1. The effect of noradrenaline and the selective alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist, azepexole, on tone and intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) was examined in human isolated subcutaneous resistance arteries. Isolated arteries were mounted on an isometric myograph and loaded with the Ca2+ indicator, fura-2, for simultaneous measurement of force and [Ca2+]i. 2. High potassium solution (KPSS), noradrenaline and azepexole increased [Ca2+]i and contracted subcutaneous arteries in physiological saline. When extracellular Ca2+ was removed and the calcium chelator, BAPTA, added to the physiological saline (PSSo), responses to noradrenaline were transient and reduced, and responses to azepexole were markedly inhibited. 3. Ryanodine, an agent which interferes with Ca2+ release from intracellular stores, had little effect on contractile responses to KPSS, noradrenaline or azepexole in physiological saline. The response to caffeine in physiological saline was inhibited by ryanodine. In PSSo, ryanodine partially inhibited contractile responses to noradrenaline and azepexole, and completely abolished the response to caffeine. 4. Noradrenaline and azepexole both significantly increased maximum force achieved by cumulative addition of Ca2+ to a Ca(2+)-free depolarizing solution and shifted the calculated relationship between [Ca2+]i and force to the left, suggesting these agents increase the sensitivity of the contractile apparatus to [Ca2+]i. 5. (-)-202 791, a dihydropyridine antagonist of voltage-operated calcium channels partially inhibited both the contractile response and the rise in [Ca2+]i induced by azepexole. Pre-treatment of arteries with pertussis toxin inhibited responses to azepexole, but had no significant effect on tone induced by KPSS or noradrenaline. ETYA, an inhibitor of phospholipase A2, lipoxygenase and cyclo-oxygenase, had no effect on azepexole-induced contraction in the presence of N omega nitro-L-arginine methyl ester.6. Azepexole, a selective alpha2-adrenoceptor agonist, contracts human subcutaneous resistance arteries by a mechanism largely dependent on the influx of extracellular Ca2", probably through voltage-operated calcium channels. This action involves a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein, possibly Gi.


Manufacturing industry in Albania has been grown significantly over the last decades due to increased public demand, Government's initiatives, and the investors increased interest in the manufacturing sector. Unfortunately, quality of product is still an important issue for the locally produced goods. Only a few manufacturers are producing high quality products with higher customer satisfaction. Many of them are holding quality certificates but a few has reached a stage of product development where they are able to apply modern quality principles and techniques effectively. Research on product quality improvement shows that meeting customer satisfaction, increasing profits and reducing losses to a minimum level can be attained through the application of modern quality philosophies and principles such as Total Quality Management (TQM). Understanding the tools and techniques of TQM is considered to be significant in order to get useful results. A better understanding is required to investigate the current status of TQM implementation. This research article presents a survey on current quality control practices within the manufacturing industries in Albania to assess the potentiality of implementing TQM technique and principles in order to improve the customer satisfactions and market share.


People-centric sensing with smart phones can be used for large scale sensing of the physical world by leveraging the cameras, microphones, GPSs, accelerometers, and other sensors on the phones. Ranging from manual photo tasks to automated sensing tasks for activity monitoring, any task can be crowd sourced to smart phones to sense data from different locations at reduced cost. However, the sensed data submitted by participants is not always reliable as they can submit false data to earn money without executing the actual task. Therefore, it is important to validate the sensed data. Validating the context of every sensed data point of each participant is not a scalable solution. One alternative is to first validate the location associated with the sensed data points in order to achieve a certain degree of reliability about the sensed data. However, location validation without support from the wireless carriers is difficult. To address this problem, we propose ILR, a scheme in which we Improve the Location Reliability of mobile crowd sensed data with minimal human efforts. In this scheme, we bootstrap the trust in the system by first manually or automatically using image processing techniques validating a small number of photos submitted by participants. Based on these validations, the location of these photos is assumed to be trusted. Second, we extend this location trust to co-located sensed data points found in the Bluetooth range of the devices that provided the validated photos. This transitive trust is extended until all the co-located tasks are trusted or no new data points are found. In addition, the scheme also helps to detect false location claims associated with sensed data. We applied ILR on data collected from our McSense prototype deployed on Android phones used by students on our campus and detected a significant percentage of the malicious users. Simulation results demonstrate that ILR works well at various densities and helps detect the false location claims based on a minimal numher of validations.


The main goal of this paper is to propose a dynamic mapping for knowledge and ignorance mobilization in science research and innovation. An underlying argument is that 'knowledge mobilization' science policy agendas in countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom fail to capture a critical element of science and innovation: ignorance mobilization. The latter draws attention to dynamics upstream of knowledge in science research and innovation. Although perhaps less visible, there is ample evidence that researchers value, actively produce, and thereby mobilize ignorance. For example, scientists and policymakers routinely mobilize knowledge gaps (cf. ignorance) in the process of establishing and securing research funding to argue the relevance of a scientific paper or a presentation, and to launch new research projects. Ignorance here is non-pejorative and by and large points to the borders and the limits of scientific knowing – what is known to be unknown. In addition, processes leading to the intentional or unintentional consideration or bracketing out of what is known to be unknown are intertwined with, yet remain distinct from, knowledge mobilization dynamics. The concepts of knowledge mobilization and of ignorance mobilization, respectively, are understood to be the use of knowledge or ignorance towards the achievement of goals. The value of this paper lies in its conceptualization of the mobilization of knowledge as related to the mobilization of ignorance within a complex, dynamic and symbiotic relationship in science research and innovation: it takes two to tango.


Chemistry
There are, broadly speaking, two ways to drive electric current. One is to separate the components of a chemical reaction so that the electrons travel separately from the ions; this is the working principle of a battery and yields direct current (dc). The other method is to rotate a wire loop through a magnetic field, which generates alternating current (ac). For the most part, when the process is inverted to drive chemistry via electricity, a dc approach is the most straightforward to implement, because it essentially runs a battery in reverse. However, ac-mediated chemistry can sometimes prove advantageous, as Lee et al. demonstrate in an exploratory small-scale electrolytic synthesis of phenol from benzene. The authors set up their cell so that benzene oxidation occurred at both the anode and the cathode, propelled in the former case by preliminary water oxidation and in the latter by oxygen reduction. Coupling vanadium oxide electrode catalysts with an indium-doped tin diphosphate solid electrolyte, they examined each half reaction in turn and found evidence for distinct mechanisms based on differences in temperature and potential dependences and Raman spectroscopic data. An alternating frequency of 30 Hz afforded optimal selectivity for the phenol product overall.

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 51 , 10.1002/anie.201202159 (2012).


Web service composition (WSC) is the task of combining a chain of connected single services together to create a more complex and value-added composite service. Quality of service (QoS) has been mostly applied to represent nonfunctional properties of web services and differentiate those with the same functionality. Many research has been done on QoS-aware service composition, as it significantly affects the quality of a composite service. However, existing methods are restricted to predefined workflows, which can incur a couple of limitations, including the lack of guarantee for the optimality on overall QoS and for the completeness of finding a composite service solution. In this paper, instead of predefining a workflow model for service composition, we propose a novel planning-based approach that can automatically convert a QoS-aware composition task to a planning problem with temporal and numerical features. Furthermore, we use state-of-the-art planners, including an existing one and a self-developed one, to handle complex temporal planning problems with logical reasoning and numerical optimization. Our approach can find a composite service graph with the optimal overall QoS value while satisfying multiple global QoS constraints. We implement a prototype system and conduct extensive experiments on large web service repositories. The experimental results show that our proposed approach largely outperforms existing ones in terms of solution quality and is efficient enough for practical deployment.


The frequency content of the seismic data may reveal some additional information to the interpreter. The unique form of the frequency analysis (S-transform) described in this paper allows us to display 2D seismic data in the form of dip and spectral maps. The Stransform has been successfully applied to the Pikes Peak seismic data to validate the position of the anomaly earlier discovered on the inverted section. The dip maps were used to trace the geological structure of the surveyed area, the spectral maps revealed a low-frequency anomaly just below the productive zone. The frequency analysis combined with conventional interpretation methods can lead to a greater understanding of data and more accuracy in reservoir prediction.


Asian Americans have made significant contributions to American history, society, and culture. This book presents key events in the Asian American experience through 25 well-developed, accessible essays; detailed timelines; biographies of notable figures; excerpts of primary source documents; and sidebars and images that provide narrative and visual information on high-interest topics. Arranged chronologically, the 25 essays showcase the ways in which Asian Americans have contributed to U.S. history and culture and bear witness to their struggles, activism, and accomplishments.
 The book offers a unique look at the Asian American experience, from the California Gold Rush in the mid-nineteenth century to the 2017 travel ban. Highlighting events with national and international significance, such as the Central Pacific Railroad Construction, Korean War, and 9/11, it documents the Asian American experience and demonstrates Asian Americans' impact on American life.


Building on recent advances in the detection of appearance edges from multiple local cues, we present an approach for detecting occlusion boundaries which also incorporates local motion information. We argue that these boundaries have physical significance which makes them important for many high-level vision tasks and that motion offers a unique, often critical source of additional information for detecting them. We provide a new dataset of natural image sequences with labeled occlusion boundaries, on which we learn a classifier that leverages appearance cues along with motion estimates from either side of an edge. We demonstrate improved performance for pixelwise differentiation of occlusion boundaries from non-occluding edges by combining these weak local cues, as compared to using them separately. The results are suitable as improved input to subsequent midor high-level reasoning methods.


Why do we divide our world into contraries? Why do we perceive and interpret so many of life's contraries as mutually exclusive, either/or dichotomies such as individual~collective, self~other, body~mind, nature~nurture, cooperation~competition? Throughout history, many have recognized that truth may well lie in between such polar opposites. In The Complementary Nature, Scott Kelso and David Engstrom contend that ubiquitous contraries are complementary and propose a comprehensive, empirically based scientific theory of how the polarized world and the world in between can be reconciled. They nominate the tilde, or squiggle (~), as the symbolic punctuation for reconciled complementary pairs. Experiments show that the human brain is capable of displaying two apparently contradictory, mutually exclusive behaviors at the same time. Coordination dynamics -- a mathematically expressed theory that reconciles the scientific language of "states" with the novel dynamical language of "tendencies" -- attests to the complementary nature inherent in human brains and behavior. It may explain, Kelso and Engstrom argue, why we (and nature) appear to partition things, events, and ideas into pairs. Kelso and Engstrom's account is not just metaphorical; the reconciliations they describe are grounded in the principles and mathematical language of the theory of coordination dynamics. The Complementary Nature provides a clear-cut methodology for this evolving theory of brain and behavior that can also be applied to areas and developments outside the neurosciences, hence aiding reconciliations within and between disparate fields.


We present a critical discussion of quantum corrections, renormalisation, and the computation of the beta functions and the effective potential in Higgs inflation. In contrast with claims in the literature, we find no evidence for a disagreement between the Jordan and Einstein frames, even at the quantum level. For clarity of discussion we concentrate on the case of a real scalar Higgs. We first review the classical calculation and then discuss the back reaction of gravity. We compute the beta functions for the Higgs quartic coupling and non-minimal coupling constant. Here, the mid-field regime is non-renormalisable, but we are able to give an upper bound on the 1-loop corrections to the effective potential. We show that, in computing the effective potential, the Jordan and Einstein frames are compatible if all mass scales are transformed between the two frames. As such, it is consistent to take a constant cutoff in either the Jordan or Einstein frame, and both prescriptions yield the same result for the effective potential. Our results are extended to the case of a complex scalar Higgs.


At the Advanced Photon Source (APS), a state-of-the-art synchrotron radiation facility at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), high-precision optical positioning systems are needed to conduct a wide range of experiments using the high-brilliance X-ray beam. Precision may be compromised by low-level, lowfrequency vibrations from flow-structure interactions in the cooling systems and from facility-based disturbances propagating through the floor. To predict the vibratory response of the positioning systems, a linearized multibody formulation has been developed. It has been applied to specific example cases—an optical table and a mirror support system—used at the experimental stations of the APS. Comparisons of resonant frequency and mode shape predictions based on the theoretical formulation with experimental measurements illustrate the crucial importance of properly modeling the kinematic joints and components that comprise these multibody structures. Improved experimental and theoretical methods have been introduced to estimate their dynamic properties. The results obtained by theory compare well with experimental findings. The proposed methodology is precise and generic in predicting the coupled multidimensional, multi-degree-of-freedom vibratory motion of the positioning systems for the given positioning configurations. It is easily adaptable to numerous systems at the APS and similar facilities.


The radial velocity technique is currently used to classify transiting objects. While capable of identifying grazing binary eclipses, this technique cannot reliably identify blends, a chance overlap of a faint background eclipsing binary with an ordinary foreground star. Blends generally have no observable radial velocity shifts, as the foreground star is brighter by several magnitudes and therefore dominates the spectrum, but their combined light can produce events that closely resemble those produced by transiting exoplanets. The radial velocity technique takes advantage of the mass difference between planets and stars to classify exoplanet candidates. However, the existence of blends renders this difference an unreliable discriminator. Another difference must therefore be utilized for this classification - the physical size of the transiting body. Due to the dependence of limb darkening on color, planets and stars produce subtly different transit shapes. These differences can be relatively weak, little more than 1/10th the transit depth. However, the presence of even small color differences between the individual components of the blend increases this difference. This paper shows that this color difference is capable of discriminating between exoplanets and blends reliably, theoretically capable of classifying even terrestrial-class transits, unlike the radial velocity technique.


Abstract A lot of different concepts have been utilised to elucidate diverse aspects of archaeological practices and knowledge production. This article describes how the notion of choreography can complement the existing repertoire of concepts and be used to render visible the otherwise difficult to grasp physical and mental movements that make up archaeological work as a practical and scholarly exercise. The conceptual discussion in the article uses vignettes drawn from an observation study of an archaeological teaching excavation in Scandinavia to illustrate how the concepts of choreography, choreographing, and choreographer can be used to inquire into archaeological work and data production. In addition to how explicating physical, temporal, and ontological choreographies of archaeological work can help to understand how it unfolds, the present article suggests that a better understanding of the epistemic choreographies of archaeological, scientific, and scholarly work can help to unpack and describe its inputs and outputs, the data it produces, what the work achieves, and how it is made in space and time.


Tracking human body poses in monocular video has many important applications. The problem is challenging in realistic scenes due to background clutter, variation in human appearance and self-occlusion. The complexity of pose tracking is further increased when there are multiple people whose bodies may inter-occlude. We proposed a three-stage approach with multi-level state representation that enables a hierarchical estimation of 3D body poses. Our method addresses various issues including automatic initialization, data association, self and inter-occlusion. At the first stage, humans are tracked as foreground blobs and their positions and sizes are coarsely estimated. In the second stage, parts such as face, shoulders and limbs are detected using various cues and the results are combined by a grid-based belief propagation algorithm to infer 2D joint positions. The derived belief maps are used as proposal functions in the third stage to infer the 3D pose using data-driven Markov chain Monte Carlo. Experimental results on several realistic indoor video sequences show that the method is able to track multiple persons during complex movement including sitting and turning movements with self and inter-occlusion.


This project examines how two recent controversial Canadian Supreme Court decisions, Bedford and PHS Community Services, combined with their legislative responses, demonstrate competing interpretations of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms between the legislative and judicial branches of the state. Using Bonnie Honig's account of agonism, this paper creates a contestation-centred approach that emphasizes disagreement between these branches to illustrate how, despite what the judicial dialogue literature insists, a final interpretation of the Charter is not possible. The remainder of this project demonstrates how the legislature's responses to these cases could have been more democratic by emphasizing the contestation taking place between it and the judiciary over the interpretation of the Charter. Specifically, it argues that the contestation in these instances could have been made more accessible by the legislature justifying its decision to resist the judiciary's interpretations of the Charter, or, in exceptional circumstances, invoking the notwithstanding clause.


With volumetric data from wide field fluorescence microscopy, many emerging questions in biological and biomedical research are being investigated. Data can be recorded with high temporal resolution while the specimen is only exposed to a low amount of photo toxicity. These advantages come at the cost of strong recording blur caused by the infinitely extended point spread function (PSF). For wide field microscopy, its magnitude only decays with the square of the distance to the focal point and consists of an airy bessel pattern which is intricate to describe in the spatial domain. However, the Fourier transform of the incoherent PSF (denoted as Optical Transfer Function (OTF)) is well localized and smooth. In this paper, we present a blind deconvolution method that improves results of state-of-the-art deconvolution methods on wide field data by exploiting the properties of the wide field OTF.


Run up, overtopping are the main reasons that damage and unstabilize the coastal and basin protective structures. So, overtopping wave is an inevitable load during coastal structures designing process, particularly at present very complicated real situation of global sea level rise and climate change. Based on the early researches, allowable mean overtopping wave discharges play an important roll in determining breakwaters' dimension such as top elevation, slope protective alternatives in the port side and so on. The more permissible average overtopping wave discharges, the lower breakwater top elevation needed. Moreover, the weight of armor blocks used on a seaside slope can be reduced. However, the port side slope needs to be properly protected against the impact of overtopping wave. Thus, researching the application of new armored unit blocks with high overtopping wave reduction capability that is corresponsive to typhoon-generated wave conditions is totally in need. Rakuna IV is one of the newly developed wave-dissipating blocks invented by Nikken Kogaku (Japan) in 2007, and the stability of this block for rubble mound breakwaters has been investigated under non-wave overtopping conditions by many researchers in Japan, Korea, China, and Vietnam. To be more exhaustive in the design of breakwaters with this kind of block, this study carried out experimental research on wave overtopping performance of RAKUNA-IV (overtopping reduction by roughness factor γr) in wave flume at Ha Noi Water Resources University. Based on the physical model tests' results, the author has determined the overtopping wave reduction coefficient γr of Rakuna IV block and its relationship with Irribaren number xm-1,0.


Purpose
The purpose of this study is to compare food consumption and dietary diversity in smallholder cassava value chain households (CVCHs) and non-cassava value chain households (non-CVCHs).

Design/methodology/approach
A total of 572 rural households were selected using multi-stage sampling from Oyo and Kwara states, Southwest Nigeria. Socio-demographic, 24 h dietary recall and food frequency questionnaires were used to collect data. Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) and the Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women of Reproductive Age (MDD-W) were measured.

Findings
The mean age of respondents was 49.1 ± 17.3 years, 68.3 per cent were female, household sizes ranged from 2-20 with an average of 8 members. Most households consumed monotonous staple-based diets mainly from roots and tubers, cereals and legumes. There was no significant difference in HDDS (6.70 ± 1.37 and 6.77 ± 1.12; p = 0.12) and MDD-W (4.78 ± 1.12 and 4.95 ± 1.16; p = 0.09) for CVCH and non-CVCH respectively. About one-third of all women did not achieve the MDD-W score required for micronutrient adequacy, with the main dietary gap being vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables.

Practical implications
The findings suggest that there was no influence of households' involvement in cassava value chain activities on their pattern of food consumption and dietary diversity.

Originality/value
While cassava value chain activities have potential for improved livelihoods among its actors, a nutrition-sensitive approach needs to be incorporated to translate this into their improved food consumption, dietary diversity and nutritional (particularly micronutrient) status.


This paper presents a novel method for the analysis and implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) inspired collaborative supply chain management (SCM) processes. The evolving nature of supply networks and the underlying information systems drives the application of AI in this context. Within information systems research, design-science approaches have become more relevant in recent years while systems thinking is proven to be a useful method for the analysis of complex issues. The paper thus aims to present a novel approach for the analysis and optimization of collaborative supply networks. For this purpose, the topicality of and potential gains from the integration of AI for supply chain collaboration as well as the shared characteristics of systems thinking and design-science research are discussed. The paper contributes to the academic debate on approaches towards future SCM and collaboration as the methodological and research theoretical focus consolidates systems thinking and design-science research and is transferable to other application areas with dynamic processes. Furthermore, this paper presents a valuable contribution to supply chain processes in organizations of all sectors by providing a macro level perspective on the topic of collaborative SCM. A systemic viewpoint enables better understanding and incorporation of all aspects of sustainability and thus facilitates the development and optimization of future digital, collaborative and resilient SCM and the underlying information systems through the application of AI.


Abstract: Androgens are C‐19 steroids secreted primarily from the testes and adrenals that play a critical role in reproduction. Reproductive functions of androgens are mediated through coordination of diverse physiological processes ranging from brain functions to specific cell proliferation and apoptosis. At the molecular level, most of these regulatory influences are exerted by altered expression of appropriate genes by the androgen receptor (AR), a member of the nuclear receptor (NR) superfamily. The unliganded AR is a cytoplasmic protein and, upon ligand binding, it translocates into the nucleus. Thereafter, in conjunction with other transcription factors and coactivators, the AR influences transcription of target genes through a multistep process that includes its clustering in a subnuclear compartment. Here, we describe the genomic organization of the AR, the role of individual structural domains in specific AR function, and the influence of agonistic/antagonistic ligands in the intracellular movement of the receptor. We also show that the AR is capable of undergoing multiple rounds of nucleocytoplasmic recycling after ligand binding and dissociation. Xenobiotic ligands, considered as selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs), can modulate AR activity by inhibiting either its nuclear translocation or its subnuclear clustering and subsequent transactivation function.


Abstract Sedimentary basins throughout the world are thick piles of lithified sediments that, in many cases, are the hosts for fossil fuel resources. They may become even more important in the future if they are used for the storage of anthropogenic carbon dioxide. The efficiency of CO2 geological storage is determined by the structure of the sedimentary basins, which have an intricate plumbing system defined by the location of high and low permeability strata that control the flow of fluids throughout the basin and define 'hydrogeological' traps. The most secure type of hydrogeological trapping is found in 'stratigraphic' and 'structural' traps in oil and gas reservoirs that have held oil and gas for millions of years. Another form of hydrogeological trapping is 'hydrodynamic' trapping which has been recognized in saline aquifers of sedimentary basins that have extremely slow flow rates. A volume of carbon dioxide injected into a deep hydrodynamic trap may take millions of years to travel by buoyancy forces updip to reach the surface before it leaks back into the atmosphere. Moreover, as the carbon dioxide migrates towards the surface, it dissolves in the surrounding brine ('solubility' trapping) and may react geochemically with rock minerals to become permanently trapped in the sedimentary basin by 'ionic' or 'mineral' trapping. The efficiency of the CO2 geological storage in sedimentary basins depends on many factors, among the most important being CO2 buoyancy, formation water density, lithological heterogeneity and mineralogy. A risk analysis must be completed for each site chosen for the geological storage of CO2 to evaluate the trapping security.


This paper presents results from a detailed assessment of the psycho‐social adaptation of a group of adult women with Turner syndrome. Thirty subjects, 21 to 48 years of age, participated in an evaluation of social and psychiatric status. The evaluation included a semi‐structured interview designed to assess current social functioning and past psychiatric and social history. Subjects completed two self‐report questionnaires as well: the Tennessee Self‐Concept Scale and the Carroll Rating Scale for Depression. The results reveal a significant subgroup of subjects reporting major psychiatric difficulties and endorsing a considerably impaired sense of self‐esteem. These women presented as very dissatisfied with themselves and their lives. These findings are not consistent with previous reports in which women with Turner syndrome have been described as having an unusually high tolerance for stress and being emotionally inert.


The estimation of ocean environmental properties by means of the inversion of acoustic signals has in several occasions been performed using a single vertical array of acoustic receivers, with a towed acoustic source as an attempt to ensure a rapid spatial coverage of the area of interest, as only a single ocean transect is "seen" at each time. Ideally, one would like to obtain an instantaneous picture of the complete area (volume) under observation. However, the resulting acoustic observations, hence environmental estimates, are not simultaneous in time. Using multiple acoustic receiving arrays appears to be a natural step towards both increasing the spatial coverage, and obtaining simultaneous environmental estimates of different ocean transects. It also gives a higher chance to capture spatial transient features, as for example solitons. Using multiple receiver arrays represents the addition of a new spatial dimension at the receiving end and opens up the number of possibilities to a Nx2D or full 3D view of the ocean. Taking support on the data set of the RADAR'07 experiment (July 9 ‐ 16, 2007) where data was simultaneously collected on three vertical arrays, this paper explores space coherent processing of the several receiving arrays and Nx2D or 3D environmental constrained water coloumn matched‐field inversion.


Because HEK-293 cells are widely used for the functional expression of channels, exchangers and transporters involved in Ca(2+) homoeostasis, the properties of intracellular Ca(2+) stores and the methods used for measuring intracellular Ca(2+) release in HEK-293 cells were evaluated. Ca(2+) imaging was used to show caffeine-, carbachol- and thapsigargin-induced Ca(2+) release in HEK-293 cells transfected with ryanodine receptor (RyR) cDNA, but only carbachol- and thapsigargin-induced Ca(2+) release in untransfected HEK-293 cells. Intracellular Ca(2+) release in untransfected HEK-293 cells was also observed if medium changes were performed by aspirating and replacing fresh medium (stop-flow), but not if medium changes were performed by a continuous over-flow procedure. Stop-flow medium-change-induced Ca(2+) release in HEK-293 cells was independent of caffeine and ryanodine, demonstrating that it did not occur through RyR channels. Consistent with these observations was the observation that the level of expression of endogenous RyR proteins was below the limits of detection by Western blotting or [(3)H]ryanodine binding. Thus the level of endogenous expression of RyR is so low in HEK-293 cells as to provide a negligible background in relation to functional analysis of recombinant RyR molecules. These results are inconsistent with those of Querfurth et al. [Querfurth, Haughey, Greenway, Yacono, Golan and Geiger (1998) Biochem. J. 334, 79-86], who reported higher levels of endogenous RyR expression in untransfected HEK-293 cells.


Immune activity is variable in many wild animals, despite presumed strong selection against immune incompetence. Much variation may be due to changes in prevalence and abundance of pathogens (and/or their vectors) in time and space, but the costs of immune defenses themselves may also be important. Induction of immune activity often increases energy and protein expenditure, sometimes to the point of compromising fitness. Whether immune defenses are expensive to maintain once they are generated, however, is less well appreciated. If so, organisms would face persistent challenges of allocating resources between immunity and other expensive physiological processes, which would mandate trade‐offs. Mild food restriction (70% ad lib. diet) reduces secondary antibody responses in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), functionally representing a cost of immune memory. In this study, we asked whether compromised immune memory was mediated by a decrease in size of the B cell population responsible for producing antibodies (i.e., spleen‐derived B lymphocytes producing immunoglobulin G [IgG]). Two weeks of food restriction reduced total splenocytes, total splenic B lymphocytes (B220+ cells), and splenic B lymphocytes producing IgG (B220+/IgG+ cells) but did not affect body mass or two circulating antibody subclasses (IgG1 and IgG2a) in deer mice. These results further indicate that maintenance of immune memory is expensive and may be subject to trade‐offs with other physiological processes.


The immature embryos of wheat cultivars Liaochun10, Tiechun1 and Fengqiang3 were bombarded with gold particles coated with pti5-vp16 by gene gun and disease resistant regenerated plants were obtained. In order to confirm that the plants are genuine transformed ones, a series of molecular tests were conducted. Firstly, transient expression test on embryos two days after bombardment was done. There were many obvious blue spots produced on the surface of bombarded embryos after GUS staining, with the highest blue spot number being 85 on one embryo. Secondly, PCR test was performed with DNA from the regenerated plants obtained after double selection with ppt. 6 plants were found PCR test positive. At last, further verification analysis using dot hybridization and southern blotting techniques was carried out on those PCR positive plants and the strong hybridization signals appeared as expected. All the above tests were uniformly indicated that the disease resistant regenerated plants were true transgenic plants. When inoculated with Blumeria graminis , transgenic wheat plants of PCR positive results were mostly resistant(R) after 7 days, and resistant, moderate resistant(MR), moderate susceptible(MS) at 14 days respectively. The disease severity of them was distinctively lighter than that of control.


The use of metal organic frameworks as hard templates for the preparation of heterogeneous catalysts is thoroughly reviewed. In this critical article, the main factors to consider when using a MOF as a sacrificial template are first discussed. Then, the existing literature on the topic is reviewed, classifying the different examples according to the MOF metal. Finally, the main advantages, limitations and perspectives of the so-called MOF mediated synthesis are outlined.


Polish lawyers in the period of Second Republic (1918–1939) were interested in changes of Soviet law, its theoretical grounds and practice. They were trying to analyze the Soviet law on comparative basis. From the beginning of 1920 the big stream of individual and group (organized) research has started. Such outstanding Polish lawyers as: Leopold Caro, Ignacy Czuma, Konstanty Grzybowski, Szymon Rundstein and Wiktor Sukiennicki can be regarded as pioneers in research on this field. Each of them represented his own method of research, due to differences in legal education, scientific interests or in philosophy of life. However, their conclusions were similar with those coming from modern sovietologists.


In recent years, new types of polymer gels have emerged, which have a well-controlled network structure and few topological defects. These so-called near-ideal polymer networks constitute a good model system to revisit the long-standing problem of structure–property relationships in polymer networks, as well as a promising platform for the development of polymer gels with outstanding mechanical properties. In this study, we investigate the relative contributions of network defects (dangling chains and second-order loops) on the stress–stretch response of near-ideal polymer networks using a computational discrete network model. We identify the average chain prestretch as a key parameter to capture the effect of network topology on the elastic modulus and maximum extensibility. Proper account of the chain prestretch further leads to scaling relations for the elastic properties in terms of topology parameters that differ from classical estimates of rubber elasticity theory. Stress–stretch curves calculated using the discrete network model are also compared to semi-analytical estimates.


The SMARCA3 gene was recently found to be a common target for methylation in colon and gastric cancer, suggesting it has possible tumor suppressor activity. To determine whether SMARCA3 plays a role in colorectal and/or gastric cancer predisposition, a mutation screening of the gene was performed in affected index cases from 20 Swedish families with colorectal and/or gastric cancer. Notably, one family included in the screening exhibited suggestive linkage to the region on chromosome 3q that harbors the SMARCA3 gene. In addition to known polymorphisms, nine novel variants-none of them clearly pathogenic-were detected. Seven of these variants were further tested in an additional 287 patients with a family history of the disease, but their frequency was found to not be significantly different from that observed in the controls. In conclusion, although a very low effect of some variants could not be excluded, it seems that the SMARCA3 gene does not play an important role in the predisposition to colorectal and gastric cancer.


We report on the analysis of 34 years of photometric observations of the pulsating helium atmosphere white dwarf GD358. The complete data set includes archival data from 1982 to 2006, and 1195.2 hr of new observations from 2007 to 2016. From this data set, we extract 15 frequencies representing g-mode pulsation modes, adding 4 modes to the 11 modes known previously. We present evidence that these 15 modes are ℓ = 1 modes, 13 of which belong to a consecutive sequence in radial overtone k. We perform a detailed asteroseismic analysis using models that include parameterized, complex, carbon and oxygen core composition profiles to fit the periods. Recent spectroscopic analyses place GD358 near the red edge of the DBV instability strip, at 24,000 ± 500 K and a of 7.8 ± 0.08 dex. The surface gravity translates to a mass range of 0.455–0.540 . Our best-fit model has a temperature of 23,650 K and a mass of 0.5706 . That is slightly more massive than what is suggested by the most recent spectroscopy. We find a pure helium layer mass of 10−5.50, consistent with the result of previous studies and the outward diffusion of helium over time.


Abstract Chronicles from Majnun until Layla is a film project structured in three stages: 1.) The Museum of Modern Iranian History (2011–2013), 2.) Layla and Majnun (in preparation), and 3.) The Film (in preparation). Each stage bears its own approach, format, and mode of presentation. The first two stages are conceived as preparation for the third and final stage: the merging moment, which will be in the form of a feature-length, hybrid fiction/documentary film. The film depicts a couple, lovers, visiting a virtual museum of modern Iranian history. The lovers appear both as themselves and as "Layla and Majnun," characters adapted from a classical Middle Eastern love tale. As they walk the museum, the couple engages in dialogue about their individual and collective stories, memories, dreams, rages, and desires. The lovers' affairs and conversations interact with the representations of the major historical moments of Iran being documented in the museum. In Stage 1, through the museum's architectural design and references to an official Iranian narrative taken from a high-school textbook, the various historical periods of Iran get transformed into Kairos (the Now), contradicting Chronos and scientific and analytical historiography.


tions and gives a clear account of them and their indications. The relevance of skin testing for atopy and tuberculosis are useful reviews and junior doctors are frequently confused as to their usefulness. The major section of the book deals with common problems and sensibly deals with both specific illnesses and presenting problems such as pleural effusion. Treatment sections are precise and up to date but because of difficulties with some aspects of treatment, the final section deals with a few specific treatment problems like oxygen therapy and drug nebulisation. The question and answer format means the book contains a large quantity of data and is therefore not always that easy to read, but is always informative and well produced with an almost complete absence of illustrations, possibly detracting from the radiological sections where line drawings rather than the expensive and difficult to produce X-rays could have helped the text. Despite this reservation, the authors have produced an excellent book for training hospital doctors in chest disease.


Pulsars are fast spinning neutron stars in the galaxy. Pulsars are the result of imploding stars where the matter of the core is condensed into a super dense neutron star. Charged particles are accelerated at it's magnetic poles causing radio beams. Discovered pulsars spin with a frequency between 0.12Hz and 642Hz and causes their radio beams to periodically hit the Earth. These periodic signals are highly stable over time and are therefore suitable for use as a clock signal. It is therefore theoretically possible to utilize these signals for navigation. This is researched in the PulsarPlane project\cite{pulsarPlane}. Signal powers from pulsars are very low, this causes the need for a large receiver aperture and a large amount of signal processing. When the radio waves from the pulsar pass through interstellar medium they get distorted and dispersed. For high bandwidths this dispersion is quite substantial. It is normally required to dedisperse the signal before detection. However if the dispersed pulse shape is known, a matched filtering technique could be used to still detect the pulsar in a noisy time series. This paper will show the effect of dispersion on the pulsar signal at the PulsarPlane's measurement bandwidth of 400MHz. Dispersion decreases the energy contained in the signal causing the signal-to-noise ratio to decrease. By making use of matched filtering and folding the original dispersed pulsar signal can be recovered when the dispersion is low enough. It will be shown that dispersion can make some pulsars undetectable.


A potential strategy to increase the efficacy of topotecan to treat central nervous system (CNS) malignancies is modulation of the activity of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters at the blood-brain and blood-cerebrospinal fluid barriers to enhance topotecan CNS penetration. This study focused on topotecan penetration into the brain extracellular fluid (ECF) and ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in a mouse model and the effect of modulation of ABC transporters at the blood-brain and blood-cerebrospinal fluid barriers by a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (gefitinib). After 4 and 8 mg/kg topotecan i.v., the brain ECF to plasma AUC ratio of unbound topotecan lactone was 0.21 +/- 0.04 and 0.61 +/- 0.16, respectively; the ventricular CSF to plasma AUC ratio was 1.18 +/- 0.10 and 1.30 +/- 0.13, respectively. To study the effect of gefitinib on topotecan CNS penetration, 200 mg/kg gefitinib was administered orally 1 hour before 4 mg/kg topotecan i.v. The brain ECF to plasma AUC ratio of unbound topotecan lactone increased by 1.6-fold to 0.35 +/- 0.04, which was significantly different from the ratio without gefitinib (P < 0.05). The ventricular CSF to plasma AUC ratio significantly decreased to 0.98 +/- 0.05 (P < 0.05). Breast cancer resistance protein 1 (Bcrp1), an efficient topotecan transporter, was detected at the apical aspect of the choroid plexus in FVB mice. In conclusion, topotecan brain ECF penetration was lower compared with ventricular CSF penetration. Gefitinib increased topotecan brain ECF penetration but decreased the ventricular CSF penetration. These results are consistent with the possibility that expression of Bcrp1 and P-glycoprotein at the apical side of the choroid plexus facilitates an influx transport mechanism across the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier, resulting in high topotecan CSF penetration.


ABSTRACT We explore the effectiveness of spectrographs cross-correlation (SPCC) combined with principal coordinates (PCO) analysis as a method for sound comparison. We do this using synthetic sounds modeled after the individually-distinctive, harmonically-rich contact calls of wild orange-fronted conures Aratinga canicularis. Calls with acoustic properties similar to Aratinga contact calls are common in other taxa including non-oscine birds, primates and cetaceans. We generated signals with known variations in time-frequency pattern, duration, noise level, harmonic content and harmonic weighting, and applied SPCC-PCO analysis to obtain an ordering of sounds in n-dimensional space. We find that shared time-frequency patterns dominate the positioning of sounds in PCO space. This was true despite high variability in signal-to-noise ratio (from −60 to +40 dB) and duration (150–275 ms). Furthermore, inclusion of naturally-weighted harmonics (versus fundamentals only) enhances, rather than obscures, the separation of call types. We conclude that SPCC-PCO is an effective method for sorting sounds based on overall time-frequency pattern. In addition, the resulting PCO measures can be used in statistical tests of association with extrinsic variables. The method is thus an effective starting point for examining most bioacoustic hypotheses.


THE OCULAR effects of a new anticholinesterase chemical, tetraethyl pyrophosphate, have been investigated in several subjects with normal eyes and in several patients with glaucomatous eyes. Although the number of observations is small, the information obtained appears to be adequate for a qualitative characterization of the actions of this compound. A more quantitative experimental comparison of tetraethyl pyrophosphate with physostigmine and di-isopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) and a clinical comparison with di-isopropyl fluorophosphate in glaucomatous and in atropinized eyes are to be reported subsequently.1 Tetraethyl pyrophosphate is a colorless, water-soluble and lipidsoluble, hygroscopic liquid of low volatility. It is the principal active ingredient of a more complex substance, commercial hexaethyl tetraphosphate (tri-diethyl phosphophosphate), which, because of strong nicotine-like action, was used in Germany during the war as an insecticide, substituting for natural nicotine, under the name of ``bladan.''2Tetraethyl pyrophosphate is being used increasingly in this country for the same


Autotransporter (AT) proteins provide a diverse array of important virulence functions to Gram‐negative bacterial pathogens, and have also been adapted for protein surface display applications. The 'autotransporter' moniker refers to early models that depicted these proteins facilitating their own translocation across the bacterial outer membrane. Although translocation is less autonomous than originally proposed, AT protein segments upstream of the C‐terminal transmembrane β‐barrel have nevertheless consistently been found to contribute to efficient translocation and/or folding of the N‐terminal virulence region (the 'passenger'). However, defining the precise secretion functions of these AT regions has been complicated by the use of multiple overlapping and ambiguous terms to define AT sequence, structural, and functional features, including 'autochaperone', 'linker' and 'junction'. Moreover, the precise definitions and boundaries of these features vary among ATs and even among research groups, leading to an overall murky picture of the contributions of specific features to translocation. Here we propose a unified, unambiguous nomenclature for AT structural, functional and conserved sequence features, based on explicit criteria. Applied to 16 well‐studied AT proteins, this nomenclature reveals new commonalities for translocation but also highlights that the autochaperone function is less closely associated with a conserved sequence element than previously believed.


To evaluate the cultivar variation in photosynthetic rate (Pn) of mango, observations were taken in 25 cultivars representing different agro-climatic region of the country at two stages i.e. full bloom (March) and developed fruit stage (May). Seven cultivars, Papatio, Lucknow Safeda, Neelam, Mulgoa, Khas-ul-khas, Himsagar and Nisar Pasand showed the higher Pn rate at both the stages, while nine genotypes, Kishan Bhog, Langra, Chausa, Kesar, Fazri, Vanraj, Fer- nandin, Dashehari and Mallika showed medium Pn rate at both the stages. Specific leaf weight (SLW), total sugar and re- ducing sugar contents in leaves were also estimated in five commercially grown mango varieties, viz., Dashehari, Langra, Chausa, Amrapali and Mallika during the day at three times, 7:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. at flower bud differentia- tion (November) and full bloom (March) stage to evaluate the cultivar variation in photosynthate production and their translocation efficiency. Total sugar and reducing sugar contents were generally low during November, while SLW was observed at lower level in March in all the cultivars, indicated better photosynthate movement from leaves in March and SLW level increased likewise sugar content from morning to noon and decreased gradually till evening. Higher photosyn- thates production and greater translocation was observed in Chausa and Langra and its maximum level was recorded dur- ing full bloom stage (March). The study brings out the importance of SLW for screening the genetic stocks of mango cul- tivars with regard to photosynthetic rate and translocation of photosynthates from leaves to other plant parts.


In modern, neo‐liberal societies like Denmark, social welfare and medical treatment are provided to individuals who 'take ownership' of their problems. Thus, sickness benefits are given to people who suffer from their 'own illnesses,' not to people with diffuse, chronic pains 'of the whole person.' This article presents findings from a qualitative research project into how power relates to identity negotiations among social workers and medical doctors who are dealing with patients who lack a bio‐medical identity. The analysis shows that social workers and doctors have swapped roles in their negotiation with patients and that the new roles can be related to structural elements such as the law and discursively produced understandings of what it is to be a 'patient.'


Although non-unions in the upper limb are rare different treatment options of this challenging situation are still affected with up to 20% of failure rate due to current literature. Risk factors for delayed and non-union of fractures are mainly the size of the fracture gap and bone loss of open fractures or in primary surgery followed by other relevant internal and external factors. In the upper limb non-unions of long bones are described with up to 30% after operative intervention. Especially in the upper limb range of motion is limited in non-union cases and disables adjacent joints like the shoulder, elbow and wrist hence reducing the total activity level of affected patients. Beside careful investigation of the causes leading to the non-union a comprehensive treatment plan should be defined to achieve successful results. Treatment can be non-operative in several, selected cases, but in the majority of cases revision surgery is necessary to achieve osseous healing.Our own experience showed that non-union in the upper limb are rare and account for only 1.7% of all surgical managed upper limb fractures. Non-union of upper limb fractures occur most frequently in clavicle fractures followed by humeral fractures. Atrophic non-union is the most frequent reason for osseous non-union (57%) and osseous healing after revision surgery in non-unions is completed after a mean of 6.45 months.This article will give a brief overview of the genesis, clinical evaluation, treatment options and recommendations in upper limb non-unions according to the current literature.


We consider the minimum-time path-planning problem for a small aircraft flying horizontally in the presence of obstacles and regionally-varying strong winds. The aircraft speed is not necessarily larger than the wind speed, a fact that has major implications in terms of the existence of feasible paths. First, it is possible that there exist configurations in close proximity to an obstacle from which a collision may be inevitable. Second, it is likely that points inside the obstacle-free space may not be connectable by means of an admissible bidirectional path. The assumption of a regionally-varying wind field has also implications on the optimality properties of the minimum-time paths between reachable configurations. In particular, the minimum-time-to-go and minimum-time-to-come between two points are not necessarily equal. To solve this problem, we consider a convex subdivision of the plane into polygonal regions that are either free of obstacles or they are occupied with obstacles, and such that the vehicle motion within each obstacle-free region is governed by a separate set of equations. The equations of motion inside each obstacle-free region are significantly simpler when compared with the original system dynamics. This approximation simplifies both the reachability/accesibility analysis, as well as the characterization of the locally minimum-time paths. Furthermore, it is shown that the minimum-time paths consist of concatenations of locally optimal paths with the concatenations occurring along the common boundary of neighboring regions, similarly to Snell's law of refraction in optics. Armed with this representation, the problem is subsequently reduced to a directed graph search problem, which can be solved by employing standard algorithms.


In the formal development of optical response theory in terms of susceptibilities, proper representation of the optical frequency dependence necessitates modeling both the discrete linewidth and the finite signal enhancement associated with the onset of resonance. Such dispersion behavior is generally accommodated by damping factors, featured in both resonant and non-resonant susceptibility terms. For the resonant terms, the sign of such damping corrections is unequivocal; however the correct choice of sign for non-resonant terms has become a matter of debate, heightened by the discovery that entirely opposite conventions are applied in mainstream literature on Raman scattering and nonlinear optics. Where the two conventions are applied to electro-optical processes in fluids there are significant and potentially verifiable differences between the associated results. Through a full thorough quantum electrodynamical treatment the universal correctness of one convention can be ascertained and flaws in the counter-convention identified. Resolution of the central issue requires consideration of a number of fundamental questions concerning the nature of dissipation in quantum mechanical systems. It is concluded that optical susceptibilities formulated with correct signing of the damping corrections must fulfill several fundamental tests: satisfaction of a new sum rule; invariance of the associated quantum amplitudes under time-reversal symmetry, and a resilience to canonical transformation.


Electric power grids are complex interconnected systems that in North America can span more than a thousand miles. They must be operated such that the dynamic balance between supply and demand is maintained. Grids exhibit many power dynamics that are global over the entire grid, yet their control mechanisms and almost all of their operational data on the current dynamics and configuration of the grid–status data–are local in nature, typically limited to a single substation. In this paper we describe the limitations of the current communications infrastructure of the North American electric power grid and how they restrict its efficiency and its ability to respond to accidental failures and deliberate physical or cyber-attacks. We then describe status dissemination middleware, a new specialization of the publish-subscribe model that takes advantage of the semantics of status data. Next we describe the design and implementation of GridStat, a middleware framework for status dissemination across wide areas in the electric power grid and other critical infrastructures. It takes advantage of the semantics of status data to optimize delivery and to manage its subscriptions for quality of service. In doing so, GridStat allows status information, control decisions and commands to be disseminated over a wide-area.


A main volcanic marker has been identified for the first time on the continental shelf of the northern Phlegraean Fields in the Gulf of Gaeta (Campania region, eastern Tyrrhenian margin, Italy) by means of Subbottom Chirp profile grid and stratigraphic analysis of a core collected on the slope. In the seismic sections, the core bottom corresponds to the top of a continuous and parallel reflector (V) interbedded within the transgressive deposits of the Late Quaternary-Holocene depositional sequence. The Transgressive System Tract deposits are particularly thick compared to the majority of the transgressive deposits of other shelf settings. This might be due to the input of pyroclastic and volcaniclastic deposits related to the intense eruptive activity of the Campania Plain during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene time span. Undulations and pockmarks are the main morphological features of the sea floor and they might be linked to gas uprising, widely detected in the study area. The V reflector is located on the shelf from northeast to southwest at different depths, ranging from 10 ms (about 8 m) to 30 ms (about 25 m) below sea floor and it can be mapped down to the continental slope. The tephrostratigraphic analysis of this continuous reflector allowed to correlate it with the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff deposits emplaced at Phlegraean Fields at ca. 15 ka.


Bacillary angiomatosis is known to be caused by a rickettsial organism; Rochalimaea henselae. This causative agent has been compared with different microorganisms and clinical conditions that appear in similar settings but that have been clearly differentiated from them; e.i. Cat-scratch disease (Afipia felis), Bartonella bacilliformis, other Rochalimaea sp., Kaposi;s sarcoma, Lobular capillary hemangioma, Angiosarcoma, and Epithelioid hemangioma. Clinically the bacillary angiomatosis (BA) skin lesions vary from a single lesion to thousands. The cutaneous lesion appears as a bright-red round papule, subcutaneous nodule, or as a cellulitic plaque. When the lesion is biopsied it tends to blanch-out, bleed, and cause pain. The patient might present with signs and symptoms of chills, headaches, fever, malaise, and anorexia with or without weight loss. The extracutaneous lesions found in BA tend to be from multiple organs affecting from the oral lesions to anal mucosal lesions to widespread visceral lesions. The sites of preferences for BA lesion manifestation tend to be the liver, spleen, lymph nodes, and bone. To diagnose bacillary angiomatosis the physician should prepare a differential diagnosis based primarily on its histopathological and clinical characteristics. To confirm the results from the stain, electron microscopy can identify the bacillus and pin-point the diagnosis of bacillary angiomatosis. The lesions presented by BA respond well to therapy with erythromycin 500mg four times daily for a duration of 2 weeks to 2 months. In case of intolerance to erythromycin the second line of drug that successfully treats the BA bacillus is doxycycline. If relapses of the BA lesion recur, then a prolonged antibiotic therapy is necessary and in AIDS patients the duration may be extended as life-long suppressive therapy.


Low bone mineral density (BMD) disproportionately affects people with sickle cell disease (SCD). Growth faltering is common in SCD, but most BMD studies in pediatric SCD cohorts fail to adjust for short stature. We examined low BMD prevalence in 6- to 18-year-olds enrolled in the Sickle Cell Clinical Research and Intervention Program (SCCRIP), an ongoing multicenter life span SCD cohort study initiated in 2014. We calculated areal BMD for chronological age and height-adjusted areal BMD (Ht-aBMD) z scores for the SCCRIP cohort, using reference data from healthy African American children and adolescents enrolled in the Bone Mineral Density in Childhood Study. We defined low BMD as Ht-aBMD z scores less than or equal to -2 and evaluated its associations with demographic and clinical characteristics by using logistic regression analyses. Of the 306 children and adolescents in our study cohort (mean age, 12.5 years; 50% female; 64% HbSS/Sβ0-thalassemia genotype; 99% African American), 31% had low areal BMD for chronological age z scores and 18% had low Ht-aBMD z scores. In multivariate analyses, low Ht-aBMD z scores associated with adolescence (odds ratio [OR], 7.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.94-30.20), hip osteonecrosis (OR, 4.0; 95% CI, 1.02-15.63), chronic pain (OR, 10.4; 95% CI, 1.51-71.24), and hemoglobin (OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.57-0.96). Despite adjusting for height, nearly 20% of this pediatric SCD cohort still had very low BMD. As the SCCRIP cohort matures, we plan to prospectively evaluate the longitudinal relationship between Ht-aBMD z scores and markers of SCD severity and morbidity.


Abstract This paper investigates the heterogeneous effects of changes in instructional time on student achievement due to differences in instructional quality, using student test scores and data on teachers and schools from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), as well as a natural experiment caused by a 2002 Japanese curriculum standards revision that reduced instruction time for math but not for science for second-year junior high school (grade 8) students. The random matching of teachers and students in Japan and our application of the time dimension of panel data to two subjects, mathematics and science, allow us to control for unobserved heterogeneities such as individual fixed effects and school fixed effects. We confirm that instructional time is more effective in combination with higher-quality teachers, as measured by common indicators such as experience, schooling, and academic major. We also find that these effects are larger for students whose socioeconomic status (SES) is lower.


A unified approach to rate-distortion (R-D) optimized compression and view-dependent transmission of three-dimensional (3-D) normal meshes is investigated in this work. A normal mesh is partitioned into several segments, which are then encoded independently. The bitstream of each segment is truncated optimally using a geometry distortion model based on the subdivision hierarchy. It is shown that the proposed compression algorithm yields a higher coding gain than the conventional algorithm. Moreover, to facilitate interactive transmission of 3-D data according to a client's viewing position, the server can allocate an adaptive bitrate to each segment based on its visibility priority. Simulation results demonstrate that the view-dependent transmission technique can reduce the bandwidth requirement considerably, while maintaining a good visual quality.


This study continues a recent stream of research pursuing the concept of simulation participation validity predicated on the extent to which participants respond to a simulation environment, which is manipulated in meaningful ways. The present study investigates the impact of an artificial market-leading competitor on other competitors' strategies. The investigation is carried out in an experimental setting in which the responsiveness of the market to different strategy variables is also controlled. The findings provide substantial support that simulation players are sensitive to the presence of an artificial industryleading competitor and, correspondingly, to the environment created by the simulation administrator.


Genomic (DNA) sequences encode an enormous amount of information for gene regulation and protein synthesis. Similar to natural language models, researchers have proposed foundation models in genomics to learn generalizable features from unlabeled genome data that can then be fine-tuned for downstream tasks such as identifying regulatory elements. Due to the quadratic scaling of attention, previous Transformer-based genomic models have used 512 to 4k tokens as context (<0.001% of the human genome), significantly limiting the modeling of long-range interactions in DNA. In addition, these methods rely on tokenizers to aggregate meaningful DNA units, losing single nucleotide resolution where subtle genetic variations can completely alter protein function via single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Recently, Hyena, a large language model based on implicit convolutions was shown to match attention in quality while allowing longer context lengths and lower time complexity. Leveraging Hyenas new long-range capabilities, we present HyenaDNA, a genomic foundation model pretrained on the human reference genome with context lengths of up to 1 million tokens at the single nucleotide-level, an up to 500x increase over previous dense attention-based models. HyenaDNA scales sub-quadratically in sequence length (training up to 160x faster than Transformer), uses single nucleotide tokens, and has full global context at each layer. We explore what longer context enables - including the first use of in-context learning in genomics for simple adaptation to novel tasks without updating pretrained model weights. On fine-tuned benchmarks from the Nucleotide Transformer, HyenaDNA reaches state-of-the-art (SotA) on 12 of 17 datasets using a model with orders of magnitude less parameters and pretraining data. On the GenomicBenchmarks, HyenaDNA surpasses SotA on all 8 datasets on average by +9 accuracy points.


To the Editor. —The article by Ms Rauchschwalbe and Dr Mann 1 summarizing the US experience with pediatric window-cord strangulations is extremely valuable in documenting an opportunity in which preventive behavior can be 100% effective in saving lives. The data presented suggest that the life-saving message that needs to reach parents is not "break the loop in window cords," but "eliminate window cords from the environment of children." The voluntary efforts of industry to produce window cords without loops and to retrofit the existing stock of window coverings have not lowered mortality and never can be completely effective—the authors document a number of deaths in which the child was not entrapped in a loop at all. Until the industry fully deploys window coverings with breakaway cords or that keep cords completely away from children, I suggest that physicians and child health advocates press for regulatory reforms at the


This study investigates holistic craft processes in craft education with an instrument for data-collection and self-assessment. Teaching in a study context is based on co-teaching and a design process, highlighted by the Finnish Basic Education Core Curriculum 2014. The school architecture and web-based learning environment is combined. Division for textiles and technical work is no longer supported in this multimaterial learning environment. The aim of the study is to 1) make pupils' holistic craft processes visible in everyday classroom practices with information collected by a mobile-application and 2) point out the curriculum topics that are covered during everyday classroom practices as defined by the teachers. The data is collected using an Experience Sampling Method with a gamified learning analytics instrument. Teachers' classroom activities were used as the backbone for the thematic mapping of the craft curriculum. Preliminary measurements were carried out in a Finnish primary school in grades 5–6 (age 10–12, n = 125) during a four-week period in October-November 2016. The list of classroom activities was updated after the four weeks' experiment and was tested in March-May 2017 with all the pupils of the pilot school (N = 353). The key findings were that a) for pupils the self-assessment was easy as a technical process but there were several factors in the everyday classroom settings that made the process challenging and b) it was relatively difficult for teachers to describe the classroom activities in terms of the new curriculum; however, after four weeks they could not only described the activities in more details but had also developed new activities that supported the ideas of the new curriculum better.Keywords: multi-material craft, learning environment, holistic craft process, experience sampling method


MHC class II alleles have been linked to several human autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Type I diabetes, and multiple sclerosis (MS). Although the mechanisms by which expression of certain MHC class II molecules predispose an individual to a particular autoimmune disease are not known, it is clear that increased susceptibility is associated with the polymorphic regions unique to these predisposing HLA alleles. These polymorphic differences may influence susceptibility by selecting potential autoreactive T cells during thymic education. Alternatively, nonsusceptible alleles may either delete or fail to select these potential autoimmune T cells, thus reducing the possibility of developing disease. In the periphery, the unique specificity of the HLA molecule derived from a susceptible allele may then recognize and present an autoantigenic peptide or foreign peptide that may cross-react with an autoantigen, activating these autoreactive T cells and leading to disease. To dissect these possibilities and to determine the exact role of particular HLA-DR or DQ molecules in disease susceptibility, we have generated several lines of HLA-DR and DQ transgenic mice. In this review, we present data summarizing the functions of these HLA class II molecules using well-established mouse models for autoimmune diseases.


In recent years, greater attention has been provided to military-related moral injury as an important risk factor for the mental health of Veterans. As research into moral injury is still in its nascent stages, this area of inquiry would be bolstered by additional theoretical accounts of moral injury's detrimental effects on psychological well-being. To this end, Hubert Hermans' theory of the dialogical self is applied to moral injury in male Veterans with an emphasis on understanding how the interplay of cultural myths and masculine identities may combine to make Servicemen deployed in the theatre of war more vulnerable to moral injury. Specific emphasis is given in reviewing how the mythological figure of the hero informs both military culture and hegemonic masculine ideals and fuses them into the westernized soldier-hero figure. It is argued that male Veterans who identify strongly with this soldier-hero figure may be ill equipped to face the moral uncertainties presented by war. Quotations of Veterans from published empirical and clinical sources are then used to demonstrate how identification with the soldier-hero figure may put male Veterans at risk for moral injury. Finally, clinical recommendations are provided for clinicians seeking to assist Veterans recovering from combat-related moral injury.


Activation of CD4 (cid:1) T cells by APCs occurs by multiple Ag recognition events including the exchange of costimulatory signals and cytokines. Additionally, the T cells acquire APC-derived surface molecules. Herein, we describe for the first time the transfer of human and murine T cell surface receptors to APCs after Ag-specific interaction. This transfer occurs in two qualitatively different phases. The first group of molecules (e.g., CD2) derived from the T cell surface was transferred rapidly after 2 h ofinteraction, was strongly bound on the DC surface (acid wash-resistant), was strictly dependent on dendritic cell-T cell contact, and transferred independently of T cell activation. The second group, including the CD3/TCR complex, CD27, and OX40, was of intracellular origin, transferred later after 10–16 h in a cell-cell contact-independent fashion, was noncovalently bound, and was strictly dependent on Ag-specific T cell activation. Functionally, murine dendritic cells that received TCR molecules from OVA-specific CD4 (cid:1) T cells after Ag-specific interaction were less efficient in priming naive CD4 (cid:1) T cells of the same specificity without losing their ability for CD8 (cid:1) T cell stimulation, indicating that the transferred TCR molecules mask the Ag-bearing MHC II molecules, thereby reducing their accessibility to following Ag-specific CD4 (cid:1) T cells. While the first group of transferred T cell surface molecules might facilitate the detachment of the CD4 (cid:1) T cell from the dendritic cell during the early scanning phases, the second group could play an important immunomodulatory role in intraclonal competition of T cells for APC access, making the physical presence of CD4 (cid:1) T


This thesis is concerned with approaches used by the Scottish Programme for Clinical Effectiveness in Reproductive Health (SPCERH) to improve quality of care. The work embraces two main themes: understanding factors that influence clinical practice; and evaluating strategies to improve practice. Many factors influence practice, such as the nature of targeted behaviours, professionals and organisations (Chapter 1). An observational study, of practice related to 42 audit recommendations in 16 gynaecology units, found that attributes of recommendations independently modified the effects of a national audit and feedback project (Chapter 2). Four evaluations of dissemination and implementation strategies were conducted. The first, a telephone survey of 201 obstetricians and midwives, highlighted gaps in awareness of national recommendations on the prevention of maternal mortality (Chapter 3). The second, a before-and-after postal survey of 92 obstetricians, found mixed changes in self-reported practice following the dissemination of four national obstetric guidelines (Chapter 4). The third, an interrupted time series analysis, evaluated trends in the care of 1263 women in four maternity units related to of these guidelines, on mild, non-proteinuric hypertension in pregnancy (Chapter 5). No improvements in the appropriateness of initial investigations and subsequent clinical management were found. The fourth study, a cluster randomised trial involving all 26 gynaecology units in Scotland, evaluated a strategy to promote a guideline on induced abortion care. The strategy, delivered under the auspices of SPCERH, comprised audit and feedback, educational meetings, dissemination of a structured case record, and promotion of patient information. The strategy was refined in the light of barriers identified following a pre-intervention case record review, interviews with gynaecologists and a theoretically-derived survey of 151 clinical staff (Chapter 6). Post-intervention compliance with guideline recommendations was assessed by a review of 1474 case records and a survey of 1028 patients. No intervention effect was observed, possibly related to high preintervention compliance with selected recommendations and the appropriateness of the implementation strategy (Chapter 7). The choices of study design were determined by SPCERHs' objectives, available time and resources. More rigorous designs were judged to be less susceptible to bias (Chapter 8). All studies were of moderate to high generalisability to secondary care professionals targeted by SPCERH activities. Recommendations are made for future evaluations of implementation activities (Chapter 9).


The authors examined the impact of suggestion focus and test type on the posthypnotic responding of high hypnotizable participants. The posthypnotic suggestion focused on either behavior (action) or experience (desire); posthypnotic responding was indexed in a formal test, an embedded test, and an informal test. In Experiment 1, the posthypnotic suggestion involved a motor act. Participants given the action suggestion were more likely to respond completely on the formal test than participants given the desire suggestion. Also, responding declined across the three tests; suggestion focus influenced responding on the informal but not the embedded test. In Experiment 2, the posthypnotic suggestion involved a verbal act. In contrast to Experiment 1, participants given the action or desire suggestion responded similarly on the formal test. As in Experiment 1, responding declined across the three tests; however, suggestion focus did not influence responding on the embedded or the informal tests. The findings highlight the meaningful effects of changes in what the hypnotist says, what participants are asked to do, and how their responses are assessed.


Love-type wave generation in a fiber-reinforced medium placed over an inhomogeneous orthotropic half-space is analysed. The upper and lower boundary surfaces of the fiber reinforced medium are periodically corrugated. Inhomogeneity of half-space is caused by variable density and variable shear modules. Displacement components for layer and half-space are derived by applying separable variable technique. Dispersion relation for Love wave is obtained in closed form. Numerical calculations for the achieved dispersion equation are performed. In the numerical examples, the main attention is focused on the effect of corrugation investigation, reinforced parameters and inhomogeneity on the relations between wave number and phase velocity.


Healthcare organizations strive to provide optimal patient experience by improving care quality and enhancing clinical outcomes, while containing associated costs. In the United States, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that more than 1.7 million people suffer from an infectious complication annually, representing between 5 and 10% of all hos pital admissions and costs ranging between $35B and $88B. Most infectious surface fomites originate from air. Consequently, reducing airborne pathogens should be associated with reduced surface fomites. This study represents the first comprehensive evaluation of infec - tious and aerosolized pathogens and their speciation, location and concentration within a typical hospital setting. The study provides data regarding the relationship between air - borne pathogens and air filtration methodologies in the context of the molecular and micro bial epidemiology of illness and infections in the clinical setting. The results demonstrated that using a transformational air purification system provided comprehensive remediation of airborne pathogens and significantly reduced surface-oriented infectious fomites. Overall reduction of airborne and surface bacterial and fungal pathogens responsible for illness and infections will result in a reduction of associated illnesses and HAI rates and improved patient care metrics including stay duration and readmission rates. Improvements in these outcome metrics should correlate to risk mitigation and cost avoidance.


The German sugar market is governed by the European Union's common market organization (CMO). In 2006, the CMO was subject to its first major reform. Among others, the administered price for sugar was reduced by 36%. We use a data set with monthly prices for sugar and sugar containing products to perform a cointegration analysis. Results show that the reduction of the institutional price has led to a reduction of wholesale prices and of retail prices for table sugar. Prices for sugar containing products are barely integrated with the sugar price, though. Some are found to be integrated with the CPI for food and soft drinks. In none of the cases where linear cointegration could not be detected, threshold cointegration could be found.


We consider a fading communication link where the transmitter is powered by the receiver through wireless energy transfer (WET). A typical application scenario for this is the transmitter being a simple sensor while the demand for data is created by an application running at the receiver side and pulled from the transmitter as needed. We formulate two offline transmission scheduling problems: the transmitter-centric WET transmission optimization problem, where the schedule is computed by the transmitter, and the receiver-centric WET transmission optimization problem, where the receiver computes the schedule. We provide explicit solutions of both problems and propose online policies that rely on using the estimated water level values for each case. Our formulation allows direct optimization of energy efficiency in contrast to other EH transmission scheduling formulations in the literature. We prove some equivalence results under the special case of fixed channels.


WG V/1 ABSTRACT: Camera calibration is one of the fundamental photogrammetric tasks. The standard procedure is to apply an iterative adjustment to measurements of known control points. The iterative adjustment needs initial values of internal and external parameters. In this paper we investigate a procedure where only one parameter — the focal length is given a specific initial value. The procedure is validated using the freely available Damped Bundle Adjustment Toolbox on five calibration data sets using varying narrow- and wide-angle lenses. The results show that the Gauss-Newton-Armijo and Levenberg-Marquardt-Powell bundle adjustment methods implemented in the toolbox converge even if the initial values of the focal length are between 1/2 and 32 times the true focal length, even if the parameters are highly correlated. Standard statistical analysis methods in the toolbox enable manual selection of the lens distortion parameters to estimate, something not available in other camera calibration toolboxes. A standardised camera calibration procedure that does not require any information about the camera sensor or focal length is suggested based on the convergence results. The toolbox source and data sets used in this paper are available from the authors.


The non-isothermal crystallization behaviors of poly (trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT), poly (trimethylene terephthalate-co-isophthalate) (PTTI) and poly (trimethylene terephthalate isophthalate-co-polyethylene glycol) (PTTI-PEG) were investigated using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The experimental results showed the crystallization temperature of PTT, PTTI and PTTI-PEG increased when the heating rate increased, and the Avrami exponents n of PTT, PTTI ranged from 3.5 to 5.5, and it was assumed that the non-isothermal crystallization mechanism for PTT and PTTI was the combination of homogenous and heterogeneous nucleation. However, the n value of PTTI-PEG was below 2.5, and the non-isothermal crystallization mechanism was ascribed to heterogeneous nucleation different from that of PTT and PTTI. The activation energy of PTTI increased with the IPA ratios increasing, and the activation energy of PTTI-PEG was the highest, suggesting that the crystallization rate was more sensitive to the temperature in comparison with PTT. Therefore, it was of great importance to control the temperature in processing.


Treatment of many diseases affecting the central nervous system (CNS) is complicated by the inability of several therapeutics to cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Genetically modifying brain capillary endothelial cells (BCECs) denotes an approach to overcome the limitations of the BBB by turning BCECs into recombinant protein factories. This will result in protein secretion toward both the brain and peripheral circulation, which is particularly relevant in genetic diseases, like lysosomal storage diseases (LSD), where cells are ubiquitously affected both in the CNS and the periphery. Here we investigated transfection of primary rat brain capillary endothelial cells (rBCECs) for synthesis and secretion of recombinant NPC2, the protein deficient in the lysosomal cholesterol storage disease Niemann Pick type C2. We demonstrate prominent NPC2 gene induction and protein secretion in 21% of BCECs in non‐mitotic monocultures with a biological effect on NPC2‐deficient fibroblasts as verified from changes in filipin III staining of cholesterol deposits. By comparison the transfection efficiency was 75% in HeLa‐cells, known to persist in a mitotic state. When co‐cultured with primary rat astrocytes in conditions with maintained BBB properties 7% BCECs were transfected, clearly suggesting that induction of BBB properties with polarized conditions of the non‐mitotic BCECs influences the transfection efficacy and secretion directionality. In conclusion, non‐viral gene therapy to rBCECs leads to protein secretion and signifies a method for NPC2 to target cells inside the CNS otherwise inaccessible because of the presence of the BBB. However, obtaining high transfection efficiencies is crucial in order to achieve sufficient therapeutic effects.


The BCL6 transcriptional repressor is the most commonly involved oncogene in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCLs). BCL6 lymphomagenic activity is dependent on its ability to recruit corepressor proteins to a unique binding site on its N-terminal BTB domain. A recombinant peptide fragment of the SMRT (silencing mediator for retinoid and thyroid hormone receptor) corepressor that blocks this site can inhibit BCL6 biologic functions. Shortening and conversion of this peptide to D-amino acid and retro configuration as well as the addition of a fusogenic motif yielded a far more potent and stable BCL6 inhibitor that still retained the specificity of the original SMRT fragment. Like the L-peptide, retroinverso BCL6 peptide inhibitor (RI-BPI) selectively killed BCR rather than OxPhos-type DLBCL cells. The RI-BPI could recapitulate the failure to form germinal centers seen in BCL6 null mice yet was nontoxic and nonimmunogenic even when administered for up to 52 weeks. RI-BPI showed superior duration of tissue penetration and could accordingly powerfully suppress the growth of human DLBCLs xenografts in a dose-dependent manner. Finally, RI-BPI could kill primary human DLBCL cells but had no effect on normal lymphoid tissue or other tumors. (Blood. 2009;113:3397-3405)


Tamoxifen is widely used nowadays in the management of breast cancer, having established its efficacy in this indication, especially for postmenopausal patients with ER-positive breast tumours. However, tamoxifen has recently been recognized as carcinogenic for the human endometrium, probably with an effect of duration of treatment. Moreover, this drug may be associated with the occurrence of endometrial cancers of unusual histological types and/or of a more aggressive nature. We describe a case series of 11 patients who developed such cancers after having previously received tamoxifen for breast cancer. Several assumptions on the mechanisms underlying the attributed carcinogenic properties of tamoxifen, for the endometrium and potentially for other organs, are discussed on the basis of current knowledge.


Although sport and disability are not new subjects to the United Nations, the Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities serves as the first legally binding instrument for protecting those with disabilities in the sporting realm. Article 30.5 is specifically devoted to addressing the rights of people with disabilities in the sport, recreation, play and leisure realms. The Convention requires all countries ratifying it to take proactive measures, including changes and/or additions to policy and legislation to enable individuals with disabilities to realize their human rights in the sporting realm. The paper discusses relevant United Nations instruments in existence before the Convention and addresses the difference between prior instruments and the new Convention. An analysis of Article 30.5 and relevant other Articles of the Convention is offered. Practical applications of the Article in the field are provided, as are suggestions on how it can be used to as a tool for implementation, development and the securing of rights in the sporting realm for people with disabilities.


The prevalence of wireless networks and the convenience of mobile cameras enable many new video applications other than security and entertainment. From behavioral diagnosis to wellness monitoring, cameras are increasing used for observations in various educational and medical settings. Videos collected for such applications are considered protected health information under privacy laws in many countries. At the same time, there is an increasing need to share such video data across a wide spectrum of stakeholders including professionals, therapists and families facing similar challenges. Visual privacy protection techniques, such as blurring or object removal, can be used to mitigate privacy concern, but they also obliterate important visual cues of affect and social behaviors that are crucial for the target applications. In this paper, we propose a method of manipulating facial expression and body shape to conceal the identity of individuals while preserving the underlying affect states. The experiment results demonstrate the effectiveness of our method.


The CRISPR/Cas9 system has been applied in a variety of plants for targeted gene editing due to its accuracy, high efficiency, and low price. It has been reported that the CRISPR/Cas9 system can lead to mutation in potato, however, the mutation patterns and genotypes of CRISPR/Cas9-induced mutants in tetraploid potato plants have not yet been disclosed in detail. In the present study, the Solanum tuberosum phytoene desaturase (StPDS) gene was selected for inducing targeted mutagenesis. The obtained StPDS knockout mutants exhibited a mutation frequency of 46.67% and clear albino phenotypes. All transgenic plants were tested for the hygromycin resistance gene and a high positive transformation frequency (96.77%) was observed in all tested resistant plants. Genotype analysis of the mutants revealed that heterozygotes accounted for 35.51%, chimeras accounted for 64.29%, and no homozygotes and biallelic mutations were detected. The patterns of the detected mutations consisted mainly of 1 to 2-nucleotide insertions and deletions, followed by 2-bp replacements. In short, the results of this study prove that the CRISPR/Cas9 system is an effective approach for cultivated potato gene engineering.


Islamic bank in Indonesia in the last ten years shows a positive trend is quite impressive, the average asset growth of 30% is well above the average growth of conventional banks which only reached 15%. The other side, if the terms of its contribution to the national banking system is still very small, as indicated by the achievement of market share of Islamic banks until the end of December 2016 reached only 5.30% of the total national banking assets. Regarding to the objective conditions, would need the appropriate business development strategy to boost growth and expand market share, so that Islamic banks can increase their role in national economic activities. Spin-Off sharia business unit owned by a conventional bank is one of the business development strategy offered by the Banking Act. This paper aims to identify and measure the effectiveness of the implementation of the spin-off business unit into a sharia/Islamic banks (Sharia Commercial Bank-SCB) that have been carried out by some Islamic banks in Indonesia. The results show that the growth rate of SCB business activity is better than Sharia Business Unit (SBU), but in terms of profitability and efficiency level of SBU is better than SCB.


Kernels on discrete structures evaluate pairwise similarities between objects which capture semantics and inherent topology information. Existing kernels on discrete structures are only developed by topology information(such as adjacency matrix of graphs), without considering original attributes of objects. This paper proposes a two-phase paradigm to aggregate comprehensive information on discrete structures leading to a Discount Markov Diffusion Learnable Kernel (DMDLK). Specifically, based on the underlying projection of DMDLK, we design a Simple Hypergraph Kernel Convolution (SHKC) for hidden representation of vertices. SHKC can adjust diffusion steps rather than stacking convolution layers to aggregate information from long-range neighborhoods which prevents over-smoothing issues of existing hypergraph convolutions. Moreover, we utilize the uniform stability bound theorem in transductive learning to analyze critical factors for the effectiveness and generalization ability of SHKC from a theoretical perspective. The experimental results on several benchmark datasets for node classification tasks verified the superior performance of SHKC over state-of-the-art methods.


Green tea catechin, (–)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate
[(–)-EGCG], was found to increase osteogenic functioning in mesenchymal stem
cells. This study qualified EGCG, the strongest inhibitory efficiency for
receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB
(NF-κB) ligand (RANKL)-activated
osteoclastogenesis among other green tea catechins for RAW264, a murine
preosteoclast cell line. Moreover, EGCG inhibited tartrate-resistant acid
phosphatase (TRAP)-positive multinucleated cell formation dose dependently in
both single culture and co-culture systems, the expression of transcription
factor, nuclear factor of activated T-cells, cytoplasmic 1 (NFATc1) and some osteoclastic
genes. Especially, EGCG exhibited a strong inhibitory effect on the expression
levels of RANK, the receptor of RANKL, and OSCAR, a key co-stimulator of the
RANKL/RANK signal. Simultaneously, apoptotic genes expression and Hoechst
staining revealed that EGCG induced apoptosis in RAW264. Taken together, these
data suggest that the inhibitory effect of EGCG to osteoclastogenesis is
associated with a down regulation of RANKL/RANK signal, and increased apoptosis
of preosteoclasts.


Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C) is characterized by high incidence of ventricular arrhythmias. Overt ARVD/C is preceded by a subclinical stage with lack of detectable ECG and structural abnormalities. Activation delay is present before structural abnormalities and is a hallmark of arrhythmogenesis. Deformation imaging may unmask activation delay in the subclinical stage.


Abstract Objective: Obesity is a risk factor for severe complications and death from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Public health efforts to control the pandemic may alter health behaviors related to weight gain, inflammation, and poor cardiometabolic health, exacerbating the prevalence of obesity, poor immune health, and chronic diseases. Design: We reviewed how the pandemic adversely influences many of these behaviors, specifically physical activity, sedentary behaviors, sleep, and dietary intakes, and provided individual level strategies that may be used to mitigate them. Results: At the community level and higher, public health and health care professionals need to advocate for intervention strategies and policy changes that address these behaviors, such as increasing nutrition assistance programs and creating designated areas for recreation and active transportation, to reduce disparities among vulnerable populations. Conclusions: The long-lasting impact of the pandemic on health behaviors, and the possibility of a second COVID-19 wave, emphasize the need for creative and evolving, multi-level approaches to assist individuals in adapting their health behaviors to prevent both chronic and infectious diseases.