This study attempts to analyze Marange diamond revenue remittances in Zimbabwe from 2006 to 2013. The case of Mbada Diamond Company was used. The information gathered would either validate or nullify the belief that diamond revenues have not been fully attained to date. The Public Choice Theory propounded by Buchanan will help in explaining why such results have been attained in diamond revenue remittance. This paper was compiled after reviewing some government publications, National Budgets, journal articles as well as employing questionnaires and unstructured interviews. The research found that diamond revenue remitting in Zimbabwe particularly Marange fields were still lagging behind the expectations since the start of mining in 2006. Of the expected billions of diamond revenues only about US$971 million to US$1.6 billion is believed to have trickled into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) since 2006. The Marange diamond revenue remittances have proved to be trailing their expectations since the first formal sale was conducted in 2010. This was due to a plethora of challenges which includes weak legislative frameworks, corruption, informal diamond trading, technological incompetence as well as the imposition of economic sanctions to the Zimbabwean economy. The study makes some recommendations as to how the diamond revenues could be fully attained and such remedies among others include internal capacity building, passing of a diamond bill, nationalization of mining companies, introduction of a local mineral beneficiation scheme, multi-collaboration of various ministries in diamond revenue collection and subsidizing the mining of diamond to increase productivity. Zimbabwe's diamond revenues if managed properly, would reduce government external debt, promotes economic development and improves service delivery in the public sector.


This study investigated the nutritional interventions to alter/improve faecal pellet quality (which could lead to better and more complete removal of faecal waste) and the enhancement of the stability of egested faeces. In this thesis, striped catfish was taken as a model species, to study the options for aquaculture waste management. Up till now, it is not clear if nutritional interventions targeted to reduce the amount of faecal waste can go along with improving the faecal quality. The main aim of this research was to study the impact of different nutrition interventions on both the quantity and quality of faecal waste produced by striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, Sauvage, 1878). The most ideal nutritional interventions would be those that reduce the quantity and at the same time, improve the quality of faeces. To reach the aim, we conducted four studies. Firstly, we determined the characteristics of waste production and digestibility of dietary ingredients. Fifteen commonly applied ingredients in feed formulation of striped catfish were studied: protein-rich ingredients, ingredients relatively rich in non-starch polysaccharides, and oil and starch-rich ingredients. Secondly, we tested the impacts of the ingredients' particle size and the dietary viscosity on digestion, performance and faecal waste management of this fish. Thirdly, we analysed the dose-response relationship between dietary viscosity and nutrient digestibility and faecal waste characteristics in striped catfish and the long-term impacts of viscosity on the performance of striped catfish. Lastly, we assessed the relationship between the physical and chemical characteristics of chyme and apparent faecal nutrient digestibility. In particular, this study determined the effect of dietary viscosity on chyme characteristics in different segments of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of striped catfish, and the progression of nutrient digestion throughout the GIT. In all our studies we have noticed that the ingredient composition of a feed strongly determines the amount of faecal waste produced on a diet. Faecal quantity can be altered by feed technology/feed processing conditions (e.g., grinding screen size). For striped catfish, feed and faecal pellet binders, which increase the dietary viscosity, should not be used in the diet because it reduces the dry matter digestibility even at very low inclusion levels. The negative impact of dietary viscosity on digestion in striped catfish appears very proximal in the gastrointestinal tract (stomach). This negative impact on digestion is not compensated after the evacuation of the chyme from the stomach. The stability of faecal waste is determined by the ingredient composition of the feed consumed by the fish.


The transit industry has always shown a great interest in the adoption of transformational safety technologies to improve the safety of its passengers and drivers, as well as all road users including pedestrians. Due to its unique characteristics and behaviors, such as vehicle size and frequent stops/starts, transit often deals with safety challenges and priorities that are often different from those for light duty and commercial vehicles. The purpose of this study was to identify candidate transit crash scenarios for near-term connected vehicle safety research using data from the 2010 National Transit Database (NTD). The study identifies motor bus collision types according to collision characteristics, including the type of object the transit vehicle collided with (e.g., pedestrian, motor vehicles, infrastructure elements, etc.), the location of the collision (e.g., mid-block or at an intersection), and the spatial relationship between vehicles when they collided. The study revealed some prominent characteristics (such as spatial relationship between vehicles) related to motor bus crashes, and how these characteristics are amenable to connected vehicle solutions. The study then ranks collision types by frequency, cost, and average cost per crash. Based on the findings, the authors provide recommendations for potential application areas for connected vehicle transit safety.


Multi-task learning (MTL) has received considerable attention, and numerous deep learning applications benefit from MTL with multiple objectives. However, constructing multiple related tasks is difficult, and sometimes only a single task is available for training in a dataset. To tackle this problem, we explored the idea of using unsupervised clustering to construct a variety of auxiliary tasks from unlabeled data or existing labeled data. We found that some of these newly constructed tasks could exhibit semantic meanings corresponding to certain human-specific attributes, but some were non-ideal. In order to effectively reduce the impact of non-ideal auxiliary tasks on the main task, we further proposed a novel meta-learning-based multi-task learning approach, which trained the shared hidden layers on auxiliary tasks, while the meta-optimization objective was to minimize the loss on the main task, ensuring that the optimizing direction led to an improvement on the main task. Experimental results across five image datasets demonstrated that the proposed method significantly outperformed existing single task learning, semi-supervised learning, and some data augmentation methods, including an improvement of more than 9% on the Omniglot dataset.


Objectives: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the major cause of post-transfusion hepatitis infection (PTH). Patients with thalassemia major are at high risk of hepatitis C due to the blood transfusion from donors infected by HCV. The aim of this study was to detect the prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies and risk factors in multitransfused thalassemic patients in Isfahan-Iran to establish more preventive strategies. Methods: This study was conducted to assess the patients with beta-thalassemia in Isfahan hospitals during 1996-2011 for HCV infection. A structured interview questionnaire was developed by the trained researcher to collect the demographic and risk factors. Statistical analysis was done by Chi-square test, Mann-Withney and multiple logistic regressions using SPSS software, version 15. Results: 466 patients with major thalassemia participated in this study. The mean age of patients was 17.46 ± 8.3. Two hundred and seventy (58.3%) and 193 (41.7%) of participants were male and female, respectively. The prevalence of HCV was estimated 8% among thalassemia patients. History of surgery, history of dental procedure, number of units transfused per month, number of transfusion per month and duration of transfusion had significant association with HCV seropositivity in univariate analysis. There were no statistical significant risk factors for HCV seropositivity in multiple logistic regression models. Conclusions: Our findings revealed that blood transfusion was the main risk factors for HCV infection among beta-thalassemic patients. Therefore, more blood donor screening programs and effective screening techniques are needed to prevent transmission of HCV infection among beta-thalassemic patients.


In our daily lives, we rely heavily on our visual and auditory channels to receive information from others. In the case of impairment, or when large amounts of information are already transmitted visually or aurally, alternative methods of communication are needed. A haptic language offers the potential to provide information to a user when visual and auditory channels are unavailable. Previously created haptic languages include deconstructing acoustic signals into features and displaying them through a haptic device, and haptic adaptations of Braille or Morse code; however, these approaches are unintuitive, slow at presenting language, or require a large surface area. We propose using a multi-sensory haptic device called MISSIVE, which can be worn on the upper arm and is capable of producing brief cues, sufficient in quantity to encode the full English phoneme set. We evaluated our approach by teaching subjects a subset of 23 phonemes, and demonstrated an 86% accuracy in a 50 word identification task after 100 minutes of training.


Liver repair in patients with a chronic liver disease requires the orchestrated action of epithelial, mesen- chymal, and inflammatory cells. Notch components are expressed in both the epithelial and mesenchymal compart - ments of the adult liver and are differentially regulated after injury. However, the functional role of Notch signaling in regulating epithelial/mesenchymal cross-talk during fibrogenic pathologic repair remains unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate how proliferation of the bile duct influences biliary fibrosis and to recognize the effect of inhibiting Notch signaling in biliary fibrotic tissue of the injured liver. We designed a synthetic decoy oligodeoxynu - cleotide (ODN) for recombination signal binding protein immunoglobulin kappa J (RBP-jκ), which is a common DNA- binding partner of Notch receptors. The effect of blocking RBP-jκ on fibrogenesis was assessed in the 3,5-Diethoxy - carbonyl-1,4-dihydrocollidine (DDC) diet mouse model. We observed the reduced fibrosis and decreased expression of associated signaling molecules after the RBP-jκ decoy ODN treatment. These data demonstrate that Notch signal- ing may play an important role in progression of ductular reaction and fibrosis. Further studies are required to unveil how ductular cells interact with other liver cell types, such as hepatic stellate cells or Kupffer cells,in patients with cholestatic liver diseases based on Notch signaling. These results suggest that controlling the ductular reaction us- ing a synthetic ring type decoy RBP-jκ ODN will help develop a novel therapeutic approach targeting biliary fibrosis in patients with chronic liver diseases.


Space restrictions at the top of tall buildings may necessitate using tuned sloshing dampers (TSD) tanks with large rectangular penetrations to accommodate the structural core of the tower. A finite element model is employed to predict the natural sloshing frequencies and mode shapes of liquid sloshing in a rectangular tank with a rectangular core. Equivalent mechanical properties are determined to predict the sloshing response. Frequency response predictions of wave heights, sloshing forces, and energy-dissipation per cycle agree with results from shake table testing conducted on a rectangular tank with a rectangular core. Energy dissipation due to flow around the core adds considerable damping to the liquid and is proportional to the response velocity-squared. Nonlinear coupling among sloshing modes results in multiple peaks in the frequency response plots near the fundamental resonant frequency. An interior core with a broad dimension in one direction substantially reduces the fundamental sloshing frequency and equivalent mechanical mass in the perpendicular direction; however, the fundamental sloshing frequency and equivalent mechanical mass in the parallel direction are only influenced marginally. Large rectangular cores reduce the proportion of the total water mass that is effective in controlling tower motion. A TSD with a rectangular penetrating core may enable a TSD option to be considered for the control of a tall building in cases where a traditional rectangular TSD is infeasible.


ABSTRACT In this study, pectin/poly(methacrylic acid-co-2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulphonic acid) (pec/poly(MA-co-AMPS)) hydrogel was synthesised with free-radical polymerisation. The effect of the compound proportions within the pectin-based hydrogels on swelling behaviour was investigated. Confirmation of the chemical structure of the prepared hydrogel used FT-IR spectroscopy. Surface morphology assessment was performed with SEM. Cationic methylene blue (MB) dye was chosen to investigate adsorption studies using these anionic-character hydrogels. The adsorption conditions affecting performance of initial dye concentration, solution pH, adsorbent mass, contact duration and temperature were systematically investigated. Kinetics of MB adsorption abided by a pseudo-second-order model. The adsorption isotherm for hydrogels was best described by the Langmuir isotherm model and it was found to have maximum MB adsorption capacity of 448.4 mg/g at 60 min duration. Thermodynamic investigation of the adsorption process linked to temperature found the adsorption process had random, spontaneous and endothermic favourability. In conclusion, pec/poly(MA-co-AMPS) hydrogel is accepted as a promising candidate to remove MB or cationic dyes with similar features from aqueous solutions.


This paper draws attention to the way free choice participates in the occurrence of what is usually called natural evil. While earthquakes are natural phenomena, they injure only those who have chosen to live in places where they occur. But if God could not foresee these choices, then God could not foresee much about the amount and distribution of natural evil. Combining a libertarian notion of freedom with a denial of middle knowledge allows God to be much less implicated in the occurrence of natural evil. This gives some of the familiar theistic replies to the problem, such as Hick's soul-making theodicy, enhanced plausibility.


This paper uses finite element upper and lower bound limit analysis to produce chart solutions for three-dimensional (3D) natural slopes for both short- and long-term stability. The presented chart solutions are convenient tools that can be used for preliminary design purposes. The rigorous limit analysis results in this paper were found to bracket the true factor of safety within ±10% or better, which can be used as a benchmark for the solutions from other methods. The depth of the slip surfaces is observed to be generally shallow for most analyzed cases, particularly for the long-term slope stability problem. In addition, it was found that using a two-dimensional (2D) analysis may lead to significant differences in estimating safety factors, which can differ by 2%–60% depending on the slope geometry and soil properties. Therefore, great care and judgement are required when applying 2D analyses to 3D slope problems.


BACKGROUND
Thus far, there have been no controlled studies to examine optimal levels of energy provision in critically ill patients with acute renal failure (ARF) receiving artificial nutrition.

METHODS
After a 24 h nitrogen-free regimen (20% dextrose), we assigned during an open-label, AB/BA-crossover-trial, 10 ARF patients receiving both total parenteral nutrition (TPN) and renal replacement therapy (seven males; mean age 72 years, range 60-83; mean APACHE II score 27.1, range 23-34, mechanical ventilation 8/10) to a lower calorie-TPN regimen (30 kcal/kg/day) and to a higher calorie-TPN regimen (40 kcal/kg/day), each for 3 days. Nitrogen intake was 0.25 g/kg/day for both regimens. We estimated nitrogen balance, protein catabolic rate and urea generation rate by urea kinetic methods based on both timed blood samples of serum urea and direct urea quantification from dialysis fluid.

RESULTS
Two patients were excluded from the analysis (due to death and serum triglycerides above 5.1 mmol/l, respectively). Compared with the lower calorie-TPN, the higher calorie-TPN regimen did not improve estimated nitrogen balance [+1.55 g/day (95% confidence interval: -0.95 to +4.05, P = 0.18)], protein catabolic rate [-0.10 g/kg/day (-0.33 to +0.14, P = 0.35)], or urea generation rate [-1.3 mg/min (-5.2 to +2.7, P = 0.46)], whereas it increased serum triglycerides [+1.36 mmol/l (+0.53 to +2.19, P = 0.007)], glucose [+1.15 mmol/l (+0.07 to +2.24, P = 0.041)], insulin need [+20.4 U/day (+8.3 to +32.6, P = 0.006)] and nutritional fluid administration [+468 ml/day (+370 to +566, P<0.001)].

CONCLUSIONS
The present study, conducted in a small group of subjects, shows that in critically ill patients with ARF on a nitrogen intake of 0.25 g/kg/day, an energy provision of 40 kcal/kg/day does not improve nitrogen balance estimates compared with a 30 kcal/kg/day intake; instead, it may increase the risk of artificial nutrition-related side-effects.


Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) may be performed at various time intervals after acute myocardial infarction (MI), and may be combined with thrombolytic therapy. This article reviews the data on the role of PTCA in acute MI, and summarises current opinion.


Epidemiological studies have identified several modifiable risk factors for colorectal neoplasms in the general population. However, associations between modifiable risk factors, including body mass index (BMI), smoking, alcohol consumption and dietary patterns, and colorectal neoplasms in two groups at high risk of colorectal cancer, Lynch syndrome patients and sporadic adenoma patients, have been sparsely studied. This thesis presents two cohort studies, one of 486 Lynch syndrome patients (the GEOLynch cohort study) and one including data from 565 persons with sporadic adenomas (the POLIEP follow-up study), in which we assessed whether a high BMI, smoking, high alcohol consumption and specific dietary patterns influenced colorectal adenoma development. We also assessed whether the association between BMI and recurrence of sporadic adenomas was modified by polymorphisms in the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) genes. First, we observed that excess body weight increased the risk of incident colorectal adenomas in men with Lynch syndrome. Secondly, we showed that current smoking increased the risk of colorectal adenomas in Lynch syndrome in both sexes. Former smokers still showed an elevated risk, but lower than current smokers. Number of years smoked, among ever smokers, was positively associated with colorectal adenomas. A clear association with alcohol consumption was not observed. Thirdly, we identified four dietary patterns in the Lynch syndrome cohort; i) 'Prudent', ii) 'Meat', iii) 'Snack', vi) 'Cosmopolitan'. The 'Snack' pattern was associated with increased adenoma occurrence. The other patterns showed Hazard Ratios in the expected directions based on similar studies in the general population but these were not statistically significantly associated with adenoma occurrence. Additionally, among 565 sporadic adenoma patients, we found that BMI was not associated with adenoma recurrence (n=165), nor with recurrence of advanced adenomas (n=37) after a median of 4.7 years of follow-up. Variation in IGF-axis genes (rs1520220 in IGF1 and rs3213221 in IGF2) influenced the likelihood of colorectal adenoma recurrence. Furthermore, we observed that the association between BMI and adenoma recurrence was modified by variation in the IGF2 gene (rs1004446 and rs1003483). Finally, the three dietary patterns identified ('Low meat', 'Cosmopolitan', or 'Refined foods') among the sporadic adenoma patients did not show marked associations with adenoma recurrence, although the 'Low meat' pattern might reduce the risk of advanced recurrences. No significant associations were seen for smoking and alcohol consumption. Overall, the results of our Lynch syndrome cohort suggest that modifiable risk factors, e.g. high BMI and smoking, influence colorectal adenoma development in Lynch syndrome patients. On the other hand, these risk factors do not appear to influence recurrence of sporadic colorectal adenomas.


ABSTRACT Three Binder of SPerm proteins (BSP1, BSP3, BSP5) are secreted by bovine seminal vesicles into seminal plasma and adsorbed onto sperm. When sperm inseminated into the female reach the oviduct, the BSP proteins bind them to its epithelial lining, forming a sperm storage reservoir. Previously, we reported that binding of capacitated sperm to oviductal epithelium in vitro is lower than that of uncapacitated sperm and we proposed that reduced binding was due to loss of BSP proteins during capacitation. Because of differences in amino acid sequences, we predicted that each BSP would respond differently to capacitating conditions. To test whether all three BSP proteins were lost from sperm during capacitation and whether the kinetics of loss differed among the three BSP proteins, ejaculated bull sperm were incubated under various capacitating conditions, and then the amounts of BSP proteins remaining on the sperm were assayed by Western blotting. Capacitation was assayed by analysis of protein tyrosine phosphorylation. While loss of BSP1 was not detected, most of the BSP5 was lost from sperm during incubation in TALP medium, even without addition of the capacitation enhancers heparin and dbcAMP-IBMX. Surprisingly, a smaller molecular mass was detected by anti-BSP3 antibodies in extracts of incubated sperm. Its identity was confirmed as BSP3 by mass spectrometry, indicating that BSP3 undergoes modification on the sperm surface. These changes in the composition of BSP proteins on sperm could play a role in releasing sperm from the storage reservoir by modifying sperm interactions with the oviductal epithelium.


Seismology
The seismic networks used to detect earthquakes are limited spatially because they require expensive seismometers to be placed, monitored, and maintained. Lindsey et al. show how fiber optics can be used for seismic recording, using a technique known as distributed acoustic sensing (DAS). Three examples show how DAS can detect ground motions—in Alaska, in the Geysers Geothermal Field in California, and even using fiber-optic cables in existing telecommunication conduits. These case studies show the potential for using DAS systems as massive seismometer arrays in hard-to-access locations, possibly by using preexisting fiber-optic networks.

Geophys. Res. Lett. 10.1002/2017GL075722 (2017).


Cyclotron resonance with whistler-mode chorus waves is an important mechanism for the local acceleration of radiation belt energetic electrons. Such acceleration process has been widely investigated during the storm times, and its favored region is usually considered to be the low-density plasmatrough with magnetic local time (MLT) from midnight through dawn to noon. Here we present two case studies on the chorus-driven acceleration of radiation belt electrons in some "unusual" temporal /spatial regions. (1) The first event recorded by the Van Allen Probes during the nonstorm times from 21 to 23 February 2013. Within two days, a new radiation belt centering around L=5.8 formed and gradually merged with the original outer belt. The corresponding relativistic electron fluxes increased by a factor of up to 50, accompanied by strong chorus waves. The quasi-linear STEERB model, including the local acceleration of detected chorus waves, can basically reproduce the observed 0.2-5.0 MeV electron flux enhancement at the center of new belt. These results clearly illustrate the importance of chorus-driven local acceleration during the nonstorm times. (2) The second event observed by the Van Allen Probes in the duskside (MLT~18) region on 2 October 2013. The quasi-linear diffusion analysis of STEERB code shows that, even in the duskside region with large ratio between the electron plasma frequency and the electron gyrofrequency, the detected intense (~0.5 nT) chorus waves can still effectively accelerate radiation belt electrons. These results clearly exhibit the broader effective acceleration regions than usually estimated, at least for this one example.


The majority of research on children's peer aggression has focused exclusively on the school context. Very few studies have investigated peer aggression in sports clubs. The prevalence and stability of peer aggression, prosocial behavior, and resource control strategies for children participating in three types of sports (martial arts, contact, and noncontact sports) were examined in two contexts: the sports club and the elementary school. We distinguished aggressive children with (i.e., Machiavellians) and without prosocial tendencies (i.e., coercive-aggressive children). Self-reports about experiences in the two contexts where gathered from 1,425 Dutch elementary school students (717 boys and 708 girls, fourth to sixth grade, mean age 11.25 years) who were participating in a sports club. We found roles for resource control strategies to be rather stable across contexts. The findings did not provide support for the "enhancement" assumption in these contexts with regard to martial arts participants.


In this work, potential problems with the application of polymer matrix composites (PMC) in extreme environments [1] is discussed. Then, two specific examples of the applications of PMCs in high voltage [2-7] and high temperature [8-15] situations are evaluated. The first example deals with damage evolution in high voltage composite insulators [2-7] with PMC rods subjected to a combined action of extreme mechanical, electrical and environmental stresses. These insulators are widely used in transmission line and substation applications around the world. Subsequently, advanced high temperature graphite/polyimide composites [8-15] are evaluated for aerospace applications. The composite investigated in this project were used to manufacture and successfully test a Rocket Based Combined Cycle (RBCC) third-generation, reusable liquid propellant rocket engine, which is one possible engine for a future single-stage-to-orbit vehicle [8].


BACKGROUND: In postmenopausal women, the risk of having cardiac diseases, especially high blood pressure, is increased due to the decrease in secretion of estrogen. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of 8 weeks of aquatic resistance training on blood pressure and physical function of postmenopausal women. METHODS: In this quasi-experimental study, 24 postmenopausal women (age: 53-60 years, BMI= 29.23 ± 5.27kg/m 2 ) were randomly divided into experimental (n = 14) and control (n = 10) groups. Women in the experimental group participated in an aquatic exercise program for 8 weeks (3 sessions per week) in the deep parts of the pool. Training included walking and running in water with water dumbbells weighing 250 grams. Before and after the exercise period, the body composition, blood pressure, dynamic balance, and flexibility of the subjects were measured. RESULTS: According to the T-score, the average systolic blood pressure in the experimental group significantly decreased (9.29%) (P = 0.001). Dynamic balance and flexibility, respectively, significantly increased by 22.02% and 24.4% (P < 0.01). No significant changes were observed in body fat and weight. CONCLUSION: Due to the positive effect of aquatic resistance training on blood pressure, dynamic balance, and flexibility these exercises are recommended for postmenopausal women.


This Online Orientation has been developed to help you acquire the basic skills in using the Library and get a good start with your studies. Part 4: My Library Account


Purpose: The paper's objective is to identify the similarities of EU countries in terms of the entire sets of indicators. Hence, the multi-dimensional cluster analysis is applied to evaluate the economic vulnerability to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/Methodology/Approach: A hierarchical and non-hierarchical cluster analysis method was used in the paper. At the first step, EU countries were clustered with Ward's method, and the following k-means method was applied for grouping countries. Findings: In the study, four clusters were identified. Southern European countries grouped in the 1st Cluster performed the highest level of vulnerability to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, and the Scandinavian countries appeared to be the least vulnerable EU economies to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and were grouped in the 4th Cluster. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe, most of which joined the EU in the 21st century, were characterized by moderate vulnerability and belonged to the 2nd and 3rd Cluster. Practical Implications: The results obtained can be used by policymakers to make better decisions to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on economies. Originality/Value: Most clustering of countries according to the impact of a COVID-19 pandemic examines how the virus spreads from a medical point of view. There is little literature on the economic impact of a coronavirus pandemic. This study will fulfill this gap.


Abstract. Although generally considered rare in gastropods, septation has long been noted in turritellids, but functional hypotheses do not survive strong scrutiny. Here we outline a methodology for testing spandrel hypotheses and apply it to the problem of turritellid septa. We follow Gould in using "spandrel" as a term for all features that are nonadaptive sequelae of adaptive features of organisms, including those that are structurally necessary, those that are developmentally correlated, and nondeterministic by-products that are correlated to features under selection. In turritellids, septa are constructed inmicrostructural continuity with secondary internal thickening of the shell, are highly variable features infraspecifically, and are strongly associated with degree of shell thickening. We therefore conclude that rather than being themselves adaptive, turritellid septa are spandrels of shell thickening. Turritellid septa are composed of crossed lamellar aragonite, which appears to be constructed by mantle epithelium over the visceral mass. Septation was also found in 22 of 24 gastropod families examined from a broad phylogenetic distribution. Septa thus appear to be a widespread feature of caenogastropods, in strong contrast to previous assertions that septa are less common in modern or high-spired shells.


Fenton and McGlashan 1 note the relatively recent attention to the proposition that deficit or negative symptoms in schizophrenia have a distinct pathophysiologic process from that which underlies the production of positive psychotic symptoms. Although the attention is new, the proposition is not. Kraepelin 2 asserted that two See also p 179. maladies characterized dementia praecox: the dissociative processes, so well described by Bleuler, 3 and "the weakening of those emotional activities which permanently form the mainsprings of volition." The latter process is the source of those primary negative symptoms in schizophrenia that defined the deficit syndrome. 4,5 Kraepelin's distinction between two pathologic processes yielded to two prominent alternative paradigms, the most influential of which has been the presumption that a fundamental or primary pathologic process underlies schizophrenia (eg, Bleuler's dissociative process). In this paradigm, schizophrenia is a single disease entity associated in all cases with the same fundamental pathologic


Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases. 30% of patients with epilepsy are refractory to medication. In these patients, different therapeutic methods are addressed, such as ketogenic diet, medicinal cannabis, surgery, neuromodulator implants (vagal nerve stimulation and deep brain stimulation), and transcranial magnetic stimulation. This paper reviews the existing devices for the treatment of refractory epilepsy, comparing its effectiveness, adverse effects and stimulation parameters. 18 articles were analyzed which indicate an average effectiveness of 55% for vagal nerve stimulation, 70% for deep brain stimulation and 27% for transcranial magnetic stimulation. The most effective devices were also the ones with higher risk of adverse effects, which is why further research is of the utmost importance in order to develop non invasive devices for refractory


The influence of dietary Ca on peak bone mass and on subsequent bone loss is controversial. Despite this an assessment of nutritional status is often included in the clinical evaluation of osteoporosis risk. To assess the value of this we investigated the relationship between current diet and bone mineral density (BMD) in 426 postmenopausal women, aged 45–59 years, who were enrolled into an international multi-centre trial of alendronate for the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis. BMD of the lumbar spine and proximal femur was measured on two occasions approximately 2 weeks apart by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Serum osteocalcin was measured by immunoradiometric assay and serum 25-hydroxycholecalciferol by radioimmunoassay. Dietary assessment was performed by analysis of a 3d unweighed dietary record, using Salford University's Microdiet software. BMD at both the lumbar spine and femoral neck correlated significantly with BMI, age, and average serum osteocalcin concentration. We therefore corrected for these variables in subsequent analyses. Dietary Ca intake ranged from 223 to 2197mg/d (median 852mg/d). Neither dietary Ca intake nor any other nutritional variable correlated significantly with BMD. There was a weak, but significant correlation between Ca intake and serum osteocalcin. We conclude that current diet does not correlate with BMD in early postmenopausal women. However, present diet may affect the rate of change of BMD, and this is supported by the finding of a significant relationship between dietary Ca and serum osteocalcin, a marker of bone formation rate.


As fatalities, injuries, and economic losses from road accidents are a major concern for governments and their citizens, Australia, like other countries, has designed and implemented a wide range of strategies to reduce the rate of road accidents.

As part of the strategy design process, data on crash deaths were collected and then analyzed to develop more effective strategies. The data of crash deaths in Australia during the years 1965 to 2018 were analyzed based on gender, causes of crash deaths, and type of road users, and then the results were compared with global averages, then a prediction model was developed to forecast the future annual crash fatalities.

The results indicate that, based on gender, the rate of male road fatalities in Australia was significantly higher than that of female road fatalities. Whereas based on the cause of death, the first cause of death was over speeding. Based on the type of road users, the drivers and passengers of 4-wheel vehicles had the highest rate of fatalities.

The prediction model was developed based on Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) methodology, and annual road fatalities in Australia for the next five years 2019-2022 have been forecast using this model.


The purpose of this guide is to help you easily locate photographs, charts, diagrams, videos, and other medical images on the Web.


There is currently a divide in information technology research circles: on one hand, there are people working on the Semantic Web that have a very high-level vision for it. On the other hand, software engineering, which is known for its pragmatism, is largely unaware of Semantic Web technologies. In this paper, we present Hyena, an RDF-based editing platform. It makes the Semantic Web advantages available to Software Engineers without diverging too far from the concepts and tools that they are familiar with. Hyena provides editing, GUI and publishing services for implementing editors of RDF-encoded custom models. It also comes with a set of editors for many basic software engineering tasks.


To meet future particulate number regulations, one path being investigated is higher fuel pressures for direct injection systems. At operating pressures of 30 MPa to 40 MPa, the fuel system components must be designed to withstand these pressures and additional power is required by the pump to pressurize the fuel to higher pressures than the nominal 15MPa to 20MPa in use today. This additional power to the pump can affect vehicle fuel economy, but may be partially offset by increases in combustion efficiency due to improved spray mixture preparation. This paper examines the impact on fuel economy from increased system fuel pressures from a combination of test results and simulations. A GDi pump and valvetrain model has been developed and correlated to existing pump torque measurements and subsequently used to predict the increase in torque and associated impact on fuel economy due to higher GDi system pressures.


Presented work analyses the impact of heat treatment parameters on the mechanical properties and operational reliability of P5 (5%Cr0.5%Mo) steel welded joints. The key objects of research are heat-treated chrome-molybdenum steel welded joints and piping elements operated at high temperature for an extensive period of time, where degradation of mechanical properties has been observed. The main objective is to investigate the causes of degradation of alloy steel mechanical properties during fabrication and operation of the equipment, and to develop a methodology for identification of optimum heat treatment parameters for chrome-molybdenum steel welded joints. A few key issues are addressed herein: identification of dependence of chrome-molybdenum (5%Cr-0.5%Mo) steel welded joint mechanical properties on heat treatment parameters, identification of the optimum value of temperature/time parameter, and identification of causes of mechanical property changes and degradation of the steel.


Software engineers will do better work and stay with a company if they are motivated - as a result the success of software projects is likely to improve. The authors use the findings from their in-depth review of the 92 studies published in the last 25 years on software engineer motivation to give an overview of what managers need to know to improve motivation among their employees.


Objectives Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an independent predictor of mortality. Several creatinine-based equations are used to assess the estimated glomerular filtration rate or creatinine clearance and mortality prediction in various ethnic populations. Similarly, renal insufficiency is associated with poor prognosis of UAE nationals with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. However, the equation that best assesses prognosis among these patients is unknown. This study aimed to compare the prognostic abilities of different creatinine-based kidney function equations for predicting all-cause mortality in UAE nationals with vascular comorbidities. Methods This retrospective observational study analyzed 1186 patients (54.0% men) with CVD risk factors. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the associations of categorical renal function stages with all-cause mortality. Measures of performance in each equation assessed with respect to all-cause mortality were evaluated and compared to the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation by calculating the C-index, net reclassification index (NRI), and integrated discrimination index. Results Over a median follow-up of 8.9 years, the cumulative incidence of all-cause mortality was 9.4% (n = 112). After multivariable adjustment, the discriminative ability for all-cause mortality was significantly higher in the body surface area-adjusted Cockcroft-Gault (BSA-CG) formula than in the CKD-EPI equation (C-indices: 0.869 vs. 0.861, respectively, p = 0.037). NRI was significantly positive and favored the BSA-CG formula (0.54; 95% confidence interval: 0.35–0.64) compared to the CKD-EPI equation. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the BSA-CG equation may have the potential to slightly improve mortality prediction compared to the CKD-EPI equation in UAE nationals with vascular risk. Further large multicenter studies are warranted to confirm our findings.


Abstract The Hatta Zone, Northern Oman Mountains, is interpreted as a c. 50 km long left-lateral offset of the North Oman passive continental margin that was generated by right-lateral transform faulting during spreading of the Neo-Tethys ocean. During Early-Late Triassic time, slumps, debris flows and calciturbidites composed of redeposited upper slope and shelf carbonates accumulated at the base of a steep carbonate platform slope (Maqam Fm., Mayhah Fm.; Sumeini Group). Clasts in channelized conglomerates include basement-derived quartzose sandstone, schist and basic extrusives. Basaltic pillow lavas were erupted at the foot of the Late Triassic continental rise of the Hatta Zone transform lineament (Zulla Fm.). During Early to mid Jurassic time, oolitic and lithoclastic calciturbidites and debris flows accumulated on tectonically unstable base of slope (Mayhah Fm.) and continental rise (Guweyza Limestone Fm.) settings. During mid-Cretaceous time (Albian-Cenomanian), alkaline magmatism constructed seamounts along the inferred oceanward extension of the Hatta transform lineament. K/Ar ages of diabase sills range from 109 Ma ± 4 Ma, to 105 Ma ± 3 Ma on sills, while basalts gave ages of 104 Ma ± 4, to 93 Ma ± 4. During the Late Cretaceous ophiolite emplacement, abyssal plain and base of slope units were deformed into a major transverse culmination (Jebel Quimah), mainly controlled by collision with the Hatta Zone continental margin transform lineament. Hanging wall imbrication and overturning of structurally high thrust sheets occurred above an inferred footwall ramp. As the Semail ophiolite overrode a northfacing transform escarpment margin, footwall slope sediments were sheared and deformed into a major lateral ramp, now represented by the Jebel Raudha-Masfut ridge. Normal faulting and deep erosion ensued, followed by Maastrichtian-early Tertiary shallow marine carbonate deposition on an unstable shelf. During renewed, mid-Tertiary deformation the Hatta Zone was reactivated, giving rise to NW-SE trending open-folding at right angles to the regional W-directed compression, followed by differential erosion to form the present lineament.


The paper discusses a class of Markov Regenerative Stochastic Petri Nets (MRSPN) characterized by the fact that the stochastic process subordinated to two consecutive regeneration time points is a semi-Markov reward process. This class of SPN's can accommodate transitions with generally distributed firing time and associated memory policy of both enabling and age type, thus generalizing and encompassing all the previous definitions of MRSPN. An unified analytical procedure is developed for the derivation of closed form expressions for the transient and steady state probabilities.


This paper discusses and presents in full detail the hybrid Wireless-Broadband over Power Lines (W-BPL) Smart Grid project deployed by Amperion Greece for the Public Power Corporation (PPC) of Greece in a rural area of the city of Larissa. The aforementioned hybrid W-BPL network provides the Smart Grid-related functionality required by the utility for the management, maintenance, and operation of the power grid, while at the same time supports provision of telecommunication services, such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony, internet access for the line crews, as well as assets surveillance through the use of security cameras. Finally, this paper shares with the Smart Grid community the lessons learnt during the shift from project design theory to project implementation practice and discusses the next steps ahead towards an efficient and intelligent grid.


In Scale and Scope Chandler explained the typical directions of growth followed by large scale American corporations who sustained their industry leadership. I This involved phases of horizontal and vertical integration to capture economies of scale and throughput, followed by product diversification in response to new scientific research, and internationalization to exploit their competitive advantages in foreign markets. This has not been a universal experience of all countries; successful British firms, for example, have been less vertically integrated and Japanese firms were for long reluctant to expand overseas. Typical methods of growth internal expansion, mergers, and interfirm ventures have been less clearly delineated in the historical literature but are nonetheless significant to the success of the firm's strategy. Chandler acknowledged that mergers have been important in both United States and Britain but in the former they typically led to a large, centralized and integrated organization but in the latter the result was more often a collection of small personally run firms. German and Japanese big business have been long known for their interfirm cooperation; more recent research has identified similar habits in other nations including Britain and Australia, and globally across national boundaries.2 Methods and directions of growth are closely interrelated: thus diversification is often facilitated by an appropriate acquisition. In this paper we focus upon the growth strategies of the Australian corporate leaders We identified in chapter three, their directions and methods, to see if any common patterns emerge and how these results compare with the experience of a range of other coulltries. Patterns can form in many ways: generally among corporate leaders in response to the national environment; among leaders in an industry or group of industries possessing certain key characteristics; among leaders in a particular time period or locality, reflecting longitudinal changes in the environment; among firms at a particular stage of their development, reflecting life cycle patterns; and among leaders that are either locally owned or part of a foreign multinational arising from different influences upon corporate strategy. To lead us into discussion of the strategies llsed by our firms to become corporate leaders,we begin by reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of the different directions and methods of growth.


This paper presents a functional observer scheme using two sliding mode observers in cascade. A coordinate transformation is performed on the system such that existing sliding mode observer theory can be directly applied to achieve functional state estimation. The necessary and sufficient existence conditions for the scheme (in terms of the original system matrices) are also investigated, and they are found to be less stringent than earlier work on functional state estimation using one sliding mode observer; this could have benefits in terms of cost and simplicity. A numerical example verifies the effectiveness of the scheme. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


BACKGROUND
Optimized medication use involves the effective use of medications for better outcomes, improved patient experience, and lower costs. Few studies systematically gather data on the actions accountable care organizations (ACOs) have taken to optimize medication use.

OBJECTIVES
To (a) assess how ACOs optimize medication use; (b) establish an association between efforts to optimize medication use and achievement on financial and quality metrics; (c) identify organizational factors that correlate with optimized medication use; and (d) identify barriers to optimized medication use.

METHODS
This cross-sectional study consisted of a survey and interviews that gathered information on the perceptions of ACO leadership. The survey contained a medication practices inventory (MPI) composed of 38 capabilities across 6 functional domains related to optimizing medication use. ACOs completed self-assessments that included rating each component of the MPI on a scale of 1 to 10. Fisher's exact tests, 2-proportions tests, t-tests, and logistic regression were used to test for associations between ACO scores on the MPI and performance on financial and quality metrics, and on ACO descriptive characteristics.

RESULTS
Of the 847 ACOs that were contacted, 49 provided usable survey data. These ACOs rated their own system's ability to manage the quality and costs of optimizing medication use, providing a 64% and 31% affirmative response, respectively. Three ACOs achieved an overall MPI score of 8 or higher, 45 scored between 4 and 7.9, and 1 scored between 0 and 3.9. Using the 3 score groups, the study did not identify a relationship between MPI scores and achievement on financial or quality benchmarks, ACO provider type, member volume, date of ACO creation, or the presence of a pharmacist in a leadership position. Barriers to optimizing medication use relate to reimbursement for pharmacist integration, lack of health information technology interoperability, lack of data, feasibility issues, and physician buy-in.

CONCLUSIONS
Compared with 2012 data, data on ACOs that participated in this study show that they continue to build effective strategies to optimize medication use. These ACOs struggle with both notification related to prescription use and measurement of the influence optimized medication use has on costs and quality outcomes. Compared with the earlier study, these data find that more ACOs are involving pharmacists directly in care, expanding the use of generics, electronically transmitting prescriptions, identifying gaps in care and potential adverse events, and educating patients on therapeutic alternatives. ACO-level policies that facilitate practices to optimize medication use are needed. Integrating pharmacists into care, giving both pharmacists and physicians access to clinical data, obtaining physician buy-in, and measuring the impact of practices to optimize medication use may improve these practices.

DISCLOSURES
This research was sponsored and funded by the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC), an industry funded health policy research group that is not involved in lobbying or advocacy. Employees of the sponsor contributed to the research questions, determination of the relevance of the research questions, and the research design. Specifically, there was involvement in the survey and interview instruments. They also contributed to some data interpretation and revision of the manuscript. Leavitt Partners was hired by NPC to conduct research for this study and also serves a number of health care clients, including life sciences companies, provider organizations, accountable care organizations, and payers. Westrich and Dubois are employed by the NPC. Wilks, Krisle, Lunner, and Muhlestein are employed by Leavitt Partners and did not receive separate compensation. Study concept and design were contributed by Krisle, Dubois, and Muhlestein, along with Lunner and Westrich. Krisle and Muhlestein collected the data, and data interpretation was performed by Wilks, Krisle, and Muhlestein, along with Dubois and Westrich. The manuscript was written primarily by Wilks, along with Krisle and Muhlestein, and revised by Wilks, Westrich, Lunner, and Krisle. Preliminary versions of this work were presented at the following: National Council for Prescription Drug Programs Educational Summit, November 1, 2016; Academy Health 2016 Annual Research Meeting, June 27, 2016; Accountable Care Learning Collaborative Webinar, June 16, 2016; the 21st Annual PBMI Drug Benefit Conference, February 29, 2016; National Value-Based Payment and Pay for Performance Summit, February 17, 2016; National Accountable Care Congress, November 17, 2015; and American Journal of Managed Care's ACO Emerging Healthcare Delivery Coalition, Fall 2015 Live Meeting, October 15, 2015.


We investigated the bio-remediation of a hydrocarbon contaminated soil pile that was slated for landfill disposal, by utilising laboratory based-soil microcosms. The objective was to accelerate the reduction of soil total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) to levels that could potentially allow the soil to be used outside a landfill site. Soil TPH content reduced by 57% over a 2 year period from 15,800 to ~6,800 mg kg -1 in the untreated pile, making the soil eligible for landfill disposal under current Australian legislation. Subsequent bio-remediation (natural attenuation, biostimulation, bioaugmentation and biostimulation-bioaugmentation) resulted in over 74% reduction (~1,800 mg kg -1 ) in soil TPH content over 56 days with most of the reduction occurring in the first 21 days (~60%). Nutrient and microbial amendments did not confer any long-term benefit on the rate of soil TPH reduction with natural attenuation being equally efficient as other bioremediation strategies at day 56. TPH bioavailability assay showed a linear decrease from an initial 84 to 35% by day 56 and could explain the reduced TPH reduction rates observed after day 21. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analyses of 16S rDNA and internal transcribed spacer regions genes revealed diverse and stable (unaffected by amendments) bacterial and fungal communities. Microbial analysis also showed substantial populations of alkane (alkB) degrading bacteria in the soils. This study therefore showed that soils slated for landfill disposal possess substantial hydrocarbon degrading capacity, which can be exploited for greater TPH removal through natural attenuation. The soil TPH can be potentially reduced lower than the 1,800 mg kg -1 obtained in this study provided the contaminant is made more bio-available. This would potentially allow the use of such soils for more productive purposes outside the landfill sites extending the lifespan of these sites. Key words: Bioremediation, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), 16S rDNA, ITS, alkB


A search for a Higgs boson has been performed in the H→WW→ℓνjj channel in 1.04 fb(-1) of pp collision data at √s=7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess of events is observed over the expected background and limits on the Higgs boson production cross section are derived for a Higgs boson mass in the range 240 GeV<m(H)<600 GeV. The best sensitivity is reached for m(H)=400 GeV, where the 95% confidence level upper bound on the cross section for H→WW production is 3.1 pb, or 2.7 times the standard model prediction.


We present explicit constructions of non-malleable codes with respect to the following tampering classes. (i) Linear functions composed with split-state adversaries: In this model, the codeword is first tampered by a split-state adversary, and then the whole tampered codeword is further tampered by a linear function. (ii) Interleaved split-state adversary: Here the codeword is partitioned in an unknown (but fixed) way, and then tampered by a split-state adversary. (iii) Bounded communication split-state model: In this model, the split-state adversaries are allowed to participate in a communication protocol (with bounded communication budget) to tamper the codeword. Our results are the first explicit constructions of non-malleable codes in any of these tampering models.
We derive all our non-malleable codes from explicit constructions of seedless non-malleable extractors. We believe that our results on seedless non-malleable extractors and the techniques developed are of independent interest. Using our techniques, we also give an improved extractor for an unknown interleaving of two independent sources.


Traditionally, analytical solutions for heat transport in soils have been used in combination with heat pulse probe (HPP) measurements to estimate soil thermal properties. Although the analytical method has resulted in accurate estimation of soil thermal properties, we suggest that parameter estimation using inverse modeling (IM) provides new and unique opportunities for soil thermal characterization. Moreover, we show that the IM approach provides accurate estimation of soil water flux density in both unsaturated and saturated soil conditions for a wider range of water velocities than originally thought possible. Specifically, we show that accurate soil water velocity is obtained, simultaneously with soil thermal properties, if heat dispersion is included in the heat transport equation. The requirement for including heat dispersivity depends on the value of the newly defined dimensionless Keith Jirka Jan (KJJ) number, which is equal to the ratio of thermal dispersion to thermal conductivity. For example, when KJJ > 1, ignoring thermal dispersivity leads to errors in the water flux density which can exceed 10%. By including thermal dispersivity, water flow velocities were accurately determined for water flux densities ranging from 1.0 to >10 m d−1. We also demonstrate the general application of inverse modeling to estimate soil thermal properties and their functional dependence on volumetric water content in a separate numerical experiment. We suggest that inverse modeling of HPP temperature data may allow simultaneous estimation of soil water retention (when combined with matric potential measurements) and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (through water flux estimation) from simple laboratory experiments.


Scorpion alpha-toxins are similar in their mode of action and three-dimensional structure but differ considerably in affinity for various voltage-gated sodium channels (NaChs). To clarify the molecular basis of the high potency of the alpha-toxin LqhalphaIT (from Leiurus quinquestriatus hebraeus) for insect NaChs, we identified by mutagenesis the key residues important for activity. We have found that the functional surface is composed of two distinct domains: a conserved "Core-domain" formed by residues of the loops connecting the secondary structure elements of the molecule core and a variable "NC-domain" formed by a five-residue turn (residues 8-12) and a C-terminal segment (residues 56-64). We further analyzed the role of these domains in toxin activity on insects by their stepwise construction onto the scaffold of the anti-mammalian alpha-toxin, Aah2 (from Androctonus australis hector). The chimera harboring both domains, Aah2(LqhalphaIT(face)), was as active to insects as LqhalphaIT. Structure determination of Aah2(LqhalphaIT(face)) by x-ray crystallography revealed that the NC-domain deviates from that of Aah2 and forms an extended protrusion off the molecule core as appears in LqhalphaIT. Notably, such a protrusion is observed in all alpha-toxins active on insects. Altogether, the division of the functional surface into two domains and the unique configuration of the NC-domain illuminate the molecular basis of alpha-toxin specificity for insects and suggest a putative binding mechanism to insect NaChs.


The objective of the present study is to perform a systematic data analysis of structural health monitoring data for ageing fixed offshore wind turbine support structures. The life-cycle extension of the first offshore wind farms is under serious consideration since the support structures are still in a condition to be used further. Big data analytics and machine learning techniques can aid to extract useful information from the monitoring data collected during the service life and build models for future predictions of an optimal life-extension. To this end, it is aimed to analyse the big data provided by embedded control systems and non-destructive inspections of ageing offshore wind turbine support structures using pre-processing techniques, including denoising, detrending, and filtering to remove the noise of different nature and seasonality as well as to detect the signal-specific contents affecting the structural integrity in the time and frequency domain. The effectiveness of the Welch method is investigated in terms of dealing with noisy signals in the frequency domain. Besides, the principal component analysis is carried out to reduce the dimensionality of the data and to select the most significant features that are responsible for most of the variance in the structural health monitoring data. Moreover, nonparametric statistical methods are used to test whether the data before noise being added and the data after cleansing the added noise came from the population with the same distribution. Further, permutation (randomisation) testing is performed to predicate that the results of the nonparametric test are statistically significant. The outcome of this study provides refined evidence that enables to feed the condition monitoring data into the training of the deep neural network to be able to discriminate different structural conditions.


The prolonged and severe myelosuppression associated with high-dose chemotherapy and autologous bone marrow transplantation is a major causative factor in patient morbidity and mortality resulting from infection and other causes. The recent molecular cloning, in vitro expression, and formulation of recombinant human colony-stimulating factors (CSF) offered the possibility of reducing the duration of myelosuppression following high-dose chemotherapy and autologous bone marrow transplantation. We have evaluated both recombinant human granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in patients undergoing high-dose combination alkylating-agent therapy with cyclophosphamide, cisplatin, and carmustine (BCNU), and autologous bone marrow transplantation. At clinically acceptable doses, both agents will accelerate hematopoietic recovery and are associated with a reduction in the frequency of bacteremias encountered compared with historical controls. Differences in the pattern of toxicity associated with colony-stimulating factor use, as well as effects on the functional capacity of neutrophils, were noted.


We partially purified three Nicotiana tabacum L. embryogenic pollen-abundant phosphoproteins (NtEPa to c) which appeared in the cells undergoing a dedifferentiation process from immature pollen grains to embryogenic cells, caused by glutamine-deficiency in vitro. All the NtEPs had a highly conserved N-terminal amino acid sequence. Using degenerate oligonucleotide probes designed from the amino acid sequences, the cDNA for NtEPc was isolated from a cDNA library of pollen cultured in glutamine-free medium The cDNA sequence showed moderate homology with several type-1 copper-binding glycoproteins and with a kind of early nodulin though its function could not be predicted. Expression analysis revealed that the level of mRNA for NtEPc was high during the dedifferentiation and also in the very early period of pollen embryogenesis but it was low in the developmental process of microspores/pollen in anthers, in the in vitro maturation process and both in the stational and logarithmic growth phases of tobacco BY-2 cells. Furthermore, an acidic medium pH, which promoted the induction of dedifferentiation increased the level of mRNA for NtEPc, whereas the presence of 6-benzylaminopurine, which inhibited it, decreased the level. These results suggest that the expression of NtEPc gene is correlated with the dedifferentiation but not with pollen development or cell division.


[1] The day-to-day variability in ionospheric irregularity generation giving rise to equatorial scintillation has remained an unresolved issue over many decades. We take a fresh look at the problem utilizing the global imagery provided by the Global Ultraviolet Imager (GUVI) instrument on NASA's Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics satellite. GUVI has been acquiring images of 135.6-nm emission in the Earth's ionosphere-thermosphere system since 2001. These GUVI disk images at dusk have been used to identify cases where the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) crests lie near the magnetic equator over a relatively narrow longitude range, so that the anomaly looks collapsed. A 16-month period of GUVI data collected during evening at solar maximum is used to study the morphology of these so-called collapses, since the EIA collapse is shown to be linked to the suppression of equatorial plasma bubbles and scintillations. In particular, we look at the June solstice, during which the Atlantic and Pacific show very different climatology and EIA collapses are most frequent in the GUVI data. On the other hand, EIA collapses are a relatively rare occurrence during the equinox period when scintillations are most prevalent globally. We obtained a few dramatic examples of day-to-day variability in EIA behavior and scintillations over India. The Sami3 is Also a Model of the Ionosphere (SAMI3) model was used to investigate the conditions during the evening collapse of the anomaly in the Indian longitude sector, where measurements of total electron content (TEC) and scintillations and estimates of the daytime vertical drifts and those at dusk were available. Results from SAMI3 show that the observed collapse of the anomaly at dusk can be simulated by a reversal of the upward vertical drift in midafternoon in agreement with the drift estimates from magnetometer observations. Such reversed vertical drifts at this time of the day are generally seen during counterelectrojet events. Introduction of neutral winds into SAMI3 better approximates the dusk behavior of TEC at low-latitude stations in India. This study reveals that the longitudinally confined EIA collapse may explain some of the differences in day-to-day variability of scintillations at different locations around the globe.


The following article reviews a collection of photography on view at an exhibition named The Story of Light and Shadow: 20th Century Chinese Photography from Huang Jianpeng's Collection at the National Art Museum of China. Though an exhibition on Chinese photography, it included a sizable collection of Tibet-related photographs taken by early Han Chinese photographers during the early 20th century. Through a brief review of existing scholarship on photography of Tibet and a close reading of the works of Zhuang Xueben, one of the earliest Han Chinese photographers who took photos in Tibetan regions, we see how images produced during the early 20th century in Tibet are coded with layered agencies and complex motivations. Preliminarily contextualizing Zhuang Xueben's photo-taking aspirations, I argue that early photographers of Tibet are embodiments of complex, overlapping and if not yet incongruous motivations – a complication of their own independent perspectives and professional responsibilities under the larger contextual influence from the society and its aspirations.


The proposed system deals with Non-binary error control coding of the TCM scheme for transmissions over the AWGN channel. The idea of Non-binary codes has been extended for symbols defined over rings of integers, which outperform binary codes with only a small increase in decoding complexity. The basic mathematical concepts are necessary for working with Non-binary error-correcting codes are Groups, Rings and Fields. A new non-binary decoding method, Yaletharatalhussein decoding algorithm, is designed and implemented for decoding non-binary convolutional codes which is based on the trellis diagram representing the convolutional encoder. Yaletharatalhussein decoding algorithm outperforms the Viterbi algorithm and other algorithms in its simplicity, very small computational complexity, and easy to implement with real-time applications. The simulation results show that the performance of the non-binary TCM-based Yaletharatalhussein decoding algorithm outperforms the binary and non-binary decoding methods.


BACKGROUND
Extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD) is a rare skin disease which can be limited to the epidermis and can sometimes also be associated with underlying carcinomas. At clinical examination, lesions are well-defined eczematous areas and have been described typically in the anogenital region. Surgery is the cornerstone treatment.

CASE REPORT
In this report the case of a 66-year-old patient presenting with a long-lasting EMPD of perianal region without deep gastrointestinal neoplasia is described. Because of the extension of the lesion, surgery should have led to abdominoperineal amputation, but the patient rejected this option. Three months of daily application of topical imiquimod was prescribed as an alternative treatment. Biopsy-confirmed complete regression could be observed thereafter, and no recurrence has been noted during a 12-month follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS
This successful treatment of a perianal-located EMPD by topical imiquimod warrants further investigations.


In this paper, five kinds of power ultrasonic transducers with different section plane positions are designed and the shapes of the transducers are straight. The different section plane position changes with the length l2 of front cover. That is to say, the longer l2 is, the more front the position of the section is. The experiment indicates the great influence of the section plane position on the transducer performance.With the increase of the length of the front cover, the dynamic resistance reduces gradually, and the resonance frequency and the anti-resonance frequency also reduce. Under this condition, the anti-resonance frequency declines more sharply, and the mechanical quality factor increases gradually, but the effective mechanical and electrical coupling coefficient reduces gradually. The transducer has different measure targets in different situations. Therefore, different parameters may be primordially considered to be designed according to the actual use of the transducer in this paper. This provides the reference for manufacture and use of transducers.


This paper represents the results of research of mutual synchronization of self-oscillations of epidermal cellular density in skin lesions caused by psoriasis under strong limited noise conditions by the method of computing experiment. As an initial model the system of three ordinary nonlinear differential equations, presumably describing principles of paracrine regulation of epidermal proliferation with participation of populations functionally activated by CD4+/CD8+ T-lymphocytes is used. The results of research have shown, that if epidermal proliferation is considered as an attribute determining pathomorphologic features of dermatoses, synchronization can appear to be responsible for development of linear, annular, arcuate, geographical, and also the limited and common forms of disease. It is shown, that strong noise is capable of providing different duration for clinical manifestation of ensembles of synchronously connected lesions of psoriatic skin within several days, as to phase slip - it is up to several tens of days, and distinction of physical parameters - it is from several hours up to about several days.


The drive for higher performance has led to greater integration and higher clock frequency of microprocessor chips. This translates into higher heat dissipation and, therefore, effective cooling of electronic chips is becoming increasingly important for their reliable performance. We systematically explore the limits for heat removal from a model chip in various configurations. First, the heat removal from a bare chip by pure heat conduction and convection is studied to establish the theoretical limit of heat removal from a bare die bound by an infinite medium. This is followed by an analysis of heat removal from a packaged chip by evaluating the thermal resistance due to individual packaging elements. The analysis results allow us to identify the bottlenecks in the thermal performance of current generation packages, and to motivate lowering of thermal resistance through the board-side for efficient heat removal to meet ever increasing reliability and performance requirements.


The recombinant human cytokines granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), erythropoietin, and interleukin-2 (IL-2) have been manufactured and licensed. Studies have been carried out that investigate the use of G-CSF and GM-CSF to reverse leukopenia, as adjunctive therapy for HIV-associated infections and for novel approaches to treat HIV infection, including stem cell mobilization. In addition, studies that identified the role of erythropoietin in the management of anemia have been performed. Furthermore, the abilities of G-CSF and erythropoietin to permit the continued use of marrow suppressive agents that are key in managing HIV infection have been assessed. The aim of this review is to summarize these studies and to describe the reports that evaluate the use of IL-2 to enhance elevation of CD4 cell counts mediated by highly active antiretroviral therapy. This summary is important to the treating clinician in that it identifies the optimal use of these cytokines in current clinical practice as well as their potential future roles.


This paper describes a miniature camera module for capturing close-up video of one eye and the image processing steps to locate the pupil and measure eye closure from this video. This camera is one component of a multi-sensory device for measuring drowsiness and detecting complete momentary lapses of responsiveness.
 We describe a flood-fill-based algorithm for locating the pupil and shape-based criteria for determining whether the pupil is partly covered by the eyelid. Percentage eye closure (PERCLOS) is implemented as an example of a meaningful measurement that can be derived from this extracted pupil data. Preliminary results show that the algorithm produces output very close to that obtained by manual frame-by-frame classification of the eye video.


The relatively brittle solder/IMC interface fracture process in reflowed solder joints is examined using finite element (FE) method. The interface decohesion is described using a traction-separation quadratic failure criterion along with a mixed-mode displacement formulation for the interface fracture event. Reflowed Sn-4Ag-0.5Cu (SAC405) solder ball on OSP copper pad and orthotropic FR4 substrate under ball shear push test condition at 3000 mm/sec is simulated. Unified inelastic strain constitutive model describes the strain rate-response of the SAC405 solder. Comparable simulated and measured load-displacement values during solder ball shear push test serve as validation of the damage-based FE model. Results indicate a nonlinear damage evolution at each material point of the solder/IMC interface during the ball shear push test. The normal-to-shear traction ratio at the onset of the interface fracture is 1.59 indicating significant induced bending effect due to shear tool clearance. Rapid interface crack propagation is predicted following crack initiation event with the average crack speed up to 24.6 times the applied shear tool speed. The high stress concentration along the edge of the solder/IMC interface facilitates local crack initiation and dictates the shape of the predicted dynamic crack front.


The synthesis of monodisperse mesoporous carbon nanospheres (MCNs) with diameters less than 500 nm from polymeric nanoparticle precursors remains challenging due to the spontaneous aggregation of nanospheres and the low thermal stability of polymers. Herein, a one-pot synthesis method was developed to prepare solidified polymeric nanospheres under acidic conditions, where Fe3+ ions served not only as mediators to coordinate with phenolic hydroxyl groups in linear-condensation polymer chains to form a 3D metal–organic framework-like skeleton but also as a precursor of magnetic species. The solidified structures substantially enhanced the thermal stability of polymeric frameworks and effectively mitigated the fusion of polymeric nanospheres, leading to Fe-nanoparticle incorporated MCNs with well-developed mesoporosity. Compared with the soft-template method and hydrothermal curing process, the present method integrates the low-temperature solidification and metal-incorporation processes into one procedure, which affords a convenient and energy-saving route to the synthesis of monodisperse MCNs containing functional nanoparticles. Diverse morphologies such as bulk, polyhedrons, and spheres could be easily controlled by utilizing the difference of thermal stability of polymeric nanospheres, which is closely related to the curing temperature. By optimizing the synthesis parameters, monodisperse MCNs incorporated with ultrafine Fe3O4 nanocrystals can be successfully synthesized. The resultant Fe3O4-incorporated MCNs showed a large specific surface area of 673 m2 g−1, uniform pore diameter of 3.8 nm, and high saturation magnetization strength of 24.6 emu g−1, leading to high adsorption capacity for methyl orange and methylene blue as well as rapid separation of the adsorbent via magnetic attraction. The results in the present work provide a paradigm for the preparation of functionalized MCNs through precursor engineering.


BACKGROUND
The acute phase of stroke is accompanied by functional changes and interplay of both hemispheres. However, our understanding of how the time course of upper limb functional motor recovery is related to the progression of brain reorganization in the sensorimotor areas remains limited. This study aimed to assess the time course of hemodynamic patterns of cortical sensorimotor areas using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and motor recovery within three months after a stroke.

METHOD
Eight right-handed first ischemic/hemorrhagic stroke patients (60±8 years, 3 women) with mild to severe hemiparesis were examined with repetitive fNIRS measurements and motor recovery tests (Fugl-Meyer score) during two months. Hemodynamic changes over the ipsilesional and contralesional sensorimotor areas were collected from a multi-channel fNIRS system during intermittent isometric muscle contractions at self-selected submaximal force levels for each arm. Lateralization index was computed to evaluate the changes in the interhemispheric balance between the cortical sensorimotor areas.

RESULTS
Lateralization index values during non-paretic arm movements showed no significant changes over time in patients and were comparable to those observed in eight healthy controls. Paretic-arm movements were associated early with a bilateral cortical activity before shifting to ipsilesional patterns (p < 0.01). Progressive lateralization observed over the two months (p < 0.05) evolved concomitantly with an increase in the Fugl-Meyer score (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
Cortical reorganization monitoring using fNIRS during the first weeks after stroke may be applied for assessing progressive brain plasticity in addition to clinical measures of performance.


Recent long‐term characterization of the Pacific Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) shows that the ITCZ has narrowed, which may be due to the enhanced transport of dry air layers from the subtropics. In this study, we examine the relationship between the frequency of midtropospheric dry layers and ITCZ width. European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis Interim midtroposphere (400 to 600 hPa) relative humidity is used to create a 36‐year (1979–2014) dry layer climatology for the Pacific ITCZ region. Analysis shows an inverse relationship between ITCZ width and dry layer frequency, with ITCZ width decreasing as the frequency of dry layers increases. Moreover, findings show that the region of greatest long‐term increase in dry layer frequency occurs in the central Pacific, where the greatest narrowing of the ITCZ is also observed.


The aim of the research consisted in the study of influence of beta-radiation on response of erythrocyte surface potential to inhibitors of eicosanoid metabolism enzymes (cyclo-, lipoxygenase and phospholipase A2). It was shown, that inhibitors of phospholipase A2 (quinacrine, 10-100 microM), cyclooxygenase (aspirin, 10-100 microM) and cyclo- and lipoxygenase (BW755c, 1-100 microM) lowered electrophoretic mobility (EPM) of erythrocytes by 20-30%. An analogous effect can be exerted by beta-radiation. Nonradioactive leucine in the studied concentrations cannot simulate EPM erythrocytes. Response of cellular EPM to these inhibitors depended on their concentration in the incubation medium. Addition of 14C to the incubation medium changed response of EPM of cells to inhibitors of cyclo- and lipoxygenase but not to quinacrine. However beta-radiation fully abolished the stimulative action of nonspecific activator of phospholipase A2 (Ca-independent), H2O2, on cellular EPM. Under these conditions beta-radiation enhanced EPM response to aspirin only at concentration of 100 microM. The EPM response to BW755c is reduced by irradiation at all concentrations with the exception of equal-effective one (10 microM). Data obtained evidence for modification of eicosanoid metabolism by beta-radiation, probably, as a result of phospholipase A2 inhibition, as evident from elimination by radiation of stimulated action of hydrogen peroxide on EPM. The radiation action can also affect the cyclooxygenase lipoxygenase activity ratio, this activity being mediated by cellular membrane signaling systems.


Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies have shown impressive results in patients with hematological malignancies; however, little success has been achieved in the treatment of solid tumors. Recently, macrophages (MΦs) were identified as an additional candidate for the CAR approach, and initial proof of concept studies using peripheral blood-derived monocytes showed antigen-redirected activation of CAR MΦs. However, some patients may not be suitable for monocyte-apheresis, and prior cancer treatment regimens may negatively affect immune cell number and functionality. To address this problem, we here introduce primary human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) as a cell source to generate functional CAR MΦs ex vivo. Our data showed successful CAR expression in cord blood (CB)-derived HSPCs, with considerable cell expansion during differentiation to CAR MΦs. HSPC-derived MΦs showed typical MΦ morphology, phenotype, and basic anti-bacterial functionality. CAR MΦs targeting the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and containing either a DAP12- or a CD3ζ-derived signaling domain showed antigen redirected activation as they secreted pro-inflammatory cytokines specifically upon contact with CEA+ target cells. In addition, CD3ζ-expressing CAR MΦs exhibited significantly enhanced phagocytosis of CEA+ HT1080 cells. Our data establish human HSPCs as a suitable cell source to generate functional CAR MΦs and further support the use of CAR MΦs in the context of solid tumor therapy.


Zhou Long is a Chinese American composer who strives to combine traditional Chinese musical techniques with modern Western compositional ideas. His three piano pieces, "Mongolian Folk-Tune Variations", "Wu Kui", and "Pianogongs" each display his synthesis of Eastern and Western techniques. A brief cultural, social and political review of China throughout Zhou Long's upbringing will provide readers with a historical perspective on the influence of Chinese culture on his works. Study of "Mongolian Folk-Tune Variations" will reveal the composers early attempts at Western structure and harmonic ideas. "Wu Kui" provides evidence of the composer's desire to integrate Chinese cultural ideas with modern and dissonant harmony. Finally, the analysis of "Pianogongs" will provide historical context to the use of traditional Chinese percussion instruments and his integration of these instruments with the piano. Zhou Long comes from an important generation of Chinese composers including, Chen Yi and Tan Dun, that were able to leave China achieve great success with the combination of Eastern and Western ideas. This study will deepen the readers' understanding of the Chinese cultural influences in Zhou Long's piano compositions.


BACKGROUND
Although dialysis technology greatly improved in recent years, it remained unclear whether those improvements helped decrease the incidence of dialysis-related amyloidosis (DRA). Accordingly, we retrospectively compared the incidence of first-time carpal tunnel surgery (CTS)-as proxy for DRA onset-in two cohorts of chronic hemodialysis patients, with the second cohort studied after dialysis methods (especially dialyzate quality control) had greatly improved.

METHODS
We used the 1998 and 2010 Japan Renal Data Registries to compare crude risk of first-time CTS the following year. After adjusting for patient background and laboratory data, odds ratios (ORs) for CTS in the whole cohorts and the populations matched by propensity score (PS) for hemodialysis and hemodiafiltration were calculated at a 95% confidence interval.

RESULTS
Of note, 2 02 726 patients were analyzed. In the 1998 cohort, 1.77% experienced first-time CTS compared with 1.30% of the 2010 cohort (P < 0.001); with 2010 as referent, the adjusted 1998 OR was 2.22 (1.68-2.95). Both crude risks and adjusted ORs were analyzed by dialysis vintage, age, pre-dialysis β2-microglobulin (β2m) and β2m clearance, risk of CTS trending 1.5-2.0 higher in 1998 than 2010. The reduction was most prominent in patients with longer dialysis vintage, patients who were younger, and those with lower pre-dialysis β2m levels. Similar results were obtained by PS-matched analysis. We also found that β2m clearance >80% may reduce risk of CTS.

CONCLUSIONS
The incidence of first-time CTS as proxy for DRA decreased significantly from 1998 to 2010. Several factors may have contributed to this decrease, including improved dialysis methods.


Development of a hydrogen economy will depend on adequate transportation infrastructure. Most discussion of hydrogen transportation to date has focused on adapting natural gas networks, but the issue is more complex. Hydrogen can also be transported by dedicated new pipelines as well as other transportation networks (e.g., truck, rail, and marine transport) and even produced on-site by transferring electrical energy instead of hydrogen. In future, end users' ability to switch from one form of delivery to another will result in new linkages between these diverse infrastructures in the sense that energy flows of different sectors will become more interdependent, and the widespread use of hydrogen is likely to strengthen this. This raises the fundamental question of how to prevent inefficiency (such as unnecessarily high hydrogen infrastructure costs or suboptimal utilization of gas and power networks) and redundancy in the future hydrogen transport infrastructure. This task is made more challenging by technological uncertainty, the unpredictability of future supply and demand for hydrogen, network externality effects, and investment irreversibility of grid-based infrastructures. Meeting these challenges entails coordinating investments in hydrogen transportation infrastructures across all modes in order to establish a cross-sectoral hydrogen polygrid. This paper analyses the strengths and shortcomings of three possible approaches—centrally coordinated, market-based, and regulatory—to this task. Finally, the paper offers policy recommendations on establishing a coherent institutional framework governing investment in the future hydrogen polygrid.


This paper proposes the two different approaches to speed-up program build: making link-time optimization work in parallel and lightweight optimization approach. The former technique is achieved by scaling LTO system. The latter makes link to work faster because of using summaries to manage some of interprocedural optimization passes instead of full IR code in memory. The problem of horizontal LTO system scaling leads to the problem of partition of the large task to several subtasks that can be performed concurrently. The problem is complicated by the compiler pipeline model: interprocedural optimization passes works consequentially and depends on previous performed ones. That means we can divide just data on which passes works, not passes themselves. We need to divide IR code to sub-independent parts and run LTO on them in parallel. We use program call graph analysis to divide a program to parts. Therefore, our goal is to divide call graph that is one of NP-compete problems. Nevertheless, the choice of the dividing algorithm strongly depends on properties of divided graph. The main goal of our investigation is to find lightweight graph partition algorithm that works efficiently on call graphs of real programs and that does not spoil LTO performance achievements after optimizing code pieces separately. This paper proposes new graph partition algorithm for program call graphs, results of comparing this one with two other methods on SPEC CPU2000 benchmark and implementation of the algorithm in scalable LLVM-based LTO system. The implementation of this approach in LTO system shows 31% link speedup and 3% of performance degradation for 4 threads. The lightweight optimization shows 0,5% speedup for single run in lazy code loading mode.


Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer type that is diagnosed in women. The exact causes of such cancer are still unknown. Early and precise detection of breast cancer using mammogram images or biopsy to provide the required medications can increase the healing percentage. There are much current research efforts to developed a computer aided diagnosis (CAD) system based on mammogram images for detecting and classification of breast masses. In this research, a CAD system is developed for automated segmentation and two-stages classification of breast masses. The first stage includes the classification of the masses into seven classes (normal, calcification, circumscribed, spiculated, ill-defined, architectural distortion, asymmetry), which is done using probabilistic neural network (PNN). The second classification stage is to define the severity of abnormality into two classes (Benign and Malignant) which were done using support vector machine (SVM). The results of applying the proposed method on two mammogram image show that the accuracy of detection and segmentation of the breast mass was 99.8% for mammographic image analysis society database (MIAS-DB) with 322 images and 97.5% for breast cancer digital repository (BCDR), BCDR-F03 and BCDR-DN01 with 936 images, while for the first classification stage has accuracy of 97.08%, sensitivity of 98.30% and specificity of 89.8%, and the second classification stage has an accuracy of 99.18%, sensitivity of 98.42% and specificity of 94.90%.


Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Moreover, the disease is reaching endemic proportions and will put an enormous strain on health care economics in the near future. Non-invasive testing is important to exclude CAD with a high certainty on the one hand, and to detect CAD with its functional consequences at an early stage, to guide optimal patient management, on the other hand. For these purposes, non-invasive imaging techniques have been developed and used extensively over the last years. Currently, the main focus of non-invasive imaging for diagnosis of CAD is twofold: (1) functional imaging , assessing the haemodynamic consequences of obstructive coronary artery disease; and (2) anatomical imaging , visualising non-invasively the coronary artery tree.

For functional imaging, nuclear cardiology, stress echocardiography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are used, whereas for anatomical imaging or non-invasive angiography, MRI, multislice CT (MSCT), and electron beam CT (EBCT) are used.

This manuscript will update the reader on the current status of non-invasive imaging, with a special focus on functional imaging versus anatomical imaging for the detection of CAD. The accuracies of the different imaging modalities are illustrated using pooled analyses of the available literature data when available.

### What information does functional imaging provide?

The hallmark of functional imaging is the detection of CAD by assessing the haemodynamic consequences of CAD rather than by direct visualisation of the coronary arteries. For this purpose, regional perfusion or wall motion abnormalities are induced (or worsened) during stress, reflecting the presence of stress induced ischaemia. Ischaemia induction is based on the principle that although resting myocardial blood flow in regions supplied by stenotic coronary arteries is preserved, the increased flow demand during stress cannot be met, resulting in a sequence of events referred to as "the ischaemic cascade".1 Initially perfusion abnormalities are …


Background— Cerebrovascular thrombosis is a major source of morbidity and mortality after surgery, but thromboprophylaxis in this setting is limited because of the formidable risk of perioperative bleeding. Thrombolytics (eg, tissue-type plasminogen activator [tPA]) cannot be used prophylactically in this high-risk setting because of their short duration of action and risk of causing hemorrhage and central nervous system damage. We found that coupling tPA to carrier red blood cells (RBCs) prolongs and localizes tPA activity within the bloodstream and converts it into a thromboprophylactic agent, RBC/tPA. To evaluate the utility of this new approach for preventing cerebrovascular thrombosis, we examined the effect of RBC/tPA in animal models of cerebrovascular thromboembolism and ischemia. Methods and Results— Preformed fibrin microemboli were injected into the middle carotid artery of mice, occluding downstream perfusion and causing severe infarction and 50% mortality within 48 hours. Preinjected RBC/tPA rapidly lysed nascent cerebral thromboemboli, providing rapid, durable reperfusion and reducing morbidity and mortality. These beneficial effects were not achieved by preinjection of tPA, even at a 10-fold higher dose, which increased mortality from 50% to 90% by 10 hours after embolization. RBC/tPA injected 10 minutes after tail amputation to simulate postsurgical hemostasis did not cause bleeding from the wound, whereas soluble tPA caused profuse bleeding. RBC/tPA neither aggravated brain damage caused by focal ischemia in a filament model of middle carotid artery occlusion nor caused postthrombotic hemorrhage in hypertensive rats. Conclusions— These results suggest a potential RBC/tPA utility as thromboprophylaxis in patients who are at risk for acute cerebrovascular thromboembolism.


Introduction Driving performance, as assessed using a driving simulator, after distal radius fracture has not been previously studied. Our aims were to undertake a pilot study to assess feasibility via: (i) acceptability of driving simulation for this assessment purpose, (ii) recruitment and retention, (iii) sample size calculation. Preliminary evaluations of differences in driving performance between individuals recovering from distal radius fracture and controls were conducted to confirm if the methodology provided meaningful results to aid in justification for future studies. Methods Driving performance of 22 current drivers (aged 21–81 years), recruited by convenience sampling, was assessed using a driving simulator. The fracture group included those recovering from distal radius fracture managed with open reduction and internal fixation using a volar plate. The control group were uninjured individuals. Assessment was performed approximately five weeks post-surgery and follow-up assessment two weeks later. Acceptability outcome measures included pain and simulator sickness scores, feasibility measures included retention rates and measures of driving performance included time spent speeding, time spent out of the lane, standard deviation of lateral position and hazard reactions. Results The assessment was completed by 91% of participants; two participants dropped out secondary to simulator sickness. Retention rates were 83%. Preliminary results suggest those with distal radius fracture spent more time out of the lane and less time speeding. Conclusion This method was sensitive, acceptable and feasible according to the parameters of this pilot study. The results from this small sample suggest that between-group differences in driving performance are measurable using driving simulation five weeks following distal radius fracture.


The EU-funded program INTERREG was designed to avoid the national boundaries to be an obstacle nor to the balanced territorial development nor to the integration of the European territory. Besides, its aim was an integrated action for the economic development and economic and social cohesion. This initiative has been quite relevant for Spain, which has become one of the most to benefit from European Territorial Policy and, in particular, from the cross-border and trans-national policy. From 2007 onwards, it has been established a new legal framework for the EU-Cohesion Policy, in which the Interregional Cooperation reaches a higher legal level and in which the Spanish bordering areas will keep on benefiting from financial support.


This is a part of a revised version of an earlier paper: "Word-formation of Chaucer's English" delivered in the symposium III at the Seventh Annual General Meeting of the Japan Society for Medieval English Studies: "History of English Word-formation" chaired by Professor Yoshinobu Niwa, Chubu University, held at Hiroshima Shudo University, Hiroshima on 1 December 1991. The present paper shows only the collected data concerning the word-formation of Chaucer's English, the article which the present writer read then. The data consist of the following two parts: (1) complex words and (2) compound words. The detailed analysis of the data will be presented in the further study.


ABSTRACT Eleven genera and fourteen species of Encyrtidae are recorded from Portugal for the first time. Four species: Cheiloneurus boldyrevi Trjapitzin et Agekian, Syrphophagus taeniatus (Förster), S. aeruginosus (Dalman) and Cerchysius subplanus (Dalman) are recorded for the first time from the Iberian Peninsula. Two new species, Pseudaphycus portugalensis sp. n. and Tetracnemoidea coimbrensis sp. n., are described. Distribution, synonyms and hosts for each new record are given.