Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that targets the vascular system, and can result in premature atherosclerotic vascular disease. The causes of SLE and many of the SLE associated problems, such as thrombosis, anitphospholipid syndrome, and atherosclerosis, which are significant public health concerns, are thought to be multifactorial, or caused by interactions of many environmental and genetic factors. Several genes have been proposed and studied in conjunction with these manifestations. This study focuses on one of these genes, apolipoprotein H (APOH gene, beta-2-GPI protein). The effects of several polymorphisms within the coding region in the APOH gene have been studied; however, possible effects of the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the promoter region have not been characterized. In this study, 6 SNPs in the APOH promoter were genotyped in 381 SLE women and 497 healthy women controls. This study aimed to determine the association of these polymorphisms with the occurrence of SLE, with the plasma levels of beta-2-GPI, and with the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (APA). It was hypothesized that the genetic variation in the promoter region of the APOH gene may affect the risk of SLE and may do so through an effect on plasma beta-2-GPI levels or through its influence on APA. Among whites, the risk of SLE was modestly affected by the -1219 SNP (p = 0.057). While in blacks, the -759 SNP (p = 0.022) and the -700 SNP (p = 0.035) showed association with SLE. The haplotype pattern in whites was associated with SLE risk (p = 0.00015). The -643 SNP showed a modest effect on plasma beta-2-GPI levels in white SLE cases (p = 0.096) and black controls (p = 0.081). Significant differences were seen between antibody negative and all antibody positive groups in whites for the -1284 SNP (p = 0.02) and the -759 SNP (p = 0.046). These results suggest that genetic variation in the APOH promoter may affect SLE risk, beta-2-GPI levels, and the occurrence of antiphospholipid antibodies.


Abstract Numerical simulations assist in understanding secondary migration, and can help estimate which traps in a basin may have received a hydrocarbon charge. This is illustrated by a suite of numerical models used to track the secondary migration of hydrocarbons into an Upper Jurassic Fulmar discovery in the Central North Sea. The models include areal flow calculations using Exxon's proprietary reservoir simulator, and cross-section calculations using TEMISPACK, a commercial basin modelling package. While the application of conventional reservoir simulation techniques to geologic time-scale problems is itself a novel approach, the most important development has been in the integration of fluid flow modelling with techniques for dating the timing of hydrocarbon charge. These techniques have been used to constrain and validate the model results. In addition, sensitivity studies permit evaluation of the required permeability for effective lateral migration. The areal calculations provide information about migration timing and the fill history of several traps. These fields are charged from mature Kimmeridge source rocks, mapped within the local drainage area. Several model runs were used to evaluate the sensitivity of migration timing to carrier bed permeability and capillary pressure characteristics. Calculations indicated that for reservoir quality carrier beds (permeability ≥ 1 mD) secondary migration can be geologically instantaneous, and that even low permeability silts can serve as effective migration pathways. A cross-sectional model was used to integrate cross-stratal and strata-parallel migration. The model included hydrocarbon expulsion from Kimmeridge source rocks into the Fulmar sandstone and lateral migration up the flank of the structure. Drilling results indicate that leakage into younger Tertiary strata has occurred. The calculation sugests a portion of the top seal breached by 10–20 Ma. Evidence of partial seal loss includes a seismic chimney interpreted above the predicted breached seal, and an appraisal well high on the Jurassic structure which encountered hydrocarbon-stained reservoir rocks with an apparent palaeohydrocarbon contact. Furthermore, hydrocarbons in the overlying Tertiary reservoirs can be geochemically tied to the remaining Jurassic accumulation. Finally, analysis of authigenic cements, particularly the K-Ar ages of fibrous illite, suggests that hydrocarbons occupied the trap until approximately 10 Ma. Analysis of Tertiary hydrocarbon fluid inclusions further indicates that hydrocarbons entered these Tertiary reservoirs approximately 10 Ma. These latter two techniques now enable the modeller to apply temporal constraints to hydrocarbon charge simulation. Such constraints allow 'history matching' analogous to field scale reservoir simulations.


The history of dairy farming goes back thousands of years, evolving from a traditional small-scale production to the industrialized manufacturing of fermented dairy products. Commercialization of milk and its derived products has been very important not only as a source of nourishment but also as an economic resource. However, the dairy industry has encountered several problems that have to be overcome to ensure the quality and safety of the final products, as well as to avoid economic losses. The results of studies of the relationship between cosmophysical activity and animal productivity are presented. obtained the following results, the synchronization of milk yield in cows of black-motley breed in the years of high solar activity was 76%; 5. The synchronicity and rhythm of milk yield of cows was established, regardless of the phase of lactation of cows, approximately 33% of the time the milk yield increases, 33% decrease and 34% remain at the same level (р0.99); An increase in the relationship between the studied indicators was observed when the animals achieved maximum productivity. With an increase in milk yield from to 8500 kg, the correlation coefficient was + 0.52. It was noted that all the components of milk decreased on days of increasing solar activity. The correlation coefficients for protein and milk fat content with Wolf (sunspot) numbers were r = –0.34 and r = –0.22, P ≥ 0.95. Correlation analysis revealed a reliable correlation of bacterial contamination and the number of somatic cells r = +0.28 and r = +0.31 (at P ≥ 0.95), respectively, with the Wolf (sunspot) numbers. In the collection milk, the negative correlation by fat content r = –0.12, density r = –0.18, acidity r = –0.17, protein content r = –0.19, sugar content r = –0.14, minerals r = –0.17 was observed with an increase in solar activity. Prospects for further research. The results of studying the effect of solar activity on milk productivity and the quality of raw milk provide the basis for predicting the productivity of cows and the possibility of using cosmophysical changes, to increase productivity and improve the quality of milk, by technological methods.


The sloshing of liquids in microgravity is a relevant problem of applied mechanics with important implications for spacecraft design. A magnetic settling force may be used to avoid the highly non-linear dynamics that characterize these systems. However, this approach is still largely unexplored. This paper presents a quasi-analytical low-gravity sloshing model for magnetic liquids under the action of external inhomogeneous magnetic fields. The problems of free and forced oscillations are solved for axisymmetric geometries and loads by employing a linearized formulation. The model may be of particular interest for the development of magnetic sloshing damping devices in space, whose behavior can be easily predicted and quantified with standard mechanical analogies.


Plug and play: The mimicking of integrated circuits by using two individual monolayers (molecular chips) is shown. These monolayers can be individually addressed using identical inputs. Upon combination of their optical outputs, the input/output characteristics of a molecular encoder is obtained. Since the encoder functionality is only displayed when both chips are active, the device behaves according to a plug-and-play principle (In=input; see picture).


Purpose: Our purpose is to investigate if the documentation of an internalaudit department at banks reflects a shift towards more consultingactivities, and how this potential change in the internal audit doc-umentation can be explained.Background: Previous research indicates that internal audit has developed fromits traditional assurance activities to include more consulting ac-tivities such as risk management assistance and corporate govern-ance support. Some researches argue that this development canhave a negative impact on internal auditor independence. Howev-er, there is a lack of research in this area using documentation andcontent analysis of internal audit reports.Method: In this study, we have done qualitative content analysis of internaldocuments collected from the period 2004-2013. These docu-ments are analyzed using a coding scheme based on previous re-search.Conclusion: By qualitatively analysing the activities reported we find that thedocumentation reflects a shift, over time, towards more activitiesthat we classified as consulting. We argue that this can mainly beexplained by coercive and normative isomorphism; for example,regulatory pressures and influences from the Institute of InternalAuditors. We also argue that internal auditing might benefit froma more consistent view of the role.


The protocol details methods developed to optimize staining procedures and instrument settings for the rapid identification and unbiased enumeration of viable but non-culturable (VBNC) and viable-culturable (VC) cells as well as the membrane integrity of bacteria by flow cytometry (FCM). To detect viability, various Gram-negative bacteria were stained with numerous fluorescent membrane permeable (SYTO 9, SYTO 13, SYTO 17, SYTO 40) and impermeable (propidium iodide, PI) probes, and then quantified using the FCM. FCM data are then integrated with specific plate count results to calculate VC cells in different growth states. The cells were also exposed to heat (72° C) to monitor cellular membrane integrity. At late log phase (at 18 h incubation) of bacterial culture, the culturable, non-culturable and cells with damaged membranes varied from 40-98%, 1 to 64% and 0.7% to 4.5%, respectively. In this study, the cells with damaged cell membranes were considered dead (non-viable). This robust method preserves cell viability and takes a little more than an hour allowing the simultaneous quantification of phenotypes or cellular functions that is compatible with downstream cell-sorting and RNA-based assays.


Introduction: Bisphenol A (BPA) is used in synthesis of plastics. It is known as a potential chemical that causes hormonal changes in human and animals. Many previously studies showed that the activity of BPA was similar to estrogen and it could affect on embryonic and newborn stages. From a different approach, a research by these authors published in 2017 suggested that BPA could effect to the fast- growing stage of an animal based on proteomic profiles of Juvenile-stage zebrafish livers long term exposured to mg/L range of the chemical. This study was the extent of that research to further investigate which metabolic receptors in liver effected by BPA exposure. Among suggestedhepatic receptors, PPARg and C/EBPa genes may be targeted by BPA under such exposure condition.
Methods: In this study, zebrafish at 30th day of age were exposed to 0, 10 and 100 mg /L BPA, respectively, and continuously for 60 days under a standar condition for testing chronic toxicity of a chemical on fish. At the end of the testing, mRNA levels of PPARg and C/EBPa genes in zebrafish livers of BPA-exposed groups were compared to that of BPA-unexposed group using Real-Time PCR method with b -actin gene as the reference gene.
Results: BPA affected transcription level of both genes depending on the concentration of the chemical. Reduction of 67% and 70% on mRNA level for PPARg and C/EBPa, respectively, was only observed on 100 mg/L BPA-exposed group. No significant change on such regulation was found in 10 mg/L BPA-exposed group.
Conclusion: Thus, the effect of BPA exposure on liver functions of zebrafish at juvenile stage may associate with hepatic PPARg and C/EBPa receptors and it depends on the chemical concentration.


BACKGROUND
In equine medicine, 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) rarely are used, which may in part be a result of shortcomings in the existing guidelines for obtaining 12-lead ECGs in horses. The guidelines recommend placing the limb leads on the extremities, which is inappropriate because the ventricular mean electrical axis is then perpendicular to the limb leads, leading to large variations in ECG configuration even among healthy horses. From an electrophysiological point of view, the leads instead should be parallel to the electrical axis to minimize variability.

OBJECTIVE
Develop an improved method for obtaining 12-lead ECGs in horses based on electrophysiology and cardiac electrical vectors relevant to horses.

ANIMALS
Thirty-five healthy Standardbred horses.

METHODS
Two ECGs obtained at rest; 1 ECG with the electrodes placed according to the method developed in the present study, the Copenhagen method, and 1 ECG following existing guidelines.

RESULTS
In the Copenhagen method, we repositioned the limb electrodes to the thorax to better capture the electrical activity of the heart. Variation in the mean electrical axis decreased dramatically with the Copenhagen method (SD decreased from 24.6° to 1.6°, P < .001). Consequently, this new method provided stable ECGs with repeatable configurations.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE
With this novel method, the ECG is recorded with respect to the electric axis to fully realize the potential of 12-lead ECG in horses. The Copenhagen method delivered more consistent and reliable ECG recordings compared to existing guidelines. The Copenhagen method potentially allows for expanded use of 12-lead ECGs in equine medicine.


This study assesses the quality of official data on mortality due to external causes. It examines the agreement in the underlying cause of death by accidents and violence in children and adolescents under 18 years of age in the Municipality of Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro State. Codings based on death certificates (DC) issued by the Institute of Forensic Medicine - IFM (ICDifm) and those complemented by the Municipal Secretariat of Health - MSH (ICDmsh) are compared to the coding directly obtained from autopsy logs and attached to police reports accessible at the IFM (ICDresearch). Levels of agreement (kappa) between ICDmsh/ICDifm, ICDresearch/ ICDifm, and ICDresearch/ICDmsh were 0.33, 0.26, and 0.81, respectively, in 1995 and 0.26, 0.22, and 0.71 in 1996. When analyzed together, all three sources agreed by 45% and 37.6% in the respective years. ICDresearch and ICDmsh agreed among themselves and disagreed with ICDifm by 46.9% in 1995 and 48.2% in 1996. Results show that the IFM fails to transfer available information to the MSH via DCs. Although a satisfactory updating is subsequently carried out at the MSH, the relevance and legality of this procedure should be called into question and further discussed.


Aim The variety of individual basketball position shows that the determination of certain parameters such as aerobic and anaerobic threshold metabolic testing method helps to improve some parameters and sport performance. Basketball is a sport that requires a certain level of skills at both the individual and group level. This is a sport in which there is a constant change of rhythm, requiring a high level of aerobic power (because it allows training that lasts longer and on an elite level) as well as anaerobic power but also incorporates muscle strength, endurance and flexibility. The aim is to determine the ergospirometric parameters (VO2 max, levels of aerobic and anaerobic threshold) using one of the modified protocols for testing to assess current level of physical fitness and training prior to entering the competition season. Methods The total number of participants is 68 players (junior teams of Serbia), 15 to 18 years of age, body weight (range 66.3 kg/110.7 kg), body height (range 180 cm/213 cm), BMI (range 18.17/26.8 kg m-²). Ergospirometric parameters were examined in our laboratory for functional diagnostic: VO2max (ml/min/kg), HR VAT (RER ∼ 1), HR AT, RER max, AT HR (% HRmax) and compared among players of same and different team position. The test of maximum oxygen consumption was performed using a Treadmill T200 Cosmed, using method breath by breath pulmonary gas exchange (O2, CO2 and Quark CPET, COSMED). To assess VO2max we used Shvartz E. Reinbold RC (1990) tables for an adequate age (grades 1 to 7, as required by the tables). Results Maximum oxygen consumption by player position shows that it is the largest in positions 1 and 2 (as shown in the chart). VO2 (ml/min/kg) ranges between 44.55 - 52.85 (the highest in the point guard position (1), slightly lower for shooting guard (2), small forward (3) and power forwards (4) and the lowest in the centres (5). Conclusion By determining VO2max metabolic testing methods come to the conclusion that the players are currently estimated as follows: • moderate/average/good (grade 3 to 5 per Shvartz E.Rainbold RC) between the ages of 15 and 17 years • good/excellent (grade 4 to 5 per Shvartz E.Rainbold RC) at 18 years and by playing position, they are estimated by the following marks: 4 to 5 position point guard and shooting guard 3 to 5 at the small forward and power forwards position 2 to 4 at the centre position as the current and real value of positions that are played in the national team (keeping in mind the characteristics of the sport). Assessment of current level of physical fitness and training of basketball players shows that junior player fitness level can be categorised based on position on the team but also can be improve with professional training approach. Future studies should explore possibility of individual approach in relation to the requirements of the position they have in the team.


A consistent method for the comparison of environmental, safety, and health (ES&H) characteristics of fusion power plant designs is developed. Such comparisons enable identification of trends in fusion ES&H characteristics and can be used to increase the likelihood of fusion achieving its full potential with respect to ES&H characteristics. A large number of radiological hazard indexes are defined in three different categories of hazard: accidents, occupational and routine exposures, and waste disposal. Using a consistent set of computer codes, data libraries, and assumptions, these radiological hazard indexes are calculated and compared for five inertial and two magnetic fusion energy power plant designs. The results of the analysis are threefold: The utility of low-activation materials (LAMs) is confirmed, the tremendous potential for the use of thick-liquid system for first-wall protection is validated, and the strong need for materials that can last for the lifetime of the power plant is shown. The conservative radionuclide release fractions that are used show that all but one of the designs has only a minute chance of producing any early fatalities during an accident. The need for remote maintenance in most designs is confirmed, and the possibility of disposing of most fusion wastes via shallow land burial (if the methodology ofcurrent regulations is applied to fusion wastes) is shown. The need for more research in LAMs and for the experimental measurement of radionuclide release fractions under accident conditions is emphasized.


Information and Internet technologies are familiar presences in the field of education nowadays, and e-learning became a prominent learning environment for more then two decades. The situation is even more evident in the higher education area, where the number of e-learning programs is rapidly increasing.
E-learning addresses all parts of education: the teaching process and the course content, the learning process, which has no more space or time limitations, the ways of communication between the teacher and the students and between the students themselves, and, of course, the learning achievement assessment process. Student valuation is one of the most significant features in an education system. All the old-style assessments ways have been reshaped by the use of the computer environment, and some of the problems associated with the traditional assessment methods, such as difficult to control conditions (i.e., tiredness, preference) appear to be better treated in the new circumstances. The use of technology leads to better test administration, more efficient ways to link each learner to a appropriate learning tasks, on the basis of test results and can offer the teacher regular reports on the development of his learners.
In the field of e-assessment, the teacher can choose between many dedicated software, many of them freeware. The objective of this paper is to evaluate ten of the most significant programs of this kind (ProProfs Quiz Maker, Wondershare QuizCreator, Classmaker, Multiple Choice Quiz Maker, MyQuizCreator, Atrixware Flash Quiz Maker 9.0, eQuizzer, Qedoc Quiz Maker, Match-up quiz Generator and EasyTestMaker), by means of assessment tools, topics covered, ease of use, help and support.
After revealing the most important features of the studied software, we have tested them on a group of junior students of computer science discipline, and the results are commented. Not only the software performance, but the quality of the questions in the e-assessment has been evaluated by the subjects.


In this paper we show how effective parameters such as effective binding energies can be defined for a proton in the combined nuclear‐Coulomb potential, including also the target potential, in the case in which the proton is bound in a nucleus which is partner of a nuclear reaction. Using such effective parameters the proton behaves similarly to a neutron. In this way some unexpected results obtained from dynamical calculations for reactions initiated by very weakly bound proton halo nuclei can be interpreted. Namely the fact that stripping dominates the nuclear breakup cross section which in turn dominates over the Coulomb breakup even when the target is heavy at medium to high incident energies. Our interpretation helps also clarifying why the existence and characteristics of a proton halo extracted from different types of data have sometimes appeared contradictory.


Current theories of the rule of law argue that public officials respect rights if the citizens are coordinated on an equilibrium in which they collectively resist abuse. Constitutional rules are means to coordinate on this equilibrium. In past and present states, however, constitutional rules often have no effect on the rule of law. This paper suggests an alternative view of the origin and development of the rule of law. Instead of considering constitutional rules as coordination devices for citizens at large, history suggests considering them as manifestations of equilibria with rulers constrained by administrators required to implement policy. Analysis of the administrative foundations of self-enforcing constitutions may be the key to a theory and policy that would foster the rule of law in developing countries and those in transition. In particular, constitutional reforms might benefit from focusing on altering the equilibrium distribution of administrative capacity and power, providing incentives to the administratively powerful to check predation by each other and the central authorities, and to align administrators' interests with social welfare.


A publication showcasing successful bog and some fen restoration projects across the UK was recently launched. A variety of case studies illustrate opportunities for restoration and sustainable management as well as innovative ways of engaging people in conservation action for bogs. This publication was launched at the symposium 'Investing in Peatlands - Demonstrating Success' jointly hosted with the British Ecological Society.


The aim of this report is to analyse representations of time in a particular social setting: how the nuclear waste issue is presented in the PowerPoint slides that the Swedish Nuclear Waste Management Company (SKB) show at its information and consultation meetings. We have chosen to see 'time' and 'expressions of time dimensions' as a way of framing the nuclear waste issue. The way in which nuclear waste is discussed in relation to time both enable and limit discussions about possible futures. In this study we ask the following research questions: how is time represented in the PowerPoint slides? In what way is time presented in relation to risk and safety? In what way is time presented in relation to environmental impact? Our empirical material consists of all PowerPoint slides shown at SKB's information and consultation meetings. We use the material that is available at SKB's website between 2003 and 2008. The material consists of around 1500 slides. In addition we have conducted participant observations at ten of these meetings between 2005 and 2008. We conclude that time is visualised in different forms depending on what it is that is shown: safety, risk or environmental impact. We could identify a variety of visualisations, for example time lines, and tables with dates in connection to figures of pollution levels. Taken together they represent different stories about the future as well as about the past. SKB use certain time perspectives to motivate that their suggested method for a nuclear waste disposal is reasonable and possible to implement while other time perspectives are shown in relation to the potential development of society's capacity to manage the waste and the future development of transports and the impact related to this, for example.


Multiple rapid sea level changes of the past two million years have resulted in major changes in the processes and structures that prevailed for tens of millions of years of pre Quaternary time during the build ing of massive midplate continental margins These changes have hindered interpretations of pre Quaternary or what may be called normal growth processes and structures to the extent that fallacious concepts of the genetic processes have evolved We submit that an idealized non Quaternary midplate con tinental margin would have a shore zone of prograding beaches but would be devoid of estuaries Barriers and lagoons would exist primarily in association with delta complexes Muddy shelf facies would prevail as no mechanism exists for moving sands out of the sbore zone to the shelf in significant quantities Slopes would be largely smooth and prograding by slow pelagic hemipelagic and low density turbid layer deposition Erosion by turbidity currents and slumping would be uncommon and largely restricted to the vicinity of a few large lon Iived submarine canyons Axiomatically the rise would be poorly developed and appear lobate in the form of discrete deep sea fans off thecanyon mouths Terrigenous turbidites would be mainly confined to these fans


Influenza vaccination induced a circulating TFH response involving influenza-specific memory T cell receptor clonotypes. Remembering TFH cell help Immunological memory operates on the assumption that if you're exposed to an infection once, you're more likely to be exposed again. Chance favors the prepared, and the memory response is bigger, faster, and stronger. Now, Herati et al. examine immunological memory in humans who have received successive annual influenza vaccinations. They find that circulating T follicular helper cells, which provide B cell help, not only respond to influenza vaccination but also form long-lasting memory. These cells may serve as markers for successful vaccination as well as targets for new vaccines. T follicular helper (TFH) CD4 cells are crucial providers of B cell help during adaptive immune responses. A circulating population of CD4 T cells, termed cTFH, have similarity to lymphoid TFH, can provide B cell help, and responded to influenza vaccination. However, it is unclear whether human vaccination-induced cTFH respond in an antigen-specific manner and whether they form long-lasting memory. We identified a cTFH population that expressed multiple T cell activation markers and could be readily identified by coexpression of inducible costimulator (ICOS) and CD38. This subset expressed more Bcl6, c-Maf, and interleukin-21 than did other blood CD4 subsets. Influenza vaccination induced a strong response in the ICOS+CD38+ cTFH at day 7, and this population included hemagglutinin-specific cells by tetramer staining and antigen-stimulated activation-induced marker expression. Moreover, T cell receptor β chain sequencing identified a clonal response in ICOS+CD38+ cTFH that strongly correlated with the increased cTFH frequency and was associated with the circulating plasmablast response. In participants who received successive annual vaccinations, a recurrent oligoclonal response was identified in the ICOS+CD38+ cTFH subset at 7 days after every vaccination. These oligoclonal responses in ICOS+CD38+ cTFH after vaccination persisted in the ICOS−CD38− cTFH repertoire in subsequent years, suggesting clonal maintenance in a memory reservoir in the more stable ICOS−CD38− cTFH subset. These data highlight the antigen specificity, lineage relationships, and memory properties of human cTFH responses to vaccination, providing new avenues for tracking and monitoring cTFH responses during infection and vaccination in humans.


Reinforcement of a glulam beam with fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) does not negate the need for preservative treatment, especially when these materials are to be used in high decay hazard environments. Reinforcement of structural wood components with FRP will enhance the beam's strength, but actual data on long-term durability is sparse and not well documented, and in cases where data is available, it is not readily accessible. In this study, bond properties ofFRP-wood composite materials were investigated following treatment with creosote or copper naphthenate preservatives. The properties investigated included: shear stress and the percentage of wood failure experienced in shear, and the delamination of the FRP-wood interface when subjected to an accelerated-aging test. When tested in a wet condition (following a vacuum/pressure soak), creosote-treatment adversely affected the wood failure values associated with specimens fabricated with a pultruded FRP composite sheet (E-glass fiber, bonded with urethane) during the shear testing. When these tests were conducted with samples under ambient conditions, the shear strength of this material was also adversely affected by creosote. In addition, both creosote- and copper napthenate-treatment adversely affected the shear strength of a SCRIMP fabricated FRP material (carbon fiber, vinyl ester matrix). Creosote-treatment promoted the delamination of the pultruded FRP composite and a continuous laminated FRP composite flat-sheet (E-glass fiber, bonded with epoxy) from glulam material when subjected to accelerated-aging tests. In some cases the delamination percentages were very large. An analysis of the 1 percent delamination threshold level for individual softwood adhesive bondlines is provided for FRP-wood bonding.


Evaluating the radiative impacts of aerosol particles is of great interest for understanding atmospheric physics and processes feedbacks. To respond to such objectives, the online fully coupled model Meso‐NH is applied to a real case during a two‐day Intensive Observation Period (IOP) of the CAPITOUL campaign. The aerosol optical properties are computed from the chemical composition and the size distribution of the particle population, and are compared to observations and analysed at local and regional scales. The differences between two simulations are then studied in order to isolate the direct radiative impacts of aerosols on dynamics. Results show that the aerosol particles generate a forcing on shortwave flux by a decrease of the amount reaching the surface up to 30 Wm−2. The resulting feedbacks lead to a cooling up to 0.6 K on the 2‐meter temperature over the city of Toulouse and over the larger 125 km by 125 km area around Toulouse. This cooling is also modeled along the whole boundary layer, leading to a decrease of the boundary layer height up to −50 m during the afternoon and a decrease of the vertical velocities with an average of −3 %.


Four zebra finches in a closed research colony presented with variable clinical signs, including masses, skin lesions,shivering, and/or ruffled feathers. These birds were not responsive to treatment efforts; 3 died and one was euthanized. All4 were submitted for necropsy to determine the cause of the clinical signs. Gross necropsy and histopathologic findings fromall birds resulted in a diagnosis of round cell neoplasia in multiple organs, including the skin, liver, kidney, and reproductivetract, with intranuclear inclusion bodies in the neoplastic cells. In all 4 cases, immunohistochemical staining showed strongimmunoreactivity for CD3 in 70% to 80% of the neoplastic round cells, with a relatively small subset that were immunopositivefor Pax5. These findings supported a diagnosis of T-cell lymphoma. Frozen liver tissue from one case was submittedfor next-generation sequencing (NGS), which revealed viral RNA with 100% sequence homology to canary polyomavirusstrain 34639 that had originally been identified in a European goldfinch. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded scrolls fromanother case were also submitted for NGS, which revealed viral RNA with 97.2% sequence homology to canary polyomavirusstrain 37273 that had originally been identified in a canary. To localize the virus in situ, RNAscope hybridizationwas performed using a probe designed to target the VP1 gene of the sequenced virus in frozen liver tissue. In all 4 cases,disseminated and robust hybridization signals were detected in neoplastic cells. These findings indicate that polyomaviruseshave the potential to be oncogenic in zebra finches.


Virtual project teams are spontaneous group configurations that endeavor to overcome spatial and temporal restrictions in bringing together distant experts to create just-in-time knowledge sharing coalitions. Due to their time-constrained nature and the anonymity among members, we believe that team goal commitment might be a more pertinent factor driving task performance. We hypothesize that members' perceived distributive, interactional, and procedural justice are viable antecedents leading to the inducement of team goal commitment among virtual project team members. A longitudinal field experiment was carried out to test these hypotheses. The results suggest that: (1) distributive justice is a consistently strong predictor of team goal commitment over time; (2) the effect of interactional justice on team goal commitment manifests over time, and; (3) procedural justice has no effect on team goal commitment over time. Implications for both theory and practice are discussed.


Audio content analysis is helpful in many multimedia applications. We present a unified framework for content analysis of composite audio. The framework is designed to extract relevant information from different available audio modalities and to discover high-level semantics conveyed by the data. We also demonstrate an implementation of the proposed framework for the detection of scenes and events in various TV shows and movies, in which key audio effects are first extracted as a midlevel representation, and then a Bayesian network is used for high-level semantics inference. Experiments on 12-hour audio data indicate that the proposed framework has a satisfying performance.


The importance of survival analysis in many disciplines (especially in medicine) has led to the development of a variety of approaches to modeling the survival function. Models constructed via various approaches oer dierent strengths and weaknesses in terms of discriminative performance and calibration, but no one model is best across all datasets or even across all time horizons within a single dataset. Because we require both good calibration and good discriminative performance over dierent time horizons, conventional model selection and ensemble approaches are not applicable. This paper develops a novel approach that combines the collective intelligence of different underlying survival models to produce a valid survival function that is well-calibrated and oers superior discriminative performance at dierent time horizons. Empirical results show that our approach provides signi cant gains over the benchmarks on a variety of real-world datasets.


This article investigates the complex relationship between atrocity prevention and other related – yet distinct – norms of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) norm cluster. It analyses how this cluster operates to help states, and other actors, properly discharge their responsibility. Central to the analysis is the realisation that abstractly aligned norms can clash in practice. Based on an extensive analysis of the 67 European Union (EU) documents and statements referring to R2P, and drawing on elite interviews with EU diplomats, we find that atrocity prevention has been 'grafted' onto the EU's other normative commitments – including conflict resolution and democracy promotion – without sufficient acknowledgement of the cluster's complexity and the need to prioritise atrocity prevention vis-à-vis these other linked norms. We ask whether this framing not only filtered but also diluted the normative power of atrocity prevention, leading to policies that manifestly failed to prevent the genocide that occurred in Myanmar from 2017. We find that the grafting of atrocity prevention onto related yet distinct norms contributed to an underestimation of the threat of genocide and a misplaced faith in the ability of democratic transition to prevent atrocity. However, we also find that factors unrelated to the normative framing of R2P influenced the EU's willingness and ability to respond to atrocity crimes that occurred in the lead up to the genocide that began in 2017. The article contributes to our understanding of the as yet unstated normative implication of clustering norms and the EU's implementation of R2P.


The First World War was unique in being fought largely in trenches. Men ate, slept, fought, played, sang, prayed, and died in the trenches. This book brings together a collection of postcards which portray this strange subterranean world in its various manifestations. The cards have been selected to show how life progressed from day to day in and out of the trenches. We see wounded men smiling obligingly for the camera; others appear to be suffering from the onslaught of boredom. Some take part in a mock party with very meagre provisions. One image shows a group of men kneeling to receive communion before going into battle. The tone of postcards encompasses the range of human experience, from sombre realism to light-hearted humour. There is also the soldier's good-natured lightly smutty card. This is a fascinating insight into the everyday lives and behaviour of the men who fought one of the most gruesome wars in history.


Storytelling is a natural way for humans to make sense of their world. Narratives structure experience into expected forms that improve understanding of relationships between discrete objects and events. This is the rationale behind museum curation, which organises objects in the physical museum space to reveal how they are related. This thesis explores how to support people to tell and experience narratives across multiple objects. For the online world, a model of curatorial inquiry is introduced which is designed to support a historical inquiry from online sources. This model extends existing inquiry models and is inspired by museum practice in which curators organize objects into museum narratives. For the physical world, a model is introduced that describes navigation through both the physical and conceptual neighbourhood of a set of objects. It is designed to support tourist activities across a non-portable set of cultural objects, such as statues, buildings, or landscape features. Key findings, based on both participant studies and analysis of data from Foursquare, is that while people are keen to understand stories that link places in a physical space, they prefer to navigate using physical, rather than conceptual proximity, and to visit places that are popular. This is counter to many mobile tour guides that focus on prompting navigation to similar places. The proposal of this thesis is therefore to develop applications that support tourists in understanding both what is physically nearby and conceptually nearby. This would allow them to use physical proximity - or any preferred alternative – to select where to go next, whilst supporting them to make links between the places they visit. In this way tourists would be provided with enough information about the relationships of places within a physical neighbourhood that they can start to understand and create their own stories about them.


A highly ordered SiO2 cavity array was fabricated on the surface of ITO glass using a monolayer of polystyrene as the template. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were implanted into the bottom of each cavity via an electrochemical deposition method due to the confinement effects of the SiO2 cavity. These AuNPs were further transformed into a [111] facet dominated single particle during a mild calcination process. The as-prepared Au single-crystal/SiO2 cavity modified electrodes (AuSC/SCME) were characterized by SEM, XRD, and HRTEM, and the improved electro-catalytic ability of such electrodes for the oxidation of ethanol was verified by several electrochemical experiments. In addition, the catalytic mechanism was also discussed based on the fixed crystal facets of the AuSCs and the confinement effect of the SiO2 cavities. Furthermore, the catalytic application of the AuSCs was extended to the oxidation of nitrite.


Background: Common cold is an important common upper respiratory tract viral infection which is a main cause for lost school days. Therefore everybody wants to prevent this disease, and there is not any chemoprophylaxis or immunoprophylaxis available at this time. Honey is a remedy which its healing effect on diseases is emphasized in holy Quran. The effect of honey on common cold signs and symptoms was considered in a study in Iran. Objectives: In this study, honey preventive effect on common cold is evaluated. Materials and Methods: In this prospective cohort study 122 high school students were studied (63 boys and 59 girls). The students were divided into two groups (honey and control). In honey group 10 g of honey was given to the students daily for eight weeks, and in control group nothing was given to the students. Frequency of the common cold was reported by a physician who was blinded to the groups (double blindness). At the end the frequencies of common cold in both groups were compared. Results: The mean age of the studied students was 16.6 ± 0.5 years. The frequency of common cold in students treated with honey was lower than the frequency in control group, especially after six weeks. Conclusions: Consumption of honey may help in prevention of common cold.


Abstract Increasing evidence points towards the episodic emergence of pockets with extreme return persistence. This notion refers to intraday periods of non-trivial duration, for which stock returns are highly positively autocorrelated. Such episodes include, but are not limited to, gradual jumps and prolonged bursts in the drift component. In this paper, we develop a family of integrated volatility estimators, labeled differenced-return volatility ( DV ) estimators, which provide robustness to these types of Ito semimartingale violations. Specifically, we show that, by using differences in consecutive high-frequency returns, our DV estimators can reduce the non-trivial bias that all commonly-used estimators exhibit during such periods of apparent short-term intraday return predictability. A Monte Carlo study demonstrates the reliability of the newly developed volatility estimators in finite samples. In our empirical volatility forecasting application to S&P 500 index futures and individual equities, our DV -based Heterogeneous Autoregressive (HAR) model performs well relative to existing procedures according to standard out-of-sample MSE and QLIKE criteria.


Communal breeding is a reproductive system in which more than a single pair of individuals share parental care duties. Burying beetles (genus Nicrophorus) breed on small vertebrate carcasses, which is used as a food source for their young. On larger carcasses, burying beetles will breed communally, forming multiple male-female associations. A significant and costly component of parental investment by burying beetles is the preservation of the carcass with secretions containing immune molecules. Because this immune investment is for the benefit of the offspring, the behavior is a form of social immunity. We test the hypothesis that communal breeding in burying beetles evolved as a mechanism to increase the social immune investment on larger carcasses, which are more difficult to preserve. We used N. defodiens, a communal breeding burying beetle species to test the hypothesis. There were two experimental treatments wherein, the females either bred communally or non-communally. Our results show that the combined immune activity in the secretions were higher in communally breeding pairs than in the immune contribution of single male-female pairs. However, subordinate females were rarely observed on the carcass, and the level of social immune activity of dominant females was lower than females breeding singly. These data suggest that communal breeding in N. defodiens decreases the level of investment in social immunity. Our results demonstrate that the presence of multiple females, which is common under natural conditions, can greatly complicate patterns of social immunity investment in burying beetles.


In the United States, the majority of custodial grandparents are raising their grandchildren without a legal relationship. The lack of a legal relationship (i.e., foster care, custody, adoption) is a barrier for obtaining services and has resulted in limited access to information and public services, inadequate financial assistance, and difficulty providing medical and educational consent. This situation arises not only as a consequence of eligibility criteria, but also because children being raised by custodial grandparents remain outside the child welfare system. Federal and state policies were not designed for this population; subsequently, the majority of grandparent caregivers remain without access to services and support. In this article, perceptions of custodial grandparents concerning family obligations and the child welfare system as a barrier to pursuing a legal relationship are reviewed. Challenges with existing financial and health services, educational needs of grandparents and providers, and suggestions for policy changes are presented.


Management of trans-boundary river basins is a major issue that has attracted great attention in recent years. The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) recommends management at a river basin level, overlooking any national or administrative borders. This new managerial approach impels water managers to disregard the trans-boundary nature of the water resources while considering an integrated river basin where only geographical boundaries exist. The new challenge for scientists and water managers is the establishment of water agreements between countries sharing water resources. These agreements should aim at the settlement of tensions and conflicts while providing the essential framework for cooperation and consensus building. Apparently, the content of these agreements should comply with international law and the relevant international conventions especially, as noted by the WFD, the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Trans-boundary Watercourses and International Lakes (known as the Helsinki Rules), approved by the European Council in 1995. This paper examines the efficiency of water agreements and their precedent negotiations using the best known international examples while focusing on the Greek–Bulgarian agreement for the waters of the Nestos/Mesta River and its compliance with the WFD and the Helsinki Rules. As shown, the two countries have failed to implement a joint effort to put it into action; hence a methodological framework is proposed including certain strategic steps that can guide the two countries to a more effective and applicable water agreement taking into account the peculiarities of this trans-boundary area.


Abstract Antibiotic resistance is typically used to justify education about evolution, as evolutionary reasoning improves our understanding of causes of resistance and possible countermeasures. It has also been promoted as a useful context for teaching natural selection, because its potency as a selection factor, in combination with the very short generation times of bacteria, allows observation of rapid selection. It is also amenable to animations, which have potential for promoting conceptual inferences. Thus, we have explored the potential benefits of introducing antibiotic resistance as a first example of natural selection, in animations, to novice pupils (aged 13–14 years). We created a series of animations that pupils interacted with in groups of 3–5 (total n = 32). Data were collected at individual (pre-/post- test) and group (collaborative group questions) levels. In addition, the exercise was video-recorded and the full transcripts were analysed inductively. The results show that most of the pupils successfully applied basic evolutionary reasoning to predict antibiotic resistance development in tasks during and after the exercise, suggesting that this may be an effective approach. Pedagogical contributions include the identification of certain characteristics of the bacterial context for evolution teaching, including common misunderstandings, and factors to consider when designing animations.


Selected postings from the Microscopy Listserver from May 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013. Complete listings and subscription information can be obtained at http://www.microscopy.com. Postings may have been edited to conserve space or for clarity.


Abstract : Canadian Forces Auxiliary Vessel (CFAV) Quest was imaged in the long-wave infrared (IR) band during DRDC Atlantic sea trial Q280 in February 2004. From images collected over several days, we have extracted the ship, sea and sky radiances. A contrast radiance between the ship and the background was calculated to determine the long-wave IR signature. Our analysis shows that the daytime signature of the vessel is larger than at night in the long-wave IR band. The contrast radiance of the stack exceeds that from the hull when contrasted against the winter sea. And finally, by comparing with prior studies, we note that the contrast ratio is larger in the mid-wave IR than in the long-wave IR when the contrast is constrained to the ship stack. We used Ship IR to model the Quest and its maritime environment. We found that the results were in general agreement with the measured data for both the sea and sky background and the ship surface. Overall, the typical difference between measured and modeled results was about 1030 %.


Due to prevalent demographic factors, long-term care is an issue of increasing concern to American workers. The cost and time involved in ever-expanding long-term care responsibilities for many employees has resulted in increased indirect employer costs. The authors argue that providing' long-term care as part of the employee benefit plan is an efficient and effective way to manage these increasing costs for both the employer and the employee. The article offers discussion of plan design for long-term care, including issues to be considered and strategy for plan management.


Background and Objectives
U.S. Nursing homes (NH) are shifting toward a person-centered philosophy of care, where staff understand each residents preferences, goals and values, and seek to honor them throughout the care delivery process. Social interactions are a major component of life and while low rates of social interactions are typically found among NH residents, little research has examined resident preferences for specific types of social interactions. The purpose of this study is to explore, from the perspective of the NH resident, barriers to social contact preferences and situations when social preferences change.

Research Design and Methods
Two interviews were conducted with 255 NH residents 3 months apart, recruited from 32 NHs using 13 social-contact items from the Preferences for Everyday Living Inventory-NH.

Results
Content analysis of 1,461 spontaneous comments identified perceived barriers to preference fulfillment along with reasons why residents would change their mind about the importance of a preference (situational dependencies). Nearly 50% of social preferences for choosing a roommate, having regular contact with friends, giving gifts, and volunteering were associated with barriers. Social preferences were likely to change based upon the quality of the social interaction and the resident's level of interest.

Discussion and Implications
Knowledge of barriers regarding social preferences can inform care efforts vital to advancing the delivery of person-centered care. In addition, understanding the reasons why NH resident preferences change based upon context can help providers with staff training leading to individualized care and develop meaningful social programs that are in line with resident preferences.


Background Bipolar disorder is a serious mental disorder. This study investigated whether early improvement at week 1 or 2 could predict treatment outcomes at week 4 in clinical populations with acute mania. Methods We conducted a naturalistic study, recruiting inpatients with bipolar mania for acute treatment. Symptom severity was assessed using the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) at weeks 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. Early improvement was defined as a reduction in the YMRS score of at least 20% or 25%, assessed at weeks 1 and 2. Response was defined as a reduction of 50% or more in the YMRS score, and remission was defined as an end-point YMRS score of 12 or less. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to determine whether week 1 or week 2 had better discriminative capacity. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were calculated for the different definitions of early improvement. Results Of the 350 patients, 32.9% (n = 115) and 16.6% (n = 58) of the subjects were classified as responders and remitters at week 4, respectively. Early improvement at week 2 showed better discriminative capacity, with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve greater than 0.8. It had high sensitivity and high negative predictive value for 2 cutoffs in predicting response and remission. Conclusions Relatively lower response and remission rates were observed. Response and remission could be predicted by early improvement at week 2, whereas patients without early improvement were unlikely to reach response and remission at week 4.


We demonstrate experimentally that plasmon resonant nanoparticle chains exhibit a nanoscale localized response to unfocused light that can be controlled by tuning the incident wavelength. Confocal microscopy shows that field concentrates on just a few nanoparticles at either the front or back side of the plasmon chains. Our experiments clearly demonstrate that plasmon chains are nanoscale receivers and concentrators of light analogous to multielement radio wave antennas. This analogy inspires new design rules for many other photonic functionalities, like guiding and redirecting light at the nanoscale.


This article entitled Structural Studies of Community's Salt Trade System studied the problems of how is the portrait of community's salt trade system and the structural's core problem which is created the chaotic trade system of community's salt recently. The result shows that salt trade system tended to be out of the governments controll, so that it is thoroughly depended on the trade mechanism. Therefore, it become dominated and controlled commodity by capital owners in every level both locally and supra-locally and showed a hegemonic and monopolistic pattern. The capital owners got the maximum profit from salt commodity. In such condition, the salt farmer as the producer of salt raw materials had a very limited access and equity to the trade system. Ironically, government as the authoritical policy tended to preserve the trade structure. It was proven by the absence of decisive action and sanctions for trader that sent-up the salt's price. Key words: trade system, community's salt, structural, hegemonic, monopolistic.


This study examined quantitatively the effects of varying retention intervals (RI) within a 4 X 4 block schedule on knowledge retention of Algebra 2 skills and concepts. Specifically, the study contrasted the mean scores of students having an RI of 0, 8, and 12 months on a pre-review, post-review, and end-of-course test in precalculus. The study also examined qualitatively the instructional strategies used by teachers to eliminate the effects of the retention interval for all students beginning a new course of mathematics study. This study was conducted in two suburban high schools with at least 4 years of experience using a 4 X 4 block schedule. The sample for the quantitative component included all students, honors and merit, enrolled in precalculus. The sample for the qualitative component included precalculus teachers in both high schools. Initially on the pre-review test (multiple choice component), the mean score of students with an RI of 0 months was significantly higher than that of those with an RI of 8 or 12 months. Following a four-week review period, there was a significant difference in mean scores between students with an RI of zero months and 12 months. On the pre-review and post-review (performance-based assessment) there was no significant difference among the groups of students by RI. Notably, by the end course in precalculus, a final test administered to all three groups showed no significant difference among the students by RI on either the multiple choice or the performance-based assessment. In examining RI effects by different ability levels, there was no significant difference in the mean scores for precalculus merit students on the measure used as was also noted for all students regardless of ability. The same was true for precalculus honors students. Instructional strategies employed by teachers in reviewing Algebra 2 skills and concepts were the same as those associated with a traditional high school schedule. Contains 90 references. (Author) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** THE EFFECTS OF VARYING RETENTION INTERVALS WITHIN A BLOCK SCHEDULE ON KNOWLEDGE RETENTION


Polarities and amplitudes of intracrustal P-SV conversions (P waves converted to vertically polarized shear waves) in receiver functions from the Southeastern Suture of the Appalachian Margin Experiment array and USArray Transportable Array provide new constraints on the origin of seismic reflectivity delineating the Alleghanian detachment in the southern Appalachians(eastern United States). Forward modeling of receiver functions is consistent with a 3.5-km-thick, high shear-wave velocity (Vs = 3.9 km/s) section of deformed Paleozoic platform metasedimentary rocks beneath the Blue Ridge at 3–6.5 km depth. In the Inner Piedmont, conversions from the top and base of a low-Vs zone (3.1 km/s) at depths of 5–9 km are interpreted as a package of metasedimentary rocks or a shear zone characterized by radial anisotropy. The detachment continues to the southeast beneath the Carolina terrane, where high-amplitude negative conversions at 10–13 km depth are consistent with arc rocks (Vs = 4.0 km/s) overlying sheared rocks with lower Vs (3.2 km/s). Southeast-dipping conversions at 5–10 km depth mark the boundary between the Inner Piedmont and Carolina terrane. This study demonstrates that relatively high-frequency receiver functions (up to ∼3 Hz), though still lower in frequency than P-wave energy analyzed for reflection profiling (>20 Hz), can provide important links between surface geology and active-source experiments to better constrain models of crustal structure.


Pharmaceutically important benzo[c]phenanthridine alkaloid chelerythrine (CHL) exists in charged iminium [CHL (I)] and neutral alkanolamine [CHL (A)] forms depending on pH. The mechanism of interaction of these two isoforms with human serum albumin (HSA) was investigated by employing various spectroscopic techniques, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and molecular docking simulation. The primary objective was to corroborate the binding position of CHL within HSA as well as to investigate the comparative binding strength between CHL (I) and CHL (A). Spectroscopic investigation revealed that the alkanolamine form of CHL undergoes stronger association with HSA in comparison to its iminium counterpart. However, such a mode of binding induces some unfolding of the protein secondary and tertiary structures detectable in the circular dichroism (far-UV CD) spectra resulting in a concomitant decrease in the α-helical content of the protein. From the site selective competitive binding assay, we found that both iminium and alkanolamine forms of CHL bind at Sudlow's site I in subdomain IIA of HSA. Electrostatic interactions play the major role in CHL (I) binding whereas hydrophobic interactions are the main cause behind the stabilization of the CHL (A)–HSA complex. In addition, molecular docking specified that hydrogen bonding was also present in both cases with His 242 residue in site I. Thermodynamic parameters obtained from ITC showed that the binding of CHL (I) with HSA was favoured by a negative enthalpy change and opposed by a negative entropy change, whereas the association of CHL (A) with HSA was characterized by both positive enthalpy and entropy changes. FRET analysis showed that the binding distance between CHL (I) and CHL (A) with HSA (Trp 214) was most favourable (r = 2.32 and 2.05 nm respectively) for quenching to occur.


Introduction: There is no consensus in the available literature whether the coexistence of Down's syndrome has adverse effect on the outcomes of neonates born with congenital duodenal atresia.Materials and Methods: A total of 29 neonates with congenital duodenal atresia were retrospectively studied for demographic details, sepsis parameters at admission, management, morbidity, and mortality. The neonates who were prematureResults: The sepsis parameters such as total leukocyte counts, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum procalcitonin levels, and serum C‑reactive protein levels were significantly increased, and the platelets were significantly decreased at admission in Group B subjects, as compared to Group A subjects. There were no complications noted in Group A, while Group B had significant morbidity. The neonates with congenital duodenal atresia with Down's syndrome had 3.27 times more relative risk of mortality than those without Down's syndrome. Down's syndrome appears to be an independent risk factor for mortality in isolated congenital duodenal atresia with attributable risk of 37.8%.Conclusion: The presence of Down's syndrome is a significant independent adverse risk factor of outcomes in isolated congenital duodenal atresia.


This paper proposes a methodology to implement probabilistic belief elicitation in continuous-choice games. Representing subjective probabilistic beliefs about a continuous variable as a continuous subjective probability distribution, the methodology involves eliciting partial information about the subjective distribution and fitting a parametric distribution on the elicited data. As an illustration, the methodology is applied to a double auction experiment, where traders' beliefs about the bidding choices of other market participants are elicited. Elicited subjective beliefs are found to differ from proxies such as Bayesian Nash equilibrium beliefs and empirical beliefs, both in terms of the forecasts of other traders' bidding choices and in terms of the best-response bidding choices prescribed by beliefs. Elicited subjective beliefs help explain observed bidding choices better than BNE beliefs and empirical beliefs. By extending probabilistic belief elicitation beyond discrete-choice games to continuous-choice games, the proposed methodology enables to investigate the role of beliefs in a wider range of applications.


Sediments of the Changjiang River have been found in recent studies to be enriched in cadmium (Cd). The possibility and mechanisms for evaluating total Cd concentration and its binding form using reflectance spectroscopy within the visible-near-infrared (VNIR) region (400-2500 nm) have been investigated. Bottom sediments (69 samples) in the lower reaches of the river were collected for chemical analyses and spectral measurements. Total Cd concentration in the sediments was found to be exponentially related to the spectral proxies for organic matter (spectral reflectance at 400-530 nm), clay minerals (first derivative (FD) values at the shoulders related to absorption bands near 1400, 1900, and 2200 nm), and Fe oxides (FD values at 560760 nm). The results indicated that the spectrally featureless Cd was mostly bound to these spectrally active materials, which made it possible for Cd concentration to be determined from reflectance spectra. This conclusion was also confirmed by the results of chemically sequential extraction of Cd. This study has demonstrated the usage and theoretical basis of reflectance spectroscopy, which is a rapid and inexpensive analytical method, for evaluating contamination by heavy metals and their binding forms in sediments.


Hepatitis B virus (HBV) recurrence after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is associated with poor graft and patient survival. Treatment with HBV-specific immunoglobulins (HBIG) in combination with nucleos(t)ide analogs is effective in preventing HBV reinfection of the graft and improving OLT outcome. However, the combined immunoprophylaxis has several limitations, mainly the high cost and the lack of standard schedules about duration. So far, the identification of markers able to predict the reinfection risk is needed. Although the HBV-specific immune response is believed to play an essential role in disease outcome, HBV-specific cellular immunity in viral containment in OLT recipients is unclear. To test whether or not OLT recipients maintain robust HBV-specific cellular immunity, the cellular immune response against viral nucleocapsid and envelope-protein of HBV was assessed in 15 OLT recipients and 27 individuals with chronic and 24 subjects with self-limited HBV infection, respectively. The data demonstrate that OLT recipients mounted fewer but stronger clusters of differentiation (CD)8 T cell responses than subjects with self-limited HBV infection and showed a preferential targeting of the nucleocapsid antigen. This focused response pattern was similar to responses seen in chronically infected subjects with undetectable viremia, but significantly different from patients who presented with elevated HBV viremia and who mounted mainly immune responses against the envelope protein. In conclusion, virus-specific CD4 T cell–mediated responses were only detected in subjects with self-limited HBV infection. Thus, the profile of the cellular immunity against HBV was in immune suppressed patients similar to subjects with chronic HBV infection with suppressed HBV-DNA.


Globally, blaCTX-M-15 beta-lactamases are the most popular extended spectrum beta-lactamase alleles that are widely distributed due its mobilization by mobile genetic elements in several compartments. We aimed to determine the conjugation frequencies and replicon types associated with plasmids carrying blaCTX-M-15 gene from Extended Spectrum Beta-lactamase producing isolates in order to understand the dissemination of resistance genes in different compartments. A total of 51 archived isolates carrying blaCTX-M-15 beta-lactamases were used as donors in this study. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed as previously described for both donors and transconjugants. Conjugation experiment was performed by a modified protocol of the plate mating experiment, and plasmid replicon types were screened among donor and transconjugant isolates by multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction in a set of three primer panels. Escherichia coli was recovered from majority of isolates. The conjugation efficiency of plasmids carrying blaCTX-M-15 was 88.2% (45/51) with conjugation frequencies in the order of 10‒1 to 10‒9 and a 100% transfer efficiency observed among E. coli of animal origin. Majority of donors (n = 21) and transconjugants (n = 14) plasmids were typed as either Inc FIA or Inc FIB. Resistance to non-beta-lactam antibiotics was transferrable in 34/45 (75.6%) of events. Ciprofloxacin, tetracycline and sulphamethoxazole-trimethoprim resistance was co-transferred in 29/34 (85.3%) such events. Gentamicin resistance was transferred in 17/34 (50%) of events. Majority of plasmids carrying blaCTX-M-15 were conjugatively transferred by IncF plasmids along with non-beta lactam resistance. There is a need for more research on plasmids to understand how plasmids, especially multi replicon plasmids interact and the effect of such interaction on conjugation. One Health approach is to be intensified to address antimicrobial resistance which is a public health threat


ABSTRACT To investigate the potential immunomodulatory effects of concurrent ascariasis on the cytokine response to a live oral vaccine, we measured cytokine responses to cholera toxin B subunit (CT-B) following vaccination with the live oral cholera vaccine CVD 103-HgR inAscaris lumbricoides-infected subjects randomized in a double-blind study to receive two doses of either albendazole or placebo prior to vaccination and in a group of healthy U.S. controls. Postvaccination cytokine responses to CT-B were characterized by transient increases in the production of interleukin-2 (IL-2;P = 0.02) and gamma interferon (IFN-γ;P = 0.001) in the three study groups combined; however, postvaccination increases in IFN-γ were significant only in the albendazole-treated A. lumbricoides infection group (P = 0.008). Postvaccination levels of IL-2 were significantly greater in the albendazole-treated group compared with the placebo group (P = 0.03). No changes in levels of Th1 and Th2 cytokines in response to control ascaris antigens were observed over the same period. These findings indicate that vaccination with CVD 103-HgR is associated with a Th1 cytokine response (IL-2 and IFN-γ) to CT-B, that infection with A. lumbricoidesdiminishes the magnitude of this response, and that albendazole treatment prior to vaccination was able to partially reverse the deficit in IL-2. The potential modulation of the immune response to oral vaccines by geohelminth parasites has important implications for the design of vaccination campaigns in geohelminth-endemic areas.


Nanostructured Fe-Co based alloys are believed to be good candidates for imparting improved magnetic behavior in terms of higher permeability, lower coercivity, reduced hysteresis loss and higher Curie temperatures. In the present work, Fe-Co alloys with Ni additions were prepared using mechanical alloying (MA). Grain size and internal strain in the MA powders was measured using X-ray diffraction. It has been shown that the grain size could be reduced down to less than 5 nm in these alloys. Nanocrystalline materials thus obtained were also evaluated for magnetic behavior and the influence of grain size and internal strain on the magnetic properties has been discussed.


: Incidence rates of teenage pregnancies in South Africa--especially among the black population--poses definite reason for concern. The adverse physical, psychological, social and demographic consequences do not only put the lives of the mother and infant at risk, but also threatens the quality of their lifestyle. Sexuality education is not a panacea for preventing teenage pregnancy, but within a multi-disciplinary approach evidence indicates that it has an important and ameliorative role to play in successful preventive programmes. The practical aspects of the delivery of sexuality education, particularly in comprehensive health clinics in black areas, raises questions regarding the expectations to be attached to such services. A partial answer is provided by a preliminary study conducted in two South African townships. The study highlights some of the issues impeding the effective functioning of sexuality education services in clinics. In order to address some of these problems, the author contends that sexuality education should be synonomous with effective two-way communication. This implies a high degree of co-operation between policy makers, nurses and black teenagers. This link between communication and sexuality education will be referred to as SEC (Sexuality Education as Communication). Within this framework a cognitive-behavioural approach as a four-step process to learning, holds potential to incorporate most of the requirements for SEC. The attitude and ability of the nursing staff is of crucial importance in all four steps, as the SEC model continuously emphasizes the relationship between adolescents and the nursing staff. There is almost universal agreement that the educator is the key element in good programmes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk)/ganciclovir (GCV) viral-directed enzyme prodrug gene therapy causes potent, tumor-selective cytotoxicity in animal models in which HSV-tk gene transduction is limited to a minority of tumor cells. The passage of toxic molecules from HSV-tk+ cells to neighboring HSV-tk- cells during GCV therapy is one mechanism that may account for this "bystander" cytotoxicity. To investigate whether gap junction-mediated intercellular coupling could mediate this bystander effect, we used a flow cytometry assay to quantitate the extent of heterocellular coupling between HSV-tk+ murine fibroblasts and both rodent and human tumor cell lines. Bystander tumor cytotoxicity during GCV treatment in a coculture assay was highly correlated (P < 0.001) with the extent of gap junction-mediated coupling. These findings show that gap junction-mediated intercellular coupling contributes to the in vitro bystander effect during HSV-tk/GCV therapy and that retroviral transduction of tumor cells is not required for bystander cytotoxicity.


Eyes were transplanted from normal axolotls to eyeless mutants, and several anatomical and physiological observations were made on the central visual centers in these animals. Some central projections were bilateral to the optic centers of the thalamus and midbrain, some traveled ipsilaterally to the same centers, and the rest grew down the spinal cord. This is similar to what has been found in eyes transplanted to normal hosts. The type of projection made in eyeless hosts correlated with the site of nerve entry into the CNS as in control hosts. Thus, the transplanted projection did not appear to be influenced by the host's optic nerves and tracts or lack of them. In spite of the transplanted optic fibers' taking abnormal paths, they made normally organized topographic maps on the host tecta. The visual and somatosensory topographic projections to the tectum were found to be in near perfect register normally, but in eyeless mutants to which rotated eyes had been transplanted, they were not. Acetylcholinesterase activity, found in the primary optic neuropil in normal animals, was greatly diminished in eyeless mutants, yet normal mutants with grafted eyes. Finally, transplantation of an eye to an eyeless mutant corrected the abnormally dark pigmentation caused by eyelessness but only in those cases of bilateral central innervation.


This paper explores the relationship between the minimum wage, the structure of employee compensation, and worker welfare. We advance a conceptual framework that describes the conditions under which a minimum wage increase will alter the provision of fringe benefits, alter employment outcomes, and either increase or decrease worker welfare. Using American Community Survey data from 2011-2016, we find robust evidence that state-level minimum wage changes decreased the likelihood that individuals report having employer-sponsored health insurance. Effects are largest among workers in very low-paying occupations, for whom coverage declines offset 9 percent of the wage gains associated with minimum wage hikes. We find evidence that both insurance coverage and wage effects exhibit spillovers into occupations moderately higher up the wage distribution. For these groups, reductions in coverage offset a more substantial share of the wage gains we estimate.


Classical inferences about population parameters are usually drawn from the sample data alone. This applies to methods used in parameter estimation and hypothesis
testing. Inferences about population parameters could be improved using non-sample prior information (NSPI) on the value of another related parameter. However, any NSPI on the value of any parameter is likely to be uncertain (or unsure). The NSPI can be classified as (i) unknown (unspecified), (ii) known (specified), and (iii) uncertain
if the suspected value is unsure. For the three different scenarios, three different statistical tests: (i) unrestricted test (UT), (ii) restricted test (RT) and (iii) preliminary test test (PTT) are defined. The current research is to test the intercept parameter(s) when NSPI is available on the slope parameter(s). The test statistics,
their sampling distributions, and power functions of the tests are derived. Comparison of power functions of the tests are used to recommend a best test. In this thesis, we test (1) the intercept of the simple regression model (SRM) when there is NSPI on the slope, (2) the intercept vector of the multivariate simple regression model (MSRM) when there is NSPI on the slope vector, (3) a subset of regression parameters of the multiple regression model (MRM) when NSPI is available on another subset of the
regression parameters, and (4) the equality of the intercepts for p (≥ 2) lines of the parallel regression model (PRM) when there is NSPI on the slopes.
For each of the above four regression models, the following steps are carried out: (1) derived the test statistics of the UT, RT and PTT for both known and unknown variance, (2) derived the sampling distributions of the test statistics of the UT, RT and PTT, (3) derived and compared the power function and the size of the UT, RT and PTT. For known variance, under a sequence of an alternative hypothesis, the sampling distributions of the UT and RT of the simple regression model follows a normal distribution. However, the PTT follows a bivariate normal distribution. For unknown
variance, the sampling distribution of the UT and RT of the simple regression model follows a Student's t distribution but the PTT follows a correlated bivariate Student's
t distribution. For the multivariate simple regression, multiple regression and parallel regression models, the sampling distribution of the UT and RT follows a univariate
noncentral F distribution under the alternative hypothesis. However, the PTT follows a correlated bivariate noncentral F distribution. For the four regression models above, there is a correlation between the UT and PT but there is no such correlation between the RT and PT. To evaluate the power function of the PTT the probability integral of the bivariate normal, bivariate Student's t and bivariate noncentral F distributions are used. For the computations of the power function of the PTT of the MSRM, MRM and PRM require the cumulative distribution function (cdf) of a correlated bivariate noncentral F (BNCF) distribution. But the correlated BNCF distribution is not available in the literature, and hence we derive the probability density function (pdf) and cdf of the BNCF distribution. The R package is used for all computations and graphical analyses.
The statistical criteria that are used to compare the performance of the UT, RT and PTT are the size and power of the tests. A test that minimizes the size and maximizes the power is preferred over any other tests. In reality, the size of a test is fixed, and then the choice of the best test is based on its maximum power. The study shows that the power of the RT is always higher than that of the UT
and PTT, and the power of the PTT lies between the power of the RT and UT. The size of the UT is smaller than that of the RT and PTT. Among the three tests, the UT has the lowest power and lowest size. In terms of power it is the worst and in terms of size it is the best. The RT has maximum power and size. The PTT has smaller size than the RT and the RT has larger power than the PTT. The PTT protects against maximum size of the RT and minimum power of the UT. Thus the the PTT attains a reasonable dominance over the UT and RT for all regression models when the suspected value of the slope parameter(s) suggested by the NSPI is not too far away from that under the null hypothesis.


The human posterior columns are generally described as a myelinated fibre pathway. The present study demonstrates that more than 25% of the component axons are unmyelinated. Many of these unmyelinated axons are labelled by antibodies to calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a substance found in sensory cells, axons and terminals. On this basis we suggest that there are significant numbers of unmyelinated primary afferent axons in the human posterior columns. These results indicate that unmyelinated sensory axons are more widespread than previously thought, and that they should be taken into account when considering stimulation of the posterior columns to relieve pain.


INTRODUCTION
This study was designed to determine the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy among diabetic patients attending the medical outpatient department of the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria.

METHODS
This study was conducted between November 2007 and February 2008. Ethical clearance was obtained from the ethical committee of the hospital prior to carrying out the study. 100 diabetic patients selected by simple random sampling were interviewed with the aid of a semi-structured questionnaire. All the respondents had fundoscopy conducted at the eye clinic with the aid of a direct ophthalmoscope. The data was collated and analysed.

RESULTS
The majority of the respondents (85 percent) had type 2 diabetes mellitus, while the rest (15 percent) had type 1 diabetes mellitus. 15 percent of the respondents had varying degrees of diabetic retinopathy. The duration of diabetes mellitus was significantly associated with the development of diabetic retinopathy at a p-value of 0.002.

CONCLUSION
A few of the respondents had diabetic retinopathy. There is a need to create awareness among diabetic patients on the need for routine ocular examinations.


The problem of how human skill can be represented as a parametric model using a hidden Markov (HMM), and how an HMM-based skill model can be used to learn human skill, is discussed. The HMM is feasible for characterizing two stochastic processes, measurable action and immeasurable mental states that are involved in the skill learning. Based on the most likely performance criterion, the best action sequence can be selected from previously measured action data by modeling the skill as an HMM. This selection process can be updated in real-time by feeding new action data and modifying HMM parameters. The implementation of the proposed method in a teleoperation-controlled space robot is discussed. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the method.<<ETX>>


PurposeUsing a classification of benefits and costs of promotional offers (Raghubir et al., 2004) along three routes – economic, informational and affective – this paper aims at evaluating, from the consumer's point of view, the relative perceptual disadvantages of separate-item bundles compared to pre-wrapped bundles.Design/methodology/approachThe marketing literature and a qualitative study based on 18 consumers permit us to identify the relative perceived costs and benefits associated with separate-item bundles and to derive hypotheses. An experiment on a sample of 120 adult consumers was then set up to test these hypotheses. FindingsThe findings suggest that consumers associate separate-item bundles with higher economic benefit but also with higher inspection costs. From a more global perspective, there is no loss of interest in separate-item bundles compared to pre-wrapped bundles.Research limitations/implicationsFocusing our research on separate-item bundles clarifies the way consumers evaluate promotions. Its qualitative phase gives support to the relevance of an "informational route" (Raghubir et al., 2004), beyond the traditional utilitarian and hedonic routes (Chandon et al., 2000). Its quantitative phase confirms the importance of cognitive biases in consumers' perceptions of promotions.Practical implicationsThe numerous advantages of separate-item bundles for manufacturers and retailers and their attraction to consumers should lead to an increasingly intensive use in promotional campaigns. Besides, the quality of in-store communication is the most important factor of the success of separate-item bundles, which provides the opportunity to propose meaningful recommendations for practitioners.Originality/value of paperIf the strengths and weaknesses of separate-item bundles have already been studied from a managerial point of view, to our knowledge, no research has focused on separate-item bundle efficiency from the consumer's point of view.


Public Service Motivation (PSM) theory suggests the alignment of values may explain sorting into public service work. Evidence suggests that people with high PSM cluster in government and nonprofit organizations. However, the reliance on cross-sectional data leaves open the question of whether observed patterns are the result of public and nonprofit organizations attracting and selecting high PSM people or cultivating PSM through socialization within the sector. Using data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), this study analyzes the relationship between motivational bases, such as PSM and extrinsic motivation, and sorting into the public, for-profit, and nonprofit sectors. The results indicate that PSM, measured before labor market entry, significantly predicts the sector a person will select for employment. Moreover, the effect on sector selection does not operate through alternative predictors of sector employment, such as college completion. Rather, PSM predicts sorting into college majors in a manner consistent with sector sorting in the labor market. After empirically investigating the relationship between PSM and sector selection in the labor market, this paper discusses the implications of the results for future public management research and theory.


The protective effects of ethanolic extract of Tamarindus indica leaves and seeds in compoarison to vitamin E, were studied on paracetamol induced hepatotoxicity in Long Evans Rats. Different groups of animals were administered in the paracetamol (1500mg /kg, p.o.) for 7 days. Ethanolic extracts of leaves and seeds of Tamarindus indica (1250mg/kg) with parallel vitamin E (500 mg/kg), were administered to paracetamol pretreated rats. On treatment with paracetamol a significant increase in alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase were observed. On administration of ethanolic extracts of leaves and seeds a significant decrease in the level of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were observed and histopathological examination of liver tissue revealed an almost return to normal architecture. The result were almost comparable to vitamin E, a known hepatoprotective agent. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjmb.v6i2.17645 Bangladesh J Med Biochem 2013; 6(2): 63-67


Smith has defended the rationalist's conceptual claim that moral requirements are categorical requirements of reason, arguing that no status short of this would make sense of our taking these requirements as seriously as we do. Against this I argue that Smith has failed to show either that our moral commitments would be undermined by possessing only an internal, contextual justification or that they need presuppose any expectation that rational agents must converge on their acceptance. His claim that this rationalistic understanding of metaethics is required for the intelligibility of moral disagreement is also found to be inadequately supported. It is further proposed that the rationalist's substantive claims – that there are such categorical requirements of reason and that our actual moral commitments are a case in point – are liable to disappointment; and that the conceptual claim is fatally undermined by reflection on how we might best respond to such disappointment.


We study the elastic properties of incommensurate solid 4He in the limit of zero temperature. Specifically, we calculate the pressure dependence of the five elastic constants (C11, C12, C13, C33, and C44), longitudinal and transversal speeds of sound, and the T = 0 Debye temperature of incommensurate and commensurate hcp 4He using the diffusion Monte Carlo method. Our results show that under compression the commensurate crystal is globally stiffer than the incommensurate, however at pressures close to melting (i.e. P ~ 25 bars) some of the elastic constants accounting for strain deformations of the hcp basal plane (C12 and C13) are slightly larger in the incommensurate solid. Also, we find that upon the introduction of tiny concentrations of point defects the shear modulus of 4He (C44) undergoes a small reduction.


Sardine is a sea food widely consumed in Mexico due to it's abundance and very low price. Its content in vitamins, minerals and chemical composition were evaluated in its canned presentation in tomato sauce. Samples proceeded from 3 fishery areas of the Mexican Pacific: (L1) Baja California Sur, (L2) Sonora and (L3) Sinaloa. The proximal chemical analysis was carried out by the AOAC methods; mineral content (Ca, Mg, Na, K, Fe, Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb) was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry and vitamins A, B1, B2 and niacin were quantified by HPLC. Results showed a high moisture content from 69 to 82%, ether extract ranged between 7.8% (L2) and 10.2% (L3) and crude protein content between 10.6% (L3) and 14.6% (L1). Vitamin A (IU/100 g) was similar for all samples: L1 (63-66); thiamin (mg/100 g) was high in L1 (0.13) and low in L3 (0.09); riboflavin was high in L1 (0.15) and showed values of 0.13 for both L2 and L3; niacin content was high in all samples: L1 (2.24), L2 (1.48) and L3 (1.75). Minerals were abundant (mg/100 g) in Na, K, and P; L1 showed a great variation for Na (363-636) compared with L2 and L3 (250); K was very variable among the samples: L1 (597), L2 (100) and L3 (57). Phosphorous and magnesium had small variations: P (229, 243 and 212) and Mg (28, 23 and 23) for L1, L2 and L3. Iron was more abundant in L1 (5.5) and L3 (4.3); Zn was higher in L2 (3.4) and similar in L1 (2.5) and L3 (2.2). Copper showed a great variation in L2 (0.21-0.48) but the averages were similar (0.37, 0.35, 0.33, for L1, L2 and L3 respectively). Finally, heavy metal content was lower than 0.002 mg/100 g. In conclusion, there are some variation in Ca, Na, K, thiamin and niacin content in canned sardine with tomato sauce, depending upon the fishing area.


Let $Q$ be a positive-definite quaternary quadratic form with integer coefficients. We study the problem of giving bounds on the largest positive integer $n$ that is locally represented by $Q$ but not represented. Assuming that $n$ is relatively prime to $D(Q)$, the determinant of the Gram matrix of $Q$, we show that $n$ is represented provided that \[
n \gg \max \{ N(Q)^{3/2 + \epsilon} D(Q)^{5/4 + \epsilon}, N(Q)^{2 + \epsilon} D(Q)^{1 + \epsilon} \}. \] Here $N(Q)$ is the level of $Q$. We give three other bounds that hold under successively weaker local conditions on $n$.
These results are proven by bounding the Petersson norm of the cuspidal part of the theta series, which is accomplished using an explicit formula for the Weil representation due to Scheithauer.


The Dutch Working Party on Antibiotic Policy (SWAB) and the Dutch Association of Chest Physicians (NVALT) convened a joint committee to develop evidence-based guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of community acquired pneumonia (CAP). The guidelines are intended for adult patients with CAP who present at the hospital and are treated as outpatients as well as for hospitalised patients up to 72 hours after admission. Areas covered include current patterns of epidemiology and antibiotic resistance of causative agents of CAP in the Netherlands, the possibility to predict the causative agent of CAP on the basis of clinical data at first presentation, risk factors associated with specific pathogens, the importance of the severity of disease upon presentation for choice of initial treatment, the role of rapid diagnostic tests in treatment decisions, the optimal initial empiric treatment and treatment when a specific pathogen has been identified, the timeframe in which the first dose of antibiotics should be given, optimal duration of antibiotic treatment and antibiotic switch from the intravenous to the oral route. Additional recommendations are made on the role of radiological investigations in the diagnostic work-up of patients with a clinical suspicion of CAP, on the potential benefit of adjunctive immunotherapy, and on the policy for patients with parapneumonic effusions.


Aims: This study aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a new neoadjuvant regimen (FOLFOX4 plus hypofractionated tomotherapy) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. Methods: Patients with stage II–III rectal cancer were treated with the pre-operative chemoradiotherapy regimen comprising FOLFOX4 (two cycles), TomoTherapy (25 Gy in five consecutive fractions, one fraction per day in 5 days on the clinical target volume at the isodose of 95% of the total dose), FOLFOX4 (two cycles), followed by surgery with total mesorectal excision and adjuvant chemotherapy with FOLFOX4 (eight cycles). The primary endpoint was pathological complete response (pCR). Results: Fifty-two patients were enrolled and 50 patients were evaluable. A total of 46 (92%) patients completed chemoradiotherapy according to the study protocol and 49 patients underwent surgery. Overall, 12 patients achieved a pCR (24.5%, 95% CI 12.5–36.5). The most common grade 3 or more adverse events were neutropenia and alteration of the alvus. Adverse reactions due to radiotherapy, mainly grade 1–2 dermatitis, tenesmus, urinary dysfunction and pain, were tolerable and fully reversible. The most important surgical complications included infection, anastomotic leakage and fistula, all resolved with conservative treatment. Conclusion: FOLFOX and hypofractionated TomoTherapy is effective and safe in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. Long-term efficacy needs to be further evaluated. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02000050 (registration date: 26 November 2013) https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02000050


Scalability is always a serious issue influencing the development of Software-Defined Network (SDN). Identifiers Separating and Mapping Architecture (ISMA) is a promising solution to the current Internet scaling problems by dividing the network into edge network and core network. In this paper, we adopt the idea of identity and locator splitting with SDN to aggregate flow table entries in the core network switches. Particularly we propose an approach of flow table entries compression in Open Flow network. We define an Open Flow based core forwarding element in core network and propose another coarse-grain forwarding flow table besides the fine-grain flow table to make flow table entries aggregation. Furthermore, we define another Open Flow based access forwarding element connecting the edge network and core network which has a mapping flow table inside. Then we design the prototype including forwarding elements and Open Flow controller with mapping module. Additionally, we compare the performance of our approach with individually applying Open Flow in the Internet, verify the feasibility and flow table entries compression effort using the prototype. The number of forwarding flow table entries in core network can be reduced dramatically.