Abstract This paper presents a literature review of published scientific studies of the effects of tobacco product ingredients and various experimental additives on cigarette smoke composition and its biological activity. The format of this work is that of an uncommented reference paper rather than a critical scientific review. Therefore, the mention of an ingredient in this survey does not imply that it is used by the tobacco industry or that it is covered by any existing national regulations. A broad range of scientific papers and patents on tobacco ingredients is included as well as studies on experimental ingredients. This review may provide public health officials as well as scientists in government agencies and in the tobacco industry with a helpful overview of published information on tobacco product ingredients, their transfer into mainstream cigarette smoke, pyrolysis products, and influence on the biological activity of mainstream cigarette smoke.


Tagalide A (1) and tagalol A (2), representing dolabrane-type diterpenes with unprecedented ring-A/B/C/D- and ring-A/B/C-fused cores (vii–viii), respectively, were isolated from the Chinese mangrove, Ceriops tagal. The relative and absolute configurations of these dolabranes were unambiguously established by HRESIMS, extensive NMR investigations, and quantum-chemical 13C NMR and ECD calculations. Most notably, 1 exhibited cytotoxicities against triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines, MD-MBA-453 (IC50 = 1.73 μM) and MD-MBA-231 (IC50 = 8.12 μM). Investigation of the mechanisms on MD-MBA-453 cells revealed that 1 induces ROS-mediated apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. It suppresses the phosphorylation of JAK2 and STAT3, but enhances that of AKT and ERK. The 5,6-dihydrobenzofuran-2(4H)-one-7-carbaldehyde moiety of 1 is hitherto the most potent anticancer pharmacophore for the ring-A-centred western part of the dolabrane scaffold against the above-mentioned TNBC cells.


The relationship between energy consumption and economic growth is a hot issue in today's society. This paper aims to empirically verify the relationship between energy consumption and economic growth. This article analyzes the relation of energy consumption with the economic growth taking the case of South Asian countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal) along with the macroeconomic determinants that affect the total economic growth – FDI growth, CPI rate and population growth in order to avoid omitted variable bias and misleading results. The time span of this study covers the period of 1980–2019. To examine the significant relation of these determinants and impact of energy consumption on economic growth, In-pooled regression, Fixed-effects, Bidirectional fixed effect, Random-effects, and GLS estimation regression model are used. The estimated results show a positive correlation of energy consumption and all other economic determinants with economic growth except CPI, where there is a negative correlation founded.


Pedestrian detection is an important field with applications in active safety systems for cars as well as autonomous driving. Since autonomous driving and active safety are becoming technically feasible now the interest for these applications has dramatically increased.The aim of this thesis is to investigate convolutional neural networks (CNN) for pedestrian detection. The reason for this is that CNN have recently beensuccessfully applied to several different computer vision problems. The main applications of pedestrian detection are in real time systems. For this reason,this thesis investigates strategies for reducing the computational complexity offorward propagation for CNN.The approach used in this thesis for extracting pedestrians is to use a CNN tofind a probability map of where pedestrians are located. From this probabilitymap bounding boxes for pedestrians are generated. A method for handling scale invariance for the objects of interest has also been developed in this thesis. Experiments show that using this method givessignificantly better results for the problem of pedestrian detection.The accuracy which this thesis has managed to achieve is similar to the accuracy for some other works which use CNN.


Abstract Tidally modulated shorefaces (TMS) are wave-dominated, but differ from conventional shorefaces in that sediments deposited in water depths equivalent to the upper, middle, and lower shoreface (depending upon the tidal range) are regularly subjected to variable wave processes, including swash–backwash, breaking-wave and surf processes, and shoaling waves during the tidal cycle. In upper macrotidal and megatidal settings, it is also possible that these shoreface deposits are subaerially exposed during low tide. TMS exhibit the morphology, seaward decrease in sediment caliber, and dominance of wave-generated sedimentary structures consistent with beach–shoreface settings. However, the sedimentological and ichnological structures of deposits exposed in the laterally extensive intertidal zone are more akin to those of the upper and lower shoreface, and not the beach. Four major differences permit the ready differentiation of tidally modulated shoreface successions from conventional shorefaces. (1) Sedimentary structures generated by swash–backwash (plane beds), surf and breaking waves (current ripples and trough cross-beds), shoaling waves (oscillation ripples), and storm waves (hummocky and swaly cross-stratification) are interbedded with one another across the shoreface. (2) Ebb-oriented tidal currents and surface runoff during the falling tide and at low tide deposit offshore-directed current ripples and combined-flow ripples in sandy sediments, or trough cross beds in gravel-dominated sediments. (3) Ichnologically, TMS exhibit a reduction in both the diversity of ichnogenera and density of burrowing across the entire shoreface profile. However, the incipient-trace associations are most similar to the Skolithos Ichnofacies in the upper shoreface–equivalent zone, and to the Cruziana Ichnofacies in the lower shoreface–equivalent zone. (4) The sedimentological and ichnological criteria commonly employed to identify the middle shoreface are spread out across the upper and lower shoreface, making this subenvironment difficult to differentiate.


Sexual rights, public policy and sex education on the discourse of blind people This study seeks to analyze how people with congenital blindness realize their right to sexuality. Eleven blind people participated, of both genders, aged between 22 and 54 years, enrolled in two institutions to support the visually impaired in the city of Feira de Santana/Bahia. There were interviews and focus group sessions, analyzed qualitatively, articulating empirical data and assumptions of bioethics. Three categories emerged: 1. The right to sexual expression, little respected; 2. Assessment of blind people regarding public policies focused on sexuality; 3. Reflections on sex education. The results revealed: feeling of dissatisfaction, disrespect from society to sexual rights; awareness and need to seek their rights; scarce public policies or not accessible to the blind people; need for appropriate sex education to their needs. We conclude that blind people are still


The premise of this thesis is that the role of the first steps in reading in courses for
Young Learners of English (YL) at the beginner stage is a neglected area, with
anomalies centred around the fact that 'words on the page 'are often treated as if
they were facilitative from the outset for language work in areas such as speaking
while very little support is offered to children as to how to decode these words.
Chapter 1 (Introduction) traces the rapid spread of YL teaching worldwide and
considers the preparation of teachers for their roles. Materials are discussed as an
important source of support and structure for teachers and a case is made for a focus
in the main study on systems and rationales for early reading found among teachers
themselves or evidenced in published materials.
Chapter 2 (Literature Review) discusses relevant issues for systematic support for YL
in their first steps in reading English. Areas discussed are: Teacher Cognition,
Sociocultural inductions to reading, Orthographic Depth, Phonology, research on
reading development across languages and influences in the YL world of established
early reading methods for English native-speaking children.
Chapter 3 (Research Methodology) justifies the decision to investigate the area via
two main studies: (1) questionnaires and in-depth interviews with EYL professionals
and (2) close analysis of course materials. It is argued that the qualitative stance of
the former is not in conflict with the more objective and quantitative handling of
course material data since both are appropriate ways of focusing on the same issue.
A third, small-scale, study of the publishing experiences of curriculum experts and
materials writers is justified and described.
Chapter 4 (Findings) reports and integrates the findings of both main studies and
summarizes the findings from the study with curriculum experts and materials writers.
Main findings are that EYL professionals tend not to put linguistic considerations high
in their priorities for decision-making and that materials analyzed had an underlay in
the Alphabetic Principle but were dominated by 'ABC' ordering of Reading-Focal
items and included activities which tended not to promote pattern-seeking or other
behaviour likely to lead to 'self-teaching'.
Chapter 5 (Discussion) discusses the significance of the findings of the two main
studies and uses the results of the third study to add balance to the materials
analysis study. Limitations of, and reflections on, the research are discussed.
Chapter 6 (Conclusions) draws implications for professional education, pedagogy
and materials illustrated by examples in the Appendices. Claims are made for the
contributions of the study that (1) it opens up discussion on an area of YL teaching
which has been neglected both in the research literature and in practical materials
creation (2) through the use of in-depth interviews it allows a voice for EYL
professionals which has not been heard before (3) the concepts of Reading-Focal
versus Vehicular language in YL course materials are claimed as new and useful,
leading directly (4) to procedures and analysis tools which can be used with any set
of YL materials. Directions for further research building on this thesis are indicated.


Causal effect identification is one of the most prominent and well-understood problems in causal inference. Despite the generality and power of the results developed so far, there are still challenges in their applicability to practical settings, arguably due to the finitude of the samples. Simply put, there is a gap between causal effect identification and estimation. One popular setting in which sample-efficient estimators from finite samples exist is when the celebrated back-door condition holds. In this paper, we extend weighting-based methods developed for the back-door case to more general settings, and develop novel machinery for estimating causal effects using the weighting-based method as a building block. We derive graphical criteria under which causal effects can be estimated using this new machinery and demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method through simulation studies.


The aim of this research is to investigate the shift to audiovisual thinking method, by the example of "Instagram" usage, as well as explanation of this thinking type's naturalness and productivity in the process of information perceiving. It is important to understand, how secondary linguocultural consciousness of modern teenagers from all over the world is formed by means of this popular social network. The answers of the experiment's participants (schoolchildren) let us affirm the theory of Instagram an obvious advantages in "secondary language consciousness" development. The so-called "alliance" of a picture and a text message makes a creolized text, which is the basis of modern youth language and thinking formation. Analysis, comparison, linguocultural method, generalization, analogy, deduction and mainly induction (making the basis of the experiment, realized in the question-answer form) were used as the research methods in the article. The described experiment proves the idea that foreign language and culture acquisition is possible through Instagram creolized text perception. Due to the visual data prevalence and minimum text messages, information is acquired easier and leads to the teenagers' "secondary language consciousness" formation. Taking into account all mentioned results and ideas, we can make a conclusion that"picture creative thinking" allows young people to achieve the object in view, being widely used in schoolbooks, as well as constituting an integral part of creolized communication in the informational-entertaining social network Instagram: both studying and leisure in the modern world appeal to the natural processes in the human brain – the tendency towards radiant thinking. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n1p449


Sexual fantasies, interests, and experiences are three important aspects of human sexual expression that likely are related yet distinct. Updated and comprehensive information on patterns in these three areas of sexual expression is important for developing knowledge on the extent to which fantasies are distinct from interests and experiences as well as whether social sexual norms are changing. Thus, the overall goal of this study was to explore patterns in university students' sexual expression. Participants (N = 236; 65 men, 171 women) completed a background questionnaire and a measure of 43 specific sexual fantasies, interests, and experiences. We used Joyal, Cossette, and Lapierre's (2015) categories to determine which specific fantasies, interests, and experiences were typical, common, uncommon, unusual, and rare. The results suggested that typical and common fantasies, interests, and experiences are those that fit with sexual norms and evolutionary pressures. However, some activities that fall outside of social norms, or evolutionary benefits, may be common or uncommon, rather than unusual or rare. For the most part, the prevalence and diversity of sexual fantasies aligned closely with sexual interests. We found more gender similarities than differences; when men and women differed, it was in specific sexual fantasies and interests rather than sexual experiences. Our findings suggest that young men and women fantasize about, are interested in, and engage in diverse sexual activities that are somewhat guided by social norms and evolutionary pressures. These findings provide novel, contemporary information on social norms, gender similarities, and diversity in young adults' sexual expression.


This paper presents an approach to the schedulability analysis of real-time systems modeled in time Petri nets by separating timing properties from other behavioral properties. The analysis of behavioral properties is conducted based on the reachability graph of the underlying Petri net, whereas timing constraints are checked in terms of absolute and relative firing domains. If a specific task execution is schedulable, we calculate the time span of the task execution, and pinpoint nonschedulable transitions to help adjust timing constraints. A technique for compositional timing analysis is also proposed to deal with complex task sequences, which not only improves efficiency but also facilitates the discussion of the reachability issue with regard to schedulability. We identified a class of well-structured time Petri nets such that their reachability can be easily analyzed.


Members of the Standards of Care project the QUAN Steering Group attended International Symposium on Quality in Washington DC in May. were given by June Girvin and Dunn about the use of the Dynamic Standard Setting System (DySSSy) by and by the research team from DySSSy' project which looks at the effect that standard setting has on patient care. Poster presentations were also presented on the work looking at classification systems by Anita McBride, and on the Standard Setting System by Sophie Hyndman and Gill Harvey, which scooped a prize for best poster. Interest in project was lively with a focus on the approach taken by DySSSy. For a full report see the article by Anita on page 11 .


Recently, Fully-Depleted Silicon on Insulator (FD-SOI) MOSFETs have been accepted as a favourable technology beyond nanometer nodes, and the technique of Recessed-Source/Drain (Re-S/D) has made it more immune in regards of various performance factors. However, the proper selection of Buried-Oxide (BOX) thickness is one of the major challenges in the design of FD-SOI based MOS devices in order to suppress the drain electric penetrations across the BOX interface efficiently. In this work, the effect of BOX thickness on the performance of TMG Re-S/D FD-SOI MOSFET has been presented at 60 nm gate length. The perspective of BOX thickness variation has been analysed on the basis of its surface potential profile and the extraction of the threshold voltage by performing two-dimensional numerical simulations. Moreover, to verify the short channel immunity, the impact of gate length scaling has also been discussed. It is found that the device attains two step-up potential profile with suppressed short channel effects. The outcomes reveal that the Drain Induced Barrier Lowering (DIBL) values are lower among conventional SOI MOSFETs. The device has been designed and simulated by using 2D numerical ATLAS Silvaco TCAD simulator.


Normative capitalization would suspend deductions for every expenditure to the extent that it procures a benefit lasting beyond the taxable year in which the cost is incurred. A number of arguments have been advanced for departing from normative capitalization, including (1) that an inability to set rational depreciation schedules renders capitalization more distortive than expensing, (2) that capitalization and expensing lead to nearly identical results given certain steady-state investment patterns, and (3) that indirect costs should be expensed because it is too difficult to identify and allocate them among capital expenditures. This article examines these and other arguments and concludes that exceptions to normative capitalization can be justified only in limited instances, but that none of the arguments considered justify departing from normative capitalization to the extent commonly accepted.


In this paper, a closed form solution for bending and free vibration analyses of simply supported rectangular laminated composite plates is presented. The static and free vibration behavior of symmetric and antisymmetric laminates is investigated using a refined first-order shear deformation theory. The Winkler–Pasternak two-parameter model is employed to express the interaction between the laminated plates and the elastic foundation. The Hamilton's principle is used to derive the governing equations of motion. The accuracy and efficiency of the theory are verified by comparing the developed results with those obtained using different laminate theories. The laminate theories including the classical plate theory, the classical first-order shear deformation theory, the higher order shear deformation theory and a three-dimensional layerwise theory are selected in order to perform a comprehensive comparison. The effects of the elastic foundation parameters, orthotropy ratio and width-to-thickness ratio on the bending deflection and fundamental frequency of laminates are investigated.


In this final lecture we will focus on asymptotically free gauge theories with extended supersymmetry and try to understand their quantum dynamics, in analogy with what we did for N = 1 supersymmetric theories in lecture 10. Asymptotically free gauge theories can enjoy di↵erent phases at low energy. In the case of N = 1 supersymmetry, we were able to understand a great deal about the exact vacuum structure and the phases such field theories can enjoy. This can obviously be done also for theories with extended supersymmetry. However, the beautiful thing about theories with extended supersymmetry is that one can also derive the low energy e↵ective action (in N = 1 setups this can be done only in very special circumstances, e.g. for SQCD in the free magnetic phase, but this is not generic at all). The main purpose of this lecture is to show how this is possible.


Introduction There is still uncertainty about the resource distribution between spinal cord injury centre (SCICs) and this may have implications to the quality of patient care.1The present study aimed to review the service provision in SCICs; to establish and compare how much time dietitians spend in direct and indirect contact with patients, and to document current nutritional screening practices. Method All 12 SCICs in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland were surveyed by questionnaire in April 2014. Data collected included the number of whole-time-equivalent staff available, whether they use of nutrition screening tools. A work sampling tool was used to capture dietetic activity for a period of one week. Results Eight (66.7%) SCICs responded (390/531 of total beds) and the average numbers (median) of patients per whole-time-equivalent staff, including consultants (18), nurses (1.3), dietitians (93.4), physiotherapists (5.9), occupational therapists (10) were recorded and comapred with previous published figures (Table 1). Six out of eight SCICs used a validated nutritional screening tool. Thirty-two work sampling tool were analysed, dietitians spend 39.1% of the working day in direct patient-related activities. Dietetic staffing levels are varied and below clinical recommendations in 6 out of 8 SCICs.Abstract PWE-420 Table 1 Human resources allocation in participating SCICs Conclusion The resources allocated to nutritional care in SCICs appear to be limited. This suggests malnutrition may continue to be under-recongnised and under-treated. To address the complex nutritional needs of this special population group, there is a clear need to establish staffing level for dietitians. Information collected from the present study could contribute to the supply analysis of future workforce planning exercise. Disclosure of interest None Declared. References Wong S, et al. Spinal Cord. 2012;50:132–135 NHS England. NHS standard contract for spinal cord injuries (all ages). NHS England, Redditch. 2013. http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-366content/uploads/2013/06/d13-spinal-cord.pdf[accessed 07.02.2015]


As part of a strategy for reducing the risk of rollover crashes and the significant injuries resulting from those crashes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is proposing changes to its former roof crush standard (FMVSS 216). This paper provides an overview of the substantial benefits of utilizing structural reinforce parts as a cost-effective means of significantly improving roof crush performance. In the past several years structural reinforced parts have gone through the transformation from interesting concept to viable alternative for the improvement of vehicle structures. Finally, this paper will introduce study investigated the utilization of these types of products as both a stand-alone solution and as part of a "hybrid" solution coupled with traditional metal solutions.


In this paper, a hybrid technique for face detection in color images is presented. The proposed technique combines three analysis models, namely skin detection, automatic eye localization, and appearance-based face/nonface classification. Using a robust histogram-based skin detection model, skin-like pixels are first identified in the RGB color space. Based on this, face bounding-boxes are extracted from the image. On detecting a face bounding-box, approximate positions of the candidate mouth feature points are identified using the redness property of image pixels. A region-based eye localization step, based on the detected mouth feature points, is then applied to face bounding-boxes to locate possible eye feature points in the image. Based on the distance between the detected eye feature points, face/non-face classification is performed over a normalized search area using the Bayesian discriminating feature (BDF) analysis method. Some subjective evaluation results are presented on images taken using digital cameras and a Webcam, representing both indoor and outdoor scenes.


It has been argued that adding wine to an investment portfolio provides a diversification benefit. There is not, however, agreement on how the return to wine should be estimated. Nor is there agreement on a standard approach to test for a diversification benefit. By considering different approaches to estimating the return to wine and testing for a diversification benefit it is shown that claims wine provides a diversification benefit should be treated with caution.


The article criticizes the World Bank as overy optimistic concerning its ability to raise the effectiveness of aid by concentrating aid on countries with "good" policies. It is shown that aid flows to the main recipient regions yielded the highest correlation to growth when their magnitudes shrank. It is argued that more aid can impair the quality of domestic policies in the recipients (endogeneity problem). The paper instead pleads for a shift of aid policies from country-oriented to issue-oriented aid. An international endowment fund under supranational law should help to finance such issues.


4D Trajectory optimization in dense terminal control area is one of the most challenging problems in air traffic management research. In order to efficiently and robustly land more aircraft at Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA), one of the busiest airport in the world, a novel trajectory operation model is proposed, i.e. Multi-layer Point Merge (ML-PM) based Autonomous Arrival Management System. This paper aims at the evaluation of its potential operational benefits in terms of flight efficiency and runway throughput. Horizontal and Vertical profiles of ML-PM route network are introduced, the objective and constraints of this optimizing mathematical model are analyzed, especially the speed change profile and the conflict detection mode for merging zone. Then a case study is made by simulating arrival flows under three different operational modes: baseline, traditional point merge, and the ML-PM. Finally, the results show that rational arrival sequence and conflict-free trajectories are generated in ML-PM system, the benefits gained are very positive. Comparing with baseline and the traditional point merge system, ML-PM system shows good performance on flight time, fuel consumption, CO2 emission. The saving of fuel with ML-PM system is expected around 26838 Yuan per hour at BCIA compared with baseline scenario by numerical simulation. Furthermore, more flexible sequence position shift and continuous descent are possible in ML-PM system, and it is capable to handle the high-density operation environment.


This paper aims to generate an optimized model of the Ni-MH battery based on the Taguchi method and it further aims to evaluate used Ni-MH batteries that served in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles. The status of twelve used Ni-MH batteries is studied to determine their usefulness after their life cycle in automotive applications. The status of used batteries is evaluated by investigating their state of charge, remaining useful life, and degradation in performance. Accordingly, the tested batteries are classified into four categories and they are proposed to serve in different applications. The novelty of the work lies in modeling used Ni-MH hybrid batteries by extracting a model that can define and calculate the battery voltage during the discharging phase, and it can study the influence of design parameters under certain conditions regardless of whether the battery is brand-new or used. Therefore, a second-order model is used to represent the used battery where an explicit mathematical formula expresses the discharge voltage of the new Ni-MH battery at different discharge pulse times, optimized later utilizing the Taguchi optimization method. Finally, the discharge voltage obtained using the developed model for different batteries is benchmarked against the actual measured discharge voltage by calculating the root mean square error.


I would like to point out that, in my report "Early differentiation of the earth and the problem of mantle siderophile elements: A new approach" (19 July, p. 303), columns 3 and 4 of table 1 (p. 305), which show the calculated Kd values at 3000 and 3500 K, are incorrect. The correct data are as follows. [See Table in the PDF File] The data plotted in the graphs have the correct high temperature Kd values, and the conclusions of the paper are unaffected by this transcription error. Also, in the heading, the phrase "calculated for an oxygen fugacity of 12.5" should have read, "calculated for an oxygen fugacity log f(O2) = –12.5".


We have fabricated the ternary (Nd, Eu, Gd)Ba2Cu3Oy system with various Nd:Eu:Gd ratios with the aim of optimizing the pinning performance at 77 K. The magnetization measurements suggest that the three elements (Nd, Eu, Gd) contribute to pinning in different manners: Nd mainly enhances flux pinning at low magnetic fields, Eu controls the second peak position and the irreversibility field, while Gd slightly enhances intermediate and high-field Jc values. The scaling analysis of the pinning force density versus the reduced field h = Ha/Hirr showed a peak at h = 0.55. This value is higher than the theoretically predicted highest value of h = 0.5, corresponding to ΔTc pinning. We proved that an excellent flux pinning can be achieved in the entire magnetic field range when sub-micron secondary phase particles are dispersed in the NEG-123 matrix with an optimum Nd:Eu:Gd ratio.


In Communities in Fiction J. Hillis Miller studies fictional representations of community in novels by Trollope, Hardy, Conrad, Woolf, and stories by Pynchon and Cervantes, to show how literature can help us understand the agonistic communal structure of the world we inhabit. Miller links rhetorical readings of his chosen writers to poststructuralist theories of community to offer a defense of literature for our digital age. Henry Sussman's Playful Intelligence expresses a similar interest in digital culture, demonstrating how modernism anticipates innovative thought in cybernetic systems theory. Drawing on a range of theoretical discourses, as well as artists and thinkers including Kandinsky, Kafka, Benjamin, Döblin, Winnicott, and Hofstadter, Sussman argues that newly emergent disciplines provide the critic with a language for articulating aesthetic experience that can, in turn, enable creative intelligence to thrive and thus become a provisional palliative for coping with the extreme conditions of modern life.


Non-pharmacological in vivo models of atrial fibrillation (AF) have been developed in large animals only. We aimed to develop and characterize a new small animal non-pharmacological in vivo model of AF. AF was induced by transesophageal atrial burst pacing during 35 seconds periods of asphyxia in anesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats. AF was reproducibly induced in 81% of the rats. The presence of AF was associated with an increased heart rate, and a decreased blood pressure. Treatment with amiodarone, D,L-sotalol, flecainide, and propranolol all reduced duration of AF, whereas verapamil treatment was associated with a marked profibrillatory effect. Increasing gap junction intracellular communication using the antiarrhythmic peptide analogue AAP10 did not affect AF duration. Basal plasma level of epinephrine and norepinephrine were increased 5- to 20-fold relative to values reported by others, but unchanged following 35 seconds of asphyxia. The results from our study demonstrate that the rat model shares several clinical key characteristics with human AF: (1) hemodynamic response to AF; (2) increased autonomic tone; (3) antiarrhythmic effects of clinically used drugs; (4) profibrillatory effect of verapamil. Relative to existing models of AF in larger animals, this model offers rapid, predictive, and inexpensive testing of antiarrhythmic/profibrillatory effects of new drugs.


At the heart of clinical governance's strategies, is a strong commitment to the principles of quality and safety. Proactive risk management is an essential tool to enhance patient safety. The present study aims to map the existing organizational climate-in terms of clinical governance in the hospital sector in Greece. The factor "A planned and integrated Quality Insurance (QI) programme and proactive risk management" is analysed in detail. It is a cross-sectional study using factor and correlation analysis, conducted for all categories of employees working in a public and a private hospital. The Clinical Governance Climate Questionnaire (CGCQ) was used with a sample size of 459 employees. The response rate was 72%. The collection of survey data held within a period of four months (May 2012 to August 2012). The study population was not supportive to the climate associated with the research topic. Statistically significant relationships between gender, age, years of experience, legal status of the hospital and the above factor were found. Management may utilize the views of the aforementioned categories of employees, in order to improve the climate of quality and develop a culture of patient safety.


In this study, the leading activities of Turkish Economy whose changes in their structure of production, value-added and employment are interrelated with the other activities of the economy, are found by using the input-output model which is presented and called as an Application of the General Equilibrium Theory by Leontief. For this purpose; firstly theoretical foundations of the input-output model are examined. After that, 59 activities of the 2002 Input-Output Table of the Turkish Economy are aggregated at 52 sectors and classified into three categories as Ricardo Sectors, High-Technology Sectors and Heckscher-Ohlin Sectors like Dasgupta and Chakraborty did for the Indian Economy in 2005. Then, the leading, key or strong activities of the economy that are more interrelated with other activities are calculated and found by the Static Leontief Model which is used by the Traditional Methods as the techniques to calculate the linkage effects like Chenery-Watanabe and Rasmussen methods to determine the sectors having the highest priority at investment policies according to the Hirschmanian Unbalanced Growth Model. As a result of the interpretation of Leontief Model, using the traditional methods of Chenery-Watanabe and Rasmussen while calculating the linkage effects rather than the hypothesis extraction methods like Strasserts Original Extraction Method, Cellas Extraction Method, Sonis Pure Linkage Method and Dietzenbacher and Van der Lindens Method or a SAM (Social Accounting Method) model which does not omit the income generating process (distributing income among primary factors and households as a result of production) of a sector, in Turkey, the Heckscher-Ohlin Sectors mostly seen in the manufacturing industry which Kaldor refers as the engine of growth, are stronger than the other sectors.


By the Gambit & Fluent software platform, the research has established a 3D (threedimensional) diagnostic PEMFC distributed parameter model. On this basis, through the UDF (user-defined functions), the faults of gas starvations in anode, cathode and both side, and the dynamic boundary conditions have been added. Additionally, under the different faults, the simulation experiments of PEMFC were carried out. Further, based on the output stack voltages and using two different methods of wavelet analysis (Morlet and Daubechies) and harmonic analysis (mainly using the Total Harmonic Distortion Analysis, THDA) respectively, the insufficient gas supply faults separately in anode, cathode and both side are recognized and classified


ABSTRACT This paper introduces the theme of the special issue on wellbeing, independence and mobility. We begin with outlining the complexity of each of these notions and then turn towards their interdependence. It is argued that the links between wellbeing, independence and mobility are manifold and contextual in older people's everyday lives: they differ between places, between individuals and across phases in each individual's unique lifecourse. The inherent complexity of those links can be examined fruitfully and understood better if a geographical or environmental analytical perspective is adopted. We also suggest that the interdependence of wellbeing, independence and mobility in later life needs to be understood in the context of neo-liberal governmentality and the creation of particular ways of being and acting for older people. The piece concludes with a brief description of the papers brought together in the special issue.


Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 440-746, Republic of Korea Summary One of the typical attacks in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), is setting up the wrong route with using a wormhole. The wormhole attack, which is accomplished by selectively relaying packets between adversaries, can ruin the routing and communication of the network without compromising any legitimate nodes. To overcome this threat, there are a few countermeasures against the wormhole attack in WSN. The WODEM (WOrmhole attack DEfense Mechanism) can detect and counter any wormhole attacks. In this scheme, the WODEM can detect and counter wormhole attacks by comparing hop count with the pre-determined initial TTL (Time To Live). The selection of the initial TTL is important since it can provide a tradeoff between the detection ability ratio and the energy consumption. In this paper, we propose a fuzzy rule-based system that can conserve energy for determining the TTL, while it provides a sufficient detection ratio for a wormhole attack.


Developing rangeland management strategies to minimize spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa Lam.) invasion will require understanding the effects of intensity, frequency, and season of grazing on weed establishment. We studied the effects of hand-clipping 2-year-old Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis Elmer) plants 0, 30, 60, or 90%, 1, 2, or 3 times (14-day intervals) on spotted knapweed seedling emergence and growth in pots watered with 150 ml once weekly or 50 ml 3 times weekly. Pots were seeded with 5,000 spotted knapweed seeds m-2, replicated twice, and placed in a growth chamber in a completely randomized design. The experiment was repeated once. Plants were harvested after 50 days. Treatment effects on soil moisture, Idaho fescue and spotted knapweed shoot and root weight, and leaf area were compared using analysis of variance and regression analysis. At final harvest, Idaho fescue shoot weight and leaf area decreased with increasing defoliation level and frequency. Idaho fescue root weight was not affected by any treatment. A single Idaho fescue defoliation at 30% and 90% increased spotted knapweed weight and numbers per pot respectively, over those pots with undefoliated plants. The level of defoliation necessary to enhance spotted knapweed numbers was lower as defoliation frequency increased. As defoliation level and frequency increased, soil water content increased resulting in a corresponding increase in spotted knapweed emergence and growth.


Given an acyclic representation $\alpha$ of the fundamental group of a compact oriented odd-dimensional manifold, which is close enough to an acyclic unitary representation, we define a refinement $T_\alpha$ of the Ray-Singer torsion associated to $\alpha$, which can be viewed as the analytic counterpart of the refined combinatorial torsion introduced by Turaev. $T_\alpha$ is equal to the graded determinant of the odd signature operator up to a correction term, the metric anomaly, needed to make it independent of the choice of the Riemannian metric.

$T_\alpha$ is a holomorphic function on the space of such representations of the fundamental group. When $\alpha$ is a unitary representation, the absolute value of $T_\alpha$ is equal to the Ray-Singer torsion and the phase of $T_\alpha$ is proportional to the $\eta$-invariant of the odd signature operator. The fact that the Ray-Singer torsion and the $\eta$-invariant can be combined into one holomorphic function allows one to use methods of complex analysis to study both invariants. In particular, using these methods we compute the quotient of the refined analytic torsion and Turaev's refinement of the combinatorial torsion generalizing in this way the classical Cheeger-Muller theorem. As an application, we extend and improve a result of Farber about the relationship between the Farber-Turaev absolute torsion and the $\eta$-invariant.

As part of our construction of $T_\alpha$ we prove several new results about determinants and $\eta$-invariants of non self-adjoint elliptic operators.


A fundamental assumption in the study of groups is that they are constituted by various interaction processes that are critical to survival, success, and failure. However, there are few methods available sophisticated enough to empirically analyze group interaction. To address this issue, we present an illustration of relational event modeling (REM). A relational event is a "discrete event generated by a social actor and directed toward 1 or more targets" (Butts, 2008, p. 159). Because REM provides a procedure to model relational event histories, it has the ability to figure out which patterns of group interaction are more or less common than others. For instance, do past patterns of interaction influence future interactions, (e.g., reciprocity), do individual attributes make it more likely that individuals will create interactions (e.g., homophily), and do specific contextual factors influence interaction patterns (e.g., complexity of a task)? The current paper provides an REM tutorial from a multiteam system experiment in which 2 teams navigated a terrain to coordinate their movement to arrive at a common destination point. We use REM to model the dominant patterns of interactions, which included the principle of inertia (i.e., past contacts tended to be future contacts) and trust (i.e., group members interacted with members they trusted more) in the current example. An online appendix that includes the example data set and source code is available as supplemental material in order to demonstrate the utility REM, which mainly lies in its ability to model rich, time-stamped trace data without severely simplifying it (e.g., aggregating interactions into a panel).


Persistent fever in a 60-yr-old man with polycystic kidney and liver diseases and bilateral hip prostheses was presented in this study. Multiple diagnostic tests failed to localize a source of infection. Subsequently, a combination of a 111ln-oxine labeled WBC and 99mTc-sulfur colloid scans (and computer subtraction) demon strated abnormally increased WBC activity in the left lobe of the liver, thus, diagnosis of an infected cyst (or cysts) was made. The patient responded to the treatment with antibiotics. This article discusses the clinical features of polycystic disease of the liver and kidneys. Infection in cysts are discussed as well as radiographie and scintigraphic investigations that can be used to diagnose and localize infection in a cyst.


Introduction: Community-based out-patient treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) is relatively new concept with reported successful outcomes.

Objective: To assess the treatment outcomes of HIV negative MDR TB patients treated as outpatient at a tertiary care center in Karachi, Pakistan.

Methods: Observational study of culture proven HIV negative MDR TB patients treated at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. Data were collected on predesigned performa regarding patient's demography, clinical features, drug sensitivity, treatment and outcome.

Results: A total of 53 HIV negative patients (27 males), with mean age of 37±15 years (range 15-76 years), received treatment as outpatient for culture proven MDR TB. 51 patients (96.2%) had pulmonary while 3 patients (5.6%) had extra-pulmonary TB. History of exposure to tuberculosis patients was found in 36 (67.9%) patients. Treatment regimen with 2nd line drugs was decided on individual basis according to DST on sputum culture results. The mean duration of treatment was 18 months. Successful outcome was seen in 25 patients (47.2%), 25 patients (47.2%) were loss to follow up and defaulted while 3 (5.6%) patients remain smear positive at the end of treatment. Success rate was 89.2% in those who completed the treatment.

Conclusion: Community-based out-patient treatment strategy is both feasible and safe for the treatment of MDR-TB patients in resource limited country like Pakistan and this strategy should be integrated into the routine approach to treatment of MDR-TB patients in the country where the expertise are available. High default rate is this strategy is the main challenge which should be addressed.


In this thesis the reader is offered two perspectives in relation to the incest offender: the one as deviant individual and the other as invented self. The first perspective is rendered visible in the question invariably asked by each incest offender when he first enters treatment, namely, 'why did I do it?' This is a psychological question in which the Truth of the offender's deviance is sought in psychological explanations based upon a Western concept of the person. However, in this thesis it is how the incest offender has come to be situated within the Field of Sex Offender Treatment as a deviant individual that is the subject of investigation. Hence, it is behavioral and cognitive-behavioral psychology's intellectual technologies, such as its ways of seeing and diagnosing, and its inscription devices that enable norms to be established, evaluations to be carried out and judgements to be made in the Field of Sex Offender Treatment that are the subject of investigation. This thesis is also concerned with regimes of self-governance. This domain of ethics is also rendered visible in the above question in which the incest offender is seeking to know the Truth of his self by both judging himself and seeking to know how he should have regulated his behavior and how he should behave. Here this thesis both investigates the regimes of self-governance invented by behavioral and cognitive-behavioral psychology in order for the offender as deviant individual to gain mastery over himself, and also offers the perspective of an invented self through an investigation of the incest offender's regime of subjectification. That is, an investigation of the diversity of ways in which the incest offender has acted upon himself, evaluated his existence and given his life meaning, as well as the diversity of ways in which he has been opened up to interventions conducted in the name of subjectivity. These investigations of how the incest offender has produced a particular relation with himself as an invented self, and how the incest offender has come to be situated within the Field of Sex Offender Treatment as a deviant individual open up different possibilities. First, the possibility for different questions to be asked regarding cognitive-behavioral treatment techniques. Secondly, the possibility that as an invented self, the incest offender can choose to invent himself differently.


The comparison of the polypeptide composition of 3 vaccinia virus strains, L-IVP, B-51 and CM-63, has revealed that strains L-IVP and B-51 are similar in their polypeptide composition, while in strain CM-63 capsid polypeptide with a molecular weight of 34000 daltons is absent or has altered electrophoretic mobility. As the result of the isolation of vaccinia envelopes (from strain L-IVP) and the electrophoretic separation of their polypeptides in plates with polyacrylamide gel 10 polypeptides have been obtained in 7 fractions, each containing 1 or 2 polypeptides. The immunization of rabbits with individual fractions has demonstrated that the formation of virus-neutralizing antibodies is induced mainly by 4-5 polypeptides in 3 fractions, having the highest molecular weight (54000-31000 daltons) and constituting about 19% of all proteins in the whole virion. The low-molecular envelopes polypeptides have been found to play no essential role in inducing the formation of virus-neutralizing antibodies. The highest antibody titers (1: 15625) have been detected in antisera to the preparations of whole vaccinia virus envelopes.


Some of you are probably old enough (like me) to remember when polaroid sunglasses first became available. They were a sensation. Glare light is reduced by more than the background light with the result that you actually have better vision—not just less light in your eyes. They work best in situations where the sun is more or less in front of you and the combination of reflected light and near-specular scatter causes a bright glare that dominates your field of view. Because reflectance is a function polarization, the glare light (which has been reflected once) often has a horizontal polarization component that is much stronger than the vertical component. Normal background light (which has been reflected many times, at many angles) is more evenly divided between the two polarizations. Polaroid sunglasses simply discriminate against the horizontal component to reduce the fraction of glare light. If you look at the blue sky, which is a source of scattered light, through your sunglasses, you will find that rotating the glasses 90 degrees causes the sky to look dimmer (i.e., the sky has a strong vertical component). This effect is most strongly pronounced if you look in a direction perpendicular to the sun's rays. These two examples clearly demonstrate that scattering is polarization sensitive.

When light is scattered, its polarization, as well as its amplitude and direction, is changed. The changes depend on the sample shape and material, as well as the polarization, amplitude, and direction of the incident beam. All three quantities must be considered to examine the effect of a sample on the reflected and transmitted light. A complete description of the polarization characteristics of an EM wave, before or after sample interaction, can be accomplished by straightforward measurements. Comparison of polarization amplitude and direction, before and after interaction with the sample, allows information about the sample material to be obtained. The trick is to relate the before-and-after changes to useful, or needed, sample characteristics.

Chapters 3 and 4 discussed the relationship between smooth reflector topography and the resulting changes in the reflected light.


The transient conjugated turbulent heat transfer with axial conduction in the wall and convection boundary conditions is solved with the generalized integral transform technique for the flow of a Newtonian fluid in a parallel-plate duct subjected to periodically varying inlet temperature. A lumped model that neglects transverse temperature gradients in the solid, but fakes info account the axial heat conduction along the wall, is adapted. Accurate numerical results are presented for the fluid bulk temperature, wall temperature, and wall heat flux. The effects of the conjugation parameter, fluid-to-solid heat capacitance ratio, and Biot number on the behavior of the periodic responses are investigated


Using a superconducting magnetic flux pump, thick power leads for a superconducting magnet could be replaced with thin string leads to excite the excitation magnet of the superconducting flux pump. We have developed a new type of flux pump with high-voltage output to shorten the charge and discharge time of the load magnet. The test of the pump with four stacked disks as the exciter for the load magnet has been carried out. This disk type flux pump yielded 70 mV of voltage across its terminal and 10 A of current through a 85 mH load magnet which was the field winding of 20 kVA class fully superconducting generator within 12 seconds. This output voltage of the new flux pump is about 10 times larger than that of our previous work. Moreover since it is easy to stack disks for a superconducting flux pump, the high-voltage exciter for a 1 H class superconducting magnet could be expected to be made easily.


It is well known that in vitro subculture represents a selection pressure on cell lines, and over time this may result in a genetic drift in the cancer cells. In addition, long‐term cultures harbor the risk of cross‐contamination with other cell lines. The consequences may have major impact on experimental results obtained in various laboratories, where the cell lines no longer reflect the original tumors that they are supposed to represent. Much neglected in the scientific community is a close monitoring of cell cultures by regular phenotypic and genetic characterization. In this report, we present a thorough characterization of the commonly used glioblastoma (GBM) model U‐251, which in numerous publications has been wrongly identified as U‐373, due to an earlier cross‐contamination. In this work, the original U‐251 and three subclones of U‐251, commonly referred to as U‐251 or U‐373, were analyzed with regard to their DNA profile, morphology, phenotypic expression, and growth pattern. By array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH), we show that only the original low‐passaged U‐251 cells, established in the 1960s, maintain a DNA copy number resembling a typical GBM profile, whereas all long‐term subclones lost the typical GBM profile. Also the long‐term passaged subclones displayed variations in phenotypic marker expression and showed an increased growth rate in vitro and a more aggressive growth in vivo. Taken together, the variations in genotype and phenotype as well as differences in growth characteristics may explain different results reported in various laboratories related to the U‐251 cell line.


My research focuses on the intersection of computer systems, algorithmic game theory, and economic mechanism design. My interdisciplinary work has introduced computer architects to a rich body of knowledge in economics and game theory. My dissertation marks the beginning of a paradigm shift in computer architecture toward more robust, game-theoretic analysis of shared systems. As a result, my work has been acclaimed by the computer architecture community. The Amdahl bidding mechanism [3] received the Best Paper Award at HPCA'18, the computational sprinting game [7] received the Best Paper Award at ASPLOS'16, was selected as a CACM Research Highlight, and was distinguished as one of the IEEE Micro Top Picks Honorable Mentions, and REF [9] was recognized as one of the IEEE Micro Top Picks in 2014.


A Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR)-based least-squares output feedback control procedure using a complex mode procedure is developed for the optimal vibration control of high-order asymmetric discrete system. An LQ Regulator is designed for a reduced-order model obtained by neglecting high-frequency complex modes of the original system. The matrix transformations between physical coordinates and complex mode coordinates are derived. The complex mode approach appears to provide more accurate reduced-order models than the normal mode approach for asymmetric discrete systems. The proposed least-squares output feedback control procedure takes advantage of the fact that a full-state feedback control is possible without using an observer. In addition, the lateral vibration of a high-order rotor system can be effectively controlled by monitoring one single location along the rotor shaft, i.e., the number of measured states can be much less than the number of eigenvectors retained in producing the reduced-order model while acceptable performance of the controller is maintained. The procedure is illustrated by means of a 52 degree-of-freedom finite element based rotordynamic system. Simulation results show that LQ regulators based on a reduced-order model with 12 retained eigenvalues can be accurately approximated by using feedback of four measured states from one location along the rotor shaft. The controlled and uncontrolled transient responses, using various numbers of measured states, of the original high-order system are shown. Comparisons of reduced-order model results using normal modes and complex modes are presented. The spillover problem is discussed for both collocated and noncollocated cases based on this same example.


The PANDA experiment will be part of the future Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) and aims for the study of strong interaction within the charm sector via antiproton proton collisions up to antiproton momenta of 15 GeV/c. Reflecting the variety of the physics program the PANDA detector is designed as a multi-purpose detector able to perform tracking, calorimetry and particle identification with nearly complete coverage of the solid angle. The Electromagnetic Calorimeter (EMC) contained inside its Target Spectrometer is based on cooled PbWO4 scintillator crystals. In order to ensure an excellent performance throughout the large dynamic range of photon/electron energies ranging from a few MeV up to 15 GeV an extensive prototyping phase is mandatory. This contribution describes the measured response of the EMC barrel part prototype PROTO60 at the largest design energy to secondary beams provided by the SPS at CERN. In addition to PROTO60 a tracking station was deployed, providing precise position information of the 15 GeV/c positrons. For calibration purposes a 150 GeV/c muon beam and cosmic radiation, in combination with estimations from GEANT4 simulations were used. The obtained performance concerning energy, position and time information is presented.


Changes in the physical and chemical processes during the ignition delay period of a gas-fueled diesel engine (dual-fuel engine) due to the increased admission of the gaseous fuels and diluents are examined. The extension to the chemical aspects of the ignition delay with the added gaseous fuels and the diluents into the cylinder charge is evaluated using detailed reaction kinetics for the oxidation of dual-fuel mixtures at an adiabatic constant volume process while employing n-heptane as a representative of the main components of the diesel fuel. In the examination of the physical aspects of the delay period, the relative contributions of changes in charge temperature, pressure, physical properties, pre-ignition energy release, heat transfer, and the residual gas effects due to the admission of the gaseous fuels are discussed and evaluated. It is shown that the introduction of gaseous fuels and diluents into the diesel engine can substantially affect both the physical and chemical processes within the ignition delay period. The major extension of the delay is due to the chemical factors, which strongly depend on the type of gaseous fuel used and its concentration in the cylinder charge.


Broadly speaking, the issue of sustainability in the fashion industry is nothing new (Fletcher, 2016; Gwilt,2014; Siegle, 2008), and it continues to gain momentum; unsurprising, given that, despite the warnings, there are more garments in circulation than ever. However, although the inherent problem with 'Fast Fashion' lay in the over-production and over-consumption of clothing, to, ultimately, satisfy the consumer's desire, we cannot blame the consumer. We must return to the first stage of the cycle; the designer, and contemplate how we, the educator, can awaken the student's relationship to their practice, with a sustainable and conscious mind-set.

In her 2015 Anti_Fashion Manifesto for the next decade, Li Edelkoort (2015) stated that we are witnessing "the end of fashion as we know it", making reference to the impact of 'Fast Fashion' on the future drivers of the fashion eco-system; today's 'Generation Y' fashion design students. Edelkoort declares that the expectation to create accessories, brochures, to arrange shows, photography, and communications, only serves to dilute the essence, and purpose, of 21st century, sustainable, fashion design thinking.
Within a year of the publication of Edelkoort's manifesto, Kate Fletcher's 'Craft of Use' (2016) project paid homage to the 'tending and wearing' of garments as much as their creation, revealing the expression of fashion 'in a world not dependent on continuous consumption', where garments, whilst 'sold as a product, are lived as a process'.

This paper considers these two globally renowned fashion educators' predictions and practices, and demonstrates ways in which their influence has served as a bedrock in the advancement a BA (Hons) Fashion curriculum, in the context of sustainability, and a conducive re-alignment of fashion design thinking and practice, pedagogically.
A case study will demonstrate the methodologies applied by a final year BA (Hons) Fashion student through a graduate collection that articulates a holistic approach to sustainable design practice. From mindful practice at the initial stages of exploration, to a collection that takes a non-binary approach, not only in its aesthetic, adaptable sizing and fit offer, but in offering solutions to wider social, economic, and consumptive issues.


The artificial pancreas is composed of a continuous glucose sensor that senses the user's sugar level, an insulin infusion pump that secretes insulin into the user's body when required; and an algorithm that regulates the insulin based on the glucose levels obtained from the sensor. In order to minimize cost and time to build and verify such a complex system, one must first model and simulate the system. This methodology in turn provides risk-free testing environments and can also be tested with different scenarios.
This thesis will focus on modelling and simulating the artificial pancreas using Discrete EVent System Specification in Real-Time (DEVSRT).This is accomplished by simulating both a meal model and a control algorithm to control the insulin pump based of the data provided by the continuous glucose monitor. The meal model simulation will validate the control algorithm model.


Longitudinal studies are essential tools in medical research. In these studies, variables are not restricted to single measurements but can be seen as variable-trajectories, either single or joint. Thus, an important question concerns the identification of homogeneous patient trajectories.kml and kml3d are R packages providing an implementation of k-means designed to work specifically on trajectories (kml) or on joint trajectories (kml3d). They provide various tools to work on longitudinal data: imputation methods for trajectories (nine classic and one original), methods to define starting conditions in k-means (four classic and three original) and quality criteria to choose the best number of clusters (four classic and one original). In addition, they offer graphic facilities to "visualize" the trajectories, either in 2D (single trajectory) or 3D (joint-trajectories). The 3D graph representing the mean joint-trajectories of each cluster can be exported through LATEX in a 3D dynamic rotating PDF graph (Figures 1 and 9).


We study the impacts on remittances of offering migrants temporary discounts on remittance transaction fees. We randomly assigned migrants from El Salvador and Guatemala 10-week remittance transaction fee discounts, and assess impacts using administrative transaction data and a post-experiment survey. Temporary discounts lead to substantial increases in the number of transactions and total amount remitted during the discount period. Surprisingly, these increases persist up to 20 weeks after expiration of the discount. We find no evidence that the discounts cause migrants to shift remittances from other remittance channels, or to send remittances on behalf of other migrants. These findings are consistent with naivete on the part of migrants regarding remittance recipients' reference-dependent preferences.


OBJECTIVE
Previously, we demonstrated hyperreactive adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) release in patients with primary fibromyalgia syndrome (primary FMS). We investigated the pituitary release of growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (PRL) in search of further disturbances in neuroendocrine reactivity possibly associated with the pathophysiology of primary FMS.

METHODS
Ten female patients with primary FMS fulfilling the 1981 Yunus criteria and 10 matched, healthy and sedentary controls were subjected to an insulin induced hypoglycemia test; samples for measurement of glucose, GH and PRL were taken at intervals.

RESULTS
Compared to the controls, the patients with primary FMS displayed significantly lower basal GH levels, whereas their basal PRL levels were slightly, though significantly, higher (respectively p = 0.021 and p = 0.041). Following hypoglycemia, there was a marked, statistically highly significant (p = 0.001), hyperreactivity of the GH response in patients with primary FMS. The PRL response showed wide interindividual variation and did not differ between patients and controls.

CONCLUSION
Our findings indicate that fibromyalgia, along with ACTH hyperreactivity, also exhibits a distinct disturbance in the GH-somatomedin C axis. With regard to PRL, the variation in individual responses limits conclusions. The hyperreactive response patterns of GH and ACTH previously suggest a common origin, which might be related to a subtle glucocorticoid deficiency.


This DEVORA field note summarises the journal article: Volcanoes in the big smoke: a review of hazard and risk in the Auckland Volcanic Field. By Linsday, J.M . (2010). In: Williams A.L., Pinches G.M., Chin C.Y. McMorran T.J. and Massey C.I. (eds). Geologically Active. Delegate Papers of the 11th Congress of the International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment (IAEG). 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London.


Dietary intakes during pregnancy are of myriad standing in view of managing higher nutritional demands and maintaining optimum micronutrient status of the growing fetus. Studies in relation to habitual dietary intake in Indian women in relation to birth weight of the new born are limited, Healthy pregnant women were enrolled to assess their dietary intake status, micronutrient profile and birth outcomes 24-hour dietary recall, serum analysis and birth weight measurements, respectively. At enrolment during the end of second trimester nutritional intake of more than 90% of women were found to be below the recommended dietary allowances. Thereafter, at the end of subsequent trimesters significant change in energy, protein, fat vitamin a and vitamin C (p<0.001) were observed excluding iron. Serum magnesium, zinc and iron status were found to decline at each follow up visit. (p<0.001). Magnesium deficiency throughout the period of pregnancy was found to be significantly associated lower birth weight. Pre delivery and postpartum anaemia and a Vitamin A deficient diets were found to be significantly associated with low birth weight of the new born. The results reveal that the probability of low birth weight of the new born increases with lower overall dietary intake accompanied by magnesium and vitamin A deficiency. Presence of anaemia was also found to be an associated contributory factor. Individualized dietary counselling sessions of all pregnant women should be promoted to ensure adequate dietary intake in terms of quantity and quality to attain optimum macro and micronutrient status to prevent low birth weight of the new born


As electronic commerce grows, states continue to lose tax revenue from vendors who fail to collect taxes on goods sold over the Internet. The problem has become so severe that 44 states and the District of Columbia are working on legislation, known as the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, to simplify collection of taxes from Internet vendors. The Agreement simplifies rates and requires businesses to collect taxes when selling goods in remote locations. Businesses need to pay particular attention to this new Agreement for two reasons. First, it is likely to become law in nearly every state, and second, it requires businesses to pay back taxes on goods sold over the Internet if they fail to meet the requirements of its amnesty provision.


The rising world prices for major tradable staples such as maize have been a concern of many Sub-Saharan African countries also in Kenya. Kenya is a maize deficit country and has to meet domestic demand through maize imports. Maize is a major staple food for over 80 percent of Kenya's population. It contributes up to 40 percent of the dietary energy supply and the country is accordingly searching for ways to increase maize productivity. History has shown that growth in productivity and functional input and commodity marketing systems are intimately tied with gains in agricultural production. Maize productivity has been rising in the last decade mainly as a result of the use of improved germplasm and fertilizer. However, the proportion of farmers using these technologies is low and the aggregate productivity in maize is still low compared to other countries and its potential. Many adoption studies have been carried out in Kenya and recommendations given, but the problem of low adoption rates for improved germplasm persists. This thus necessitates re-looking at the problem of technology diffusion from a different perspective. Previous studies have often assumed the existence of perfect input and product markets, tending to ignore the important but significant role played by institutions as well as the role of transaction costs associated with market exchange. The analysis detailed in this thesis makes use of qualitative information from institutions and actors in seed input value chains as well as quantitative information collected from a sample of 150 representative small-scale farmers in the Moist Transitional Maize Zones of Embu in Kenya. A two stage regression model was applied to analyze determinants of adoption and factors affecting degree of adoption of certified improved maize seed. The •4. results indicate that factors such as Experience in years of using certified maize seed, Distance to motor-able road, Access to credit, Age of the head, education level of the head, Degree of market participation, size of cultivated acreage and fourth wealth, play an important role in the decision of whether or not to use certified seed and on what proportion of maize area to allocate to certified seeds. By introducing elements of transaction costs this study found that as farmers adopt certified seeds, they incur higher transaction costs than non-adopters. However, the only category of transaction costs found significant were costs related to seed search costs.


email@example.com This paper will examine the various predictions about how technology will transform society. We live in an era of rapid technological development and deployment. Teachers are expected to prepare student for this onslaught on biomedical breakthroughs automation and communication/computer tools. In light of these advances, students need to be anticipatory and congruent with rapidly changing technologies. What should they know about technological uncertainty and security? Technological dependency? Information overload? Technology/human relations? How can we, as teachers, stimulate a discourse about technology and changes in the workplace? What should we know about futurists' predictions for the next decade? What should be the pedagogical strategy as the 21 century becomes more technologically sophisticated? The paper will raise these questions as a stimulus for further discussion.


Actinobacillus succinogenes is a natural succinate producer, which is the result of fumarate respiration. Succinate production from anaerobic growth with C4 -dicarboxylates requires transporters catalysing uptake and efflux of C4 -dicarboxylates. Transporter Asuc_1999 (DcuE) found in A. succinogenes belongs to the Dcu family and was considered the main transporter for fumarate respiration. However, deletion of dcuE affected l-malate uptake of A. succinogenes rather than fumarate uptake. DcuE complemented anaerobic growth of Escherichia coli on l-malate or fumarate; thus, the transporter was characterized in E. coli heterologously. Time-dependent uptake and competitive inhibition assays demonstrated that l-malate is the most preferred substrate for uptake by DcuE. The Vmax of DcuE for l-malate was 20.04 μmol/gDW·min with Km of 57 μM. The Vmax for l-malate was comparable to that for fumarate, whereas the Km for l-malate was 8 times lower than that for fumarate. The catalytic efficiency of DcuE for l-malate was 7.3-fold higher than that for fumarate, showing high efficiency and high affinity for l-malate. Furthermore, DcuE catalysed the reversible exchange of three C4 -dicarboxylates - l-malate, fumarate and succinate - but the preferred substrate for uptake was l-malate. Under physiological conditions, the C4 -dicarboxylates were reduced to succinate. Therefore, DcuE is proposed as the l-malate/succinate antiporter in A. succinogenes.


The extent of binding of glycolytic enzymes to the particulate fraction of homogenates was measured in bovine psoas muscle before and after electrical stimulation. In association with an accelerated glycolytic rate on stimulation, there was a significant increase in the binding of certain glycolytic enzymes, the most notable of which were phosphofructokinase, aldolase, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase and pyruvate kinase. From the known association of glycolytic enzymes with the I-band of muscle it is proposed that electrical stimulation ofanaerobic muscle increases enzyme binding to actin filaments. Calculations of the extent of enzyme binding suggest that significant amounts of enzyme protein, particularly aldolase and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, are associated with the actin filaments. The results also imply that kinetic parameters derived from considerations of the enzyme activity in the soluble state may not have direct application to the situation in the muscle fibre, particularly during accelerated glycolysis.


Preliminary analyses to determine some geotechnical properties of two soil samples A and B collected from Osun State, Nigeria were carried out. Soil samples passing through sieve with 0.425 mm opening were prepared to different moisture contents (60 or 80%) and poured inside a rectangular electrochemical cell. Direct Current voltage (20 or 40 V) was applied across the moist soil using steel plate electrodes inserted at the end of the soil. The spacing of the electrodes was varied (10 or 20 cm). The electrochemical treatment time was 360 min. The Electro-osmotic (EO) flow was recorded at every 30 min during the experiment A factorial experiment was performed to determine the factor that had most significant effect on the EO flow. The factors varied were electrode spacing (S), applied voltage (V) and initial moisture content (M). The results showed that S was inversely proportional to the EO flow, while V and M were directly proportional to the EO flow. The initial moisture content (M) has the highest estimated effect (91.825 and 243.35 for samples A and B, respectively) and thus the most significant effect on the EO process. The general effects were same for the two soil samples, but the rate of the effect varied, which implied that EO dewatering was site dependent. It was concluded that EO dewatering was a viable option for dewatering of tropical laterite. Keywords : Electro-osmosis, Soil Dewatering, Tropical Laterite,


A significant increase in the proportion (mean 38% +/- 9.3 SD) and absolute number of T gamma (suppressor) lymphocytes was observed in 13 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) compared with 20 normal controls (mean 19% +/- 6.5). Conversely, the proportion of T mu (helper) lymphocytes was lower in CLL (mean 27% +/- 9.3) than in the controls (mean 40% +/- 4), although the absolute numbers were normal or increased. It is suggested that an imbalance of T-lymphocyte subsets controlling B-lymphocyte differentiation may be relevant in the pathogenesis of CLL or some of its associated features.


Multiple clinical trials have demonstrated the benefit of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) for the primary prevention of sudden cardiac death in selected high-risk populations.1–5 On the basis of the results from clinical trials and incorporation of evidence into practice guidelines, >12 000 ICD implantation procedures are now performed each month in the United States.6 After publication of the Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Trial (SCD-HeFT), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services expanded coverage for the implantation of primary prevention ICDs for Medicare beneficiaries. This was accompanied by the decision for Coverage with Evidence Development (CED), mandating that all implantations in Medicare patients be recorded in a prospective registry, now the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR), as a requirement for reimbursement. There has been increased focus related to the potential use of this therapy outside criteria specified in selected clinical trials, and the possibility of potential overuse of ICDs has also been raised, heightened by recent Department of Justice investigations that included use of ICDs in situations in which gaps in evidence exist.7 Because ICD therapy is costly, the need to measure the long-term outcome of patients receiving ICDs for primary prevention indications in an aging population has been recognized, allowing assessment of outcomes beyond the confines of randomized, clinical trials.8

Article see p 845

Were elderly patients (≥65 years) well represented in clinical trials to support the practice of implantation in the Medicare population? Although no trial specifically focused on ICD use in the elderly, primary prevention ICD trials have included a substantial number of elderly patients (Table). In real-life clinical practice, 61% of ICD recipients in the United States are ≥65 years of age,9 with an average age of 67.3±13.0 years in the NCDR.6 Thirty percent of patients are 70 …


We present the first multi-site study of dinoflagellate cyst records spanning ca. AD 1860–2000 from the west Iberian coast. Our aim was to reconstruct environmental changes in the Western Iberia Upwelling Ecosystem, one of the most biologically productive areas in the world, and an active fishery region. A major shift in cyst assemblages was recorded off the northwestern shelf sector between 1920 and 1950 towards autotrophic dominance, and consisted of a multi-fold increase in total cyst concentrations and cysts of Lingulodinium polyedrum, accompanied by an increase in Protoceratium reticulatum cysts. The observed changes pre-date the industrialization of agriculture in Portugal, and are concomitant with a shift in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) towards negative indices (higher river input) and increasing sea-surface temperatures. The southernmost record, with reduced river- and human influence, showed only minor changes during the 20th century. Here, an increase in Protoperidinioid cysts after the 1980s is related to upwelling intensification. Our study indicates that the main changes recorded in the Western Iberian Upwelling system during the 20th century were driven by regional climate variability (warming, increased water stability and nutrient availability), possibly enhanced by anthropogenic nutrient input from the second half of the century. Our results highlight the complexity of the environmental drivers that may act upon dinoflagellate communities within the same region. The 20th-century environmental change in the Western Iberian Ecosystem has resulted in a shift towards marked autotrophic dominance of dinoflagellate cyst communities, and the northward expansion of species associated with Harmful Algal Blooms.


We determined the levels of lysozyme in pleural fluid and serum in 141 patients with the following different causes for their pleural effusions: tuberculosis; neoplasias; transudates; parapneumonic, not complicated; empyemas; and miscellaneous. The lysozyme level of the pleural fluid and the ratio of that level over the serum level of lysozyme (PL/SL ratio) was meaningfully increased in patients with empyema (p less than 0.01). The groups with tuberculous and neoplastic effusions showed significant differences in the PL/SL ratio (p less than 0.01). The existence of a raised PL/SL ratio suggested important local synthesis of lysozyme, and it came up in empyemas and tuberculosis, unlike the other groups. Excluding the patients with empyemas, a PL/SL ratio of 1.2 showed a sensitivity of 100 percent, specificity of 94.9 percent, positive predictive value of 94.7 percent, negative predictive value of 100 percent, and accuracy of 97.3 percent for the diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion. All of this suggests that the determination of the lysozyme level can be an easy method of great usefulness in the initial diagnosis of pleural effusions.


This document is a technical Recommendation to use as the basis for providing audit and certification of the trustworthiness of digital repositories. It provides a detailed specification of criteria by which digital repositories shall be audited. The OAIS Reference Model contained a roadmap which included the need for a certification standard. The initial work was to be carried out outside CCSDS and then brought back into CCSDS to take into the standard.
In 2003, Research Libraries Group (RLG) and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) created a joint task force to specifically address digital repository certification. That task force published Trustworthy Repositories Audit & Certification: Criteria and Checklist (TRAC—reference [B3]), on which this Recommended Practice is based. Through the process of normal evolution, it is expected that expansion, deletion, or modification of this document may occur. This Recommended Practice is therefore subject to CCSDS document management and change control procedures, which are defined in the Procedures Manual for the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems. Current versions of CCSDS documents are maintained at the CCSDS Web site: http://www.ccsds.org/


An acrylate emulsion was modified by vinyltriethoxy silane (VTES, trade name A-151) to synthesize the acrylosilane emulsion with high properties. The effect of the amount of A-151 on the properties pf the emulsion was investigated. It found that adding 6 % of A-151, the fraction extensibility of the emulsion film could be increased to 530 % and its water absorption was reduced to 4.2 % while adding 10 % of A-151. On the other side, the particle size and distribution of the emulsion were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Malvern Particle Size Analyzer (PSA) respectively. The measuring results showed that the particle diameter of the modified emulsion could be between 100 and 700 nanometers, and the properties of the emulsion could be apparently improved by adding A-151 into the system of emulsion polymerization.


Equipment being used in medical or industrial institutions is often a source of ionizing radiation with different energies and types, which complicates the detection and assessment of doses. Up until now, for dosimetric measurements of ionizing radiation, Gamma-31 dosimeters have been used in the Central Mining Institute for many years. Now, this system will be expanded by a Panasonic system, for which measurement procedures were developed and comparisons with other dosimeters were held. The method is based on a four-element dosimeters UD-802 Panasonic equipped with CaSO and LiBO detectors additionally sheltered by filters of different surface mass. The use of UD-802 dosimeters, in contrast to Gamma-31 dosimeters, permits measuring radiation doses in a different range of photon energy. Consequently, it is possible to obtain a more accurate analysis of the hazards caused by gamma radiation in underground mines. The publication includes a description of the dosimetry system and presents the results of measurements conducted by means of both types of dosimeters. In order to verify the correctness of the indications of the new dosimetry system a series of measurements were carried out, which allowed examining the behaviour of the dosimeters under different environmental conditions. As a place of exposure, the selected laboratories in the Silesian Centre for Environmental Radiometry were chosen, where the work is connected with (TE)NORM and equipment producing ionizing radiation or containing sources of this type of radiation. Moreover, to observe the dosimeters behaviour in difficult environmental conditions, they were exposed in water treatment plants and an underground potassium salt mine.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the changes and relationship of cervical spine sagittal alignment and other spinal-pelvic sagittal parameters in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

METHODS
Between July 2011 and July 2014, 35 patients with idiopathic scoliosis who met the inclusion criteria underwent posterior pedicle screw instrumentation and fusion. There were 12 males and 23 females with a mean age of 16.2 years (range, 13-20 years), including 16 cases of Lenke type 1, 7 cases of Lenke type 2, 4 cases of Lenke type 3, 3 cases of Lenke type 4, 4 cases of Lenke type 5, and 1 case of Lenke type 6. The average follow-up time was 10.9 months (range, 5-36 months). The pelvic incidence (PI), pelvic tilt (PT), sacral slope (SS), lumbar lordosis (LL), thoracic kyphosis (TK), cervical lordosis (CL), T1 slope, C2 slope, C7 sagittal vertical axis (C7 SVA), C2.7 plumbline (cSVA) were measured on pre- and post-operative standing lateral X-ray film. Based on preoperative CL, the patients were divided into kyphosis group (CL > 0 degress) and lordosis group (CL < 0 degrees); after operation, the patients were divided into restored lordosis (group A), decreased kyphosis (group B), and increased lordosis (group C) after operation. All data about sagittal profile changes were analyzed. The relations between CL and other spinal-pelvic parameters in the kyphosis and lordosis groups before operation were determined via Spearman correlation coefficient.

RESULTS
Statistically significant changes were observed in PT, PI, SS, and LL between at pre- and post-operation (P < 0.05), but no significant difference was found in the other parameters (P > 0.05). There were 17 patients in lordosis group and 18 in kyphosis group before operation. Intra-group comparisons showed significant changes in PT, PI, SS, C2 slope, and C7 SVA in lordosis group, and in PT, PI, SS, LL, CL, TK, T1 slope, and C2 slope in kyphosis group (P < 0.05). Subgroup comparisons showed significant changes in CL, TK, C2 slope, C7 SVA, and T1 slope before operation (P < 0.05) and T1 slope at last follow-up between 2 groups (P < 0.05). In kyphosis group, 7 cases (group A) had restored lordosis, 7 cases (group B) had decreased kyphosis, and 4 cases had increased lordosis. In lordosis group, 9 cases (group C) had increased lordosis, 3 cases had decreased lordosis, and 5 cases had kyphotic cervical alignment after operation. Significant difference was found in LL, CL, T1 slope, C2 slope, and C7 SVA of group A, in TK and CL of group B, and in CL and cSVA of group C between pre- and post-operation (P < 0.05). There were significant differences in pre- and post-operative LL between groups A and B (P < 0.05). In lordosis group, there was a strong correlation between CL and C2 slope (P < 0.05) at preoperation. CL had strong correlation with C2 slope and T1 slope (P < 0.05) at pre-operation in kyphosis group, and CL had moderate correlation with cSVA (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
Cervical sagittal alignment plays an important role in the balance of the spine and pelvis. The change of cervical sagittal alignment has a certain correlation with the change of thoracic kyphosis. Attention to properly maintaining or restoring cervical sagittal lordosis alignment should be considered in preoperative evaluation of adolescent indiopathic scoliosis.


Harmonograms are visual designs based on harmonic analyses of strings of characters. Fourier descriptors are synthesized according to character positions and values, and then traditional methods are used to generate the resulting curves. Undersampling introduces visual artifacts that actually enhance the final designs. While their primary use is for the creation of artistic designs, harmonograms may have a practical application as a method for encoding and decoding information via the frequency domain. r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


In this paper, we argue, using two real-world applications from the automotive industry, that the biggest benefit of a Design Structure Matrix (DSM) model may come not from re- sequencing and partitioning, but rather from "rewiring" the process/blocks. By "rewiring" we mean redefining relationships among elements and/or inserting new elements into the matrix. This requires intimate understanding of the process and cannot be done with application of context-free partitioning algorithms. The Do-it-Right-First-Time (DRFT) approach to DSM restructuring is another way to look at a DSM by inspecting the sources of iteration within a block and reversing it through inserting a DRFT activity at the beginning of the block. In other words, we reverse the traditional Design-Build-Test "Cycle" into a DRFT-Design-Build "Sequence". That is, the "wiring diagram" of a process or system overpowers the behavior of the individual nodes, so changing the system requires changing the wiring.


MR dampers are new kind of the most promising devices for structural vibration control. In this paper, an overview of the structure and working principle of shear-valve mode magnetorheological (MR) damper is given. An experimental study was carried out to test the performance characteristics of a shear-valve mode MR damper, its dynamic testing was performed on a Material Testing System (MTS) under sinusoidal and triangle excitation. Based on experimental data, the dynamic characteristics, energy dissipation and dynamic response time were analyzed. The present work lays down a foundation for MR damper application in the semi-active vibration control system.


This study investigates the time-dependent rheological behavior of cemented paste backfill (CPB) that contains alkali-activated slag (AAS) as a binder. Rheological measurements with the controlled shear strain method have been conducted on various AAS-CPB samples with different binder contents, silicate modulus (Ms: SiO2/Na2O molar ratio), fineness of slag and curing temperatures. The Bingham model afforded a good fit to all of the CPB mixtures. The results show that AAS-CPB samples with high binder content demonstrate a more rapid rate of gain in yield stress and plastic viscosity. AAS-CPB also shows better rheological behavior than CPB samples made up of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) at identical binder contents. It is found that increasing Ms yields lower yield stress and plastic viscosity and the rate of gain in these parameters. Increases in the fineness of slag has an adverse effect on rheological behavior of AAS-CPB. The rheological behavior of both OPC- and AAS-CPB samples is also strongly enhanced at higher temperatures. AAS-CPB samples are found to be more sensitive to the variation in curing temperatures than OPC-CPB samples with respect to the rate of gain in yield stress and plastic viscosity. As a result, the findings of this study will contribute to well understand the flow and transport features of fresh CPB mixtures under various conditions and their changes with time.


Single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) has recently been introduced as a powerful detector for long-distance underwater visible light communication (UVLC). In this paper, the performance of the SPAD detector in UVLC is analyzed considering the effect of the turbulence-induced fading resulting from air bubbles in addition to the combined effect of attenuation and scattering. An automatic repeat request (ARQ) system is adopted to mitigate different underwater impairments and reduce the error probability at the receiver side. Approximate packet error rate (PER) expressions are derived using Laguerre Gauss polynomial for a finite number of transmission. Next, the average energy efficiency and throughput are analyzed to account for the increased energy consumption cost and the decreased effective transmission rate, which results from adopting the ARQ scheme. Finally, different numerical results are introduced to verify the derived PER expressions, demonstrate the ability of the proposed ARQ system in extending the transmission range, and show the tradeoff between energy efficiency and throughput.


The present study aims at drawing a comparison between the 'article+infinitive' constructions in Italian and Spanish. The comparative analysis will tackle both structural questions and the use of these constructions in the two languages. It will be argued that in spite of the extensive similarity of the infinitive preceded by an article (or any other determiner) in Italian and Spanish there are some important divergences that should be noted, too: Italian displays three, Spanish only two subtypes of the basic pattern. Our contrastive analysis allows us to make some more general observations concerning the syntax of Italian and Spanish, in particular with regards to the expression of the subject.


Spinal muscular atrophy with respiratory distress type 1 (SMARD1), a notably common form of non-5q-spinal muscular atrophy, can be confused with infantile spinal muscular atrophy and is characterized by the early onset of diaphragmatic palsy and predominantly distal muscle weakness. The defective gene, immunoglobulin mu-binding protein 2 (IGHMBP2), is located on chromosome 11q13-q21. In this study, we screened the IGHMBP2 gene in 53 unrelated Han Chinese non-5q-spinal muscular atrophy patients and 100 healthy controls. Two novel mutations (c.711+1G>C and c.1817G>A) and 5 nucleotide polymorphisms (c.57T>C, c.1554C>T, c.1914G>A, c.2080C>T, and c.2270G>C) were identified. However, only 1 patient harbored the compound heterozygous mutations (c.711+1G>C, c.1817G>A). Furthermore, the homozygous c.2636C>A (p.T879 K) variation, which has been included as a mutation in the Human Gene Mutation Database, was found both in patients and healthy individuals. In conclusion, the IGHMBP2 gene was not found to be a major causative gene linked to Han Chinese non-5q-spinal muscular atrophy patients.


Abstract In this paper, we investigate the comparative properties of empirically estimated monetary models of the U.S. economy using a new database of models designed for such investigations. We focus on three representative models due to Christiano, Eichenbaum, and Evans (2005), Smets and Wouters (2007), and Taylor (1993a). Although these models differ in terms of structure, estimation method, sample period, and data vintage, we find surprisingly similar economic impacts of unanticipated changes in the federal funds rate. However, optimized monetary policy rules differ across models and lack robustness. Model averaging offers an effective strategy for improving the robustness of policy rules.


SIR,-Drs. J. G. Graham and A. Campbell in their letter (June 30, p. 1514) suggest, without any proof, that perhaps a greater percentage of an oral dose of hexamethonium dibromide is absorbed than has been found by Dr. S. Locket or ourselves (Lancet, 1951, 1, 889). However, as a parenteral dose of hexamethonium is quantitatively (or almost so) excreted in the urine (an observation neglected by Graham and Campbell), surely it is reasonable to assume that there are no important destructive mechanisms in the body. Thus the urinary excretion after an oral dose is a measure of the amount absorbed. We agree that we cannot find all the remaining oral dose in the faeces, and we suggested that some destruction in the bowel may take place. In a recent experiment (unpublished) we have been able to recover, from both urine and faeces together, up to 70% of the oral dose. Of course, with high oral dosage, enough may. be absorbed to give a hypotensive effect, but the variability in absorption makes this method of administration difficult tocontrol.-We are, etc., G. E. MILNE.


The appearance of a complex between tyrosine-phosphorylated insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1) and PI3K in a high-speed pellet fraction (HSP) is thought to be a key event in insulin action. Conversely, the disappearance of the IRS-1/PI3K complex from this fraction has been linked to insulin desensitization. The present study examines the role of 14-3-3, a specific phospho-serine binding protein, in mediating the disappearance of IRS-1 from the HSP after insulin treatment. An in vitro pull-down assay using recombinant 14-3-3 revealed that insulin enhances the association of 14-3-3 with IRS-1 in cultured adipocytes and that this is completely inhibited by wortmannin. An association of IRS-1 and 14-3-3 was also observed and was maximal after stimulation by insulin, when endogenous proteins were immunoprecipitated. Epidermal growth factor (EGF), 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate, and okadaic acid, other agents that cause serine/threonine phosphorylation of IRS-1, also stimulated IRS binding to 14-3-3. The enhancement of IRS-1 binding to 14-3-3 by insulin was accompanied by movement of IRS-1 and the p85 subunit of PI3K from the HSP to the cytosol. In keeping with a key role of 14-3-3 in mediating this redistribution of IRS-1, the complexes of IRS-1 and 14-3-3 were found in the cytosol but not in the HSP of insulin-treated cells. In addition, colocalization of IRS-1 and 14-3-3 was observed in the cytoplasm after insulin treatment by confocal microscopy. Finally, the addition of a phosphorylated 14-3-3 binding peptide to an adipocyte homogenate (to remove 14-3-3 from IRS-1) increased the abundance of IRS-1/PI3K complexes in the HSP and decreased their abundance in the cytosol. These findings strongly suggest that 14-3-3 participates in the intracellular trafficking of IRS-1 by promoting the displacement of serine-phosphorylated IRS-1 from particular structures. They also suggest that 14-3-3 proteins could play an integral role in the process of insulin desensitization.