Cross-resistance may be considered one of the most important factors leading to decreased drug susceptibility of Plasmodium falciparum. The study aimed to determine whether clinically relevant cross-sensitivity of P. falciparum existed between artemisinin and mefloquine. Seventy-six patients with falciparum malaria were admitted and treated with artemisinin derivatives. Treatment response parameters were assessed and in vitro drug sensitivity tests were performed with artemisinin, mefloquine, quinine, and chloroquine. Distinct in vitro cross-sensitivity between artemisinin and mefloquine was observed (p = 0.604; P < 0.001). To assess the relevance of this finding for clinical cross-resistance, we used an analytical model based on the relation of in vivo treatment response parameters (fever, parasite and symptom clearance) to a single reference drug with in vitro drug sensitivity data of several other drugs. Artemisinin (R = 0.554; P = 0.009) and mefloquine (R = 0.615; P = 0.002) in vitro drug sensitivities were equally well reflected in the in vivo treatment response to artemisinin, thereby suggesting the clinical relevance of in vitro cross-sensitivity.


Later life loneliness is a major social issue as it is increasing alongside an upward global population trend which predicts that nearly 22% of the world population will be aged 60 years or over by 2050. This 'silver tsunami', an unparalleled growth of the older population, will exert socioeconomic pressure globally on healthcare, housing demand, consumer segmentation, etc. This thesis suggests that currently there is an underrepresentation of radical innovation, and underutilisation of digital technologies in developing loneliness interventions for older adults, and argues that due to the unprecedented nature of this demographic surge, we cannot rely on conventional ways of thinking and doing things. This thesis proposes a theoretical framework called Social Innovation for Active Ageing (SIFAA), as a way to develop more radical-digital loneliness interventions. SIFAA blends social innovation and activity theory of ageing and in doing so, expands current knowledge in both areas. To highlight the strengths and limitations of SIFAA, this thesis uses a triangulated approach, and discusses findings from a systematic literature review, interviews with experts, and an action research based trial. While the 196 loneliness interventions examined in the systematic literature review highlight the current gap in knowledge represented by a lack of radical-digital loneliness interventions, the interviews with 9 experts emphasise possible reasons for this gap. The action research based trial carried out during 16 weeks of ethnographic fieldwork on the other hand, offers practical insights into operationalising SIFAA to conceive and implement a radical-digital loneliness intervention for older adults. This thesis also highlights the vital role that digital technologies can play in facilitating the development and implementation of radical loneliness interventions. By suggesting the hybridisation of social innovation and activity theory of ageing, this research argues that a contextual view be adapted to design suitable loneliness interventions for older adults, such that the ageing population becomes a part of the solution, and not just the problem. This thesis suggests that by using creative tools and techniques, designers can either help develop new radical-digital loneliness interventions, or transform or scale existing interventions such that they represent radical innovation, and utilise digital technologies. It offers a framework utilising SIFAA that uses the tools and techniques developed during this study to deploy radical-digital loneliness interventions. The discussion herein is aimed at making a positive contribution to the field of developing, implementing, and evaluating non- pharmacological loneliness interventions for older adults.


This article reports on research undertaken between July 2014 and November 2015 in secondary schools (for young people aged 11–16) across England to ask what young people need to know about religion and belief in schools in order to increase 'religious literacy' when they go in to the workplace and wider society. The research arises in the context of an urgent debate which has been underway in England about the future of Religious Education (RE), a subject which remains compulsory in England under the Education Act 1944, but which gives rise to widespread confusion about its purposes, content and structure, as reflected in growing criticisms of the policy muddle that frames it. The key findings are: that there is an appetite for review and reform of teaching and learning about religion and belief in schools, inside and outside the RE space, in order to clarify confusion about its purposes, content and structure; that the key perceived purposes which are emerging are the ability to engage with diversity, and personal spiritual (but not religious) development; and that stakeholders want to learn about more religions and beliefs, and ways of thinking about them, which reflect a much broader and more fluid real contemporary religion and belief landscape of England and the world than education has reflected.


In this thesis we present an extensive study on quantised vortex dynamics using the Gross-Pitaevskii model of a superfluid in the limit of zero temperature. We make use of an accurate and robust numerical method that we developed to detect topological defects present in the scalar order parameter characterising the superfluid. We begin by focusing on the scattering of vortex rings by a superfluid line vortex. Thereafter, we focus on the development and decay of a turbulent vortex tangle, measuring the Vinen's decay law for the total vortex length. Moreover, the temporal evolution of the Kelvin wave spectrum is obtained providing evidence of the development of a weak-wave turbulence cascade. The study of superfluid vortex reconnections is also carried out in order to identify what aspects of the reconnection process are universal.

Aside from the investigation on quantised vortex dynamics, in this thesis we also present a study on the motion of an electron bubble in a superfluid. The electron bubble dynamics is studied in the adiabatic approximation using the Gross-Pitaevskii equation to model the superfluid wavefunction and a Schro¨dinger equation to model the electron wavefunction. This model allows us to recover the key dynamics of the ion-vortex interactions that arise and the subsequent ion-vortex complexes that can form. We determine the vortex-nucleation limited mobility of the ion to recover values in reasonable agreement with measured data. Moreover, considering the scenario of an ion trapped on the core of a vortex line, we investigate how small and large amplitude Kelvin waves and solitary waves affect the drift velocity of the ion. In particular, we have identified that Hasimoto soliton-bubble complexes propagating along the vortex can arise.


Ghrelin and the ghrelin receptor (GH secretagogue receptor, GHS-R), are believed to have important roles in energy homeostasis. We describe results from the first studies to be conducted in congenic (N10) adult ghrelin(-/-) and Ghsr(-/-) mice under conditions of both positive (high-fat diet) and negative (caloric restriction) energy balance. In contrast to results from young N2 mutant mice, changes in body weight and energy expenditure are not clearly distinguishable across genotypes. Although respiratory quotient was lower in mice fed a high-fat diet, no differences were evident between littermate wild-type and null genotypes. With normal chow, a modest decrease trend in respiratory quotient was detected in ghrelin(-/-) mice but not in Ghsr(-/-) mice. Under caloric restriction, the weight loss of ghrelin(-/-) and Ghsr(-/-) mice was identical to wild-type littermates, but blood glucose levels were significantly lower. We conclude that adult congenic ghrelin(-/-) and Ghsr(-/-) mice are not resistant to diet-induced obesity but under conditions of negative energy balance show impairment in maintaining glucose homeostasis. These results support our hypothesis that the primary metabolic function of ghrelin in adult mice is to modulate glucose sensing and insulin sensitivity, rather than directly regulate energy intake and energy expenditure.


Laminins, a growing family of large heterotrimeric proteins with cell adhesive and signaling properties, are major components of vascular and other basement membranes. Expression, recognition, and use of laminin isoforms by leukocytes are poorly understood. In monoblastic THP-1 cells, transcripts for laminin gamma(1)-, beta(1)-, and alpha(4)-chains were detected by RT-PCR. Following immunoaffinity purification on a laminin beta(1) Ab-Sepharose column, laminin beta(1)- (220 kDa), gamma(1)- (200 kDa), and alpha(4)- (180/200 kDa) chains were detected by Western blotting in THP-1 cells and in two other monoblastic cell lines, U-937 and Mono Mac 6. After cell permeabilization, a mAb to laminin gamma(1)-chain reacted with practically all blood monocytes by immunofluorescence flow cytometry, and laminin-8 (alpha(4)beta(1)gamma(1)) could be isolated also from these cells. Monoblastic JOSK-I cells adhered constitutively to immobilized recombinant laminin-8, less than to laminin-10/11 (alpha(5)beta(1)gamma(1)/alpha(5)beta(2)gamma(1)) but to a higher level than to laminin-1 (alpha(1)beta(1)gamma(1)). Compared with the other laminin isoforms, adhesion to laminin-8 was preferentially mediated by alpha(6)beta(1) and beta(2) integrins. Laminin-8 and, to a lower extent, laminin-1 promoted spontaneous and chemokine-induced migration of blood monocytes, whereas laminin-10/11 was inhibitory. Altogether, the results indicate that leukocytes, as other cell types, are able to synthesize complete laminin molecules. Expression, recognition, and use of laminin-8 by leukocytes suggest a major role of this laminin isoform in leukocyte physiology.


Even though there exists a number of search solutions targetted at software engineers the literature suggests that they are not widely used by the people engaged in code delivery [26]. Moreover, current code focused information retrieval systems such as Google Code Search (discontinued), Codeplex or Koders produce results based on specific keywords and therefore they do not take into account user context such as location, browsing history, previous interaction patterns and domain expertise. In this paper we discuss the development of task-specific information retrieval systems for software engineers. We discuss how software engineers interact with information and information retrieval systems and investigate to what extent a domain-specific search and recommendation system can be developed in order to support their work related activities. We have conducted a user study: a questionnaire and an automated observation of user interactions with the browser and software development environment. We discuss factors that can be used as implicit feedback indicators for further collaborative filtering and discuss how these parameters can be analysed using Computational Intelligence based techniques.


Context. In multiple pre-main-sequence systems the lifetime of circumstellar disks appears to be shorter than around single stars, and the actual dissipation process may depend on the binary parameters of the systems. Aims. We report high spatial resolution observations of multiple T Tauri systems at optical and infrared wavelengths. We determine if the components are gravitationally bound and orbital motion is visible, derive orbital parameters and investigate possible correlations between the binary parameters and disk states. Methods. We selected 18 T Tau multiple systems (16 binary and two triple systems, yielding $16 + 2\times2=20$ binary pairs) in the Taurus-Auriga star forming region from the survey by Leinert et al. (1993), with spectral types from K1 to M5 and separations from 0.22" (31 AU) to 5.8" (814 AU). We analysed data acquired in 2006-07 at Calar Alto using the AstraLux lucky imaging system, along with data from SPHERE and NACO at the VLT, and from the literature. Results. We found ten pairs to orbit each other, five pairs that may show orbital motion and five likely common proper motion pairs. We found no obvious correlation between the stellar parameters and binary configuration. The 10 $\mu$m infra-red excess varies between 0.1 and 7.2 magnitudes (similar to the distribution in single stars, where it is between 1.7 and 9.1), implying that the presence of the binary star does not greatly influence the emission from the inner disk. Conclusions. We have detected orbital motion in young T Tauri systems over a timescale of $\approx20$ years. Further observations with even longer temporal baseline will provide crucial information on the dynamics of these young stellar systems.


Compilers employ many aggressive code transformations to achieve highly optimized code. However, because of complex target architectures and unpredictable optimization interactions, these transformations may not always be beneficial. Advances in hardware ensure that instruction set architectures are undergoing continual evolution. As a result, compilers are under constant pressure to adapt and take full advantage of available features.
Current techniques for evaluating code generation only compare profiles at the application level, but a fundamental step in tuning compiler performance is identifying the specific examples that can be improved. Quantitative function- and loop-level comparisons were previously not possible because techniques did not exist to compare them coherently after optimizations have been applied. To ensure the best performance is achieved, a more rigorous approach is necessary.
This work presents two toolchain-independent techniques to better measure and understand relative profile differences across binary programs (produced from the same source) compiled with different compilers, optimizations, or target architectures. OptiScope uses aggregate profile counts to match analogous code regions in different binaries. OptiScope has low overhead, but it only works on programs with identical inter-procedural optimizations applied. For programs with arbitrary transformations applied, including inter-procedural optimization, the Chainsaw tool uses more heavyweight analysis on execution logs to match semantically identical intervals of execution. To support each of these applications, I present novel techniques for low-overhead profile collection and seekable event log compression. Both binary matching approaches generate thousands of comparable regions from only a small set of benchmarks, and hundreds of key performance metrics for each region are loaded into a relational database to enable rapid querying for outliers. Case studies show the tools are proficient in identifying performance differences from 32.5% to 893% on select regions of SPEC 2006 benchmarks.


Promoting positive action towards disaster risk reduction and advising future recovery policies and practices when communities face the aftermath of a major disaster, a briefing paper has been launched on Taking stock of the Tsunami recovery process in Sri Lanka: 2004 to 2014.

A conference taking stock of the Tsunami recovery in Sri Lanka was held in Colombo in December 2014 organized by GDRC at Hudderfield, UK, University of Colombo and University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the unprecedented disaster. A number of papers dealing with diverse aspects of the disaster and its aftermath were presented, followed by a panel discussion that examined the policy implications of research findings presented by various authors and the discussions that followed. While some of the papers looked at broader issues of disaster risk reduction, others embodied analyses of data collected through recent field research in different parts of the country affected by the Tsunami. This brief policy statement is based on the deliberations throughout the conference involving researchers, public officials and other participants.


The ongoing negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on agriculture has triggered an increased interest in the linkages between commodity production and public goods in agriculture. This paper takes a closer look at this issue. Particular emphasis is placed on production economics and policy design issues. Production is placed in a multi-product multi-input setting. The provision of public goods from agriculture is analyzed utilizing a principle-agent framework. Particular emphasis is placed on issues pertaining to incentive compatibility, informational aspects and the participation constraint. Public finance aspects of various policies are also addressed. Price supports are of particular interest as they are widely used in European agriculture. This makes analyses of price supports particularly relevant.


Abstract An 'Al-thermometer' was applied to agate samples of volcanic parent rocks to provide information about the temperature of agate formation. The temperatures were calculated from concentrations of [AlO4]0 centres determined by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements. The calculations for agate bands in some cases yield temperatures of up to 655°C, which are assumed to be invalid; they are thought to be artifacts resulting from non-equilibrium crystallization processes. In contrast, the formation temperatures (60-198°C) estimated for associated quartz incrustations within the agate geodes are in good accord with those calculated from oxygen isotope data. Direct estimation of the formation temperatures of agates is problematic. The best results will be obtained by analyses of associated phanerocrystalline quartz incrustations.


Abstract Population ethics is widely considered to be exceptionally important and exceptionally difficult. One key source of difficulty is the conflict between certain moral intuitions and analytical results identifying requirements for rational (in the sense of complete and transitive) social choice over possible populations. One prominent such intuition is the Asymmetry, which jointly proposes that the fact that a possible child's quality of life would be bad is a normative reason not to create the child, but the fact that a child's quality of life would be good is not a reason to create the child. This paper reports a set of questionnaire experiments about the Asymmetry in the spirit of economists' empirical social choice. Few survey respondents show support for the Asymmetry; instead respondents report that expectations of a good quality of life are relevant. Each experiment shows evidence (among at least some participants) of dual-process moral reasoning, in which cognitive reflection is statistically associated with reporting expected good quality of life to be normatively relevant. The paper discusses possible implications of these results for the economics of population-sensitive social welfare and for the conflict between moral mathematics and population intuition.


The aim of this paper is to explore the most common challenges, difficulties, common myths and problems that both Total Quality Management and Six Sigma met in the service organization and the way they had been adopted and implemented. Expected scientific results will suggest that just like any other concept, the extent to which Total Quality Management and Six Sigma will be successful in a service organization depends on both the initial impact and their importance as perceived by members of each service organization. Conclusions will highlight that although there is no single formula that guarantees success of Total Quality Management or Six Sigma implementation, in practice there are a variety of tactics for implementation. All these tactics of implementation involve the existence of an operational plan for identifying activities that must be met in order to achieve the intended results.


This paper presents a technique for tracking complex objects (both polyhedral and smooth boundaries) in a monocular sequence. Our aim is to use this model tracking method in an augmented reality context to compute the pose of a real object to be able to register it with a synthetic one. A scalar score function for an object pose is defined, based on the local image gradient along the projected model boundaries. A local search is then carried out in the configuration space of the pose to maximize the score. This technique is robust to occlusions, since the whole object contour is used, not just a few control points. The proposed method is effective yet simple. No image feature extraction is necessary and no complex temporal evolution is used. Experimental results with a real sequence show the good performance of our technique.


This paper presents improvements to the global D8 (GD8) method for calculating single flow directions in a grid digital elevation model. Flow directions computed from grid digital elevation models serve as the foundation for much of the analysis and modeling of hydrological processes that are driven by topographic gradients. The literature includes both single flow direction methods, where flow goes to only one downslope cell, and multiple flow direction methods that apportion flow among multiple downslope cells. Among single flow direction methods, the standard D8 method, in which the flow direction is set based on the steepest local slope, results in bias on surfaces that do not align with the grid directions. Efforts to address this problem have led to the development of extended methods that account for elevation values further upslope in determining flow directions. We have identified discrepancies in one such method, GD8, and have examined ways to resolve these discrepancies. An improvement to GD8, named iGD8, is presented that allows replacing a reference cell from which path deviations are accumulated and that considers horizontal path deviation rather than global slope as a flow direction criterion. The improved method is found to be effective in resolving the problems encountered with GD8 and to be more efficient than a previously proposed alternative method (least transversal deviation (LTD) based D8, namely D8‐LTD) that uses recursive searching for the largest upstream area when multiple flow paths converge. The proposed improved GD8 method offers the opportunity for improved analysis and modeling of topographically driven hydrological processes by providing better foundational flow directions for these analyses.


A widely held view is that increasing globalisation and inequality are fostering support for populist actors. Surprisingly, when focusing on Germany and the U.S., populist voting is highest in less globalised regions with rather equal income distributions. Addressing this puzzle, I ask how the regional variance in populist voting can be explained. In my answer, I introduce the concept of spatial inequality, which describes the regional inequality within countries, and construct a measure of public goods scarcity. I argue that the spatial inequality induced feeling of being left behind is positively correlated with populist voting and that this effect is mitigated by public goods provision. Using county level data to develop spatial inequality and public good scarcity indices, I can provide empirical support for these arguments. The findings have important implications for understanding the sub-national variance in populist voting and the role of relative economic deprivation as well as public goods provision.


Two-wave mixing in photorefractive InP:Fe crystals is revisited in terms of an externally applied dc field combined with the moving-grating technique. We show that the disagreement between theory and experiment that was previously observed in the literature can be reconciled by an examination of the influence of both the absorption along the propagation axis and the nonlinearities that occur at relatively large fringe modulations. A finite-difference method is used to demonstrate the dependence of these nonlinearities on the average incident intensity.


The repressor for the lactose operon has been the paradigm for negative control. The Jacob and Monod (1961) hypothesis proposed that control genes would make repressors which would turn off other genes. Regulatory genes, as distinct from "structural" genes, were to make substances that could directly affect a rate-determining step in the synthesis of the functional products of other specific genes. This rate-determining step defines a target for the control: a specific point of interaction for the controlling substance. Such a target, named an "operator," could be a specific point on a DNA molecule. The binding of a substance to the region of the DNA molecule that serves as an initiation point for the synthesis of messenger RNA clearly could block (or affect or enhance) the synthesis of that messenger. Alternatively, the target for control could be a region on a messenger RNA molecule. The binding of a control substance to such a messenger could easily be imagined to block the attachment of ribosomes and hence the synthesis of proteins. The term "bind" simply supplies a specific physical picture. As far as any genetic arguments are concerned, any biochemical process that leads to the same result would serve. The control substance could modify bases, achieving the same ends through a chemical alteration of structure. The isolation of several repressors (Gilbert and Muller-Hill, 1966; Ptashne, 1967a; Riggs and Bourgeois, 1968; Pirrotta and Ptashne, 1969) and the demonstration that the operator is a region on a DNA molecule to which they bind...


In this paper,the ball screw feeding system's dynamic characteristics of a numerical remanufacture grinding machine is analyzed using the FEM. Discusses the modeling method of ball screw system into the finite element model and established the combination of finite element model. Through the modal analysis and the harmonious response analysis, the nature frequency and vibration mode of the feeding system and typical operating conditions of excitation in the harmonic responsehave have been gotten,thus the dependable basis for the construction's optimization and dynamic function's increasing of the feeding system is provided, ensure the numerical remanufacture will be success.


Three and six LiTaO3 single crystals are used to achieve continuous emission of high-intensity X-rays. Furthermore, the interaction between X-rays and the case of the X-ray source is used to generate electrons. X-rays were emitted continuously and fluctuations in the count rate were reduced when three or six crystals were used. Moreover, the X-ray intensity increased and the number of electrons generated by the above-mentioned interaction increased with increasing number of crystals.


The authors carried out dynamic observation of 180 children aged 3-14 with infantile cerebral paralysis (ICP) who were treated for pronation flexion contractures of the forearm and of the hand, studied up to 45 values connected with the age of the patients, terms of appearance of the symptoms of the disease, subsequently processed the results of their investigations employing methods of analysis of variance, non-linear correlation and regression analysis and constructed analytical models of development of the pathologic process, which allowed to draw the following conclusions. Pathomechanogenesis of disturbances of the upper extremity in ICP includes primary muscular disbalance, successive formation of faulty postures, pathologic locomotor stereotype, vegetotrophic disturbances, contractures of the joint and anatomical changes of the skeleton. These changes are closely correlated with the age of the patients and according to the degree of the disturbances may be regarded as stages of the disease.


: It was shown that scout ants Myrmica rubra are capable for an adequate modification of foraging habit acquired in a multichoice symmetrical maze following a reward change (syrup for the species brood). Under conditions of the high level of food motivation of a family both during learning and "examination" (i.e., brood transportation) all the ants succeed in a conditioned switchover of heterogeneous reflexes. If the high level of motivation during learnings is changed for its low level during examination, some ant do not realize the new task. The unconditioned switch (preliminary 1-3 brood takes at the start ares) facilitates the successful performance. In different experimental sessions a certain ratio was revealed between the ants realizing different ways of correct decision making. Specially developed criteria made it possible to identify different individual types of behavior during examination: transfer of acquired strategy, its gradual adaptation, and fast switchover to the new strategy. The adequate maze method and learning on the basis of specific forms of social behavior of ants (foraging, brood transportation, and exploratory activity) promote the rapid and efficient acquisition of the habit and its modification.


Top management team might make primary usage decisions related to marketing analytics. To date, extant research has mostly focused on investigating the impact of marketing analytics on firm performance; limited research exists to examine the conditions of utilizing marketing analytics. Furthermore, little is known about how the combinations of conditions affect marketing analytics use. Drawing on upper echelons and configuration theories, this study proposes that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have alternative pathways to utilizing marketing analytics. Based on a sample of 187 managers from UK SMEs and employing fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), this study confirms that (1) configurations of antecedents exist to provide alternative pathways to utilizing marketing analytics, and (2) configurations for small firms are distinctively different from those for medium-sized firms. This study contributes to upper echelon theory and configuration theory by highlighting different pathways to marketing analytics use. This study also helps a firm to improve its analytics practice by choosing the configuration that fits best with its organizational context.


The installation was commissioned by Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA) for its group exhibition PUNK: Its traces in contemporary art (May–September 2016) – the largest international exhibition to date about the Punk movement. In his work, Balaskas re-approaches one of the basic strategies of Situationism, which was picked up by Punk: detournement (the subversion of capitalist media tools and methodologies). In the installation, this materialises as a "paper embroidery", where all the stories on the front page of The Sun have been cut out and replaced by representative objects. This action leaves intact only the newspaper's dramatic title (a reference to the iconic song of the Sex Pistols), which actually introduces a Brexit-related lead story. Balaskas's commission was developed in intellectual and aesthetic dialogue with other exhibited artists influenced by the Punk movement: Mike Kelley, Martin Kippenberger and Paul McCarthy for their exploration of alienation; and Jimmie Durham, Claire Fontaine and the Guerrilla Girls for their questioning of structures of power. Through his work, Balaskas expands the political scope of such artistic practices into today's post-truth culture. More specifically, the artist investigates the roots of post-factuality by highlighting the pervasiveness of an intangible media spectacle. By making this spectacle "tangible" through the installation's objects, the artist provides a critique of "alternative facts"; thus, he creates a "visual reinterpretation" of theories by thinkers like Jean Baudrillard and Guy Debord, as well as more recent contributions by philosophers and political theorists such as Peter Sloterdijk, Daniel Dennett and Matthew D'Ancona. As the members of the audience are called to "reconnect" the missing news stories and infer meaning, Balaskas's work proposes a conceptual framework that places the responsibility of the viewer at the epicentre of contemporary visual culture. Following MACBA, the work has been presented at exhibitions in Athens, London and Nottingham.


The paper presents the results of examination of the structure and properties of nanocrystalline Cu-Al2O3 composites with the two different Al2O3 contents: 10 and 20 vol.%. The composites were produced using a mixture of copper and Al2O3 powders with an average crystallite size of about 60nm for Cu and about 40nm for Al2O3. The powders were consolidated by pulse plasma sintering (PPS) for 5 minutes at a temperature of 650oC under a load of 60 MPa. Irrespective of the volumetric content of Al2O3, the relative density of the composites was about 92%, and the average Cu crystallite size was about 80nm. The hardness of the composites varied with the volumetric content of Al2O3, and was equal to 270 HV0.1 for 20 and to 240 HV0.1 for 10% of Al2O3. The Cu-20%Al2O3 composite had a resistivity of 0.386 while that with 10% of Al2O3 was 0.149 56m.


Objectives. To describe the sociodemographic and health status characteristics of the national uninsured, State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)-eligible population, and to compare this population with Medicaid-enrolled children, privately insured children, and privately insured children who have family income in the SCHIP eligibility range. Procedures. Data were analyzed for 50 950 children 0 to 18 years of age included in the 1993 and 1994 National Health Interview Surveys. The survey obtained information on insurance coverage and sociodemographic and health status measures. Bivariate analyses were conducted to identify the relationships between SCHIP eligibility and sociodemographic and health status characteristics. Multivariate analyses were conducted to assess the independent association of the sociodemographic and health status variables with the likelihood of being uninsured, SCHIP-eligible. Primary Findings. Results indicate that SCHIP children exhibit markedly different socioeconomic and health status characteristics than do both Medicaid- enrolled and privately insured children, although these differences are less significant in privately insured children. SCHIP children more often live with college- educated (39.4%) and employed adults (91.2%) than do Medicaid-enrolled children (23.0% and 53.9%, respectively). However, SCHIP children live with college-educated and employed adults less than do all privately insured children (66.7% and 96.9%, respectively) and privately insured/same-income children (57.8% and 97.0%, respectively). Parents of SCHIP-eligible children are also disproportionately self-employed or employed in industries (eg, retail trade) and occupations in which health insurance coverage is less available or affordable. SCHIP-eligible children are also 2 times more likely to be adolescents and 1½ times more likely to be in excellent health than Medicaid-eligible children. Compared with privately insured children, SCHIP-eligible children are nearly 3 times more likely to be Hispanic and nearly 2 times more likely to be rated in fair or poor health. Conclusions. The results demonstrate that uninsured, SCHIP-eligible children are substantially different from children in these groups, particularly compared with Medicaid-enrolled children. These differences need to be taken into account when setting policies and implementing programs intended to increase health insurance coverage and access to health care.


According to our social-role theory of gender and helping, the male gender role fosters helping that is heroic and chivalrous, whereas the female gender role fosters helping that is nurturant and caring. In social psychological studies, helping behavior has been examined in the context of short-term encounters with strangers. This focus has tended to exclude from the research literature those helping behaviors prescribed by the female gender role, because they are displayed primarily in long-term, close relationships. In contrast, the helping behaviors prescribed by the male gender role have been generously represented in research findings because they are displayed in relationships with strangers as well as in close relationships. Results from our meta-analytic review of sex differences in helping behavior indicate that in general men helped more than women and women received more help than men. Nevertheless, sex differences in helping were extremely inconsistent across studies and were successfully predicted by various attributes of the studies and the helping behaviors. These predictors were interpreted in terms of several aspects of our social-role theory of gender and helping.


To the Editor: Currently, the use of the American Medical Association's Guides to the evaluation of permanent impairment' is written into Workers' Compensation law in South Australia (3rd edition, revised), Victoria (2nd edition) and Northern Territory (3rd edition, revised), and is an internal requirement of the Queensland Workers' Compensation Board (3rd edition, revised). There has been extensive criticism of the American Medical Association guidelines with respect to their validity, reliability, completeness and justness.2,3 ,4 While their use has great appeal for administrators, who see in them their ideal of certainty and reproducibility, it is not certain whether it has been primarily that group which has succeeded in having the guidelines introduced into law. Were the decisions to adopt them made in full cognizance of their deficiencies? It does appear that in some States, at least, there has been a lack of consultation with the medical profession and also with those in our community who are likely to be affected by the use of the guidelines. To those of us who are required, under legislation in our States, to assess impairment in patients according to the American Medical Association guidelines, it is interesting to hear that the Western Australian Government has rejected such a requirement. It is encouraging that the Western Australian Branch of the Australian Medical Association is producing guidelines for use by medical practitioners in that State. We look forward with interest to see what alternative model or models are proposed in Western Australia in the hope that it may act as a stimulus for reform in other States.


We sought to determine whether polymorphism in the serotonin transporter (5HTT) gene is associated with attentional bias toward smoking-related stimuli in current smokers and ex-smokers, using a modified Stroop task and an attentional blink task to measure selective processing of smoking-related stimuli. All participants attended a single testing session during which they completed the modified Stroop and attentional blink tasks to index attentional bias for smoking-related stimuli, in counterbalanced order. The experimental design included two between-subjects factors of smoking status (current smoker, ex-smoker) and 5HTT genotype (short, long). Smoking status x genotype interactions were significant on both the modified Stroop (p = .046) and the attentional blink (p = .006) tasks. On the modified Stroop task, we found a significant effect of 5HTT genotype on color-naming interference among ex-smokers (p = .018) but not current smokers (p = .989). On the attentional blink task, we found a significant effect of 5HTT genotype for current smokers (p = .028), whereas among ex-smokers this effect did not reach statistical significance, although it constituted a trend (p = .086). Our data provide tentative support for a moderating influence of 5HTT genotype on attentional bias for smoking-related stimuli in ex-smokers. This finding may account for inconsistent reports of attentional bias among ex-smokers.


Cultural sociology aims at incorporating the central role of meaning-making into the analysis of social phenomena. The article presents an overview of cultural sociology, focusing on its main theoretical frameworks, methodological strategies and empirical investigations. The interplay between the cultural and the social and the focus on meaning variations are two central principles of analysis based on which cultural sociologists seek to revitalize the notion of culture in sociology. Since these principles can be combined in different manners, the article compares the two main current approaches to connect cultural codes and social interactions in the symbolical analysis of social phenomena.


Associated to any finite simple graph $\Gamma$ is the chromatic polynomial $P_\Gamma(q)$ whose complex zeroes are called the chromatic zeros of $\Gamma$. A hierarchical lattice is a sequence of finite simple graphs $\{\Gamma_n\}_{n=0}^\infty$ built recursively using a substitution rule expressed in terms of a generating graph. For each $n$, let $\mu_n$ denote the probability measure that assigns a Dirac measure to each chromatic zero of $\Gamma_n$. Under a mild hypothesis on the generating graph, we prove that the sequence $\mu_n$ converges to some measure $\mu$ as $n$ tends to infinity. We call $\mu$ the limiting measure of chromatic zeros associated to $\{\Gamma_n\}_{n=0}^\infty$. In the case of the Diamond Hierarchical Lattice we prove that the support of $\mu$ has Hausdorff dimension two.
The main techniques used come from holomorphic dynamics and more specifically the theories of activity/bifurcation currents and arithmetic dynamics. We prove a new equidistribution theorem that can be used to relate the chromatic zeros of a hierarchical lattice to the activity current of a particular marked point. We expect that this equidistribution theorem will have several other applications.


Recent experiments by Brunet, Eggers & Deegan (Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 99, 2007, p. 144501 and Eur. Phys. J., vol. 166, 2009, p. 11) have demonstrated that drops of liquid placed on an inclined plane oscillating vertically are able to climb uphill. In the present paper, we show that a two-dimensional shallow-water model incorporating surface tension and inertia can reproduce qualitatively the main features of these experiments. We find that the motion of the drop is controlled by the interaction of a 'swaying' (odd) mode driven by the in-plane acceleration and a 'spreading' (even) mode driven by the cross-plane acceleration. Both modes need to be present to make the drop climb uphill, and the effect is strongest when they are in phase with each other.


Hydrogen peroxides (H2O2) are known to activate multiple cell signaling pathways but the mechanisms involved and how they are differentially regulated in specific normal mammary cell types is unknown. The luminal progenitor (LP) fraction of cells of the normal human mammary gland are of particular interest in this regard because, compared to the basal cells (BCs), these cells consume more O2, sustain higher levels of ROS, and are more resistant to H2O2 levels by virtue of their repertoire of enzymes that reduce both ROS and oxidized nucleotide products of ROS. However, these features of normal human LPs are also accompanied by their accumulation of more DNA damage. Here we examine the idea that the greater tolerance of LPs to ROS may be associated with a previously unknown intracellular signaling role of ROS in these cells. Using an optimized quantitative twin-photon and confocal-reflectance imaging system, we have found that the size of the spherical 3D structures produced in Matrigel cultures by freshly isolated, FACS-purified normal human LPs is increased in the presence of exogenous H2O2 at concentrations that are toxic to BCs. In addition to LPs, co-purified non-clonogenic luminal cells (LCs) display elevated levels of peroxiredoxin-1 peroxidase, a negative regulator of H2O2 action, as compared to BCs. Both of the luminal cell types (but not BCs) also showed tyrosine phosphorylation of peroxiredoxin-1 peroxidase (a biomarker of H2O2 action) when exposed for 10 minutes to exogenous H2O2, but LPs only showed marked inactivation of peroxiredoxin-1 in the absence of an external stimulus. Western blot analysis revealed a parallel and dramatic H2O2-induced pan-tyrosine phosphorylation response selectively in both luminal subsets, and their analysis at the single cell level by mass cytometry using a CyTOF identified multiple activated signaling intermediates. From FACS, immunohistochemistry, Western blot, microarray and RNA-Seq data analyses, we identified cKIT as the most differentially and highly expressed (albeit trypsin-sensitive) tyrosine kinase in LPs. Epigenetic analysis of the cKIT promoter showed it to be in an 'open' state exclusively in human LPs, and H2O2 treatment alone was sufficient to rapidly activate auto-phosphorylation of the cKIT Y719 residue, a site known to bind and thereby lead to the activation of PI3 kinase. Taken together, these findings reveal a new, ligand-independent function of a cell surface receptor in mediating a potent, lineage-specific signaling function of H2O2 that, in normal human mammary cells influences cell growth. Citation Format: Nagarajan Kannan, Kingsley Shih, Yifei Dong, Peter Eirew, David Knapp, Davide Pellacani, Hequn Wang, Haishan Zeng, Connie Eaves. Human mammary luminal progenitor cells use cKIT-H2O2 interactions to regulate their growth. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Advances in Breast Cancer Research; Oct 17-20, 2015; Bellevue, WA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2016;14(2_Suppl):Abstract nr A23.


Ginsenoside Rg1 (Rg1), one of the active ingredients in Panax ginseng, has been known to regulate many cellular processes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effects of Rg1 on apoptosis in mouse cultured astrocytes in vitro and a mouse model of cerebral ischemia and reperfusion in vivo. The cell apoptosis was measured by fluorescence microplate reader and xCELLigence system and the Ca(2+) overload was recorded by confocal microscopy. The mitochondrial membrane potential and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were determined by flow cytometry. BALB/c mice were subjected to transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and randomly divided into four groups: Sham (sham-operated +0.9% saline), MCAO (MCAO+0.9% saline), Rg1-L (MCAO+Rg1 20 mg/kg) and Rg1-H (MCAO+Rg1 40 mg/kg). Neurological deficit scores, brain water content and infarct volume were evaluated at 24 h after reperfusion. The results showed that Rg1 significantly attenuated H2O2-induced apoptosis in astrocytes. Rg1 efficiently inhibited intracellular Ca(2+) overload, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, and ROS production in astrocytes. In vivo study, it was also observed that Rg1 markedly reduced the neurological deficit scores, brain edema, and infarct volume in the model mice. These results suggest that Rg1 possesses significant neuroprotective effects, which might be related to the prevention of astrocytes from apoptosis.


Recognition of the epigenetic mark 5-methylcytosine (mC) at CpG sites in DNA has emerged as a novel function of many eukaryotic transcription factors (TFs). It remains unclear why the sequence specificity of these TFs differs for CpG-methylated motifs and consensus motifs. Here, we dissect the structural and dynamic basis for this differential DNA-binding specificity in the human zinc finger TF Kaiso, which exhibits high affinity for two consecutive mCpG sites in variable contexts and also for a longer, sequence-specific Kaiso binding site (KBS). By integrating structural analysis and DNA binding studies with targeted protein mutagenesis and nucleotide substitutions, we identify distinct mechanisms for readout of methylated and KBS motifs by Kaiso. We show that a key glutamate residue (E535), critical for mCpG site recognition, adopts different conformations in complexes with specific and methylated DNA. These conformational differences, together with intrinsic variations in DNA flexibility and/or solvation at TpG versus mCpG sites, contribute to different DNA affinity and sequence specificity. With methylated DNA, multiple direct contacts between E535 and the 5' mCpG site dominate the binding affinity, allowing for tolerance of different flanking DNA sequences. With KBS, Kaiso employs E535 as part of an indirect screen of the 5' flanking sequence, relying on key tyrosine-DNA interactions to stabilize an optimal DNA conformation and select against non-cognate sites. These findings demonstrate how TFs use conformational adaptation and exploit variations in DNA flexibility to achieve distinct DNA readout outcomes and target a greater variety of regulatory and epigenetic sites than previously appreciated.


ABSTRACT Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) establishes a life-long infection in humans, with distinct viral latency programs predominating during acute and chronic phases of infection. Only a subset of the EBV latency-associated antigens present during the acute phase of EBV infection are expressed in the latently infected memory B cells that serve as the long-term EBV reservoir. Since the EBV immortalization program elicits a potent cellular immune response, downregulation of viral gene expression in the long-term latency reservoir is likely to facilitate evasion of the immune response and persistence of EBV in the immunocompetent host. Tissue culture and tumor models of restricted EBV latency have consistently demonstrated a critical role for methylation of the viral genome in maintaining the restricted pattern of latency-associated gene expression. Here we extend these observations to demonstrate that the EBV genomes in the memory B-cell reservoir are also heavily and discretely methylated. This analysis reveals that methylation of the viral genome is a normal aspect of EBV infection in healthy immunocompetent individuals and is not restricted to the development of EBV-associated tumors. In addition, the pattern of methylation very likely accounts for the observed inhibition of the EBV immortalization program and the establishment and maintenance of a restricted latency program. Thus, EBV appears to be the first example of a parasite that usurps the host cell-directed methylation system to regulate pathogen gene expression and thereby establish a chronic infection.


Quetiapine is an atypical antipsychotic drug that can be used to treat mental disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and Alzheimer's disease. Quetiapine is mainly converted into the active metabolites of norquetiapine and 7-hydroxyquetiapine by the liver enzymes CYP3A4 and CYP2D6. In this study, liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) was used as a sample pretreatment method to eliminate interferences in plasma. tert-Butyl methyl ether was chosen as the extraction solvent. Field-enhanced sample injection (FESS), an online preconcentration technique, was used to analyze quetiapine and its metabolites norquetiapine and 7-hydroxyquetiapine in plasma. The optimal separation condition was 120 mM phosphate (pH 4.0) containing 0.005% (w/v) polyvinyl pyrrolidone and 40% (v/v) methanol. The methanol plug was 0.3 psi for 6 s, the sample was electrokinetic injection by 10 kV for 60 s at positive polarity, and the separation voltage was set at 26 kV. In this experiment, quetiapine, norquetiapine and 7-hydroxyquetiapine were successfully extracted from plasma by the LLE method and stacking and separated by FESS within 15 min. The limits of detection (S/N = 3) of quetiapine, norquetiapine and 7-hydroxyquetiapine were 0.25 ng/mL, 0.50 ng/mL and 1.00 ng/mL, respectively. The linear ranges of quetiapine, norquetiapine and 7-hydroxyquetiapine were 3–120 ng/mL and the correlation coefficients were 0.999. Compared with that of the traditional capillary zone electrophoresis method, the sensitivity enrichment of analytes was 463-835-fold. The optimal experimental conditions were successfully applied to the analysis of plasma samples from patients taking quetiapine for the treatment of schizophrenia.


Oral immunotherapy (OIT) is a significant focus of treatment of food allergy. OIT appears to be effective in inducing desensitization, however, patients receiving OIT frequently developmild/moderate symptoms during the therapy. It has not been clearly established whether the clinical tolerance induced by OIT resembles natural tolerance. According to our data, the efficacy of OIT is different among food antigens, and it is comparatively difficult to achieve the clinical tolerance in milk OIT. Moreover, the definitive evidence of efficacy and safety with long-term therapy is limited. Further studies need to be offered to patients in clinical practice. Recently, novel treatments for food allergy, sublingual and epicutaneous immunotherapy, and combination treatment with an anti-IgE monoclonal antibody (omalizumab), have been examined in some studies. OIT combined with omalizumab increased the threshold doses of food without adverse reactions and may be of benefit in food allergy treatment. More studies are needed to demonstrate long-term safety and treatment benefits in a larger patient cohort.


This research intends to contribute to security in the urban public realm by studying aspects related to urban design projects. The specific objective is to establish criteria and design arrangements that are capable of inhibiting certain criminal acts, such as robbery, and stimulate the appropriation of the public spaces by the community. The investigation process selected the "Superquadras" located at Plano Piloto, Brasilia, for the present case study. Their physical, environmental and functional aspects were analyzed. This choice was based on their project peculiarities, such as the public pilotis, and the emerging use of electronic policing at the residential buildings. The methodology also took into account the official crime rates, what made possible the selection of two "Superquadras" (SQN 208 and SQN 408) for this case study, where physical, environmental and functional characteristics, such as accessibility, land use, community participation, recreational activities, public equipment and furniture maintenance, were analyzed and compared. Design guidelines were elaborated with the objective of turning the area between commercial and residential uses at SQN 408 (called Area 1), a place considered criminally vulnerable, into a safer place. This research aims to create safer and more inclusive public urban places, and at the same time offers the possibility of increasing the quality of life and sustainability in the cities.


Background: Methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (MS-SAB) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Long courses of intravenous antibiotics are the traditionally recommended mainstay of treatment but are often not completed in clinical practice. Shorter courses are potentially attractive from an antimicrobial stewardship and resource perspective, but require a good evidence base. Methods: A retrospective audit of MS-SAB management within Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (2016-17). Laboratory database was used to identify all cases of MS-SAB. Demographic details, risk factors and management were recorded from patient records. Outcomes were defined as 90d recurrence-free survival, 30d mortality, 30-90d mortality and recurrence before 90d. Results: A total of 281 adult cases were identified with adequate data available for review. Predictors of early (30d) mortality were: age, 71.4y vs 58y p<0.001; HAI, 21.4% vs 8.6% p=0.003; osteo-articular infections, 2.5% vs 17.1% p=0.016; but not antibiotic choice. In cases surviving 30d (n=238), median antibiotic durations were: intravenous 10d (range, 0-115), total 18d (0-316). 83% received ≥14d total, 41% received ≥14d intravenous. Receiving <9d intravenous (OR 3.33 (95%CI 1.01- 10.95) or <14d total therapy (OR 4.19 (1.37-12.84) was predictive of recurrent bacteraemia, as was non-beta-lactam therapy (16% vs 4%, p=0.006), and poor CRP response at end of intravenous therapy (68% vs 35% of peak CRP, p<0.001). Conclusions: These data suggest lower durations (9-14d) of intravenous therapy could be safe in MS-SAB, however very short courses (<9d) are associated with worse outcomes. This new evidence helps inform guidelines, balancing optimised patient outcomes alongside improved antimicrobial stewardship.


In this study, we deposited Fe films on MoS2 flakes, and investigated the microscopic magnetic behavior on individual flakes. The MoS2 flakes were fabricated on SiO2/Si(1 0 0) substrates using chemical vapor deposition. Fe coverage was deposited on the MoS2 flakes by e-beam evaporation with a thin Pd capping for protection. Investigations by atomic force microscope and Raman spectroscopy confirmed that the MoS2 flakes had a mean lateral size of 10–20 μ m and mostly single layer thick. After depositing 3.6 and 7.0 nm Fe on MoS2/SiO2, clear hysteresis loops were observable with the in-plane magnetic field. From the investigation using a magneto-optical Kerr microscope, we measured the hysteresis curves within individual MoS2 flakes. Although the Fe coverage was much thicker than the MoS2 atomic step height (∼0.66 nm) and the direct connection and strong ferromagnetic coupling between Fe/MoS2 and Fe/SiO2 were expected, a magnetic decoupling between the magnetic domains of Fe/MoS2 and Fe/SiO2 was surprisingly observed. For 3.6 nm Fe/MoS2, the magnetic coercivity (Hc) was 28  ±  5 Oe, while in contrast, the Hc of 3.6 nm Fe/SiO2 ranged 58  ±  5 Oe. With a thicker Fe coverage of 7.0 nm, the Hc of Fe/MoS2 and Fe/SiO2 converged and the magnetic decoupling became too weak to observe. The distinct interface magnetic anisotropy of Fe on different substrates was held responsible for the observed magnetic decoupling across the MoS2 atomic step between Fe/MoS2 and Fe/SiO2 domains. These observations will be valuable in combining a magnetic coverage with a single layer MoS2 for future spintronic applications.


Abstract A crisis of mass immigration detention exists in the United States, which is home to the world's largest immigration detention system. The immigration detention system is legally classified as civil, rather than criminal, and therefore non-punitive. Yet it mimics the criminal incarceration system and holds detained individuals in punitive, prison-like conditions. Within immigration detention centers, there are increasing reports and recognition of civil and human rights abuses, including preventable in-custody deaths. In this paper, we propose understanding the health impacts of detention as an accumulation of mental and physical trauma that take place during the entirety of a detained immigrant's experience, from migration to potential deportation and removal. Further, we explore the social-structural determinants of health as they relate to immigration detention, contextualize these determinants within a human rights framework, and draw parallels to the larger context of US mass incarceration. Realizing the right to health requires addressing these social-structural determinants of health. For the care of immigrant patients to be effective, clinicians and public health professionals must incorporate an awareness of the health risks of the immigration detention system into trauma- and human rights-informed models of care during and after detention.


Mobile communication systems have continued to evolve by the release of new standards for HSPA and the release of new standards for LTE in release 8 and release 9. The new releases aim at providing higher data rates to accommodate the envisioned services of 3GPP in voice, data, image transmission, video, multimedia service and broadband services. Catering for a wide variety of services to satisfy the demands imposed on mobile networks by the user diversity and demanding applications, the air interface has been identified as the major bottleneck in the mobile networks. Network planning engineers and operators are deploying the new air interfaces in the same cell sites, which gives rise to several internetworking issues among the different air interfaces from radio resources management to service call continuity issues due to user's mobility and changing point of attachment. Deployment of different air interfaces coupled with traffic diversity requests further complicates the managements of the mobile networks. One of The main objectives of this research is to propose and evaluate solutions that address the internetworking of the different radio air interfaces in proposing a call admission control algorithm that can utilize different air interfaces capabilities and to determine which traffic types are better suited to be serviced by an interface. The proposed algorithm will consider the availability of the interface, the load of the network and the user equipment capabilities. Another main objective of this research is to propose and evaluate solutions that address changing the point of attachment of the users due to mobility in the form of handover algorithm. The proposed algorithm will consider the coverage of the node, direction and speed of the user, the network load, the air interface availability and the user equipment capabilities. Another main objective of this research is to design and implement a simulation system which includes all 3GPP standardized technologies. The simulation tool was designed as a discrete event simulation (DBS) system which includes all the standardized air interface technologies and services. The simulation tool was designed using Visual C# to take advantage of the object oriented capabilities of the Windows environment and libraries. The simulation tool was essential in evaluating the proposed algorithms in the first two objectives.


Rome - Human herpesvirus-8 has been implicated as the causative agent of Kaposi's sarcoma, often seen in patients with AIDS. Until recently, primary HHV-8 infection had been described only in immunocompromised patients, such as AIDS patients. Massimo Andreoni, M.D., and colleagues from Italy and Egypt presented the first report of primary HHV-8 infection in immunocompetent individuals (JAMA 2002; 287: 1295-1300).


This paper emphasises that more holistic infrastructure systems are of great importance to achieving sustainable development of China and hence of the planet. Whilst rapid urbanisation brings the prospect of economic growth and a higher standard of living, it may also involve unsustainable consumption of scarce resources (land, materials, energy and water), accompanied by environmental degradation (such as pollution, emissions and waste). The challenge is to achieve the necessary economic growth but with far lower resource use, and thus reduce the ecological footprint, as recognised by China's Circular Economy policy. Whilst developed nations should rightly aim for a Factor 10 improvement in resource productivity, Factor 4 is often seen as a more appropriate target for developing countries – a fourfold increase. This involves doubling wealth while halving resource use in order to return to an ecological balance. Arguably, even greater resource productivity is required. China's economy will need to achieve at least a sevenfold increase in efficiency of resource use to achieve the goal of 'all-round well-being of society' set for 2050, although some have argued that a tenfold increase (90% improvement) will be required. The paper highlights the significant contribution of transport, energy, water and built infrastructure to resource consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and the ecological footprint. It examines ways that China can move towards a Factor 10 improvement in resource productivity. This involves viewing infrastructure as 'a system to facilitate the delivery of services' to support social and economic development in an integrated, eco- or resource-efficient, cost-effective and socially inclusive manner, coupled with extending the principles of a 'product service system' more widely to an 'infrastructure service system'. It is argued that a revolution in thought and action is required to achieve the necessary paradigm shift in China, with the West leading by example.


This Article's purpose is to reveal the new research areas provided by the COVID-19 pandemic, in which translation training, translation history, cultural studies and other fields are included. The COVID-19 epidemic has brought profound change to the world's order, culture, communication and globalization. Every part of the world is doing its best to recover from the damage caused by the epidemic, and translation studies could play a role that is as important as natural science studies and practice, which provide a medical cure for the epidemic: they promote multilateral understanding worldwide, increase the sharing and dissemination of information fighting against the epidemic, also would effectively ensure translation activities and training with the help of modern technology. Although it is impossible to have the directions deeply dug in this article due to the limitation of the length, it sheds light on these possible areas so that those who are interested can pursue them. The source of these directions came from the author's analysis of selected works conducted by trusted researchers around the world.


Compartment syndromes can occur in many body regions. Abdominal compartment syndrome, initially described many years ago, has become increasingly recognised in critical care patients. The key points regarding its definition, pathophysiology, aetiology and treatment are described and discussed. Abdominal compartment syndrome is defined as an intra-abdominal pressure >20 mm Hg with evidence of organ dysfunction. At risk patients should be identified in the emergency department and early monitoring of intra-abdominal pressure instituted. Interventions in the emergency department potentially contribute to the development of abdominal compartment syndrome during subsequent phases of care. The need to ensure an early multidisciplinary approach in the management of this complex condition is essential for the best possible patient outcome.


Energy efficiency in fading channels in the presence of Quality of Service (QoS) constraints is studied. Effective capacity, which provides the maximum arrival rate that a wireless channel can sustain while satisfying statistical QoS constraints, is considered. Spectral efficiency-bit energy tradeoff is analyzed in the low-power and wideband regimes by employing the effective capacity formulation, rather than the Shannon capacity. Through this analysis, energy requirements under QoS constraints are identified. The analysis is conducted under two assumptions: perfect channel side information (CSI) available only at the receiver and perfect CSI available at both the receiver and transmitter. In particular, it is shown in the low-power regime that the minimum bit energy required under QoS constraints is the same as that attained when there are no such limitations. However, this performance is achieved as the transmitted power vanishes. Through the wideband slope analysis, the increased energy requirements at low but nonzero power levels in the presence of QoS constraints are determined. A similar analysis is also conducted in the wideband regime. The minimum bit energy and wideband slope expressions are obtained. In this regime, the required bit energy levels are found to be strictly greater than those achieved when Shannon capacity is considered. Overall, a characterization of the energy-bandwidth-delay tradeoff is provided.


Hymns are a vital part of worship in most denominations. Congregational song has developed through the ages to include plainsong melodies, psalm settings, folk melodies, composed hymn tunes, gospel songs, sacred choruses, spirituals, and canons. All of these categories are included in this work. Wasson's index, by focusing itself exclusively upon hymntunes, is the most comprehensive collection of hymns and hymn materials that has been created to date. It also provides new information about the many hymns that have been written during the "hymnal explosion" of the last twenty-five years. Hymntune Index and Related Hymn Materials is an extraordinary resource for organists, church musicians, and librarians. Cataloging over 33,000 melodies sung by congregations world-wide, it provides the source of each and lists related materials. Included are incipits of the hymntune in the Tonic Sol-fa system, alternate titles for the same tune, hymnals by code and hymn numbers where the tune may be found, catalog reference numbers to the index key which lists material on the hymn tune, "other references" (such as sheet music), and Concertatos on the hymntune. Hymn materials include composer or arranger, publisher and publisher's catalog number, and the title. The index is helpful when looking for tunes by a particular composer or arranger, and also for noting the variations of a particular tune. It provides a broad range of hymntune based music, and allows the reader to compare tunes of similar melodic contours. An essential work for organists, pastors, and libraries with music collections.


Orchids of the genus Caladenia have been shown to utilise two quite different pollination strategies, namely species-specific sexual deception of thynnine wasps and a more generalist strategy attracting a larger spectrum of foraging insects. While baiting techniques have enabled the identification of numerous pollinators of sexually deceptive Caladenia, insects that pollinate food-advertising species have received little attention. The present study employed a multidisciplinary approach to better evaluate the pollination syndrome of the white spider orchid, Caladenia rigida R.S.Rogers, a species previously reported to utilise both food and sexual deception. This included the observation and capture of potential pollinators of C. rigida through direct observation, pantraps, Malaise traps and pollinator-baiting experiments, and the use of molecular techniques to identify orchid pollinia isolated from carrier insects. We describe a suite of generalist insects visiting and bearing pollinia from C. rigida. In addition, samples collected from the labellum and column of C. rigida contained sugars at levels comparable to those of a known nectar-producing orchid, Microtis parviflora R.Br. Potential osmophores in the clubs and calli stained positively with neutral red and although this character is often associated with sexual deception, we found no evidence for this secondary pollination syndrome in C. rigida. The present study is the first one to provide a detailed description of the pollinators and pollination syndrome of a non-sexually deceptive species within the genus Caladenia and the first report to provide evidence of nectar production by a species within this genus.


Using the monomer-dimer representation of strongly coupled $U(N)$ lattice gauge theories with staggered fermions, we study finite temperature chiral phase transitions in $2+1$ dimensions. A new cluster algorithm allows us to compute monomer-monomer and dimer-dimer correlations at zero monomer density (chiral limit) accurately on large lattices. This makes it possible to show convincingly, for the first time, that these models undergo a finite temperature phase transition which belongs to the Kosterlitz-Thouless universality class. We find that the phase transition persists for all values of N, but occurs at different values of the critical temperature ${T}_{c}.$ Further, when ${T/T}_{c}$ is held fixed, the mean field analysis often used in the large N limit breaks down.


The relationships between dynamics response and preload of bolted joint were studied. By using finite element analysis method, nonlinear model of flange structure with bolted joint was established. The transient analysis for different preload condition of bolted joint was employed to obtain steady state response. The energy of the difference signals between up and down mating surfaces was computed. The energy of the difference signals increased as preload of bolted joint decreased, and nonlinearity of bolted joint increased. The numerical results were compared with experimental measurements. The similarity was found to be satisfactory.


Essential Cases: Tort Law provides a bridge between course textbooks and key case judgments. This case document summarizes the facts and decision in O (A Child) v Rhodes [2016] AC 219. The document also included supporting commentary from author Craig Purshouse.


Woody plants are encroaching into grasslands and savannas of the karst Edwards Plateau, but their impacts on climate and hydrology are unclear because of high variability in soil depth and uncertainties about the contribution of water in fractured limestone to the water available to trees. Water use is controlled by available energy (AE) and its partitioning between latent (λE) and sensible (H) heat fluxes. We hypothesized that the partitioning of AE depends on soil depth, with greater depth leading to more λE and less H. We compared energy fluxes of a deep soil savanna with ~50% woody cover dominated by Ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei) and a shallow soil woodland dominated by live oak (Quercus virginiana) and juniper over a 5‐year period, which included periods of unusually high rainfall and severe drought. Although AE was 7% higher in the woodland, λE was about 2% higher at the savanna over the 5‐year study. Site differences in evapotranspiration were maximal during dry periods between rainfall events, suggesting greater storage of water at the savanna site. During periods of high rainfall, the impact of water storage limitations was minimal, and site differences in evapotranspiration were controlled mainly by AE and its partitioning into H. Both sites were characterized by rapid reductions in λE and reciprocal increases in H during drying cycles following rainfall, indicating that neither of these ecosystems had access to easily utilized sources of deep water. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


In a MANET, there is no Base Station i.e no fixed infrastructure and the nodes are free to move, thus network topology changes dynamically in an unpredictable manner. In this network each node acts both as a router and its job as an ordinary device. The major constraint of a network is the network parameters. These parameters are crucial in determining the network stability and reliability. Hence a better algorithm than the existing DSR algorithm is proposed to make the network transmission energy ecient. The major parameters on which the selection of the path depends is : (1) Node type and energy (2) Packet size (3) Delay in the network channel (4) no of hop counts required to reach the destination (5) Energy loss during transmission The conventional DSR algorithm uses any arbitrary path between the source and the destination pair. There is no parameter to judge the effectiveness of the path and this even floods the route cache with lengthier and multiple paths for the same source and destination. The EEDSR algorithm selects a node as a source node n then selects a set of node as destination. For each source and destination pair the best path is selected and then the parameters are collected. The average value of the parameters are taken over al the source and destination pair. This process is repeated for all the network of different dimension and a graph was plotted between no of nodes and the average parameter value. This algorithm not only enhances the network life but also minimises the effort required during the route maintenance phase. It even prevents back flooding of the packets and thus reduces the network congestion.


Horizontal air-cooled low-pressure hot-wall CVD (LP-HWCVD) system is developed to get high quality 4H-SiC epilayers. Homoepitaxial growth of 4H-SiC on off-oriented Si-face (0001) 4H-SiC substrates purchased from Cree is performed at a typical temperature of 1500°C with a pressure of 40 Torr by using SiH4+C2H4+H2 gas system. The surface morphologies and structural and optical properties of 4H-SiC epilayers are characterized with Nomarski optical microscope, atomic force microscopy (AFM), x-ray diffraction, Raman scattering, and low temperature photoluminescence (LTPL). The background doping of 32 μm-thick sample has been reduced to 2-5×1015 cm-3. The FWHM of the rocking curve is 9-16 arcsec. Intentional N-doped and B-doped 4H-SiC epilayers are obtained by in-situ doping of NH3 and B2H6, respectively. Schottky barrier diodes with reverse blocking voltage of over 1000 V are achieved preliminarily.


ABSTRACT The egg of Chelostoma (Prochelostoma) philadelphi (Robertson) and its last larval instar, which had been preserved while defecating, are described and illustrated. The egg was collected from nests constructed in frass-filled burrows of the beetle Xylobiops basilaris (Say) in a dead branch of Ficus carica L. Nests consisting of a short linear arrangement of cells are described as is the provisioning behavior of the bee. Although distinguishable, the last stage larva is similar to that of another species belonging to a different subgenus of Chelostoma. The two larvae will be compared in a subsequent publication.


This Article examines the regulatory goals of creating "fair, orderly, and efficient" securities markets in light of the recent issues involving trading in the shares of GameStop Corp. (GME) through the broker-dealer firm Robinhood Financial LLC. The GameStop/Robinhood saga casts significant doubt on the notion that the SEC is achieving its goal of maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitating capital formation. Moreover, the saga provides further support for the view that market forces tend to make securities markets fairer, where fairness is defined as investors "getting what they pay for," rather than as investors "beating the market" by earning abnormal returns. Further, market processes tend to make markets more efficient, while regulation tends to make markets less efficient. Finally, it appears that regulation tends to further the interests of Wall Street elites over the interests of ordinary investors.


Elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) have increasingly experienced human pressures over recent decades, ranging from overfishing to habitat loss. Addressing these pressures is the main challenge for elasmobranch conservation. Specific life-history traits (including slow growth, late maturation, long gestation periods, and small litters) have resulted in high susceptibility to excessive mortality, and have limited their recovery ability. A better understanding of aspects of their biology, population connectivity, habitat use, adaptation and demographic patterns is an important step towards improved management and conservation of elasmobranchs. Yet there is insufficient information to understand the status of almost 50% of elasmobranch species, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened species. The advent of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies has seen a transition from conservation genetics to genomics (from gene to genome scales), which is informing our understanding of species and improving conservation outcomes based on these insights. This technology has provided access to thousands of genome-wide markers, collectively capable of providing reliable inferences about demographic patterns and enabling detection of local adaptation. Developing and applying genomics tools to investigate elasmobranch biology and ecology is therefore an important step towards improving their management and conservation.

This thesis focuses on the Galapagos shark (Carcharhinus galapagensis), a species categorized as "Near Threatened" by the IUCN in 2003, with a circumtropical distribution and a preference for isolated oceanic islands in tropical and warm temperate waters. Importantly, information about population structure and connectivity across most of the species' geographic range is lacking, and current knowledge of habitat use and population structure is limited to specific areas. Hence, C. galapagensis is a good elasmobranch case study to apply comprehensive genomics tools to detect stock structure, inter-population connectivity, intra-population self-replenishment and to estimate effective population sizes. Informed by these measures, population status at different geographic scales can be used to prioritize populations in need of improved management. Galapagos sharks also co-occur with a closely related carcharhinid, Carcharhinus obscurus in parts of their respective distribution ranges. Although the Galapagos shark shows some level of site fidelity, there have been reports of individuals traveling long distances (>2,000 km). Despite their ecological importance in ecosystems as high-level predators, limited genetic and genomic resources are available for Galapagos sharks worldwide. Therefore, the main objective of this thesis was to develop genetic and genomic resources for the Galapagos shark, and to use these to confirm species status, identify inter-specific hybridisation if present and investigate population structure at different geographic scales across the Pacific Ocean, in order to inform and improve conservation efforts of the species at local and regional scales.

By sequencing the mitochondrial control region (947bp in length) and developing thousands of genome-wide Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), I was able to detect population structure at a relatively small geographic scale within the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador). While mitochondrial DNA did not identify structure among these Islands, clustering and network analyses using 8,103 neutral SNPs congruently indicated that two well-differentiated stocks exist in the southern Galapagos Marine Reserve - western (Isabela Island) and eastern (San Cristobal and Santa Cruz Islands). Effective population size (Ne) estimation of both populations was relatively low (approximately 200 for each population), highlighting their vulnerability to harvest (including by-catch) and habitat loss. Regional environmental differences across the archipelago or in their behaviors may underlie the observed population structure, but the extent of the influence of these and other factors are still to be investigated. This is the first effort to include genomic tools to assess genetic structure and connectivity of elasmobranchs within the archipelago. Implications of these findings are important for appropriate management of Galapagos sharks in the Galapagos islands, where previous management plans have based conservation strategies on acoustic and satellite tagging information of other species with different ecological characteristics, such as the scalloped hammerhead shark.

The population structure and connectivity of C. galapagensis across the Pacific Ocean using a combination of mtDNA and nuclear genome-wide SNPs for 229 individuals was also examined. At least two genetically discrete geographic groups were delineated by analysing 7,274 neutral SNPs: an East Tropical Pacific (including samples from Mexico and the Galapagos Islands) and a central-west Pacific group (including samples from Hawaii, New Zealand (the Kermadec Islands), Australia (Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs, Lord Howe and Norfolk islands)), along with a few South African samples from the Indian ocean). Additional population structure was suggested using outlier SNPs, potentially under selective pressure, at the within region level, with four putatively adaptive conservation units identified: the west Pacific (Australia and New Zealand), the central Pacific (Hawaii), Mexico and the east Pacific (Galapagos). The identification of management and adaptive units at various spatial scales is particularly important for overharvested large predatory organisms, often characterized by smaller, localized populations. I highlight the importance of including both regional and global scale assessments, as well as the use of putative adaptive loci to accurately inform conservation at different geographic scales.

Finally, aiming to understand the relationship between Galapagos and dusky (Carcharhinus obscurus) sharks, given the debate in the literature regarding their validity as independent species, this thesis addressed the taxonomic status of the Galapagos shark and investigated possible hybridisation between these two shark species. Appropriate taxonomic identification, as well as a comprehensive understanding of hybridisation (if detected) in ecologically important species like sharks, is an important step towards achieving effective long-term conservation goals. With a single documented case of inter-species hybridisation in sharks to date - between the Australian Carcharhinus tilstoni and common C. limbatus (blacktip shark) - hybridisation amongst sharks remains poorly investigated. Morphological similarities between the Galapagos and dusky sharks have previously resulted in misidentifications in areas where they co-occur, indicating the need for appropriate tools to distinguish these species in the first instance. Although a recent study helped define them as valid independent species, no evidence of ongoing hybridisation was found, probably due to small sample sizes from contact zones. Therefore, I proposed that hybridisation and introgression between Galapagos and dusky sharks be examined by sampling more individuals of both species from contact zones (specifically, along the western Mexican coast in the east Pacific), and by using an approach capable of detecting low levels of admixture, such as SNPs. Using empirical analytical approaches and simulations, I first identified a subset of 1,873 highly informative and reliable discriminatory loci for these two species. These discriminatory SNPs were able to identify the extent and direction of hybridisation and introgression between Galapagos and dusky sharks, indicating the presence of four individuals corresponding to various hybrid generations. Given the morphological similarities between these, and other closely related Carcharhinus species leading to mislabelling/misidentification cases, I emphasise the importance of a robust and broad sampling strategy across the Pacific distribution of both species. Furthermore, I highlight the need for a complete phylogenomic study of the whole genus, together with comprehensive quality assessment and data filtering in order to accurately define species relationships and detect rare hybridisation and introgression cases.

Overall, this thesis presents the most comprehensive set of genomic resources for the Galapagos shark to date and results provide important novel insights into the species conservation genetic status across the Pacific Ocean, as well as within regional and local geographic areas. This will better inform what needs and challenges are faced by Galapagos shark populations and will ultimately help inform improved conservation and management efforts of more shark species as well.


Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the application of a qualitative and theoretical tool for the evaluation of Quality Management and Social Responsibility applied to Higher Education Institutions, specifically to the University of Évora, Portugal. Methodology: The elaboration of the qualitative and theoretical model was based on the content analysis of two scientific articles on the theme of Social Responsibility and Quality. The articles in question were "TQM and CSR Nexus" of Ghobadian et al., published in 2007 in the International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management and "The Corporate Social Responsibility Audit Within the Quality Management Framework" of van der Wiele et al., published in 2001 in the Journal of Business Ethics. A relational analysis between the philosophies of Total Quality Management (TQM) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), quality excellence models and the elements of the TQM process, aspects and elements of the social responsibility process and CSR audit tools was done. The model resulting from the relational analysis was then applied to the University of Évora (UEv), which allowed us to analyze this case study. Result: The model was successfully applied to the University of Évora and the results obtained revealed the importance of Quality Management and Social Responsibility on the general managing of the institution to achieve a sustainable and promising future for all stakeholders (among others, students, workers, employers and society in general). Conclusion: The model has proved to be successful in providing useful information for a sustainable management of the University. It is shown that in a sustainable way both concepts and practices of TQM and CSR have evolved and have conjugate, making possible the improvement of the institution performance.


How should we gather information to make effective decisions? A classical answer to this fundamental problem is given by the decision-theoretic value of information. Unfortunately, optimizing this objective is intractable, and myopic (greedy) approximations are known to perform poorly. In this paper, we introduce DiRECt, an efficient yet near-optimal algorithm for nonmyopically optimizing value of information. Crucially, DiRECt uses a novel surrogate objective that is: (1) aligned with the value of information problem (2) efficient to evaluate and (3) adaptive submodular. This latter property enables us to utilize an efficient greedy optimization while providing strong approximation guarantees. We demonstrate the utility of our approach on four diverse case-studies: touch-based robotic localization, comparison-based preference learning, wild-life conservation management, and preference elicitation in behavioral economics. In the first application, we demonstrate DiRECt in closed-loop on an actual robotic platform.


Chronic ingestion of arsenic is associated with an increased risk of vascular disease such as atherosclerosis. Previously, we showed that arsenite inhibits the synthesis of general proteoglycans (PGs), which are key molecules in the progression of atherosclerosis, in vascular endothelial cells. In the present study, we investigated the effect of several metals on arsenite-induced inhibitory effect in endothelial cells. The results indicate that, after 24-hr incubation, the inhibition of PG synthesis caused by sodium arsenite was protected by bismuth nitrate but not zinc sulfate, manganese chloride, nickel chloride or cobalt chloride. The accumulation of arsenic in the cell layer was significantly decreased by bismuth after 12-hr incubation and that of bismuth was also decreased by arsenite. It was therefore suggested that the protective effect of bismuth against the inhibitory effect of arsenite on PG synthesis in vascular endothelial cells may be due, at least in part, to the decrease in cellular arsenic accumulation.


The purposes of this article are to test the new need for orientation (NFO) scale by Matthes (2006) in an agenda-setting study, and to explore the role of NFO for the second level of agenda setting. A panel survey on the issue unemployment was combined with an extensive content analysis of TV and newspaper coverage. The results show that NFO leads to an increase in the perceived media salience of the issue, and by doing so, it fosters the (first-level) agenda-setting function of the news media. However, although a second-level agenda-setting effect occurs, NFO has no influence on the perceived media salience of affective issue attributes. It can be concluded that NFO explains the amount of information seeking, but not the affective tone of the information that individuals are looking for.


MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous small RNA
regulatory molecules of approximate 20-24 nucleotides that are involved in regulating
the intrinsic growth and development of organs in plants and animals as well as
in maintaining the integrity of genomes. Past few years have witnessed an
increase in research reports on the crucial role of miRNAs in plant stress
response. Plant miRNAs regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional
level not only by suppression of mRNA translation but also by direct cleavage
of the target mRNAs. This review starts with a brief overview on small RNAs
including miRNAs, biogenesis of miRNA and focuses mainly on the various up and
down-regulated plant miRNAs under different biotic and abiotic stresses showing
advancement of studies about miRNA and their stress regulation pathway. This
review explores the emerging role of miRNAs as potential biomarkers in plant
stress responses.


Analysis and assessment of forest management in the past management period, as a chapter in forest management plans, are crucial for sustainable forest management. The results of our analysis on a sample of nine forest management plans from the Republic of Srpska, clearly showed the formal character of the preparation of this chapter. Management unit areas unduly suffering constant changes. Inventories are also changing unrealistic during the management period, and large, often drastic, decrease in the forest quality remains unexplained. Growth increment changes also do not have an adequate explanation, and required importance is not attached to forest openness analysis. In the analysis of cutting plan realization, it was forti ed more situations of non-compliance of legal provisions in the writing of this chapter, as well as the forest management. It is the similar situation with silvicultural works and forest protection. Forest cultures disappear because of the forest tending and thinning absence. Realization of forest wood sortiments per structure is worryingly poor. While most valuable assortments "tend to zero", the forest waste increases. Investments not exist. Other functions and services of forests are completely neglected. There is no critical assessment of management in the past management period, which is mandatory in forest management plans.


Callahan (1985) developed a procedure of tapping on acupressure points for treating mental problems. Craig and Fowlie (1995) modified Callahan's procedure to a simplified version called Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). EFT is easy to teach and is effective with symptoms of PTSD. This article presents EFT as an adjunct to the Critical Incident Stress Reduction debriefing procedures. The use of EFT in debriefings results in shorter and more thorough sessions. It often reduces the emotional pain of the debriefing. This paper provides complete instructions and safeguards for using EFT when debriefing in disaster situations and with other applications. Included are references for further reading and training.


WHATEVER HAPPENED TO REALITY: DOGME AND THE REALITY OF FICTION "The 'supreme' task of the decadent film-makers is to fool the audience. Is that what we are so proud of? Is that what '100 years' have brought us? Illusions via which emotions can be communicated? ... By the individual artist's free choice of trickery? ... To Dogme 95 the movie is not an illusion!...Dogme 95 counters the film of illusion by the presentation of an indisputable set of rules known as The Vow of Chastity."                    (extract from Dogme 95 manifesto) AFTER few international successes, Dogmesecretariat, the official entity responsible for issuing Dogme certificates, a guarantee that a film has been made following rigorously Dogme's "Vow of Chastity" is closed. After eight years since the group wrote its manifesto and five years since the movement brought forth its first Dogme film, the contention that "to Dogme 95...


Abstract Purpose. We evaluated the characteristics of central venous port (CVP)-related infection with microbiological assessments in patients with malignant tumors. Materials and methods. In a prospective setting, patients with CVP for the treatment of malignant tumors were enrolled in this study. The incidence of CVP-related infection during three months was determined. Microbiological surveillance from skin swab was performed before and after CVP placement. Results. Fifty-nine patients were enrolled in this study, and 60 CVPs were implanted. Thirty-six (61%) patients had head and neck malignancies. Access route was subclavian vein in 43 (71.7%) CVPs and forearm vein in 17 (28.3%). CVP-related infection was observed in three (5.1%) patients: port-pocket infection in one and probable CVP-related infection in two patients, respectively. No definitive CVP-related bloodstream infection was observed. Before the placement of CVP, colonization at the insertion site was observed in ten subclavian CVP patients, while no colonization was observed in the forearm CVP patients. At 1 and 4 weeks, detection rates of colonization were also higher in subclavian CVP patients. No definitive relationship was demonstrated between skin colonization and clinical development of CVP-related infection. Conclusion. The rate of CVP-related infection in this prospective evaluation in patients with malignant tumors was comparable to previous studies. Colonization of the skin was more prominent in the subclavian site than in the forearm site. Although skin colonization was not proven to be a risk factor of infection, these results may draw attention to the adequate maintenance of CVP. (Trial registration: UMIN000003664).


Abstract Aim: To determine whether there are any clinicopathological or prognostic differences between mucinous gastric carcinoma (MGC) and signet ring cell carcinoma (SRCC). Methods: Pathological parameters, clinical parameters, and treatment efficacy were compared in patients with MGC and SRCC. Results: In total, 193 patients (51 with MGC and 142 with SRCC) were included in this study. Patients with SRCC in particular had notably higher lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, rate of Borrmann types III and IV, and stage III–IV cancer (according to its TNM stage) compared with patients with MGC. However, tumor size was larger in patients with MGC (tumor size ≥5 cm). Median overall survival (OS) was 29.8 months in the MGC group and 16.6 months in the SRCC group (p = .04). The median OS in stage I–III patients was 59.9 and 42.5 months in the MGC and SRCC groups, respectively (p = .35). Comparing OS between MGC and SRCC stage IV patients revealed that the median OS was 10.1 and 8.8 months, respectively (p = .96). Multivariate analysis of the entire patient group revealed that the presence of weight loss at diagnosis, distant metastasis, and lymph node involvement were significantly related to OS. Multivariate analysis also revealed that weight loss at the diagnosis and T3–4 tumors were significant factors influencing OS in the stage I–III group. Conclusions: Patients with SRCC had generally poorer prognosis and lower survival rates compared with patients with MGC. Further studies on the prognosis and treatment plan based on the pathological subtypes of SRCC and MGC are still needed.