BACKGROUND
Deterioration associated with aging in the erect posture and balance to change the location of the center increased the rate of fall in older age is one of the reasons. Loss of muscle strength is one of the major factors affecting the posture. In this prospective, randomized and controlled study, it was aimed to investigate the effectiveness of strengthening postural muscles through electrostimulation or by applying biofeedback exercises with static posturography in patients aged 60 years and over with balance disorder.

METHODS
Patients aged between 60-80 years, who applied to Istanbul Faculty of Medicine Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department outpatient clinic and had been diagnosed with balance disorder using the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, were included. 250 patients were screened, from them 67 patients were enrolled and 57 of them completed the study. Patients were randomized to three groups. The patients in Tetrax® group (TG) group (n:18) participated in a 15-minute exercise with Tetrax® which consisted of 15 minutes exercise session 3 times weekly for 4 weeks. The patients in EG group (n:19) received an electrostimulation program of postural muscles of 40 minutes per session 3 times weekly for 4 weeks. Patients in the control group (n:20) did 6-week balance exercises which were performed by other groups as well. 48 out of 57 patients attended the 6th-month control. As determinants of balance status Timed Up and Go Test (TUG), Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and Fall Index measured by Tetrax® were calculated at baseline, 1-month and 6-month follw up assesments. The patient's quality of life was assesed by Turkish version of World Health Organisation Quality of Life Questionnaire in Older Adults (WHOQOL-OLD.TR) at baseline and 6-month follow up assesments.

RESULTS
TUG values in both EG and TG decreased significantly between baseline assesment and 1-month (mean differences for TG: -4,00 ± 1,309 and EG -2,588 ± 1,839 p= 0,002 for the each of groups) and baseline assesment and 6-month (mean differences for TG: -2,933± 1,223 and EG -2,058 ± 1,477 p= 0,003 for the each of groups). A significant increase was determined in BBS values between baseline and 1-month (mean differences for TG: 4.000 ± 2,360 and EG: 3,529 ± 2,672 p= 0,031 for the each of groups). Fall Index (FI) measured by Tetrax® decreased between baseline assesment and 1-month (p= 0,185), and 6-month (p= 0,086) respectively, also between 1-month and 6-month follow up assesments (p= 0,627), but all of them were not significant changes. In all three groups the quality of life (p= 0,951) improved. Exercises conducted with Tetrax® were more effective than electrostimulation of postural muscles in increasing TUG values and decreasing BBS values.

CONCLUSIONS
Even though applying electrostimulation to postural muscles affected patients positively compared to pre-treatment, exercises performed with Tetrax® were more effective than the electrostimulation protocol to postural muscles in reducing balance disorder and this well-being continued even in the 6th month.


Basins worldwide exhibit an unexpected degree of hydrologic segregation. There can be regions of a sedimentary basin that are isolated from their surroundings by a relatively thin envelope of low-permeability rock with an interior of sufficiently high permeability to maintain a consistent internal hydrostatic fluid pressure gradient. These have been named pressure compartments. Presure compartments have several remarkable features, just one of which is that internal fluid pressures can greatly exceed or be significantly less than any regional topographically controlled hydrologic head or drain. This publication contains 30 chapters that take detailed looks at pressure compartments in general, and detail case studies of these compartments in specific basins, such as the Anadarko and Gulf of Mexico. The volume also looks at other considerations in sedimentary basins such as hydrodynamic and thermal characteristics, and mechanical properties of rock.


A general correlation of vapor-liquid equilibria in hydrocarbon mixtures is developed. The vaporization equilibrium ratio (K-value) is calculated through a combination of three factors

The quantity ν0 is a pure liquid component property and is correlated within the framework of Pitzer's modified form of the principle of corresponding states. The quantity γ is calculated from Hildebrand's equation, with regular liquid solutions assumed. The necessary parameters in this equation are specially determined for the very light components. The vapor state quantity ϕ is calculated from Redlich and Kwong's equation of state. The correlation is in the form of a compact set of equations which are especially suitable for application with an electronic digital computer.

The correlation applies to hydrocarbons of various molecular types, including paraffins, olefins, aromatics, and naphthenes. Hydrogen in hydrocarbon mixtures is likewise correlated. The correlation has been tested with a systematic compilation of literature data on mixtures of these components. The over-all average deviation from 2,696 data points is 8.7%.


Abstract— The potential hazard of a meteorite impact in the ocean is controversial with respect to the destructive power of generated large ocean waves (tsunamis). We used numerical modeling of hypervelocity impact to investigate the generation mechanism and the characteristics of the resulting waves up to a distance of 100–150 projectile radii. The wave signal is primarily controlled by the ratio between projectile diameter and water depth, and can be roughly classified into deep‐water and shallow‐water impacts. In the latter, the collapse of the crater rim results in a wave signal similar to solitary waves, which propagate and decay in agreement with shallow‐water wave theory. The much more likely scenario for an asteroid impact on Earth is a relatively small body (much smaller than the water depth) striking the deep sea. In this case, the collapse of the transient crater results in a significantly different and much more complex wave signal that is characterized by strong nonlinear behavior. We found that such waves decay much more rapidly than previously assumed and cannot be treated as long waves. For this reason, the shallow‐water theory is not applicable for the computation of wave propagation, and more complex models (full solution of the Boussinesq equations) are required.


Allosteric coupling describes a reciprocal process whereby G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) relay ligand-induced conformational changes from the extracellular binding pocket to the intracellular signaling surface. Therefore, GPCR activation is sensitive to both the type of extracellular ligand and intracellular signaling protein. We hypothesized that ligand-specific allosteric coupling may result in preferential (i.e., biased) engagement of downstream effectors. However, the structural basis underlying ligand-dependent control of this essential allosteric mechanism is poorly understood. Here, we show that two sets of extended muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M1 agonists, which only differ in linker length, progressively constrain receptor signaling. We demonstrate that stepwise shortening of their chemical linker gradually hampers binding pocket closure, resulting in divergent coupling to distinct G-protein families. Our data provide an experimental strategy for the design of ligands with selective G-protein recognition and reveal a potentially general mechanism of ligand-specific allosteric coupling.


The incidence of meningoencephalitis in developing countries is high and its diagnosis being inadequate as it is mainly based on conventional methods with a limited diagnostic capacity for bacterial, fungal and viral detection. This results in prescription of a cocktail of antibiotics, antifungal, or anti-viral drugs, since the causative agent is often unknown. There is therefore need for timely and appropriate diagnosis to guide treatment. This study aims at evaluating the utility of molecular diagnostic over conventional methods in detection of etiologic agents of central nervous system infections in Rwanda. Using a cross sectional design, 845 hospitalized patients suspected to have meningoencephalitis were enrolled from 8 study sites across the country. Four sterile tubes of Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF) specimens were collected from each patient. Two tubes were analyzed on site for bacteriology, fungal, biochemistry and cytology while the other two were transported to the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for culture and Real-Time Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assays. Data entry and analysis was done using Epi Info7, Excel; SPSS and STATA16. In the study, no viruses were detected using the conventional methods while a range of viruses, 152/845 (18%) were detected using real time multiplex PCR. In addition, 185/845 (22%) samples were detected as positive for different types of bacteria using the PCR compared with the 59/845(7%) that were positive using conventional methods. There was however no difference in the detection capacity of fungal agents between the two methods with a detection level of 6% (49). This study has shown increased capacity for detection of bacterial and viral causative agents of Central Nervous System (CNS) infections using RT multiplex PCR compared with conventional methods. This result facilitated the development of a novel algorithm for both conventional and molecular diagnostic methods for CNS infections.

 Key words:  Meningoencephalitis, RT- Multiplex PCR, conventional methods, causative agents, diagnostic capacity, cerebral spinal fluid.


Fossil fuel is the main energy resources of the world. About 80-90% of its primary energy need to supply by oil, coal, natural gas, and oil shale [1]. These energy resources will also be of importance in the future but non-renewable and cause problems to the environment as a result of their relatively high amount of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and other environmentally harmful emissions. We are investigating to look for alternative energy resources which are clean, safe, and long-term reliable. Thermoelectricity is one of the renewable energy resources that has been widely investigated and is expected to be feasible in the near future. Moreover, it is a clean energy generation, since it can directly convert heat to electrical energy by using non-polluting thermoelectric devices. These are reasons for the growing interest in further research and development of the thermoelectric technology. The search for new thermoelectric materials is important that the transition metal oxides were interested such as p-type Ca3Co4O9 [2-7] and n-type CaMnO3 [8-12]. There have been synthesized using different techniques in the form of powder and bulk. However, the doped metals have been expected to be one of the candidates for good thermoelectric materials, including thermoelectric module consists of two or more materials of p-type and n-type [13-15]. Recently, the thermoelectric module is also being used as the thermoelectric generators, thermoelectric coolers, etc. [16-17].


From Aboriginal writing to Margaret Atwood, this is a complete English-language history of Canadian writing in English and French from its beginnings. The multi-authored volume pays special attention to works from the 1960s and after, to multicultural and Indigenous writing, popular literature, and the interaction of anglophone and francophone cultures throughout Canadian history. Established genres such as ûction, drama, and poetry are discussed alongside forms of writing which have traditionally received less attention, such as the essay, nature-writing, life-writing, journalism, and comics, and also writing in which the conventional separation between genres has broken down, such as the poetic novel.Written by an international team of distinguished scholars, the volume includes a separate, substantial section discussing major genres in French, as well as a detailed chronology of historical and literary/ cultural events, and an extensive bibliography covering criticism in English and French.


In 2008-09, the mining sales value in Western Australia (WA) was AUD71.3 billion 1. The resource industry continues to generate significant infrastructure investment and supply expansion developments in remote and arid regions of the state. The sector is also a major driver of liquid fuel demand growth, and currently represents approximately 40% of total transport fuel use, and around 60% (more than 2,000 ML) of diesel consumption in WA each year 1. The gas and electricity supply interruptions from the June 3 2008 Varanus Island gas facility explosion led to temporary production cuts in several major resource operations 2, and subsequently lead to a focus on diversifying to an increasingly indigenous clean energy supply portfolio 3. The potential of microalgae technology to address such energy, carbon (C) emissions, within a limited water context in the energy intensive Australian resource industry is substantial. However, there is much research and development investment required for microalgal bioenergy, biosequestration, and water use efficiencies to be integrated into resource production streams. This work explores microalgal biological capacity in the region, microalgal technological developments to date, and the synergies required for microalgae production developments to generate cost-effective and robust returns in the demanding resource industry in the remote and arid mining context.


The disordered nature of glass-forming melts gives rise to non-Arrhenius and non-exponential behaviour of their dynamics. With respect to the microscopic details involved in the structural relaxation, these materials have remained an unsolved puzzle for over a century. The observation of spatial heterogeneity regarding the dynamics provides an important step towards understanding the relation between the macroscopic properties of soft condensed matter and the molecular mechanisms involved. On the other hand, dynamic heterogeneity is the source of several new questions: What is the length scale and persistence time associated with such clusters of relaxation time? What is the signature of heterogeneity at high temperatures and in the glassy state? How do these features depend on the particular material and on the correlation function used for probing these heterogeneities? This work attempts to review the various approaches to heterogeneous dynamics and the generally accepted results, as well as some controversial issues. Undoubtedly, heterogeneity has provoked a number of novel experimental techniques targeted at studying glass-forming liquids at the molecular level. It will be emphasized that the picture of heterogeneity is a requirement for rationalizing an increasing number of experimental observations rather than just an alternative model for the dynamics of molecules.


Determining the visual fidelity of an image is a fundamental problem in computer graphics. When is an image good enough; i.e. when does it convey a convincing representation of a scene? Most graphics algorithms either aim to compute a physically accurate solution matching the real world, or they leave judgments of fidelity entirely up to the end user. The former is often computationally intractable, and the latter is ad-hoc since it cannot be generalized or predicted.
In this dissertation, we chart a new course between these two approaches. We propose visual equivalence, a new standard of image fidelity that focuses on what is visually important to the observer: the appearance of the scene, consisting of impressions of shapes, materials, and lighting. Under visual equivalence, an image with noticeable, pixel-by-pixel differences from a perfect reference can still be a high fidelity representation of the same scene, provided it conveys the same impression of scene appearance. This appearance-preserving standard is, to our knowledge, the first approach to image fidelity that permits judgments of this kind.
We present an end-to-end psychophysical and algorithmic investigation of visual equivalence, and its impact on scene modeling and rendering in computer graphics. For natural illumination, we measure the degree to which representations of lighting can be approximated or manipulated without affecting object appearance, and demonstrate how the resulting metrics can motivate new algorithms resulting in improved speedup and compression for rendering. For complex aggregate geometry, we investigate how different combinations of object shapes and colors affect appearance, and derive thresholds that can be used to reduce scene complexity. Finally, for texture, we describe how texture synthesis can be characterized in terms of visual equivalence, and present an efficient synthesis algorithm for a range of constrained synthesis applications, including the synthesis of visually equivalent detail to enhance low-resolution images.
This research takes some important first steps into a large new space in perceptually based rendering and modeling, which can address the challenges of future complex scenes in computer graphics.


This tutorial review considers how the fundamental quantized properties associated with charge transport and storage, particularly in molecular films, are linked in a manner that spans nanoscale electronics, electrochemistry, redox switching, and derived nanoscale sensing. Through this analysis, and by considering the basic principles of chemical reactivity, we show that 'dry' electronic and 'wet' electrochemical characteristics align within a generalized theoretical capacitative framework that connects charge conductance and electron transfer rate. Finally, we discuss the application of these joint theoretical concepts to key developments in nanosensors.


OF THESIS AUTOMATIC DETECTION OF SLEEP AND WAKE STATES IN MICE USING PIEZOELECTRIC SENSORS Currently technologies such as EEG, EMG and EOG recordings are the established methods used in the analysis of sleep. But if these methods are to be employed to study sleep in rodents, extensive surgery and recovery is involved which can be both time consuming and costly. This thesis presents and analyzes a cost effective, non-invasive, high throughput system for detecting the sleep and wake patterns in mice using a piezoelectric sensor. This sensor was placed at the bottom of the mice cages to monitor the movements of the mice. The thesis work included the development of the instrumentation and signal acquisition system for recording the signals critical to sleep and wake classification. Classification of the mouse sleep and wake states were studied for a linear classifier and a Neural Network classifier based on 23 features extracted from the Power Spectrum (PS), Generalized Spectrum (GS), and Autocorrelation (AC) functions of short data intervals. The testing of the classifiers was done on two data sets collected from two mice, with each data set having around 5 hours of data. A scoring of the sleep and wake states was also done via human observation to aid in the training of the classifiers. The performances of these two classifiers were analyzed by looking at the misclassification error of a set of test features when run through a classifier trained by a set of training features. The best performing features were selected by first testing each of the 23 features individually in a linear classifier and ranking them according to their misclassification rate. A test was then done on the 10 best individually performing features where they were grouped in all possible combinations of 5 features to determine the feature combinations leading to the lowest error rates in a multi feature classifier. From this test 5 features were eventually chosen to do the classification. It was found that the features related to the signal energy and the spectral peaks in the 3Hz range gave the lowest errors. Error rates as low as 4% and 9% were achieved from a 5-feature linear classifier for the two data sets. The error rates from a 5-feature Neural Network classifier were found to be 6% and 12% respectively for these two data sets.


The startling rise of Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways has reshaped global aviation markets around the three hubs of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha as the Gulf airlines have developed into what the Economist magazine has labelled "global super-connectors" capable of connecting any two points in the world with one stopover in the Gulf. Can the Gulf can sustain three aggressively expanding airlines within such a concentrated region (and market)?


Current literature suggests associations between abnormal mineral metabolism (MM) to cardiovascular disease in dialysis populations, with conflicting results. MM physiology is complex; therefore, it was hypothesized that constellations of MM parameters, reflecting this complexity, would be predictive of mortality and that this effect would be modified by dialysis duration (DD). Prevalent dialysis patients in British Columbia, Canada, who had measurements of calcium (Ca), phosphate (Pi), and parathyroid hormone (iPTH) between January and March 2000 were followed prospectively until December 2002. Statistical analysis included Cox proportional hazard models with Ca, Pi, and iPTH alone and in combination as explanatory variables; analyses were stratified by DD. The 515 patients included in this analysis represent British Columbia and Canadian dialysis populations: 69% were on hemodialysis, mean age was 60 +/- 17 yr, 40% were female, and 34% had diabetes. Mean Ca and Pi values were 2.32 +/- 0.22 mmol/L and 1.68 +/- 0.59 mmol/L, respectively, and median iPTH was 15.8 pmol/L (25th to 75th percentile: 6.9 to 37.3 pmol/L). Serum Pi, after adjusting for demographic, dialysis type and adequacy, hemoglobin, and albumin, independently predicted mortality (risk ratio [RR], 1.56 per 1 mmol/L; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.15 to 2.12; P = 0.004). When combinations of parameters were modeled (overall P = 0.003), the combinations of high serum Pi and Ca with high iPTH (RR, 3.71; 95% CI, 1.53 to 9.03; P = 0.004) and low iPTH (RR, 4.30; 95% CI, 2.01 to 9.22; P < 0.001) had highest risks for mortality as compared with the combination of high iPTH with normal serum Ca and Pi that had the lowest mortality and was used as index category. These effects varied across different strata of DD. This analysis demonstrates the importance of examining combinations of MM parameters as opposed to single variables alone and the effect of DD. In so doing, the complex interaction of time and MM can begin to be understand. Further exploration is required.


Extensive studies during the last 20 years have demonstrated that enzyme phenotypes, especially those of esterases, are species-specific for Meloidogyne and can be used as reliable taxonomic characters for identification of most major and several minor species of this genus. Recent progress in electrophoretic procedures and advanced computer technology have made available automated electrophoretic apparati that can process very thin polyacrylamide slab gels on which the phenotypes of two or more enzymes can be revealed from the protein extract of a single Meloidogyne female. Presently, such apparati facilitate objective species identification. They also are convenient for performing routine field surveys to determine the relative distribution of major Meloidogyne species, conducting population dynamics studies in the field and in microplots, and testing the purity of greenhouse cultures.


Continuous software engineering is a new trend that is gaining increasing attention of the research community in the last years. The main idea behind this trend is to tighten the connection between the software engineering lifecycle activities (e.g., development, planning, integration, testing, etc.). While the connection between development and integration (i.e., continuous integration) has been subject of research and is applied in industrial settings, the connection between other activities is still in a very early stage. We are contributing to this research topic by proposing our ideas towards connecting the software development and software release planning activities (i.e., continuous software release planning). In this paper we present our initial findings on this topic, how we envision to address the continuous software release planning, and a research agenda to fulfil our objectives.


This paper describes and analyzes a series of complementary policy initiatives in India to adapt and commercialize existing global biotechnologies to meet local needs in healthcare, agriculture, industry and the environment in a more affordable manner. This evolving approach has been implemented through six complementary elements, namely (1) translational research; (2) technology access through global consortia; (3) commercialization supported by public-private partnerships, broadly interpreted; (4) skills development; (5) regulation; and (6) institutional governance, including special purpose vehicles, for effective project management. The paper focuses on two public-private partnership initiatives, the Small Business Innovation Research Initiative and the Biotechnology Industry Partnership Program, which together have allocated more than US$70 million in public funding to almost 150 projects, contributing to a total public-private investment of more than $170 million over the past five years. The authors' key recommendation, to ensure effective resource use and better policy impact, is for these innovation-support initiatives to adopt more continuous monitoring with quicker feedback from learning to implementation, and more rigorous impact evaluation including approaches that allow the results of firms benefiting from support to be compared with an appropriate group of firms not benefiting from support.


As a part of an ongoing effort to develop computerized training tools for cryosurgery—the destruction of undesired tissues by freezing—the current study focuses on developing an efficient framework of applying a commercially available finite-element (FE) code to meet simulation runtime applicable to clinical training. Computerized training is focused on a minimally invasive procedure with prostate cryosurgery as a development model.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


We consider surfaces immersed in three-dimensional pseudohermitian manifolds. We define the notion of (p-)mean curvature and of the associated (p-)minimal surfaces, extending some concepts previously given for the (flat) Heisenberg group. We interpret the p-mean curvature not only as the tangential sublaplacian of a defining function, but also as the curvature of a characteristic curve, and as a quantity in terms of calibration geometry. As a differential equation, the p-minimal surface equation is degenerate (hyperbolic and elliptic). To analyze the singular set (i.e., the set where the (p-)area integrand vanishes), we formulate some extension theorems, which describe how the characteristic curves meet the singular set. This allows us to classify the entire solutions to this equation and to solve a Bernstein-type problem (for graphs over the xy-plane) in the Heisenberg group H1. In H1, identified with the Euclidean space R3, the p-minimal surfaces are classical ruled surfaces with the rulings generated by Legendrian lines. We also prove a uniqueness theorem for the Dirichlet problem under a condition on the size of the singular set in two dimensions, and generalize to higher dimensions without any size control condition. We also show that there are no closed, connected, C2 smoothly immersed constant p-mean curvature or p-minimal surfaces of genus greater than one in the standard S3. This fact continues to hold when S3 is replaced by a general pseudohermitian 3-manifold. Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 35L80 (primary); 35J70, 32V20, 53A10, 49Q10 (secondary).


: Downsizing of the workforce is now a reality in the rapidly changing healthcare environment. The effective manager must understand this complex subject and the able to identify its cause and effect relationship on the radiology department. The result of implementation can be new opportunities that will allow the manager to maximize what otherwise could be a negative aspect of the industry.


Aims Tourette syndrome (TS) is increasingly recognised as a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with a spectrum of behavioural problems. We conducted a case-control study to compare children's self-report measures of behavioural symptoms with their parents' ratings. Methods Our sample consisted of 28 patients (25 males; mean age 14.1 years; range 12.0–18.1 years) diagnosed with TS according to DSM-IV criteria, and a control group of 61 subjects randomly chosen among sex- and age-matched school peers. All parents completed the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and the Conners' Parents Rating Scales-R (CPRS-R) for ADHD; all children completed the Youth Self Report (the self assessment version of CBCL). We carried out the following comparisons: TS parents vs controls' parents (CBCL and CPRS-R); TS children vs control children (YSR); TS parents vs TS children (CBCL vs YSR), and controls' parents vs control children (CBCL vs YSR). Results Children with TS show higher scores on various subscales of the CBCL compared with control subjects (eg, Total Problems: 70.0±8.6 vs 49.1±8.9, p<0.001; Internalising Scale: 58.1±9.7 vs 51.9±9.4, p=0.005; Externalising Scale: 56.5±9.1 vs 47.2±8.1, p<0.001) and consider themselves more symptomatic than sex- and age-matched school peers on the YSR Problems and Competences Scales (eg, Problem Scales: Tought 53.0±4.6 vs 52.2±6.2, p=0.027; Attention 61.2±10.1 vs 54.0±6.2, p=0.001; Competence Scales: Total 42.9±10.2 vs 49.9±9.3, p=0.002; Social 46.0±7.2 vs 48.8±7.2, p=0.033; 2.3±0.6 vs 2.6±0.4, p=0.002). However, their own reports of behavioural problems are significantly lower than their parents' reports (eg, CBCL/YSR total scores: 53.4±11.2 vs 61.0±8.6, p=0.001). Conclusions Parents' ratings (CBCL) identify more behavioural symptoms than children's self-report measures (YSR). However, self-report measures such as the YSR are useful in highlighting the areas where children with TS feel more problematic than controls, including social interactions and relationships with peers.


Aspartame is a common artificial sweetener used today. It has a brand name NutraSweet® and Equal®, is produced by union of amino acids, aspartic acid and phenylalanine.It is widely used in many beverages and food while after metabolites in gastrointestinal tract it causes harmful effect to several organs specially the liver, as the liver considered as the largest organ in the abdomen and its function includes working with the pancreas and intestines to process, absorb food, filtering blood from the digestive tract and detoxification of drugs and alcohol. Ki-67 is a nuclear protein antigen which is related to and may be important for proliferation of cells. The aim ofthe study was to detectthe effect of aspartame on the hepatic tissue of male adult rats by noticing any histopathological change and also to observe the localization of Ki-67 protein after giving aspartame orally. Fiftymale albino ratsused in this study, they were divided into two groups: Group A 10 rats, were received distilled water and regarded as control. Group B 40 rats, administrated 40mg/Kg aspartame powder after dissolving it in 2ml distilled water orally daily for six weeks and regarded as treated group. After completion of the experimentthe animals were sacrificed. Piecesof liver were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin and embedded in paraffin wax. Sections, which were 4-5 micrometers thick, made then stained with haematoxylin and eosin for histo-pathological examination. Immunohistochemical examination was done by using Ki-67 antibody and the standard streptavidin-biotin immunoperoxidase method. In the treated group, the hepatic plates losttheir normal radial arrangement around central veins. The hepatocytes lost their polygonal shape and showed many cytoplasmic vacuoles of variable size; while the localization of Ki-67 was significantly increased in treated group rats.In conclusion receiving aspartame at a dose 40 mg/kg causes histopathological alterations of the hepatic tissues and leads to increase in the proliferation rate.


Two patients from a single institution presented for bilateral lesions of the caruncle. The first patient was a 12-year-old boy with bilateral caruncular lesions that had been present since birth and slowly growing. The second patient was a healthy 29-year-old woman with similar bilateral lesions. The lesions were excised in both patients, and histopathologic evaluation showed the lesions to be consistent with dermoid cysts. This case series is notable for the bilateral nature and caruncular origin of dermoid cysts in both patients


Background Cellular prion-related protein (PrPc) is a cell-surface protein that is ubiquitously expressed in the human body. The multifunctionality of PrPc, and presence of an exposed cationic and heparin-binding N-terminus, a feature characterizing many antimicrobial peptides, made us hypotesize that PrPc could exert antimicrobial activity. Methodology and Principal Findings Intact recombinant PrP exerted antibacterial and antifungal effects at normal and low pH. Studies employing recombinant PrP and N- and C-terminally truncated variants, as well as overlapping peptide 20mers, demonstrated that the antimicrobial activity is mediated by the unstructured N-terminal part of the protein. Synthetic peptides of the N-terminus of PrP killed the Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus, as well as the fungus Candida parapsilosis. Fluorescence studies of peptide-treated bacteria, paired with analysis of peptide effects on liposomes, showed that the peptides exerted membrane-breaking effects similar to those seen after treatment with the "classical" human antimicrobial peptide LL-37. In contrast to LL-37, however, no marked helix induction was detected for the PrP-derived peptides in presence of negatively charged (bacteria-mimicking) liposomes. PrP furthermore showed an inducible expression during wounding of human skin ex vivo and in vivo, as well as stimulation of keratinocytes with TGF-α in vitro. Conclusions The demonstration of an antimicrobial activity of PrP, localisation of its activity to the N-terminal and heparin-binding region, combined with results showing an increased expression of PrP during wounding, indicate that PrPs could have a previously undisclosed role in host defense.


The market for beer in Germany is special for many reasons, e.g. the purity law, the large number of breweries, or consumers who are highly loyal to local brands. To what extent brand loyalty affects spatial pricing strategies, is the main question of this article. We employ weekly retail scanner data for Germany from 2000 to 2001. We find that discounts are higher and offered more often the closer the brands are sold to the brewery they originate from. In addition, average prices are also lower on home markets. According to Anderson and Kumar (2007) this strategy is chosen because promotions generate new loyal customers who repay in periods of regular prices. Thus, loyalty of consumers may be endogenous. Alternatively, retailers use local beer brands as loss leaders, which can also explain the observed regional pricing strategies.


The aim of this research was to measure mRNA expression of porcine MYF6 (myogenic factor 6, also known in the medical literature as herculin and myogenic regulatory factor 4, MRF4) and to perform association study with meat quality traits as well as to unravel the transcriptional regulation of this gene by expression QTL (eQTL) study. For this purpose, Duroc × Pietrain F2 resource population (DuPi; n = 313) were used for association and eQTL study. The mRNA levels in Longissimus dorsi muscle tissue of MYF6 gene were evaluated by using qRT-PCR to identify association between gene expression and meat quality traits as well as to analyse eQTL. The mRNA expression of MYF6 associated with conductivity24L (P<0.01) and pH24L (P<0.1). Expression of MYF6 gene was higher in animals with high pH and conductivity of muscle. Linkage analysis using GridQTL revealed 4 trans-regulated eQTL on four porcine autosomes. Significant eQTL [P<0.01, CW (chromosome-wide)] were found for MYF6 on SSC2. A suggestive eQTL (P<0.05, CW) was identified on SSC8. These results revealed that gene expression of MYF6 associated with the meat quality traits and this gene could be potential functional candidate gene for meat quality traits in pigs. However, the analysis of eQTL also suggested that additional genes encoding for transcription factors (TF) could be considered, via fine-mapping underlying the eQTL peaks, in order to understand interaction among these genes.


Summary form only given. We present a case study of performance measurement and modeling of a CCA (common component architecture) component-based application in a high performance computing environment. Component-based HPC applications allow the possibility of creating component-level performance models and synthesizing them into application performance models. However, they impose the restriction that performance measurement/monitoring needs to be done in a nonintrusive manner and at a fairly coarse-grained level. We propose a performance measurement infrastructure for HPC based loosely on recent work done for grid environments. A prototypical implementation of the infrastructure is used to collect data for three components in a scientific application and construct their performance models. Both computational and message-passing performance are addressed.


A chapter by Christian Haberli on food security in Switzerland, published in: Tagungsband der 4. Luzerner Agrarrechtstage 2014 "Landwirtschaft und Verfassungsrecht Initiativen, Zielbestimmungen, rechtlicher Gehalt", pages 145-175. ISBN 978-3-03751-752-9 © Dike Verlag AG, Zurich/St. Gallen (2015) Food security is the first of three objectives enshrined in Article 104 of the Swiss Federal Constitution to which agricultural policy is expected to make a substantial contribution. A review of the instruments – high border protection, large domestic and a few export subsidies – shows, however, that the real objective of the present agricultural policy is in fact (Swiss) farm security. By the same token it impairs the contribution to Swiss food security of three related instruments i.e. trade, supply and development policies. The focus on family farm structures and landscape management even reduces the food production potential of Swiss farmers. The findings suggest (i) optimisation of food stockpile management by taxpayer contributions (instead of by consumers), (ii) a participation in virtual food security schemes (in analogy to the International Energy Agency), and (iii) efficiency improvements of Swiss farms through gradually increasing international competition. However, in the long run the WTO Green Box has the only legal, unlimited and effective tools to genuinely promote both Swiss agriculture and food security without a deleterious impact on food security in developing countries.


Platelets have a major role to play in cessation of bleeding and hemostasis and the studies in the recent past have led
 to a better understanding in identifying their functions in regulation of immune response, wound healing, osteogenesis,
 and angiogenesis and is a subject of great interest. It has been proved that plalelets play a crucial role in the formation
 of blood clot and release growth factors, thereby promoting and maintaining the process of wound healing. Platelet
 rich fibrin (PRF) is product derived of platelets from one's blood and when used either in its gel or liquid form,
 it enhances tissue repair. In the recent past, the PRF has been used extensively in various oral and maxillofacial
 surgical procedures successfully. We conducted a narrative review over the literature using electronic databases as;
 PUBMED, SCOPUS, Google Scholar studies involving data on platelet rich fibrin and its application in Oral and
 Maxillofacial Surgery. We reviewed the reference lists of included studies to find more relevant articles for additional
 evidence. It has been observed that PRF enhances the recovery and contributes to the post-operative healing and
 general well-being.


: Gallbladder polyps represent a frequent and asymptomatic finding on abdominal sonography. We describe the ultrasound features of an asymptomatic 13-mm gallbladder polyp in a 29-year-old male. Video-laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed, and histological examination of the lesion revealed a severely dysplastic tubular adenoma and chronic cholecystitis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a gallbladder polyp already presenting severe dysplasia in a young Caucasian male without risk factors.


Options for satellite monitoring of deforestation rates over large areas include the use of sampling. Sampling may reduce the cost of monitoring but is also a source of error in estimates of areas and rates. A common sampling approach is systematic sampling, in which sample units of a constant size are distributed in some regular manner, such as a grid. The proposed approach for the 2010 Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a systematic sample of 10 km wide squares at every 1° intersection of latitude and longitude. We assessed the outcome of this and other systematic samples for estimating deforestation at national, sub-national and continental levels. The study is based on digital data on deforestation patterns for the five Amazonian countries outside Brazil plus the Brazilian Amazon. We tested these schemes by varying sample-unit size and frequency. We calculated two estimates of sampling error. First we calculated the standard errors, based on the size, variance and covariance of the samples, and from this calculated the 95% confidence intervals (CI). Second, we calculated the actual errors, based on the difference between the sample-based estimates and the estimates from the full-coverage maps. At the continental level, the 1°, 10 km scheme had a CI of 21% and an actual error of 8%. At the national level, this scheme had CIs of 126% for Ecuador and up to 67% for other countries. At this level, increasing sampling density to every 0.25° produced a CI of 32% for Ecuador and CIs of up to 25% for other countries, with only Brazil having a CI of less than 10%. Actual errors were within the limits of the CIs in all but two of the 56 cases. Actual errors were half or less of the CIs in all but eight of these cases. These results indicate that the FRA 2010 should have CIs of smaller than or close to 10% at the continental level. However, systematic sampling at the national level yields large CIs unless the sample size is very large, especially if any sub-national stratification of estimates is required.


Land surface radiation and energy budgets are critical to address a variety of scientific and application issues related to climate trends, weather predictions, hydrologic and biogeophysical modeling, and the monitoring of ecosystem health and agricultural crops. This is an introductory paper to the special issue of land surface radiation and energy budgets from an international conference on this subject. The temporal trends of these components are first discussed in the context of climate change and human induced land use changes. After a brief introduction to the conference, results from each paper of this special issue are summarized.


OBJECTIVES
To investigate the long-term effects on perceived general health, disease activity, pain, activity limitation and cognitive behavioural factors of a one-year coaching programme performed in ordinary physical therapy practice to promote the adoption of health-enhancing physical activity in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

METHODS
A total of 228 patients with early RA, from 10 rheumatology clinics in Sweden, were randomly assigned to an intervention group (IG; n = 94) or a control group (CG; n = 134). The IG was coached by physical therapists during the first year to adopt health-enhancing levels of physical activity (30 minutes/day, moderately intensive, ≥ 4 days/week). No coaching was given during the subsequent year between post-intervention and follow-up. Follow-up assessment consisted of a postal questionnaire on physical activity and of visual analogue scales for ratings of general health perception and pain. The Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ) and the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS 28) were collected at regular medical check-ups.

RESULTS
Sixty-five (69%) participants in the IG and 92 (69%) in the CG completed the entire study period by filling in the follow-up questionnaire on physical activity two years after baseline. The intervention seemed to lack any significant influence on long-term outcome. However, different patterns of change in physical activity behaviour were observed in the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS
No long-term improvement in perceived general health or other outcomes were found in the follow-up. This may partly be because the intervention lacked several important behavioural elements for physical activity maintenance.


In present study, the compound 3,4-bis(prop-2-yn-1-yloxy)benzaldehyde was synthesized by propargylation of 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde and characterized by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, elemental and X-ray analysis. The compound crystallizes in the P-1 space group of the monoclinic crystal system with unit cell parameters of a =4.5901(6) A, b=17.835(2) A, c=13.346(2) A, β=91.612(13)°, V=1092.1(4) A3, Dx=1.303 Mg m-3 and Z=4. The molecules are arranged in zig-zag manner and crystal packing is stabilized by C13A(sp)—H13A….O1B, C13B(sp)—H13B….O1A and C12B(sp)—H12B….O1B intermolecular interactions. These interactions generate various hydrogen bond patterns e.g. C(11), R2 2(20) and R4 6(47). The Hirshfeld surfaces and the associated 2-D fingerprint plots analysis were performed for visualizing, exploring and quantifying intermolecular interactions in the crystal lattice of the compound.


We present the first scheme for producing and measuring an Abelian geometric phase shift in a three-level system where states are invariant under a non-Abelian group. In contrast to existing experiments and proposals for experiments, based on U(1)-invariant states, our scheme geodesically evolves U(2)-invariant states in a four-dimensional SU(3)/U(2) space and is physically realized via a three-channel optical interferometer.


Distributed certification via threshold cryptography is much more secure than other ways to protect certification authority (CA)'s private key, and can tolerate some intrusions. As the original system such as ITTC, etc., is unsafe, inefficient and impracitcal in actual network environment, this paper brings up a new distributed certification scheme, which although it generates key shares concentratively, it updates key shares distributedly, and so, avoids single-point failure like ITTC. It not only enhances robustness with Feldman verification and SSL protocol, but can also change the threshold (t, k) flexibly and robustly, and so, is much more practical. In this work, the authors implement the prototype system of the new scheme and test and analyze its performance.


Porting of the legacy code MFIX to a high performance computer (HPC) and the use of high resolution simulations for the design of a coal gasifier are described here. MFIX is based on a continuum multiphase flow model that considers gas and solids to form interpenetrating continua. Low resolution simulations of a commercial scale gasifier with a validated MFIX model revealed interesting physical phenomena with implications on the gasifier design, which prompted the study reported here. To be predictive, the simulations need to model the spatiotemporal variations in gas and solids volume fractions, velocities, temperatures with any associated phase change and chemical reactions. These processes occur at various time- and length-scales requiring very high spatial resolution and large number of iterations with small time-steps. We were able to perform perhaps the largest known simulations of gas-solids reacting flows, providing detailed information about the gas-solids flow structure and the pressure, temperature and species distribution in the gasifier. One key finding is the new features of the coal jet trajectory revealed with the high spatial resolution, which provides information on the accuracy of the lower resolution simulations. Methodologies for effectively combining high and low resolution simulations for design studies must be developed. From a computational science perspective, we found that global communication has to be reduced to achieve scalability to 1000s of cores, hybrid parallelization is required to effectively utilize the multicore chips, and the wait time in the batch queue significantly increases the actual time-to-solution. From our experience, development is required in the following areas: efficient solvers for heterogeneous, massively parallel systems; data analysis tools to extract information from large data sets; and programming environments for easily porting legacy codes to HPC.


Aims. We aim to estimate the age and reddening parameters of already identified star clusters within the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) in a consistent way using available photometric data, classify them based on their mass and strength, and study their spatiotemporal distribution.
Methods. We have used a semi-automated quantitative method, developed in the first paper of this series (Paper I), to estimate the cluster parameters using the V and I band photometric data from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) III survey.
Results. We estimated parameters of 179 star clusters (17 are newly parameterised) and classified them into four groups. We present an online catalogue of parameters as well as cleaned and isochrone-fitted colour magnitude diagrams of 179 clusters.
We compiled age information of 468 clusters by combining previous studies with our catalogue, to study their spatio-temporal distribution. Most of the clusters located in the southern part of the SMC are in the age range 600 Myr–1.25 Gyr, whereas, the clusters younger than 100 Myr are mostly found in the northern SMC, with the central SMC showing continuous cluster formation. The peak of the cluster age distribution is identified at 130 ± 35 Myr, very similar to the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) in Paper I.
Conclusions. We suggest that the burst of cluster formation at 130 Myr is due to the most recent LMC-SMC interaction. 90% of the studied sample is found to have mass < 1700 M⊙, suggesting that the SMC is dominated by low mass clusters. There is tentative evidence for compact clusters in the LMC when compared to those in the Galaxy and the SMC. A progressive shifting of cluster location from the south to north of the SMC is identified in last ~600 Myr. The details of spatio-temporal distribution of clusters presented in two videos as part of this study can be used as a tool to constrain details of the recent LMC-SMC interactions.


Background/Aims: Polyphenol compounds may explain most of the health-related beneficial effects of plants and vegetables, mainly through their antioxidant properties. The aim of the study was to assess the main changes on leukocyte gene expression of dogs caused by intake of three natural polyphenol-rich extracts and to compare them with caloric restriction. Methods: 20 female dogs were divided into 5 groups: control fed ad libitum (C), caloric-restricted to 30% less than control (CR), and 3 groups fed ad libitum supplemented with citrus extract (CE), green tea extract (GTE) or grape seed extract (GSE). Leukocytes gene expression was analyzed in a specially designed microarray. Results: CE treatment mainly downregulated genes related to inflammative (IL-8, VLA-4) and cytotoxic response (GRP 58) as well as proliferation of leukocytes. GTE induced gene expression related to leukocyte proliferation and signaling (GNAQ, PKC-B). GSE upregulated some of the genes increased by CE treatment. CR downregulated genes related with energy metabolism (ATP5A1, COX7C) and inflammatory markers (VLA-4). Conclusion: A chronic ingestion of citric, grape seed and green tea polyphenols is able to modulate canine leukocyte functions through changes in gene expression. CE ingestion reduces expression of some genes also diminished by a 30% caloric restriction.


This report provides a discussion of findings from a study of application of planning support systems (PSS) to typical participatory processes. For the purposes of this study, we are inclusive in our definition of planning support systems, addressing all types of technology that might be used in the preparation, execution, and analysis of participatory processes and outcomes. The overall intent of the study is to develop an understanding of how to tailor technologies to the unique aspects of various types of participation efforts used in planning practice.The report outlines some important background information related to the use of various types of technologies in participatory processes, including the challenges and opportunities associated with their use. The report also highlights and categorizes a range of current technologies that can be used to supplement or enhance planning and participatory processes. In addition, the report summarizes the findings of a series of five focus groups conducted with planners, engineers, and other practitioners related to the participation process and the application of technology. Finally, the report concludes with a discussion of the findings of survey or practitioners related to their perceptions of constraints and opportunities related to the implementation of technology in planning and participatory processes in their organizations.


Collagen deposition, a hallmark of arterial aging that resembles post-injury arterial restenosis, is perpetrated by angiotensin II (Ang II) signaling in arterial wall. Collagen aggregation at sites of arterial injury is regulated by the coordinated signaling of pro-fibrotic TGF-β1 and anti-fibrotic vasorin within VSMCs. The Ang II/TGF-β1/vasorin signaling relationship within VSMCs with aging, however, remains unknown. In vivo studies in old vs. young FXBN rats show that aortic transcription and translation of vasorin markedly decrease with aging. In vitro studies in VSMCs isolated from old vs. young aortae. Ang II-associated reduction of vasorin protein abundance in young VSMCs and age-associated changes in vasorin protein levels are reversed by the AT1 antagonist, Losartan (Los) (Figure). Dual immunolabeling and co-immunoprecipitation demonstrate that the co-incidence and physical interaction of vasorin and TGF-β1 within VSMCs are significantly decreased with aging. Importantly, exposure of young VSMCs to Ang II that increases p-SMAD2/3 and collagen type I production, mimicking old cells, and this effect is abolished or substantially mitigated by Los treatment, overexpression of ectopic vasorin, or exogenous recombinant human-vasorin protein. In contrast, exposure of old VSMCs to Los decreases p-SMAD2/3 and collagen type I production.Thus, an imbalance of the Ang II/TGF-β1/vasorin signaling cascade, a feature of the aged arterial wall, enhances the collagen production by VSMCs. Maintaining this signaling balance is a novel measure to retard adverse extracellular matrix remodeling, a determinant of arterial stiffening with aging. (MW and GP co-first authors)


: Noise at 40-12,000 hz frequency and 100 dBA with maximums in medium and high frequency ranges, maintained for 3 months and 4 hours per day did not change the number of chromosome aberration cells in the spinal marrow, but decreased by 1,3 the number of the aberrant hepatocytes in male rats. This was apparently caused by the mitotic activity of the liver parenchyma and related elimination of the damaged cells. The noise maintained for 4 months caused an increase by 1,7 in aberrant hepatocytes. This cytogenetic effect is regarded as potentially dangerous.


The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of oscillations in the main flow on film cooling at various single frequencies at a low average blowing ratio of M = 0.5. The oscillations in the main flow could be a result of combustion instabilities that have been one of the major concerns for gas turbine industry. Understanding the effect of the instabilities on film cooling is important for better design of the gas turbine engines. The frequencies from 268 to 2144 Hz were identified as the dominant frequencies from a Fourier analysis of a combustor instability data on pressure oscillations. Lastly, the experimental data on gas turbine combustor instabilities is applied to the main flow using Fourier Series and the results are compared to those at single frequencies. Numerical simulations are carried out using LES Smagorinsky-Lilly and URANS k-epsilon models. This study is focused on film cooling effectiveness and heat transfer coefficient which are very important in calculation of the blade temperatures. The results show that as the frequency of the main flow goes from 0 to 180 Hz, the film cooling effectiveness is decreased due to enhancement of jet lift off with increasing frequency. However, when the frequency goes from 180 to 268 Hz, the film cooling effectiveness climbs up sharply because a thin coolant film near the wall is overlapped by large vortices containing the coolant. If the frequency changes from 268 to 1072 Hz, the effectiveness drops because the large vortices generated catch up with each other and they start overlapping and they are moved away from the wall. Main flow frequencies from 1072 to 2144 Hz cause an increase of the film cooling effectiveness since the coolant jet could not respond to these very high frequencies and the coolant behavior starts to return to that at 0 Hz gradually along with the effectiveness. In terms of heat transfer coefficients, when the oscillation frequency climbs from 0 to 536 Hz, the spanwise-averaged Stanton number ratio (Stm/Sto) increases due to growing disturbances in the flow. If the frequency is increased from 536 to 2144, the spanwise-averaged Stanton number ratio is decreased. When the oscillation frequency exceeds 536 Hz, the mixing between the hot mainstream and the coolant is reduced because jets do not respond to the flow oscillations as quickly by very short period.


Individuals generally have the responsibility of creating their own passwords on an e-commerce site. As users attempt to create a password that they can remember, they often create one that others can easily guess. This situation can also create another paradox, where the user cannot remember their password in their quest to create an unpredictable one. This paper examines what passwords were created by users on an e-commerce site, their gender, into what categories they appear, and how their choices could be identified through a software cracking program. This paper also addresses the security of users' password choices in comparison to positive password actions suggested by security experts. The results of this study could assist both consumers and e-commerce sites in recognizing and recommending secure password choices and policies.


Commissioned in February 2004 by Professor Brian Harrison, Scott is concerned to emphasise that Gascoyne was much more than an avant-garde theoretician and practitioner and that the label 'Surrealist' had hung round his neck, albatross-like, in the public consciousness throughout his writing career. Scott believes he is that inarguably the major English religious poet of the second half of the twentieth century, and important to the twenty-first because of his ability to articulate the human condition profoundly with visionary clarity; wrestling with the pain consistent with living in the modern world. Like Giacometti, who also renounced his own Surrealist phase, Gascoyne looked to existential philosophy to find an accommodation with the agonizing problems of being and was highly attuned to the spiritual ambience of the age. The years 1979-1999 represented a late 'renaissance' for Gascoyne as a writer, thought by many to have died earlier. His work, never given the public recognition it deserves in Britain, is highly regarded by the French who presented him in 1996 with the award of Chevalier dans l'Ordre National des Arts et Lettres.


Analysis of records of surgical patients and protocols of anatomicopathological investigations in autopsy tissues with changes in the lungs characteristic of pneumonia suggest to us that secondary pneumonia comes up to 38.5% of all post mortem examinations. In 9 percent of the deceased, secondary pneumonia appeared to be a direct cause of death. The frequency rate of pneumonia in operated patients ranged between 0.3-0.5% and 68%, this concerning largely aged and senile patients and also those patients with polytraumata, in surgical interventions in organs of the thorax, abdominal cavity, in full-thickness burns. A considerable number (30%) of diagnostic errors of pneumonia in surgical departments is due to a complicated character and extreme diversity of clinical manifestations of the underlying medical condition or polytraumata.


This volume positions music as a charged site of cultural struggle, promoted concurrently as a transcendent corrective to social ills and as a subversive cause of those ills. Alisa Clapp-Itnyre examines Victorian constructions of music to advance patriotism, Christianity, culture and domestic harmony, and suggests that often these goals were undermined by political tensions in song texts or "immoral sensuality" in the "spectacle" of live music-making. The author turns her focus to the novels of Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot and Thomas Hardy, who present complex arrangements with those musical genres most privileged by Victorian society: folk songs, religious hymns and concert music. This book recovers the pervasive ambiguities of the Victorian musical period, ambiguities typically overlooked by both literary scholars and musicologists. To the literary critic and cultural historian, Professor Clapp-Itnyre demonstrates the necessity of further exploring the complete aesthetic climate behind some of the Victorian period's most powerful literary works. And to the feminist scholar and the musicologist, the author reveals the complexities of music as both an oppressive cultural force and an expressive creative outlet for women.


To maintain and understand large applications, it is crucial to know their architecture. The first problem is that unlike classes and packages, architecture is not explicitly represented in the code. The second problem is that successful applications evolve over time, so their architecture inevitably drifts. Reconstructing the architecture and checking whether it is still valid is therefore an important aid. While there is a plethora of approaches and techniques supporting architecture reconstruction, there is no comprehensive state of the art and it is often difficult to compare the approaches. This article presents a state of the art on software architecture reconstruction approaches


Objectives Report preliminary results after 18 months of the new Cervical Cancer Screening Program with primary DNA-HPV test (CCSP-HPV), performed at Indaiatuba city, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Methods Indaiatuba has 240 thousand people with 50% assisted by Public Health System (SUS). Until 2017, CCSP was performed by conventional cytology (∼9,000/year), but with <30% coverage of target women (25–64yo). CCSP-HPV was built based in National guideline replacing cytology by Cobas® HPV Test performed at 5-year intervals. Target population comprehend 28,000 women, and the goals will be to reach 80% of coverage after first round (5y). The CCSP-HPV started in October 2017, and here we present the 18-months results compared with previous years (2011–2016, conventional cytology). Results We considered 9,974 HPV tests in the CCSP-HPV, 95% coverage at 18-months versus 50,708 cytology tests from 2011–2016. 99,2% of the HPV tests were performed in age-range 25–64yo against 77.3% by cytology (0.5% vs 16.6% before the age of 25). Only 22.3% of cytology screening followed guideline for interval (3y). In general, unsatisfactory samples were <0.5% for both programs. Tests results were negative in 96.7% (n=9,643) for HPV tests vs. 98.3% for cytology. HPV-16 and/or -18 were tested positive in 331 (3.3%), and 'Other 12-HR-HPV' in 911 (9.1%), with 254 abnormal cytology exams (2.5% colposcopy referral). Total colposcopy referral was 3.4 times more (5.8%/1.7%) than previous opportunistic screening. Conclusions Organized screening program with primary HPV test indicated high coverage and compliance of target age-range after 18-months, with less unsatisfactory samples, and more referral to colposcopy.


TOPIC/CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Traumatic stress occurs in children when their coping mechanisms are overwhelmed by exposure to traumatic events or situations. Estimates indicate that as many as 80% of ill and injured children experience traumatic stress after such exposure. Critically ill or injured children are especially at risk for the development of traumatic stress, including acute stress reaction and posttraumatic stress disorder.

OBJECTIVE
To explore the phenomenon of traumatic stress disorders in critically ill or injured children to assist bedside nurses in decreasing the severity of short- and long-term consequences in this patient population.

CONTENT COVERED
This article presents types of traumatic stress, risk factors for the development of traumatic stress, clinical findings in children and adolescents, and nursing strategies for preventing and managing traumatic stress in pediatric patients. Critical care and acute care nurses are in an excellent position to assess children for symptoms of acute stress reaction and posttraumatic stress disorder during or after a stay in the intensive care unit, to implement strategies to prevent or ease the symptoms of acute stress reaction and posttraumatic stress disorder, and to make appropriate referrals for children and their families after exposure to traumatic stressors.


Continuous quality improvement (CQI) principles and practices were utilized to evaluate the outpatient peritoneal dialysis follow-up process and the routine monthly laboratory testing of chronic dialysis patients. CQI enabled us to reduce total clinic visit time from a mean of 161 min to 90.8 min. Waiting was decreased from a mean of 51.6 min to 15.8 min. The number of routine monthly laboratory tests performed on patients undergoing chronic dialysis was also reduced, resulting in decreased charges of at least $429.50 per patient per month.


This research continues the earlier researches on wear
friction and lubrication and its application to the powder
metallurgy industries. A detailed study of the parameters
involved in wear and friction has been made by using the "Pin
and Disc" machine with cross cylinders technique. One iron
powder was chosen and compacted over a range of densities with
a series of metallic stearates as admixed lubricants for the
purpose of examinations. These compacts were used as the "pins"
for the wear and friction apparatus, the "disc" was made from
high carbon high chromium steel which is one of the steels
normally used in punches and dies in the powder metallurgy
industries. The wear behaviour of these compacts was studied in
relation to the following parameters: applied load between
compact (or pin) and disc, sliding speed, travelled distance,
density and hardness of compact. These were examined for a range
of stearate lubricants and the wear rates determined, these data
were then related to the possible industrial life for punches
and dies in powder metallurgy presses.
Besides wear rate, friction forces between the compact (or
pin) and disc were measured and these forces of friction were translated
into coefficients of friction for each type of lubricant.
The thesis presents the results of these investigations with
a survey of current theories on wear and friction of metallic
systems relevant to powder metallurgy. Conclusions have been drawn and suggestions made on the most useful solid lubricant necessary
in the pressing of metallic powders to reduce wear and friction in
production presses. Calculations have been carried out using the
data collected to estimate the possible press tool wear and
accordingly a possible tool life was determined for pressing
with each type of ~tearate lubricant. The overall conclusion was
that zinc stearate is the best solid lubricant in the five metallic
stearates (Al, Na, Mg, Ca and Zn) for use in iron powder
compaction.


This paper investigates the determinants of rice seed variety choice in Indonesia with respect to a meta-profit function. Varietal choice is modeled as depending on the profitability of high yielding varieties of seed relative to traditional varieties of seed, the schooling of cultivators and factors associated with yield uncertainty and risk aversion. Careful attention is paid to the stochastic structure of the estimated simultaneous equations switching regimes model. The maximum likehood method applied to Indonesian farm-level data is complicated by endogenous regressors and heteroskedastic errors. Adoption of high yielding varieties was found to be positively associated with its relative profitability, the likelihood of flooding, quality of irrigation conditional on its effect on relative profit, and the availability of credit, and negatively associated with land owned and the likelihood of drought. Schooling was not found to be a significant determinant of variety choice. Sources of interregional differences in cultivator behaviors in Indonesia were calculated as an application of the estimated model. Interregional differences in employment in rice cultivation but not HYV adoption were largely due to differences in wages.


Background/Aims: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive cancer with limited treatment options outside of chemotherapy. Improved therapies with novel mechanisms of action are desperately needed to fill this need. Both hTERT, the catalytic subunit of telomerase, and BCL-2, an apoptotic regulator, are overexpressed in AML, correlating with disease severity and poor prognosis respectively. Imetelstat is a novel, first-in-class competitive inhibitor of telomerase with clinical activity in hematologic malignancies. Venetoclax, an approved BCL-2 inhibitor for CLL, has shown a promising clinical benefit in AML patients. Preclinical evidence shows that downregulation of hTERT induces apoptosis via disruptions of hTERT and BCL-2 interaction; we hypothesize that inhibiting both targets would yield greater anti-tumor activity in AML compared to treatment with either agent alone. Methods: AML cell lines and AML patient's PBMC samples were treated with imetelstat or venetoclax alone, or in combination, and viable and apoptotic populations of cells were evaluated by flow cytometry. Telomerase activity, hTERT expression and mitochondrial dysfunction were investigated for mechanism of action. Furthermore, an in vivo study in the MOLM-13 AML disseminated model was conducted to assess efficacy and survival. Results: A dose-dependent synergistic activity in inducing apoptosis was observed in multiple AML cell lines when combining imetelstat with venetoclax. In the MOLM-13 cell line, single-agent imetelstat and venetoclax had modest apoptotic activity after 48 hours (22% and 30% respectively), but the combination achieved 88% at 48 hours and nearly 100% at 96 hours. Similarly enhanced apoptotic activity was also observed in PBMCs purified from 4 AML patient whole blood samples. Molecular analyses showed combining imetelstat with venetoclax reduced hTERT expression and telomerase activity much more strongly than either agent alone. Furthermore, in vivo studies showed all mice tolerated the combination of imetelstat with ABT-199 well, with increased life span as compared to the vehicle control (68.1%, p=0.0001), to imetelstat (39.6%, p=0.0011) alone, or to venetoclax (23.3%, p=0.0001) alone. In the combination group, 40% of treated mice were alive 77-days after treatment discontinued whereas all mice of the other single agent arms died within two weeks, demonstrating a significant survival benefit. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first investigation combining imetelstat with venetoclax in AML, and the results demonstrated a synergistic effect on induction of apoptosis in cell lines and patient samples in vitro, which translated into prolonged survival in xenograft models, thus providing a strong rationale for clinical exploration of this combination. Citation Format: Joshua J. Rusbuldt, Leopoldo Luistro, Diana Chin, Melissa Smith, Amy Wong, Margarita Romero, Aleksandra Rizo, Jacqueline Bussolari, Fei Huang, Amy (Kate) Sasser. Telomerase inhibitor imetelstat in combination with the BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax enhances apoptosis in vitro and increases survival in vivo in acute myeloid leukemia [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1101. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1101


Today, the Information Systems Security Management (Information Systems Security Management
(ISSM)) maturity framework has been recognized and accepted by businesses globally.
This ISSM maturity phenomenon has shifted many business perspectives on the importance of
security management towards business information systems. The development of current ISSM
maturity framework, based on tried-and-true practices by security experts, have also expanded
many issues in the IS research scenario among which are: (i) lack of flexible framework: the
current framework developed and designed to suit brick and mortar traditional business, but
not for e-commerce that has a volatile structure; (ii) lack of theory supported framework: the
current ISSM framework is developed using tried-and-true practices of experts' experiences
rather than based on excepted theories.
The main objective of this research is to address these two issues. The research aim is to
construct an ISSM maturity model to suit e-commerce using Technology, Organization and
Environment framework (Technology-Organization-Environment Framework (TOE)), DeLone
and McLean Information System (IS) Success Factors, Diffusion of Innovation Theory (Diffusion
of Innovation Theory (DOI)) and Ein-Dor Organizational Factors. The IS theory, IS
model, IS framework and IS organization factors were selected to help develop a flexible and
theoretically-based ISSM maturity model for the benefit of Small Medium Industries/Enterprises
(SMI/Es) that are involved in e-commerce.
This study employs a mixed-method research using the sequential mix-method procedure to
predict the conceptual relationship: (i) the research quantitative phase adopts a structural equation
modelling (Structural Equation Modelling (SEM)) technique using Partial Least Square
iv
(Partial Least Square (PLS)) method, (ii) semi-structured interviews with the selected Small
Medium Industry/Enterprise (SMI/E)s business Chief Executives Officers (Chief Executive Officer
(CEO)s) and business owners that are involved in e-commerce. The results show high
reliability of predicted variables with minimal reading of reliability score of more than 0.85,
displaying average variance extracted (Average Variance Extracted (AVE)) exceeding 0.5, indicating
adequate convergent validity of all the predicted variables developed in the conceptual
framework. The predicted relationship was proved to be significant with the score of 50.4%
showing the high influences of latent variables discussed in this ISSM maturity research.
The findings show three significant influences in ISSM maturity in e-commerce (i) technology
which are the technology usage, compatibility, complexity, relative advantage and technology
availability, (ii) organization including the human resources, formal and informal linking structures
and the communication process and (iii) the environment of which consisted of user satisfaction,
government regulations, technology support characteristics, industry characteristics
and market structure. Based on both quantitative and qualitative results, four quadrant of ISSM
maturity were presented. These quadrants were then organized to construct the ISSM maturity
model. The research contributes to the body of knowledge in twofolds: practically and academically
whereby (i) the research contributed to the development of theoretically-based ISSM
maturity model for SMI/E involved in the e-Commerce, and (ii) the research justified the theoretical
consideration (based on the selected IS theory, IS framework, IS model and IS factors)
which formed the conceptual research framework of this thesis. This research has successfully
answered all research questions where it deduced the ISSM maturity factors and described the
relationship between identified factors, hence conclusively build the ISSM maturity model.


In this paper, a high accuracy linear positioning system with linear force actuator and magnetic levitation is proposed. By locating a permanently magnetized rod inside a current-carrying solenoid, the axial force is achieved by boundary effect of magnet poles and utilized to power the linear motion. While the force for levitation is governed by Ampere's law supplied with the same solenoid. With the levitation in radial direction, there is hardly any friction between the rod and the solenoid. The high speed motion can hence be achieved. Besides, the axial force act on the rod is a smooth function of rod position, so the system can provide nanometer resolution linear positioning to the molecule size. Since the force-position relation is highly nonlinear, and mathematical model is derived according to some assumptions, such as equivalent solenoid of the permanently magnetized rod, so there exists unknown dynamics in practical application. Thus "robustness" is an important issue in controller design. Meanwhile the load effect reacts directly on the servo system without transmission elements, so the capability of "disturbance rejection" is also required. With above consideration, a time-delay control scheme is chosen and applied. By comparing the input-output relation and the mathematical model, the time-delay controller calculates an estimation of unmodelled dynamics and disturbance then composes the desired compensation into the system. Effectiveness of the linear positioning system and control scheme are illustrated with simulation results.


Cellular senescence, characterised by the development of a toxic secretory phenotype in
response to persistent DNA damage, has been studied in proliferating cells but is not well
understood in post-mitotic neurones. Recent evidence showed a neuronal senescent-like
state in response to persistent DNA damage in vivo, which could contribute to neuronal
dysfunction in aging and neurodegeneration. The current study hypothesised that
oxidative stress, a hallmark of neurodegeneration, activates a persistent DNA damage
response and promotes neuronal senescence. To investigate this, activation of senescence
in response to oxidative DNA damage was studied in human post-mitotic neurones in
culture, as well as in the brains of control and ALS/MND donors.
For the in vitro study, post-mitotic LUHMES were stressed with a double dose of 50 µM
H2O2, which caused a persistent DNA damage in the form of double-strand breaks that
was detectable 96 hours' post-stress. Expression of the "classical" senescence marker SA
β-gal and formation of senescence-associated heterochromatin foci (SAHF) were
evaluated at the 96 hours-timepoint, using cytochemical methods. A co-culture system of
double stressed LUHMES and healthy LUHMES was developed to study DNA damage
propagation; gene expression profiling was used to investigate changes in known
senescence pathways in 96 hours-double stressed LUHMES. Results from this study
revealed a highly variable SA-β-gal activity in healthy and double stressed LUHMES;
SAHF were not present in these cells and propagation of DNA damage was not seen in
the co-culture system. Transcriptomic analysis of double stressed LUHMES revealed
dysregulation of the APC/C:Cdh1 cell cycle regulatory pathway, ATR signalling and II
mitochondrial complex I activity, which could be related to oxidative stress but not to
senescence.
The current work also investigated the relevance of neuronal senescence in
neurodegeneration. "Classical" senescence (SA-β-gal, p16 and p21) and oxidative DNA
damage markers (8-OHdG and γH2AX) were investigated in the motor cortex, spinal
cord and frontal association cortex of ALS/MND and control donors using
immunohistochemistry. Transcriptome analysis of LCM neurones obtained from the
frontal cortex of control and ALS/MND donors was used to investigate early changes in
gene expression that could be linked to a senescent-like state.
Transcriptomic analysis suggested dysregulation of DDR, cell cycle and oxidative
phosphorylation pathways as a consequence of the persistent oxidative DNA damage, but
no of "classical" senescence was found in the in vitro neuronal model. In vivo, p21
expression was found in neurones and glia, whereas p16 was exclusively expressed in
glial cells. A significantly higher percentage of p21+ neurones was detected in the frontal
association cortex of ALS/MND donors. Transcriptome analysis showed alteration of
DDR pathways and mitochondrial function in these neurones, but did not reveal
dysregulation of "classical" senescence pathways.
Neurones may activate a senescent-like state in response to persistent DNA damage but
signalling pathways involved in this mechanism may differ from the ones described in
mitotic cells. Thus, "classical" senescence markers should be used cautiously when
studying neuronal senescence, as they could reflect induction of related but different
mechanisms in these cells. In order to study neuronal senescence, it is necessary to
understand first the cell cycle regulatory mechanisms that occur in neurones as part of the
DDR.


This paper represents a finite group with 32 elements as a group of transformations of a compact surface of genus 5. In particular, we start with a designated pair of regions of this surface, and each region is labeled with the group element, which transforms the designated region into it. This gives a portrait of that finite group. These surfaces and the regions corresponding to the group elements are shown in this paper. William Burnside first gave a simple example of such a portrait in his 1911 book, "Theory of Groups of Finite Order". This paper is the third paper in a series which models groups as groups of transformations on a compact surface in the style of William Burnside.


Abstract. Two-dimensional cross-phase grating (CPG), diffracting the incident wave into (+1,+1), (+1,−1), (−1,−1), and (−1,+1) orders diffraction light, is used as a wavefront shearing element in cross-phase grating lateral shearing interferometer. However, the manufacture errors always exist, and they produce unwanted diffraction orders in the process of CPG manufacture. The appearance of the unwanted orders will increase the background noise of the interferogram and may affect the accuracy of the interferogram analysis. So, it is necessary to analyze the influences of manufacture errors and to determine the manufacture tolerances to remove the effect. A method based on Fourier transform analysis is presented to characterize manufacture tolerances of CPG. In this method, first, the normalized intensity distribution produced by CPG with manufacture errors in the far field is obtained. In addition, relative intensity of other unwanted orders to (+1,−1) order diffraction light of the four replicas is calculated, respectively. According to the relative intensity, the influences due to different types of manufacture errors can be evaluated, and the manufacture tolerances can also be determined. Using the proposed method, the manufacture tolerances of CPG at 632.8 nm are determined. Experimental evaluation of the proposed method using the manufactured CPG at 632.8 nm is also carried out.


This paper provides a comparative study on the performance of different modulation options for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) in terms of their spectral efficiency, reliability, peak-to-average power ratio, power efficiency, out-of-band emission, and computational complexity. The modulation candidates are classified into two main categories based on the signal plane dimension they exploit. These categories are: 1) 2-D signal plane category including conventional OFDM with classical fixed or adaptive QAM modulation and OFDM with differential modulation, where information is conveyed in changes between two successive symbols in the same subcarrier or between two consecutive subcarriers in the same OFDM symbol and 2) 3-D signal plane category encompassing: a) index-based OFDM modulation schemes which include: i) spatial modulation OFDM, where information is sent by the indices of antennas along with conventional modulated symbols and ii) OFDM with index modulation, where the subcarriers' indices are used to send additional information; b) number-based OFDM modulation schemes which include OFDM with subcarrier number modulation, in which number of subcarriers is exploited to convey additional information; and c) shape-based OFDM modulation schemes which include OFDM with pulse superposition modulation, where the shape of pulses is introduced as a third new dimension to convey additional information. Based on the provided comparative study, the relationship and interaction between these different modulation options and the requirements of future 5G networks are discussed and explained. This paper is then concluded with some recommendations and future research directions.


Moving data across communication networks is often subject to deadline requirements. An example is early warning of disasters of natural origin, where sensor measurements at the disaster location must be communicated across a network within a predefined maximum delay in order for a consequent warning to be timely. In this work, we present a probabilistic model that allows for characterizing the delay experienced by sensor measurements in a wireless sensor network from source to sink depending upon the routing metric used for forwarding the data through the network. Using link delay probability distributions and the probabilities of following different paths to the sink, source-to-sink delay distributions are found for routing policies based on minimum hop-count, minimum mean delay and the Joint Latency (JLAT) protocol. An algorithm for calculating the end-to-end source to sink delay probability density function (PDF) is presented for the general case of networks that use routing tables whose input for routing decisions is the remaining time-to-deadline. The work provides a general tool for routing delay analysis, allowing for comparison of the deadline miss probability between different routing policies. An improved form of JLAT is proposed. Its deadline miss probability is found using the presented algorithm and compared to the ones determined for minimum hop-count, minimum mean delay and JLAT by means of an example.


The number of milk consumption 12.50 Ls capita-1 year-1 have not been able to be  met through  national milk  production. Deficit in milk production opportunities for dairy goat farmers to develop the business. Livestock development resulting externalities.  According to Pindyck, Robert and Rubinfeld (2007) An externality is an activity either by perodusen or consumers that can affect producers and other consumers, but not factored into the cost of the market. Indirectly these impacts will be considered for the  development of dairy goat farming business, so the need for studies on the impact of positive and negative externalities caused by the presence of dairy goat farm. The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of dairy goat farm externalities on people's lives around. The experiment was conducted at Wake Karso dairy goat farm. The population in this study is the community living around the dairy goat farm. Sampling method used was purposive sampling. This study uses 70 respondents who dwelt at a distance of 0 to 1 km from dairy goat farms. The results showed that the majority of people (57.32%) expressed disagreement to the positive externalities generated and the majority of people (90.20%) expressed disagreement to the negative externalities caused. Positive externalities not provide a real benefit to society and the negative impacts are not felt by the public, so the public is not compromised states due to dairy goat farm.


The combination of wavelet theory and neural networks has lead to the development of wavelet networks. Wavelet networks are feed-forward neural networks using wavelets as activation function. Wavelets networks have been used in classification and identification problems with some success. In this work we proposed a fuzzy wavenet network (FWN), which learns by common back-propagation algorithm to classify medical images. The library of medical image has been analyzed, first. Second, Two experimental tables' rules provide an excellent opportunity to test the ability of fuzzy wavenet network due to the high level of information variability often experienced with this type of images. We have known that the wavelet transformation is more accurate in small dimension problem. But image processing is large dimension problem then we used neural network. Results are presented on the application on the three layer fuzzy wavenet to vision system. They demonstrate a considerable improvement in performance by proposed two table's rule for fuzzy and deterministic dilation and translation in wavelet transformation techniques. !!


Modula-2 is a recently developed concurrent programming language designed primarily for implementation on a mono-processor. This paper reports on the changes found necessary, both to the source language and to the support environment, in order to allow the language to be used to program a tightly coupled, homogenous, distributed computing system. Specific areas covered are: the allocation of program code and data to processors, which is kept independent of the source code, allowing flexible re-allocation without re-compilation; the choice of an inter-processor communication mechanism, where the remote procedure call was considered to be the most flexible technique; and the selection of an inter-process communication mechanism, where, despite the distributed nature of the target, the monitor was found most suitable.


This paper describes the development and testing of an active-acoustic-structuralhealth- monitoring (SHM) methodology for detection of crack damage that occurs in aircraft structures. The SHM techniques employed measure and evaluate frequency dependent mechanical responses. The responses are from a monitored structure excited by acoustic/vibratory signals injected into the structure at preselected locations. The SHM methodology included the following stages: (1) a design stage, where researchers conducted dynamic-digital simulations, based on a finite element model (FEM) of a subject airframe structure, determining favorable locations on the structure for placement of acoustic actuators and sensors; (2) a baseline testing stage, where test engineers installed acoustic actuators and sensors on an actual helicopter airframe structure in accordance with the design stage findings; then, conduct repetitive frequency-sweep tests collecting acoustic baseline response data; (3) a damaged-structure testing stage, where test engineers induced specific crack damage in the structure, then repeated the tests of the baseline testing stage, acquiring corresponding data for the damaged structure; and, (4) an analysis stage, where the researchers employed statistical-anomaly-detection techniques identifying statistically-significant differences between the baseline data and the damage test data to determine detection rates and localization performance.


This essay first draws upon the work of William James and others to propose a nonphysicalistic understanding of the relationship between the brain and consciousness in order to articulate a philosophical perspective that can understand entheogenic visionary/mystical experiences as something other than hallucinations. It then focuses on the Santo Daime tradition, a religious movement that began in Brazil in the early part of the twentieth century, to provide an example of the personal and social ramifications of taking an entheogen (ayahuasca) within a disciplined religious context. The essay claims that the Santo Daime is one example of a contemporary mystery school; gives a brief history of the development of this religion; discusses the key theological assumptions of this movement; investigates the important role played by visionary/mystical experiences within this religion; underscores the centrality of healing and spiritual transformation for members of this tradition; and ends with an examination of the crucial significance of spiritual discipline within this entheogenically based religion.


A machine test system is described which provides convenient analytical facilities applicable to any transient test involving measured waveforms consisting of mixtures of exponentially time-varying a.c. and d.c. components. The analysis of a sudden 3-phase short circuit of a synchronous machine is used to illustrate the analysis procedure and the results are shown to be more accurate and consistent than those derived using traditional techniques. The accuracy of analysis is examined using synthesised test data.


Affective organizational commitment is theorized and empirically tested as a key mediator between authentic leadership and desirable employee outcomes. The results of a two-wave survey of 830 business people in Australia support a serial mediation model of authentic leadership efficacy. Followers' perceptions of authentic leadership behavior influence their personal identification and affect-based trust in the leader, which in turn are mediated by affective organizational commitment to positively influence their work engagement and job satisfaction. These findings reinforce previous work that positions personal identification and affect-based trust as the two primary mediating mechanisms of authentic leadership. This paper extends prior research by demonstrating the important role of followers' affective bonds with their organization in the operation of authentic leadership, moving beyond the dyad in our understanding of follower outcomes.


Normally, the activated protein C has a protective role in sepsis, but the mechanism has not been known. Riewald et al. find that the thrombin receptor (protease activated receptor, or PAR1) is the target for activated protein C signaling. This mechanism provides insights into the signaling pathway of immune modulatory chemokines that control the host defense system in sepsis. M. Riewald, R. J. Petrovan, A. Donner, B. M. Mueller, W. Ruf, Activation of endothelial cell protease activated receptor 1 by the protein C pathway. Science 296, 1880-1882 (2002). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Osteoarthritis (OA) is a joint problem that continues to increase in prevalence as life expectancy increases. OA can affect any joint, especially those that support body weight such as the knee and hip joint. Although both primary and secondary OA have the same clinical symptoms, it can be caused by different etiologies. OA is no longer considered a degenerative disease, although age is still a major factor. Various attempts have been made to regenerate joint cartilage damaged by OA. The use of stem cells in OA therapy is a very promising opportunity. Stem cells are undifferentiated biological cells and are multipotent to differentiate into specific cells. In principle, local stem cells are the best source of stem cells to regenerate the surrounding tissue. The synovial membrane is a tissue in the joint that can regenerate. After synovectomy surgery, repair, and growth of synovial tissue occur rapidly. Synovial tissue as a source of stem cells only provides a limited amount. One source of synovial tissue that can be used is tissue taken from the total knee replacement process in grade 4 OA patients. However, it is necessary to prove the potential of synovial tissue stem cells originating from old-age donors.