, it is essentially a modern version of "sage on the stage" where an expert projects information for consumption by students. Capture technologies, though, hold promise to go beyond this basic implementation as they can fit into the constructivist learning paradigm too, which requires students to take what they have learned and apply it to new concerns of importance to them. In addition, capture technology can be used to develop learning support resources, known as scaffolds, and be used to improve assignment integrity and assurance of learning. Ideas for how capture technology can be used to address these important learning concerns are presented and discussed.


OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study is to investigate the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL) in the US population by sociodemographic factors, perception of dental needs, reported dental visits, and saliva indicators.

METHODS
Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003-2004 were used. NHANES measured OHRQOL by a modified version of the Oral Health Impact Profile.

RESULTS
The study had 6,183 subjects who averaged an OHRQOL score of 2.8 points. About 40% had painful aching in the mouth during the last year on at least one occasion. Perceived need to relieve dental pain was the strongest risk factor for poor OHRQOL (resulting in a higher score by 5.2 points), followed by perceived need for a denture or feeling of dry mouth (each resulting in a higher score by about 2 points).

CONCLUSIONS
OHRQOL is the poorest among those with perceived dental needs especially those with the perceived need to relieve dental pain.


In 2016, thousands of people, led by Oceti Sakowin Tribal members, gathered at the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota in an attempt to stop the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The movement aroused international media attention, mass support from a wide range of individuals and environmental groups, and political debates regarding Indigenous rights, climate change, fossil fuel reliance, water protection, and corporate power. Ultimately, 10 months into the movement, it was halted by the US federal government and the pipeline was installed. During the movement, state and federal military forces worked alongside a private military and security contractor (PMSC), TigerSwan, hired by owners of the pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners. This case study addresses the ethics of the use of private military against Indigenous-led environmental activists at Standing Rock. Readers will review the modern rise and use of privatized militia, examine specific tactics used by TigerSwan at Standing Rock, and consider the ethics surrounding principles of transparency, accountability, regulation, and the potential risk for increased violence against citizens. A brief historical overview of Oceti Sakowin's political resistance to US federal land appropriation and corporate exploitation is provided, as well as an analysis of future implications for Indigenous-led environmental justice movements. With this case study, instructors, students, and researchers can debate and analyze the ethical dilemmas regarding the use of PMSCs to target environmental justice movements.


: The analysis of the author's own experience and of relevant published literature suggest that it is expedient to further elaborate methods for treatment of incipient forms of uterine cervix cancer aimed to preserve the genital organs in women, especially in those at childbearing age. Worthy of mention in this respect is the progress made by the Kiev City Oncological Centre. In choosing a treatment option, it is necessary that etiopathogenic risk factors for development of cancer of the uterine cervix by analyzed and taken account of.


Numerous studies have demonstrated that acupuncture and moxibustion induce analgesic effects. This study examined whether diffuse noxious inhibitory controls (DNIC) participated in acupuncture and moxibustion induced-analgesia. Single unit extracellular recordings from neurons in the trigeminal nucleus caudalis of urethane-anesthetized Wistar rats were obtained with a glass micropipette. A total of 52 single units, including 36 wide dynamic range (WDR), 5 nociceptive specific (NS) and 11 low-threshold mechanoreceptive (LTM) units were examined. During noxious test stimulation (cutaneous pinch or electrical stimulation), acupuncture, moxibustion or pinch stimulation was applied as the conditioning stimulus to the remote area of the receptive fields. When the conditioning stimulation induced rapid suppression of noxious receptive field stimulation response, examination revealed that various areas of the entire body were affected and suppression increased in an intensity-dependent manner. These features resemble DNIC phenomena. The suppression was observed on both WDR and NS neurons but not on LTM neurons. Eight of 16 WDR neurons examined were inhibited by acupuncture, five of 14 by moxibustion, and seventeen of 21 by pinching stimulation. Of the NS neurons, one of 2 units examined was suppressed by acupuncture, one of 2 by moxibustion, and two of 3 by pinch stimulation. Pinch stimulation induced the most profound suppression followed by manual acupuncture. Moxibustion induced moderate suppression with a long induction time. These results suggest that DNIC may be involved in the analgesic mechanism of acupuncture and moxibustion.


INTRODUCTION
Azithromycin has been used as an ocular toxoplasmosis alternative treatment due to its pharmacokinetic profiles. However, sufficient concentrations to promote toxoplasmosis eradication is still unknown. This study was aimed to evaluate azithromycin levels in rabbits after three regimens equivalent to human doses for ocular toxoplasmosis.

METHODS
Three groups of New Zealand albino rabbits were given one of the following: azithromycin at 26 mg/kg BW daily (Group 1), 26 mg/kg BW every two days (Group 2), and 50 mg/kg BW once weekly (Group 3) for 14 days. Plasma and ocular azithromycin concentrations were examined.

RESULTS
Following 14 days, median ratio of plasma maximum azithromycin concentration to the minimum inhibitory concentration for Toxoplasma gondii (C-max/MIC) for Group 1, and 2 were 51.29, 5.33, while Group 3 was undetected. The median azithromycin concentration in the retina-choroid was higher than the MIC in Group 1 (1356.0 ng/ml) and Group 2 (189.0 ng/ml), but not in Group 3.

CONCLUSION
Azithromycin administered orally at the dose of 26 mg/kg BW daily or 26 mg/kg BW every two days resulted a sufficient criteria of C-max/MIC as well as retina-choroid concentration needed for its parasiticidal activity. However, well-conducted clinical trial is warranted to support its therapeutic potential in ocular toxoplasmosis.


Research at Solar Cells Inc. is focused on developing processes which will lead to high volume and low cost manufacturing of solar cells and to increase the performance of our present technology. The process research has focused on developing vapor transport deposition of the semiconductors, eliminating wet chemistry steps while minimizing the chloride treatment time, forming a low-loss back contact using only dry processing, and an improved interconnection technique. The performance improvement work has focused on the increase of the photocurrent by a combination of more transparent glass substrates and a thinner CdS window layer deposited on an i-SnO2 buffer layer. SCI record 13.0% 1 cm2 devices have been fabricated using these techniques. Stability monitoring continues and shows minimal degradation for over 20,000 hours of continuous light soak at 0.8 sun illumination.


This paper experimentally investigates the cyclic inelastic performance of concentrically braced frames with and without cold formed steel stud (CFSS) infills designed to laterally restrain braces and delay their buckling. Specimens have either diagonal tube or solid bar braces with and without CFSS and U brackets providing out-of-plane and in-plane buckling restraint. Behavioral characteristics of the specimens are quantified with an emphasis on hysteretic energy dissipation. Experimental results show that, at the same ductility levels, the cumulative energy dissipation of braced frames can be significantly increased when CFSS members are used to laterally restrain the braces against buckling. However, when tubular cross sections are used for braces, local buckling led to a reduced fracture life compared to the case without CFSS members. CFSS members appear to be relatively more effective when solid bar braces having large slenderness (tension-only braces) are used, since the difference between dissipated energies obtained with and without studs is substantial.


The mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) is a mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) binding protein essential for the initiation of transcription and genome maintenance. Recently it was demonstrated that the primary role of TFAM is to maintain the integrity of mtDNA and that it is a key regulator of mtDNA copy number. It was also shown that TFAM plays a central role in the mtDNA stress-mediated inflammatory response. In our study, we proposed to evaluate the possibility of editing the TFAM gene by CRISPR/Cas9 technology in bovine fibroblasts, as TFAM regulates the replication specificity of mtDNA. We further attempted to maintain these cells in culture post edition in a medium supplemented with uridine and pyruvate to mimic Rho zero cells that are capable of surviving without mtDNA, because it is known that the TFAM gene is lethal in knockout mice and chicken. Moreover, we evaluated the effects of TFAM modification on mtDNA copy number. The CRISPR gRNA was designed to target exon 1 of the bovine TFAM gene and subsequently cloned. Fibroblasts were transfected with Cas9 and control plasmids. After 24 h of transfection, cells were analyzed by flow cytometry to evaluate the efficiency of transfection. The site directed-mutation frequency was assessed by T7 endonuclease assay, and cell clones were analyzed for mtDNA copy number by Sanger DNA sequencing. We achieved transfection efficiency of 51.3%. We selected 23 successfully transformed clones for further analysis, and seven of these exhibited directed mutations at the CRISPR/Cas9 targeted site. Moreover, we also found a decrease in mtDNA copy number in the gene edited clones compared to that in the controls. These TFAM gene mutant cells were viable in culture when supplemented with uridine and pyruvate. We conclude that this CRISPR/Cas9 design was efficient, resulting in seven heterozygous mutant clones and opening up the possibility to use these mutant cell lines as a model system to elucidate the role of TFAM in the maintenance of mtDNA integrity.


Mithramycin is an aureolic acid-type antimicrobial and antitumor agent produced by Streptomyces argillaceus. Modifying post-polyketide synthase (PKS) tailoring enzymes involved in the production of mithramycin is an effective way of gaining further information regarding the late steps of its biosynthetic pathway. In addition, new "unnatural" natural products of the aureolic acid-type class are likely to be produced. The role of two such post-PKS tailoring enzymes, encoded by mtmC and mtmTIII, was investigated, and four novel aureolic acid class drugs, two premithramycin-type molecules and two mithramycin derivatives, were isolated from mutant strains constructed by insertional gene inactivation of either of these two genes. From data bank comparisons, the corresponding proteins MtmC and MtmTIII were believed to act as a C-methyltransferase involved in the production of the D-mycarose (sugar E) of mithramycin and as a ketoreductase seemingly involved in the biosynthesis of the mithramycin aglycon, respectively. However, gene inactivation and analysis of the accumulated products revealed that both genes encode enzymes participating in the biosynthesis of the D-mycarose building block. Furthermore, the inactivation of MtmC seems to affect the ketoreductase responsible for 4-ketoreduction of sugar C, a D-olivose. Instead of obtaining premithramycin and mithramycin derivatives with a modified E-sugar upon inactivation of mtmC, compounds were obtained that completely lack the E-sugar moiety and that possess an unexpected 4-ketosugar moiety instead of the D-olivose at the beginning of the lower deoxysaccharide chain. The inactivation of mtmTIII led to the accumulation of 4E-ketomithramycin, showing that this ketoreductase is responsible for the 4-ketoreduction of the D-mycarose moiety. The new compounds of the mutant strains, 4A-ketopremithramycin A2, 4A-keto-9-demethylpremithramycin A2, 4C-keto-demycarosylmithramycin, and 4E-ketomithramycin, indicate surprising substrate flexibility of post-PKS enzymes of the mithramycin biosynthetic pathway. Although the glycosyltransferase responsible for the attachment of D-mycarose cannot transfer the unmethylated sugar to the existing lower disaccharide chain, it can transfer the 4-ketoform of sugar E. In addition, the glycosyltransferase MtmGIV, which is responsible for the linkage of sugar C, is also able to transfer an activated 4-ketosugar. The oxygenase MtmOIV, normally responsible for the oxidative cleavage of the tetracyclic premithramycin B into the tricyclic immediate precursor of mithramycin, can act on a substrate analogue with a modified or even incomplete trisaccharide chain. The same is true for glycosyltransferases MtmGI and MtmGII, both of which partake in the formation and attachment of the A-B disaccharide in mithramycin.


Email templates have a significant impact on users in terms of productivity. Using an email template that is produced successfully is going to transfer the main information with a considerable impression. While the previous studies were focused on the email generation by text-differences in the content of the emails, generated templates based on email topics can provide better productivity for the companies. This article proposes a system, in which user emails are clustered according to the topics of the emails, and introduces an email template generation system that utilizes the sample emails belonging to the formed email clusters. For this purpose, the Enron email dataset has been used and the performance of different text preprocessing and topic modeling algorithms, such as DMM, GPU-DMM, GPU-PDMM, LF-DMM, LDA, LF-LDA, BTM, WNTM, PTM, SATM, have been investigated and compared to determine the most efficient one. After obtaining the email topics, the system shows the examples of the emails representing the selected topics and enables the authorized users to create templates that generalize these topics.


Most non-photorealistic-rendering solutions tend to involve brilliant but unwieldy new technologies, such as volume-based rendering engines or complex image analysis. Similar results can often be achieved using simpler methods and non-proprietary toolsets, even toolsets designed with other effects in mind. Our studio has been experimenting with ways to achieve a hand-painted look with basic tools that are common to most 3D applications.


Background and Objective: The effect of opioids on the reproductive system has been studied as an attractive research field. In this study, the effect of morphine as an analgesic opioid was evaluated on the ovarian polycystic induction in the rat. Materials & Methods: In this study, 24 female virgin Wistar rats weighing 200-250 g were injected with morphine (1-10 mg/kg/day) for 9 days. Control group received normal saline (1 ml/kg, i.p.) throughout the experimental period. After completion of injection period, all animals underwent surgery to collect the ovaries. After biometrical measurements, the ovaries specimens were fixed in the formalin to use in future study. Results: The ovaries from morphine-injected rats had thick-wall follicular cysts whilst the control samples showed the Graafian follicles. In addition, the higher doses of morphine (10 mg/kg) led to much thicker wall cysts than the lower doses (1 mg/kg). However, the experimental samples did not show a significant difference versus control in view of their size. Conclusion: The enhanced irregularity in the opioid system activity has been reported in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Based on these findings, the induction of connective disturbance between the opioid and the reproductive systems due to chronic use of the morphine may crucially play a role in ovarian polycystic induction in the rat.


Cotton is the chief fibre crop of global importance. It plays a significant role in the national economy. Cotton crop is vulnerable to a number of insect species, especially to the larvae of lepidopteron pests. 60% insecticides sprayed on cotton are meant to control the damage caused by bollworm complex. Transgenic technology has become a popular option for the development of bollworm resistant cotton. Spodoptera litura is one of the notorious emerging pests in cotton. Introduction of cry1EC gene into commercial variety have very significant importance. This research work was carried out to transform chimeric δ-endotoxin Cry1EC into cotton. The tobacco cutworm ( Spodoptera litura ) is a polyphagous foliage insect which is susceptible to the chimeric δ-endotoxin Cry1EC . Six month-old highly friable embryogenic calli derived from cotyledonary explants of Coker 310 were used for transformation using Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 harboring plasmid pBI101.1 carrying the marker gene neomycin phosphotransferase II ( npt II) and a synthetic cry 1EC gene under a constitutive 35 S promoter. Agrobacterium treated calli were selected on MS medium containing, 50 mg/L kanamycin, 500 mg/L cefotaxime, 30 g/L maltose and 0.4% phytagel. Embryos developed on kanamycin resistant calli were maintained on the same medium till somatic embryos matured. The cotyledonary stage embryos (3 to 5 mm size) were germinated on MS basal slat with 0.1 mg/L GA3 + 1.0 mg/L IAA, 30 g/L sucrose and solidified with 0.4% phytagel. The regenerated putative transgenic plants were hardened and transferred to the transgenic green house. Transgenic plants were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of 800 bp npt II fragment, and 578 bp amplification of cry1Ec gene. Transgenic plant with single copy insertion of cry1EC was selected in T 0 by southern blot hybridization. Insect bioassay using Spodoptera litura larvae of first instar stages on T 0 plants showed 70% mortality. Not much data has been published on the toxicity of the endotoxins to S. litura , which is a common pest in warm and humid climates. Efforts are aimed at recovering more efficient transgenic plants through efficient transformation system and developing high resistant transgenic cotton against S. litura and will paved a way for promising future in cotton production. Keywords : Agrobacterium transformation, cry 1EC, molecular analysis, insect bioassay African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(15), pp. 1820-1827


Pedicularis shows high diversity in its corolla form, however, its floral ontogeny has been rarely investigated. In particular, the development of the highly variable upper lip (galea), three broad morphological types of which (beakless and toothless, beakless and toothed, beaked) can be discriminated, remains unknown. We used scanning electron microscopy to investigate the early stages of floral ontogeny in two beaked species, Pedicularis gruina and P. siphonantha. To compare the developmental processes of the three galea types, three species for each type were investigated. Initiations of floral organs in Pedicularis are consistent. Sepal initiations are successive from the lateral‐adaxial primordia, followed by the lateral‐abaxial ones (these sometimes missing), then the mid‐adaxial one (again sometimes missing). The stamens are initiated prior to the petals, or development of petal primordia may be retarded at the early stages in comparison with that of stamen primordia. Four stamen primordia are initiated simultaneously. The five petal primordia are initiated almost simultaneously. Development processes of the upper lip among the three galea types differ in the expansion rates and directions of the cells of the two lobes and these differences govern whether or not a beak and/or teeth are formed on the upper lip. The floral ontogeny of Pedicularis is close to that of Agalinis, which supports the molecular assignment. Floral monosymmetry of Pedicularis is established at the beginning of sepal initiation and is maintained until flowering. The development of the upper lip provides some clues to the evolution of beaked and/or toothed galeas in Pedicularis.


Interconnected porous FeS/C composite consisting of FeS nanoparticles (∼20 nm) homogeneously embedded in carbon nanosheets was synthesized via a facile freeze-drying/carbonization method using a NaCl template. As an anode for LIBs, this composite shows significantly enhanced electrochemical performance due to the synergistic effects of the conductive carbon film and the porous structure, which provides an ideal conductive matrix and buffer spaces for electron/ion transfer and FeS expansion, respectively, during lithiation processes. This composite exhibits reversible capacities of ∼703 mA h g−1 over 150 cycles at 1 A g−1 and a high-rate capability of ∼530 mA h g−1 even at 5 A g−1, which is among the best reported electrochemical performances for FeS-based materials thus far. With a long cycling life and high power density, this composite demonstrates its potential application in LIBs.


Color consistency for color marketing in electronic business system is one of important factors for online customers to choose products, so it is the key techniques to guarantee color consistency when color image transmit and converse among different color reproduction image devices in electronic business system. The paper, taking scanned input image for examples, advances a new color management model to keep color consistency through analyzing color rendering principle of scanners. First the parameters of Yule-Nielson equation are reinterpreted, making them can be used for non-printing dot image which only can be used for printing dot image originally; Second, standard color target is taken for experimental and color blocks in color shade district is taken to substitutes for complete color space which solves the difficulties of experimental color block selecting; Third, Yule-Nielson equation is used to deduce the model for scanner color management gradually though single color, double color and tricolor conversion correction, and polynomial curve generation algorithm is designed to fit error curve of single color, double color and tricolour. Finally, the experimental results show that the model can improve scanner color management accuracy and can guarantee color consistency for scanner in its engineering application.


In December 2019, in the city of Wuhan (China), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus - 2 (SARS-CoV−2), a virus that causes what is known as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (better known as COVID-19), emerged. In a few months the virus spread around the world becoming a global pandemic that has shaken the world. On Malta (a nation consisting of an archipelago of islands of approximately 500000 people), which is the case study of this analysis, the first case was identified on 7/3/2020. In this paper, we shall fit a piecewise linear trend model to the log-scale of cumulative cases and deaths due to COVID-19 in Malta by implementing the SN-NOT changepoint model. This model combines the self-normalisation (SN) technique, which is used to test whether there is a single change-point in the linear trend of a time series, with the Narrowest Over Threshold algorithm (NOT) to achieve multiple change-point in the linear trend. Through analysis of news reports and other sources of information, estimated change-points are then compared to potential factors such as health restrictions, mass events, government policy and population behaviour that have affected these changes, in order to determine the efffect of these factors on the spread of the disease.


Skeletal muscle insulin resistance is a prominent feature of type 2 diabetes (T2D) that precedes and predicts the development of disease in high risk populations. In individuals with T2D or pre-T2D, this insulin resistance is due, at least in part, to a decrease in the number of functional insulin receptors (IR) that localize on the cell membrane. To restore the number of IR, we generated mice that specifically overexpress IR in skeletal muscle (IRMOE). On chow diet, IRMOE mice had similar body weight compared to control, but displayed reduced body fat and higher lean mass percentage. Basal phosphorylation of IR, IRS and Akt were significantly higher in muscles from IRMOE mice compared to control, resulting in their improved glucose tolerance. Surprisingly, however, after i.v. injection of insulin, stimulated Akt phosphorylation was significantly lower in IRMOE muscle compared to control, despite persistent higher phosphorylation in IR and IRS, indicating activation of negative regulators in the IR signaling pathway when IR is chronically activated. Consistent with this, euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp studies revealed significantly lower glucose infusion rate in insulin stimulated IRMOE mice compared to control. Increased basal and decreased insulin stimulated Akt phosphorylation was also observed in muscles of IRMOE mice after challenge with HFD. However, when fed HFD, IRMOE mice displayed both improved glucose tolerance and insulin tolerance which was in part due to being resistant to diet-induced obesity, despite consuming more calories. Taken together, these data indicate that muscle specific IR overexpression can protect mice from diet-induced obesity and its effects on glucose metabolism, but that chronic overexpression of IR can lead to post-receptor desensitization indicating additional post-receptor regulators of insulin signaling, which could provide new targets for therapy of T2D. Disclosure G. Wang: None. W. Cai: None. T.M. Batista: None. S. Softic: None. C. Kahn: Advisory Panel; Self; MedImmune. Board Member; Self; Kaleido Biosciences. Consultant; Self; AntriaBio, Inc., Cobalt Therapeutics, Flagship Pioneering. Research Support; Self; Alnylam. Funding American Diabetes Association (9-17-CMF-016 to G.W.)


Study was conducted on the mitigation of vendetta case and oath based conflict management in Jawi district of northwest Ethiopia. The study was aimed at investigating the mitigation and reconciliation of vendetta and management of conflicts through an oath, from a symbolic ritual perspective. Primary data were collected by in-depth interviewing of informants and through informal conversation methods. Secondary sources reviewed from empirical researches, statistical documents and from locally conducted studies on the study theme were used to complement first hand data. The primary and secondary data were analyzed and organized thematically, cross checking the results obtained by those methods to increase validity of the research. The study found that vendetta, which has been a common phenomenon in the study area, was mitigated and resolved through an indigenous reconciliation system accompanied by a symbolic ritual. Oath involving diverse symbolic procedures was found to be another widely practiced mechanism of managing disputes in the study area. In both cases the traditional role of symbolism appeared to be crucial in terminating violence, implementing and sustaining effective reconciliation, and rebuilding harmony and peaceful coexistence in the society. The strict traditional symbolic rituals and procedures containing elements of supernatural belief conducted during reconciliation of vendetta and execution of an oath reinforce on the disputing parties a serious observance of the reconciliation. The study implied that the indigenous reconciliation of vendetta and oath based management of conflicts, together with the aid of symbolism, are effective in restoring sustainable peace and efficient in terms of finance, time, and energy.

 Key words: Vendetta, oath, symbolic ritual, conflict mitigation, reconciliation, Jawi, Kolegna Agaw.


Using the combination ceramic on ceramic for hip prostheses, the wear rate can be reduced to less than 1 micron per million cycles. More than 20 years of experience are now available for various concepts involving alumina ceramics in THR. In the early days, monolithic ceramic cups were employed. However, since alumina ceramic has an unsatisfactory potential for bone integration, soft tissue forms at the interface, with the result that the sockets migrate and penetrate. To improve bony integration, monoblock cups surfaced with ceramic beads were introduced. For the past 10 years, there has been a trend towards the use of modular acetabular components comprising a metal shell and a liner made of Biolox forte ceramic. Two concepts for the fixation of the ceramic liners are employed: locking of the ceramic in the metal shell (CeraLock) and the sandwich concept with a polyethylene layer interposed between liner and shell. The basic design and important aspects such as diameter, range of motion, and the possibility for revision, clinical experience, and trends are discussed.


The insulin receptor (IR) belongs to the receptor tyrosine kinase super family and plays an important role in glucose homeostasis. The receptor interacts with several large docking proteins that mediate signaling from the receptor, including the insulin receptor substrate (IRS) family and Src homology-2-containing proteins (Src). Here, we applied the bioluminescence resonance energy transfer 2 (BRET2) technique to study the IR signaling pathways. The interaction between the IR and the substrates IRS1, IRS4 and Shc was examined in response to ligands with different signaling properties. The association between IR and the interacting partners could successfully be monitored when co-expressing green fluorescent protein 2 (GFP2) tagged substrates with Renilla reniformis luciferase 8 (Rluc8) tagged IR. Through additional optimization steps, we developed a stable and flexible BRET2 assay for monitoring the interactions between the IR and its substrates. Furthermore, the insulin analogue X10 was characterized in the BRET2 assay and was found to be 10 times more potent with respect to IRS1, IRS4 and Shc recruitment compared to human insulin. This study demonstrates that the BRET2 technique can be applied to study IR signaling pathways, and that this assay can be used as a platform for screening and characterization of IR ligands.


The effect of coadsorption on the conformational arrangement of human plasma fibronectin (Fn) was studied for mixtures with human serum albumin (HSA) adsorbed onto mildly hydrophilic gold substrates. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to measure the mass uptake, thickness, viscoelastic behaviour, and morphology of the adsorbed protein adlayers. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) was employed to determine the composition of binary protein adlayers, taking advantage of the principal component analysis (PCA) technique of ToF-SIMS data. Thus, the ToF-SIMS results provided the particular fragmentation patterns of the two proteins, showing that the resulting mixed protein layers were predominantly formed by Fn molecules, even for binary solutions with high molar fraction of HSA. The conformational arrangement of the Fn molecules was studied by combining ToF-SIMS and QCM-D techniques. ToF-SIMS data allowed the identification of Type I–Type III modules of Fn and showed that pure Fn layers predominantly expose Type III modules, while coadsorbed Fn/HSA layers predominantly expose Fn Type I epitopes. QCM-D was employed to measure the relative uptake of a polyclonal antibody (anti-Fn) to the 4F15F1 binding domain in the Fn Hep I fragment in Type I modules, showing that pure Fn adlayers have a reduced anti-Fn binding capacity, as expected for Type I modules buried within the adlayers, while coadsorbed Fn layers bind more efficiently the anti-Fn, as the concerned Type I module is predominantly exposed at the layer surface. The results overall demonstrated that coadsorption of Fn and HSA onto mildly hydrophilic gold substrates prompts Fn to undergo a closed-to-open conformational switch.


The outcomes of intracranial endoscopic operations for occlusive hydrocephalus (65 interventions in 60 children) and intracranial hematomas (11 operations in 10 children) are analyzed. Indications and contraindications for intracranial endoscopic operations, equipment supply, specific features of their performance, and outcomes are discussed. In occlusive hydrocephalus, the outcomes were as follows: hydrocephalus stabilization (38%), complications (15%), mortality (3%), the follow-up lasting as long as 8 years. The dynamic evaluation of the intracranial status (clinical and sound monitoring) is the obligatory condition of intracranial endoscopic operations made for intracranial hematomas. There were no complications in children with intracranial hematomas after planned intracranial endoscopic operations. The application of flexible distal end-controlled endoscopic, ultrasound-stereotactically aimed, and double-maneuver-controlled systems (visual examination through the optic system of an endoscope in combination with intraoperative ultrasonographic monitoring) was shown to be optimal during intracranial endoscopic operations.


A glycoprotein of Mr 62 000 was isolated from lung lavage material of patients with alveolar proteinosis. The glycoprotein was found to contain (per molecule) 72 residues of glycine, 5 residues of hydroxyproline, 3 molecules of sialic acid, 4.9 molecules of mannose, 4.0 molecules of galactose, 0.9 molecule of fucose and 7.0 molecules of N-acetylglucosamine. Limited pepsin digestion of the glycoprotein resulted in six peptides, three of which contained hydroxyproline and nearly 30% glycine, and two of which contained all the carbohydrate present in the glycoprotein of Mr 62 000. The three peptides containing hydroxyproline and with high content of glycine contained a repeating -Gly-X-Y-sequence in the peptide chain. Partial amino acid-sequence analyses on the peptides derived from the digestion of the alveolar glycoprotein with various proteolytic enzymes indicate that this glycoprotein is characterized by the presence of alternating collagenous and non-collagenous regions in the same polypeptide chain.


BACKGROUND
South Africa (SA) has one of the lowest deceased organ donor rates in the world (1.4 donors per million population), with thousands of patients awaiting solid-organ transplantation. In order to improve access to transplantation we have to clearly define the reasons for the low deceased donation rate, specific to the population we serve.

OBJECTIVES
Review of actual donor statistics highlights our successes, yet is not able to contextualise the factors responsible for the unsuccessful conversion of referred organ donors to actual organ donors. In an attempt to identify key factors preventing referred donors from becoming actual donors, we analysed the donor referral patterns at our institution over a 10-year period.

METHODS
This was a retrospective descriptive study of consecutive deceased donor referrals at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, SA (from January 2007 to December 2016), utilising a regional donor referral registry. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected and presented as descriptive statistics and temporal trends.

RESULTS
Over the 10-year study period, 861 possible organ donors were referred, with a steady increase in the number of referrals over time. Of the referrals, 514 (59.7%) were eligible for donation of at least one solid organ. Of the 508 families that were approached for consent to donation, 342 declined consent for a variety of reasons, resulting in a consent rate of 32.7%. Ultimately, at least one solid organ was obtained from 159 of the 166 consented donors. Despite the increasing number of possible and eligible donors, a statistically significant decline in consent rate was observed over time (ptrend=0.023). Furthermore, increasing trends in medical (as opposed to trauma) (ptrend<0.001) and extended criteria (as opposed to standard criteria) donor referrals (ptrend<0.001) were observed over the 10-year study period.

CONCLUSIONS
Donor referral patterns have changed over time, with a notable increase in medical and extended criteria donors. Despite the increase in possible and eligible donors, the consent rate has declined. Further qualitative and quantitative research studies are required to understand and address this trend.


The dependence of the magnetization and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) of Ta/CoFeB/MgO/Ta on the thicknesses of the CoFeB layer and the MgO overlayer was investigated by vibrating sample magnetometer. The magnetization is found to be small for samples with a thin MgO overlayer. The PMA strongly depends on the MgO overlayer (hereafter, MgO) thickness and its maximum value of 1.74 erg/cm2 is achieved for a 1.0 nm thick MgO overlayer with annealing at 300 °C. The volume anisotropy of the CoFeB layer is found to be independent of the MgO thickness,which suggest that only the interface anisotropy depends on the MgO thickness. The possible mechanisms that may influence the interface magnetization and anisotropy are discussed herein.


In order to investigate flexural behavior of simply-supported beam using recycled coarse aggregate concrete, the difference of the component normal section stress distortion performance and failure characteristic between the recycled concrete beam and the normal concrete beam is researched. The approaches of testing the flexural behavior of 6 recycled course aggregate beams with the same section size, different replacement ratio of recycled coarse aggregate (0%, 50%, 70% and 100%) and different percentage reinforcement (0.68%, 0.89% and 1.13%). Based on the experimental the following conclusions are draw. There are also 4 phases of elasticity, cracking, yield and ultimate during the stress course of recycled concrete beam component normal section stress; the average strain measured on cross-section obliges to the plane section assumption; the characteristics of stress distortion and destruction of recycled concrete beam are basically the same as those of the normal concrete beam. Under same conditions, the cracking moment and the ultimate flexural carrying capability of recycled concrete beam is almost the same as those of normal concrete beam. The deformation of recycled concrete beam is larger than concrete beam. The conclusion of the paper is that it is still feasible to calculate the ultimate bending moment, cracking moment, and the biggest crack width of recycled concrete beam according to the formula in China Concrete Structure Design Code, but the deflection formula needs to be adjusted.


This paper reviews 46 papers from 1999 to 2009 regarding self-efficacy in Internet-based learning environments, and discusses three major categories of research: (1) learners' Internet self-efficacy, assessing learners' confidence in their skills or knowledge of operating general Internet functions or applications in Internet-based learning; (2) the interplay between learners' general academic self-efficacy and their Internetbased learning, and (3) learners' self-efficacy, particularly in terms of Internet-based learning. In general, students' self-efficacy plays a positive role in their attitude towards and their processes and outcomes derived from Internet-based learning. It was found that for the reviewed studies, a significant amount of research has adopted search tasks to predict students' learning outcomes in Internet-based settings, implying that search tasks may still be considered as the most commonly implemented Internet-based learning activities. All of the studies utilized questionnaires or surveys for assessing students' self-efficacy, and mostly selected students in higher education institutes as their samples. It was also found that relatively few empirical studies were conducted from the theoretical perspectives of the initially proposed concept of self-efficacy.