In recent years, activists and then politicians began calling for the abolition of the United States's interior immigration-enforcement agency: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Many people have misinterpreted the call to "Abolish ICE" as merely a spontaneous rhetorical device used to express outrage at the current Administration's brutal immigration policies. In fact, abolishing ICE is the natural extension of years of thoughtful organizing by a loose coalition of grassroots immigrant-rights groups. These organizations are serious, not only about their literal goal to eliminate the agency, but also about not replacing it with another dedicated agency of immigration police. Accordingly, the proposal to eliminate ICE necessarily raises the question of how, in a post-ICE world, the United States would enforce its immigration laws. Missing from the public discourse, however, is an affirmative vision for the mechanics of a just and humane immigration-enforcement system that could follow the abolition of ICE. Drawing on lessons from our own and other nations' past immigration-enforcement schemes, enforcement mechanisms employed by other federal agencies, and interviews with leaders of the "Abolish ICE" movement, I seek to begin to fill this void. This Essay suggests a paradigm shift in immigration enforcement toward the creation of an enforcement scheme that does not rely on detention, mass deportation, or any dedicated agency of immigration police but is nevertheless realistic and effective at increasing compliance with immigration law. The new immigration enforcement principles set forth herein are intended as a starting point for the immigrant-rights movement and for policymakers to use, critique, and improve upon.


This paper addresses the importance of proper scheduling control of equipment in combined heat and power (CHP) systems for commercial/institutional buildings. These plants require more careful and sophisticated equipment scheduling and control methods compared to those in industrial CHP due to the large variability in thermal and electric loads, as well as the equipment scheduling issue. Most of the work to date was in a second and lower-level type of supervisory control called continuous control, which involves determining the optimal values of the control parameters under a specific set of operating conditions and combination of equipment schedule. The research project the results of which are reported here involved two phases. The first, which is described in the companion paper (Maor and Reddy 2009), involved the generation of necessary data for certain characteristic building types with rationally designed and sized building combined heat and power (BCHP) equipment. Seven buildings were selected: three large buildings under real-time electrical pricing (RTP) (hospital, school, and hotel) and four buildings (two large and two small) under time-of-use (TOU) rates. Subsequently, a certain number of days in the year over which to perform the optimization study were identified for each building. This paper relates to near-optimal control, which is often viewed as synonymous with simplified and heuristic strategies—those that are close to the optimum strategy but are much simpler to implement in actual practice. Optimal control is defined as involving an operational strategy where the equipment scheduling can be changed in a quasistatic manner at the beginning of each hourly time step and controlled optimally. Near-optimal, on the other hand, is one where the equipment scheduling itself is not changed during the diurnal operating horizon, while the equipment already on-line is controlled optimally. There are as many near-optimal solutions as there are feasible combinations during the selected day. This type of near-optimal operation and control will result in a higher operational cost. A quantity called cost penalty ratio (CPR) was defined as the ratio of the near-optimal to the optimal solution, and it is the variation and magnitude of this quantity with building type, location, day of the year, and price signal which is studied, quantified, and discussed herein.


Objective To explore whether differences between collaboratives with respect to type of topic, type of targets, measures (systems) are also reflected in the degree of effectiveness. Study setting 182 teams from long-term healthcare organisation developed improvement initiatives in seven quality-improvement collaboratives (QICs) focusing on patient safety and autonomy. Study design Multiple case before–after study. Data collection 75 team leaders completed a written questionnaire at the end of each QIC on achievability and degree of challenge of targets and measurability of progress. Main outcome indicators were collaborative-specific measures (such as prevalence of pressure ulcers). Principal findings The degree of effectiveness and percentage of teams realising targets varied between collaboratives. Collaboratives also varied widely in perceived measurability (F=6.798 and p=0.000) and with respect to formulating achievable targets (F=6.566 and p=0.000). The Problem Behaviour collaborative scored significantly lower than all other collaboratives on both dimensions. The collaborative on Autonomy and control scored significantly lower on measurability than the other collaboratives. Topics for which there are best practices and evidence of effective interventions do not necessarily score higher on effectiveness, measurability, achievable and challenging targets. Conclusions The effectiveness of a QIC is associated with the efforts of programme managers to create conditions that provide insight into which changes in processes of care and in client outcomes have been made. Measurability is not an inherent property of the improvement topic. Rather, creating measurability and formulating challenging and achievable targets is one of the crucial tasks for programme managers of QICs.


2',3'-Dideoxycytidine (ddC) is a nucleoside analogue that inhibits human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication in vitro and is currently used in the therapy of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). This compound exerts a delayed cytotoxicity due to inhibition of mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) synthesis. Long-term exposure of U937 human monoblastoid cells to ddC resulted in a time- and concentration-dependent decrease in mDNA content and Rhodamine 123 fluorescence. However, after 2 months on 0.1 microM ddC, a drug-resistant cell line (U937-R) with 66% of the normal amount of mDNA was isolated. ddC transport in U937 and U937-R cell lines was similar. In contrast, U937-R accumulated ddC phosphorylated derivatives at a much lower rate and to a reduced concentration into acid-soluble material. The rate of 2',3'-dideoxycytidine 5'-triphosphate (ddCTP) formation in U937-R cells was almost one-third of that measured in normal cells, although the rate of ddCTP catabolism was similar in both cell lines. Dideoxyliponucleotide (ddCDP-choline and ddCDP-ethanolamine) formation was also much slower (between one-half and one-third as fast) in U937-R than in control cells, although catabolism occurred at similar rates. ddC was phosphorylated by a cytoplasmic deoxycytidine kinase in both cell lines. This enzyme showed Km values for ddC of 80 +/- 7 and 140 +/- 9 microM in U937 and U937-R cells respectively. Furthermore, Vmax was 12 +/- 1.1 and 7.8 +/- 0.5 pmol/min per mg of protein in U937 and U937-R. Thus resistance to ddC toxicity may be due to cells' decreased ability to accumulate intracellular ddC anabolites, which may depend on cytoplasmic deoxycytidine kinase.


Purpose: The purpose of our study was to test the hypotheses (a) that children with dyslexia have spoken word learning deficits primarily related to phonology and (b) that children with dyslexia and concomitant developmental language disorder (DLD) have word learning deficits related to both phonology and semantic processing when compared to peers with typical development (TD).Method: Second-graders with dyslexia (n = 82), concomitant dyslexia and DLD (dyslexia + DLD; n = 40), and TD (n = 167) learned names and semantic features for cartoon monsters in 5 carefully controlled word learning tasks that varied phonological and semantic demands. The computer-based tasks were played in 6 different word learning games. We analyzed results using Bayesian statistics.Results: In general, the dyslexia + DLD group showed lower accuracy on tasks compared to the dyslexia and TD groups. As predicted, word learning tasks that taxed phonology revealed deficits in the dyslexia group, although there were some exceptions related to visual complexity. Word learning deficits in the dyslexia + DLD group were present in tasks that taxed phonology, semantic processing, or both.Conclusions: The dyslexia + DLD group demonstrated word learning deficits across the range of word learning tasks that tapped phonology and semantic processing, whereas the dyslexia group primarily struggled with the phonological aspects of word learning.Supplemental Material S1. Details of the Bayesian repeated measures ANCOVA with nonverbal intelligence as the covariate. These data allow readers to compare outcomes when nonverbal intelligence is included as a covariate.Alt, M., Gray, S., Hogan, T. P., Schlesinger, N., & Cowan, N. (2019). Spoken word learning differences among children with dyslexia, concomitant dyslexia and developmental language disorder, and typical development. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 50, 540–561. https://doi.org/10.1044/2019_LSHSS-VOIA-18-0138Publisher Note: This article is part of the Forum: Vocabulary Across the School Grades.


Energy availability from forages is limited by fiber concentration because fiber is slowly and incompletely digested, whereas cell solubles are almost completely digested. Thus, the proportion of fiber to cell solubles is a major determinant of energy availability in forages. Grasses normally have more fiber than legumes, especially in leaves. Grass fiber is more digestible than that of legumes, but that of legumes digests at a faster rate. Ruminants digest 40-50% of legume fiber and 60-70% of grass fiber. Some fiber cannot be digested no matter how long it remains in the rumen. Lignin is thought to interfere with microbial degradation of fiber polysaccharides by acting as a physical barrier and by being cross-linked to polysaccharides by ferulate bridges. In addition to the effects of lignin, physical and structural barriers may limit fiber digestibility. Because the middle lamella and primary wall of thick-walled cells are so highly lignified, many cells can be digested only from the interior of the cell. For many cells, access to cell interiors is limited because of large particle sizes. Forage digestibility could be improved by reducing the amount of lignified cells or by developing improved cultivars so that lignified cells are more digestible.


Title of dissertation: Building and Programming a Universal Ion Trap Quantum Computer Caroline Margaret Figgatt Doctor of Philosophy, 2018 Dissertation directed by: Professor Christopher Monroe Department of Physics Quantum computing represents an exciting frontier in the realm of information processing; it is a promising technology that may provide future advances in a wide range of fields, from quantum chemistry to optimization problems. This thesis discusses experimental results for several quantum algorithms performed on a programmable quantum computer consisting of a linear chain of five or seven trapped Yb atomic clock ions with long coherence times and high gate fidelities. We execute modular oneand two-qubit computation gates through Raman transitions driven by a beat note between counter-propagating beams from a pulsed laser. The system's individual addressing capability provides arbitrary single-qubit rotations as well as all possible two-qubit entangling gates, which are implemented using a pulse-segmentation scheme. The quantum computer can be programmed from a high-level interface to execute arbitrary quantum circuits, and comes with a toolbox of many important composite gates and quantum subroutines. We present experimental results for a complete three-qubit Grover quantum search algorithm, a hallmark application of a quantum computer with a well-known speedup over classical searches of an unsorted database, and report better-thanclassical performance. The algorithm is performed for all 8 possible single-result oracles and all 28 possible two-result oracles. All quantum solutions are shown to outperform their classical counterparts. Performing parallel operations will be a powerful capability as deeper circuits on larger, more complex quantum computers present new challenges. Here, we perform a pair of 2-qubit gates simultaneously in a single chain of trapped ions. We employ a pre-calculated pulse shaping scheme that modulates the phase and amplitude of the Raman transitions to drive programmable high-fidelity 2-qubit entangling gates in parallel by coupling to the collective modes of motion of the ion chain. Ensuring the operation yields only spin-spin interactions between the desired pairs, with neither residual spin-motion entanglement nor crosstalk spinspin entanglement, is a nonlinear constraint problem, and pulse solutions are found using optimization techniques. As an application, we demonstrate the quantum full adder using a depth-4 circuit requiring the use of parallel 2-qubit operations. BUILDING AND PROGRAMMING A UNIVERSAL ION TRAP QUANTUM COMPUTER


Using data on 14-year old children in four European countries, this study compares the support networks of children in intact and separated families. It is found that a parental separation has significant effects on the nature of these networks. Children of separated parents are less likely to include the father in their networks and also less likely to include the mother, although this latter effect is smaller than the former. Conflict after separation is negatively associated with the presence of parents in the network, while co-parenting is positively associated with mentioning the father. Other persons in the network (kin, friends) are not mentioned more often when children have separated parents. Theoretically, our results confirm hypotheses about physical and emotional availability. Hypotheses about network compensation by others than the parents receive little support. Some cross-national variation in effects of separation is found, but a negative effect exists in all countries. The practical relevance of our findings is that the increased demand for support that children experience when their parents separate, often goes together with a reduction in the supply of support.


We define Laguerre and Jacobi analogues of the Warren process. That is, we construct local dynamics on a triangular array of particles so that the projections to each level recover the Laguerre and Jacobi eigenvalue processes of König-O'Connell and Doumerc and the fixed time distributions recover the joint distribution of eigenvalues in multilevel Laguerre and Jacobi random matrix ensembles. Our techniques extend and generalize the framework of intertwining diffusions developed by Pal-Shkolnikov. One consequence is the construction of particle systems with local interactions whose fixed time distribution recovers the hard edge of random matrix theory. An appendix by Andrey Sarantsev establishes strong existence and uniqueness for solutions to SDER's satisfied by these processes.


For the purpose of automatic and consistent alignment of tonal targets relative to phonetic segments we introduce one established and three new methods for automatic pitch elbow location. We further examine, whether it is beneficial to constrain the detectors to certain elbow shape types. An evaluation on hand-labeled data showed deviations from 32 to 58 ms between predicted and reference elbow locations.


Vision-based vehicle detector systems are becoming increasingly important in ITS applications. Real-time operation, robustness, precision, accurate estimation of traffic parameters, and ease of setup are important features to be considered in developing such systems. Further, accurate vehicle detection is difficult in varied complex traffic environments. These environments include changes in weather as well as challenging traffic conditions, such as shadow effects and jams. To meet real-time requirements, the proposed system first applies a color background to extract moving objects, which are then tracked by considering their relative distances and directions. To achieve robustness and precision, the color background is regularly updated by the proposed algorithm to overcome luminance variations. This paper also proposes a scheme of feedback compensation to resolve background convergence errors, which occur when vehicles temporarily park on the roadside while the background image is being converged. Next, vehicle occlusion is resolved using the proposed prior split approach and through reasoning for rule-based tracking. This approach can automatically detect straight lanes. Following this step, trajectories are applied to derive traffic parameters; finally, to facilitate easy setup, we propose a means to automate the setting of the system parameters. Experimental results show that the system can operate well under various complex traffic conditions in real time.


Microbial pectinases currently occupy a place of prominence among biocatalysts owing to their capability to catalyze a diversity of reactions in aqueous and non-aqueous media. Specific action of these enzymes has initiated remarkable attention among industrialists and researchers. Pectinases from a large number of fungal and a few bacterial sources have been purified to homogeneity. This has assisted in successful sequence and three dimensional structure determination leading to a better understanding of their unique structural function relationships during various hydrolytic and synthetic reactions. Since protein purification is normally done in a series of sequential steps involving a mixture of different techniques. This article presents a critical review of different approaches which have been employed for the purification of fungal and bacterial pectinases. This will be immense help for researchers while planning microbial pectinase purification.


An evaluation of threshold values and fatigue crack growth (FCG) rates is a fundamental condition for an application of damage tolerance philosophy in numerous machinery components. This philosophy starts to be applied even in such problematic cases like aircraft engine blades. The paper contains results of an evaluation of FCG rates including threshold values in a heat resistant Inconel 718 / René 41 welds used in advanced manufacture processes of jet engine rotor blades. Measurement was performed at load asymmetry R = 0.05, temperature 700 oC, at low load frequency f = 0.3 Hz. Methodological approaches are mentioned. Results of FCG and particularly threshold values are discussed in connection with fractographical analyses. In addition, crack closure phenomenon and closure values are considered and discussed.


Abstract. A rapid growth of population, intensive civil and industrial building, land and water instabilities (e.g. landslides, significant underground water level fluctuations), and the lack of public awareness regarding seismic hazard contribute to the increase of vulnerability of Baku (the capital city of the Republic of Azerbaijan) to earthquakes. In this study, we assess an earthquake risk in the city determined as a convolution of seismic hazard (in terms of the surface peak ground acceleration, PGA), vulnerability (due to building construction fragility, population features, the gross domestic product per capita, and landslide's occurrence), and exposure of infrastructure and critical facilities. The earthquake risk assessment provides useful information to identify the factors influencing the risk. A deterministic seismic hazard for Baku is analysed for four earthquake scenarios: near, far, local, and extreme events. The seismic hazard models demonstrate the level of ground shaking in the city: PGA high values are predicted in the southern coastal and north-eastern parts of the city and in some parts of the downtown. The PGA attains its maximal values for the local and extreme earthquake scenarios. We show that the quality of buildings and the probability of their damage, the distribution of urban population, exposure, and the pattern of peak ground acceleration contribute to the seismic risk, meanwhile the vulnerability factors play a more prominent role for all earthquake scenarios. Our results can allow elaborating strategic countermeasure plans for the earthquake risk mitigation in the Baku city.


In the 120 years since the publication of his first poetry collection, Verses (1896), Ernest Dowson has become something of a Decadent legend, much anthologized and referenced in almost every study of English Decadent literature, but still considered a minor figure of the fin de siecle. He is, in fact, an important intermediary figure between late nineteenth-century Decadence and literary Modernism, and in this first collection of critical essays devoted solely to Dowson, we draw him out of the shadows and acknowledge his talent and legacy. The essays in this volume are by established and emergent Dowson scholars and offer new perspectives on some of the overlooked aspects of Dowson's oeuvre, including considerations of Catholicism and Paganism, desire and sexuality, space and place, and his poetic resonance in twentieth-century literature.

The collection takes the format of a dual focus on Dowson's texts and their contexts. The first section consists of close readings of Dowson's works including his two poetry collections Verses and Decorations (1899), the little-studied short fiction (collected in Dilemmas in 1895) and the 'dramatic phantasy' The Pierrot of the Minute (1897). The second section reconceptualizes Dowson's life and literature in the context of his relationships with other literary figures of his age such as Aubrey Beardsley and Paul Verlaine. This study engages with the complex critical positioning of Dowson's works, establishing him as a poet of paradoxes: both medievalist and modernist, spiritual and profane, and torn between hedonism and asceticism.


BACKGROUND
Sleep problems are common among children with intellectual disability (ID).

METHOD
The present study assessed the prevalence of severe sleep problems in a sample of children (n=286) with mild to profound ID who lived at home with their parents(s) in the Netherlands. It also explored relationships between severe sleep problems, and family and child variables. Demographic information, data on children's sleep behaviours and parent variables were collected using questionnaires.

RESULTS
Severe settling problems, night waking and early waking were present in 4.2%, 10.8% and 4.2% of cases, respectively; 16.1% of children had at least one type of sleep problem. Children with a severe sleep problem had more severe levels of ID, used medication more often, had a greater frequency of epilepsy, were younger, had a greater frequency of cerebral palsy, and showed more daytime drowsiness and daytime napping than children without a severe sleep problem. Furthermore, children with a severe sleep problem showed more severe levels of daytime problem behaviours; for example, aggression, non-compliance and hyperactivity.

CONCLUSION
The results of the present study are discussed with regard to the assessment and treatment of sleep problems in children with ID.


Lithuania has made a significant progress on institution-building and policymaking in support of entrepreneurship over the last ten years (Grundey et al., 2008); however, the constantly changing business environment, information-flow growth, processes of integration into the global market increase business risk, and this complicates the people's determination to start their own business (Remeikiene, Startiene, 2007; Voronova, 2008), because business itself cannot provide the projected free cash flow (Kazlauskiene, Christauskas, 2007); a business establishment is limited by the lack of financial support measures for the start ups and developments of small and medium-sized businesses (Tamosiūnas, Lukosius, 2009); in order to survive in the market, firms are not only forced to recognize business risks, but must learn to manage them (Savcuk, 2007). A person determined to become an entrepreneur must evaluate not only the external, but also personal circumstances.The article deals with an actual problem – the influence of demographical factors on the interaction between entrepreneurship and unemployment. The interaction between the entrepreneurship and unemployment is mainly analyzed through the two-way relationship between entrepreneurship and unemployment. The authors of studies (Thurik, 2003; Thurik, Verheul, 2002; Stel, Stunnberg, 2004; Audretsch, Carey, Thurik, 2002; Care, Stella, Thurik, Audretsch, 2007) found that this relationship exists in the countries such as Japan, OECD countries. While studying the interaction between entrepreneurship and unemployment in other countries (Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom), the conclusion was made that economic analysis is insufficient in order to determine the bonds between them, it is necessary to analyze and evaluate all the chain of factors (cultural, demographic, political, psychological, technological)which determine the mutual relations between entrepreneurship and unemploymentBy the purpose of the article – the evaluation of the influence of demographical factors on the interaction between entrepreneurship and unemployment – the authors seek to show how demographic factors affect the development of entrepreneurship and reduce unemployment.Lithuanian and foreign scientists, examining the influence demographic factors on the entrepreneurship and unemployment, pays the highest attention to such demographic characteristics as gender, age, education, emigration, ethnic minorities, race, marital status, as they may determine the success of the business creation/survival or reduce the duration unemployment period. The research provides interesting facts: individual demographic factors do not always positively influence entrepreneurship/unemployment. It appears that the same factors may hinder the establishment of a business, or liberation from unemployment. The question is: why do the demographic factors explored have a twofold influence? Literature does not issue unambiguous answer, but the dual impact of demographic factors is based on the cultures of different countries, their political decisions, traditions, climate difference or diversity of business fields.Deeper analysis of the interaction between entrepreneurship and unemployment through the prism of the demographical factors was encouraged by the fact that scientists tend to analyze only the effects of demographic factors on entrepreneurship, i.e. the significance of age, education, gender, ethnic minorities and others to business creation. There is the lack of studies which examine demographic factors with interpretation of the mutual bonds of entrepreneurship and unemployment.A systematic analysis of the literature leads to the conclusion that such demographic factors as one of parents'/spouse's being an entrepreneur, emigration, ethnic minorities, race and work experience encourage business creation, while the gender differences – hampers business. Moreover, the demographic factors (education, age, unemployment duration) were determined to affect the start ups of businesses differently.In practical part of the article Pearson's correlation and regression methods were used to examine the reliability presumptions raised. The conclusion was made that education of unemployed men as well as women significantly correlates with the indicator of the relation between the number of established companies with a ratio of the number of operating companies (R2men = 0.74; R2women = 0.77), education of unemployed women – with the number of newly registered enterprises (R2women = 0.71), experience of unemployment – with the indicator of relation between the number of established companies and the number of operating companies (R21-2 months = 0.81; R23-5months = 0.76) and experience of unemployment with the number of newly registered companies (R21-2 months = 0.75). This shows that these factors are significant in incorporation of new companies as well as in existing business.


Currently available graphics hardware has become programmable. However, this programmability is still offered at a very low abstraction level, usually based on a specialized assembly language, and is difficult to use. To overcome this problem, we present a simple programmable pipeline abstraction. Our proposal is built over the Lua programming language. The application programmer writes a Lua code that, when executed, generates the equivalent assembly code to be loaded by the hardware. We compare our proposal to other recently published ones or still under consideration.


Introduction: Applications of observational risk models assuming "all else equal" to estimate the effect on risk of interventions expected to change the level of one or more independent variables have been criticized as "reverse Epi" since clinical trials provide better estimates of treatment effects. Hypothesis: The purpose of this analysis is to assess how reasonable it is to use "reverse Epi" to project the number of events avoided under different scenarios in which different markers are used for determining to whom to prescribe and how to target preventative treatment. We pursued this aim by comparing two different meta-analyses which compared HRs for apoB and non-HDL-C. One meta-analysis included 12 published observational studies. In 11 of these studies all subjects were at primary CHD risk. The other meta-analysis included 7 placebo-controlled statin trials (3 primary and 4 secondary). Methods: We calculated the reciprocal of each observational study's HR per 1-SD increase (36 mg/dl for non-HDL-C and 27 mg/dl of apoB) to compare with each trials' HR per 1-SD decrease; calculated the percentage difference (95% CI) in standard HRs for each report assuming a correlation between the two markers of 0.93 (calculated from NHANES 2005-2010 to be representative of adult US residents); and compared the resulting statistics using standard subgroup meta-analysis. Results: The overall geometric mean point estimate (95% CI) of the difference favoring apoB over non-HDL-C for all observational studies was 11.1% (7.7%, 14.4%) versus 5.4% (2.9%, 9.2%) for all 7 trials (p = 0.007). However these same point estimates are 9.5% (7.3%, 14.0%) versus 10.6% (7.3%, 14.0%) (p=0.714) when only primary studies or trials were included. The geometric mean treatment effect HR among the 4 secondary trials was 0.732 (0.689, 0.792) versus 0.599 (0.504, 0.714) among the 3 primary trials (p = 0.035). Conclusion: Meaningful differences between primary and secondary observational and interventional studies warrant stratified analysis. Among subjects at primary CHD risk, "reverse Epi" application of primary observational results may provide projections similar to those from applying primary trial results.


The Notch pathway can have both oncogenic and tumor suppressor roles, depending on cell context. For example, Notch signaling promotes T cell differentiation and is leukemogenic in T cells, whereas it inhibits early B cell differentiation and acts as a tumor suppressor in B cell leukemia where it induces growth arrest and apoptosis. The regulatory mechanisms that contribute to these opposing roles are not understood. Aberrant promoter DNA methylation and histone modifications are associated with silencing of tumor suppressor genes and have been implicated in leukemogenesis. Using methylated CpG island amplification (MCA)/DNA promoter microarray, we identified Notch3 and Hes5 as hypermethylated in human B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). We investigated the methylation status of other Notch pathway genes by bisulfite pyrosequencing. Notch3, JAG1, Hes2, Hes4 and Hes5 were frequently hypermethylated in B leukemia cell lines and primary B-ALL, in contrast to T-ALL cell lines and patient samples. Aberrant methylation of Notch3 and Hes5 in B-ALL was associated with gene silencing and was accompanied by decrease of H3K4 trimethylation and H3K9 acetylation and gain of H3K9 trimethylation and H3K27 trimethylation. 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine treatment restored Hes5 expression and decreased promoter hypermethylation in most leukemia cell lines and primary B-ALL samples. Restoration of Hes5 expression by lentiviral transduction resulted in growth arrest and apoptosis in Hes5 negative B-ALL cells but not in Hes5 expressing T-ALL cells. These data suggest that epigenetic modifications are implicated in silencing of tumor suppressor of Notch/Hes pathway in B-ALL.


Introduction Citicoline is a complex organic molecule that functions as an intermediate in the biosynthesis of cell membrane phospholipids. Citicoline is also known as CDP-choline and cytidine diphosphate choline (cytidine 5'-diphosphocholine). CDP-choline belongs to the group of biomolecules in living systems known as "nucleotides" that play important roles in cellular metabolism. CDP-choline is composed of ribose, pyrophosphate, cytosine (a nitrogenous base), and choline.1 Exogenous citicoline research in animal experiments and human clinical trials provides evidence of its cholinergic and neuroprotective actions. As a dietary supplement, citicoline appears useful for improving both the structural integrity and functionality of the neuronal membrane that may assist in membrane repair. Animal and clinical studies indicate the potential of citicoline to improve cognitive deficits, stroke rehabilitation, brain and spinal cord injuries, neurological diseases, and eye conditions.


GSSG selectively elutes two GSH transferases from a mixture of rat GSH transferases bound to a GSH-agarose affinity matrix. One is a form of GSH transferase 1-1 and the other is shown to be GSH transferase 8-8. By using tissues that lack this form of GSH transferase 1-1 (e.g. lung), GSH transferase 8-8 may thus be purified from cytosol in a single step. Quantitative analysis of the tissue distribution of GSH transferase 8-8 was obtained by h.p.l.c.


Biomedical System & Technology Group, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Cheonan, Chungnam, South Korea Purpose: The post-stroke elderly was increased caused by increasing stroke and advanced medical. However, ankle–foot orthoses (AFOs) can be uncomfortable for hemiplegic patients; therefore, the usability is not good. In this study, we analyzed ankle and knee joint angles in post-stroke elderly patients to assess the functional effectiveness (specifically prevention of back knee and drop-foot) of a new elastic band-type AFO (New Product: NP) during gait. Patients and methods: Nine elderly post-stroke patients (eight males, one female; 55.7 ±8.4 years; 165.8±9.2 cm; 68.8±11.5 kg; five with right hemiplegia, four with left hemiplegia; onset period: 6.6 years) were selected for participation in this study. We captured gait motion using 12 cameras (MX-T20, Vicon, Inc., Oxford, UK) under three different conditions [wearing nothing (WI), using existing ordinary AFOs made from hard plastic material (EP), and using NP]. The angle variation and maximum–minimum angle of the lower body joints were analyzed during dorsi-plantar flexion of the ankle joint and flexion–extension of knee joint. A one-way ANOVA test for multiple comparisons was performed, followed by a Tukey's b test to identify statistical significance, which was set at 0.005. Results: Regarding the ankle joint, the maximum plantar flexion (drop-foot) value decreased with the NP, and the maximum dorsiflexion value increased. Regarding the knee joint, the maximum extension (back knee) value decreased, and the maximum flexion value increased (p < 0.005). Conclusion: Using analysis of the kinematics of the ankles and knees during walking, this research confirmed the effectiveness of the NP, an elastic band-type AFO, for use in ordinary post-stroke elderly patients.


The current tendency in high performance computing systems is to increase the parallelism in processing at all levels utilizing multithreads, increasing the number of chips in racks and blades, as well as increasing the number of cores on a chip. The scaling of overall system performance that soon might approach Exaflop/s is, however, out of balance with respect to limited available bandwidth for shuttling ExaBytes of data across the system, between the racks, chips and cores. We will discuss how optics can provide huge power and bandwidth benefits closer and closer to the chip and eventually into the chip itself that would allow to overcome severe constraints of today's mostly copper I/O interconnects. Particular emphasis will be given to silicon photonics integrated circuits designed for low power off-chip and on-chip optical networks.


Introduction Community Based Forestry (CBF) implies commitment to the long term ecological, economic and social well being of forest dependent communities. CBF, or community scale sustainable forestry, constitutes a departure from industrial forestry due to this commitment to the preservation of the ecological integrity of the forest ecosystem in perpetuity and to the maintenance or improvement in the quality of life in the host or gateway community in addition to seeking profits from forest products sales.


The increasing demand to efficiently store and utilize the electricity from renewable energy resources in a sustainable way has boosted the request for sodium-ion battery technology due to the high abundance of sodium sources worldwide. Na superionic conductor (NASICON) structured cathodes with a robust polyanionic framework have been intriguing because of their open 3D structure and superior thermal stability. The ever-increasing demand for higher energy densities with NASICON-structured cathodes motivates us to activate multielectron reactions, thus utilizing the third sodium ion toward higher voltage and larger capacity, both of which have been the bottlenecks for commercializing sodium-ion batteries. A doping strategy with Cr inspired by first-principles calculations enables the activation of multielectron redox reactions of the redox couples V2+/V3+, V3+/V4+, and V4+/V5+, resulting in remarkably improved energy density even in comparison to the layer structured oxides and Prussian blue analogues. This work also comprehensively clarifies the role of the Cr dopant during sodium storage and the valence electron transition process of both V and Cr. Our findings highlight the importance of a broadly applicable doping strategy for achieving multielectron reactions of NASICON-type cathodes with higher energy densities in sodium-ion batteries.


This index presents a list of Greek, Latin, French, Spanish and Italian terms with relevant to the discussion of commonplaces in Renaissance humanism. The book examines the transmission and transformation of commonplace wisdom in Renaissance humanism by tracing a series of filiations between classical sayings, anecdotes, and examples and Renaissance poems, essays, and fictions. The circulation of commonplaces can be understood either as a process of reanimation and revitalization, where frozen sayings thaw out and come to life, or conversely as a process of immobilization and incrustation that petrifies tradition. The paradigmatic figure for this process is the proverbial dance around the well, which expresses both the danger and the compulsion of borrowed speech.Keywords: anecdotes; immobilization; Renaissance humanism


In 1973, Lazzara et al1 described 2 clusters of nerve bodies called ganglionated plexi (GP) adjacent to the sinus node and AV junction; high-frequency electric stimulation, which did not excite the underlying atrium, induced heart rate or AV conduction slowing, respectively. We are indebted to Randall et al2 who spent the next several decades delineating the anatomy and physiology of the intrinsic cardiac autonomic nervous system consisting of GP located at several sites in the atria and ventricles. Carrying on the legacy of Dr Randall,2 Armour and Ardell3,4 produced numerous publications and books, providing a hierarchical construct of the neural innervation of the heart, starting at the nuclei and axonal fields in the brain (extrinsic autonomic nervous system) followed by the spinal cord (intrathoracic) ganglia and axons and their connections to the intrinsic cardiac autonomic system with its GP and their axons of passage. The last part of this interconnected chain (the atrial neural network) was delineated anatomically by Armour et al5 and Pauza et al6 and functionally by Hou et al.7

Article see p 711

The overall function of the intrinsic autonomic nervous system consisting of the GP and the atrial neural network was summarized by Ardell,8 "… the intrinsic cardiac nerve plexus ( GP and neural network ) acts as more than a simple relay station for extrinsic autonomic projections to the heart…modulating…extrinsic and local cardio-cardiac reflexes. The intrinsic cardiac nerve plexus contains a heterogeneous population of cell types, including parasympathetic and sympathetic efferent neurons as well as afferent neurons." Furthermore, as pointed out by Ardell,8 these afferent neurons participate in reflex loops between and within the various levels of the extrinsic, intrathoracic, and intrinsic systems, yet each level when disconnected from the other would retain independent functionality.

From …


Cloud computing has been widely adopted by industry practitioners and researchers. Recently, applications in science and engineering such as scientific workflows have also been increasingly deployed in clouds. As these applications are becoming resource intensive in both data and computing, private clouds struggle to cope with their resource requirements. Public clouds claim to overcome many shortcomings of private clouds. However, the complete offloading of workflow execution to public clouds may introduce excessive data transfer and privacy/governance concerns. In this thesis, we propose a hybrid cloud solution for workflow scheduling explicitly considering data placement. To this end, we present Hybrid Scheduling for Hybrid Clouds (HSHC), which schedules scientific workflows across private and public clouds incorporating a novel dynamic data placement policy. HSHC consists of two phases: static and dynamic. The former uses an extended genetic algorithm to solve the problem of workflow scheduling with static information of workflows and cloud resources. The latter adjusts scheduling and data placement decisions reflecting changing conditions of workflow execution in the hybrid cloud. We evaluate HSHC with both real-world scientific applications and random workflows in performance and cost. Experimental results demonstrate HSHC's two-phase approach effectively deals with the dynamic nature of the hybrid cloud.


Gold Metal Winner in Education Commentary/Theory category of the 2014 Independent Publisher Awards In response to educators who are already fans of her bestseller Change Your Questions, Change Your Life, Marilee Adams, the originator of Question Thinking, presents a compelling model for creating a classroom environment infused with curiosity, creativity, and caring. Through a moving story of a teacher on the verge of burnout, Adams demonstrates the powerful influence our mindsets have on how we interact with our students, our colleagues, and ourselves. Through vivid examples, she illustrates how cultivating what she calls a Learner Mindset leads to breakthroughs in critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. Complete with Adams's Choice Map for identifying our own mindsets, a workbook, and access to online resources, this inspiring book will transform teachers and students alike into open-minded, creative, resilient problem solvers and lifelong learners.


CONTEXT
Type 2 deiodinase (D2) converts T4 in T3 in several human tissues, including hypothalamus and pituitary, and, therefore, plays a pivotal role in the negative feedback regulation of TSH secretion. A common variant of the gene, threonine (Thr) 92 alanine (Ala), has been identified and associated with decreased D2 enzymatic activity.

OBJECTIVE
Our objective was to investigate whether this polymorphism predicts the T4 dosage needed to obtain target TSH levels in thyroidectomized patients.

SETTING
Ambulatory patients were included in the study.

PATIENTS
A total of 191 consecutive thyroid cancer patients, previously treated by near total thyroidectomy and radioiodine ablation, were studied. They were on stable T4 dose treatment aimed at obtaining either suppressed (supp) (n=117, <0.1 mU/liter) or near-supp (n=74, >or=0.1<0.5 mU/liter) serum TSH levels.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
DNA genotyping for D2 Thr92Ala variant and evaluation of T4 dose (microg/kg) needed to obtain target TSH levels were determined.

RESULTS
Ala/Ala homozygous patients needed a higher T4 dose as compared with patients carrying the Thr92 variant (X/Thr patients) according to a recessive genetic model (2.08+/-0.43 vs. 1.90+/-0.35 microg/kg; P<0.05). This difference was observable in the near-supp group (P=0.002), but not in the supp group (P=0.4).

CONCLUSIONS
D2 Thr92Ala polymorphism seems to predict the need for higher T4 intake in thyroidectomized patients. If this finding is confirmed in additional studies, it may predict the T4 requirement to suppress TSH on the basis of the individual genetic background.


Ionization and recombination processes are considered in different non-equilibrium low-temperature plasmas; namely an ideal, a non-ideal and a laser-induced plasma created above a solid body surface. For the kinetics of ideal plasmas, relatively new results from numerical and analytical modelling and experimental studies are given. The kinetics of non-ideal (strongly coupled) plasmas have until now been insufficiently developed. Here only the process of collisional recombination is discussed. The characteristics of ionization in a plasma created above a solid surface due to the interaction with laser radiation are also discussed.


To assess the initial phase of a telecardiology diagnostic service for general practitioners GPs , we provided 93 GPs in 26 health centres with direct telephone access to a cardiologist, and equipped them with hand-held, automatic standard 12-lead electrocardiogram ECG transmitters for on-line cardiac consultations and ECG interpretation in their daily practice. Clinical details, reason for consultation and the ECG signal were transmitted from the GPs' practices or the patients' homes. A consultation followed and a full report, including ECG print-out, was then sent to the GP. During an 18-month study period, 2563 consultations were carried out. The system allowed the identification of 479 patients 19 with urgent cardiac problems and the remaining 2084 81 in whom admission or outpatient investigation was unnecessary. Following the study, we distributed a questionnaire asking the GPs to rate the quality, define the use and consider the benefit of the service to their daily practice. We conclude that a telecardiology diagnosis and ECG interpretation service is simple, reliable and efficacious in routine primary care. It offers instant access to cardiac assessment and supports the decision-making process of GPs. A preliminary cost comparison with a conventional referral indicated that a teleconsultation was substantially cheaper. We expect that the future incorporation of teleechocardiography would expand the scope of telecardiology even further and allow comprehensive cardiology consultations.


In this paper, work on assessment of root-mean-square (RMS) computation recommended in the IEC Standards for power quality event detection with respect to various signal parameters. Correctness of the RMS computation in the standard IEC 61000-4-30, has been tested for power system frequency deviations, point-on-wave changes and phase differences between the fundamental frequency and harmonics in cases of both no harmonics and with harmonics. It has been shown that point-on-wave has negligible effect on RMS errors; however, frequency deviations and phase differences can significantly effect the RMS error, upto 0.3% even in the case of a single harmonic presence. It is recommended that the RMS computation method given in the IEC Standard 61000-4-30 should be assessed based on signal composition for the correctness of power quality event detection.


The aim of our present study was to evaluate the in vitro percutaneous absorption of atenolol, a well-known antihypertensive, from a series of formulations containing various penetration enhancers. Particularly the promoting effect of EPA and DHA, two polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), has been studied, and drug permeation data have been compared with those obtained with the other formulations containing "classic" penetration enhancers such as transcutol, d-limonene, and PG. Not all the penetration enhancers tested were effective in increasing atenolol percutaneous flux and the best permeation profile for atenolol was obtained with the formulation containing transcutol (B) and PUFA (E). To explain the enhancer mechanism, the atenolol diffusion and partitioning coefficients from the different formulations were calculated. The results indicated that PUFAs increased the apparent diffusion coefficient of the drugs but did not affect their apparent stratum corneum (SC)/vehicle partition coefficient (Km). At this same time transcutol exerted its enhancer effect increasing significantly the apparent SC/vehicle partition coefficient (Km) and in a minor amount the apparent diffusion coefficient of skin permeation process (Dm). The potential application of formulations B and E in atenolol percutaneous absorption was determined from the calculation of the steady-state plasma concentrations (Css). These values resulted within the drug therapeutic range and suggest that atenolol transdermal delivery could be feasible.


Recent amendments to SEC Regulation SHO (originally adopted in 2004) have implemented hard close requirements for fails to deliver which often follow the naked short selling of stock (selling short without having borrowed the shares). Naked short selling is frequently a central plank in a program designed to manipulate (illegally) securities prices. Hard close requirements have cut the fails to deliver by 50 percent, or more, from considerably over 1 billion shares per day. Those requirements have also created, however, before the fact, added impetus for the borrowing of stock. Recently, a middleman for a stock borrowing agency was convicted of securities fraud in the Eastern District of New York. By and large, though, regulation of stock borrowing and stock borrowing programs are unregulated, with the result that individual investors who lend shares of stock receive little or no disclosure and are often pigeons waiting to be plucked by short sellers and others. This article advocates regulation by the SEC of stock borrowing programs. Alternatively, the article argues that under existing law, stock borrowing programs and participation in them are investment contracts, and therefore securities. The ramification is that as a matter of common law stock lenders are entitled to full and fair disclosure by those who offer to borrow, or do borrow, shares.


May 2022. Relationship between Eye Movements During Reading and Severity of Language Impairment in Persons with Eye movements reflect cognitive-linguistic processing of neurotypical readers. Numerous reading related eye movement measures are associated with language processing, including saccades, fixations, word skipping, and regressions. Eye movements have also been used to examine language processing and reading in disordered populations including persons with aphasia. This study examined whether eye movement measures (i.e., fixation duration, gaze duration, total viewing time, skipping rate, saccade amplitude, regression path duration) obtained from connected text paragraph reading were associated with language severity (WAB-R) and reading comprehension skills (RCBA-2) in persons with various subtypes of aphasia as well as whether those same eye movement measures differed among persons with different subtypes of aphasia and neurotypical controls. Results indicated that regression path duration and word skipping reflected a significant difference between the control group and persons with aphasia. Additionally, there was a significant, strong, positive correlation between first fixation duration and severity of language impairment for persons with Broca's aphasia, indicating longer fixation duration is associated with less severe language impairment.


The frameworks that are currently present are not good enough to ensure a control on cloud computing environments. Emerging challenges of Service Level Management in cloud is described in this paper. Then it overviews the current state of business and it introduces a TPSLM architecture for CSPs and CSCs. Use of the TPSLM architecture results in a high service performance, shorter service delivery time and an impressive cost reduction.


From the Publisher:
A hands-on introduction to the field of robotics, this book will guide the hobbyist through the issues and challenges of building a working robot. Each chapter builds upon the previous one, extending a core robot project throughout the book. Examples of chapters include: Mechanical Platforms, Power Supplies, Adding Sense, Microcontrollers, Insect Robots, Pneumatics, More Behavior and Intelligence, Programming Projects, Robot Behaviors, and much more.


Physical interpretations of the incompatibility tensor are extensively discussed and applied to model several practically-important dislocation substructures in metallic materials. This paper firstly performs a tangible decomposition of the incompatibility tensor into the two types of defects by introducing Nye's contortion tensor, and also clarifies the interrelationship with expressions given based on differential geometry. The effects on the evolutions of intra-granular substructures like cells and geometrically-necessary type bands are examined based on finite element simulations on multi-grain models under tension and simple shear with several representative orientations.


Two narrow, broadly arcuate, low ridges extend for 600–700 km in western Terra Tyrrhena, Mars, crosscut ancient Noachian terrain, and are associated with Early Hesperian plains, which cover ∼30% of Mars. Geological relationships suggest that the ridges represent near-surface erosional remnants of subsurface dikes, solidified magma-filled cracks that were responsible for the volcanic emplacement of the plains. Ridge width and geometry are consistent with very high-effusion-rate flood basalt eruptions, emplacement events that would form smooth featureless plains and input significant volcanic gas into the atmosphere. Geological relationships suggest that the ridges were exposed by erosion (fluvial, sublimation, eolian) and partial removal of a regional volatile-rich dust layer.


Treatment of vocal fold leukoplakia is complicated because it is associated with a high rate of recurrence after excision and it has the potential for progression to malignancy. Authors have presented different approaches to management, one of which is directed serial excisional biopsies. Ideally, a topical or systemic agent could be administered to eradicate this troublesome condition. We present the case of a patient with an 8-year history of vocal fold leukoplakia treated with directed serial biopsies who was subsequently diagnosed with non-small-cell lung cancer and treated with erlotinib. He experienced a complete resolution after 2 months of erlotinib therapy for his lung cancer. Immunohistochemistry confirmed that his lesion exhibited a much higher than normal expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which supports the idea that EGFR antagonism may combat EGFR-avid leukoplakia. However, we caution that the clinical observation made herein is an association and should not be misconstrued as a recommendation regarding the safety, efficacy, or economy of using erlotinib for the treatment of vocal fold leukoplakia.


The study aimed to investigate bioactive phytochemicals and antioxidant activity of Elaeocarpus tectorius (Lour.) Poir leaf extract. The antioxidant properties were evaluated by four antioxidant methods, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate assay, hydroxyl radical (HO%) scavenging assay, superoxide anion (O2%) radical scavenging assay, and nitric oxide (NO%) scavenging assay. The free radical scavenging activity of hydroethanolic extract of E. tectorius was found to be high for DPPH, nitric oxide, superoxide, and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) radicals in a concentration-dependent manner. The content of total phenols, flavonoids, and tannins was also high in the hydroethanolic extract. The antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content were shown to be significantly related, indicating that phenolic chemicals are the primary contributors to plants' antioxidant capabilities. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the hydroethanolic leaf extract of E. tectorius could serve as a potential source of antioxidants and can be explored as a therapeutic agent in free radical-induced diseases.


Do representations of violence incite or quell violent desires and actions?  This question--the question of the relation between mimesis and catharsis--is as old as Western Philosophy itself.  In this essay, I attempt to think through how Kristeva might describe the difference between representations of violence that perpetuate violent desires and actions versus representations of violence that sublimate violent desires and thereby prevent violent actions.


Objective: to estimate the costs and effects of long-acting risperidone (LAR) in the treatment of schizophrenic patients in Italy, as compared to conventional and oral atypical antipsychotics. Methods: a discrete event model was used. The model simulates patients. history for every single therapeutic alternative and selects incident events, on the basis of pre-defined probability distribution-powered, randomized repetitions. The model operates on two types of parameters: patient characteristics and time-dependent variables. Patient characteristics (age, sex, illness profile and severity, probability of incurring in an adverse event and potential dangerousness) remain fixed during the 5 simulated years. Time-dependent variables are subject to changes and include outpatient visits, severity of psychotic episodes, symptom-scores, compliance, incidence of adverse effects, site of treatment and dangerousness. Three treatments have been selected: scenario 1 begins with LAR, switches to olanzapine and then to clozapine; scenario 2 starts with olanzapine, switches to oral risperidone and ends with clozapine. Direct medical costs have been computed on the basis of psychiatric visits, drug costs and costs of the institution in which the patient is treated (hospital, rehabilitation clinic, etc.) Outcome measures were number of psychotic episodes in 5 years, total time spent during these episodes and cumulative score of positive and negative symptoms at 5 years. Information on alternatives, transition probabilities, model structure and health resources utilization were derived from the literature and from a panel of experts. Results: it has been estimated that LAR is economically dominant (more effective at lower cost) respect to oral atypical antipsychotics, being able to prevent 0.87 psychotic episodes per patient, with a net cost saving of 4,773 euro per patient. Sub-group analysis indicate that LAR is always more effective than the considered alternatives and, in general, also less costly than oral atypical antipsychotics. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the model to several variations of key parameters. Conclusions: LAR therapy dominates oral atypical antipsychotics.


Note by Janet Afary and Kevin B. Anderson: In 1978, as the protests against the shah were becoming a mass movement, Michel Foucault made his first visit to Iran. During the next eight months, Foucault wrote a number of articles on the Iranian Revolution for "Corriere della Sera," "Le Monde," and other publications. These articles constitute the most sustained treatment anywhere in his writings of a non-Western society. Foucault's support for Iran's Islamist movement touched off a controversy that continues to this day. This conversation, conducted in Iran in September of 1978 with the noted writer Baqir Parham, includes Foucault's first reflections on the Iranian Revolution. In addition, it connects his concern with Iran to his larger critique of Western modernity. It shows how his search for new forms of resistance to modernity had led him to look at religious revolts. This dialogue was published in "Nameh-yi Kanun-i Nevisandegan" (Publication of the Center of Iranian Writers), No. 1, Spring 1979, pages 9–17. It has been translated from the Persian by Janet Afary. We thank Baqir Parham and the University of Chicago Press for permission to publish this material in "Dædalus."


BACKGROUND
Accurate diagnosis and staging of hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) is important in health surveillance of vibration-exposed workers and the substantial number of related medico-legal cases. The measurement of the rewarming rate of fingers after cold provocation to the hands (CPT) has been suggested as a useful test in diagnosing HAVS.

AIM
To investigate the diagnostic value of a standardized version of the CPT test using a 15 degrees C cold challenge for 5 min applied in the recent compensation assessment of UK miners.

METHODS
Analysis of a subset of UK miners assessed at our unit, together with data from a small repeatability study of the standardized CPT in normal subjects.

RESULTS
Rewarming time in the CPT was significantly lower in those subjects classified as vascular Stockholm stage 0 compared with Stockholm stages 1-3 combined, but did not discriminate between the stages of abnormality. Using the suggested cut-off in the CPT test, the sensitivity and specificity were calculated as 43 and 78%, respectively. Receiver operator characteristic analysis suggested that the rewarming time of highest accuracy gave a sensitivity of 66% and specificity of 59%. In 10 miners who reported unilateral hand blanching, there was no significant difference in CPT measurements between blanching and non-blanching hands. Repeat CPT measurements in normal subjects suggested mean differences of 52 and 107 s for each hand, and the Bland-Altman coefficient of repeatability was approximately 600 s for all fingers.

CONCLUSION
Single application of this standardized CPT test may have limited value in diagnosing the vascular component of HAVS in an individual.


Device-to-device (D2D) communication is developed as a new paradigm to enhance net-
work performance according to LTE and WiMAX advanced standards. On the other hand,
cognitive radio (CR) approach provides efficient spectral usage using intelligent wireless
nodes. In this thesis, a number of optimal resource allocation strategies for D2D communi-
cation networks are investigated using the CR approach.

As a first step, the CR approach in radio access networks is introduced. In the second
step, the taxonomy of the RA process in CRNs is provided. For radio resource allocation
(RRA), the most crucial task is to associate a user with a particular serving base station, to
assign the channel and to allocate the power efficiently. In this thesis, a subcarrier assignment
scheme and a power allocation algorithm using geometric water-filling (GWF) is presented
for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) based CRNs. This algorithm is
proved to maximize the sum rate of secondary users by allocating power more efficiently.
Then, the RA problem is studied to jointly employ CR technology and D2D communication
in cellular networks in terms of spectral efficiency (SE) and energy efficiency (EE). In the
first case, in terms of SE, a two-stage approach is considered to allocate the radio resource
efficiently where a new adaptive subcarrier allocation (ASA) scheme is designed first and
then a novel power allocation (PA) scheme is developed utilizing proven GWF approach
that can compute exact solution with less computation. In the second case, in terms of EE,
the power allocation problem of cellular networks that co-exist with D2D communication
considering both underlay and overlay CR approaches are investigated. A proven power
allocation algorithm based on GWF approach is utilized to solve the EE maximization
problem which results in an "exact" and "low complexity" solution.


OBJECT
Hypothermia is used in neurosurgery and other surgical disciplines to reduce tissue injury, but the mechanism of such protection remains elusive. The authors have endeavored to delineate the mechanism of neural protection afforded by hypothermia through a study of glucose metabolism.

METHODS
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to follow the carbon-13 label from [1-13C]glucose as it was metabolized through the glycolytic and tricarboxylic acid pathways. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were maintained at either 37.5 degrees C or 31 degrees C and infused with labeled glucose for 10, 30, 60, 100, or 200 minutes (five rats were used for each time point and for each temperature). At the end of the infusion period, the rats' brains were subjected to rapid freeze-funnel fixation. Water-soluble metabolites were extracted from samples of the neocortex and hippocampus by using perchloric acid extraction. The fractional enrichment of these metabolites was used to calculate the reaction rate constant of formation and steady-state enrichment for a number of metabolites. Hypothermia resulted in a 30 to 40% depression of metabolism (p < 0.0001) in both the neocortex and hippocampus. Steady-state fractional enrichment of metabolites was also decreased by 20 to 25% with hypothermia (p < 0.0001), implying a loss of label during metabolism.

CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study suggest that an increased fraction of glucose metabolism was shunted through the pentose phosphate pathway in the presence of hypothermia.


Free-space digital optics is a new technology that exploits the ability of optics to handle thousands of light beams, or information channels, at once. This and other features of optics complement the strengths and weaknesses of purely electronic systems. Especially when combined with electronics, free-space optics allows the development of new architectures in digital systems. In particular, it offers large numbers of closely spaced interconnections inside digital processors that can be used to make large digital switching fabrics. In this paper, we outline some of the strengths and weaknesses of this emerging technology, and we briefly describe some of its experimental systems.


Objective To observe the changes in blood pressure (BP) over 10 years and to investigate current BP association to serum uric acid (SUA) levels and cardiovascular risk factors in the epidemiological data of a target group of patients with prehypertension in 2007. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Mlati Subdistrict, Sleman District, Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia. Participants A total of 733 patients from 'Mlati Study Database' in 2007 were selected by simple random sampling using statistical software. Subjects had both physical and laboratory examinations. Outcome measures Morning home BP and laboratory examination of urine (uric acid excretion and creatinine) and blood samples (SUA, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, a lipid profile and fasting blood glucose levels). Results About 31.1% of 733 subjects with prehypertension became hypertensive after 10 years, 24.6% returned to normal tension and the rest of it remained in prehypertensive state. Mean (SD) of SUA levels in 2017 was significantly higher in men than in women (5.78 (1.25) mg/dL vs 4.52 (1.10) mg/dL, p<0.001). Furthermore, men tended to have high-normal (5–7 mg/dL) or high SUA levels (≥7 mg/dL) compared with women (p<0.001, Relative Risk (RR)=2.60). High-normal and high SUA levels in population with a history of prehypertension were significantly associated with current prehypertension and hypertension only in women (p=0.001, RR=1.21). Age and body mass index was found to be significantly associated with both systolic and diastolic BP in men, but only with systolic BP in women. Fasting blood glucose and SUA levels were significantly associated with systolic and diastolic BP only in women. Conclusion We concluded that after 10 years, of 733 subjects with prehypertension, 31.1% became hypertensive. The SUA levels in men are significantly higher than those in women. Moreover, high-normal and high SUA levels were significantly associated with prehypertension and hypertension in women but not in men.


Copyright: © 2005 Polish Orthodontic Society. This is an Open Access journal, all articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license. Wkład autorów: A Plan badań B Zbieranie danych C Analiza statystyczna D Interpretacja danych E Redagowanie pracy F Wyszukiwanie piśmiennictwa


Aloe sinkatana is a plant belonging to the family Xanthorrhoeaceae, subfamily Asphodeloideae, genus Aloe . It is cultivated in the Red Sea Mountainseastern of the Sudan. In the present study, the extract of A. sinkatana leaves was screened for its antibacterial and antifungal activity. The phytochemical screening of A. sinkatana extracts was carried out using Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) technique. Four extracts of A. sinkatana were prepared using chloroform, ethanol, methanol, and water. Antibacterial activity of the extract was performed following the cup-plate agar diffusion method. Also, the antifungal activity of the extract was tested. The result showed that the extracts of A. sinkatana leaves revealed antimicrobial activities greater than the commercial antifungal (Nystatin) which can be used for treatment of Candidiasis and ketoconazole that is used for treatment of fungal infection. The antimicrobial activity might be due to specific plant compounds, which was found to be more effective than commercial antifungal compounds. However the commercial antibiotic used for treatment of bacterial infection, displayed better antimicrobial activity than the A. sinkatana extracts. In conclusion A. sinkatana extract can be a useful treatment against fungal infections.


OBJECTIVE
To present our method for excision of complex anterior skull base tumors via combinations of the subcranial approach.

PATIENTS
Of 120 anterior skull base tumor resections, 41 that included 27 (66%) malignant and 14 (34%) benign lesions were performed via combinations of the subcranial approach. Unilateral or bilateral medial maxillectomy was performed using the subcranial approach alone for 13 tumors infiltrating the anterior skull base, ethmoid bones, and medial maxillary wall. A combined subcranial-transfacial approach in 2 lesions or a combined subcranial-midfacial degloving approach in 14 lesions was performed for tumors involving the skull base and the lower or lateral segments of the maxilla. A combined subcranial-transorbital or transfacial-transorbital approach was used for 5 tumors invading the orbit. An extended subcranial-orbitozygomatic approach was used for 6 tumors invading the middle cranial fossa or involving the cavernous sinus. A combined subcranial-Le Fort I down-fracture approach was used for 1 dedifferentiated chordoma invading the anterior skull base and lower clivus. The surgical results, patient quality of life, survival, and complications were measured.

RESULTS
Thirty-seven of 41 tumors (90%) were completely resected. Fifteen patients (35.5%) had perioperative complications. There were no postoperative deaths. Two-year overall and disease-free survival in patients with malignant tumors who underwent combined approaches was 66% and 60%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the quality of life between patients operated on via combined or classic subcranial approaches.

CONCLUSION
Combinations and modifications of the subcranial approach for excision of complex anterior skull base tumors yield surgical results, survival, quality of life, and complications similar to those found with the classic subcranial technique.


Interest in ambient exposures to silica has prompted an evaluation of the applicability of the industrial hygiene sampling and analysis experience. Exposure to excessive levels of silica in the workplace has long been recognized as a risk factor for the development of a variety of disabling and sometimes fatal lung diseases. Initial efforts to control occupational exposure to dust were based on reducing exposures as measured by particle-counting techniques. Because silicosis, the disease resulting from exposure to silica, occurs in the lower airways, which can be reached only by small "respirable dust" particles, size selective sampling procedures were introduced for dust monitoring. The analysis of silica in collected dust samples also has undergone development. Initial methods used involved acid digestion of soluble silicates, with subsequent chemical analysis of the insoluble "free silica" fraction. Current methodology relies on the use of X-ray diffraction and infrared technologies to quantify these materials. However, these methods are sensitive to the particle size distribution of the samples. Standard reference materials (SRMs) have been developed for use with respirable size dust samples. Ambient particulate matter is now measured using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sampling methods for particulate matter < or = 10 microns, which approximate the collection efficiency for thoracic fraction samplers. Because the existing calibration SRMs were produced for the measurement of occupational crystalline silica, the need to develop appropriate standards and methods for ambient silica measurements should be evaluated.


The cooling system of plastic injection mold plays a critical role during the injection molding process. It not only affects part quality but also its cycle time. Traditionally, due to the limitations of conventional drilling methods, the cooling system of the injection mold usually consists of simple paralleled straight channels. It seriously limits the mobility of cooling fluid, which leads to the low cooling efficiency for the parts with complex free-form surfaces. In this research, an innovative design method for the cooling system of an injection mold is proposed by using conformal porous structures. The size and shape of each cell in the conformal porous structure are varied according to the shape of an injection molded part. Design cases are provided at the end of this paper to further illustrate the efficiency of the proposed method. Compared with those existing design methods for the uniform porous structures, the proposed method can further reduce the nonuniformity of the mold surface temperature distribution and decrease the pressure drop of the cooling system.


The true prevalence of home enteral nutrition (HEN) utilization is unclear and requires further study. HEN therapy has remained virtually unchanged for several decades. However, new trends in HEN are evolving; enteral nutrition is undergoing changes ranging from enteral feeding devices, ingredients used, practice innovations, and challenges with reimbursement. A 2006 Joint Commission call to action that reported 2 sentinel events related to misconnections set things into motion for the transition of enteral device connectors to become specific for enteral nutrition use, which will affect patients who receive HEN. Nutrition support clinicians are realizing that people fed enterally may also enjoy incorporating blended foods into their diets and may benefit from different nutrients and components (ie, phytonutrients, fiber, and prebiotics) present in natural foods, thereby resulting in the renaissance of food-based blenderized tube feedings. This article reviews HEN therapy data or the lack thereof, current practices, risks and benefits, future trends, and challenges with access devices, enteral feedings, and reimbursement. It also highlights areas where more research is needed, and it urges clinicians to get involved in legislative action or committees to facilitate improved processes and reimbursement for HEN.


Encephalitogenic T cells of both PL/J mice and Lewis rats are restricted by TCR V beta 8.2, although they recognize different epitopes in the myelin basic protein (MBP) molecule. We sought the presence of a cross-reactive idiotope (Id) in encephalitogenic T cells of Lewis rats by examining the effects of mAb F30 anti-Id, which recognized a TCR Id in PL/J T cells, on the encephalitogenic LR88L1 cell line derived from Lewis rats and specific for guinea pig MBP peptide 68-88. The LR88L1 cells were I-A restricted and TCR V beta 8.2+, and their proliferation and secretion of IL-2 and TNF-alpha induced by guinea pig MBP peptide 68-88 was inhibited by mAb F30 anti-Id. As shown by FACS analysis and by immunoprecipitation of TCR from radiolabeled LR88L1 cell lysates, the F30 anti-Id bound to the TCRs of V beta 8.2+ LR88L1 cells. In addition, TCR sequences in the F30+ population of LR88L1 cells were the same as those of encephalitogenic Lewis rat T cells published previously. The F30+ LR88L1 cells showed reduced encephalitogenicity compared with F30- or unsorted LR88L1 cells. The mechanism for this reduction by anti-Id probably resulted from the induction of anergy, in that IL-2 reversed the anti-Id effect. The control LR99L1 T cell line, also encephalitogenic, but specific for MBP peptide 87-99 and I-E, and not TCR V beta 8.2 restricted, failed to react with, or have its cytokine secretion inhibited by, mAb F30 anti-Id. These results demonstrate an interspecies cross-reactive Id expressed in common by encephalitogenic T cells that share a similar TCR, although they differ in MBP epitope specificity. These findings suggest that a common Id restricted by TCR, but less restricted by the encephalitogenic epitope, and recognized by the Id-bearing autoreactive T cells may represent an immunotherapeutic approach for treating autoimmune demyelinating diseases.


Patiria miniata, a broadcast-spawning sea star species with high dispersal potential, has a geographic range in the intertidal zone of the northeast Pacific Ocean from Alaska to California that is characterized by a large range gap in Washington and Oregon. We analyzed spatial genetic variation across the P. miniata range using multilocus sequence data (mtDNA, nuclear introns) and multilocus genotype data (microsatellites). We found a strong phylogeographic break at Queen Charlotte Sound in British Columbia that was not in the location predicted by the geographical distribution of the populations. However, this population genetic discontinuity does correspond to previously described phylogeographic breaks in other species. Northern populations from Alaska and Haida Gwaii were strongly differentiated from all southern populations from Vancouver Island and California. Populations from Vancouver Island and California were undifferentiated with evidence of high gene flow or very recent separation across the range disjunction between them. The surprising and discordant spatial distribution of populations and alleles suggests that historical vicariance (possibly caused by glaciations) and contemporary dispersal barriers (possibly caused by oceanographic conditions) both shape population genetic structure in this species.


Background: End-of-life (EOL) care is an important aspect of practice in the intensive care unit (ICU), where approximately one of every five patients may die. Objective: The objective of this study was to describe clinicians' experiences with the 3 Wishes Project (3WP) and understand the influence of the project on care in the ICU. Design: The 3WP is a palliative care intervention in which clinicians elicit and implement final wishes for patients dying in the ICU; it had been implemented for seven months at the time of this study. This mixed-methods study includes quantitative data from clinician surveys and qualitative data from clinician focus groups. Setting: A 24-bed medical ICU in a tertiary academic center. Subjects: Perspectives of 97 clinicians working in the ICU during the study period were obtained by self-administered surveys. Five focus groups with 25 nurses and 5 physicians were held, digitally recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. Measurements and Results: During the 7-month period, 67 decedents and their families participated in the 3WP. The overarching concept identified through analysis of the survey and focus group data is that the 3WP improves EOL care in the ICU, which was supported by three main themes: (1) The 3WP facilitates meaningful EOL care; (2) The 3WP has a positive impact on nurses and physicians; and (3) clinicians observe a positive influence of the 3WP on families. Conclusions: This patient-centered and family-partnered intervention facilitates meaningful EOL care, favorably impacting the ICU team and positively influencing family members.


Mode field patterns and light emissions of novel symmetric half-spiral microcavities (SHSMs) are investigated by the two-dimensional (2-D) finite-difference time domain (FDTD) method. The calculation results show that an SHSM can support high-quality (Q) (Q>104) distorted whispering-gallery modes with directional emissions. Moreover, artificial controls on the Q factor and emission directionality are realized in the coupled size-mismatched SHSMs, and unidirectional emission from the coupled cavity structure with a divergence of 19° is achieved.


The modern global economy is fueled by consumers, companies, and governments communicating and exchanging information via the internet. But as people around the world engage in e-commerce, seek jobs, and share intimate details about their lives via social media, concerns arise over the vast stores of personal data possessed by multinational companies—and the risk that information transmitted over cyber networks can become readily available to US intelligence and law enforcement agencies. To allay these concerns, the United States and the European Union signed the Privacy Shield Pact on July 12, 2016, aimed at protecting individual privacy while meeting the legitimate needs of companies and the government. This Policy Brief elucidates the elements of that pact, a revision of earlier agreements covering the same issues. It argues that the pact reflects a reasonable compromise between legitimate competing interests but that as commerce expands, as concerns about invasions of privacy grow, and as the United States faces increasing threats from terrorists, criminals, and hackers in the cyber world, some of its provisions may need to be adjusted, especially if new international agreements are reached on trade, investment, and e-commerce.


The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was an unprecedented gamble. The ACA transformed Medicaid from an unevenly and underfunded program for the poor and disabled to a program to offer those priced out of commercial insurance markets government-funded health insurance similar to Medicare, the single-payer system for seniors and the disabled. In a sense, the ACA gambled that Medicaid could be more like Medicare. The ACA, as it was transformed by the Supreme Court of the United States, became a gamble on the part of the Court that good things would follow from empowering each of the states to individually determine the fate of Medicaid expansion in its jurisdiction. Giving states the option to expand has given each of them enormous leverage in their bargaining with the federal executive and legislature over what shape their individual version of this jointly-funded state-federal program will take.The ACA's Medicaid expansion or non-expansion on the ground, as it is being carried out by the states cooperatively or uncooperatively with the federal government, is likely to be a third thing. The country is likely to see all possibilities happen at once, in different places. In some states, Medicaid is likely to become much more like Medicare. In others, Medicaid may change slowly and incrementally, if at all. And, in others, Medicaid may become more like exchange-mediated commercial insurance.This article will address what these Medicaid gambles are, how these gambles are likely to resolve themselves, and whether Medicaid as we know it is likely to survive the ACA.


Nowadays, data mining techniques are widely used in various industries. The Social Security Insurance Audit, with more than two million audit cases nationwide and limited manpower, cannot respond to all cases. The present research, using data mining techniques, aims to propose an efficient method for the detection of high-risk companies and fraud in the insurance industry. Materials and Methods: After randomly collecting 2000 records from the Social Security Audit database in 2014 and extracting various features for each company, a pre-processing of the data was conducted. The data was then divided into the two categories of Training Set and Test Set and given to the following four algorithms: Neural Network, Decision Tree, Bayesian and Support Vector Machine. Ultimately the accuracy of each algorithm was measured by the confusion matrix. Findings: By comparing the four algorithms mentioned above, it can be seen that all of these algorithms can provide a proper level of accuracy, with the neural network algorithm showing 90.6% accuracy, was found to be the best algorithm for the identification of high-risk companies. The findings of this study enable the Social Security Audit to develop software which can identify companies with high insurance risk in order to achieve higher levels of efficiency in the face of current limitations in manpower.


The incidence and prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease is quickly rising in the Western world. CKD is characterized by the deposition of excessive amounts of connective tissue; a process commonly known as fibrosis. Additionally, it has become clear in recent years that, contrary to what was previously thought, Acute Kidney Injury predisposes to CKD development and renal fibrosis later in life. In this Thesis, several modifiers of renal response to injury including renoprotective factors, such as rapamycin, tamoxifen and bone morphogenetic proteins, as well as pro-fibrotic modifiers including aging and Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CTGF) are studied. The first part of the thesis focuses on the identification of patients at risk, pathological mechanisms and associated therapeutic targets. Chapter 2 describes a histological scoring method capable of predicting development of CKD after renal transplantation. Chapter 3 addresses the predictive value of increased plasma CTGF levels and the occurrence of cardiovascular events (morbidity and mortality). In Chapter 4, the origin of the myofibroblast, the cell type considered largely responsible for renal fibrogenesis, is discussed followed by a section providing therapeutic targeting strategies based upon these origins. Chapters 5 and 6 describe interventional studies aimed at combating CKD by targeted Rapamycin delivery, or Tamoxifen treatment respectively in animal models of renal injury. In Chapter 7, evidence is provided that suggests BMP7 exerts anti-fibrotic effects in a CTGF dependent fashion. The second part describes research performed in order to 1) unravel the functionality of CTGF during the chronic response to renal injury, and 2) determine the feasibility of targeting CTGF as an interventional strategy. This is ultimately combined with a general discussion linking both the former and the latter parts of this thesis. Chapter 8 provides a general introduction further outlining the functions of CTGF, and reviews experimental work performed regarding CTGF intervention. A section addressing Platelet Derived Growth Factor (PDGF) and Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF), two alternative driving forces in CKD progression, complements the former. Chapter 9 describes how 50% CTGF reduction is insufficient to reduce disease progression in severe models of CKD. Chapter 10 shows that CTGF reduction below baseline levels is renoprotective with regards to fibrogenesis even in a severe model of CKD and that CTGF silencing is associated with reduced lymphangiogenesis. Additionally, it is shown that CTGF actively increases expression but halts biological functionality of VEGF-C, a major driving force of lymphangiogenesis. In Chapter 11, we identify a shift in CTGF/BMP6 ratio as a potential driving force underlying an age related differential response to kidney injury. Finally, Chapter 12 is an overarching discussion of the novel insights gained in this thesis including opportunities for implementation and follow-up.


We analyze the determinants of the compensation of private college and university presidents from 1999 through 2007. We find that the fraction of institutional revenue derived from current donations is negatively associated with compensation and that presidents of religiously-affiliated institutions receive lower levels of compensation. Looking at the determinants of contributions, we find a negative association between presidential pay and subsequent donations. We interpret these results as consistent with the hypotheses that donors to nonprofits are sensitive to executive pay and that stakeholder outrage plays a role in constraining that pay. We discuss the implications of these findings for the regulation of nonprofits and for our broader understanding of the pay-setting process at for-profit as well as nonprofit organizations.


Oxygen free radicals are considered to be important components involved in the pathophysiological tissue alterations observed during ischemia–reperfusion (I/R). In this study, we investigated the putative protective effects of melatonin treatment on renal I/R injury. Wistar albino rats were unilaterally nephrectomized and subjected to 45 min of renal pedicle occlusion followed by 1, 3, 6, 24, 48 hr or 1 wk of reperfusion. Melatonin (10 mg/kg, s.c.) or vehicle was administered twice, 15 min prior to ischemia and immediately before the reperfusion period. At the end of the reperfusion periods, rats were decapitated. Kidney samples were taken for histological examination or the determination of renal malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and protein oxidation (PO). Serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentrations were measured for the evaluation of renal function. The results revealed that I/R induced nephrotoxicity, as evidenced by increases in BUN and creatinine levels at each time point, was reversed by melatonin treatment. The decrease in GSH and increases in MDA, MPO and PO induced by I/R indicated that renal injury involves free radical formation. As melatonin administration reversed these oxidant responses, improved renal function and microscopic damage, it seems likely that melatonin protects kidney tissue against oxidative damage.


In the article the organosilicon Quaternary Ammonium surfactant QAS222 was synthesized by one step reaction from silicane coupling agent and dodecyl amine, and its collecting ability to aluminosilicate minerals was investigated. The results showed that the percent conversion of dodecyl amine was more than 95% and the content of novel organosilicon in the production was about 96.53% when reaction was conducted at 80°C for 37 hours, with silicane coupling agent: N, N-Dimethyl dodecyl amine: KI=1.1:1:0.01 by the molar ratio, using anhydrous ethanol as solvent, protecting the reacting system with N2. The synthesizing technology was brief, efficient with low cost and easy to operate and industrialize. The flotation tests indicated that the organosilicon surfactant QAS222 was an effective collector for aluminosilicate minerals in whole pulp pH, by which the kaolinite, pyrophyllite and illite minerals could be floated well. It provided a good way for application preparation of organo-silicon compounds.


Introduction: Carbohydrate intake and physical activity are related to glucose homeostasis, both being influenced by individual genetic makeup. However, the interactions between these 2 factors, as affected by genetics, on glycaemia have been scarcely reported. Objective: We focused on analysing the interplay between carbohydrate intake and physical activity levels on blood glucose, taking into account a genetic risk score (GRS), based on SNPs related to glucose/energy metabolism. Methods: A total of 1,271 individuals from the Food4Me cohort, who completed the nutritional intervention, were evaluated at baseline. We collected dietary information by using an online-validated food frequency questionnaire, a questionnaire on physical activity, blood biochemistry by analysis of dried blood spots, and by analysis of selected SNPs. Fifteen out of 31 SNPs, with recognized participation in carbohydrate/energy metabolism, were included in the component analyses. The GRS included risk alleles involved in the control of glycaemia or energy-yielding processes. Results: Data concerning anthropometric, clinical, metabolic, dietary intake, physical activity, and genetics related to blood glucose levels showed expected trends in European individuals of comparable sex and age, being categorized by lifestyle, BMI, and energy/carbohydrate intakes, in this Food4Me population. Blood glucose was inversely associated with physical activity level (β = −0.041, p = 0.013) and positively correlated with the GRS values (β = 0.015, p = 0.047). Interestingly, an interaction affecting glycaemia, concerning physical activity level with carbohydrate intake, was found (β = −0.060, p = 0.033), which also significantly depended on the genetic background (GRS). Conclusions: The relationships of carbohydrate intake and physical activity are important in understanding glucose homeostasis, where a role for the genetic background should be ascribed.


Drosophila cryptochrome (CRY) is a key circadian photoreceptor that interacts with the period and timeless proteins (PER and TIM) in a light-dependent manner. We show here that a heat pulse also mediates this interaction, and heat-induced phase shifts are severely reduced in the cryptochrome loss-of-function mutant cryb. The period mutant perL manifests a comparable CRY dependence and dramatically enhanced temperature sensitivity of biochemical interactions and behavioral phase shifting. Remarkably, CRY is also critical for most of the abnormal temperature compensation of perL flies, because a perL; cryb strain manifests nearly normal temperature compensation. Finally, light and temperature act together to affect rhythms in wild-type flies. The results indicate a role for CRY in circadian temperature as well as light regulation and suggest that these two features of the external 24-h cycle normally act together to dictate circadian phase.


The development objective of the Hybrid Generation System Project for Solomon Islands is to support activities will comprise connection of the households to the low voltage cables installed along roads under independent funding from Solomon Power. This Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) seeks to assess and manage potential environmental, health, safety and social impacts of the proposed construction and operation of a new micro-grid and hybrid generation system in Seghe. Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (1) short-term and will be created during the installation stage of new poles, cables and the hybrid generation system; (2) it is possible that a chance discovery an Unexploded Ordinances (UXOs); (3)social-economic environment will be mostly positive by providing electricity access to community in remote areas and also to enable future development in electricity sector; (4) considering the nature and scope of the construction works, it is certain that only minor and manageable environmental disturbances will be created during installation, with minimum impact on nearby communities (5) the operation of the distribution system and micro-grid generation system will have negligible environmental impact during operation;(6) tree trimming will be an ongoing maintenance issue, along with the potential for the escape of polluting substances from switchgears and transformers; (7) the project's assets are expected to have an economic life of 20-50 years to control these possible impacts, it is proposed that the disposal of the switchgears and transformers will be handled by suppliers and Solomon Power (SP); (8) micro-grid and grid assets under the project will be maintained and upgraded in the origin location and along the route of the existing grid; (9) The project will enable more renewable energy generation developments in Seghe area, which will have cumulative long term benefits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the energy network by substituting diesel generation. (10) The distribution network will continue to be upgraded and expanded to allow further development of renewable energy generation and to meet the needs of people and of a growing economy and population.


The Routledge Intermediate Polish Reader is designed for intermediate students of Polish and includes a wide range of graded texts. The readings are taken from an assortment of contemporary Polish writing, including extracts from modern literature and articles from magazines and newspapers. The texts have been specifically selected to ensure that students receive maximum exposure to topics relevant to Polish language, history, culture and society, making this Reader an engaging and stimulating resource with a meaningful cultural context. Each reading is fully supported by: a general introduction text-related comprehension questions and extensive vocabulary exercises explanations of any difficult grammar structures encountered in the text a comprehensive glossary at the back of the book detailed cultural-historical notes answer key grammar supplement Suitable for both class use and independent study, The Routledge Intermediate Polish Reader is an essential tool for vocabulary learning and increasing reading proficiency.