1. Experimental trampling was conducted in 18 vegetation types in five separate mountain regions in the United States. Each type was trampled 0-500 times and vegetation response was assessed 2 weeks and 1 year after trampling. 2. The response of vegetation to trampling is expressed in terms of three indices: resistance, tolerance and resilience. Resistance and tolerance are determined from the vegetation surviving 2 weeks and 1 year after trampling. respectively. Resilience compares the change over the remainder of the year with that during the first 2 weeks after trampling. 3. Plant morphological characteristics explained more of the variation in response to trampling than the site characteristics that were assessed: altitude, overstorey canopy cover or total groundlayer vegetation cover. 4. Resistance was primarily a function of vegetation stature, erectness and whether plants were graminoids, forbs or shrubs. The most resistant plants were caespitose or matted graminoids; the least resistant plants were erect forbs. 5. Resilience was primarily a function of whether plants were chamaephytes, with perennating buds located above the ground surface. Chamaephytes were much less resilient than other plants. 6. Tolerance, which measures the ability of vegetation to withstand a cycle of disturbance and recovery, was correlated more with resilience than resistance. Consequently, the least tolerant plants were the chamaephytes. The most tolerant plants were caespitose, matted and rosette hemicryptophytes, and geophytes. 7. The resistance and resilience of individual species were negatively correlated, particularly for chamaephytes and graminoids. For herbaceous species with perennating tissues located at or below ground level, tolerance was more highly correlated with resilience than with resistance. For chamaephytes, tolerance was more highly correlated with resistance.


The research is aimed at contributing to the identification of reliable fully predictive Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods for the numerical simulation of equipment typically adopted in the chemical and process industries. The apparatuses selected for the investigation, specifically membrane modules, stirred vessels and fluidized beds, were characterized by a different and often complex fluid dynamic behaviour and in some cases the momentum transfer phenomena were coupled with mass transfer or multiphase interactions.
Firs of all, a novel modelling approach based on CFD for the prediction of the gas separation process in membrane modules for hydrogen purification is developed. The reliability of the gas velocity field calculated numerically is assessed by comparison of the predictions with experimental velocity data collected by Particle Image Velocimetry, while the applicability of the model to properly predict the separation process under a wide range of operating conditions is assessed through a strict comparison with permeation experimental data.
Then, the effect of numerical issues on the RANS-based predictions of single phase stirred tanks is analysed. The homogenisation process of a scalar tracer is also investigated and simulation results are compared to original passive tracer homogenisation curves determined with Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence. The capability of a CFD approach based on the solution of RANS equations is also investigated for describing the fluid dynamic characteristics of the dispersion of organics in water.
Finally, an Eulerian-Eulerian fluid-dynamic model is used to simulate mono-disperse suspensions of Geldart A Group particles fluidized by a Newtonian incompressible fluid as well as binary segregating fluidized beds of particles differing in size and density. The results obtained under a number of different operating conditions are compared with literature experimental data and the effect of numerical uncertainties on axial segregation is also discussed.


This chapter reviews recent developments in the field of large grain size crystalline silicon thin film and silicon nanowire solar cells. Both technologies offer considerable potential for photovoltaics if they can be realised with adequate material quality on cheap substrates such as glass. The main methods for forming thin polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) films on glass are described. These include thermal solid phase crystallisation, liquid phase crystallisation and epitaxial thickening of crystalline seed layers. The corresponding progress made in device technology is outlined. Some recent work on poly-Si film and solar cell formation on higher temperature substrates is also discussed, together with progress on thin monocrystalline layers produced by epitaxy or lift-off from Si wafers. Plasmonic enhancement of solar cells has attracted considerable interest in recent years. An account is given of developments relating to thin crystalline Si solar cells. Finally, the progress made in the fabrication of Si nanowires and microwires, and their deployment in photovoltaic devices is discussed. Both bottom–up and top–down methods of wire formation are considered. Considerable progress has been made in both planar and wire cell technologies, though the latter is at an earlier stage of development and significant research challenges remain for both. However, with further improvements in material quality and light trapping, excellent prospects exist for a cost-effective thin film crystalline Si technology exceeding 15% efficiency. This will offer all the advantages of Si including stability, non-toxicity and high abundance.


People make accurate predictions for many real world events e.g. human life spans (Griffiths & Tenenbaum, 2006). Accurate predictions are particularly important in the domain of health, where illness knowledge directly influences patient outcomes. To understand how well peoples' illness expectations were aligned, we asked participants to estimate durations for 9 illnesses, and compared their responses to the real-world distributions. We found that for common acute illnesses (e.g., the cold) people make accurate predictions, whereas for rare chronic illnesses (e.g., COPD) people make comparatively poor predictions. Further, we found that participants overestimate the prevalence of every illness, especially for those that are more common (e.g., the cold). Taken together, these results suggest that people more accurately estimate the duration of common acute illnesses, but this may cause them to overestimate the prevalence of these illnesses. Results will be discussed in terms of implications for both cognition and behavioral health theory.


Introduction Severe alcoholic hepatitis (SAH) has a high mortality especially in those who fail to respond to steroid treatment. Early identification of steroid resistant patients may allow rapid implementation of other therapies, which may improve patient outcome. An early change in bilirubin has prognostic value but requires 7 days of steroid treatment first. Our group have previously reported that a simple 48h in vitro method for assessing steroid sensitivity (dexamethasone inhibition of lymphocyte proliferation; DILPA) correlates with 6 month mortality in patients with SAH[1]. We aimed to determine the accuracy of the DILPA in predicting outcome and to compare it to existing models of prognosis in SAH. Methods Peripheral blood was drawn from consecutive patients with a clinical diagnosis of SAH (Maddrey discriminant function [MDF] > 32). All subjects gave informed consent and ethical approval was obtained from the regional ethics committee. The primary outcome measure was 6 month mortality. Leukocytes, isolated by density gradient centrifugation, were cultured for 48h with the mitogen PHA in the presence or absence of dexamethasone. Tritiated thymidine was added for the final 6h of culture before proliferation was measured on a beta counter. Maximum suppression of lymphocyte proliferation by dexamethasone was calculated (Imax). An Imax of < 60% indicates in vitro steroid resistance as previously determined. The accuracy of the DILPA and existing scoring systems (MDF, MELD, Glasgow and Lille scores) was calculated by area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC). Logistic regression of baseline and day 7 parameters was performed to determine independent predictors of outcome. Results 43 patients were recruited (21% female, median age 45). Patients who survived 6 months had a significantly higher Imax than those who didn't (79.2% v 41.7%; p = 0.0003). An Imax of > 60% had a 88% sensitivity and 78% specificity in predicting 6 month survival and an AUROC of 0.83. MDF, MELD, Glasgow and Lille scores all had lower AUROC values for predicting 6 months survival than Imax (0.36, 0.4, 0.49 and 0.61 respectively). A stepwise logistic regression demonstrated that only Imax, Day 0 albumin and change in bilirubin at Day 7 of treatment were independent predictors of 6 month survival. Conclusion The DILPA provides a simple, fast and accurate in vitro method of predicting clinical outcome in patients with SAH. This could be applied in clinical practise to identify patients who will not respond to steroid therapy within 2 days of starting treatment. Disclosure of Interest None Declared Reference Di Mambro et al. Hepatology 2011;53:1316–22.


Technological and fashion obsolescence continue to be concerns in the design of contemporary products. Research shows that consumers dispose of household items even though those are still fully or partly functional, for various reasons. One cause of premature disposal is the lack of emotional attachment between user and product. This paper aims to explore how industrial designers, as initiators of the relationship between products and users, might facilitate the generation and continuation of positive experiences that could potentially lead to the consumer's enduring attachment to particular products, thereby optimizing the product's lifetime and detouring it from becoming landfill too soon. This paper contributes to a larger research that seeks to understand the factors that contribute to long-lasting product satisfaction and how industrial designers can be encouraged to consider these in their product development strategies. Dining furniture was selected as the product area for this paper. The research starts with a literature review on consumer-product attachment, and on design strategies which promote the optimization of product lifetimes. These were used to inform a studio charette within a third year industrial design course at the University of New South Wales, in which students brainstormed ideas for aftermarket products that could enable consumers into modifying, personalizing, refreshing, repairing or refurbishing existing furniture items and thus bond better with their possessions. The outcomes of this exercise, in turn, provide a basis for formulating some guidelines that would help designers foster long-term product attachment. Furthermore, the charette increased the students' awareness of the effects of rapid consumption processes, while illustrating the value of lifetime optimization through more responsible design and more emotionally durable products.


Helicoverpa armigera has recently invaded South and Central America, and appears to be spreading rapidly. We update a previously developed potential distribution model to highlight the global invasion threat, with emphasis on the risks to the United States. The continued range expansion of H. armigera in Central America is likely to change the invasion threat it poses to North America qualitatively, making natural dispersal from either the Caribbean islands or Mexico feasible. To characterise the threat posed by H. armigera, we collated the value of the major host crops in the United States growing within its modelled potential range, including that area where it could expand its range during favourable seasons. We found that the annual value of crops that would be exposed to H. armigera totalled approximately US$78 billion p.a., with US$843 million p.a. worth growing in climates that are optimal for the pest. Elsewhere, H. armigera has developed broad-spectrum pesticide resistance; meaning that if it invades the United States, protecting these crops from significant production impacts could be challenging. It may be cost-effective to undertake pre-emptive biosecurity activities such as slowing the spread of H. armigera throughout the Americas, improving the system for detecting H. armigera, and methods for rapid identification, especially distinguishing between H. armigera, H. zea and potential H. armigera x H. zea hybrids. Developing biological control programs, especially using inundative techniques with entomopathogens and parasitoids could slow the spread of H. armigera, and reduce selective pressure for pesticide resistance. The rapid spread of H. armigera through South America into Central America suggests that its spread into North America is a matter of time. The likely natural dispersal routes preclude aggressive incursion responses, emphasizing the value of preparatory communication with agricultural producers in areas suitable for invasion by H. armigera.


Risk assessment of cyber-physical systems, such as power plants, connected devices and IT-infrastructures has always been challenging: safety (i.e., absence of unintentional failures) and security (i. e., no disruptions due to attackers) are conditions that must be guaranteed. One of the traditional tools used to help considering these problems is attack trees, a tree-based formalism inspired by fault trees, a well-known formalism used in safety engineering. In this paper we define and implement the translation of attack-fault trees (AFTs) to a new extension of timed automata, called parametric weighted timed automata. This allows us to parametrize constants such as time and discrete costs in an AFT and then, using the model-checker IMITATOR, to compute the set of parameter values such that a successful attack is possible. Using the different sets of parameter values computed, different attack and fault scenarios can be deduced depending on the budget, time or computation power of the attacker, providing helpful data to select the most efficient counter-measure.


Summary: The latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap is a reliable and frequently used option to bring vascularized skin and soft tissue to improve the stability and aesthetic result in breast reconstruction. Standard techniques with skin paddle inset in a horizontal or oblique fashion preferentially improve anterior projection (when inset at the mastectomy scar) or lower pole and inframammary fold constriction (when inset into the inframammary fold). Here, the authors describe a modification for inset of the latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap that improves both anterior projection and lower pole/inframammary fold constriction, and also allows the latissimus muscle to fan out and provide complete implant coverage. The vertical inset modification brings new skin and soft tissue into both the inferior pole and the central mastectomy scar, allowing simultaneous improvement in both areas and full use of the latissimus muscle to cover the implant or expander. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, IV.


A 70 m long by 5 m high slope with gradient of 1(v):2(H) was cut into a medium-stiff residual soil of undrained shear strength better than 60kPa, with drained strength parameters of about c = 10kPa, and o = 22 degrees, to form the bank for an effluent pond used for irrigation of a racetrack turfing. Both drained and undrained slope stability analysis indicates stable slopes under reasonable ground-water (GW) levels expected in the cut slope. However, after a period of intense rainfall during construction, the slope suffered a shallow slip of about 1 m to 1.5 m depth over a 30m stretch of the slope length with a vertical scarp near the top of the cut slope. This paper examines the cause of slope failure, and the strategy adopted for a permanent repair of the slope by providing internal geosynthetic drains beneath the re-compacted slope, using a GEONET or closely spaced geo-pipe inclusions in the slope. For design, the GEONET or geo-pipe drains used must have adequate factored transmissivity to conduct expected heavy rainfall condition of 150 mm/h on the racetrack, it is demonstrated by the Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis, that GEONET must be provided to at least as far back as the mid-depth of the slope (about 4 m depth) to produce sufficient GW lowering to give stable slopes. The construction method of the slope repair to avoid further failure is described briefly, and the performance of the sub-soil drains in enhancing slope stability is demonstrated in the field project.


In 2014, wildfires ignited a fire in the Morwell open cut coal mine, Australia, which burned for six weeks. This study examined associations between self-reported respiratory outcomes in adults and mine fire-related PM2.5 smoke exposure. Self-reported data were collected as part of the Hazelwood Health Study Adult Survey. Eligible participants were adult residents of Morwell. Mine fire-related PM2.5 concentrations were provided by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Oceans & Atmosphere Flagship. Personalised mean 24-h and peak 12-h mine fire-related PM2.5 exposures were estimated for each participant. Data were analysed by multivariate logistic regression. There was some evidence of an association between respiratory outcomes and mine fire PM2.5 exposure. Chronic cough was associated with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.13 (95% confidence interval 1.03 to 1.23) per 10 μg/m3 increment in mean PM2.5 and 1.07 (1.02 to 1.12) per 100 μg/m3 increment in peak PM2.5. Current wheeze was associated with peak PM2.5, OR = 1.06 (1.02 to 1.11) and chronic phlegm with mean PM2.5 OR = 1.10 (1.00 to 1.20). Coal mine PM2.5 smoke exposure was associated with increased odds of experiencing cough, phlegm and wheeze. Males, participants 18–64 years, and those residing in homes constructed from non-brick/concrete materials or homes with tin/metal roofs had higher estimated ORs. These findings contribute to the formation of public health policy responses.


This paper represents an analysis of the main studies in literature regarding the major molecular mechanisms with respect to the evolution of breast neoplasm in obese patients. Thus, the main molecular mechanisms described in the respective literature are described as follows: the main adipokines (leptin and adiponectin), insulin and insulin-like growth factor receptor, and the estrogen-mediated signaling pathway. There were also analyzed the role of obesity as a prognostic factor and its impact on the main therapeutic modalities applied in the treatment of breast neoplasm, following the data from the current literature. Conclusions. The excess of adipose tissue plays an important role both as a risk factor in the occurrence of breast neoplasm, but also as a prognostic factor in the evolution of breast cancer in this category of patients. Obesity has a negative impact on the application of an optimal treatment sequence in breast neoplasm.


Therapeutic angiogenesis is a promising new concept for the treatment of myocardial and peripheral ischaemia. Members of the VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) family are among the most powerful modulators of angiogenesis. They regulate vascular growth and maintenance during embryogenesis and in adults. The present review summarizes the current status of therapeutic angiogenesis using VEGF, with special reference to preclinical studies.


Global trade in illegal pesticides has been steadily growing in recent years, posing serious threats to agriculture, the environment, human health, and the economy. Evidence of this trend can be found in the increasing number of seizures of counterfeit, fake, and unauthorised pesticides, as well as their growing share in the global pesticide market. This paper identifies the main drivers and enablers of this illicit trade, and explores the potential of digital technologies, such as blockchain, to support policies to tackle this criminal activity. It also outlines the challenges in the adoption of these digital-based policy responses and discusses other available policy options.


NASA Cloud Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) Version 3.01 5-km nighttime 0.532 μm aerosol optical depth (AOD) datasets from 2007 are screened, averaged and evaluated at 1 ◦ × 1 resolution versus corresponding/co-incident 0.550 μm AOD derived using the US Navy Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System (NAAPS), featuring two-dimensional variational assimilation of quality-assured NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) AOD. In the absence of sunlight, since passive radiometric AOD retrievals rely overwhelmingly on scattered radiances, the model represents one of the few practical global estimates available from which to attempt such a validation. Daytime comparisons, though, provide useful context. Regional-mean CALIOP vertical profiles of night/day 0.532 μm extinction coefficient are compared with 0.523/0.532 μm ground-based lidar measurements to investigate representativeness and diurnal variability. In this analysis, mean nighttime CALIOP AOD are mostly lower than daytime (0.121 vs. 0.126 for all aggregated data points, and 0.099 vs. 0.102 when averaged globally per normalised 1 × 1 bin), though the relationship is reversed over land and coastal regions when the data are averaged per normalised bin (0.134/0.108 vs. 0140/0.112, respectively). Offsets assessed within single bins alone approach ±20 %. CALIOP AOD, both day and night, are higher than NAAPS over land (0.137 vs. 0.124) and equal over water (0.082 vs. 0.083) when averaged globally per normalised bin. However, for all data points inclusive, NAAPS exceeds CALIOP over land, coast and ocean, both day and night. Again, differences assessed within single bins approach 50 % in extreme cases. Correlation between CALIOP and NAAPS AOD is comparable during both day and night. Higher correlation is found nearest the equator, both as a function of sample size and relative signal magnitudes inherent at these latitudes. Root mean square deviation between CALIOP and NAAPS varies between 0.1 and 0.3 globally during both day/night. Averaging of CALIOP along-track AOD data points within a single NAAPS grid bin improves correlation and RMSD, though day/night and land/ocean biases persist and are believed systematic. Vertical profiles of extinction coefficient derived in the Caribbean compare well with ground-based lidar observations, though potentially anomalous selection of a priori lidar ratios for CALIOP retrievals is likely inducing some discrepancies. Mean effective aerosol layer top heights are stable between day and night, indicating consistent layeridentification diurnally, which is noteworthy considering the potential limiting effects of ambient solar noise during day. Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 2144 J. R. Campbell et al.: Evaluating nighttime CALIOP 0.532 μm aerosol optical depth


Triiodothyronine, thyroxine, thyrotropin, hydrocortisone, aldosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, insulin, C peptide blood levels were radioimmunoassayed over the course of the menstrual cycle in healthy women aged 20 to 33. A relative stability of the thyrotropin-thyroid system was revealed, as were reduced levels of hydrocortisone and dehydroepiandrosterone and elevated content of insulin and aldosterone in the lutein phase of the cycle. The authors claim that these changes of the adaptation metabolic hormones are responsible for the psychoemotional and somatic status of women over the course of the cycle.


Purpose: Investigate the suitability of mobile devices to deliver drug information content to 4th, 5th and 6th year medical students, searching for opportunities to improve drug information access or content to best support medication-related decision-making. Method: Participants undertook a baseline online survey prior to gaining access to the mobile drug information resource, and a second survey towards the end of the project. A small group of students were interviewed mid-way through the project. Question themes covered technology, smartphone and information use, and user experiences. Results: 94 students completed survey one between February and May 2011and 83 students completed survey two between October 2011 and January 2012. Ten students were interviewed. General use of information and communications technology and smartphones was high. Smartphone-delivered mobile drug information was accepted and valued by students. Access problems were not a significant concern for the majority of students. Most students accessed drug information content weekly. Type of information sought varied between year groups, but the most common types were adverse effects, drug doses and drug interactions. Despite mobile availability, access via computer or textbook remained high depending on context of use. The vast majority of students preferred using the search function to find information compared to browsing. Professional and social factors affected student comfort or ability to use the smartphone in the clinical setting. Conclusion: Mobile access via smartphone provided quick access to drug information content, but actual usage will be tempered by context of use, workflow, professional and social factors; and to a small degree by access problems.


Consultants' fees and technical submissions in two-envelope fee tendering are usually converted to scores. The fee scores and technical (quality) scores are then multiplied by predetermined weightings and aggregated. To preserve the desired influence of the predetermined weightings, the fee score and technical score variability differences need to be balanced, otherwise, when aggregated, one variable will end up dominating the other variable. Currently, such adjustments are not undertaken in the popular two-envelope fee tendering models. It seems that in many cases the consultant selection becomes biased in favour of the lowest fee rather than the quality. Important influences that contribute to the fee-technical score variability imbalance include suicidal fees and non-serious fees (which increases fee variability) and similar size consultant firms with similar experience and workload levels offering similar, if not identical, services (which reduces technical score variability). This paper offers four alternative approaches to the correction of the fee-technical score variability imbalance. If the client is able to distinguish between suicidal, serious and non-serious fees, then it is suggested that first the consultants submitting suicidal and non-serious fees should be disregarded. A normalization approach (in which the consultant's technical and fee scores are re-scaled to fall between unity and zero) should then be applied. If the client is unable or unwilling to distinguish between suicidal, serious and non-serious fees then aggregating on the basis of the consultants fee and technical score rankings appears to be the best method out of the three remaining approaches.


Exceptionally germinal center formation can be induced without T cell help by polysaccharide-based antigens, but these germinal centers involute by massive B cell apoptosis at the time centrocyte selection starts. This study investigates whether B cells in germinal centers induced by the T cell–independent antigen (4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl)acetyl (NP) conjugated to Ficoll undergo hypermutation in their immunoglobulin V region genes. Positive controls are provided by comparing germinal centers at the same stage of development in carrier-primed mice immunized with a T cell–dependent antigen: NP protein conjugate. False positive results from background germinal centers and false negatives from non-B cells in germinal centers were avoided by transferring B cells with a transgenic B cell receptor into congenic controls not carrying the transgene. By 4 d after immunization, hypermutation was well advanced in the T cell–dependent germinal centers. By contrast, the mutation rate for T cell–independent germinal centers was low, but significantly higher than in NP-specific B cells from nonimmunized transgenic mice. Interestingly, a similar rate of mutation was seen in extrafollicular plasma cells at this stage. It is concluded that efficient activation of hypermutation depends on interaction with T cells, but some hypermutation may be induced without such signals, even outside germinal centers.


BACKGROUND
In the CALYPSO trial, carboplatin-pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (CD) demonstrated superior therapeutic index versus carboplatin-paclitaxel (CP) in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer. This paper reports the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) findings.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
HRQoL was measured with the EORTC QoL-QC30 questionnaire and OV28 ovarian cancer module. Mean change scores from baseline in HRQoL subscales (five functional scales and global health status) in each arm and the proportion of patients improved or worsened were calculated every 3 months until 12 months.

RESULTS
Compliance was 90% at baseline and 76%, 64%, 57% at 3, 6, and 9 months, respectively. Baseline HRQoL showed already impaired global scores (mean 62/100) and considerable symptom burden (90% of patients reporting nonzero scores). Global QoL and abdominal symptom scores improved over time in both arms; at 6 months, 36% of patients met criteria for improved symptoms. Treatment with CD resulted in less peripheral neuropathy (9.8 versus 24.2), fewer other chemotherapy side-effects (9.5 versus 16.2), and less impact on body image (3.8 versus 10.4) versus CP (all P<0.02) at 6 months.

CONCLUSIONS
These patient-reported outcomes confirm the overall lower toxicity of CD versus CP. The improved disease-related outcomes achieved with CD were not at the expense of QoL.


We prepared liposomes containing ultrafine magnetite particles as magnetically targeted drug delivery system, and evaluated their physicochemical and biological characters ; diameter, magnetic responsiveness, trapping efficiency and uptake to cells. A mixture of asolectin and cholesterol (4 : 1) was dispersed in physiological saline (final lipid concentration : 20 mg/ml), and coprecipitated magnetite particles were added to the medium and it was sonicated. Multi-lamellar liposomes (average diameter : 155nm) were prepared from this medium by the freeze-thawing method. We confirmed holding of the magnetite particles inside the liposomes by TEM. Trapping efficiency was evaluated by encapsulation of fluorescent calsein, and it was approximately 8%. Magnetic responsiveness was estimated by the capture of the flowed liposomes in a glass tube under magnetic field application. At least 50% of liposomes were retained by the applied magnetic field (gradient : 2.6 kG/cm). We also visualized uptake of the fluorescent labeled liposomes into porcine endothelial cultured cells with a confocal laser scanning microscope, and observed the localization of liposome uptake in small intracellular vesicles around nuclei. From these physicochemical and biological characterization of liposomes containing ultrafine magnetite particles, we demonstrated the feasibility of these liposomes as carriers for magnetically targeted drug delivery system.


The present study was carried out to test directly whether isolated perfused rabbit cortical collecting ducts (CCDs) spontaneously generate a luminal disequilibrium pH. We determined disequilibrium pH as the difference between 1) the actual luminal pH measured by perfusing the lumen with a membrane-impermeant pH-sensitive dye [1,4-dihydroxyphthalonitrile (1,4-DHPN)] and 2) equilibrium pH calculated from the measured total CO2 concentration in fluid collected at the end of the tubule. When the peritubular bath and perfusate had the same composition, a statistically significant acidic disequilibrium pH was found (mean -0.14 units). To determine whether the disequilibrium pH is due to an absolute lack of luminal carbonic anhydrase, we measured the effective rate constant for carbonic acid dehydration in the lumen (k-1). To do this, a lumen-to-bath NH3 concentration gradient was imposed, and the luminal pH was measured along the tubule with 1,4-DHPN. NH3 absorption caused a luminal disequilibrium pH (due to dissociation of NH+4 to NH3 and H+), whose profile along the lumen is dependent on k-1 and NH3 permeability (PNH3). PNH3 and k-1 were estimated from the luminal pH profiles using a mathematical model of proton and buffer transport. The measured k-1 (37 s-1) is within the reported range of values for uncatalyzed H2CO3 dehydration. Calculations demonstrate that the measured PNH3 (2 X 10(-3) cm/s) is high enough and the measured k-1 is low enough to explain ammonia secretion rates seen in previous studies. We conclude that proton secretion in the CCD generates an acidic luminal disequilibrium pH, associated with an absolute lack of luminal carbonic anhydrase, which enhances the net rate of NH3 secretion.


The selection of tree species is one of the most important steps to achieve a successful forest plantation projects. In this study we used Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Technique for order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) techniques in order to selecting the suitable species for plantation endeavors using tangible and intangible criteria in southern Zagros forests. The problem is decomposed into 3 levels to better study of the problem. Goal of the problem was adjusted at the first level and accordingly six criteria were located at the second level, including conservation cost, cost of price, growth speed, resistance, adaptation and the conservation of soil and water. Also five alternatives were located at the third level including Quercus persica, Pistacia atlantica, Pyrus commonis, Cupressus arizonica and Thuja orientalis. The results of expert's judgments showed that the resistance to the environmental condition was the most important criteria and Quercus persica was the most suitable species (priority scores= 0.321) accordingly, while Thuja orientalis introduced as a less important species for this objective (priority scores = 0.104). The results of TOPSIS confirmed these results, too. Totally, the results showed that we should much focus on native species in rehabilitating Zagros forests and Quercus persica may only be a prominent species than the other species for achieving this objective.


A previous study demonstrated that a relatively large concentration of a perfluorochemical (PFC) emulsion caused significant displacement of bound warfarin from fatty acid free human albumin. To determine whether this displacement would occur when fatty acids were associated with albumin, the effect of the emulsion on warfarin binding by fraction V human albumin was examined. Binding of 2 and 10 micrograms/ml warfarin at room temperature by 4 per cent albumin solutions diluted with the emulsion was determined by centrifugation followed by supernatant ultrafiltration. Warfarin binding by identical buffer dilutions of albumin solutions served as controls. The emulsion had no effect on warfarin binding other than dilution when albumin solutions were diluted to 75 and 50% v/v. Further dilution of albumin solutions to 40, 25 and 10% v/v with blood substitute resulted in significant increases in the per cent free warfarin even though warfarin is weakly bound by the emulsion droplets. These increases in per cent free warfarin were apparently due to the displacement of albumin bound warfarin by a component(s) of the emulsion, possibly the potassium oleate component. The ability of 2 and 10 micrograms/ml warfarin to partition from pH 7.4 buffer into the purified PFC liquids was also determined at room temperature. Warfarin did not partition into the PFC liquids indicating that emulsion bound warfarin is only associated with the emulsifiers of the droplets.


The sustained increase in per capita product and the sweeping structural changes that characterize the epoch that Simon Kuznets (1966) defined as Modern Economic Grosth (MEG) were made possible by the substitution of inanimate power for animal power as a source of energy. Malthusian limits to growth were overcome by the pervasive application of science-based technology to production. The paper summarizes the main features of the structural transformation during MEG and the likely evolution of energy requirements considering the transformation in structure that is taking place today in industrial countries, the rapid development of emerging economies, and the implications of an increasingly globalized system. The final section deals with conceptual issues related to Neo-Malthusian apocalyptic predictions.


Nature inspires us to address the most contemporary scientific challenges. Advances in the drug delivery system at the nano/micro-scale hold promise to treat some fatal diseases in the next few decades. Scientists have discovered that the biomolecule Chlorotoxin, a naturally occurring biomaterial, can target tumor cells in the human brain with great precision. The application of Chlorotoxin can assist future surgeons to avoid the risk of damaging healthy tissues in the human brain. Chlorotoxin purified from scorpion venom is essentially a peptide containing 36 amino acids and demonstrates high affinity particularly to glioma and neuroectodermal tumor. Knowledge of the molecular structure and stability is immensely useful to understand transport of Chlorotoxin in a blood saturated environment. Equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations are employed to examine the stability of Chlorotoxin at various temperatures and ion concentrations of the surrounding solvent environment. The analyses of the root mean square deviation, radial distribution function, and radius of gyration from the molecule's atomic trajectories facilitate prediction of the structural stability of Chlorotoxin under different thermodynamic environments and the optimal temperature and ion concentration for its diffusion in blood.


A fully integrated dc-dc four-phase step-down converter in a 130-nm 1.2-V CMOS technology is realized with integrated metal-track inductors and integrated MOS and MIM capacitors. The converter requires no external components and is designed to generate an output voltage of 1.2 V out of a 2.6 V supply voltage. The maximum power-conversion efficiency is 58%, for a voltage-conversion ratio of 0.46. This yields a 21% improvement over a linear converter. The maximum output power is 800 mW and the power density of 213 mW/mm2 is in the same order of magnitude of nonintegrated switching converters, even when not taking their off-chip output filter into account. Stacked transistors are used to cope with the high voltage. A novel control system based on semiconstant ON/OFF time (SCOOT) regulates the output voltage. It also provides stability over the entire load range from 0 to 800 mW. The four-phase topology and the SCOOT control system ensure an output voltage ripple below 10% of the output voltage. The converter operates in discontinuous, synchronous switching mode. The switching frequency varies with the load from 75 kHz to 225 MHz.


Dystonias are movement disorders whose pathomechanism is largely unknown. The dt dystonic hamster mutant represents a model of primary paroxysmal dystonia, where alterations of striatal interneuron density and long term potentiation were described (Kohling et al., 2004, Gernert et al., 2000). In the present thesis, using corticostriatal slices, we explore in more detail whether long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) are shifted by a) behavioural stimulation or b) ontogenetic maturation using different stimulation protocols in the cortico-striatal synaptic pathway. The third aim of the thesis was c) to explore the role of NMDA receptors and their subunits in synaptic plasticity changes occurring with dystonia. Field extracellular recordings were conducted in dorsomedial striatum, and white matter was stimulated. Short and long term plasticity as well as input-output relationships were analysed. The main findings were: a. The occurrence of enhanced synaptic plasticity is not dependent on behavioural stimulation, while changes in excitability are. b. Ontogenetic maturation increases the dynamic range of synaptic plasticity under normal conditions, which is infringed in animals with dystonia, even though the symptoms have remitted. c. In dystonic tissue, LTP is dependent on NR2A, wheras in normal tissue, it depends on NR2B receptors. In conclusion, the functional shifts in NR2A vs. NR2B involvement in synaptic corticostriatal plasticity may be instrumental in the pathogenesis of dystonia in the dt model.


Abstract Autoinflammatory diseases (AIDs) are a relatively new family disorders defined approximately 20 years ago. AIDs are caused by defect(s) or dysregulation of the innate immune system, characterized by recurrent or continuous inflammation and lack of a primary pathogenic role for the adaptive immune system. One AID, NLRP3-associated autoinflammatory disease (NLRP3-AID), involves a clinical presentation since the neonatal period or childhood, with multiple inflammatory recurrent symptoms that appear throughout the patient´s life. We present the first case of NLRP3-AID in Ecuador. The patient presented recurrent fever since 6 months of age associated with urticarial rash, arthralgias, and abdominal pain; recently, he had a seizure at 7 years of age. Brain MRI revealed demyelinating lesions, and genetic testing uncovered a de novo mutation in the NLRP3 gene. The patient had a good clinical response to treatment with canakinumab.


Cyclobuta[1,2-b:3,4-b']ditetracene - an analogue of nonacene with a cyclobutadiene unit embedded in the central part has been synthesized by the combination of solution and on-surface chemistry. The atomic structure and electronic properties of the product on Au(111) have been determined by high resolution scanning tunnelling microscopy/spectroscopy corroborated by density functional theory calculations. Structural and magnetic parameters derived from theoretical calculations reveal that π conjugation is dominated by radialene-type contribution, with an admixture of cyclobutadiene-like antiaromaticity.


This study further demonstrates that the wavelet approach to the analysis and characterization of respiratory-related evoked potentials (RREPs) is a more efficient method than traditional ensemble averaging. Wavelet decomposition of the 200 trial ensemble averaged evoked responses results in smoothed signals at scale 4 with characteristics similar to those present in the ensemble averages, indicating that the wavelet approach permits accurate estimation of RREPs. Furthermore, subsequent reconstruction from the last 4 scales produces signals nearly identical to the original smoothed responses, demonstrating the validity of the reconstruction process. The wavelet approach is not only useful in the characterization of long term evoked responses, the wavelet estimates of short term (5-, 10-, and 25-trial) evoked responses also show high correspondence to the original signals and contain components similar among short term estimates. The similarities among short term estimates demonstrate that wavelet decomposition of successive short averages produces estimates of the signal that are stable. Although the responses of one subject showed significant and stable components in as few as 10 trials, variations in the level of background EEG activity among subjects may cause slight differences in the minimum number of trials required. >


ABSTRACT This article reports the results of an investigation into the average behavior of the knot spectrum (of knots up to 16 crossings) of a family of random knot spaces. A knot space in this family consists of random polygons of a given length in a spherical confinement of a given radius. The knot spectrum is the distribution of all knot types within a random knot space and is based on the probabilities that a randomly (and uniformly) chosen polygon from this knot space forms different knot types. We show that the relative spectrum of knots, when divided into groups by their crossing number, remains unexpectedly robust as these knot spaces vary. The relative spectrum for a given crossing number c is Pc(u)/Pc, where Pc is the probability that a uniformly chosen random polygon has crossing number c, and Pc(u) is the probability that the chosen polygon has crossing number c and is from the group of knots defined by the characteristic u (such as "alternating prime," "nonalternating prime," or "composite"). Specifically, for a fixed crossing number c, the results show that tighter confinement conditions favor alternating prime knots, that is Pc(A)/Pc (where A stands for "alternating prime") increases as the confinement radius decreases, and that the average Pc(N) (where N stands for "nonalternating prime") behaves similar to the average Pc − 1(A). We then use our simulations to speculate on limiting behavior.


The problem of robotic lime picking is challenging; lime plants have dense foliage which makes it difficult for a robotic arm to grasp a lime without coming in contact with leaves. Existing approaches either do not consider leaves, or treat them as obstacles and completely avoid them, often resulting in undesirable or infeasible plans. We focus on reaching a lime in the presence of dense foliage by considering the leaves of a plant as permeable obstacles with a collision cost. We then adapt the rapidly exploring random tree star (RRT*) algorithm for the problem of fruit harvesting by incorporating the cost of collision with leaves into the path cost. To reduce the time required for finding low-cost paths to goal, we bias the growth of the tree using an artificial potential field (APF). We compare our proposed method with prior work in a 2-D environment and a 6-DOF robot simulation. Our experiments and a real-world demonstration on a robotic lime picking task demonstrate the applicability of our approach.


This study presents post-analysis data processing that can be used in Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES). Two complementary methods were developed: the optimisation of the calibration curve and the use of the "Total Sum model". In order to work on a Certified Reference Material, the CETAMA "EQRAIN 22" solution was used. First, the effect of the computation model used was evaluated. The Total Sum model was developed using two approaches: a "classical" weighted mean and the "excess variance" weighted mean. The results show a decrease by a factor of about 4 for iron, and 2 for arsenic and palladium in uncertainties. Then, the effect of the calibration solution on both result uncertainties and method detection limits was studied. The study shows that using the appropriate calibration can reduce them by a factor of 10. Such results lead to a total gain in detection limits by a factor of about 30.


The intimate, beautifully told memoir of a woman who helped create Human Rights Watch and bring about the fall of Communism-and in the process became free and independent herself. After Jeri Laber earned a Master's degree in Russian studies at Columbia University, she became a part-time writer and editor and a full-time wife and mother. Then one day in 1973 she read an article about torture that altered her life and subsequently the lives of countless others around the world.The Courage of Strangers tells how Laber became a founder and the executive director of Helsinki Watch, which grew to be Human Rights Watch, one of the world's most influential organizations. She describes her secret trips to unwelcoming countries, where she met with some of the great political activists of the time. She also recalls what it was like to come of age professionally in an era when women were supposed to follow rather than lead; how she struggled to balance work and family; and how her fight for human rights informed her own intellectual, spiritual and emotional development. This story of the birth of the human rights movement is also a sweeping history of dissent and triumph in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Elegantly written, full of passion, humor and political wisdom, it is exciting history as well as a moving, entertaining, inspiring story of a woman's life.


Innovation is central to economic development and change in its structure. Innovation can be extremely diverse, and, according to the undivided opinion of economic researchers, it dominantly shapes practically all areas of economic activity, including the industrial sector. Relations between innovation and industrial development are extremely complex and often contradictory. This paper analyzes the development of industry on a global scale in the period 1970-2014, by looking at the trend of share of industry in creating a global newly added value, share of industry employees in the structure of total employment, and the share of industrial exports in the value of total exports of individual countries. The analyzed countries are classified into four groups: industrialized economies, economies in the process of industrialization, other developing economies, and least developed economies. By applying statistical and econometric research methods, it is proven that emerging countries, which are at the stage of accelerated industrialization, increase the share of industry in creating a global newly added value, that changes in the level of industry value added, trends in the number of employees, and the structure of exports over time indicate the direction and speed of industrialization and de-industrialization of the world countries. Furthermore, empirical analysis has shown that the growth of the share of innovation-intensive products in the global industry export implies the conclusion of the positive impact of innovation on the development of this area of production. The economic crisis of 2008 had a negative impact on innovation and growth in industrial production, where countries undergoing the process of premature de-industrialization
were particularly affected. It is proven that the dynamic technological advances in industry lead to faster productivity growth in it, compared to other sectors of the economy, which, as a rule, means a reduction in the share of industry in total employment. The results of research and development activities, expressed as a number of patent applications per million inhabitants, have had a positive impact on the trend of industrial production in the European Union countries in the period 2003-2010.


The disappearance of F pili on Escherichia coli cells in the presence of 10−2 M NaCN was studied by electron microscopy and serum-blocking power. The pili which disappeared from the cell did not appear as free pili in the culture medium, suggesting that the pili had retracted into the cell. New pili were produced at a normal rate approximately 3 min after NaCN was removed. The adsorption of either F pili antibody or R17 bacteriophage to the sides of pili and temperatures below 24 C prevented retraction. The disappearance of pili was accompanied by a loss in the ability of cells to adsorb R17 phage and the type of F pili antibody that inhibits R17 phage infection and mating. The ability to adsorb M13 phage and the type of F pili antibody that inhibits M13 phage infection was not affected. This suggests that the tips of retracted pili are exposed.


FINES. Bordering practices and natural features in Livy Antonio Montesanti, University of Exeter PhD in Classics and Ancient History May 2014 The fullest and most comprehensive unpacking of the term finis has yet to be achieved. Studies have narrowly focussed on the idea of border, boundary or frontier, without even entertaining the prospect of interpreting the study from the ancient point of view. This investigation considers the use of the word finis in Livy and attempts to recreate a conception of finis which mirrors as closely as possible that of a Roman of the Republic up to the very Early Empire. Besides the remarkably high usage of the term by Livy, the author's work is also useful due to its chronological nature, which allows for broad investigation throughout the Republican Period, as well as shedding light on the Early Imperial concept of finis. The main aim of this dissertation is to provide a collective analysis of diverse cases, which together can help build a complete picture of the detectable features related to the term finis. As well as this, the analysis of the contexts – in which the term finis is used has also cast light on those features of finis – that have remained fixed despite the different historical contexts in which they appear. For example, throughout my study, two fundamental concepts will continue to pop up in front of the reader's eyes: a) the inapplicability of modern conceptual categories to the idea of finis and b) finis – if translated as border, boundary or frontier – as a concept applicable not to a line, but to a spatial element. On the basis of Livy's evidence – drawn from his work Ab Urbe Condita – this study attempts to present a reconstruction of the term through the identification of an entirely new concept. This study is conceived in terms of a crescendo, which begins with the basic definitions attached to finis and evolves, adding an increasing number of evidences until it reaches a climax, whereby the reader can see both those invariable features of finis in Livy's account and the 4 Introduction: Research guidelines evolution of the term as fines are applied within different political contexts. Rome – a city that rose on a finis, the Tiber River – reinvented or remodelled the concept of finis, demonstrating behaviour antithetical to the notion of confining herself behind a 'single line'. Once identified as a finis, the natural features helped the Romans to exert their imperium, which was itself an embodiment of the features contained within the concept of finis. The establishment of the fines provided an 'imaginary' subdivision of the territory subjected to the Roman imperium in a series of land strips. This is documented by Livy through Rome's expansionist 'finis-system', from a single occupation of the Janiculum Hill to the scientific approach and setting of the treaty of Apamea. Although the lacunae in Ab Urbe Condita – from 168 B.C. onwards – do not permit a direct connection between the Late Republic and the Early Empire, some elements can be used to evidence an intimate relationship between Livy's and Augustus' thinking and terminology. To some extent, this common intent has made possible this attempted reconstruction of the 'bordering practices' used in the last 150 years of the Republic, as well as the possible evolution of such practices in the first 150 about years of the Empire.


The only commercially viable method of sexing mammalian sperm is to use a flow cytometer to measure sperm DNA content via fluorescence of the DNA-bound fluorophore Hoechst 33342, and then sort sperm into three populations, probably X, probably Y, and undetermined. Millions of insemination doses of sexed sperm are produced annually by this procedure. Although accuracy of sexing usually exceeds 90%, this procedure of sexing one sperm at a time has serious limitations, including cost, sort rates, and damage to sperm resulting in lowered fertility, but not abnormalities in offspring. Suggested areas for research include determining how sperm are damaged and where in the process of fertilization and embryonic development the infertility is manifest. Pre and post sorting procedures are done in approximately hourly batches, and these might be changed to continuous procedures. Numerous genetic, physical, and immunological procedures for sexing millions of sperm in parallel have been proposed, but none appears to be suitable for commercialization at this time due to issues of accuracy, repeatability, damage to sperm, and other problems. However, increasing numbers of reports are appearing concerning improvements in these procedures, and it appears inevitable that one or more of them eventually will prove to be efficacious. In developing such procedures, it is critical to monitor sexing accuracy regularly by rapid and inexpensive procedures such as fluorescence in situ hybridization, quantitative PCR, or sort reanalysis by flow cytometry. Furthermore, monitoring fertility of sexed sperm such as in vitro fertilization should be integral to the development process. Intellectual property issues could be substantive.


EXTENDED ABSTRACT Most recently emerging research on Chinese consumption and advertising focuses on contemporary hig cities in China, regardless the fact that historical research can also offer important potential for expanding our understanding of inherently dynamic consumption and advertising phenomena in current China. Prior research also tends to view glohalization manifested in consumption and advertising as a fairly new phenomena emerging after the late 1970s' economic reformation. However, there is a missing part in the marketing literature: 1920s Shanghai, which at that time was the fifth higgest city in the world and very much a cosmopolitan metropolis. Chinese consumers, as represented in the increasing research on contemporary China, still find preserving their established way of life as problematic as their predecessors at the tum of last century. At the same time, advertisers found it daunting to persuade people with a long, distinguished history and tradition to change their habits of mind and living patterns. Like today global and foreign appeals didn't always work well in 1920s Shanghai. Examining China's first exposure to global advertising also shows how advertising, along with other forces, works to transform society. In this paper, a unique form of advertising, commercial calendars are chosen for the semiotic analysis from a pool of over 150 pieces (more than 10% of those left today in the world). The emergence of commercial calendars was due to the early advertisers' failure in promoting their products with images of George Washington and Western women in China. Commercial calendars originated from traditional Chinese New Year pictures, which were used for lunar New Year celebration and decorations, and which were rich in symbolic meanings. Advertisers incorporated traditional New Year Pictures to carry not only the auspicious symbols and historic characters from traditional Chinese folklore, but also a Chinese lunar calendar and pictures of the branded goods of their sponsors. Later Yue Fen Pai are usually composed of an oblong rectangular frame as used in traditional Chinese scroll paintings, with a portrait of an idealized and modernized Chinese woman in western style decorated settings and with other symbols of modernity such as electrical appliances and airplanes. At the bottom there was a calendar and on top was printed the name of the advertiser, most often a cigarette and medicine company. Commercial calendars were not only used by foreign advertisers to make their product appear less exotic an more friendly but also to co-opt a local identity during times of anti-foreign boycotts in China. In doing this, the products were likely to be associated with nationalistic sentiments among consumers and proved effective. Domestic merchants also used commercial calendars to promote a sense of modernity and being foreign. Commercial calendars had far more influences on social changes. The inscription of the Western calendar institution onto the Chinese lunar calendar helped change time concepts in people's mind and are these new time concepts are regarded as a foundation of Chinese modernity. The influences of globalization are also found to manifest in the changes of dressing styles depicted in commercial calendars. The emergence of a new fashion style is analyzed as a collective rite of social passage from Chinese feudal society to a modern Republican China, as manifest in people's clothing hy the late 1920s. Prior research points out clothing changes often correlate with social changes and Gennep's theory about Hte of passage seems quite applicable in this case. Although calendar advertising invoked dramatic socialchanges, traditions and cultural values were not necessarily diminished, as seen in the analysis of calendar pictures. Women's roles were still depicted as fixed in homes and focused on the cultivation of children. Emphases on Chinese family values were still dominant. Furthermore, the Western oil painting techniques were adopted to promote Chinese folklore. The discussion also indicates that modernization and globalization are not merely simple breaks with the past. The competition between the global and local forces was prominent in the material and cultural transformation of Chinese lives and manifested in calendar advertising in 1920s Shanghai, and it is still evident in present day China and contemporary advertising. In this competition, foreign goods are transformed into symbols of modernity, social status, and cosmopolitanism. Although examples from the last century clearly illustrate that to make products and advertising appear as Western as possible cannot guarantee advertising success in China, such lessons are being leamed again and again in the present. Many advertisers still appear to assume that West is best and Western straightforward advertising will work the same way in China. The paper also contributes to the field by adopting semiotic theory to Chinese advertising research and historical data.


The Eritrea Community Development project was established to provide for poor communities especially in the rural and war-devastated areas. The project provided an important platform for harnessing local input in local development efforts, strengthened the capacity of communities to manage, and implement their own development priorities. The project supported better access to school facilities, health facilities, and health care services; increased access to safe water; and feeder roads increased access to rural communities, markets, and social services. The project supported community-based initiatives to protect and improve the environment. The project used loan funds to improve community livelihood, increase their self-confidence, and economic independence. The construction of market places provided access to the rural population, including urban dwellers, and veterinary clinics increased the access of households. The project developed human resources, expanded private sector employment and growth, and improved basic social and economic infrastructure. The project promoted local governance, transparency, accountability, local capacity building, and sustainability of local services.


Provenance awareness adds a new dimension to the engineering of service-oriented systems, requiring them to be able to answer questions about the provenance of any data produced. This need is even more evident where atomic services are aggregated into added-value composite services to be delivered with certain non-functional characteristics. Prior work in the area of provenance for service-oriented systems has primarily focused on the collection and storage infrastructure required for answering provenance questions. In contrast, in this paper we study the structure of the data thus collected considering the service's infrastructure as a whole and how this affects provenance collection for answering different types of provenance questions. In particular, we define an extension of W3Cs PROV ontological model with concepts that can be used to express the provenance of how services were discovered, selected, aggregated and executed. We demonstrate the conceptual adequacy of our model by reasoning over provenance instances for a composite service scenario.


In hydrological terms, raised bogs are often approximated by simple models as in the acrotelm–catotelm concept. However, raised bogs are often characterized by a pronounced surface topography, causing large changes in connectivity of contributing areas on the bog. In this study, daily regression of measured discharges versus catchment areas is used to quantify the impact of surface topography on catchment connectivity within a raised bog. The resulting coefficient of determination shows the strength of the relationship between the discharge and catchment area over time under different hydrological conditions. Monitoring of discharge, water table, transmissivity, and basic weather data on a raised bog (1.9 km2) in eastern central Estonia took place from May 2008 to June 2010. Contributing areas, calculated based on the outlet's discharge volume (VQ) divided by the net precipitation volume ( VPnet ), of the outlet containing the central pool‐ridge system varied between 1×10−3 and 0.7 km2, suggesting significant differences in connectivity between hydrological events. Correlation between discharge and theoretical catchment size was high (R2>0.75) when the water table was close to the surface (less than 5 cm below peat surface), and consequently, transmissivities were also high (up to 1,030m2d−1), which led to connectivity of local storage elements, such as pools and hollows. However, a water table below this threshold resulted in large parts of the catchment being disconnected. The importance of water table depths on catchment connectivity suggests the need to reconsider the hydrological concept of raised bogs; to incorporate these shallow flow components and better understand residence time and consequently transport of solutes, such as DOC, from patterned peatlands.


This empirical paper investigates skill formation in the youth labour market. Using event-history data collected from the administrative records of Lancashire Careers Service, we model "training preferences" formed at school by young people and "training destinations", ie the occupation of the first job/training scheme. We also model the duration of the individual"s first unemployment spell. Competing risks models with flexible piece-wise linear baseline hazards and unobserved heterogeneity are estimated. There is evidence of occupational segregation by gender and an excess demand for general training. Outcomes are mainly determined by examination performance, ethnicity and whether disadvantaged. Copyright Royal Economic Society 2002.


Diagnosing the cluster-based performance of large-scale deep neural network (DNN) models during training is essential for improving training efficiency and reducing resource consumption. However, it remains challenging due to the incomprehensibility of the parallelization strategy and the sheer volume of complex data generated in the training processes. Prior works visually analyze performance profiles and timeline traces to identify anomalies from the perspective of individual devices in the cluster, which is not amenable for studying the root cause of anomalies. In this paper, we present a visual analytics approach that empowers analysts to visually explore the parallel training process of a DNN model and interactively diagnose the root cause of a performance issue. A set of design requirements is gathered through discussions with domain experts. We propose an enhanced execution flow of model operators for illustrating parallelization strategies within the computational graph layout. We design and implement an enhanced Marey's graph representation, which introduces the concept of time-span and a banded visual metaphor to convey training dynamics and help experts identify inefficient training processes. We also propose a visual aggregation technique to improve visualization efficiency. We evaluate our approach using case studies, a user study and expert interviews on two large-scale models run in a cluster, namely, the PanGu- α 13B model (40 layers), and the Resnet model (50 layers).


: The purpose of this article is to analyze technological solutions and evaluate the usefulness of Google's free e-learning software. The author undertakes to indicate the advantages and disadvantages while checking the applications of the Google Classroom platform information architecture. The platform, developed since 2014, enjoys a constantly growing interest of smaller universities, and this is closely related to the dynamic development of available functionalities in the offer of one of the largest companies in the world of IT, which is Google. This allows us to assume that the aforementioned teaching platform, thanks to such a developed technological base and experience in the field of user-oriented systems, can become an important market alternative for commonly known LMS (Learning Management System) and LCMS (Learning Content Management System) solutions.


The dispersive interaction between a circular Rydberg atom and a superconducting millimeter-wave cavity creates an entangled quantum state of these two systems. Due to the long lifetime of the atomic levels and of the field, this correlation survives a long time after the atom has crossed the cavity mode. This situation is reminiscent of the EPR paradox, with non-local correlations between two subsystems. A quantum measurement performed on one part of this entangled state yields thus information on the other part.


Basic bricks with Cr2O3 from chrome ore, as the spinel forming oxide, are used in the non-ferrous industry because of their corrosion resistance against fayalite-type slags, rich in FeO. Our objective in this study was to replace Cr3+ with Me4+ ions, which along with Fe3+ could maintain the spinel formation capability with MgO and perform similarly against fayalite slags in non-ferrous furnaces. Our preliminary research studies showed that Cr-free spinels in the MgO-Al2O3-FeOx-Me4+O2 systems could perform against fayalite slags similar to the complex (Mg2+, Fe2+)O·(Cr3+, Fe3+, Al3+)2O3 spinel, the main corrosion resistant component in the magnesia-chrome bricks. The incorporation of iron oxide in the MgO-Al2O3-Me4+O2 systems would contribute to reactive sintering and also in decreasing the solubility of both the ferrous and ferric ions present in the fayalite slag. Phase analysis on stoichiometric mixes showed that the use of tetravalent cation oxides like tin dioxide (SnO2) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) can induce high solubility of spinel in magnesia. In order to maintain charge balance, two trivalent cations were replaced by a tetravalent and a bivalent cation causing the additional bivalent cation to occupy the octahedral position thereby creating an inversion in position of the bivalent ions similar to the behaviour exhibited by Fe3+ occupying tetrahedral site in complex spinel phase of magnesia-chrome ceramics. Most of the magnesia-chrome refractories have ~60 wt. % MgO and hence our experimental mixes contained that amount and called "magnesia-rich" compositions, to be distinguished from the stoichiometric MgAl2O4 spinel. Our findings showed that the incorporation of nano TiO2 powders reduces the temperature of spinel formation as the diffusion path is shortened and thus activates both synthesis and sintering. Compositions containing 60 wt. % magnesia with alumina, nano TiO2 and Fe2O3 fired below 1500°C for 3 hours resulted in complete spinel formation and open porosity less than 5%.


© Cambridge University Press 2006. … any comprehensive account of how speech is perceived should encompass audiovisual speech perception. The ability to see as well as hear has to be integral to the design, not merely a retro-fitted after-thought. Summerfield (1987) The "lack of invariance problem" and multisensory speech perception In speech there is a many-to-many mapping between acoustic patterns and phonetic categories. That is, similar acoustic properties can be assigned to different phonetic categories or quite distinct acoustic properties can be assigned to the same linguistic category. Attempting to solve this "lack of invariance problem" has framed much of the theoretical debate in speech research over the years. Indeed, most theories may be characterized as to how they deal with this "problem." Nonetheless, there is little evidence for even a single invariant acoustic property that uniquely identifies phonetic features and that is used by listeners (though see Blumstein and Stevens, 1981; Stevens and Blumstein, 1981). Phonetic constancy can be achieved in spite of this lack of invariance by viewing speech perception as an active process (Nusbaum and Magnuson, 1997). Active processing models like the one to be described here derive from Helmholtz who described visual perception as a process of "unconscious inference" (see Hatfield, 2002). That is, visual perception is the result of forming and testing hypotheses about the inherently ambiguous information available to the retina.


Although at the beginning of the 21st century, over 95 percent of all countries in the world have granted women the right to vote and the right to stand for election (Ballington & Karam, 2005), gender equality in terms of representation in political structures remains to be a challenge around the world. This study seeks to determine the level of political representation of women at the level of the smallest unit of Philippine government — the village or barangay. Data comparison — within a span of 11 years — using the results of the July 15, 2002 and October 28, 2013 barangay elections, shows an increase of women's representation in the 98 barangays of Zamboanga City, Philippines. After the 2013 barangay elections, the total number of female Barangay Captains increased to 14 compared to 8 in the 2002 election results. A total of 159 female Barangay Councilors were also elected in 2013, an increase of 14 percent compared to the 139 female councilors who won in the 2002 elections. The increasing number of elected female barangay officials in 2013 reached 173 women (22 percent) compared to 147 (19 percent) in 2002. In year 2013, a total of 147 women (18.75 percent) were elected as barangay officials out of 784 barangay positions throughout the city. The study concludes that women's participation in politics at the barangay level is directly and inversely proportional to the representation of men in the same political structures. While existing laws and pertinent public policies promoting women's equal representation with men in local politics and the efforts to improve the political landscape for women around the world, still the political structures, even at the smallest unit of the government, is a male-dominated arena.


The quantification of geometric and physical variables uncertainty impact on turbomachinery row workflow was conducted using several untwisted airfoil cascades of axial turbine nozzle blades with uniform section throughout the channel height.Profile loss coefficient, mass flow parameter, outlet flow angle were accepted as controlled performance criteria.The series of computational calculations were carried out for these cascades. The first group of calculations was aimed at the identification of the impact of geometric parameters uncertainty on nozzle blades parameters. The second group - at identifying the studied parameters depending on the flow parameters changes that are used as boundary conditions in the simulation.The obtained results showed that initial data uncertainty in CFD calculations has a significant impact on the obtained quantitative estimates. The difference between calculated data modified in accordance with the geometry technological tolerances and workflow parameters measurement error may exceed 5% by value of the considered criteria.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


Two pond experiments were carried out to evaluate nutrition contribution of natural and
formulated feeds on growth performance of juvenile black tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon in seasonal variations.
Forty unfed shrimp and fed shrimp groups (initial mean individual weight 0,90 ± 0,08 g) were used in the study. The
juveniles were individually placed in the transportable compartments of each pen (10 animals/m2/pen) installed
within a 1500 m2 fertilized earthen pond and reared for 60 days in Experiment 1 (season with greater rainfall) and
another 60 days in Experiment 2 (season with lower rainfall). A range of water salinity in Experiment 1 and 2 were 6–
7 ppt and 17–19 ppt, respectively. The shrimp growth performances were regularly observed every 15 days during
the study and at the end of study, survival rates of shrimp were determined. Results showed that there were a
significant difference (P<0.01) in growth performance (weight gain) between the unfed-shrimp (5,1–6,9 g) and fedshrimp
groups (12,5–14,1 g). Seasonal variations in rainfall did not seem to influence growth and survival performance
of the shrimps. It was found that the presence of natural food in the pond was important to boost shrimp production
and approximately 36% and 54% of growth of shrimp in Experiments 1 and 2, respectively, were supplied by natural
food. A synergism of the nutrition of natural food and formulated diets utilized by shrimp cultured under pond
conditions was a proof of complementary and balance of both feed nutrition to produce the shrimp faster growths.
Although this study was performed using a pond pen model on a small scale, the results obtained have provided
useful information on the significant potential of natural food in a commercial semi-intensive shrimp farming
regardless seasonal variations in rainfall.


Propensity score methods have become a part of the standard toolkit for applied researchers who wish to ascertain causal effects from observational data. While they were originally developed for binary treatments, several researchers have proposed generalizations of the propensity score methodology for non-binary treatment regimes. Such extensions have widened the applicability of propensity score methods and are indeed becoming increasingly popular themselves. In this article, we closely examine the main methods that generalize propensity scores in this direction, namely, inverse propensity weighting (ipw), the propensity function (p-function), and the generalized propensity score (gps), along with recent extensions of the gps that aim to improve its robustness. We compare the assumptions, theoretical properties, and empirical performance of these methods. On a theoretical level, the gps and its extensions are advantageous in that they are designed to estimate the full dose response function rather than the average treatment effect that is estimated with the p-function. ipw, on the other hand, is a very flexible methodology with a wide range of applications extending well beyond the current review. We compare gps, recent methods that aim to improve its robustness, and ipw-based estimators with a new p-function method, all of which estimate the dose response function. We illustrate our findings and proposals through simulation studies, including one based on an empirical application. While our proposed p-function-based estimator preforms well, we generally advise caution in that all available methods can be biased by model misspecification and extrapolation.


In this chapter, two of very unique and novel radiation technologies for modern radiobiology studies are reviewed. First of all, it is concentrated on the developments of accelerator-based particle microbeam system, which has been effectively used for studying the puzzle of "radiation-induced bystander effect." In addition, a recent published single-cell microbeam study, which is aiming to directly measure a cell's radio-sensitivity combining microbeam system with self-referencing biosensor, is included. Then, toward the study of realistic irradiation scenarios in radiation biology in particular, such as a nuclear attack for homeland security concerns or a potential large-scale radiological event, there would be a major need to ascertain, within a few days, the radiation doses received by tens or hundreds of thousands of individuals. Specifically, biological tests would need to be established to estimate the likelihood of such radiation exposure to result in serious health consequences; tests that would then be applied to decide on the correct treat‐ ments that might mitigate the short- and long-term health effects of such radiation exposure. However, because of the complexity and difficulty of conducting tests in such circumstance, innovative irradiation systems and technology are required. So the new developments of small animal irradiation system for evaluating the radiation risk and carrying out animal model radiobiology experiments within the mimicked radiation scenarios are covered in the second half of this chapter.


Investment abroad has come to play a major role in the total investment undertaken by U.S. firms. Despite this development, very little attention has been paid to the impacts of domestic tax policy on foreign investment. One reason has been the presumption that, since changes in domestic tax rules ordinarily also apply to foreign-source income, policy changes should affect foreign and domestic investment similarly. However, the fact that the tax on foreign-source income is deferred until the income is repatriated represents a crucial difference in the treatment of foreign and domestic income. So long as the U.S. tax is deferred, the effective U.S. tax rate on foreign-source income can be shown to be irrelevant to a firm's optimal foreign reinvestment decision. Foreign investment is now largely accomplished by firms reinvesting earnings abroad, so the reinvestment decision is of primary importance. Thus, a decrease in the effective U.S. tax rate which applies to both domestic and foreign investment income can be thought of as a cut in the tax on domestic investment income, which is encouraging to domestic investment (perhaps at the expense of foreign investment), combined with a cut in the tax on foreign investment income, which has no effect on the optimal foreign reinvestment decision. Consequently, the impacts on foreign and domestic investment of an apparently neutral policy could be very different . Another reason that the response of foreign investment has been neglected in domestic policy discussions is the lack of evidence on the magnitude of that response. This paper utilizes the theory just described to confirm that foreign investment is influenced negatively and quite strongly by the after-tax rate of return to domestic investment. A further test, in which a "gross domestic rate of return" term and a "domestic tax" term are included separately, produces coefficients virtually equal in absolute value, confirming that the net domestic rate of return is the appropriate variable. The results indicate that a tax incentive which has been found to raise net domestic investment by a dollar reduces net foreign investment by at least twenty cents. This conclusion is further reinforced by results from a forward-looking (Tobin's q) mod el. While these results do not point to the primary outcome of a domestic policy change being a domestic-foreign reallocation of the capital stock, they indicate that a significant reallocation does take place. With open economy tax analysis still in its infancy, the question of how this evidence alters the usual conclusions is largely an open one.


Establishing and maintaining public water services in Oromia Regional states is a significant development challenge. In expectation of water infrastructure investments, this study compares drinking water sources and quality between Bedelle, Gechi, and Dabe, Dega, two towns recovering from political and economic instability. In both towns, access to piped water is low, and residents rely on a range of other private and public water sources. In Bedelle, geographic points for sampling were randomly selected and stratified by population density, whereas in Gechi, locations for sampling were selected from a current inventory of public water sources. In Bedelle, the sampling frame demonstrated extensive reliance on private boreholes and a preference, in both planned and unplanned settlements, for drinking bottled and sachet water. In Gechi, sample collection focused on public sources (predominantly shallow dug wells). In Bedelle, fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) were detected in 25% of sources ( N = 566), though concentrations were low. In Gechi, 57% of sources contained FIB and 22% of sources had nitrate levels that exceeded standards ( N = 204). In Gechi, the convenience of piped water may promote acceptance of the associated water tariffs. However, in Bedelle, the high prevalence of self-supply and bottled and sachet drinking water suggests that the consumer's willingness to pay for ongoing municipal water supply improvements may be determined by service reliability and perceptions of water quality. Keyword s: Analysis of Drinking Water Sources, Quality, Services


The hydatid disease caused by Echinococcus granulosus is an endemic parasitic disease affecting several Mediterranean countries. Echinococcal cysts are mostly located in the liver and the lung, but the disease can be detected anywhere in the body. In this study, we present uncommon extrahepatic localizations of primary hydatid disease. Patients who were operated on for hydatid disease or cystic lesions, which were later diagnosed as hydatid disease, between 2004 and 2010 were retrieved retrospectively. Patients with lesions localized outside the liver and the lung were enrolled in the study. Eight patients with extrahepatic primary hydatid disease were treated surgically at our clinic. The cysts were located in the scapular region, spleen, pancreas, lumbosacral region and gluteal muscle. Surgical techniques were partial or total cystectomy with or without tube drainage. Splenectomy was performed for splenic hydatid disease and partial pericystectomy, Roux-en-Y cystojejunostomy, cholecystectomy and T-tube drainage for pancreatic hydatid disease. There were no complications or mortality in the postoperative period. Hydatid cyst should be considered in the differential diagnosis of cystic lesions, especially in endemic areas. Surgical technique should be planned according to the location of the cyst.


Objective American Society of Anesthesiology guidelines recommend preoperative fasts of 6 hours after light snacks and 8 hours after large meals. These guidelines were designed for healthy patients undergoing elective procedures but are often applied to intubated intensive care unit (ICU) patients. ICU patients undergoing routine procedures may be subjected to unnecessary prolonged fasts. This study tests whether shorter fasts allow for better nutrition delivery and patient outcomes without increasing the risk. Study Design Randomized blinded controlled trial. Setting Tertiary academic medical center. Subjects ICU patients undergoing bedside tracheotomy. Methods Intubated ICU patients who were receiving enteral feeding and for whom bedside tracheotomy was indicated were enrolled prospectively and randomly allocated to 2 parallel preoperative fasting regimens: a 6-hour fast (control) and a 45-minute fast (intervention). Patients were assessed for aspiration, caloric delivery, metabolic markers, and infectious and noninfectious complications. Results Twenty-four patients were enrolled and randomized. There were no complications related to the procedure. There were no cases of intraoperative aspiration identified. There was a single postoperative pneumonia in the control group. Median (interquartile range) length of fast and caloric delivery were significantly different between the control group and the shortened fast group: 22 hours (18, 34) vs 14 hours (5, 25; P < .001) and 429 kcal (57, 1125) vs 1050 kcal (825, 1410; P = .01), respectively. Conclusions Shortening preoperative fasts in intubated ICU patients allowed for better caloric delivery in the preoperative period.


The literature review indicated that many studies have been conducted regarding knowledge or attitudes toward HIV/AIDS. However, research remains inconclusive regarding knowledge and attitudes or rural nurses toward HIV/AIDS. Research reported have had limitations such as size of studies and definition of rural settings gives discrepancies in the literature (Valimaki, Suoninen, & Peate, 1998) An investigation to survey, rural nurses' knowledge and attitude regarding HIV/AIDS was conducted. Rural nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward HIV/AIDS were described. The Flaskerud AIDS Instrument (FAI) (Flaskerud, Lewis, & Shin, 1989) was mailed to 474 registered nurses (RN) and licensed practical nurses (LPN) in a rural mid-western state that yielded a response rate of 33% (N= 131). Demographics were analyzed with frequency and percentage on questions regarding gender (female = 97.7%), marital status (married = 84.7%), religion affiliation (Protestant = 74.8%) and ethnic/cultural (white = 96.2%) orientation. The mean age of the nurses was 48.8 years. The length of practice was calculated as a mean of 20.41 years. Participants' personal experience with HIV/AIDS indicated that 61.1% (n = 80) had taken care of a HIV/AIDS patient. A majority (n = 80, 61%) of the respondents indicated currently giving direct patient care. Educationally, this sample was 18.3% (n = 20) diploma nurses. 43.1 % (n = 47) associate degree nurses and 19.3% (n = 21) baccalaureate degree nurses. The FAI questionnaire had a Knowledge Subscale of 54 questions and an Attitude Subscale of 15 questions. The mean scores (M = 41.74. SD = 3.32) of the Knowledge Subscale of rural nurses regarding HIV/AIDS implied that overall they knew 77% of the questions. The mean scores of the Attitude Subscale (M = 5.37, SD = 2.41) demonstrated a 36% correct on attitude questions as directed by the authors of the F AI tool. This score reflected poor attitudes of rural nurses toward HIV/AIDS. In this investigation, the data did not show any statistically significant correlation between participants' knowledge and attitude. Analysis was done by calculation of a Pearson's r correlation (r = -0.30, p = .752). Analysis of the data indicated that age did not have a statistically significant correlation (r = -.124, p = .196) with knowledge. Data were obtained and the difference between the LPNs and RNs knowledge was calculated by comparing means of the LPNs' and the RNs' Knowledge Subscale scores. A t test demonstrated no statistically significant difference between LPNs' and RNs' knowledge about HIV/AIDS, t (105) = 1.529, p = .526. There was not a statistically significant difference in attitudes between LPNs and RNs. This was obtained by the calculation of a t test, t (109) = 1.49, p > .10. The question whether length of practice had any impact on attitude was measured by a Pearson's product-moment correlation. There was no statistical significant relationship. Additional findings indicated there was not a statistically significant difference in knowledge for the nurses giving direct patient care and those who were not giving direct patient care in knowledge, t (1.373), p > .10. The nurses not giving direct patient care had a higher mean (42.09, SD = 3.26) then nurses who were giving direct patient care (M = 41.229, SD = 3.37). The difference in attitude between nurses giving direct patient care and those who were not giving direct patient care was not statistically significant, t (1.637), p >.10. An additional calculation was done to determine whether there was a relationship between knowledge and attitude for those who were giving direct patient care. There was no statistical significance found. A final additional finding was the relationship between age and attitude. The data were analyzed using a Pearson's product-moment correlation and was found to be statistically significant, r = .191, p = .047. The implications of this investigation were presented regarding nursing research, nursing practice, nursing theory development and nursing education. Many questions were raised which indicated that further research regarding the rural nurses knowledge and attitude towards HIV/AIDS is needed. Nursing practice in the rural selling may have future challenges as the number of HIV/AIDS patients increase. Benner's (1984) "Novice to Expert" nursing theory was utilized as a conceptual framework in this investigation and was recommended for further research. The need for rural nursing schools to maintain current information is cited in this investigation. The increasing number of HIV/AIDS patients in the rural setting makes it essential that rural nurses have adequate knowledge as well as a positive attitude toward HIV/AIDS. If society is to provide equitable care to all people, it becomes a critical issue in rural health care to adequately educate health care providers. Further research is needed that determines if an educational intervention would improve knowledge and attitudes of rural nurses regarding HIV/AIDS.


We propose a novel algorithm for source signals estimation from an underdetermined convolutive mixture assuming known mixing filters. Most of the state-of-the-art methods are dealing with anechoic or short reverberant mixture, assuming a synthesis sparse prior in the time-frequency domain and a narrowband approximation of the convolutive mixing process. In this paper, we address the source estimation of convolutive mixtures with a new algorithm based on i) an analysis sparse prior, ii) a reweighting scheme so as to increase the sparsity, iii) a wideband data-fidelity term in a constrained form. We show, through theoretical discussions and simulations, that this algorithm is particularly well suited for source separation of realistic reverberation mixtures. Particularly, the proposed algorithm outperforms state-of-the-art methods on reverberant mixtures of audio sources by more than 2 dB of signal-to-distortion ratio on the BSS Oracle dataset.


Increasing demand in developing countries for animal sources of food including red meat is predicted to double by 2050. In Indonesia, there has always been a gap between supply and demand of beef with national beef production only satisfying about 45% of demand. This paper aims to describe the current features and future prospects for beef production systems in Indonesia. The first part of the article reviews and analyses Indonesian beef cattle production systems. The second part addresses issues related to the current systems for beef production that could become important for future development of the beef industry in Indonesia. Recommendations to improve breeding and reproduction, to empower smallholder farmers, to improve the capacity of industry-related institutions to enhance technology transfer, and to develop systems for industry development such as integration of palm oil or plantations with beef cattle production are briefly discussed.


Mitochondrial dysfunction and cellular senescence are hallmarks of aging. However, the relationship between these two phenomena remains incompletely understood. In this study, we investigated the rewiring of mitochondria upon development of the senescent state in human IMR90 fibroblasts. Determining the bioenergetic activities and abundance of mitochondria, we demonstrate that senescent cells accumulate mitochondria with reduced OXPHOS activity, resulting in an overall increase of mitochondrial activities in senescent cells. Time-resolved proteomic analyses revealed extensive reprogramming of the mitochondrial proteome upon senescence development and allowed the identification of metabolic pathways that are rewired with different kinetics upon establishment of the senescent state. Among the early-responding pathways, the degradation of branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) was increased, while the one carbon-folate metabolism was decreased. Late-responding pathways include lipid metabolism and mitochondrial translation. These signatures were confirmed by metabolic tracing experiments, highlighting metabolic rewiring as a central feature of mitochondria in cellular senescence. Together, our data provide an unprecedentedly comprehensive view on the metabolic status of mitochondria in senescent cells and reveal how the mitochondrial proteome adapts to the induction of senescence.


The density of Langerhans´ cells (LC) stained with ATPase was determined in epidermal sheet preparations in skin specimens from patients with stasis dermatitis of the lower leg. Their density was highest in areas adjacent to manifest stasis dermatitis areas. Clinically diseased skin contained less LC than the adjacent areas, but still more than skin from control patients without venous insufficiency. The increased number of ATPase positive cells within and around stasis dermatitis skin might contribute to the high number of contact allergies observed in this patient group because of the antigen presenting capacity of these cells.


Cigarette smokers experience greater rates of mor- bidity and mortality. Despite the known health risks, use of tobacco products remains high throughout the United States (approximately 19.3% of adults). Tobacco use is associated with higher rates of cardiovascular illness, cardiovascular risk factors (ie, hypertension and atherosclerosis), chronic ob- structive pulmonary disease, emphysema, and various types of cancer. Pharmacologic smoking cessation therapies have been used to facilitate abstinence from smoking. This article provides clinicians with instructions for the use of pharmaco- logic agents for smoking cessation, including considerations for special populations.


A 43-year-old woman presented with abnormal vaginal bleeding. Endometrial carcinoma was found on dilation and curettage. Hysterectomy and surgical staging confirmed stage IA endometrial cancer. Family history was significant for prostate cancer in her father and paternal grandfather. Her tumor was screened for Lynch syndrome by immunohistochemistry staining for DNA mismatch repair proteins (mutL homolog 1 [MLH1]; MutS homologs 1 and 6 [MSH1, MSH6]; PMS 1 homolog 2 [PMS2]) and microsatellite instability testing (MSI)1 (Table 1).