We recently had the privilege of attending a national Helicopter Emergency Medical Service forum hosted by chief executives of various ambulance service NHS trusts in Harrogate. We listened with interest as several guest speakers extolled the virtues of their "entirely free" resource in helping to improve ORCON standards. This had been achieved through the "freeing-up" of road ambulances by performing non-time-critical transfers via helicopters and by expediting the transfer of seriously injured patients to local hospitals from incident scenes.

During discussion with speakers and other members of the audience we felt somewhat concerned that the general consensus of this group appeared to be that once a paramedic aircrew had rendered treatment and lifted …


Background Currently, pharmacogenetic information is accumulating rapidly and is beginning to show consistent reproducible results for an increasing number of genetic markers for drug response. An increasing number of medical centres have acquired clinical genotyping facilities. Purpose Among the first medical centres to implement pharmacogenetics there are many highly specialised care centres with complex patient populations. These patients may present some unexpected challenges as is exemplified by the following case description. Materials and methods Patients undergoing a kidney transplantation in the Leiden University Medical Centre are pre-emptively genotyped for the CYP3A5*3(rs776746) and CYP3A5*6 (rs10264272) polymorphisms. A 4-ml blood sample of the patient n this report was sent to the pharmacogenetics laboratory of the hospital pharmacy. To minimise the risk of potential errors, clinical genotyping is performed in duplicate by two independent techniques; a commercially available pre-designed TaqMan assay (Life-Technologies, Nieuwerkerk a/d Ijssel, The Netherlands) and an pyrosequencing method developed and validated in-house. Genotype results obtained with the two techniques should agree 100% before results are authorised by the laboratory. Results A 20-year-old female was admitted for a living related kidney transplant. Adequate tacrolimus exposure early after transplantation is essential to prevent acute rejection of the transplant. Tacrolimus is metabolised into active and inactive metabolites by CYP3A4 and CYP3A5. Patients carrying at least one copy of the CYP3A5*1 allele have been shown to require a significantly increased tacrolimus dose to attain therapeutic blood concentrations. For this particular patient genotyping results from the two techniques were not in 100% concordance. One technique identified the patient as CYP3A5 *1/*3, the other CYP3A5 *3/*3. A second blood sample was genotyped but again showed conflicting results. Results also conflicted with results obtained with plasmid controls containing the SNPs of interest. The attending nephrologist was consulted to discuss the results. It emerged that the patient had a history of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT), resulting in mixed haematopoietic chimerism (28% autologous, 72% donor). We were interested in interrogating the patient's germline DNA. After obtaining consent from the patient and the stem cell donor, saliva samples from both subjects were collected and genotyped for both CYP3A5 polymorphisms. The donor was autocalled CYP3A5*3/*3 and the patient CYP3A5*1/*3. Based on the genotyping results, the patient's genotype was finally reported as CYP3A5*1/*3. This genotype is in line with the relatively low trough level (5.5 µg/L) and area-under-the-concentration-over-time-curve of 110 µg*hours/L achieved with a dose of 8 mg twice a day of tacrolimus. Conclusions This case description demonstrates the challenging aspects of pharmacogenetic testing in an allo-SCT recipient and illustrates the importance of proper quality control mechanisms when performing pharmacogenetic testing. Furthermore, it is essential to consider the source of the DNA used to determine the genotype, especially in a population that includes patients receiving allo-SCT. No conflict of interest.


A new pulmonary T-cell-like lymphocyte population with the phenotype CD3 CD4 CD8 was discovered in mice. CD4 CD8 but CD3 cells among murine intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes have previously been described. We describe herein a dramatic expansion of the CD3 CD4 CD8 cell population in response to experimental respiratory infection. After intranasal Chlamydia pneumoniae infection, CD4 CD8 cells became transiently the dominant lymphocyte type (maximum of 87% of all lymphocytes) in the lungs of NIH/S mice but remained virtually undetectable in spleen and blood. The enrichment of these cells was not a C. pneumoniaespecific event, since infection of NIH/S mice with influenza A virus also resulted in an increase in the number of CD4 CD8 cells (maximum of 42% of all lymphocytes). In addition to outbred NIH/S mice, two other mouse strains were studied: BALB/c (H-2) and C57BL/6 (H-2). C. pneumoniae-infected BALB/c mice responded with an intermediate increase in the number of CD4 CD8 cells in lungs, whereas C57BL/6 mice did not respond. The double-positive CD4 CD8 cells lacked a major part of the T-cell receptor complex, being both CD3 and TCR ab. However, when they were stimulated in vitro with a T-cell mitogen, they responded by proliferation but did not secrete gamma interferon. The dramatic expansion of this cell population at the infection site suggests an active role for them in respiratory infection, but the specification of this requires further study.


Abstract. Aerosol number concentration varying spatially and temporally is a good indicator of the dynamic behavior of Beijing's atmospheric cocktail. This variation represents the strength of different contributing primary and secondary sources such as traffic and new particle formation, respectively. In this paper we report size-segregated particle number concentrations observed at newly developed Beijing station during winter 2018. Our measurements cover number size distributions of particles in a diameter range between 1.5 nm and 1 μm (cluster mode, nucleation mode, Aitken mode and accumulation mode), thus being descriptive of a major fraction of the processes happening in the atmosphere of Beijing. Here we aim to explain the concentration variation in the observed modes by relating them to potential aerosol sources as well as to understand the connection between the modes. We focused on two types of days (haze and new particle formation) and divided the data accordingly. Our results show that during new particle formation (NPF) days, an increase in the cluster mode particles was observed. In contrast, during haze days we observed a high concentration of accumulation mode particles. There was a clear correlation between the cluster and nucleation modes during NPF days, while it was absent during haze days. In addition, we correlated the different modes with concentrations of trace gases and other parameters measured at our station. Our results show that all modes in the sub-micron size range correlated with NOx which clearly reflects the contribution of traffic to all particle sizes.


We review the several models of the dark energy, which may generate the accelerated expansion of the present universe. We also discuss the the Big Rip singularity, which may occur when the equation of the state parameter w is less than − 1. We show that the quantum correction would be very important near the singularity.


OBJECTIVE: To assess the presence of metabolic disorders in elderly men with urolithiasis. METHODS: We performed a case-control study. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) men older than 60 years of age and either (2) antecedent renal colic or an incidental diagnosis of urinary lithiasis after age 60 (case arm) or (3) no antecedent renal colic or incidental diagnosis of urolithiasis (control arm). Each individual underwent an interview, and those who were selected underwent all clinical protocol examinations: serum levels of total and ionized calcium, uric acid, phosphorus, glucose, urea, creatinine and parathyroid hormone, urine culture, and analysis of 24-hour urine samples (levels of calcium, citrate, creatinine, uric acid and sodium, pH and urine volume). Each case arm patient underwent two complete metabolic urinary investigations, whereas each control arm individual underwent one examination. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01246531. RESULTS: A total of 51 subjects completed the clinical investigation: 25 in the case arm and 26 in the control arm. In total, 56% of the case arm patients had hypocitraturia (vs. 15.4% in the control arm; p = 0.002). Hypernatriuria was detected in 64% of the case arm patients and in 30.8% of the controls (p = 0.017). CONCLUSION: Hypocitraturia and hypernatriuria are the main metabolic disorders in elderly men with urolithiasis.


Secondary recovery techniques such as waterflooding are often used to maintain pressure during depletion. Still, unfavorable mobility ratios, reservoir heterogeneity and strong capillary forces may cause a waterflood alone to only recover 20-40% of the oil in place. This thesis is a comparative study of chemical EOR methods such as surfactant flooding, polymer flooding and surfactant-polymer flooding applied on the Norne E-Segment, using Eclipse 100. The objective of this study is to find out if the Norne E-Segment is a good candidate for these EOR methods. The study will focus on testing different injection scenarios and polymer/surfactant concentrations to find the best solution in terms of net present values (NPVs). A test case simulation on a synthetic reservoir indicated that the combined increased water viscosity from the polymers and the decreased interfacial tension from the surfactants gave the highest incremental oil recovery. This was also the case in the Norne E-Segment, where continuous polymer injection for 16 years together with surfactant slugs at 6 month intervals for 3 years gave an incremental oil recovery of 9.9 million barrels and a NPV of 753.2 million USD. The concentration used in this surfactant-polymer flood was 1 kg/m3 for the surfactants as well as the polymers. The Norne E-Segment is a good candidate for chemical EOR methods. Best out of the different EOR methods was surfactant-polymer flooding which gave an estimated recovery factor of 0.68. The success of a surfactant-polymer flooding project in the Norne E-Segment is dependent on the operational costs being lower than the NPV of 753.2 million, as operational costs were excluded from the NPV calculations. It is also dependent on the input values from the polymer and surfactant keywords used in the simulations to be compatible with the reservoir and fluid properties of the Norne E-segment.


Reports of successful use of excimer laser coronary angioplasty for complex coronary artery disease abound, yet firm indications for its use have not been defined. We attempted to treat 858 coronary stenoses in 764 consecutive patients (mean age 61 years; range 32 - 91 years; 75% men; 76% with Class III or IV angina) with excimer laser angioplasty at 308 nm. Successful treatment was achieved in 86% of patients, as indicated by <EQ 50% residual stenosis and no in-hospital complication. To define the potential indications for excimer laser angioplasty, we used relative risk analysis. This showed that certain angiographic features, such as lesions at a vessel bifurcation (odds ratio, OR equals 0.46; 95% confidence interval 0.23, 0.88; P equals 0.017;) or in a tortuous segment (OR equals 0.54; 95% CI equals 0.34, 0.88; P equals 0.041), have decreased likelihood of clinical success. On the other hand, ostial stenoses (OR equals 1.06; 95% CI equals 0.44, 2.56, P equals 0.903) and saphenous vein graft lesions (OR equals 2.17; 95% CI equals 0.98, 4.82; P equals 0.051) have acceptable success rates. Diffuse disease (> 20 mm), total occlusions and calcified lesions were treated as successfully as all other lesion types. Successful treatment with excimer laser coronary angioplasty was also achieved in almost all patients (15/16) who had a prior unsuccessful attempt at balloon angioplasty in the lesion was crossed with a guidewire yet resists either balloon catheter passage or full dilatation. Follow-up angiography was obtained in 70% of eligible patients. Angiographic restenosis, defined by > 50% stenosis, was seen in 60% of patients. Relative risk analysis showed an increased risk of restenosis when adjunctive balloon angioplasty was not used (OR equals 1.68; 95% CI equals 1.02, 2.28; P equals 0.039). Other variables known to affect the outcome of balloon angioplasty, such as lesion length or stenosis in degenerated saphenous vein bypass graft, did not influence the restenosis rates. This analysis defines the profile of risk for excimer laser angioplasty and now provides a sound basis for future, rigorous comparison of excimer laser and balloon angioplasty to balloon angioplasty for a group of lesions that appear to have acceptable success rates with excimer laser coronary angioplasty, which we have denoted the `alpha class' -- saphenous vein lesions, long lesions, ostial stenoses, lesions in calcified vessels, total occlusions, and balloon dilatation failures. Although adjunctive balloon angioplasty may be beneficial, restenosis remains a significant limitation of the procedure and will restrict the usefulness of excimer laser coronary angioplasty for may other types of lesions.


We propose and analyze an efficient high-dimensional quantum state transfer protocol in an XX coupling spin network with a hypercube structure or chain structure. Under free spin wave approximation, unitary evolution results in a perfect high-dimensional quantum swap operation requiring neither external manipulation nor weak coupling. Evolution time is independent of either distance between registers or dimensions of sent states, which can improve the computational efficiency. In the low temperature regime and thermodynamic limit, the decoherence caused by a noisy environment is studied with a model of an antiferromagnetic spin bath coupled to quantum channels via an Ising-type interaction. It is found that while the decoherence reduces the fidelity of state transfer, increasing intra-channel coupling can strongly suppress such an effect. These observations demonstrate the robustness of the proposed scheme.


Despite significant advances in flight simulator technology and numerous other facets of aviation training, there have been relatively few research studies exploring in the ab initio phase of pilot training. This presentation will describe a preliminary study examining a number of areas relevant to the initial hours of flight training and the impact of different training programs. Nine aviation students were selected from the Griffith University, Bachelor of Aviation course on the basis of their prior flying experience, aviation knowledge, and exposure to desktop flight simulators. Each student received one of three training programs in addition to their standard private pilot's licence course in the aircraft. The training programs consisted of either flight simulator sessions (in a low-fidelity part-task trainer), flight-training videos (developed using a combination of flight simulation and real aircraft footage), or a reading material package. Students completed the first four flying lessons of their private pilot's licence course with each pre-flight training lesson completed prior to each flight. Following each pre-flight lesson, students were asked a series of questions regarding their experience of the lesson, including assessments of their knowledge of the material, the lesson workload, and how well they thought it prepared them for the flight lesson. After each flight lesson, student performance was assessed by the qualified flight instructor who conducted the lesson, and students again provided feedback on their experience and performance in the aircraft. At the end of the last flight, students also completed a final task in the aircraft that assessed a variety of the skills they had developed during the four lessons. On completion of all of the training sessions, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the students and instructors, focusing on the effectiveness of the pre-flight training and the assessment procedures used. While this research only represents a preliminary study, results indicated surprisingly little difference between student performance across each of the three training regimes. No clear pattern was evident between aircraft performance and training regime and the flight instructor was unable to determine the type of training each student had received. This presentation will discuss these findings in relation to the effectiveness of low-fidelity flight simulators in comparison to other training programs, particularly flight-training videos. A number of issues associated with reliable data collection in aviation training research will also be reviewed.


Abstract In northern Europe numerous industrial point sources of CO2 surround the North Sea Basin, which contains a number of viable underground sequestration opportunities. These include injection into depleted oil and gas fields and into major regional aquifers; the latter probably offering the greatest ultimate storage potential. At the Sleipner gas field, CO2 is being injected into the Utsira Sand, a large saline aquifer. More than 6 Mt of CO2 have currently been injected, with a projected final target of about 20 Mt. Time-lapse seismic reflection data are being used to monitor the operation and have provided clear images of the CO2 plume and its development with time. Moreover, CO2 volumetrics derived from the seismic data are consistent with the well injection figures. In conjunction with reservoir simulation studies, time-lapse seismic monitoring seems, therefore, to offer an effective means of predicting the future growth, migration and dispersion of the CO2 plume. Another important aquifer, the Bunter Sandstone, stretches from Britain to Poland. In the UK sector alone, the pore volume in structural closures is equivalent to about 350 years' worth of current CO2 emissions from UK power generation. Industrial CO2 sources in northern Europe are well placed to exploit these major subsurface reservoirs and European countries are technically very well equipped to use and develop this emerging technology.


The amount of biological data available in online repositories is increasing at an exponential rate. However, data on marine invertebrate biodiversity resources are still sparse and scattered in these countries. Online repositories are useful instruments for biodiversity research, as they provide a fast access to data from different sources. The use of interactive platforms comprising web mapping are becoming more important not only for the scientific community, but also for conservation managers, decision-makers and the general public as they allow data presentation in simple and understandable visual schemes. The main goal of this study was to create an interactive online digital map (MARINBIODIV Atlas), through the collection of data from various sources, to visualize marine invertebrate occurrences and distribution across different habitats, namely mangroves, seagrasses, corals and other coastal areas, in Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe. The acquired biodiversity data were managed and structured to be displayed as spatial data and to be disseminated using the geographic information system ArcGIS, where data can be accessed, filtered and mapped. The ArcGIS web mapping design tools were used to produce interactive maps to visualize marine invertebrate diversity information along the coasts of Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe, through different habitats, offering the foundation for analysing species incidence and allocation information. Understanding the spatial occurrences and distribution of marine invertebrates in both countries can provide a valuable baseline, regarding information and trends on their coastal marine biodiversity.


A ketogenic diet (KD) is known to have beneficial health effects. Various types of KD interventions have been applied to manage metabolic syndrome based on modification of diet parameters such as duration of intervention, macronutrient components, and total calories. Nevertheless, the beneficial health impact of isocaloric KD is largely unknown, especially in healthy subjects. The present study investigated the acute effects of a 3-day isocaloric KD. In this non-randomized intervention study, we recruited 15 healthy volunteers aged 24-38 years (7 men and 8 women) and placed them on an isocaloric KD restricting intake of carbohydrates but not energy (75% fat, 20% protein, 5% carbohydrate) for 3 days. Biochemical profiles and laboratory measurements were performed. Peripheral blood monocular cells were cultured, and measured cell stimulated cytokines. After short-term isocaloric KD, subjects lost body weight and serum free fatty acid levels were increased. These results accompanied elevated serum β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) concentration and fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) levels and improved insulin sensitivity. Regarding the direct effect of BHB on inflammasome activation, interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α secretion in response to adenosine triphosphate or palmitate stimulation in human macrophages decreased significantly after isocaloric KD. In ex-vivo experiments with macrophages, both FGF21 and BHB further reduced IL-1β secretion compared to either BHB or FGF21 alone. The inhibitory effect of FGF21 on IL-1β secretion was blunted with bafilomycin treatment, which blocked autophagy flux. In conclusion, isocaloric KD for 3 days is a promising approach to improve metabolic and inflammatory status. Clinical Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02964572).


Background: In Portugal, a public policy established the Local Health Units (LHUs), merging primary and hospital care providers. LHUs are expected to provide better continuity and coordination of care, thus decreasing the number of unplanned readmissions among those with chronic conditions. This study aims to evaluate the influence of chronic conditions on the risk of readmission at LHUs. Methods: We used inpatient care administrative databases for the years 2002–2014 (n = 1,679,634). We assessed the effects of chronic conditions on the risk of readmission with a difference-in-differences technique, comparing LHUs with a control group. Multivariate Cox regression was used to evaluate time to readmission. Results: The risk of readmission decreased in four LHUs, but significantly only in two. Individuals with more chronic conditions presented a lesser risk of readmission at LHUs, in contrast to those in the control group. Conclusions: After adjusting for the number of chronic conditions and comorbidities, we concluded that LHUs may successfully decrease unplanned readmissions. Several challenges still have to be addressed to achieve a larger and long-lasting effect. Further investigation is needed to account for contextual and organizational effects that may explain differences across LHUs.


Metabolic programming occurs when variations in nutrition during a specific developmental window result in long-term metabolic effects. It has been studied almost exclusively in humans and other mammals but never in an ecological context. Here, we report metabolic programming and its functional consequences in a marine fish, red drum. We demonstrate that maternal provisioning of eggs with an essential fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), varies with DHA content of the maternal diet. When offspring are reared on a DHA-replete diet, whole-body DHA content of offspring depends upon the amount of DHA that was in the egg. We further demonstrate that whole-body DHA content is correlated with traits related to offspring fitness (escape responses, routine swimming, growth, and survival). DHA content of red drum eggs produced in nature is in the range where the effects of metabolic programming are most pronounced. Our findings indicate that during a brief developmental window, DHA plays a role in establishing the metabolic capacity for its own uptake or storage, with protracted and possibly permanent effects on ecologically important survival skills of individuals and important implications for dynamics of populations and food webs.


The Sinhala word "Parangi" is a vernacular term specifically used to refer"Portuguese" or something related to them. This word has been culturally articulated formany centuries from 1505 AD and is contextualized in many classical and literarysources. It had also become an internationally accepted technical term in internalmedicine and cited in many textbooks, journals and many other reference sources. Theobjective of this study is to collect literary data and find out the etymology of the word"parangi" and interpret the linguistic expressions of its usage to reflect culturalotherness in medical aspects. Subject-specific and evidence-based textual analysis wasadopted to review and redefine the cultural interpretation of the term Parangi referred inindigenous medical literature sources in Sri Lanka. In verification of hypotheticaloverview baseline data were authenticated through a comparative and electivescrutinizing process in reference with western discourses. As widely accepted, among the several scholarly opinions that appeared for theorigin of the word Parangi and its literary interpretation are related to the Portuguese.Farangi, firangfirangi, feringhi, feringhee or Parangi with its derivatives and diversepronunciations is a term for foreigners in the Persian language, with particular referenceto westerners.It carries a disdainful and condescending meaning, and was originallyused in a purely geographical sense particularly for Europeans, Caucasians andWesterners. The word in Arabic (faranji or ferenji) is similar and the word farangi alsoappears in Amharic, Urdu and Hindi in reference to western Europeans. Sometime laterthis may have been loaned by the Malayalam language possibly from Arab traders andlater might be transferred to Sinhala for demarcating "otherness" of the Portuguese asforeigners. In this study the etymology, cultural interpretation and linguistic descriptionof Parangi are explored, refined and redefined in an anthropological perspective. Key words: Etymology, Parangi, Foreigner, Cultural, Linguistic


Polaron spectral functions are computed for highly doped graphene-on-substrate and other atomically thin graphitic systems using the diagrammatic Monte Carlo technique. The specific aim is to investigate the effects of interaction on spectral functions when the symmetry between sublattices of a honeycomb lattice has been broken by the substrate or ionicity, inducing a band gap. Introduction of electron-phonon coupling leads to several polaronic features, such as band-flattening and changes in particle lifetimes. At the K point, differences between energies on each sublattice increase with electron-phonon coupling, indicating an augmented transport gap, while the spectral gap decreases slightly. Effects of phonon dispersion and long-range interactions are investigated, and found to lead to only quantitative changes in spectra.


The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of employee assistance programs (EAP) as a form of perceived organisational support (POS) to address workplace bullying (WB), from the perspective of employees who have been the victims of bullying.,Using an on-line survey, data were collected from 397 employees across a range of positions and industry sectors in Australia, who indicated they had been subjected to bullying.,The results of the study indicate that WB is rife, and although anti-bullying policies were in existence participants felt that these were mere tokenism. The level of POS and use of EAPs were considered to be inadequate and, interestingly, in some cases offered more support to the bully than the victim.,With the increased rate of WB, organisations are seeking different ways to address this. This study highlights that the ability of EAPs to provide support to employees in these circumstances appears to be limited. The findings suggest that if management wish to use EAPs to support employees in cases of WB, they must invest more in them.,This study seeks to extend research into the management of WB through EAPs and POS and posits that there is a high level of dissatisfaction with management's response and support with regard to bullying incidents.


This month's supplement of the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery highlights three exciting aspects of cerebral aneurysm management and research. Specifically, advances in flow diversion, quantitative aneurysm analysis, and novel applications of established techniques are described in 15 manuscripts by leaders in the endovascular field. These articles not only present novel ideas, they raise provocative questions about the future of aneurysm treatment.

The advent of flow diverting devices and their burgeoning use in the USA have underscored the need for greater understanding of antiplatelet therapies. Complications arising from overdosage, underdosage, and patient resistance are troubling issues that warrant further investigation. To this end, Almandoz et al 1 report an analysis of the predictive value of P2Y12 reaction units in determining patients at greatest risk of suffering perioperative thromboembolic and hemorrhagic complications after treatment with the Pipeline device (Covidien Vascular Therapies, Mansfield, Massachusetts, USA). Their determination that P2Y12 reaction units of less than 60 and greater than 240 were predictive of these major perioperative complications sets an objective range within which practitioners can or cannot proceed with their intervention. Tailoring antiplatelet therapy either by modifying an existing medication regimen or by changing medications to achieve values within this range may dramatically reduce the incidence of these potentially devastating events.

The efficacy of antiplatelet therapy is underscored in the article by Shankar et al. 2 Despite pre- and postoperative antiplatelet therapy, two patients in their study developed parent artery occlusions after treatment with the SILK flow diverter (Balt Extrusion, Montmorency, France). …


The renal expression of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) is enhanced following induction of ischemic injury in rat. In cultured renal cells, TGF-beta stimulates the synthesis of extracellular matrix. To link TGF-beta1 expression with the regulation of extracellular matrix postischemia, we characterized the expression of several genes known to regulate extracellular matrix synthesis at various times during recovery from acute ischemic renal injury in rat. Levels of mRNA for plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease-1 (TIMP-1), alpha1(IV) collagen, and fibronectin-EIIIA (FN-EIIIA) mRNAs were significantly enhanced in kidneys within 12 h to 3 days after injury and remained elevated at 7-28 days postischemia relative to levels in kidneys of sham-operated controls. PAI-1 mRNA and peptide were localized in regenerating proximal tubules at 3 and 7 days postischemic injury. alpha1(IV) Collagen and FN-EIIIA mRNAs were expressed primarily in regenerating proximal tubule cells. Immunoreactivity for FN-EIIIA was enhanced in the tubular basement membrane (TBM) of regenerating proximal tubules, and alpha1(IV) collagen immunoreactivity was detected in thickened tubulointerstitial spaces. In contrast, TIMP-1 immunoreactivity was enhanced in distal nephron structures postischemia. Immunoneutralization of TGF-beta in vivo attenuated the increases in FN-EIIIA, alpha1(IV) collagen, PAI-1, and TIMP-1 mRNAs by 52%, 73%, 43%, and 27%, respectively. These data are consistent with TGF-beta expression postischemic injury participating in renal regeneration of extracellular matrix homeostasis in the proximal TBM.


This article addresses human rights responsibilities of multinational corporations (MNCs) in the light of what I describe as the four Bhopal catastrophes. More than thirty years of struggle by the valiant violated people to seek justice is situated in the contemporary efforts of the United Nations to develop a new discursivity for human rights and business—from the Global Compact to the Draft Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights, the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the more recent process to elaborate a legally-binding international instrument.


States and localities increasingly recognize the need to link land use and water supply planning. As the populace grows and sprawl continues, the strain on available natural resources, particularly water, makes this recognition all the more important. This Article addresses an increasingly common type of this planning link "assured supply" laws that require developers to prove they have secured adequate water stock before commencing construction. The Article performs a qualitative analysis of the potential benefits and costs of such laws and finds that, on balance, assured supply laws provide at least five significant benefits: consumer protection, greater holistic project- and agency-level planning, improved efficiencies in water rights allocation, and increased water conservation. Notably, however, these laws appear to do very little to diminish sprawl and, if designed incorrectly, may actually exacerbate it. The Article then extracts five dimensions around which localities might design their assured supply laws to maximize their benefits and minimize possible costs, concluding that such laws are most likely to deliver optimal benefits when they are (1) mandatory, (2) stringent, (3) statewide, (4) broadly applicable, applying to more than only large projects, and (5) interconnected with broader land-water and environmental lanning mechanisms.


: The Citizens' Convention on Climate (CCC) gathered 150 people, randomly selected but representing the diversity of the French society. Its mandate was to formulate a series of concrete measures aimed to achieve at least a 40% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (compared to 1990) while preserving social justice. The citizens auditioned experts on various topics from climate to economics and then formulated their own proposals, thus building an effective consensus, beyond individual specific interests. Moreover, proposals formed a coherent whole, and in this regard fare much better than previous attempts to tackle environmental and climate transition through public debates. This methodology shows how citizen science can produce efficient and quality outcomes. This opens new perspectives for democracy on the basis of new interaction channels between law-makers, professional experts and citizens. This seems to be the approach chosen for the Conference on the Future of Europe as well. Gathering citizens from all EU countries to work on important topics for Europe and Europeans could be a way to build a common vision, and contribute to the creation of a true European common good. Citizens' direct involvement in science and democracy might be one of the keys to meaningfully and thus successfully address their shortcomings.


AIMS
To investigate the clinical impact of T1 mapping for detecting myocardial impairment in takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) over time.

METHODS AND RESULTS
In 23 patients with the apical ballooning type of TTC, the following 3T magnetic resonance (MR) examinations were performed at baseline and 3 months after TTC onset: T2-weighted imaging, T2 mapping, native T1 mapping, extracellular volume fraction (ECV), and late gadolinium enhancement. Eight healthy controls underwent the same MR examinations. Serial echocardiography was performed daily for ≥7 days and monthly until 3 months after onset. The median time from onset to MR examination was 7 days. During the acute phase, patients had, relative to controls, higher native T1 (1438 ± 162 vs. 1251 ± 90 ms, P < 0.001), ECV (35 ± 5% vs. 29 ± 4%, P < 0.001), and T2 (90 ± 34 vs. 68 ± 12 ms, P < 0.001) for the entire heart. Per-region analysis showed that higher native T1 and T2 in the basal region were correlated with lower left ventricular ejection fraction (r = -0.599, P = 0.004 and r = -0.598, P = 0.003, respectively). Receiver operator characteristic analysis showed that the area under the curve for native T1 (0.96) was significantly larger than that for T2 (0.86; P = 0.005) but similar to that for ECV (0.92; P = 0.104). At 3-month follow-up, native T1, ECV, and T2 in the apical region remained significantly elevated in all patients with TTC. The number of left ventricular (LV) segments with elevated native T1 (cut-off value 1339 ms) was significantly correlated with prolonged LV wall motion recovery time (r = 0.494, P = 0.027).

CONCLUSION
Characterization of myocardium with native T1 mapping is a promising method for predicting LV wall motion restoration in TTC.


An orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of c-Met with potential antineoplastic activity. c-Met inhibitor ARQ 197 binds to the c-Met protein and disrupts c-Met signal transduction pathways, which may induce cell death in tumor cells overexpressing c-Met protein or expressing constitutively activated c-Met protein. c-Met protein, the product of the proto-oncogene c-Met, is a receptor tyrosine kinase also known as hepatocyte growth factor receptor (HGFR); this protein is overexpressed or mutated in many tumor cell types and plays key roles in tumor cell proliferation, survival, invasion, and metastasis, and tumor angiogenesis. Qeios · Definition, February 7, 2020


Comparative judicial politics has provided invaluable evidence about how the political context of Argentina has systematically affected the independence of its Supreme Court. However, it is still not clear why the manipulation of the court has emerged and persisted over time. The central argument is that the incentives of politicians have impeded the emergence of a stable and independent judiciary. This article provides a systematic analysis of the various strategies that politicians have used to control the Supreme Court of the country by forcing unfriendly justices off the bench and appointing friendly ones. The political court-packing that started in the Supreme Court in 1947 is not the result of the instability of the political regime of the country but rather a common practice that follows a path dependence self-reinforcing process which has recently started to exhibit changes in its tactics and pace.


Non-melanoma skin cancer in its most prevalent types, basal and squamous cell carcinoma, has a variety of clinicopathologic presentations. Recognition of these types will enable the physician to select the most appropriate method of therapy, diminishing the chance of recurrence and the potential for severe physical and psychologic impairment, and even death.


This paper provides novel evidence for the frequency and spatio-temporal distribution of the earliest instances of Scots L-vocalisation. This so-called "characteristic Scots change" (McClure 1994: 48) entails the loss of coda-/l/ following back vowels, with concomitant vocalic lengthening or diphthongisation (e.g. OE healf > OSc hawff; OE bolster > OSc bouster; OE full > OSc fow, cf. Johnston 1997: 90). Using data from the Linguistic Atlas of Older Scots (LAOS), spanning 1380-1500, we reassess the claims for the emergence of L-vocalisation in the early 15th century (Aitken & Macafee 2002: 101-4) and for its completion by the beginning of the 16th (cf. Stuart-Smith et al. 2006, Bann & Corbett, 2015). Based on attestations of -less forms and reverse spellings, we map the spread of -loss over time and space. Emphasis is placed on the relative chronologies and lexical and geographic distributions of the change in different phonological contexts, including morpheme-final, pre-labial, pre-velar and (more lexically sporadic) pre-alveolar. Particular attention is also paid to the under-explored /l/~O alternation in borrowed items from (Norman) French (cf. realme~reaume 'realm') and their potential influence on the development of coda-/l/ in Scots. The results show low-level presence of the phenomenon throughout our corpus, but no signs of a categorical change in any of the target contexts.


: The activity of 3':5'-AMP and 3':5'-GMP phosphodiesterase was determined in retina of some animals. In all cases the enzymic activity with the presence of 3':5'-GMP is higher than with utilization of 3':5'-AMP. About 60% of the enzyme activity with 3':5' GMP as a substrate is lost in the process of obtaining the outer segments extracted from the bovine retina. The enzyme activity was completely detected with 3':5' AMP as a substrate. The both enzymes are equally extracted from the photoreceptory membranes by a weak ionic buffer. Differences are found in the stability of 3':5'-AMP and 3':5-GMP-phosphodiesterase during storage. The form of the enzyme splitting 3':5'-GMP is more unstable.


The paper offers a zoopoetic reading of three early short stories ("Balcony and Poplars"; "Under the Cliffs"; "Animals, Humans") by Miklós Mészöly, exposing the way they present certain aspects of the relationship between humans and animals. The close reading of the texts focuses on how the characters' reflections on insects, livestock or their supposedly beloved pets are undermined, destabilized and expanded by the language of the narration. I argue that Mészöly's writings point to evanescence as a common trait shared by humans and animals without attempting to domesticate the latter's otherness


: Increased valgus stresses on the medial aspect of the elbow can result in a number of bony and soft-tissue abnormalities. The most common abnormalities are ulnar neuropathy and valgus instability secondary to injury of the medial collateral ligament. Diagnosis and treatment of these disorders are discussed in this article.


We derive atmospheric parameters and lithium abundances for 671 stars and include our measurements in a literature compilation of 1381 dwarf and subgiant stars. First, a "lithium desert" in the effective temperature (Teff) versus lithium abundance (ALi) plane is observed such that no stars with Teff ≃ 6075 K and ALi ≃ 1.8 are found. We speculate that most of the stars on the low ALi side of the desert have experienced a short-lived period of severe surface lithium destruction as main-sequence or subgiant stars. Next, we search for differences in the lithium content of thin-disk and thick-disk stars, but we find that internal processes have erased from the stellar photospheres their possibly different histories of lithium enrichment. Nevertheless, we note that the maximum lithium abundance of thick-disk stars is nearly constant from [Fe/H] = −1.0 to −0.1, at a value that is similar to that measured in very metal-poor halo stars (ALi ≃ 2.2). Finally, differences in the lithium abundance distribution of known planet-host stars relative to otherwise ordinary stars appear when restricting the samples to narrow ranges of Teff or mass, but they are fully explained by age and metallicity biases. We confirm the lack of a connection between low lithium abundance and planets. However, we find that no low ALi planet-hosts are found in the desert Teff window. Provided that subtle sample biases are not responsible for this observation, this suggests that the presence of gas giant planets inhibit the mechanism responsible for the lithium desert.


Co-doping of nanosilver, carbon and nitrogen is done on titania to get improved photodegradation of pollutants when compared to single doping. Anion doping extends the absorption of TiO2 to the visible region; whereas noble metal NP doping prevents the recombination of photoinduced electrons and holes. Doped TiO2 prepared using sol gel method allows efficient dispersion of nano silver and thus enhances the photodegradability. X-ray Diffraction analysis shows the efficient dispersion of incorporated nano silver over anatase TiO2. The visible light absorption is confirmed from UV-Vis Diffuse Reflectance spectral studies. Photocatalytic activity is investigated by the degradation of methyl orange as a model pollutant. Efficient degradation in visible light shows the synergetic effect of carbon and nitrogen doping as well as nano silver loading on the performance of TiO2.


For the application of high intensity continuous wave(CW) proton beam acceleration, a new superconducting accelerating structure for extremely low β protons working in TE210 mode has been proposed at Peking University. The cavity consists of eight electrodes and eight accelerating gaps. The cavity's longitudinal length is368.5 mm, and its transverse dimension is 416 mm. The RF frequency is 162.5 MHz, and the designed proton input energy is 200 ke V. A peak field optimization has been performed for the lower surface field. The accelerating gaps are adjusted by phase sweeping based on KONUS beam dynamics. The first four gaps are operated at negative synchronous RF phase to provide longitudinal focusing. The subsequent gaps are 0?sections which can minimize the transverse defocusing effect. Solenoids are placed outside the cavity to provide transverse focusing. Numerical calculation shows that the transverse defocusing of the KONUS phase is about three times smaller than that of the conventional negative synchronous RF phase. The beam dynamics of a 10 m A CW proton beam is simulated by the Trace Win code. The simulation results show that the beam's transverse size is under effective control, while the increase in the longitudinal direction is slightly large. Both the Trace Win simulation and the numerical calculation show that the cavity has a relatively high effective accelerating gradient of 2.6 MV/m. On the whole, our results show that this new accelerating structure may be a possible candidate for superconducting operation at such a low energy range.


In skeletal remains of ancient populations, evidence of dental and craniofacial pathology is often well preserved in the form of lesions on the teeth or bones. Meticulous, detailed recording of these lesions provides baseline data on which a realistic assessment can be made of the probable impact of dental diseases and its sequelae on health of these earlier populations. In the present thesis, dental and cranial pathology were recorded in the remains of an Iron Age population, with special reference to the possible impact of such conditions on general health and well-being. The skeletal remains had been excavated early last century from the burial ground Smorkullen, Alvastra, Ostergotland, in Eastern Central Sweden: osteological analyses showed that the material comprised the remains of 65 subadult individuals and 104 adult individuals of both sexes. The dental status of most of the adult individuals was poor. Calculus, periodontitis, moderate and severe carious lesions and periapical infections were recorded. In contrast, subadult showed less evidence of dental disease. The results indicate that the perception of health in adults was probably negatively affected by their poor oral status. The dental status of subadults, on the other hand, was unlikely to have had a negative impact on their general well-being. A sex difference was observed in the material, males tending to more ongoing disease than females. Overall, the frequencies of both dental and cranial pathologies increased with age. Caries frequency in the material was noticeable higher than in numerous other studies in Scandinavian populations. Although the high caries rates at Smorkullen may be attributable to a diet rich in carbohydrates, the result may to some extent have been influenced by observer experience. Caries rates in other populations are likely to be under-estimated in comparison with Smorkullen. However, methodological factors alone cannot not explain all the observed differences. The recording of cranial pathologies disclosed malnutrition and upper respiratory problems in all age groups in the Smorkullen material. This most certainly affected their well-being. In some cases the pathology observed was directly associated with life-threatening conditions. Analyses of combinations of pathologies suggest that a combination of linear enamel hypoplasias and cribra orbitalia, mainly observed in those who died before the age of fifteen, may have been related to a lower probability of survival.


The Mecklenburg Complex, which crops out in the Carolina Piedmont, consists of older metagabbro and felsic metaplutonic rocks of upper amphibolite rank, and a younger post-metamorphic gabbro. Electron microprobe analyses have been made of 9 olivines, 18 orthopyroxenes, 21 clinopyroxenes, 19 hornblendes, and 14 biotites from the mafic rocks. Gabbroic rocks contain the 5 mafic phases listed above, and display hypidiomorphic textures characterized by numerous reaction relationships among olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, and hornblende. In contrast, metagabbro lacks olivine and exhibits textures that range from relict igneous varieties (Type 1) to recrystallized granoblastic types (Type 2) that appear to represent equilibrium metamorphic assemblages. In general, mafic silicates from gabbro are higher in Mg, Al, Ti, K, and Na, and lower in Fe and Mn relative to respective phases in metagabbro. Compositions of unzoned minerals from Type 1 rocks fall intermediate between those homogeneous phases from gabbro and Type 2 metagabbro, and imply that: (1) minerals of the Type 1 metagabbro have not been completely equilibrated during the metamorphic episode, and (2) the recrystallization process evidently involved continuous rehomogenization of the mafic phases. Partitioning of Mg, Fe, Mn, and Ti between coexistent phases is generally systematic. Coexistent pairs from gabbro commonly exhibit less pronounced fractionation compared to metagabbroic pairs, and may be explained by higher temperatures of equilibration or by compositional variables not considered in the exchange reaction.


The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology that could assist decision making process to satisfy all stakeholders while achieving company objectives. A 'cost/ benefit analysis' method using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is presented. The paper is based on a real exercise in a leading packaging company. The result of the AHP analysis matched the decision taken by the company management prior to the analysis demonstrating the capability and robustness of the methodology used. By applying the methodology as a cost-benefit analysis, three main benefits have been achieved: Reduction of the time in decision-making; Ease of reaching a consensus decision for decision makers; Documentation and justification of the decisions made. In terms of research limitations and implications, this work does not provide an exhaustive list of all the factors that need to be considered apart from those identified by one UK company which perhaps limits its usefulness elsewhere. Nevertheless, it offers a methodology which different companies could follow. The proposed AHP methodology is generally applicable to many strategic options/ projects selection problem. Appraisal and selection of strategic capital-intensive projects is required by many companies. Often these projects will have several interested parties or stakeholders with multiple objectives. Companies rarely succeed in selecting a project that satisfies all interested parties. Frequently these decisions are made at the top levels of the organisational hierarchy and later imposed on to the lower levels. The proposed methodology assists the decision making process to satisfy all stakeholders while achieving company objectives.


Corporate mergers, stagflation, and globalization are usually studied as separate phenomena, belonging to the fields of finance, economics, and international political economy, respectively. This chapter attempts to tie them together as integral facets of capital accumulation. Analyzed independently, all three phenomena appear problematic, even mysterious. Take mergers and acquisitions. These are now constantly in the news, and for a good reason. Over the past decade, their value reached unprecedented levels, surpassing for the first time in history that of newly created production capacity. Yet, despite their importance, mergers and acquisitions remain enigmatic. "Most mergers disappoint," writes Th Economist, "so why do firms keep merging?" (Anonymous 1998). According to the textbooks, there is no clear answer. Corporate merger remains one of the "ten mysteries of finance," a riddle for which there are many partial explanations but no overall theory (Brealey et al. 1992, ch. 36). Stagflation, although presently dormant, is equally embarrassing. Most mainstream economists believe that prices should increase when there is excess demand and overheating, but stagflation a term coined by Samuelson (1 974) to denote the combination of slagnation and inj!?ahn shows prices can also rise in the midst of unemployment and recession.' A similar difficulty arises with the opposite phenomenon of inflationless growth, such as the one experienced recently in the United States. The standard explanation rests on the disinflationary impact of accelerating productivity, although that scarcely solves the problem. The fact is that even faster efficiency gains have often failed to tame inflation in the past, so why is it that they succeed now? Frustrated, many economists seem to have finally thrown in the towel, suggesting that we now live in a "new economy" where the old rules simply no longer apply. And globalization, too, remains perplexing to some extent. Although theories here vary a great deal, most seem to assume that in the final analysis globalization


Multivariate public key cryptography is one of the main candidates for post-quantum cryptography. Rainbow, an improved (multi-layer) version of unbalanced oil and vinegar (UOV), is one of the most famous multivariate signature schemes that is a promising candidate for NIST standardisation. At INDOCRYPT 2017, Beullens and Preneel introduced a new variant LUOV of UOV. Their idea is to generate a UOV scheme over the binary field L = F 2 and then lift it into a bigger field K = F 2 r and hence dramatically reduce the public key size. In this study, the authors first theoretically deduce the choice for the subfield L (which is different from F 2 ) which results in smaller signature sizes (up to 40%). Moreover, they extend the idea to Rainbow and theoretically yield the optimal choice for the subfield L over which a Rainbow is generated before being lifted to K. As a result, they can reduce the public key size of the obtained Rainbow scheme up to at least 36%.


A total of 22 scientists contributed to a consensus-oriented conceptual framework for assessment of farm animal welfare, addressing priority issues in cattle, pigs, and chickens. They used the Delphi method, in which participants contributed anonymously through e-mail. The framework puts welfare in an evolutionary context. Welfare problems arise when animals are kept in environments to which they have difficulty adapting. For integrated welfare assessment, design criteria and welfare performance criteria must be used in which the former may be weighted based on the latter, which, in turn, may be weighted based on the aspects of intensity, duration, and incidence. The main performance criteria were pathological states, abnormal behaviors, and behavioral restrictions. Space, social conditions, and substrates were the main design criteria. Conventional housing systems generally ranked lower than alternative systems. In this article, we show that a broad consensus basis exists among welfare scientists concerning the assessment of farm animal welfare


Immersive media such as virtual and augmented reality pose some interesting new challenges for non-photorealistic animation: we must not only balance the screen-space rules of a 2D visual style against 3D motion coherence, but also account for stereo spatialization and interactive camera movement, at a rate of 90 frames per second. We introduce two new real-time rendering techniques: MetaTexture, an example-based multiresolution texturing method that adheres to the movement of 3D geometry while maintaining a consistent level of screen-space detail, and Edge Breakup, a method for roughening edges by warping with structured noise. We show how we have used these techniques, along with art-directable coloring, shadow filtering, and shader-based texture indication, to achieve the "moving illustration" style of the immersive short film "Age of Sail".


Background Increase in intraneuronal iron is thought to be relevant to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD), although the mechanism remains elusive. Here we investigate expression of the iron importers DMT1 and the transferrin receptor (TfR1), the iron exporter ferroportin (FPN) and the receptor involved in mitochondrial iron uptake (TfR2) in a human PD cell culture model. Methods SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells were differentiated and exposed to PD-relevant toxins (MPP+ (mitochondrial inhibitor), lactacystin (proteasome inhibitor), paraquat (free radical generator). Quantitative PCR was performed to assess fold change in expression levels of mRNA. Protein levels were analysed by Western blot. Results MPP+ resulted in a significant increase in mRNA and protein levels for the iron import proteins, TfR1, TfR2 and DMT1 (+IRE) as well as the exporter FPN. Similar changes occurred with paraquat. Lactacystin resulted in a significant increase only in TfR1 mRNA. Conclusion The finding of MPP+-induced increased expression of proteins involved in cellular and mitochondrial iron import in a human cell culture model of PD supports the hypothesis of a functional mitochondrial iron deficit driving neuronal iron uptake. Increase in FPN expression may be an adaptive response. Similar changes occur following exposure to paraquat, another inducer of oxidative stress. The response to lactacystin suggests a difference in neuronal iron handling induced by different toxins.


Fly ash samples from a cooling tower were extracted after incinerating plastic solid waste (PSW) and organic liquid waste (OLW) by n-Hexane or dichloromethane/n-Hexane mixtures to evaluate the toxicity. The metal and PCDD/Fs were analyzed by ICP OES and HRGC/HRMS, respectively. The toxicity of the extracted fly ash was evaluated by Microtox®. The results showed the environmental risk factor (ERF) of Hg in PSW fly ash was the highest compared to other metals, by more than 60%. Additionally, the acute toxicity tests of the fly ash showed that dichloromethane/n-hexane extracts were all very toxic, except for the PSW-1 obtained through Soxhlet extraction following the column clean-up procedure. The n-Hexane extracts for OLW-1 obtained through Soxhlet extraction following the column clean-up procedure were extremely toxic. There were no significant relationships among the concentrations of the regulated heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn), PCDD/Fs concentration and the TU values in the toxicity test. Furthermore, the results of the statistical analysis showed that there were significant differences in the results of the Microtox test with regard to the solvents, solutes and various extraction methods. However, it is remains a complicated process to differentiate between the various compounds in order to produce accurate results with regard to acute toxicity in the fly ash, and thus this issue warrants further investigation.


The Cassie bipedal robot designed by Agility Robotics is providing academics with a common platform for sharing and comparing algorithms for locomotion, perception, and navigation. This paper focuses on feedback control for standing and walking using the methods of virtual constraints and gait libraries. The designed controller was implemented six weeks after the robot arrived at the University of Michigan and allowed it to stand in place as well as walk over sidewalks, grass, snow, sand, and burning brush. The controller for standing also enables the robot to ride a Segway. Software supporting the work in this paper is available on GitHub.


To determine the role of membrane recycling in proximal tubular P(i) transport, we studied the transport functions of simultaneously prepared rat renal cortical endosomal vesicles (EV) and brush-border membrane vesicles (BBMV). Initial P(i) uptake was Na+ gradient-dependent in both vesicles. Kinetic studies showed a lower apparent maximal rate (Vmax) for P(i) uptake in EV compared with BBMV (446 +/- 69 vs. 1493 +/- 117 pmol.mg protein-1 x 15 s-1, respectively; n = 4, P < 0.05), with no difference in the apparent Michaelis constant (Km). Endosomal Na(+)-P(i) cotransport was inhibited by phosphate analogues, phosphonoformic acid and arsenate, but not by the anion-exchange inhibitor, 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (DIDS). Na(+)-P(i) cotransport was electroneutral in both vesicles, with a stoichiometry of 2 for BBMV and 1 for EV. The nonpermeant sulfhydryl reagent, 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB), produced a marked inhibition of Na(+)-P(i) cotransport in EV but not in BBMV, suggesting accessible sulfhydryl groups, an "inside-out" orientation in EV, and "right-side-out" orientation in BBMV. The EV and the BBMV differed significantly in their phospholipid composition and lipid fluidity. The Na(+)-P(i) cotransporter protein (NaPi-2) abundance, determined by Western blots, was five times lower in EV than in BBMV (0.25 +/- 0.05 vs. 1.36 +/- 0.20 arbitrary units). Renal cortical endosomes contain Na(+)-P(i) cotransporters, albeit at a lower density, suggesting involvement of membrane recycling in the regulation of proximal tubular P(i) transport.


An algorithm is presented that finds the optimal plan long-term transmission for all cases studied, including relatively large and complex networks. The knowledge of optimal plans is becoming more important in the emerging competitive environment, in which the correct economic signals have to be sent to all participants. The paper presents a new specialised branch-and-bound algorithm for transmission network expansion planning. Optimality is obtained at a cost, however: that is the use of a transportation model for representing the transmission network, in this model only the Kirchhoff current law is taken into account (the second law being relaxed). The expansion problem then becomes an integer linear program (ILP) which is solved by the proposed branch-and bound method without any further approximations. To control combinatorial explosion the branch and bound algorithm is specialised using specific knowledge about the problem for both the selection of candidate problems and the selection of the next variable to be used for branching. Special constraints are also used to reduce the gap between the optimal integer solution (ILP program) and the solution obtained by relaxing the integrality constraints (LP program). Tests have been performed with small, medium and large networks available in the literature.


The rapid and accurate high-performance liquid chromatography method with ultraviolet detection (210 nm) for the determination of Ziprasidone in rat urine was developed. Simple protocol of solid-phase extraction of ziprasidone from urine sample at presence its main metabolites was worked out. Vardenafil was used as an internal standard. Reversed phase column LUNA® C18(2) 100A 250 mm × 4.6 mm × 5 μm was used with an isocratic mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile : 0.5 % triethylamine (30: 70) and 0.1 M phosphoric acid (pH 2.5). Developed conditions of HPLC analysis provide high efficiency of a system and good separation of analytes. The method was validated and applied to rat urine samples after modelling intoxication. The intra- and inter-day precision was ≤ 15% with recovery about 95 %. A linear range of 1 μg/mL to 200 μg/mL was established. LOD and LOQ were 0.2 and 0.5 μg/mL, respectively. Obtained results indicate that the described procedure of sample pretreatment with automatization possibility allows obtaining good results for ziprasidone. This method is sensitive, precise and repeatable enough to be used in toxicological casework.


The paper analyzes the rotor imbalance of cooling fan for the engine, and come to influence coefficient per unit quality. We can easy count the practice balancer cooling fan rotor. This method is very simple.


In addition to advanced age, factors such as comorbid illness and debility determine the risk of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Many elderly persons do not have the classic symptoms of CAP; instead, they may present with confusion, lethargy, tachypnea, anorexia, or abdominal pain. Even with thorough investigation, an infectious pathogen can be identified in only about half of patients. In addition to the causative organisms for pneumonia in younger adults, elderly persons are at risk for infection with organisms such as Haemophilus influenzae, Staphylococcus aureus, enteric gram-negative bacteria, and anaerobes, and for polymicrobial infection. Prompt empiric treatment is essential., Recommended initial therapy choices include a β-lactam agent with a macrolide, or an antipneumococcal fluoroquinolone.


Abstract Objective: Optimal pain management often requires multiple pharmacological interventions with the goal of disrupting the pain-signaling pathway and targeting the underlying pathophysiology. Off label use of nonpain medications may have a role in treating refractory pain syndromes. Background: We report a case of a 60-year-old female with refractory nociceptive and neuropathic pain. Conventional therapies were either ineffective or fraught with side effects. Given the underlying inflammatory nature of her pain syndrome, and the role of substance P (SP) in pain transmission and modulation, we decided to use fosaprepitant, an SP and neurokinin-1 (NK1) receptor antagonist. The patient tolerated fosaprepitant and experienced acceptable analgesia without compromising her mental functioning. Design: Study and analysis of a case of a patient with refractory mixed, nociceptive, and neuropathic pain syndrome treated with fosaprepitant. Results and Discussion: Fosaprepitant is a potentially novel adjuvant t...


This report documents a research effort to understand the current practice and issues associated with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) planning and deployment. It reviewed the design options incorporated into existing BRT deployments across California and the nation. The project team interviewed practitioners of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Districts and transit agencies to understand the BRT project approval decision-making process, the impacts of BRT implementation and the Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs) for transit and non-transit system performance. The studies revealed that though Caltrans and transit agencies do use a similar set of MOEs for the evaluation of BRT projects, the emphasis and parametric assumptions for the MOEs may be different and can influence the results of the evaluation. Other evaluation criteria and factors must be considered. This study concluded that a systematic approach needs to be developed and taken in the BRT planning process.


Author(s): AN, LU | Advisor(s): Rignot, Eric | Abstract: The mass balance of glaciers is influenced by their bed elevation below sea level, surface melt, and ocean-induced ice melt at calving fronts. It is essential to know the glacier thickness, bed elevation and fjord bathymetry to interpret the glacier evolution in the ongoing warm climate. Traditional methods for mapping ice thickness from radar sounding fail in the terminal valleys occupied by glaciers and near glacier calving fronts because of challenging conditions: side returns, rough surface, warm ice, water inclusions. We had to explore new ways to infer ice thickness. The advent of modern airborne gravimeters capable of sub milligal precision made it possible to explore the usage of gravity. Such instrument had been used widely for oil and mineral surveys and we applied it to glacier ice.In this dissertation, we use airborne gravity data collected in August 2012 with a 0.5 mGal precision at a spatial resolution 750 m, combined with measurements of the fjord bathymetry and mass conservation reconstruction solution to obtain novel mapping of bed topography for several glaciers in Greenland. We use both 2D and 3D modeling to interpret the gravity data in these areas. The models are heavily constrained by geological information as much as we got, such as ocean bathymetry data, rock density information from Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland with the selection of more optimized initial solutions. We use the gravity misfit to quantify the uncertainty of the inversion. The inversion significantly reduces the gravity misfit from the initial bed, as expected. The gravity misfit ranges from -3 to +3 mGal, the nominal precision of our bed mapping is about 60 m. Our study demonstrated the practical use of high-resolution airborne gravity to fill critical gaps in bed elevation in Greenland, especially in deep fjords that cannot be surveyed with deep radar sounders. The results provide more definite view of the bed topography of these major glaciers system than available previously, meanwhile, at a spatial resolution of 750 m along the trough and with an average precision of about 60 m. However, more precise rock information or supplementary data e.g., magnetic data is needed because of the difficulty in associating with space-varying geology/density.This study provides simple guidelines for utilizing gravity data to obtain glaciers bed topography and then to understand glaciers' evolution in ongoing warm climate for both ocean and atmosphere.


The smooth skate (Malacoraja senta) is a small species of skate that is native to the waters of the north-western Atlantic. Recent assessments in the Gulf of Maine indicate that the biomass of smooth skates has declined below threshold levels mandated by the Sustainable Fisheries Act. This decline, coupled with the paucity of biological data, has prompted the National Marine Fisheries Service to prohibit the possession of smooth skates in this region. Consequently, crucial life history information is now being collected, which could be used in the formulation of a management plan. The present study describes and characterises the reproductive cycle of female and male smooth skates, based on monthly samples taken off the coast of New Hampshire, USA, from May 2001 to April 2002. Gonadosomatic index (GSI), hepatosomatic index (HSI), shell gland weight, follicle size and egg case formation were assessed for 79 female skates. In general, these reproductive parameters remained relatively constant throughout most of the year. Additionally, the size distribution of ovarian follicles in females captured each month did not vary significantly. For males (n = 81), histological stages of spermatogenesis III to VI (SIII-SVI), GSI and HSI were examined. No significant differences were detected in male reproductive parameters, and production and maintenance of mature spermatocysts within the testes were observed throughout the year. Collectively, these findings indicate that, like other north Atlantic skate species, the smooth skate is reproductively active year-round.


Now a days parking is a very big challenge in our country and in world too. This challenges have been a part of our society for a long time and traditional parkingmanagement tactics have come a long way. This a most common problem associated with us in our day today life.These solutions address orthodox parking trials local to their region, in an eccentric way. This paper endeavours to review universallyapplied parking controllingtactics that influences innovative technologies. Further, by investigative a variation of parkingcontrolling solutions from everywhere the world. This paper is comprise of examine of shift in attention towards the modern innovative and technology-driven parking management system. Finally, the paper performs a comparativeanalysis between traditional and current parking managementstrategies/systems, on that basis we are able to give our proposed system, which will more secure and automated system.


: The results of the effect of acute fetal blood loss and a beta-blocker inderal preinjection on the functional metabolic damage of vital organs in the early postresuscitation period are presented. It has been established that the drug preinjection restricts the lipolysis and considerably decreases the intensity of lipid peroxidation in the brain, heart and liver both due to prevention of antioxidant enzyme inhibition and to preservation of antioxidant lipid activity at a high level. It has been shown that inderal, retaining phospholipid content of cardiomyocyte membranes, reduces the electrical heart instability and completely prevents ventricular fibrillation in the early postresuscitation period. Inderal decreases considerably adenyl nucleotide brain and heart catabolism.


Background: The diastolic pressure difference (DPD) is recommended to differentiate between isolated postcapillary and combined pre-/postcapillary pulmonary hypertension (Cpc-PH) in left heart disease (PH-LHD). However, in usual practice, negative DPD values are commonly calculated, potentially related to the use of mean pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP). We used the ECG to gate late-diastolic PAWP measurements. We examined the method's impact on calculated DPD, PH-LHD subclassification, hemodynamic profiles, and mortality. Methods and Results: We studied patients with advanced heart failure undergoing right heart catheterization to assess cardiac transplantation candidacy (N=141). Pressure tracings were analyzed offline over 8 to 10 beat intervals. Diastolic pulmonary artery pressure and mean PAWP were measured to calculate the DPD as per usual practice (diastolic pulmonary artery pressure–mean PAWP). Within the same intervals, PAWP was measured gated to the ECG QRS complex to calculate the QRS-gated DPD (diastolic pulmonary artery pressure–QRS-gated PAWP). Outcomes occurring within 1 year were collected retrospectively from chart review. Overall, 72 of 141 cases demonstrated PH-LHD. Within PH-LHD, the QRS-gated DPD yielded higher calculated DPD values (3 [−1 to 6] versus 0 [−4 to 3] mm Hg; P<0.01) and a greater proportion of Cpc-PH (24% versus 8%; P<0.01) versus the usual practice DPD. Cases reclassified as Cpc-PH based on QRS-gated DPD demonstrated higher pulmonary arterial pressures versus isolated postcapillary pulmonary hypertension (P<0.05). One-year mortality was similar between PH-LHD groups. Conclusions: The DPD calculated in usual practice is underestimated in PH-LHD, which may classify Cpc-PH patients as isolated postcapillary pulmonary hypertension. The QRS-gated DPD reclassifies a subset of PH-LHD patients from isolated postcapillary pulmonary hypertension to Cpc-PH, which is characterized by an adverse hemodynamic profile.


The abundant surface glycolipid, lipophosphoglycan (LPG), of Leishmania promastigotes is composed of phosphosaccharide repeating units linked via a phosphosaccharide core to a conserved lyso alkylphosphatidylinositol membrane anchor. It is shown in this paper that monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) directed against LPG also react with an acid phosphatase secreted by L. mexicana promastigotes. Acid phosphatase purified by column chromatography (apparent Mr = 100,000) reacts in immunoblots with the anti-LPG mAb AP3 and another mAb, L3.13, which does not recognize LPG. mAb L3.13 was used to purify the enzyme by affinity chromatography. The resulting glycoprotein has the same molecular weight and binds AP3 on immunoblots. The secreted phosphatase is non-covalently associated with a high molecular weight, galactose-containing glycan or proteoglycan that is recognized by both AP3 and L3.13. In addition to acid phosphatase, other parasite proteins appear to be modified by LPG epitopes.


Reconciliation is a complex process requiring the confluence of a number of critical factors. The fact that reconciliation is by definition a personal experience makes large-scale public reconciliation projects highly challenging. Since the early 1970s in the field of restorative justice, the possibility of reconciliation between victim and offender, even in the case of the most serious crimes, has been studied, and some effective criteria and guidelines have been developed to increase the potential for reconciliation. This article identifies the elements which have promoted reconciliation in restorative justice, and suggests that these may also be effectively applied to large-scale public reconciliation efforts.


Films deposited with the Liquid Phase Epitaxy (LPE)technology on the monocristallic GaAs substrates for high voltage power p+-p-i-n-n+ GaAs structures has been developed. Proposed technological and hardware solutions of LPE allow the high efficiency of growing process of diode structures with defined ratings and high structural quality of epitaxial layers. The method and technology for fabrication of GaAs dies for nanosecond range with reverse voltage up to 1200V and current up to 100A is introduced The reverse recovery time of 20 nsec was achieved and could be preserved up to +260degC.


Azacytidine is an established nucleoside drug that is well known for its ability to modulate epigenetic gene regulation by inhibition of DNA methylation. Despite recent advances in the clinical development of azacytidine, the use of the drug is limited by its low bioavailability and dependency on variably expressed nucleoside transporters for cellular uptake. We show here that CP-4200, an elaidic acid derivative of azacytidine, has strong epigenetic modulatory potency in human cancer cell lines, as evidenced by efficient depletion of DNA methyltransferase protein, genome-wide DNA demethylation, and robust reactivation of epigenetically silenced tumor suppressor genes. Importantly, however, the cellular uptake of CP-4200 was substantially less dependent on the nucleoside transporters that are known to be involved in azacytidine uptake. In agreement with this notion, CP-4200 showed a significantly higher antitumoral activity than azacytidine in an orthotopic mouse tumor model for acute lymphocytic leukemia. Together, these data represent a detailed characterization of the CP-4200 mode of action and suggest that elaidic acid modification improves the therapeutic efficacy of azacytidine. Mol Cancer Ther; 9(5); 1256–64. ©2010 AACR.


Abstract The European Commission's 2020 draft Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability set the ambitious goal of achieving a "Toxic-Free Environment". Those ambitions were harshly criticised by a team based in Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (or BfR); they claimed that toxicological risks from chemicals had already been minimised and were optimally regulated. This paper outlines evidence to support the Commission's implication that the European Union's chemicals regulatory regime is suboptimal. It also criticises the BfR team's contentions by reference to empirical findings (eg concerning tumours, congenital anomalies and the toxicity of mixtures) and by disentangling their conceptual confusions.


Objective: To determine the effects of marijuana on athletic performance. Design: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, AMED, and SPORTDiscus from their beginning to September 2016. Study quality was assessed using the Cochrane collaboration tool for assessing risk of bias and the Cochrane GRADE scale. No meta-analyses were performed for this review. Setting: Subjects in a track, gym, or recreational ward. Participants: Any primary study which included male and female adults of any athletic background between ages 18 and 65, with no other comorbid conditions. Interventions: Any primary study which used marijuana cigarettes and included a control group. Main Outcome Measures: Vital signs, pulmonary measures, physical work capacity, grip strength, and exercise duration were determined to be relevant outcomes. Results: Three trials examined marijuana and its effects on athletic performance. Two trials had a high risk of bias and 1 trial had an unclear risk of bias. The effect of marijuana on outcomes including heart rate, blood pressure, and exercise duration remains unclear. Low quality evidence suggests that treatment, sham, and inactive control groups do not have a significant difference for grip strength. Low quality evidence suggests that there is an ergogenic effect of treatment demonstrated by increased bronchodilation and FEV1 compared with inactive control and that there is an ergolytic effect of treatment demonstrated by decreased physical work capacity compared with sham and inactive control groups. Conclusion: Because the number and quality of studies was low, the effects of marijuana on athletic performance remain unclear.


Immersive interactive technologies such as virtual reality (VR) have the potential to foster well-being. While VR applications have been successfully used to evoke positive emotions through the presetting of light, colour and scenery, the experiential potential of allowing users to independently create a virtual environment (VE) has not yet been sufficiently addressed. To that end, we explore how the autonomous design of a VE can affect emotional engagement and well-being. We present Mood Worlds – a VR application allowing users to visualise their emotions by self-creating a VE. In an exploratory evaluation (N=16), we found that Mood Worlds is an effective tool supporting emotional engagement. Additionally, we found that an autonomous creation process in VR increases positive emotions and well-being. Our work shows that VR can be an effective tool to visualise emotions, thereby increasing positive affect. We discuss opportunities and design requirements for VR as positive technology.


This research entitled The Impact of Advertisements on Donation Behavior Amongst Graphic Student in was carried out in order to meet certain objectives. The research focuses a graphic students from the Faculty of Art and Design, UiTM Shah Alam. As we all know that campaign or promoting a brand require a lot of effort, time and money in order to well-educate the public of the existence of a campaign and maybe reinforce brand recall to establish a good image between a brand and the audience. However, taking decision on fundraising is the most difficult tasks facing many business executives. This is because it is difficult to predict, estimate or determine with accuracy, potential donators demands as they are uncontrollable factors external to an organization. Considering, therefore, the importance of fundraising on charity campaign and the connection between donators and fundraising, it is expedient for organizations to engage in programmes that can influence donators' decision to donate into the donation box. This is where advertising and brand management are relevant. Advertising is a subset of promotion mix which is one of the 4ps in the marketing mix that consist of product, price, place and promotion. As a promotional strategy, advertising serve as a major tool in creating campaign awareness and condition the mind of a potential donaters to take eventual purchase decision. It is important for organisation to know whether their advertisements are effective or not, in order to check the impact of the advertisements.


The objective of this work is to get further knowledge on the external plasticization mechanisms of melt extruded polyhydroxyl-3-butyrate-co−3-valerate (PHBV) when combined with wheat straw fibers (WSF). Different types of biodegradable substances, all authorized for food contact according to the European regulation, i.e., acetyltributyl citrate (ATBC), glycerol triacetate (GTA) and (PEG) at different molecular weights, were tested at different percentages (5, 10 and 20 wt %). Thermal and mechanical characterization of PHBV/plasticizer blends showed that a significant plasticizing effect was obtained using hydrophobic substances such as ATBC and GTA, with an increase of the elongation at break from 1.8% up to about 6% for an additive content of 10 wt %. However, the incorporation of WSF in plasticized PHBV led to a dramatic decrease in the elongation at break of composites, neutralizing the increase of this parameter by the addition of the plasticizers. The stress at break of plasticized films was also significantly decreased by the introduction of fibers. Such a loss of ductility was mainly explained by the occurrence of microscopic defects in the materials induced by the presence of fibers and to a poor adhesion at the fiber/matrix interface. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 41611.


This study is a descriptive study to investigate the degree of anxiety and depression and the frequency of major symptoms in liver cirrhosis patients and to confirm the correlation between them. In order to collect the data, a joint researcher visits the outpatient department of the gastric medicine and the ward from December 28, 2015 to September 30, 2016, the questionnaire was delivered and collected directly to the subjects. In patients with liver cirrhosis, the mean depression was 15.11, the anxiety was 11.46, and the symptom experience was 26.13, which was not significant. In the severity classification according to the Child-Push Score, Child A was significantly lower in depression than Children B and C. In the symptomatic experience, Child A was significantly lower than Children B and C, on the other hand, there was no significant difference between Children A-C in anxiety. The experience of disease symptom showed no significant correlation with anxiety and depression, anxiety and depression were positively correlated. Therefore, for effective symptom management for patients with liver cirrhosis, it is necessary to identify the severity of the disease and to provide nursing intervention accordingly. In addition, nursing intervention for patients with liver cirrhosis requires physical aspects as well as psychological nursing intervention.


We have simulated the steady-state distribution of helium in the deep sea to investigate the magnitude and spatial and temporal variability of mantle degassing and to characterize deep-sea circulation and ventilation. The simulation was produced by linking a simple source function for helium injected at mid-ocean ridges with an oceanic general circulation model (GCM). By assuming that the flux of mantle helium is linearly proportional to the seafloor spreading rate and by using previous estimates for the total flux of mantle helium into the oceans, the GCM yields an oceanic He distribution which is in qualitative agreement with observations both in overall magnitude and in general distribution. This provides new evidence that the flux of mantle He into the oceans is about 1000 mol/yr and that mid-ocean ridges are the dominant source of mantle helium. Although the match with observations is good in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the simulated He anomalies throughout the Atlantic Ocean are much higher than has been measured. Because the GCM is thought to reproduce Atlantic circulation reasonably well, this discrepancy suggests an error in the helium source function. Either helium injection is not a linear function of seafloor emplacement rate, or eruption and concomitant degassing are highly episodic at the slow spreading rates characteristic of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). The latter explanation would imply minimal volcanic activity along the entire length of the MAR over the last few centuries. In addition to constraints on the degassing flux, our work provides information on the transport and ventilation of deep ocean waters and constrains the degree to which current GCMs can reproduce deep-water circulation patterns. While the results generally support the GCM's abyssal circulation, our simulation reveals regions of overly-intense lateral diffusion and upwelling in the model, particularly in the equatorial Pacific. Similarly, there appears to be insufficient production of He-ventilated bottom waters in the model Antarctic. These observations suggest that further refinement of the GCM abyssal circulation is required.


This thesis considers how politicians' constructions of identity change in the context of
the EU ban, imposed upon the import and export of British beef in 1996. This ban was
introduced on the basis of reports of BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encepathalopathy) in
cattle and its possible links with occurrences of CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease) in
humans. The data is taken from two sources. The first concerns 3 debates that occurred
within the House of Commons on 20 March, 25 March and 20 June 1996. The second is
an article written by Malcolm Rifkind (Foreign Secretary, Conservative) for the Sun
newspaper (31 May 1996) about the EU ban. Previous social scientific research has
noted the shift in emphasis from health to national identity in media reporting about BSE
in the context of the ban. However, little attention has been paid to how and why such
shifts occur in discourse and if these trends are apparent in political debates at this time.
Adopting a discursive psychological approach to analysis, this present work examines the
rhetorical functions of these shifts from health to national identity. However, rather than
regarding identity as a fixed mentalist notion, it is argued that identity can be understood
as a communicative resource in the accomplishment of social actions in talk. Billig et al
(1988) have noted how the construction of national identity concerns the management of
ideological dilemmas of prejudice and reasonableness. Thus, if politicians construct the
national identities of Britain and Europe in negotiating blame for BSE, they should attend
to the dilemmatic elements of their talk. How can politicians convincingly allocate blame
to Europe for the BSE crisis and at the same time manage his/her own `reasonable'
identity? Alternatively, how can a politician from one side of the House assign blame to
members of the opposition for BSE, and at the same time avoid presenting oneself as a
biased party predictably blaming the other? This thesis considers how issues of
accountability and identity construction are inextricably linked in political discourse
about BSE.


Blazar jets are extreme environments, in which relativistic proton interactions with an ultraviolet photon field could give rise to photopion production. High-confidence associations of individual high-energy neutrinos with blazar flares could be achieved via spatially and temporally coincident detections. In 2017, the track-like, extremely high-energy neutrino event IC 170922A was found to coincide with increased $\gamma$-ray emission from the blazar TXS 0506+056, leading to the identification of the most promising neutrino source candidate so far. We test the chance coincidence of such events by calculating the expected number of neutrinos that can be detected by IceCube, based on a broadband parametrization of bright short-term blazar flares that were observed in the past 8 years by Fermi/LAT. We find that the integrated keV-to-GeV fluence of most individual blazar flares is far too small to yield a substantial Poisson probability for the detection of one or more neutrinos with IceCube. In contrast to such short-term flares that usually last only a few days or less, TXS0506+056 did show a major outburst that lasted several months, giving rise to a much higher fluence than most short blazar flares. We show, based on the calorimetric argumentation presented in this work, that the association of the IC 170922A neutrino with TXS 0506+056 is energetically plausible at a significance level of about 3.5 $\sigma$. We further discuss strategies to search for more significant associations in future data unblindings of IceCube and KM3NeT.


Bifunctional carbon dots have shown a large amount of potential in bioimaging and antioxidation applications. However, the hydrothermal method for the preparation of bifunctional carbon dots requires a high energy input and an expensive setup. Moreover, this method breaks down sensitive compounds in the raw materials and could decrease the antioxidation ability of the resulting carbon dots. Here, phenolic extracts of coffee bean shells were used to prepare carbon dots via a cheap, energy-saving, mild molecular aggregation method. The as-prepared carbon dots were characterized by TEM, HPLC, XPS and Raman spectroscopy. The carbon dots had a diameter ranging from 1 to 5 nm and mainly contained three kinds of phenolic compounds including 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid. The carbon dots demonstrated a strong antioxidation capacity, which was comparable to the commercially available butylated hydroxytoluene. The EC50 of the carbon dots was 110 μg mL−1. The carbon dots had a pH-/excitation-dependent fluorescence. The as-prepared carbon dots also showed anti-bleaching fluorescence, which was better than that of the commercially available 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole. Based on this finding, the excellent biocompatibility of carbon dots enabled them to be successfully used for banana storage and imaging both cancer cell nuclei and tumors in vivo.


Liamas and alpacas have gained international popularity over the last years. Therefore veterinarians are often asked to intervene in clinical management of different problems, especially reproductive problems. In this review the author attempts to summarize the material presented on the reproductive anatomy, physiology, behavior, embryo transfer and artificial insemination procedure of these animals.


INTRODUCTION
Patient Decision Aids (PtDA) facilitates Shared Medical Decision-Making (SDM). This study aims to facilitate the childbirth decision-making process by a decision aid mobile application.

METHOD
The model development process for decision aids was used and a master group supervised it. The assessment of study was made by a face-to-face interview and prototype was also developed for it. Then Alpha test was performed with 10 pregnant women and 10 experts. 60 pregnant women and 9 clinical professionals participated in a beta test.

RESULT
The modules of our PtDA consisted of health record, decision aid, educational content, frequently asked questions and help. The result of alpha test revealed that this system had high usability. After increasing intervention, the intervention group had more knowledge of women in comparison with the control group. Moreover, the reduction of decisional conflict in the intervention group was statistically significant compared with the control group. In addition, the preference for women was changed from cesarean section (CS) to vaginal delivery in the intervention group. In the beta test, the result of the ultimate usability evaluation showed that this system was usable and easy.

CONCLUSION
According to the results, it seems that PtDAs can be effective for empowering women in order to choose the mode of delivery.


IGF-I positively impacts on muscle anabolism/regeneration. Using C2 skeletal myoblasts, we previously reported high dose TNF-α -induced (10 ng.ml-1) cell death is rescued by IGF-I. However, non-myotoxic low dose TNF-α (1.25 ng.ml-1) elicits a MAPK-mediated apoptotic response when co-incubated with IGF-I (1.5 ng.ml-1). Our aim was to investigate these conflicting roles of IGF-I in our model. Insulin array and qRT-PCR identified Adra1d as a potential regulatory gene that was up-regulated in survival and down-regulated under apoptotic conditions. TNF-α administration (1.25 or 10 ng.ml-1) induced significant decreases (∼50% both incubations) in Adra1d expression relative to DM. IGF-I addition to high dose TNF-α (10 ng.ml-1) induced myoblast survival and matched a significant (P < 0.05) increase in Adra1d expression. By contrast, IGF-I addition to low dose TNF-α (1.25 ng.ml-1) induced elevated death resulting in a significant (P < 0.05) decline (∼55%) in Adra1d expression. Pre-administration of PD98059 (20 uM), which rescues death induced by co-incubation of low dose TNF-α with IGF-I, Adra1d levels were again comparable to DM control. Since Adra1d was elevated following incubations that induced myoblast survival, we investigated effects of Adra1d siRNA gene silencing under these conditions. Adra1d knockdown resulted in significantly higher levels of cell death under all incubations suggesting Adra1d expression is essential for skeletal muscle cell survival.


Node classification in attributed graphs is an important task in multiple practical settings, but it can often be difficult or expensive to obtain labels. Active learning can improve the achieved classification performance for a given budget on the number of queried labels. The best existing methods are based on graph neural networks, but they often perform poorly unless a sizeable validation set of labelled nodes is available in order to choose good hyperparameters. We propose a novel graph-based active learning algorithm for the task of node classification in attributed graphs; our algorithm uses graph cognizant logistic regression, equivalent to a linearized graph convolutional neural network (GCN), for the prediction phase and maximizes the expected error reduction in the query phase. To reduce the delay experienced by a labeller interacting with the system, we derive a preemptive querying system that calculates a new query during the labelling process, and to address the setting where learning starts with almost no labelled data, we also develop a hybrid algorithm that performs adaptive model averaging of label propagation and linearized GCN inference. We conduct experiments on five public benchmark datasets, demonstrating a significant improvement over state-of-the-art approaches and illustrate the practical value of the method by applying it to a private microwave link network dataset.