The design and synthesis of substituted desyl
(2-oxo-1,2-diphenylethyl) groups has been investigated to create new
photolabile protecting groups. The photoreactivity of these chromophores
stems from the diverse photochemistry of the desyl group. Several
chromophore designs have been explored in which the substitution pattern
of the parent desyl chromophore was varied systematically. The required
benzoin chromophores are prepared by a variety of synthetic routes,
depending on the structure of the benzoin chromophore desired.
Symmetrical benzoins are readily available via the benzoin
condensation. Unsymmetrical benzoins including 2,2-disubstituted
α-hydroxy ketones are generally prepared via
trimethylsilyl (TMS) masked cyanohydrins. On reaction with a Grignard
reagent, the TMS masked cyanohydrin functions as an
α-hydroxycarbonyl equivalent to form
α-hydroxy ketones. Alternatively, lithiation of a TMS
masked cyanohydrin generates a benzoyl anion equivalent which reacts
with aldehydes and ketones to generate substituted benzoins. These desyl
chromophores have significant potential as new photolabile protecting
moieties for a variety of functional groups and are used to mask primary
and secondary amines as photosensitive α-keto carbamates.
The substituted benzoin carbamates are readily prepared from the
appropriate benzoin by reaction with isocyanates or by activation as a
mixed carbonate followed by reaction with the free amine. These
α-keto carbamates are interesting for two main reasons.
First, the facile synthesis of these materials indicates the ease of
introduction of the desyl based photolabile group. Second, these
α-keto carbamates may be used for rapid evaluation of
novel photoactive desyl based chromophores.


The present thesis is concerned with prediction and prevention of reading failure, in particular, prediction and prevention prior to the commencement of formal reading instruction. This necessarily involves the identification of reliable predictors of reading failure in the prereading child, so that effective early intervention can alleviate later difficulties for children who are at risk of reading failure. A review of the literature and techniques of preschool screening revealed many theoretical and methodological problems. Inadequate longitudinal evaluation of predictive validity, inadequate assessment of predictive utility, and unacceptably high false positive or false negative rates were cited frequently. Despite these problems, some predictive batteries have demonstrated that they are more effective than observational methods, in early identification of the children who are most at risk.

The first study in the present research was an Australian cross validation of the then-unpublished Satz Predictive Test Battery (Satz, Taylor, Friel and Fletcher, 1976). This battery was selected for its close attention to underlying theory and its methodological strengths. Satz hypothesises that children who have difficulty acquiring early reading skills have a neurodevelopmental lag, primarily affecting the left cerebral hemisphere, which deferentially delays their acquisition of these skills. In testing his theory, Satz paid particular attention to methodological weaknesses observed in other studies. He therefore tested the entire white, male, kindergarten population of Alachua County, Florida, and conducted follow-up studies over six years, in order to assess the predictive validity and utility of the test battery at each age level. The Australian cross validation involved assessment of reading risk for 407 five- year-old children, from a predominantly lower-middle socioeconomic group in Western Australia. The predictive efficiency of the tests was assessed by measuring the children's reading competence at the end of first, second and third grades, and relating their actual scores to their predicted performance. Data indicated that the accuracy of the Australian predictions was consistent with those reported in the original experimental studies at the University of Florida. Cross validation data confirmed the finding of the Florida studies that predictive accuracy was high in the extreme groups, and lower in the less extreme groups. The Australian data also confirmed that tests were more effective than teachers in successfully identifying children with the highest risk of failure. Factor analysis of predictive and criterion variables employed in both the Florida and Australian studies, suggested a sensory-motor-integrative factor as the principal factor discriminating between successful and unsuccessful beginning readers.

Two interventions which aim to enhance sensory-motor-integrative functioning were therefore selected for evaluation. The first intervention, Sensory Integrative Therapy (SIT) (Ayres, 1972a) was administered to the experimental group of children identified as being at risk of failure . The results of this intervention, assessed at the end of first grade, revealed significant advantage in reading competence for the treatment group of children receiving SIT. Their advantage over the control group was maintained for a further two years, without further intervention. By contrast, the second intervention - A Motor Integration Programme (MIP) (Lefroy, 1975) - did not result in any consistent advantage for the treatment group of five year old children. The third stage of the present studies sought to identify alternative predictors which could be expected to contribute to more effective prediction. A predictive model with a different theoretical base was therefore investigated. The Savage model focuses on learning level and speed as critical factors in early reading success (Savage, 1979), and it is reasonable to expect that these factors could have predictive value. A further group of school-entry children was therefore tested, using the Savage Test Battery. The new parameters contributed by the Savage tests did not, however, improve successful identification rates significantly.

It was concluded that the Satz Predictive Test Battery is useful in identifying children who are at risk of reading failure, and intervention with a programme of Sensory Integrative Therapy appears beneficial to later reading levels of some of these identified children. The problem of false positive and false negative predictions still persists, and further refining of the test battery is necessary, if children are not to be labelled incorrectly and given interventions which are unnecessary. However, data from both the American and Australian studies indicate that predictive tests have value for identifying the children with the highest risk of failure. Teachers' predictions are consistently successful in predicting good readers, but are less successful than the tests in predicting children who are at risk of failure. Within the limitations of this small study, intervention with a programme of Sensory Integrative Therapy appears beneficial for five-year-old children who are identified as being at risk by the Satz Predictive Test Battery. Replication with larger numbers, and in other settings, would allow present findings to be generalised over other populations of children at risk of reading failure.


We tackle the problems of private learning where an owner wishes to outsource a training task to an honest-but-curious server while keeping its data private, and private collaborative learning where two (or more) mutually distrusting owners outsource respective training data sets to an honest-but-curious server while keeping their data sets private from the server and each other. The privacy property we provide is information-theoretic in nature, Probably Approximately Correct (PAC) approximation resistance (abbreviated to PAC security). Each owner transforms its data and labels using a private transform. The server combines samples from each data set into expanded samples with corresponding expanded labels – we refer to this step as Task Augmentation. The server can be used for inference by any owner by sending it transformed samples. Unlike most prior approaches, our transformed data approach maintains privacy for each entity, even in the case where the server colludes with all other entities. Importantly, we show the utility of collaborative learning typically exceeds the utility that can be achieved by any entity restricted to its own data set. Another important application we show is that the Task Augmentation approach can also be used in the single owner case by adding labeled, learnable noise to amplify privacy. This can be straightforwardly used to produce (Local) Differential Privacy ((L)DP) guarantees. We show that adding labeled noise as opposed to a conventional (L)DP additive noise mechanism significantly improves the privacyutility tradeoff in private learning under the same setup.


The modification of the surface properties of and the application of coatings to textile materials by means of exposure to plasma has attracted much attention in recent years. The advantages of using excited gases include low process cost and duration, and the avoidance of effluents such as solvents or chlorine. Low-pressure plasma treatment with hexafluoroethane has been shown to create a hydrophobic surface on cotton, which would normally be hydrophilic. Cotton is a popular material for surgical garments and drapes because of its comfort and low cost. The acquisition of hydrophobic behaviour will provide haemo-repellancy and the prevention of bacterial attachment. This paper describes a series of designed experiments to vary three parameters for the plasma process, gas concentration, power and duration, and to measure the resulting degrees of hydrophobic behaviour at the cotton surface by means of observing water droplets. Neural networks can provide rapid development of simulation models of processes by adaptation to observed conditions as inputs and the results as outputs. The data from the plasma trials has been used to develop a neural model to predict surface hydrophobic behaviour. The model is itself optimised for interpolative ability, and allows a search to be made through the data space to find the best possible combination of the process parameters to encourage optimal surface treatment, and thus make the cotton most hydrophobic. The work indicates how the environmentally-friendly approach of plasma treatment can be used to provide garments and drapes for surgery which are comfortable but also protective.


Forbidden pitches are the result of unwanted, non-linear effects that limit yield and not always well understood. Yet, as approximations, they are implicitly deployed through design rules. Many believe they result as a consequence of more complicated light sources. We develop an analytical model of aerial image quality as a function of light source. We show the effect is most pronounced for a point light source, the simplest of all. We develop a method to improve print image quality by illumination source optimization, and show promising first results. Additionally, it is shown how design rules capture forbidden pitches unsatisfactorily.


The ability to finance conflict likely affects the odds of sustaining a war and succeeding in it. Recent literature explores rebel group funding, but far less is known about how states finance their own war efforts. This article posits that the design of central banks should affect civil war termination. In particular, it argues that central bank independence affects civil war termination through two channels. First, financial markets consider central bank independence as a good signal in terms of macroeconomic stability and debt repayment. In this way, independent central banks enhance the ability of the government to access credit to finance and end a civil war. Second, central bank independence is associated with lower inflation. Inflation control reduces one source of additional grievances that the civil war may impose on citizens. On a sample of civil wars between 1975 and 2009, central bank independence is associated with a substantial increase in the likelihood of war termination. When the form of termination is disaggregated, (higher) central bank independence is associated with a higher probability of government victory, relative to continued conflict and to other outcomes. Additional tests provide support for the argued mechanisms: during civil wars, countries with more independent central banks access international credit markets in better conditions – i.e. they pay lower interest rates, and receive longer grace and maturity periods on new debt. Furthermore, in countries experiencing civil wars, central bank independence is associated with lower inflation.


Background: Loss of synchronous contraction between or within the right and left ventricle (RV, LV) leads to adverse ventricular function. We used real time three‐dimensional echocardiography (RT3DE) for evaluation of severity of interventricular dyssynchrony and function in a porcine heart model. Methods: Six fresh in vitro porcine hearts were used to create a controlled model of LV and RV dyssynchrony using two sets of pulsatile pumps. Synchronized and dyssynchronized pump settings were used with two different dyssynchronized settings: LV filled first and RV filled first. Results: There was good correlation between actual measurement and RT3DE for interventricular time difference (r = 0.95, P < 0.0001) and stroke volume (SV) for LV and RV (0.89, 0.85; P < 0.0001, respectively). RT3DE data showed a small but significant underestimation for actual volume (P < 0.05). The intra‐ and interobserver variabilities are 2.9 ± 1.5% and 3.1 ± 5.4% for LV and RV SVs, and 1.7 ± 2.4% and 2.2 ± 3.2% for time differences by RT3DE. There was significant difference in RV SV between synchrony and dyssynchrony when the RV filled first (P < 0.05), but not in other groups. The same pattern was found in RT3DE derived SVs (synchrony versus dyssynchrony with RV filled first, P < 0.05). Conclusions: There is no compromise in LV SV during interventricular dyssynchrony; but RV SV was significantly diminished when the RV filled first. RT3DE is a feasible, robust and reproducible method to identify interventricular dyssynchrony and to evaluate ventricular SVs. (Echocardiography 2010;27:709‐715)


The effects of traditional (n = 103) and two-stage weaning (n = 89) on nasal abrasions, behaviour, and weight gain were evaluated in a total of 192 cow-calf pairs. Two-stage calves were prevented from suckling by fitting nose flaps for 7 days before separation from their mothers. Nasal abrasions caused by the devices were assessed by scoring the irritations of the nasal septum at removal and 1 week later. The behaviour of 20 calves was observed for 3 days before and 4 days after weaning and vocalisations of the cows after separation were recorded. Nasal abrasions were found in more than 95% of the animals at removal, whereas 30% of the animals showed heavy bleeding and 10% suffered from even worse injuries. One week later, 45% of the calves still showed irritations. Cows of the traditional group vocalised 19.2 and those of the two-stage group 3.7 times per hour (P < 0.001). Compared with the pre-weaning period, calves spent more time walking on Days 1 and 2 after weaning (P < 0.01). However, the duration was significantly lower in two-stage than in traditionally weaned animals (P < 0.01). After removal of the devices, the time spent for walking increased again for 2 days. An effect on the weight gain of the calves was not noted. In conclusion, two-stage weaning positively influenced the post-weaning behaviour, but the nose flaps caused heavy nasal abrasions in the calves. Therefore, the design of the devices and the period they are fitted should be modified to minimise nasal abrasions.


BACKGROUND
Providing adequate medical information and ensuring that patients do not identify with fellow-sufferers who are doing worse are significant contributors to a better quality of life (QOL) in cardiac patients. In addition, in these patients gender and the level of psychic tension are significant predictors of QOL. We do not know (1) whether we can improve QOL by increasing patients' ability to cope with the unpleasant aspects of the underlying condition, (2) whether gender and level of psychic tension interact or act independently.

OBJECTIVE
To assess both questions.

METHODS
Thirty-eight patients on the waiting list for coronary angiography were assessed with validated test batteries. To increase the patients' ability to cope, they were randomly assigned to read either (1) the comments of a patient who had previously been treated successfully or (2) general information. The former information, unlike the latter, was assumed to improve coping ability and, thus, provide better QOL. Homogeneity of the patient group was estimated by Cronbach's alphas. For analysis, linear regression and general factorial analyses of variance were applied.

RESULTS
The group was psychologically homogeneous as indicated by Cronbach's alphas which were generally over 75%. There was a significant or close to significant association between the use of coping information and a better mobility and social performance QOL (p<0.05 and p<0.06). High levels of psychic tension were associated with low self-perceived QOL and low psychological scores (both p<0.02). Female gender was associated with lower mobility, lower psychological scores and lower overall QOL (p<0.05, p<0.02 and p<0.05). A significant or close to significant interaction was observed between gender and psychic tension as combined determinants of self-perceived QOL, mobility index, and overall QOL index (p<0.03, p<0.09, and p<0.05). Separate assessments of these determinants showed that female gender was the strongest determinant of a low QOL.

CONCLUSION
In patients on the waiting list for coronary angiography, an increased ability to cope with the unpleasant aspects of a possible underlying heart condition improves QOL. Female gender and a high level of psychic tension place patients at risk for a low QOL. It is to be hoped that this paper will raise physicians' awareness of these psychological mechanisms and that they will be given adequate attention in the future, particularly in female patients.


We studied renal sodium handling, extracellular fluid volume (ECFV), plasma renin activity, aldosterone and norepinephrine, and blood pressure in eight healthy volunteers after equilibration on intakes of 20, 200, and 1,128 +/- 141 meq sodium, respectively. Renal sodium handling was assessed by means of clearance studies during maximal water diuresis and lithium clearance. Urinary sodium excretions were 22 +/- 4, 202 +/- 19, and 1,052 +/- 86 meq/day. From the lower to the upper sodium intake level, 24-h creatinine clearance rose from 111 +/- 7 to 136 +/- 11 ml/min and inulin clearance from 103 +/- 9 to 129 +/- 9 ml/min, whereas proximal and distal fractional sodium reabsorption (FSRprox and FSRdist, respectively) fell from 86.8 +/- 1.3 to 79.0 +/- 2.7% and from 96.5 +/- 0.5 to 76.0 +/- 1.9%, respectively. During the normal sodium intake (200 meq), intermediate values were recorded. The changes in fractional lithium clearance were less consistent but correlated with FSRprox (r = 0.78, P less than 0.001) and not with FSRdist. Major changes in plasma renin activity, aldosterone, and, to a lesser extent, norepinephrine accompanied these changes in kidney function, displaying inverse and exponential correlations with daily sodium excretion and ECFV. No consistent rise in blood pressure was detected. These observations indicate that in healthy humans renal adaptation to vast variations in sodium intake includes resetting of glomerular filtration rate, FSRprox, and, in particular, FSRdist. Alterations in neurohumoral factors may play a dominant role in this adaptation.


It is well known that plastic deformation is a highly nonlinear dissipative irreversible phenomenon of considerable complexity. As a consequence, little progress has been made in modeling some well-known size-dependent properties of plastic deformation, for instance, calculating hardness as a function of indentation depth independently. Here, we devise a method of calculating hardness by calculating the residual indentation depth and then calculate the hardness as the ratio of the load to the residual imprint area. Recognizing the fact that dislocations are the basic defects controlling the plastic component of the indentation depth, we set up a system of coupled nonlinear time evolution equations for the mobile, forest, and geometrically necessary dislocation densities. Within our approach, we consider the geometrically necessary dislocations to be immobile since they contribute to additional hardness. The model includes dislocation multiplication, storage, and recovery mechanisms. The growth of the geometrically necessary dislocation density is controlled by the number of loops that can be activated under the contact area and the mean strain gradient. The equations are then coupled to the load rate equation. Our approach has the ability to adopt experimental parameters such as the indentation rates, the geometrical parameters defining the Berkovich indenter, including the nominal tip radius. The residual indentation depth is obtained by integrating the Orowan expression for the plastic strain rate, which is then used to calculate the hardness. Consistent with the experimental observations, the increasing hardness with decreasing indentation depth in our model arises from limited dislocation sources at small indentation depths and therefore avoids divergence in the limit of small depths reported in the Nix-Gao model. We demonstrate that for a range of parameter values that physically represent different materials, the model predicts the three characteristic features of hardness, namely, increase in the hardness with decreasing indentation depth, and the linear relation between the square of the hardness and the inverse of the indentation depth, for all but 150 nm, deviating for smaller depths. In addition, we also show that it is straightforward to obtain optimized parameter values that give good fit to the hardness data for polycrystalline cold worked copper and single crystals of silver.


Given the domination of bank financing, nonperforming debts (NPDs) in large Chinese enterprises are a proxy for nonperforming loans (NPLs) in China's major banks. Using a firm-level survey of more than 20,000 large and medium-sized industrial enterprises conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, this paper estimates both the level and ratio of NPDs across ownership type, industry, and region for the period 19952002. The results show that NPD ratios have been falling since 2000 as a result of the rapid expansion of better-performing non-state enterprises (NSEs), the improved performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and the exit of poor-performing enterprises (which has been facilitated by asset management companies and other merger and acquisition activities). SOEs, however, are still much more likely than NSEs to generate NPDs. This paper provides useful tools and sector information for assessing enterprise debt risks and draws lessons for banking reform in China.


We propose MultiOpEd, an open-domain news editorial corpus that supports various tasks pertaining to the argumentation structure in news editorials, focusing on automatic perspective discovery. News editorial is a genre of persuasive text, where the argumentation structure is usually implicit. However, the arguments presented in an editorial typically center around a concise, focused thesis, which we refer to as their perspective. MultiOpEd aims at supporting the study of multiple tasks relevant to automatic perspective discovery, where a system is expected to produce a single-sentence thesis statement summarizing the arguments presented. We argue that identifying and abstracting such natural language perspectives from editorials is a crucial step toward studying the implicit argumentation structure in news editorials. We first discuss the challenges and define a few conceptual tasks towards our goal. To demonstrate the utility of MultiOpEd and the induced tasks, we study the problem of perspective summarization in a multi-task learning setting, as a case study. We show that, with the induced tasks as auxiliary tasks, we can improve the quality of the perspective summary generated. We hope that MultiOpEd will be a useful resource for future studies on argumentation in the news editorial domain.


Bryophyllum pinnatum (Crassulaceae) is used in traditional medicine for treating skin wounds. In our previous study, a topical gel containing B. pinnatum aqueous leaf extract showed a preclinical anti-inflammatory effect in in vivo acute edema models. In continuation, the present study aims to evaluate the phytochemical content and the stability of a formulation in gel containing B. pinnatum aqueous leaf extract and its healing properties and mechanism of action through an experimental model of induction of skin wounds in rats and in vitro assays. The animals were treated topically for 7 or 14 days with a formulation in gel containing extract at 5% or a placebo or Fibrinase® in cream. In addition, to establish some quality control parameters, the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and a study focusing on the phytochemical and biological stability of a gel for 30 days at two different conditions (room temperature and 40°C/75% RH) were performed. Gel formulation containing extract showed a TPC and TFC of 2.77 ± 0.06 mg of gallic acid/g and 1.58 ± 0.03 mg of quercetin/g, respectively. Regarding the stability study, the formulation in gel showed no significant change in the following parameters: pH, water activity, chromatographic profile, and the content of the major compound identified in the extract. The gel formulation containing extract stimulated skin wound healing while reducing the wound area, as well as decreasing the inflammatory infiltrate, reducing the levels of IL-1β and TNF-α, and stimulating angiogenesis with increased expression of VEGF, an effect similar to Fibrinase. In conclusion, the gel formulation containing extract exhibited relevant skin wound healing properties and, therefore, has the potential to be applied as a novel active ingredient for developing wound healing pharmaceuticals.


Colorectal cancer is preventable and treatable by screening and early detection. Fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) for average risk individuals is an effective strategy for screening. Incidence and mortality in Mexico is increasing and large-scale screening programs do not yet exist. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of FIT-based colorectal cancer screening program in Mexico City. For more than 15 months, average risk individuals in Mexico City were invited to participate at Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia (INCan, Mexico City, Mexico). Participants received an FIT kit for stool collection, results ≥20 ng/mL were referred for high quality colonoscopy. Participants' results were classified according to the most advanced clinical finding as: adenocarcinoma, high-risk adenomas, low-risk adenomas, serrated lesions, hyperplastic polyps, and no polyps. Sequential analyses were performed to assess the positive predictive value (PPV) of FIT. A total of 810 participants were eligible, 737 (91.0%) returned the FIT and 112 (15.2%) had an abnormal result. Of these participants, 87 (77.7%) completed colonoscopy. Clinical findings of participants included: seven (8.1%) adenocarcinomas, 18 (20.7%) high-risk adenomas, 23 (26.4%) low-risk adenomas, one (1.2%) serrated lesions, 14 (16.1%) hyperplasic polyps, and 24 (27.6%) no polyps. The PPV of FIT using the ≥20 ng/mL was 8.1% for cancer and 20.7% for high-risk adenomas. In conclusion, colorectal cancer screening with FIT is feasible at INCan in Mexico City, where resources are available. Further studies are needed to determine feasibility of colorectal cancer screening in other settings, as well as optimal hemoglobin detection cut-off points to maximize the population benefits of colorectal cancer screening with FIT in Mexico.


In order to turning the skirt of middle-convex and varying ellipse piston, this paper proposes a Variable Cross-section Helix Turning Trajectory (VCHTT) algorithm. it divide the turning trajectory of the piston skirt into transversal and helix, then obtain the coordinates of ellipse transversal cutter-contact points on the basis of centric polar radius arc interpolation (CPRAI) algorithm, and uses line surface intersection method to obtain the coordinates of helix cutter-contact points on the middle-convex and varying ellipse piston skirt. At last,merge two coordinates matrices to obtain the final coordinate surface of cutter-contact points of turning tool. With comparison, it finds that the VCHTT algorithm improves the interpolation accuracy by 0.04um than other methods.


The electrical machinery power factor and the rotational speed are unable the real-time measurement which is restricted by the condition on site, so the motor output power also can't calculate accurately, which leads to difficulty to calculate the pump efficiency. This paper considers pump's differential pressure, pump flow, the liquid viscosity and other parameters, which influence on the calculation results. Then we present a new calculation method of efficiency for twin-screw pump. We program the simulation computer to calculate and analysis the pump efficiency with the calculation method. The results show that this method is simple and the error is less than 3%. This calculation method can meet the needs of engineering calculation.


A fuel channel, which is the major structure of a nuclear reactor, is excited by the flow of cooling water during the operation of the nuclear reactor. This flow of cooling water can cause excessive vibration of the structure by the resonance. So, in the design process of a nuclear structure, the exact evaluation of the effect of water to modal characteristics and stiffness characteristics is very important to generate an exact analysis model. In this study, the effect of water height for modal characterisics of the fuel channel is investigated and the stiffness evaluation of that is conducted using the modal test results.


A non-Foster circuit adaptation algorithm has been developed and demonstrated in a printed circuit board by using commercial off-the-shelf components. This algorithm enables adaptive stabilization of non-Foster circuits (NFCs) to achieve broadband operation, such as matching of electrically small receive antennas, hence avoiding potential oscillation and undesirable signal emission. The demonstrated system has been fabricated in a 6.4 ×8.9 cm2 4 layer FR4 PCB. Together with a fabricated NFC board, it achieves stable wideband matching for a 15 cm long monopole antenna under different environment conditions, such as an additional loading of a Cu metallic sheet in a proximate location to the antenna. The demonstration indicates the effectiveness of the proposed NFC adaptation algorithm and paves the way for broad applications of NFCs without stability concerns.


ABSTRACT Proceedings of international congresses can only be announced rather than reviewed. Nephrologists hold theirs every three years, and these volumes are from the proceedings in Mexico City in 1972. The proceedings furnish the reader with a series of brief and interesting papers arranged in three volumes. Taken together, the volumes provide a convenient and rapid overview of current nephrological interests. The first (Morphology and Pathology) deals mainly with glomerular diseases and it is clear that the 20th century French have inherited the 19th century German passion for nosology as a thing of beauty. Volume two (Physiology) reviews sodium transport, including the related problems of energy needs. Volume three (Clinic) deals with various aspects of proteinuria, uremia, hypertension, and therapeutics. The Australians have an unquenchable enthusiasm for heparin, but there is some difficulty in transporting their good results safely across the ocean.Finally, I am once again puzzled by the absence


Thailand is well recognised for its high potential as an agricultural country and major food supplier. It provides a major source of agricultural product and agricultural manufacturing based industries. The most important sector is the food processing industry. This area is the most important sub-sector in Thai industry. The value in exports in the year 2002 was approximately 14.4% of the country's total GDP. However, a high potential for growth still exists. Food production in Thailand is based on local agricultural raw materials, comprising of fruit and vegetables, cereal and oils, fish and livestock and provides employment to 20 million people within the agricultural and food processing sector. This thesis discusses the characteristics of the Thai food processing industry and suggests an appropriate manufacturing strategy model is needed in order for it to achieve manufacturing excellence. This study presents a classification of the Thai agricultural industry and compares one of its sectors, the agricultural manufacturing industry with another industrial sector viz. the electrical/electronic industry. The thesis investigates both industries contribution and reveals why the food processing industry is important for Thailand. After an overall analysis of the industry and its importance, the results of a survey of 350 food processing companies are compared, including characteristics of the Thai food processing industry, the focus of manufacturing strategies and the implementation of manufacturing practices. Based on this, and in order to assist the Thai food processing industry to achieve manufacturing excellence, the thesis then develops an integrated model combining GMP, HACCP, TPM and TQM, and provides guideline for their implementation.


The chromatic number of a latin square $L$, denoted $\chi(L)$, is the minimum number of partial transversals needed to cover all of its cells. It has been conjectured that every latin square satisfies $\chi(L) \leq |L|+2$. If true, this would resolve a longstanding conjecture—commonly attributed to Brualdi—that every latin square has a partial transversal of size $|L|-1$. Restricting our attention to Cayley tables of finite groups, we prove two results. First, we resolve the chromatic number question for Cayley tables of finite Abelian groups: the Cayley table of an Abelian group $G$ has chromatic number $|G|$ or $|G|+2$, with the latter case occurring if and only if $G$ has nontrivial cyclic Sylow 2-subgroups. Second, we give an upper bound for the chromatic number of Cayley tables of arbitrary finite groups. For $|G|\geq 3$, this improves the best-known general upper bound from $2|G|$ to $\frac{3}{2}|G|$, while yielding an even stronger result in infinitely many cases.


Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) offer several advantages over organic dyes in fluorescence-imaging applications, such as higher quantum yield, exceptional photostability, and a narrow, tunable, and symmetric emission spectrum. To explore whether QDs could specifically and effectively label tumor markers and be used in immunohistochemistry as a novel type of fluorescent probe, we used quantum dots with maximum emission wavelength 605 nm (QD605) to detect the ovarian carcinoma marker CA125 in specimens of different types (fixed cells, tissue sections, and xenograft piece). Additionally, we compared the photostability of QD signals with that of a conventional organic dye, FITC. All labeling signals of QDs were found to be more specific and brighter than those of FITC. Moreover, the QDs exhibited exceptional photostability during continuous illumination for 1 h by a high-intensity laser (Ar laser power 100 mW) at 488 nm, while the FITC signals faded very quickly and became undetectable after 24 min of illumination. These results indicate that QD-based probes can offer substantial advantages over existing fluorophores in many applications, and can be used effectively in immunohistochemistry as a novel class of fluorescent probes.


Abstract: Four-switch synchronous buck-boost (FSBB) converter is much suitable for battery management system for its characteristic of wide input voltage range, high efficiency, and positive voltage output. A three mode control scheme with two modulation signals and one carrier can be adopted to achieve the smooth transition among modes. Using feed forward voltage mode control, the input voltage information is injected into the control loop to prevent the disturbance effect on the output voltage through making input voltage construct the carrier signal. High efficiency is gained when the converter is operating in pulse skip mode in light load. The operating mode smooth transition and stability could be achieved by modeling the converter and designing the compensation. Finally, a power prototype was fabricated to validate the validity of the control strategy.


Abstract In this proposed paper, a single band microstrip patch antenna for fifth generation (5G) wireless application was presented. 28, 38, 60 and 73 GHz frequency bands have been allocated for 5G mobile communications by International Telecommunications Union (ITU). In this paper, we proposed an antenna, which is suitable for the millimeter wave frequency. The single band antenna consists of new slot loaded on the radiating patch with the 50 ohms microstrip line feeding used. This single band antenna was simulated on a FR4 dielectric substrate have relative permittivity 4.4, loss tangent 0.02, and height 1.6 mm. The antenna was simulated by Electromagnetic simulation, computer software technology High Frequency Structural Simulator. And simulated result on return loss, VSWR, radiation pattern and 3D gain was presented. The parameters of the results well coherent and proved the literature for millimeter wave 5G wireless application at 38 GHz.


Degradation aging of BaTiO3 microwave ceramic capacitors for EMI applications at highvoltage, AC 10kV, was focused in this paper. Electric performances of the ceramic capacitors were systematically evaluated with thermal shock (5 cycles of –30 °C for 1 h and then 125°C for 1 h), damp heat (100% RH at 40°C for 500 h), and, endurance at high temperature (DC 10 kV at 100°C for 500 h). High reliability for the ceramic capacitor was obtained with optimal ceramic composition, sintering temperature, epoxy resin, curing agent and additives, which was satisfied with practical microwave technologies.


The testing strategy for the detection of testosterone (T) or T-prohormones is based on the longitudinal evaluation of urinary steroid concentrations accompanied by subsequent isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS)-based confirmation of samples showing atypical concentrations or concentration ratios. In recent years, the IRMS methodology focussed more and more on T itself and on the metabolites of T, 5α- and 5β-androstanediol. These target analytes showed the best sensitivity and retrospectivity, but their use has occasionally been challenging due to their comparably low urinary concentrations. Conversely, the carbon isotope ratios (CIR) of the main urinary metabolites of T, androsterone (A) and etiocholanolone (EITO), can readily be measured even from low urine volumes; those however commonly offer a lower sensitivity and shorter retrospectivity in uncovering T misuse. Within this study, the CIRs of A and ETIO were combined with their urinary concentrations, resulting in a single parameter referred to as 'difference from weighted mean' (DWM). Both glucuronidated and sulphated steroids were investigated, encompassing a reference population (n = 108), longitudinal studies on 3 individuals, influence of ethanol in 2 individuals, and re-analysis of several administration studies including T, dihydrotestosterone, androstenedione, epiandrosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, and T-gel. Especially DWM calculated for the sulphoconjugated steroids significantly prolonged the detection time of steroid hormone administrations when individual reference ranges were applied. Administration studies employing T encompassing CIR common for Europe (-23.8 ‰ and -24.4 ‰) were investigated and, even though for a significantly shorter time period and less pronounced, DWM could demonstrate the exogenous source of T metabolites.


Due to technological developments we foresee future systems where groups of actors coordinate their actions in a dynamic manner to reach their goals. Our aim is to develop a reasoning model for artificial actors in such systems. Starting point is the relation between autonomy of individuals and coordination of group behavior. We adopt the agent paradigm as basis for the actors. Although autonomy is a key concept in agent research, there is no common definition of agent autonomy and adjustable autonomy. Our agents should be autonomous such that they can be held responsible for their actions. Furthermore, they should be able to work together following different types of coordination in order to achieve dynamic coordination. In this research, we define being autonomous as having control over external influences on the decision-making process. Adjustable autonomy in our context means dynamically dealing with external influences on the decision-making process based on internal motivations. An agent controls to what extend it is being influenced by the environment and by other agents. Agents achieve coordination by allowing influences of others on their decision-making process. We present an abstract reasoning model that facilitates agent autonomy. The two main components of the reasoning model are influence control and decision-making. In the component for influence control the agent deals with new observations and messages. We propose to use reasoning rules to process those external events. The reasoning rules specify the effects of external events on the beliefs and goals of the agent. The beliefs and goals, then, are used for the decision-making process. With this reasoning model we do a simulation experiment of a firefighter organization extinguishing several fires. The organizational goal can be reached via different types of coordination ranging from emergent to centralized coordination. The experiment shows that the perspective on autonomy as influence control provides a promising way to facilitate dynamic coordination. Our reasoning model separates event-processing and decision-making. This allows the development of domain-independent heuristics for event-processing. In this thesis we mention three heuristics: information relevance, organizational knowledge and trust. The first two are discussed in further detail. We propose an algorithm for relevance determination. We argue that potential benefits of using information relevance for influence control can be found in controling the decision quality and preventing information overload. Furthermore, we work out the use of organizational knowledge to process external events. We show how organizational norms can be translated into event-processing rules. We describe how our approach facilitates organizational dynamics. The modularity in our reasoning model ensures that the event-processing rules are explicitly defined. This allows for metareasoning about the event-processing rules. We present a metareasoning model, with which the agent can select and take up the desired attitude with respect to the environment and to other agents. This process gives the agent control over external influences, and therewith it meets the requirements for autonomy and adjustable autonomy. In a simulation experiment we implement a firefighter organization that exhibits dynamic coordination via self-adjustable autonomy of the firefighters.


Available soil nutrients status (N, P2O5, K2O, S and Zn) of irrigated and rainfed cotton growing surface soils (0-22.5 cm) from 11 talukas of South Gujarat comprising Bharuch, Surat and Narmada districts. Total 110 nos. samples were subjected to determination above nutrients with a view to better future management of these soils in achieving higher cotton yield. The results revealed available N, P2O5, K2O, S and Zn ranged from 171.2 to 386.0 kg ha-1, 12.4 to 53.4 kg ha-1, 282 to 1180 kg ha-1, 4.9 to 26.9 ppm and 0.25 to 0.91 mg kg-1, respectively in irrigated soils with mean values of 241.3 kg ha-1, 31.1 kg ha-1, 637 kg ha-1, 14.8 ppm and 0.51 mg kg-1, respectively. However, for rainfed soils, the corresponding values were 127.9 to 298.8 kg ha-1, 7.4 to 42.2 kg ha-1, 281 to 812 kg ha-1, 5.4 to 15.8 ppm and 0.20 to 0.59 mg kg-1, respectively, with mean values of 216.5 kg ha-1, 25.0 kg ha-1, 497 kg ha-1, 9.9 ppm and 0.39 mg kg-1, respectively. With respect to available N, 85.5 and 14.5 per cent soils were 'low' and 'medium', respectively while, the corresponding values for rainfed soils were 98.2 and 1.8 per cent, respectively. In case of available P2O5 in irrigated areas, 60 and 22 per cent soils exhibited 'low' and 'medium' status, respectively and in rainfed soils values were 72.7 and 27.3 per cent, respectively. Available K2O status in respective of irrigated and rainfed situations was 'high'. 20, 72.7 and 7.3 per cent irrigated soils were rated under 'low', 'medium' and 'high' status, respectively in respect to available S and the corresponding data for rainfed soils were 63.6, 36.4 and 0.0 per cent soils respectively. DTPA-Zn in irrigated areas showed 52.7 and 47.3 per cent soils under 'low' and 'medium' status and in rainfed soils 96.4 per cent under 'low' Zn status. Nutrients index for all the nutrients followed the same trends of 'low', 'medium' and 'high' as those of available nutrients status.


Computational learning refers to the task of inducing a general pattern from a provided set of examples. A learning method is expected to generalize to unseen examples of the same pattern. A common issue in computational learning is the possibility that the resulting models could be simply learning the provided set of examples, instead of learning the underlying pattern. A model that is incurring in such a behavior is commonly said to be overtting. This dissertation explores the task of computational learning and the related concepts of generalization and overtting, in the context of Genetic Programming (GP). GP is a computational method inspired by natural evolution that considers a set of primitive functions and terminals that can be combined without any considerable constraints on the structure of the models being evolved. This exibility can help in learning complex patterns but it also increases the risk of overtting. The contributions of this dissertation cover the most common form of GP (Standard GP), as well as the recently proposed Geometric Semantic GP (GSGP). The initial set of approaches relies on dynamically selecting different training data subsets during the evolutionary process. These approaches can avoid overtting and improve the resulting generalization without restricting the exibility of GP. Besides improving the generalization, these approaches also produce considerably smaller individuals. An analysis of the generalization ability of GSGP is performed, which shows that the generalization outcome is greatly dependent on particular characteristics of the mutation operator. It is shown that, as Standard GP, the original formulation of GSGP is prone to overtting. The necessary conditions to avoid overtting are presented. When such conditions are in place, GSGP can achieve a particularly competitive generalization. A novel geometric semantic mutation that substantially improves the effectiveness and efficiency of GSGP is proposed. Besides considerably improving the training data learning rate, it also achieves a competitive generalization with only a few applications of the mutation operator. The nal set of contributions covers the domain of Neural Networks (NNs). These contributions originated as an extension of the research conducted within GSGP. This set of contributions includes the denition of a NN construction algorithm based on an extension of the mutation operator dened in GSGP. Similarly to GSGP, the proposed algorithm searches over a space without local optima. This allows for an effective and efficient stochastic search in the space of NNs, without the need to use backpropagation to adjust the weights of the network. Finally, two search stopping criteria are proposed, which can be directly used in the proposed NN construction algorithm and in GSGP. These stopping criteria are able to detect when the risk of overtting increases signicantly. It is shown that the stopping points detected result in a competitive generalization.


The aim of this work was to develop films containing ibuprofen and to study their in vitro permeation characteristics across pig ear skin, a valid model for human skin. Films containing 5% (w/w) of ibuprofen were prepared and tested: the effect of the chemical enhancers polyvynil pyrrolidone, propylene glycol, menthol and 2-pyrrolidone was evaluated as well. From the data obtained it can be concluded that the bioadhesive film formulated can act as a dermal/transdermal delivery system for the administration of ibuprofen. The film is easy to handle before the application and then it adapts to skin irregularities increasing the effective contact area. The permeation kinetic across the skin was not linear, suggesting that the film acts as a matrix controlling drug delivery. The introduction of chemical enhancers in the formulation or the application of the film in the presence of menthol did not modify the permeation of ibuprofen across pig ear skin. On the other hand the application of an occlusive layer increased the amount of ibuprofen permeated from the film and the permeation profile obtained was comparable to that obtained from the commercial formulation applied in finite dose conditions.


This analysis tests two distinct predictions regarding local newspapers' coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. A public service view of local newspapers predicts that a robust local newspaper sector would mitigate the politicized national partisan rhetoric surrounding COVID-19; reducing the disparity in social-distancing behaviors between predominantly Republican and predominantly Democratic counties by increasing compliance in Republican counties. The alternative hypothesis, informed by a demand-side view of the market pressures local newspapers face, predicts that increased competition between local newspapers will increase the degree to which local newspapers amplify the rhetoric of national officials in line with the partisan composition of their community, further polarizing adherence to social-distancing behaviors across predominantly Republican versus predominantly Democratic counties. The results of this analysis offer strong support for the second hypothesis; but, an additional analysis of vaccination rates offers a more nuanced perspective than a simple public service versus demand-side dichotomy would imply.


A convenient synthetic route to prepare amine-terminated poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) was described. The strategy involved two-step reactions, the condensation of hydroxyl-terminated PEO and PCL with N-benzyloxycarbonyl amino acid followed by the catalytic hydrogenation under mild conditions. NMR and GPC measurements indicated that the reactions proceeded nearly quantitatively. Amine-terminated PEO thus prepared was used to initiate the polymerization of alpha-(N(epsilon)-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-lysine) N-carboxy anhydride [lys(Z)-NCA], and the results confirmed that the reactivity of the amino group was high.


To understand the dynamic evolution of landslides and predict their physical extent, a computational model is required that is capable of analysing complex material behaviour as well as large strains and deformations. Here, a model is presented based on the so-called generalised-interpolation material-point method, combining a Eulerian grid for solving the governing equations of a continuum with a Lagrangian description for the material. The method is extended to analyse interaction between multiple bodies, introducing a master–slave algorithm for frictional contact along interfaces. Further, a deformed material description is introduced, based on time integration of the deformation gradient and utilising Gauss quadrature over the volume associated with each material point. The method has been implemented in a Fortran code and employed for the analysis of a landslide that took place during the night of December 1st, 2008, near Lønstrup, Denmark. Using a simple Mohr-Coulomb model for the soil, the computational model is able to reproduce the change in the slope geometry at the site.


Geroscience is based on the concept that therapeutic approaches that work for aging will also work for age-related diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Single drugs have been ineffective in treating AD, so it seems reasonable to consider using multiple drugs in combination (cocktails) for a more effective treatment approach. However, initial screening of drug cocktails in animal models is costly and time-consuming. The human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y has neuronal properties and can be stressed with chemicals or transfected with adeno-associated virus (AAV) Aβ and/or pTau vectors for an in vitro model of neurotoxicity. Drug cocktails can then be easily screened for intervention efficacy compared to each individual drug in the cocktail.


A substantial part of the contribution of genetic studies to the treatment of schizophrenia involves its emphasis on reliable and valid diagnoses. One consequence of this focus is the recognition that schizophrenic illness is broader than the diagnostic entity of schizophrenia itself, and instead consists of a "spectrum" of related disorders. Because some of the symptoms in these disorders differ from each other, they provide an opportunity to determine which ones reflect a common etiology. To the extent that such symptoms are identifiable, they may provide a foundation for treatment and even prevention strategies. In this paper, we focus on a clinical condition - "schizotaxia" - that may reflect the liability for schizophrenia. To characterize the nature and extent of this proposed syndrome, we will review results from family studies in our laboratory, and consider conceptual foundations and criteria for assessment. A more general consideration of treatment strategies for schizophrenia spectrum disorders follows, along with suggestions for future research. Our initial attempts to treat and validate schizotaxia are encouraging, and raise the possibility that early treatment might eventually prevent or attenuate the development of other, more severe disorders in the schizophrenia spectrum, including schizophrenia itself.


The paper deals about significant projects of large scale mapping at the beginning of 19th century in the Habsburg Empire. They have been already based on uniform geodetic horizontal control. Basic parameters and features of Second Military Survey in the territory of the Czech Lands as well as links with project of Stable cadastre are delineated. Technology of establishing the horizontal control (1st order trigonometric networks) is described in detail. Qualitative parameters of geodetically measured data and the survey documentation are analysed. Accuracy analysis of angular measurements and methodology of co-ordinate computations in the Gusterberg coordinate system are also discussed.By means of identical points the horizontal control enables unambiguous transformation from the Gusterberg and St. Stephen co-ordinate systems into the national co-ordinate system (JTSK) or WGS 84 with the accuracy higher than graphical accuracy of original maps. This transformation, published here as the global transformation key (GTK), is of great importance. The results of tests of GTKs compiled separately for Bohemia and Moravia+Silesia together with the analysis of contact zone of both above mentioned historical co-ordinate systems are introduced.As an example of GTK application georeferenced map sheets from Second Military Survey are presented. GTKs are of fundamental importance in unification of heterogeneous geodetic information files of cadastre of real estates in the Czech Republic.


Lymphangiomas are congenital malformations of the lymphatic system, mostly well-circumscribed and cystic. Although many theories were proposed to explain etiology, it is still controversial. Most of these lesions are found in the cervicofacial region, while the scalp is considered a scarce location, with only a few reported cases in the literature. Herein, we report a case of scalp lymphangioma in a 33-year-old male, which unexpectedly and significantly progressed in size over one year. The MRI scan characteristics were unique compared to the literature description of the lymphangioma, as it appeared hypointense in both T1WI and T2WI with inhomogeneous contrast enhancement, eventually consistent with lymphangioma on histopathology. The patient underwent surgical excision of the mass without any recurrence over a follow-up period of 1 year.


Prolonged chronic stress has deleterious effects on immune function and is associated with numerous negative health outcomes. The spleen harbors one-fourth of the body's lymphocytes and mediates both innate and adaptive immune responses. However, the subset of splenic lymphocytes that respond, either adaptively or maladaptively, to various stressors remains largely unknown. Here we investigated the effects of unpredictable chronic mild stress (CMS) exposure on spleen composition in male mice housed in two different caging conditions: standard caging (Cntl) and enriched environment (EE). EE-caged mice exhibited the greatest absolute number of splenocytes and CMS exposure significantly lowered splenocyte numbers in both caging conditions. Glucocorticoid production, measured by mean fecal corticosterone metabolites (FCM), was significantly lower in EE-caged mice vs. Cntl-caged mice. Surprisingly, CMS exposure resulted in an increase in mean FCM in EE-caged mice, but no significant change in Cntl-caged mice. CMS altered the splenic B:T lymphocyte ratio; it reduced the frequency of B cells, but increased the frequency of T cells in EE-caged mice. Splenocyte number and B:T lymphocyte ratio showed a negative relationship with mean FCM. EE-caged mice had a lower frequency of immature and germinal B cells than Cntl-caged mice. CMS markedly increased the frequency of immature and marginal zone B cells, but decreased the frequency of follicular B cells in both caging conditions. Mean FCM correlated positively with frequency of immature, marginal zone and germinal center B cells, but negatively with frequency of follicular B cells. To conclude, splenic immune cells, particularly B lymphocyte composition, are modulated by caging environment and stress and may prime mice differently to respond to immune challenges.


This paper analyses key issues that may be relevant to setting the Crown's overall objectives and practices for financial asset and liability management. It examines implications of the nature of the Crown's balance sheet for asset and liability management and investigates the appropriate approach of the Crown towards managing risk (concluding that a risk averse approach is warranted). The issue of centralisation versus decentralisation of Crown asset and liability management is analysed both from a portfolio management perspective and from an organisational design perspective. Insights from private sector financial conglomerates are also incorporated. The paper concludes that individual Crown financial entities should each continue to be responsible for setting their own strategic asset allocation, after taking into account the nature of their liabilities. A central Crown body should, however, monitor and aggregate information from each of these entities and be delegated the responsibility and power to manage risks to the overall Crown balance sheet.


Subunits of type IV pili and a subset of proteins of the type II extracellular protein secretion apparatus undergo two consecutive post-translational modifications: leader peptide cleavage, followed by methylation of the newly created N-terminal amino acid. These two reactions are carried out by a single bifunctional enzyme encoded in Pseudomonas aeruginosa by the pilDgene. Properties of PilD mutants at positions Gly95 and/or Lys96 which were differentially affected in leader peptidase and N-methyltransferase function were characterized. None of the single amino acid substitutions showed a significant alteration in their ability to cleave the prepilin leader peptide; however, two double mutants did exhibit a modest reduction in the efficiency of cleavage. In contrast, a significant decrease ofN-methyltransferase activity was detected in PilD having substitutions at Gly95. Mutants with substitutions at position Lys96 showed a variable effect onN-methyltransferase activity with an apparent requirement for any charged amino acid at this position. Absence ofN-methyltransferase activity did not appear to interfere with the ability of P. aeruginosa to assemble functional pili. Moreover, pilin monomers isolated from P. aeruginosaexpressing PilD with Gly95 substitutions were not methylated. Although complete methylation does not appear to be absolutely required for pilus assembly in P. aeruginosa, this modification may be important for pilus function in its natural habitat.


28 patients suffering from peripheral vascular disorders in the lower extremities (Fontaine classification: Stage II = 25, Stage I-II = 3 patients) were treated for a period of 4 weeks with daily 2 to 3 tablets Trental 400 (= 400 mg pentoxifylline per talbet). Judging by extension of walking distance, increase in performance in ergometric and standing on toe testing as well as on alleviation of subjective symptoms 17 patients improved distinctly and 8 moderately, 3 patients remained unaltered. The drug was well tolerated subjectively and objectively.


: Although uncommon, traumatic diaphragmatic rupture (TDR) from blunt force injury is difficult to diagnose and can lead to serious complications if left untreated. Associated symptoms are often non-specific, which can make detection of the injury difficult. Here we present a case report of a patient who suffered a left-sided TDR after blunt trauma. Upon arrival at the emergency department, the patient denied pain but had tenderness to palpation over the epigastrium. A chest X-ray showed an elevated diaphragm on the left with mediastinal shift to the right, and a diagnosis of TDR with stomach herniation was confirmed by computed tomography (CT). The patient was admitted to surgery for reduction and repair and later discharged in good condition. This case report highlights the importance of suspecting TDR in high energy injury mechanisms presenting to the emergency department.


Four bacterial developmental systems are described. In the dimorphic cell cycle of Caulobacter crescentus, differences in the proteins assembled at cell poles cause cell division to generate a stalked cell rich in regulator DivK-P, and competent for continued proliferation, and a swarmer cell rich in regulator CtrA-P, and unable to proliferate until it discards its flagellum and grows a stalk. The other three systems all lead to the formation of spores, but by completely different routes. In Bacillus subtilis, an endospore forms inside a mother cell; in the mycelial Streptomyces coelicolor, long hyphae grow into the air and then turn into chains of spores; whereas in Myxococcus xanthus, which hunts in motile swarms to prey on other bacteria, the swarm aggregates into a mound to form a fruiting body, inside which cells change into spores. The regulatory cascades leading to differentiation evolved completely independently in the four systems, but show some common strategies.

Key Concepts

Bacterial cells can be both organisationally and developmentally complex.

Bacterial development is usually driven forward by positively acting regulatory cascades, often reinforced by positive feedback loops.

Cascades activating bacterial differentiation often respond to environmental or physiological information through the action of repressors or other negatively acting mechanisms.

Diverse extracellular signals are often employed to allow communication between cells, leading to coordination of bacterial development.

Sporulation has evolved completely independently in different groups of bacteria.

Some kinds of protein recur frequently in bacterial developmental systems, including sigma factors, phosphoproteins and proteases.

Keywords:

sigma factors;
polarity;
sporulation;
extracellular signalling;
cell cycle;
phosphorelay;
septation


Ceruminous glands are modified apocrine glands, confined to the skin lining of the cartilaginous part of the external auditory meatus. Tumors arising from these glands are rare. Controversy exists regarding the term "ceruminoma". Actually this neoplasia should be classified as adenoma, adenocarcinoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma and pleomorphic ceruminous adenoma. We report a 39-year-old woman first seen at Santa Casa of Belo Horizonte, in 1998, presenting with headache, nausea, vertigo, hearing loss and tinitus on the right for the past two years. CT scan showed a tumor eroding cartilaginous and bony limits with intracranial invasion. She was submitted to multidisciplinary treatment with surgery followed by radiotherapy (6000 cG). Histology showed a ceruminous adenoid cystic carcinoma. The patient manifested a right peripherical facial palsy and had no recovery of the previous deficits. After one year from surgery she is clinically stable.


Abstract: Head motion during Computed Tomographic (CT) brain imaging studies can adversely affect the reconstructed image through distortion, loss of resolution and other related artifacts. In this paper, we propose a marker based innovative approach to detect and mitigate motion artifacts in three dimensional cone-beam brain CT systems without using any external motion tracking sensor. Motion is detected using correlations between the adjacent projections. Once motion is detected, motion parameters (i.e. six degrees-of-freedom of motions) are estimated using a numerical optimization technique. Artifacts, caused by motions, are mitigated by using a modified form Feldkemp-Davis-Kress (FDK) algorithm which uses the estimated motion parameters in back-projection stage. The proposed approach has been evaluated on a modified three-dimensional Shepp-Logan phantom with a range of simulated motions. Simulation results demonstrate a quantitative and qualitative validation of motion detection and artifacts mitigation technique.


There is a large literature on semiparametric estimation of average treatment effects under unconfounded treatment assignment in settings with a fixed number of covariates. More recently attention has focused on settings with a large number of covariates. In this paper we extend lessons from the earlier literature to this new setting. We propose that in addition to reporting point estimates and standard errors, researchers report results from a number of supplementary analyses to assist in assessing the credibility of their estimates.


Ultrasonic tests were performed in the main directions at 300 kHz in poplar and spruce reaction wood and normal wood. The experiments were conducted on 2 x 2 x 10 cm3 specimens selected from the pith to the bark. The same phase velocity values were measured in poplar tension wood and normal wood. In compression wood, the phase velocity was lower in the longitudinal direction and higher in the transverse direction. The group velocity measured in the longitudinal direction in tension wood was greater than in normal wood, but lower values were obtained in compression wood in comparison to those obtained in normal wood. The results showed that wave attenuation cannot be significantly affected by the structural properties of reaction wood. A better wave energy transfer pathway (RMS voltage) was found in poplar and spruce reaction wood than in normal wood. Acoustic radiation in reaction wood of both species was lower than levels obtained in normal wood in all anisotropic directions. The results obtained when comparing reaction wood and normal wood of both species indicated that sound velocity decreased as moisture content increased, but the attenuation coefficients increased slightly.


Abstract Past research has shown that the performance of manufacturing cells can be improved if family orientated scheduling heuristics are used, or if jobs are split into smaller transfer batches for processing and material handling purposes. The research has also shown that large amounts of lot splitting results in increased setup frequency due to the reduction in transfer batch size. This can offset any gains in performance. This study examines the combined effect of lot splitting in a manufacturing cell that utilizes family-based scheduling heuristics. The results show that family-based scheduling is an effective means of reducing the negative impact of lot splitting on flow time. Lot splitting, however, has little benefit for due date performance even when scheduling rules that reduce setup frequency are used.


1. It is clear from simple physics that if enough sulfate particles are introduced into the atmoshere that the average temperature at the surface of the globe will cool sufficiently to offset the amount of average global heating due to the increase in greenhouse gases the world is emitting. Again, this could clearly be achieved on average across the entire surface area of the globe. But even the IPCC acknowledges that the distributional effects of such cooling on temperature and its impacts on precipitation would not offset the impacts of climate change at the regional/local scale. One does not need to sophisticated computer model of the climate system to understand why this would be true, and I gave some examples in my earlier comments on this paper of the physics behind this issue.


Online advertisements are increasingly becoming an attractive channel for advertising. Pricing for online ads has evolved over time, and different auction-based policies are employed by website publishers to sell online ads. In this paper, we analyze, under different scenarios, the following three auction-based policies commonly used by the publishers: (i) invite bids for an impression of an ad, display the highest bidder's ad, and charge the winning advertiser the submitted bid (ii) invite bids for a click of an ad, display the ad of the bidder submitting the highest bid for a click, and charge the winner the bid submitted, and (iii) invite bids for a click of an ad, use the bid and the click-through-rate of the ad to compute the expected publisher profit from the ad, display the ad generating the highest profit, and charge the winner the submitted bid. A distinguishing feature of our analysis is that it considers the effect of product-market positioning of sellers on their bids for online ads and the consequent implications for pricing policies. Our analysis provides a number of insights useful to the website publisher and the advertisers. First, interestingly, we find that the bid per impression policy and the bid per click policy that uses the expected profit to determine the winner generate identical outcomes. Second, the advertiser profits are found to be higher when the publisher is capable of targeting the consumers. From the first two results, it appears that advertisers' angst at pricing based on impressions may be misplaced, and that a more critical determinant of the advertiser's profitability is the publisher's ability to target. Third, we find the surprising result that among the two bid per click policies, the one that uses the expected publisher profit can generate lower publisher profits. Fourth, we show that, similar to that in the literature on maximizing channel profits in the traditional markets, non-linear pricing of ads leads the publisher to gain the maximum profits even in this vastly different advertising distribution channel. Fifth, we demonstrate that offline ads and online ads are synergistic.


Action learning in a workplace context, focused on projects relating to real business needs, is the basis of the management seminars offered by the BOSNO (in Dutch, 'BedrijfsOpleiding voor Samenwerkende Nederlandse Ondernemingen'[Company training for Dutch companies working in cooperation with each other]) consortium in The Netherlands. In the seminars, managers from participating companies work in teams on multiple-step problem analysis and solution strategies, supported by workplace coaches. The teams also interact with each other so that peer learning is stimulated. To extend the BOSNO management seminar model in both depth and flexibility, a new approach called e-BOSNO was designed in which a web-based learning support environment played a critical role. This paper describes the e-BOSNO design process and gives results from the first cycle of e-BOSNO. The results showed the participants to be much more active and interactive than in previous e-BOSNO seminars, even though there were fewer face-to-face meetings. Workplace-oriented learning occurred and was shared in a way which makes it available for reuse in subsequent e-BOSNO seminars.


Inorganic nanoparticles might have played a vital role in the transition from inorganic chemistry to self-sustaining living systems. Such transition may have been triggered or controlled by processes requiring not only versatile catalysts but also suitable reaction surfaces. Here, experimental results showing that multicolor quantum dots might have been able to participate as catalysts in several specific and nonspecific reactions, relevant to the prebiotic chemistry are demonstrated. A very fast and easy UV-induced formation of ZnCd quantum dots (QDs) with a quantum yield of up to 47% was shown to occur 5 min after UV exposure of the solution containing Zn(II) and Cd(II) in the presence of a thiol capping agent. In addition to QDs formation, xanthine activity was observed in the solution. The role of solar radiation to induce ZnCd QDs formation was replicated during a stratospheric balloon flight.


Adults with chronic granulomatous disease of childhood (CGD) have been described who remain relatively free of infection despite markedly abnormal neutrophil function. Monocyte function in four adults with this mild or atypical CGD syndrome was examined and compared to that of normal controls and to that of two patients with the more severe or classic CGD syndrome. Monocytes from patients with atypical CGD killed 75.7% +/- 2.6% (mean +/- SEM) of ingested organisms at 30 min, while monocytes from the patients with classic CGD killed only 50.3% +/- 4.2% of bacteria (p less than 0.001). The difference in bactericidal activity between atypical CGD monocytes and normal monocytes was relatively small (75.7% +/- 2.6% versus 88.1% +/- 3.7%, respectively) but was statistically significant (p = 0.007). Monocytes from both atypical and classic CGD patients showed markedly impaired oxidative metabolism. Differences in monocyte bactericidal activity may explain why atypical CGD patients have fewer infections than classic CGD patients. The presence of nonoxidative bactericidal mechanisms in atypical CGD monocytes is suggested by the demonstration of bactericidal activity despite severe oxidative metabolic defects.


The interplay between p53 and RAS signaling regulates cancer chemoresistance, but the detailed mechanism is unclear. In this study, we investigated the interactive effects of p53 and RAS on ovarian cancer cisplatin resistance to explore the potential therapeutic targets. Methods: An inducible p53 and RAS mutants active in either MAPK/ERK (S35 and E38) or PI3K/AKT (C40) or both (V12) were sequentially introduced into a p53-null ovarian cancer cell line-SKOV3. Comparative microarray analysis was performed using Gene Chip Prime View Human Gene Expression arrays (Affymetrix). In vitro assays of autophagy and apoptosis and in vivo animal experiments were performed by p53 induction and/or cisplatin treatment using the established cell lines. The correlation between HDAC4 and HIF-1α or CREBZF and the association of HDAC4, HIF-1α, CREBZF, ERK, AKT, and p53 mRNA levels with patient survival in 523 serous ovarian cancer cases from TCGA was assessed. Results: We show that p53 and RAS mutants differentially control cellular apoptosis and autophagy to inhibit or to promote chemoresistance through dysregulation of Bax, Bcl2, ATG3, and ATG12. ERK and AKT active RAS mutants are mutually suppressive to confer or to deprive cisplatin resistance. Further studies demonstrate that p53 induces HIF-1α degradation and HDAC4 cytoplasmic translocation and phosphorylation. S35, E38, and V12 but not C40 promote HDAC4 phosphorylation and its cytoplasmic translocation along with HIF-1α. Wild-type p53 expression in RAS mutant cells enhances HIF-1α turnover in ovarian and lung cancer cells. Autophagy and anti-apoptotic processes can be promoted by the overexpression and cytoplasmic translocation of HDAC4 and HIF1-α. Moreover, the phosphorylation and cytoplasmic translocation of HDAC4 activate the transcription factor CREBZF to promote ATG3 transcription. High HDAC4 or CREBZF expression predicted poor overall survival (OS) and/or progression-free survival (PFS) in ovarian cancer patients, whereas high HIF-1α expression was statistically correlated with poor or good OS depending on p53 status. Conclusion: HIF-1α and HDAC4 may mediate the interaction between p53 and RAS signaling to actively control ovarian cancer cisplatin resistance through dysregulation of apoptosis and autophagy. Targeting HDAC4, HIF-1α and CREBZF may be considered in treatment of ovarian cancer with p53 and RAS mutations.


Understanding of ectomycorrhiza functioning has been slowed down by less investigations of this symbiotic association at the molecular level. In this study, the possible role of a specific fungal aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) in the host-specific mutual symbiosis between the basidiomycete fungus Tricholoma vaccinum and its compatible host plant spruce (Picea abies) was investigated. Also, the involvement of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in ectomycorrhiza formation, which has been controversially observed and discussed in literature, was investigated in detail. As a first step, the ectomycorrhiza-specifically expressed gene ald1 was isolated from T. vaccinum. Sequence analysis showed that the ORF of ald1 is interrupted by 16 introns. The conceptually translated protein, Ald1, of 502 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 53 kDa was subsequently confirmed by Western blotting. An alignment of Ald1 with other 53 specific fungal ALDHs, representing all major phyla in the kingdom of fungi, was used to reinvestigate the evolutionary relationships in this enzyme family. The phylogenetic reconstruction, under Bayesian inference, revealed that, with the exception of chytridiomycota, fungal ALDHs, which clustered in distinct taxonomic groups in the phylogram, underwent two major duplication events during evolution resulting in multiple ALDH paralogs, with specifically high number of paralogs in higher fungi. Stress Response Elements (STREs) were observed in the promoter region of ald1, suggesting a possible role of stress induction for this gene. This prompted us to investigate the possible aldehyde- and alcohol-mediated stress induction of ald1 expression by real time RT-PCR, which revealed significantly increased gene expression upon addition of 0.1 mM indole-3-acetaldehyde (IAAld), 0.1 mM benzaldehyde or 0.01% ethanol. Furthermore, heterologous expression of ald1 in Escherichia coli and subsequent in vitro enzyme activity assay demonstrated the oxidation of various aldehydes with different kinetics using both NAD+ and NADP+ as cofactors. In order to understand the biological function of this gene in T. vaccinum, it was overexpressed in the fungus using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT). Functional analysis showed that Ald1-overproducing transformants significantly reduced ethanol stress. These results unequivocally demonstrated the ability of Ald1 to circumvent ethanol stress, a critical function in ectomycorrhizal habitats. In addition, the induction of ald1 expression by IAAld suggests that the gene might be involved, at least partly, in production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA).


To find out whether the epithelial anchoring system shows any alterations in lichen planus, we examined the distribution of type VII collagen, alpha 6 beta 4 integrin, and kalinin in lesions of lichen planus. These molecules were chosen because they are structural components of anchoring fibrils, hemidesmosome-associated complexes, and anchoring filaments. The localization of type VII collagen in lichen planus was strikingly different from that in nonaffected mucosa or dermis or in other mucocutaneous lesions. In the normal mucosa, type VII collagen was localized only at the basement membrane zone. In lichen planus, type VII collagen was present not only in the basement membrane area but also in streaked patterns deep in the connective tissue. The hemidesmosome-associated complex, alpha 6 beta 4 integrin, was localized at the basal aspect of basal epithelial cells of nonaffected sites, but was diffuse and discontinuous in lichen planus lesions. Most of the basal keratinocytes, however, stained for this integrin. Kalinin staining was discontinuous in lichen planus lesions. Often, finger-like projections of kalinin staining were found protruding into the connective tissue stroma. Kalinin was localized at the basement membrane zone of the nonaffected tissue and other mucocutaneous lesions. These results indicate that in cutaneous and mucosal lichen planus, the epithelial anchoring system is disturbed.


Refugee Action aims to widen access to free, appropriate, good quality immigration advice, and to support and work strategically with community-based advice providers. The Frontline Immigration Advice Project (FIAP) project ultimately benefits migrants and refugees who need to understand their options and make informed decisions about their futures. This presentation reports on progress in the evaluation of the project's delivery of online training for immigration advisers in organisations across the UK.

The presentation provides an overview of the FIAP and presents the life-cycle approach to evaluation, describing how it will produce evidence-based indications of successes, issues and lessons learnt. It further discusses key issues related to capacity building in the not-for-profit sector e.g. changing legislation, high number of volunteers, mobility of practitioners, cuts in funding. The evaluation is being conducted by academic staff from the Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University and is due to complete in 2019.


A delta is a type of sedimentary system that is closely related to oil and gas. Shallow-lake delta deposits in the Mesozoic-Cenozoic strata of China are of particular interest. This delta has significant oil and gas reserves that are developed widely. Based on a numerical simulation of the sand body of the shallow-lake delta, this study analyzes the influence of various sediment conditions on the sand-body development. The formation and distribution rules of the sand body are concluded and verified, and the results can effectively guide the exploration and development of oil and gas resources. Unlike traditional flume experiments, this study adopts sediment numerical simulation technology. This approach is borrowed from the advanced achievements of computational fluid dynamics, and Delft3D is used to establish a three-dimensional numerical model of the delta. The calculation field was 20.5 km in length by 10 km in width. With the Mor-Factor set to 60, the simulation time was 45 days. The formation and the avulsion of the mouth bar, as well as the extension, migration and bifurcation of distributary channels, have been observed and studied through analysis of the simulation results. The vertical cross-section shows that the distributary channel was filled multiple times. According to distributary channel evolution characteristics combined with quantitative methods, the terminal distributary channels can be extremely developed under ideal conditions. Due to the cross-cutting and reform effort of distributary channels, sediments were spread widely and continuously. The results show that the numerical model works well in explaining the process of evolution in fluvial-dominated delta distributary channels. This study not only enables us to quantitatively understand the dynamic processes of terminal distributary channels in fluvial-dominated delta systems, but also provides a reference model for numerical simulation of hydrodynamics in sedimentology study.


This paper investigates the effectiveness of a passive tuned mass damper (TMD) and fuzzy controller in reducing the structural responses subject to the external force. In general, TMD is good for linear systems. We proposed here an approach of Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy controller to deal with the nonlinear system. To overcome the effect of modeling error between nonlinear multiple time-delay systems and T-S fuzzy models, a robustness design of fuzzy control via model-based approach is proposed in this paper. A stability criterion in terms of Lyapunov's direct method is derived to guarantee the stability of nonlinear multiple time-delay interconnected systems. Based on the decentralized control scheme and this criterion, a set of model-based fuzzy controllers is then synthesized via the technique of parallel distributed compensation (PDC) to stabilize the nonlinear multiple time-delay interconnected system and the H/sup /spl infin// control performance is achieved at the same time. Finally, the proposed methodology is illustrated by an example of a nonlinear TMD system.


Introduction: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a malignant proliferative disease affecting the bone marrow hematopoietic system and has a poor long-term outcome. Exploring genes that affect the malignant proliferation of AML cells can facilitate the accurate diagnosis and treatment of AML. Studies have confirmed that circular RNA (circRNA) is positively correlated with its linear gene expression. Therefore, by exploring the effect of SH3BGRL3 on the malignant proliferation of leukemia, we further studied the role of circRNA produced by its exon cyclization in the occurrence and development of tumors. Methods: Genes with protein-coding function obtained from the TCGA database. we detected the expression of SH3BGRL3 and circRNA_0010984 by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). We synthesized plasmid vectors and carried out cell experiments, including cell proliferation, cell cycle and cell differentiation by cell transfection. We also studied the transfection plasmid vector (PLVX-SHRNA2-PURO) combined with a drug (daunorubicin) to observe the therapeutic effect. The miR-375 binding site of circRNA_0010984 was queried using the circinteractome databases, and the relationship was validated by RNA immunoprecipitation and Dual-luciferase reporter assay. Finally, a protein‐protein interaction network was constructed with a STRING database. GO and KEGG functional enrichment identified mRNA-related functions and signaling pathways regulated by miR-375. Results: We identified the related gene SH3BGRL3 in AML and explored the circRNA_0010984 produced by its cyclization. It has a certain effect on the disease progression. In addition, we verified the function of circRNA_0010984. We found that circSH3BGRL3 knockdown specifically inhibited the proliferation of AML cell lines and blocked the cell cycle. We then discussed the related molecular biological mechanisms. CircSH3BGRL3 acts as an endogenous sponge for miR-375 to isolate miR-375 and inhibits its activity, increases the expression of its target YAP1, and ultimately activates the Hippo signaling pathway involved in malignant tumor proliferation. Discussion: We found that SH3BGRL3 and circRNA_0010984 are important to AML. circRNA_0010984 was significantly up-regulated in AML and promoted cell proliferation by regulating miR-375 through molecular sponge action.


This paper provides an analysis of two machine learning algorithms, density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) and the local outlier factor (LOF), applied in the detection of outliers in the context of a continuous framework for the detection of points of interest (PoI). This framework has as input mobile trajectories of users that are continuously fed to the framework in close to real time. Such frameworks are today still in their infancy and highly required in large-scale sensing deployments, e.g., Smart City planning deployments, where individual anonymous trajectories of mobile users can be useful to better develop urban planning. The paper's contributions are twofold. Firstly, the paper provides the functional design for the overall PoI detection framework. Secondly, the paper analyses the performance of DBSCAN and LOF for outlier detection considering two different datasets, a dense and large dataset with over 170 mobile phone-based trajectories and a smaller and sparser dataset, involving 3 users and 36 trajectories. Results achieved show that LOF exhibits the best performance across the different datasets, thus showing better suitability for outlier detection in the context of frameworks that perform PoI detection in close to real time.


Industrial production of bioethanol from lignocellulosic materials (LCM′s) is reliant on a microorganism being tolerant to the stresses inherent to fermentation. Previous work has highlighted the importance of a cytochrome oxidase chaperone gene (COX20) in improving yeast tolerance to acetic acid, a common inhibitory compound produced during pre-treatment of LCM's. The presence of acetic acid has been shown to induce oxidative stress and programmed cell death, so the role of COX20 in oxidative stress was determined. Analysis using flow cytometry revealed that COX20 expression was associated with reduced levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in hydrogen peroxide and metal-induced stress, and there was a reduction in apoptotic and necrotic cells when compared with a strain without COX20. Results on the functionality of COX20 have revealed that overexpression of COX20 induced respiratory growth in Δimp1 and Δcox18, two genes whose presence is essential for yeast respiratory growth. COX20 also has a role in protecting the yeast cell against programmed cell death.


We develop a simple algorithmic framework to solve large-scale symmetric positive definite linear systems. At its core, the framework relies on two components: (1) a norm-convergent iterative method (i.e., smoother) and (2) a preconditioner. The resulting preconditioner, which we refer to as a combined preconditioner, is much more robust and efficient than the iterative method and preconditioner when used in Krylov subspace methods. We prove that the combined preconditioner is positive definite and show estimates on the condition number of the preconditioned system. We combine an algebraic multigrid method and an incomplete factorization preconditioner to test the proposed framework on problems in petroleum reservoir simulation. Our numerical experiments demonstrate noticeable speed-up when we compare our combined method with the stand-alone algebraic multigrid method or the incomplete factorization preconditioner.


Predatory diving birds, such as cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae), have been generally regarded as visually guided pursuit foragers. However, due to their poor visual resolution underwater, it has recently been hypothesized that Great Cormorants do not in fact employ a pursuit-dive foraging technique. They appear capable of detecting typical prey only at short distances, and primarily use a foraging technique in which prey may be detected only at close quarters or flushed from a substratum or hiding place. In birds, visual field parameters, such as the position and extent of the region of binocular vision, and how these are altered by eye movements, appear to be determined primarily by feeding ecology. Therefore, to understand further the feeding technique of Great Cormorants we have determined retinal visual fields and eye movement amplitudes using an ophthalmoscopic reflex technique. We show that visual fields and eye movements in cormorants exhibit close similarity with those of other birds, such as herons (Ardeidae) and hornbills (Bucerotidae), which forage terrestrially typically using a close-quarter prey detection or flushing technique and/or which need to examine items held in the bill before ingestion. We argue that this visual field topography and associated eye movements is a general characteristic of birds whose foraging requires the detection of nearby mobile prey items from within a wide arc around the head, accurate capture of that prey using the bill, and visual examination of the caught prey held in the bill. This supports the idea that cormorants, although visually guided predators, are not primarily pursuit predators, and that their visual fields exhibit convergence towards a set of characteristics that meet the perceptual challenges of close-quarter prey detection or flush foraging in both aquatic and terrestrial environments.


INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Although relapses after radiotherapy are common in prostate cancer (PCa) patients, there are no clinical models or markers to identify patients at high risk for radioresistance. So far, only in vitro studies and xenograft models have been performed to identify gene expression patterns associated with radioresistance. However, studies which address the protein pattern to predict radioresistance in humans are completely missing. In order to determine potential biomarkers for radioresistance, we compared protein expression profiles of radioresistant PCa patients with PCa of primary prostatectomized patients. METHODS: Two study groups consisting of: I) 30 patients who were treated by salvage prostatectomy and II) 94 patients treated by primary prostatectomy were formed. Tissue microarrays were constructed and immunostained for 15 proteins which are suggested to be associated with radioresistance by in vitro findings. Kruskal-Wallis test was used for multiple group comparison and followed by Dunn-Bonferroni-Test to detect intergroup differences. Cohen's d was used to calculate the intergroup effect size RESULTS: Most proteins studied did not show any relevant differences between radioresistant PCa and primary PCa, except for two (AR and AKR1C3). On comparing immunostaining patterns between radioresistant PCa and primary PCa separated by Gleason risk groups, we observed only AR (androgen receptor) to be most expressed in radioresistant PCa (89.7%) and, in 87.8% of primary PCa of the high-risk group ( > 7a) (p = 0.851, Cohen's d = 0.05), while only 67.3% PCa of the low-risk group (⩽7a) (p = 0.017, Cohen's d = 0.55) were positive. Considering the highest Gleason pattern per patient, only AKR1C3 (Aldo-Keto Reductase Family 1 Member C3) was seen to be similarly expressed in radiation-resistant PCa and patients with Gleason patterns 4 and 5 (p = 0.827, Cohen's d = 0.05 and p = 0.893, Cohen's d = 0.10) as compared to Gleason pattern 3 (p = 0.20, Cohen's d = 0.69) in primary PCa. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study evaluating protein expression profiles to predict radioresistance in PCa, where AR and AKR1C3 were identified to be the most promising protein markers. Source of Funding: none


Abstract Contemporary research has shown that a significant portion of gay men have traits, interests, occupations, and behaviors that are consistent with the stereotype of gay men as effeminate, androgynous, or unmasculine. A great number of gay men exhibit gender nonconformity during childhood; most, however, "defeminize" during adolescence, possibly in response to stigmatization and society's gender-role prescription. Only a relatively small percentage of gay men continue to be gender-nonconforming in their adulthood, often at a price, as they also tend to have lower psychological well-being. Although gay culture historically appreciated camp and drag, which subvert the gender-based power hierarchy and celebrate gender nonconformity, anti-effeminacy prejudice is widespread among gay men. Ironically, gender-nonconforming gay men may suffer from discrimination not only from society at large, but from other gay men, who are most likely to have experienced stigmatization and may have been effeminate earlier in their lives. Drawing from anecdotes and findings from various sources, this article suggests that beyond many gay men's erotic preference for masculinity lies contempt and hostility toward effeminacy and effeminate men on sociopolitical and personal levels. Two correlates of gay men's anti-effeminacy attitudes are proposed: (a) hegemonic masculinity ideology, or the degree to which one subscribes to the value system in which masculinity is an asset, and men and masculinity are considered superior to women and femininity; and (b) masculinity consciousness, or the saliency of masculinity in one's self-monitoring, public self-consciousness, and self-concept. These two variables are hypothesized to interact with gay men's self-perceived masculinity-femininity and their history of defeminization in predicting attitudes toward effeminacy. Research is underway to measure levels of anti-effeminacy attitudes and explore hypothesized correlates.


We present an overview and simulation results for the time and optionally also frequency synchronisation of cells in the UTRA TDD system. The method shown is in the process of being standardised for the Rel-4 in the 3GPP TSG RAN group. It is based on infrequent transmission of special synchronisation bursts over the air interface. The receive timing of these transmissions is measured by neighbouring cells and reported to the RNC (radio network controller), which in turn transmits timing updates to the cells. The overall control lies within the RNC which also computes the receive and transmit schedule for all cells. It is shown that a synchronisation accuracy of 100 ns can be achieved within a start-up time of approx. 400 seconds.