Through-silicon via (TSV)-based 3-D stacked ICs are becoming increasingly important in the semiconductor industry, yet pre-bond testing of TSVs continues to be difficult with current technologies. In this paper, we present a test and discrete Fourier transform method for pre-bond testing of TSVs using probe technology. We describe the on-die test architecture and probe technique needed for TSV testing, in which individual probe needles make contact with multiple TSVs at a time. We also describe methods for capacitance and resistance measurements, as well as stuck-at and leakage tests. Simulation results using HSPICE are presented for a TSV network. We demonstrate that we can achieve high resolution in these measurements, and therefore high accuracy in defect detection when we target one or multiple TSVs at a time. We also show that the test outcome is reliable even in the presence of process variations or multiple defective TSVs.


With the operational launch of the European External Action Service (EEAS), exactly one year after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, a key piece of the new EU external action puzzle falls into place. From now on, the game is likely to change, internally and externally. Yet change will be gradual and its pace will depend on a number of political and institutional factors. This paper analyses the preparatory steps that - throughout 2010 - led to the eventual establishment of the new service; the positions and stakes of the main players; the uncertainties that still linger on its development; and the main functional challenges it is likely to be confronted with. The EEAS is seen as a crucial test for the EU's capacity to operate more effectively on the international scene as well as for a more pragmatic and 'hybrid' approach to its institutional and policy set-up.


Minimally invasive percutaneous electrophysiological mapping of the heart chambers is becoming a standard procedure to diagnose and treat cardiac arrhythmias. Due to advances in technology that enable small feature sizes and a high level of integration, non-fluoroscopic intracardiac imaging is attracting more attention to better guide electrophysiologal (EP) interventions. In this effort, we are developing a forward-looking intracardiac ultrasound imaging catheter, which is also equipped with several EP electrode sensor bands and a metal RF ablation tip enclosure. A 24-element fine-pitch (63 mum) 1-D array, based on capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) technology, has been fabricated for high-frame-rate imaging. Through-wafer vias are incorporated in the device to connect the signal and ground electrodes to the flip-chip bond pads on the backside of the array. The total footprint of the array measures 1.73 mm x 1.27 mm. Also a custom-designed integrated circuit (IC) has been fabricated to be closely integrated with the CMUT array for improved SNR. This IC comprises some of the important front- end electronics of an ultrasound imaging system. It measures 2 mm x 2 mm and is composed of 24 individual transmit/receive blocks. The transmit circuitry is capable of delivering 25 -V unipolar pulses. The receive circuitry includes a transimpedance preamplifier followed by a line driver buffer. A CMUT array was flip-chip bonded directly on to the IC for initial testing. All of the 24 elements of the array and the IC are functional. Array uniformity was tested by measuring the resonant frequency in air. A standard deviation of 0.37 percent was measured around the mean value of 17.9 MHz. The same array operates at 9.2 MHz in immersion with a 104 percent fractional bandwidth. Imaging performance of the described front-end was tested on a commercial phantom and also in ex- vivo environment on an isolated perfused rabbit heart (Langendorfl). The final goal is to integrate the CMUT array and the front-end electronics at the tip of a 10 -F catheter. A flexible printed circuit board (PCB) has been designed and the first sub-assembly is ready for cable attachment and final catheter integration.


Josephus liked to organize material in three-part structures, which imparted a sense of completion by indicating to readers that an end had been reached. This study focuses on Books 18–20 of Josephus's Antiquities, which are organized as such a triad: Book 18 opens Roman rule in Judea and adumbrates the final clash and catastrophe, Book 19 creates some suspense by detailing two possible interruptions that could have changed the course of history but in the end came to nothing, and so Book 20 resumes the story from the end of Book 18 and takes it down to the destruction of Jerusalem. Moreover, all three books, together, form a unit in a larger triad: the story told, in the second half of Antiquities, of Judea's move from sovereignty under the Hasmoneans (Books 12–14), to nominal sovereignty under Herod (Books 15–17), to subjugation to Rome (Books 18–20). This focus on political history is, however, contradicted in various ways, both by Josephus's development from a Judean into a Jew of the Diaspora, who focused more on religion than on state, and by various sources used by Josephus, that pulled in other directions.


Abstract Enhancers are intergenic DNA elements that regulate the transcription of target genes in response to signaling pathways by interacting with promoters over large genomic distances. Recent studies have revealed that enhancers are bi-directionally transcribed into enhancer RNAs (eRNAs). Using single-molecule fluorescence in situ hybridization (smFISH), we investigated the eRNA-mediated regulation of transcription during estrogen induction in MCF-7 cells. We demonstrate that eRNAs are localized exclusively in the nucleus and are induced with similar kinetics as target mRNAs. However, eRNAs are mostly nascent at enhancers and their steady-state levels remain lower than those of their cognate mRNAs. Surprisingly, at the single-allele level, eRNAs are rarely co-expressed with their target loci, demonstrating that active gene transcription does not require the continuous transcription of eRNAs or their accumulation at enhancers. When co-expressed, sub-diffraction distance measurements between nascent mRNA and eRNA signals reveal that co-transcription of eRNAs and mRNAs rarely occurs within closed enhancer–promoter loops. Lastly, basal eRNA transcription at enhancers, but not E2-induced transcription, is maintained upon depletion of MLL1 and ERα, suggesting some degree of chromatin accessibility prior to signal-dependent activation of transcription. Together, our findings suggest that eRNA accumulation at enhancer–promoter loops is not required to sustain target gene transcription.


Roentgenostructural, spectral analyses, functional testing of the hemostatic system in experimental animals demonstrated that infrared low-intensity laser radiation changes functional activity of proteins of the hemostatic system. The effect of the radiation depends on the dose and frequency of the radiation impulses. One of the complications is DIC-syndrome which may develop if the exposure dose on the radiation point in tissues with blocked circulation reaches 9.5 mJ/cm2 and higher.


This article presents the chalcogenocyanate oxadiazoles 7 and 8 and their derivatives 5-heteroarylchalcogenomethyl-1H-tetrazoles 9 and 10, which were synthesized in high yields. The 5-substituted-1H-tetrazoles were obtained via [3+2] cycloaddition reactions of chalcogenocyanates 7 and 8 with sodium azide (NaN3) using a simple methodology. All the obtained compounds were characterized by NMR and high resolution mass spectrometry analysis. Their in vitro antioxidant activity was evaluated by measuring their ability to eliminate free radicals in the form of 2,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and through the reduction of molybdenum(VI) to molybdenum(V). The results for the phosphomolybdenum method indicated that some compounds have antioxidant properties, as evidenced by electrochemical oxidation tests to which they were subjected, which correlate their oxidation potentials (Epa) with their activity values (EC50).


This study estimates the contribution of both urban-rural fringe location and lake proximity on residential property values in three upstate counties of South Carolina through estimation of spatial hedonic housing price models. Location in the urban fringe and the urban–rural interface are found to have a positive impact on residential housing values relative to either urban or more rural locations. Lakes in the upstate contribute positively to housing values to the extent that the house has a view of a lake, lake access, or lake frontage.


To investigate confounding factors in the relation of passive smoking to diseases, we compared the dietary intake of passive smokers, non-smokers without passive smoke exposure, and smokers. The subjects were female respondents to a baseline survey, which was conducted as part of a collaborative cohort study in a rural area. Of the subjects, 101 females were smokers. A total of 1978 female non-smokers answered the question about passive smoking exposure at home, including 1,392 (70.4%) passive smokers and 586 (29.6%) non-passive smokers. Among these three groups, the dietary intake of 36 foods (frequency and amount) was compared by odds ratios calculated with a logistic regression model. The percentages of subjects reporting frequent intake of milk or milk products, carrot or pumpkin, tomatoes, oranges, and fruits except oranges, were significantly lower in passive smokers than in non-passive smokers (OR = 0.80, 0.74, 0.80, 0.77, 0.79). On the other hand, more subjects in passive smokers reported frequent or large intake of pork, salt pickled vegetables, soy sauce pickled foods, soft drinks, coffee, and moso soup (OR = 1.38, 1.53, 1.32, 1.73, 1.30, 1.33). The dietary pattern of passive smokers was similar to that of smokers. In conclusion, in this study, passive smokers had different dietary patterns from non-passive smokers'. In future research regarding disease with passive smoking exposure, dietary factors should be considered as a confounder.


The glucagon-stimulated transcription of the cytosolic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase-1 (PCK1) gene is mediated by cAMP and positively modulated by oxygen in primary hepatocytes. Rat hepatocytes were transfected with constructs containing the first 2500, 493 or 281 bp of the PCK1 5'-flanking region in front of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene. With all three constructs glucagon induced CAT activity with decreasing efficiency maximally under arterial pO2 and to about 65% under venous pO2. Rat hepatocytes were then transfected with constructs containing the first 493 bp of the PCK1 5'-flanking region in front of the luciferase (LUC) reporter gene, which were block-mutated at the CRE1 (cAMP-response element-1; -93/-86), putative CRE2 (-146/-139), promoter element (P) 1 (-118/-104), P2 (-193/-181) or P4 (-291/-273) sites. Glucagon induced LUC activity strongly when the P1 and P2 sites were mutated and weakly when the P4 site was mutated; induction of the P1, P2 and P4 mutants was positively modulated by the pO2. Glucagon also induced LUC activity strongly when the putative CRE2 site was altered; however, induction of the CRE2 mutant was not modulated by the pO2. Glucagon did not induce LUC activity when the CRE1 site was modified. These experiments suggested that the CRE1 but not the putative CRE2 was an essential site necessary for the cAMP-mediated PCK1 gene activation by glucagon and that the putative CRE2 site was involved in the oxygen-dependent modulation of PCK1 gene activation. To confirm these conclusions rat hepatocytes were transfected with simian virus 40 (SV40)-promoter-driven LUC-gene constructs containing three CRE1 sequences (-95/-84), three CRE2 sequences (-148/-137) or three CRE1 sequences plus two CRE2 sequences of the PCK1 gene in front of the SV40 promoter. Glucagon induced LUC activity markedly when the CRE1, but not when the CRE2, sites were in front of the SV40-LUC gene; however, induction of the (CRE1)3SV40-LUC constructs was not modulated by the pO2. Glucagon also induced LUC activity very strongly when the CRE1 and CRE2 sites were combined; induction of the (CRE1)3(CRE2)2SV40-LUC constructs was positively modulated by the pO2. These findings corroborated that sequences of the putative CRE2 site were responsible for the modulation by oxygen of the CRE1-dependent induction by glucagon of PCK1 gene transcription.


This research explores the effects of national culture, as understood by Hofstede's concepts of power distance, individualist/collectivist and uncertainty avoidance. The study is based on case studies of ERP implementation in Colombia and Switzerland and interviews and document analysis methods were employed. Evidence is found on the ways the three dimensions impact on ERP implementation. It is concluded that although the two countries differ markedly in each dimension, there was no evidence of specific individualist/collectivist effects. The implications of this are discussed.


Background Two-thirds of pregnant women exceed gestational weight gain (GWG) recommendations. Because excess GWG is associated with adverse outcomes for mother and child, development of scalable and cost-effective approaches to deliver intensive lifestyle programs during pregnancy is urgent. Objective The aim of this study was to decrease the proportion of women who exceed the Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2009 GWG guidelines. Methods In a parallel-arm randomized controlled trial, 54 pregnant women (age 18-40 years) who were overweight (n=25) or obese (n=29) were enrolled to test whether an intensive lifestyle intervention (called SmartMoms) decreased the proportion of women with excess GWG, defined as exceeding the 2009 IOM guidelines, compared to no intervention (usual care group). The SmartMoms intervention was delivered through mobile phone (remote group) or in a traditional in-person, clinic-based setting (in-person group), and included a personalized dietary intake prescription, self-monitoring weight against a personalized weight graph, activity tracking with a pedometer, receipt of health information, and continuous personalized feedback from counselors. Results A significantly smaller proportion of women exceeded the IOM 2009 GWG guidelines in the SmartMoms intervention groups (in-person: 56%, 10/18; remote: 58%, 11/19) compared to usual care (85%, 11/13; P=.02). The remote intervention was a lower cost to participants (mean US $97, SD $6 vs mean US $347, SD $40 per participant; P<.001) and clinics (US $215 vs US $419 per participant) and with increased intervention adherence (76.5% vs 60.8%; P=.049). Conclusions An intensive lifestyle intervention for GWG can be effectively delivered via a mobile phone, which is both cost-effective and scalable. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01610752; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01610752 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6sarNB4iW)


Implementation of local government as regulated by Law Number 23 Year 2014 contains three functions. The first function is the planning of activities of local government tasks that are acceded by the Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda), the second function is the implementation of the tasks of local government that are represented and implemented by the Regional Device Organization (OPD) in the local government, and the third function is supervision the implementation or implementation of local government implemented by the Regional Inspectorate as the supervisor of the local government. Internal supervision (Inspectorate) is formed in order for the implementation of loca  government tasks that are run by all existing regional devices can run well, effective, efficient and effective on target according to predetermined plans.  herefore, the Inspectorate's role in overseeing the tasks of all the Regional  ApparatusOrganizations in the local government is very important. In order to obtain an effective supervision, it is necessary to meet two principles of supervision, namely first, is the existence of a specific plan and the giving of instructions; second, giving clear authority to subordinates. The first basic principle is a must, because the plan is a standard, a measure of the work performed by subordinates. If this principle is well executed, then the implementation of good local government will be achieved well too.


Abstract Objective: To determine the net benefit and costs associated with gown use in preventing transmission of van-comycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE). Design: A cost-benefit analysis measuring the net benefit of gowns was performed. Benefits, defined as averted costs from reduced VRE colonization and infection, were estimated using a matched cohort study. Data sources included a step-down cost allocation system, hospital informatics, and microbiology databases. Setting: The medical intensive care unit (MICU) at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri. Patients: Patients admitted to the MICU for more than 24 hours from July 1, 1997, to December 31, 1999. Interventions: Alternating periods when all healthcare workers and visitors were required to wear gowns and gloves versus gloves alone on entry to the rooms of patients colonized or infected with VRE. Results: On base-case analysis, 58 VRE cases were averted with gown use during 18 months. The annual net benefit of the gown policy was $419,346 and the cost per case averted of VRE was $1,897. The analysis was most sensitive to the level of VRE transmission. Conclusions: Infection control policies (eg, gown use) initially increase the cost of health services delivery. However, such policies can be cost saving by averting nosocomial infections and the associated costs of treatment. The cost savings to the hospital plus the benefits to patients and their families of avoiding nosocomial infections make effective infection control policies a good investment.


The article examines the Italian legislation on benefit corporations and its impact on domestic company law. The first part analyzes the new law also in a comparative perspective by facing some models adopted by single American States. The second part explores the possible exceedance of the theories of shareholder value and stakeholder value and proposes the idea that the interest of company - also the one of a benefit corporation - is that of its economic partakers to the increase (or at least to the protection) of the company's assets.


ABSTRACT Given current emissions trends an increase in global temperatures in excess of 2°C is highly likely in the coming century. In this context, it seems increasingly probable that states may consider solar geoengineering as a stop-gap climate response. Solar geoengineering refers to measures that aim to alleviate some measure of global warming by intentionally increasing the amount of the sun's energy that is reflected into space. Currently the two most discussed solar geoengineering techniques involve either marine cloud brightening or dispersing aerosols in the stratosphere. These techniques could be relatively inexpensive, are within the technological capacities (after a brief period of development) of technologically-advanced countries, and could have an almost immediate impact on temperatures. Yet, while solar geoengineering might potentially be utilised to manage some climate-linked security threats, it itself would create new security challenges. Consequently, this paper explores potential international security implications for Australia if a regional state, or group of states, initiates a solar geoengineering program. We conclude that since solar geoengineering is unlikely to become a first-order international issue, disputation over solar geoengineering will likely reflect, or act as a proxy for, wider patterns of state interaction. However, scenarios in which China and the United States take different positions, or in which there are divisions among regional powers, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Singapore would pose the greatest threat to Australia's national security.


Lithographic techniques were used to expose edge surfaces in layered molybdenum disulfide single crystals. This microstructuring produced ideal samples for the study of the surface morphology and electronic structure of this catalytically important material. The optical absorption that was measured at mid-gap increased by two orders of magnitude after texturing. This increase resulted from reduced molybdenum at surface defects that are located on edge planes, as shown by photoemission spectroscopy. This information cannot easily be obtained on conventional crystals with predominantly basal plane surfaces.


Fatty acid transport protein (FATP), a plasma membrane protein implicated in controlling adipocyte transmembrane fatty acid flux, is up-regulated as a consequence of adipocyte differentiation and down-regulated by insulin. Based upon the sequence of the FATP gene upstream region (Hui, T. Y., Frohnert, B. I., Smith, A. J., Schaffer, J. A., and Bernlohr, D. A. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 27420–27429) a putative peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor response element (PPRE) is present from −458 to −474. To determine whether the FATP PPRE was functional, and responded to lipid activators, transient transfection of FATP-luciferase reporter constructs into CV-1 and 3T3-L1 cells was carried out. In CV-1 cells, FATP-luciferase activity was up-regulated 4- and 5.5-fold, respectively, by PPARα and PPARγ in the presence of their respective activators in a PPRE-dependent mechanism. PPARδ, however, was unable to mediate transcriptional activation under any condition. In 3T3-L1 cells, the PPRE conferred a small but significant increase in expression in preadipocytes, as well as a more robust up-regulation of FATP expression in adipocytes. Furthermore, the PPRE conferred the ability for luciferase expression to be up-regulated by activators of both PPARγ and retinoid X receptor α (RXRα) in a synergistic manner. PPARα and PPARδ activators did not up-regulate FATP expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, however, suggesting that these two subtypes do not play a significant role in differentiation-dependent activation in fat cells. Electromobility shift assays showed that all three PPAR subtypes were able to bind specifically to the PPRE as heterodimers with RXRα. Nuclear extracts from 3T3-L1 adipocytes also showed a specific gel-shift complex with the FATP PPRE. To correlate the expression of FATP to its physiological function, treatment of 3T3-L1 adipocytes with PPARγ and RXRα activators resulted in an increased uptake of oleate. Moreover, linoleic acid, a physiological ligand, up-regulated FATP expression 2-fold in a PPRE-dependent manner. These results demonstrate that the FATP gene possesses a functional PPRE and is up-regulated by activators of PPARα and PPARγ, thereby linking the activity of the protein to the expression of its gene. Moreover, these results have implications for the mechanism by which certain PPARγ activators such as the antidiabetic thiazolidinedione drugs affect adipose lipid metabolism.


Purpose: Detection of occult metastasis before the development of clinical disease could allow more accurate staging, appropriate follow-up procedures, and adjuvant therapies in patients with malignant melanoma (MM). The sentinel lymph node (SLN) has been proposed as a reliable predictor of metastatic disease in the lymphatic basin draining the primary melanoma. In this study, we screened both paraffin-embedded SLNs and peripheral-blood (PB) samples from MM patients at various stage of disease using a multimarker reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay. The prognostic significance of the presence of PCRpositive markers was also evaluated. Patients and Methods: Total RNA was obtained from paraffin-embedded SLN sections and PB samples of 75 MM patients. RT-PCR was performed using tyrosinase and MelanA/MART1 as melanoma-associated markers. Radiolabeled PCR products were analyzed on denaturing polyacrylamide gels. Results: Good sensitivity of the RT-PCR assay on archival tissues was demonstrated after comparison of RT-PCR results on frozen and paraffin-embedded SLNs from 16 MM patients. Significant correlation between the disease stage and marker expression in both PB and SLN samples was observed; the highest value was for patients who were positive for both markers in SLN (P 5 .006). Progression of disease was significantly associated with the total number of PCR-positive markers in both PB (P 5 .034) and SLN (P 5 .001) samples. Conclusion: Although sensitivity is lowered by the use of paraffin-embedded specimens, our data indicate that RT-PCR analysis of serial sections from archival SLNs may be helpful in improving detection of occult micrometastases, thus improving staging of patients with melanoma. J Clin Oncol 19:1437-1443. © 2001 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.


Cancer is one of the world's leading causes of mortality. A number of conventional cytotoxic approaches for neoplastic diseases have been developed over the years. However, due to their limited effectiveness due to the heterogeneity of cancer cells, there is a constant search for therapeutic approaches with improved outcomes, such as immunotherapy, which utilizes and enhances the patient's immune system's normal capacity.Recently,Adoptive T cell immunotherapy has sparked a lot of interest in cancer treatment. Chimeric antigen T cell (CAR T) treatment has emerged in recent years as an advantageous therapy for treating cancer. CAR-T cell therapy is thought to be an effective treatment for relapsed or refractory tumors. Though the initially approved CAR-T anti-CD19 therapy produced impressive results, retrogressions, including high relapse rates and resistance, led to the need for detection of engineered cells more therapeutically efficient. Significant efficacy and persistence improvements in the design and manufacture of CAR-T cells have been achieved. KEYWORD :CAR-T cell therapy,function, side effects, CRS, Neurotoxicity, cellular structure, efficacy, safety, failure.


An accurate fire model is a useful tool in predicting the behavior of a prescribed fire. Simulation of fire requires an extensive amount of data and can be accomplished best using GIS applications. This paper demonstrates integrative procedures of using of ArcGIS™, ERDAS Imagine™, GPS, and FARSITE© to predict prescribed fire behavior on the Kaibab-Paiute Reservation. ArcGIS was used to create a database incorporating all variables into a common spatial reference system and format for the FARSITE model. ArcGIS Spatial Analyst was then used to select optimal burn sites for simulation. Our predictions will be implemented in future interagency efforts towards vegetative restoration on the reservation.


ABSTRACT Our aim in this article is to examine policy discourses that promote positional changes for the preschool class in the Swedish educational system. The preschool class is currently going through a watershed period, which is characterized by uncertainty regarding its position in the education system. In this article, we explore changes in the Swedish education system by analysing policy documents from 1997 to 2017 with a specific focus on the positional shift of the preschool class. The departure point for our study is that policy relates to the concepts of subjectification, qualification and socialization. In addition, we examine how these goals in education are to be achieved and the educational restructuring required to do this. The findings show that policy discourses about the preschool class have shifted from pedagogical arguments about the benefits of pedagogical integration, consensus and the move of preschool pedagogy into school education, to more school- oriented, knowledge-economy arguments about increased goal achievement. Schoolarization describes a positional shift in the education system that contains two collaborative processes: an approach towards school content, goals and forms for teaching and a distancing to the content and goals formulated for Early Education and Care.


Cultural relativists adduce the variation in colour categories across languages as prima facie evidence for linguistic relativity (language affects thought). However, there have been very few experiments that have gone beyond this observational level to assess the extent and the nature of linguistic differences on colour categorisation and perception. Here, we report experiments comparing English and Turkish speakers using a colour-grouping task and same - different tasks aimed at redressing this lack. Turkish categorises the blue region with two basic colour terms (lacivert 'dark blue' and mavi 'blue') whereas English has a single basic term. In experiment 1 subjects sorted a representative set of 65 colours into groups on the basis of their perceptual similarity. Native Turkish speakers were significantly more likely than native English speakers to form two distinct blue groups corresponding to the two basic blue terms of Turkish. In the same - different tasks we sought for possible categorical effects: enhanced discrimination across category boundaries and/or reduced discrimination within categories. For successive presentation, Turkish speakers were more accurate than English speakers in judgments of colour pairs that fell on opposite sides of the lacivert - mavi boundary. However, for simultaneous presentation, there was no difference between the two language groups. The results suggest that there are detectable effects of linguistic categories on colour cognition, but the locus of the effect may be in memory rather than perception.


Severe Plastic Deformation (SPD) methods are currently hot research techniques of preparation of bulk ultrafine-grained materials.Among the various SPD methods, ECAP (Equal Channel Angular Pressing) and TE (Twist Extrusion) have respective advantages and disadvantages and there have many questions in this research area at home and abroad although they are representative and rapidly developing and the promising ones.ECAPT, ECAP organic integrated with TE, was introduced for the frist time and the process principle and features were set forth in this study. The numerical simulation of the process was further analyzed with DEFORM-3D software.The results show that there have two main deformation zones in forming process of ECAPT during a single pass, and vertical and horizontal shear deformation have been taken place in workpiece and the value of effective strain is equivalent to accumulated deformation of ECAP and TE after one pass; And the peak and average value of effective strain when ECAPT are far greater than those of effective strain during the process of ECAP or TE. It is confirmed that there have more effective strain rate and more stronger severe plastic deformation during the process of ECAPT,and it improves the ability of material's plastic deformation.


Nicotinamide is being used in experimental and clinical trials examining the prevention of type-1 diabetes mellitus. However, the precise mechanisms underlying the antidiabetic and neuroprotective effects of nicotinamide require further analysis. Our goals are to evaluate the protective effect and the cellular and molecular mechanisms of nicotinamide against brain damage induced by type-1 diabetes in rats. Type-1 diabetes was induced by i.p injection of streptozotocin (50 mg/kg). Ten days after the induction of diabetes, rats were divided into two groups, control diabetic group and nicotinamidetreated group. Nicotinamide was i.p administered at daily dose of 100 mg/kg for a period of 4 weeks. Another group of normal animals was served as normal control group. The diabetic group showed a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in the content of brain DNA, RNA and glutathione, whereas, the contents of lipid peroxide, as malondialdehyde, and nitric oxide were significantly increased. The activities of aldose reductase, sorbitol dehydrogenase and cytochrome oxidase were significantly increased, whereas, the activities of glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione-S-transferase and superoxide dismutase were significantly decreased. Nicotinamide administration produced restoration of brain malondialdehyde, nitric oxide, glutathione, RNA, DNA levels and the activities of the most measured enzymes. In conclusion, nicotinamide could ameliorate brain damage induced by type-1 diabetes in Wistar rats. The present data provide new approaches for the precise cellular and molecular mechanisms of the neuroprotective effect of nicotinamide.


Geology of the vermiculite deposits, Gold Butte mining district, southern Virgin Mountains, Nevada: Vermiculite deposits lie within a one mile square area in the Gold Butte mining district, Southern Virgin Mountains, Nevada. An integrated field and laboratory study of the deposits was undertaken in an attempt to determine their origin. Particular attention was devoted to the mineralogy of the vermiculite and associated minerals and the geochemistry of vermuculitization. The deposits occur in ultramafic sheets and lenses of probable pre-Cambrian age. Peridotites and perknites have intruded pre-Cambrian migmatites, granulites, and quartzites, and now crop out in the interior of an elliptical dome. Diverse ages of ultramafic intrusives, demonstrated by crosscutting relations, suggest multiple intrusion. Intrusion and formation of the domical structure are believed essentially coincident in time, with intrusion outlasting the severe deformation associated with the forceful injection of an ultramafic crystal mush. During an early Cenozoic(?) orogeny the Gold Butte granite porphyry was emplaced. This granite was the probable source of most granitic pegmatites which are abundant in the area. Hydrothermal solutions supplied from the granitic magmas circulated through the ultramafic rocks, profoundly altering them. Vermiculite is widely distributed in altered ultramafic rocks, occurring in veins, stringers, pockets, and as scattered flakes. A study of X-ray, chemical, differential thermal and heat exfoliation data indicate two distinct types of vermiculite mixtures are present. All vermiculites examined were one of these two types or gradations between them. All must be considered varieties of hydrobiotite, for K2O is present in every case and represents a contamination by biotite layers. One type is a vermiculite-biotite mixture with the approximate ratio of 2:1, respectively. The second type is essentially biotite, containing approximately four per cent vermiculite. Both types show a marked degree of heat exfoliation, the second type to a lessor degree. Considerable variation between the ratio of vermiculite and biotite exists in a single vein. This heterogeneity is believed due to the high cation-exchange capacity of vermiculite. The fact that all samples showed either biotite interleaved with vermiculite, or non-expandable biotite along with hydrobiotite is one of the best evidences that vermiculite has altered from biotite, which most cases, is an intermediate product in the alteration of other ultramafic minerals. Vermiculitization of biotite involved (1) progressive subtraction of the alakies, (2) hydration and formation of loosely-bound interlayered water, and (3) progressive oxidation of ferrous to ferric iron. The process was largely accomplished by hydrothermal solutions. Zoning relations of vermiculite and other minerals in serpentine veins are especially indicative of hydrothermal activity. Still, other facts are suggestive of meteoric origin. Hence it is believed that meteoric solutions continued the process of vermiculitization after hydrothermal activity ceased, and perhaps, in some cases initiated it. Ogives of the East Twin Glacier, Alaska--their nature and origin: Investigations in the Taku Glacier firn, Alaska: The perfection, fine exposure, and unusual accessibility of ogives on East Twin Glacier, Alaska, make this an exceptional place in which to study the nature and origin of this phenomenon. The origin of ogives is discussed, and previous hypotheses are critically analyzed. With the exception of a hypothesis first suggested by R. T. Chamberlin, that ogives are the surficial expressions of shearing planes, no other hypothesis satisfactoriy accounts for the fact that these ogives are exposed edges of layers of denser and dirtier ice than the intervening layers. Concepts of glacier flow evolved by Demorest provide a reasonable mechanism for understanding their formation, namely, periodic obstructed extrusion flow down-glacier from an icefall. Debris which was originally basal is believed to become, by upthrusting and ablation, the surface manifestation of an ogive.


OBJECTIVE: Perseveration is a rarely observed symptom during the course of neurosurgical diseases. As all perseverations are not uniform, determination of the corresponding brain regions is of great importance prior to deciding whether it represents a destructive or an irritative process. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A right-handed 33-year-old patient with a subtotally excised left temporoparietal low-grade astrocytoma was readmitted 9 months later with a complaint of new-onset continuous verbal perseveration which is primarily a sign of a non-dominant hemisphere abnormality. Repeat magnetic resonance imaging showed no change in the residual tumor size or in the edema. No new tumor focus was detected. DISCUSSION: The patient's electroencephalogram indicated a contralateral right-sided epileptic focus. The carbamezapine dosage was increased and the perseverations subsided rapidly. CONCLUSION: The late-onset ictal perseveration did not imply tumor progression and was triggered by the focus on the contralateral hemisphere, most probably caused by radiotherapy.


Abstract The Middle Devonian Lucas Formation of southwestern Ontario, Canada, forms the main hydrocarbon reservoir rocks in the region. Integrated field, petrographic, fluid inclusion and isotope geochemistry reveal a variety of diagenetic processes that include the formation of dolomite, calcite, celestine and fluorite under diverse geochemical conditions. The host carbonate strata display two types of replacive dolomite fabrics: 1) fine-crystalline matrix dolomite (5–20 μm); and 2) medium-crystalline dolomite (50–150 μm) with an average size of 100 μm. Stable oxygen and carbon isotope results for both dolomite fabrics show a wide range of values (δ18O = −9.4‰ to −3.9‰ VPDB, δ13C = 0.4‰ to 3.4‰ VPBD). For late fracture-filling calcite, δ 18O and δ 13C values range from −9.4 to −5.9‰ VPDB and −7.7‰ to −0.04‰ VPDB, respectively. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios of selected dolomite and calcite samples range from 0.70798–0.70838, preserving Middle Devonian seawater values while some samples have slightly more radiogenic ratios than contemporaneous seawater. Field and petrographic evidence and Sr isotope ratios of dolomite suggest early dolomitization from evaporated seawater in a sabkha setting (shallow seepage reflux or evaporitive pumping). However, the depletion in δ18O (varying from −3.9 to −9.4‰ VPDB), and radiogenic Sr isotope values of the Lucas Formation dolomite are considered to be the result of recrystallization, which is interpreted to occur at elevated temperatures in a burial environment. The 18O-depleted values and slightly radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr ratios of calcite cements suggest precipitation from hot, saline basinal/hydrothermal brines. In addition, the 13C-depleted calcites indicate that carbon was possibly formed by oxidation of organic matter. Fluid inclusions in some of the late calcite cements fluoresce under UV light, indicating the presence of hydrocarbons. Homogenization temperatures of these inclusions vary from 87.1°C to 171.9°C with an average value of 126°C. Average salinity of fluid inclusions is 19.7 wt. % NaCl eq. Celestine samples have lower salinities relative to calcite, averaging 14.5 wt. % NaCl eq. with an average homogenization temperature of 219.5°C. Based on the geochemical and fluid inclusion results, hot, saline basinal/hydrocarbon bearing brines originated from central part of the basin and migrated to Devonian carbonates via fractures and faults. Celestine is a product of thermochemical sulfate reduction and formed due to mixing of saline, Sr and sulfate bearing brines and meteoric waters.


In this study, blackberry fruits were dried in a pilot-scale hot-air dryer to identify the drying characteristics of the fruits. The air velocity was set as 1 m·s−1, and the temperature range was set as 54 to 75 °C. Fick's law of diffusion was used to describe heat transfer during the decreasing rate period. Effective diffusivity values were calculated, and the Arrhenius constitutive model was used to describe the temperature dependence of these values. The Page, logarithmic, approximation of diffusion, two-term, and Midilli et al. models were used to fit the experimental data. A nonlinear regression analysis was used to calculate rate constants and model coefficients. The present findings revealed that among the tested models, the Midilli et al. model best described the experimental data; therefore, it was concluded that the model could be used to describe the drying characteristics of blackberry fruits.


Indirect field orientation (IFO) induction machine drives are increasingly employed in industrial drive systems, but the drive performance often degrades due to machine parameter variations. In this paper, a fuzzy model reference learning control technique is applied to an IFO induction machine drive, such that the machine can follow a reference model (an ideal field oriented machine) to achieve the desired speed performance. Experimental results are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.


Abstract : Research is presented on the development of an ultralow-noise traveling-wave tube operating in the 5.4- to 5.9-gigacycle band. Data are presented on 29 tubes built and tested during the course of the program. Most of these tubes were test vehicles used to evaluate a number of lownoise gun geometries. Final tubes were constructed with a two-section helix which permitted independent 360-degree phase shift control without any measurable deterioration in noise figure. Of the basic gun geometries tested, the magnetron injection gun exhibited the most promising noise figure data. Using this gun, a room-temperature noise figure of 4.1 db was achieved at 1650 gauss focusing field, which decreased to 3.8 db at a field fo 3500 gauss. With the tube immersed in liquid nitrogen the noise figure dropped to 3.4 db at 1650 gauss, and to 3.1 db at 3500 gauss. The 0.7-db improvement in noise figure that was observed at liquid nitrogen temperatures is in accord with theory. (Author)


Background/Aims: Evidence suggests that vascular calcification (VC) portends poor cardiovascular (CV) prognosis in patients undergoing maintenance dialysis (CKD-5). Nonetheless, how VC might predispose to CV mortality still remains to be clarified. Herein, we report on the association between coronary artery calcification (CAC) progression and changes in cardiac repolarization as well as arterial stiffness. Methods: 132 patients new to dialysis were identified. Demographic and clinical characteristics were collected at study entry and during the 12-month follow-up. CAC, 12lead ECG and pulse wave velocity (PWV) were assessed at baseline and study completion. Uni- and multivariable analyses were applied to detect factors associated with worsening of cardiac repolarization (QTd) and arterial stiffness (PWV). Results: Uni- and multivariable analyses revealed that CAC progression was associated with a significant increase in both QTd and PWV. Every 20-unit increase in the CAC score corresponded to a significant 23% (95% CI 1.12– 1.27; p ! 0.001) and 32% (95% CI 1.09–1.37; p ! 0.01) increase in the risk of experiencing a 1-m/s increase in PWV and 1 ms


The prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in very young children depends on the diagnostic criteria. Thus far, studies have investigated the International Classification of Diseases (11th rev.; ICD-11) criteria for PTSD only in samples of children older than 6 years of age. The aim of this study was to test the diagnostic agreement between the ICD-11 and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) criteria for children who are 6 years old and younger. Caregivers of children aged 3-6 years in foster care in Germany (N = 147) and parents of children aged 1-4 years who had attended a hospital in Switzerland following burn injuries (N  = 149) completed a questionnaire about children's PTSD. Rates of PTSD were calculated according to ICD-11 (considering a specific and a more general conceptualization of intrusive memories) and DSM-5 criteria and were compared using McNemar's tests and Cohen's kappa. The proportion of children who met the ICD-11 criteria was 0.6-25.8% lower than the proportion of PTSD cases according to the DSM-5 criteria. The diagnostic agreement between each ICD-11 algorithm and DSM-5 was moderate, κ = 0.52-0.66. A systematic investigation of adaptions of the ICD-11 avoidance cluster identified alternative symptom combinations leading to higher agreement with the DSM-5 requirements. Furthermore, DSM-5 had higher predictive power for functional impairment than the ICD-11 algorithms. In conclusion, the findings suggest that the ICD-11 criteria show less sensitivity in very young children, which can be explained by the more stringent avoidance cluster.


A 25 year old, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositive, severe haemophilic patient was treated for suspected Pneumocystis carinii infection with high dose intravenous cotrimoxazole and subsequently with prednisolone. When he improved he was discharged on oral treatment only to return two days later, extremely unwell, with headaches, fever, sweats, tachycardia and hypotension. A lumbar puncture showed modest neutrophil pleocytosis but despite empirical antibiotic treatment with intravenous benzylpenicillin and cefuroxime he continued to deteriorate. Culture of cerebrospinal fluid subsequently grew Enterococcus faecalis that was resistant to trimethoprim and sensitive to ampicillin, rifampicin, and vancomycin. After a change in treatment to intravenous ampicillin and rifampicin he dramatically improved. Enterococcal meningitis is rare in adults but important to recognise and treat appropriately in view of its high mortality and relative resistance to antibiotics. In our case the combination of HIV infection and previous treatment with antibiotics or steroids, or both, were probable predisposing factors.


Mdm2 and Mdm4 are critical negative regulators of the p53 tumor suppressor. Mdm4-null mutants are severely anemic and exhibit impaired proliferation of the fetal liver erythroid lineage cells. This phenotype may indicate a cell-intrinsic function of Mdm4 in erythropoiesis. In contrast, red blood cell count was nearly normal in mice engineered to express low levels of Mdm2, suggesting that Mdm2 might be dispensable for red cell production. In the first part of the thesis, we further explore the tissue-specific functions of Mdm2 and Mdm4 in the erythroid lineage by crossing the conditional Mdm4 and Mdm2 alleles to an erythroid-specific-cre (EpoRGFP-Cre ) knock-in allele. Our data show that Mdm2 is required for rescuing erythroid progenitors from p53-mediated apoptosis during primitive erythropoiesis. In contrast, Mdm4 is only required for the high erythropoietic rate during embryonic definitive erythropoiesis. Thus, in this particular cellular context, interestingly, Mdm4 only contributes to p53 regulation at a specific phase of the differientation program.Moreover, a large body of evidence indicates that aberrant expression of either MDM2 or MDM4 impairs p53 tumor suppression function and consequently favors tumor formation. Overexpression of MDM2 was observed in 10% of 8000 human cancers from various sites, including lung or stomach, and MDM4 was found amplified and/or overexpressed in 10-20% of over 800 diverse tumors including lung, colon, stomach and breast cancers. Remarkably, selective MDM4 amplification occurs in about 65% of human retinoblastomas. In contrast, MDM2 amplifications are relatively rare (about 5%) in retinoblastomas, indicating that depending on the tumor context (cell type, initiating oncogene, …), MDM4, rather than MDM2, overexpression might be selected for as a more efficient mean of suppression of p53 function. As part of a large effort to better understand why different cell types require distinct combinations of mutations to form tumours, we will examine the molecular basis for selective up-regulation of Mdm4 in retinoblastomas. In this context, we have successfully generated 2 conditional transgenic mouse lines expressing either mycMdm2 or mycMdm4 driven by the PCAGGs promoters in the ROSA26 locus. Since a cassette containing a floxed transcriptional stop element is inserted upstream of the transgenes, we can achieve tissue-specific expression and spatio-temporal regulation of the transgenes by using different Cre and CreER. By the use of N-terminal myc-tag fused with the transgenes, we are able to compare the expression levels of the transgenes. Finally, due to C-terminal IRES-GFP element, we can easily identify transgene expressing cells. One of our aims is to use this Mdm4 conditional transgenic mouse line as the first, non-chimeric, mouse model of retinoblastoma that can be used as an appropriate preclinical model to improve treatment of this disease.


Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the Western world. There is compelling evidence incriminating oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of the atherosclerotic lesion. Several lines of evidence suggest that antioxidants, especially alpha-tocopherol, have potential beneficial effects with regard to cardiovascular disease. In vitro, alpha-tocopherol has been shown to inhibit platelet adhesion and aggregation and smooth muscle cell proliferation, exert anti-inflammatory effects on monocytes, and improve endothelial function. Also, supplementation with alpha-tocopherol has been shown to decrease lipid peroxidation, platelet aggregation, and pro-inflammatory activity of monocytes. However, clinical trials with alpha-tocopherol supplementation to date have been equivocal. Thus, although mounting in vitro evidence and animal models provide a sound scientific basis for alpha-tocopherol supplementation, further clinical trials are required before a definitive recommendation can be made with respect to the primary and secondary prevention of heart disease.


There are three levels of human development: social project, political project, economic project to reach " integral human development ". Lonergan theory: value is in the man self-conscious and humanly auto-proportioned. Value is not economic, is human and assumes the economy develops not already and on its own autonomous laws, but thanks to practice application of the ideas of man and his intelligence . Productivity system: " point-to-point, point-to-line and point-to- surface": no limit to the creativity of human being. Without human cooperation no ideas of economic development " because he dominates economic mechanisms through his intelligence his self- appropriation: his consciousness of being the subject. Good of order leads to integral human development, since economics becomes a human science related to political economy to achieve better conditions of standards of living for the whole of humanity. The aim: creation of a renewed "School of development economics", based on the good of order for the integral development of all countries, different from last century ideas, because development is integrative , transparent and complete, refusing economic liberalism , and defined the "new name for peace" . Economy is a fact of life, is knowledge, so no more mere transfer of wealth: development comes from transfer of knowledge. Its vector characters : balanced, sustainable and durable. Let's leave GDP as measure of country development for U.P.I. (Unexploited Potential Index ) in its human characters , animals and environment in which investment has to supply a planned social return.


The origin of star formation in customarily passively evolving early-type massive galaxies is poorly understood. We present a case study of a massive galaxy, I Zw 81, inside the Bootes void. The void galaxy is known to host active galactic nuclei (AGN). Our detailed 2D decomposition of the surface brightness distribution in the Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) g and r bands revealed multiple structural components such as a nuclear point source, a bar, a ring, and an inner exponential disk followed by an outer low surface brightness disk. I Zw 81 turns out to be a disk-dominated galaxy with lenticular morphology. The modeling of the multiwavelength spectral energy distribution shows that the galaxy is star-forming (SF), and belongs to the blue cloud. We find that the optical (g−r) color of the bar is bluer than the disks, and the far- and near-ultraviolet emission inside the galaxy observed with Imaging Telescope onboard AstroSat is concentrated in the central few kpc region enclosing the bar. The strong bar might be playing a pivotal role in driving the gas inflow and causing SF activity in tandem with the minor merger-like interactions as evident from the deep CFHT data. The low-luminosity AGN is insufficient to quench the central SF. The results are peculiar from the standpoint of a massive barred lenticular galaxy.


Using a direct enrichment and screening procedure, mutants of Escherichia coli have been isolated in which recombination frequencies for several intragenic Hfr X F- crosses are significantly higher (twofold to sixfold) than in the parental strains. These hyper-recombination mutations comprised five new mutS- and one new mutL- allele. Together with other known mut- alleles, they were analyzed for effects on intragenic recombination using several types of crosses. Hyper-recombination was found for mutS-, mutL-, mutH (= mutR)- and mutU (= uvrD)-, with the largest effects seen for certain alleles of uvrD; these resulted in over 20-fold excesses in recombinant production for Hfr X F- crosses and F'-chromosome homogenotization. Spontaneous mutator ability was not always correlated with degree of hyper-recombination.


This paper aims to obtain the approximate solution of time-fractional advection-dispersion equation (FADE) involving Jumarie's modification of Riemann-Liouville derivative by the fractional variational iteration method (FVIM). FVIM provides an analytical approximate solution in the form of a convergent series. Some examples are given and the results indicate that the FVIM is of high accuracy, more efficient, and more convenient for solving time FADEs.


Pulse tailored laser welding has been applied to wrought, wrought grain grown and cast Inconel 718 using a C02 laser. Prior to welding, the material was characterized metallographically and the solid state transformation regions were identified using Differential Scanning Calorimetry and high temperature x-ray diffraction. Bead on plate welds (restrained and unrestrained) were then produced using a matrix of pulse duty cycles and pulsed average power. Subsequent characterization included heat affected zone width, penetration and underbead width, the presence of cracks, microfissures and porosity, fusion zone curvature, and precipitation and liquated region width. Pedigree welding on three selected processing conditions was shown by microstructural and dye penetrant analysis to produce no microfissures, a result which strongly indicates the viability of pulse tailored welding for microfissure free IN 718.


Objectives Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) from a pathophysiological perspective connects various pathways that affect the prognosis after myocardial infarction. The objective was to evaluate the benefits of measuring NGAL for prognostic stratification in addition to the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) score, and to compare it with the prognostic value of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP). Design Prospective observational cohort study. Setting One university/tertiary centre. Participants A total of 673 patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction were treated by primary percutaneous coronary intervention. NGAL and BNP were assessed on hospital admission. Outcomes Primary outcome: 1-year mortality. Secondary outcomes: 1-year hospitalisation due to acute heart failure, unplanned revascularisation, reinfarction, stroke and combined end point of 1-year mortality and hospitalisation due to heart failure. Statistical methods Using the c-statistic, the ability of NGAL, BNP and TIMI score to predict 1-year mortality alone and in combination with readmission for heart failure was evaluated. The addition of the predictive value of biomarkers to the score was assessed by category free net reclassification improvement (cfNRI) and the integrated discrimination index (IDI). Results The NGAL level was significantly higher in non-survivors (67 vs 115 pg/mL; p<0.001). The area under the curve (AUC) values for mortality prediction for NGAL, BNP and TIMI score were 75.5, 78.7 and 74.4, respectively (all p<0.001) with optimal cut-off values of 84 pg/mL for NGAL and 150 pg/mL for BNP. The addition of NGAL and BNP to the TIMI score significantly improved risk stratification according to cfNRI and IDI. A BNP and the combination of the TIMI score with NGAL predicted the occurrence of the combined end point with an AUC of 80.6 or 82.2, respectively. NGAL alone is a simple tool to identify very high-risk patients. NGAL >110 pg/mL was associated with a 1-year mortality of 20%. Conclusions The measurement of NGAL together with the TIMI score results in a strong prognostic model for the 1-year mortality rate in patients with STEMI.


Different musculoskeletal disorders are a source of pain in the spinal region; most of them can be divided into mechanical, such as low back pain (LBP), or inflammatory origins, as is the case of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). Nevertheless, insufficient information is available about the muscle negative consequences of these conditions. Thus, the objective of this study was to identify whether mechanical muscle properties (MMPs) of cervical and lumbar muscles are different between patients with axSpA, subacute LBP (sLBP), and healthy controls. Furthermore, we aimed identify whether MMPs were related to sociodemographic and clinical variables in various study groups. The MMPs, sociodemographic, and clinical variables were obtained in 43 patients with axSpA, 43 subjects with sLBP, and 43 healthy controls. One-way ANOVAs and ROC curves were applied to identify whether the MMPs could differentiate between the study groups. Intra-group Pearson r coefficients to test the associations between MMPs and the rest of the variables were calculated. The results showed that axSpA subjects have a higher tone and stiffness and a lower relaxation and creep than sLBP and healthy ones (p < 0.05). All lumbar and cervical MMPs, except for decrement, could correctly classify axSpA and healthy subjects and axSpA and sLBP patients (in both cases, Area Under the Curve > 0.8). However, no MMP could differentiate between sLBP and healthy subjects. Each group had a different pattern of bivariate correlations between MMPs and sociodemographic and clinical data, with a worse state and progression of the axSpA group associated with a higher tone and stiffness in both spinal regions. This study supports that MMPs are different and show different patterns of correlations depending on the type of spinal pain.


We present an aesthetics based method for drawing Euler diagrams. Aesthetic layout metrics have been found to be useful in graph drawing algorithms, which use metrics motivated by aesthetic principles that aid user understanding of diagrams. We have taken a similar approach to Euler diagram drawing, and have defined a set of suitable metrics to be used within a hill climbing multicriteria optimiser to produce "good" drawings. There are added difficulties when drawing Euler diagrams as they are made up of contours whose structural properties of intersection and containment must be preserved under any layout improvements. We describe our Java implementation of a pair of hill climbing variants to find good drawings, a set of metrics that measure aesthetics for good diagram layout, and issues concerning the choice of weightings for a useful combination of the metrics.


We consider settings in which T multi-antenna transmitters and K single-antenna receivers concurrently utilize the available communication resources. Each transmitter sends useful information only to its intended receivers and can degrade the performance of unintended systems. Here, we assume the performance measures associated with each receiver are monotonic with the received power gains. In general, the joint performance of the systems is desired to be Pareto optimal. However, designing Pareto optimal resource allocation schemes is known to be difficult. In order to reduce the complexity of achieving efficient operating points, we show that it is sufficient to consider rank-1 transmit covariance matrices and propose a framework for determining the efficient beamforming vectors. These beamforming vectors are thereby also parameterized by T(K-1) real-valued parameters each between zero and one. The framework is based on analyzing each transmitter's power gain-region which is composed of all jointly achievable power gains at the receivers. The efficient beamforming vectors are on a specific boundary section of the power gain-region, and in certain scenarios it is shown that it is necessary to perform additional power allocation on the beamforming vectors. Two examples which include broadcast and multicast data as well as a cognitive radio application scenario illustrate the results.


We examined changes in the array of antennal sensilla of three species of Triatominae (Triatoma infestans, Rhodnius prolixus, and R. pallescens) following their establishment for different periods in laboratory culture. In each case, the laboratory colonies were compared with conspecific samples taken directly from the field, by quantitative analysis of the sensilla arrays on the three distal segments of the antenna in terms of the densities of three types of chemoreceptors (basiconics and thick and thin walled trichoids) and one type of mechanoreceptor (bristles). Sensilla densities were compared by ANOVA or non-parametric tests, and by multivariate discriminant analysis. Strains of the same species reared in different laboratories showed significant differences in their sensilla arrays, especially when compared to field-collected material from the same geographic origin. A Bolivian strain of T. infestans reared in the laboratory for 15 years and fed at monthly intervals, showed greatest differences from its conspecific wild forms, especially in terms of reductions in the number of chemoreceptors. By contrast, an Argentine strain of T. infestans reared for 25 years in the laboratory and fed weekly, showed a relative increase in the density of mechanoreceptors. A Colombian strain of R. prolixus reared for 20 years and fed weekly or fortnightly, showed only modest differences in the sensilla array when compared to its wild populations from the same area. However, a Colombian strain of R. pallescens reared for 12 years and fed fortnightly, did show highly significant reductions in one form of chemoreceptor compared to its conspecific wild populations. For all populations, multivariate analysis clearly discriminated between laboratory and field collected specimens, suggesting that artificial rearing can lead to modifications in the sensory array. This not only supports the idea of morphological plasticity in these species, but also suggests caution in the use of long-established laboratory material for experimental studies designed to extrapolate the natural behaviour and physiology of these species.


The estimation of a nonlinear autoregressive moving average with exogenous inputs (NARMAX) model of an aircraft gas turbine is presented. A method is proposed whereby periodic signals with certain harmonic content are used to qualify the nature of the nonlinearity of the engine in the frequency domain. The static behavior of the engine is investigated in the time domain to approximate the order of nonlinearity and this information is used a priori to restrict the search space of the potential NARMAX models. A forward-regression orthogonal estimation algorithm is then employed to select the model terms using the error reduction ratio. The performance of the estimated NARMAX model is illustrated against a range of small- and large-signal engine tests.


We report inversely correlated Os and Pb isotopic data from mantle-derived continental rift basalts from Death Valley, California. The data project toward a crustal end member that is extremely radiogenic with respect to Os and nonradiogenic with respect to Pb, and a mantle end member that is unradiogenic with respect to Os and moderately radiogenic with respect to Pb. The data favor ancient mafic lower crust as the source of the radiogenic Os. A mafic lower crust composition for the Basin and Range leads to rheological coupling between strong lower crust and lithospheric mantle. This may explain the flat Moho topography seen across extended and stable crustal blocks, necessitating upper crustal and lower crustal strain decoupling, leaving the more fluid middle crust across which upper crustal mass compensation must have occurred.


Abstract Objectives: More than 1.5 million patients worldwide are affected by bone metastases. Patients with bone metastases frequently develop skeletal-related events (SREs, including radiation to bone, non-vertebral fracture, vertebral fracture, surgery to bone, and spinal cord compression) that are associated with high healthcare costs. This study aims to provide an estimate of the cost per SRE in both the inpatient and outpatient settings in Belgian patients with bone metastases secondary to solid tumors (breast, prostate, and lung cancers). Methods: Patients were retrieved from the IMS Hospital Disease database from 2005–2007. Inclusion was based on the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems Version 9 (ICD-9) diagnosis and/or procedure codes covering patients with breast, prostate, or lung cancer with bone metastases who were hospitalized for one or more SREs. All costs were extrapolated to 2010 using progression in hospitalization costs since 2001. Additional outpatient costs resulting from radiation to bone and diagnostic tests performed in ambulatory settings were estimated by combining published unit costs with resource use data obtained from a Delphi panel. Results: The average cost per SRE across solid tumor types based on the weighted average of inpatient and outpatient costs was €2653 for radiation to bone, €5015 for a vertebral fracture, and €7087 for a non-vertebral fracture. Costs were €12,885 and €15,267 for surgery to bone and spinal cord compression, respectively. Limitations: No patient follow-up across calendar years could be done. Also, details regarding the exact anatomic sites of SREs were not always available. Conclusions: SREs add a substantial cost to the management of patients with bone metastases. Avoiding SREs can lead to important cost-savings for the healthcare payer.


Sm: May I suggest a few additions to Dr Pearn's absorbing "Medical Philately of Australia" (Journal, June 21, 1969)? One of the paired 5id. "War Memorial" issues of 1958 depicts a Hall of Memory mosaic honouring the Women's Service. The woman's figure symbolically "remembers the many sacrifices and disasters suffered by her sisters; one of which is symbolized [In the mosaic] by the engulfing waves of the seas Into which sinks the 'sea centaur' symbol of that war tragedy In which the hospital ship 'Centaur' E. A. DALEY. 24 Nott Street, Malvern East, Vic., 3145. SIR: Reading Dr John H. Pearn's paper In the issue of the Journal of June 21 in connection with the above subject made me recall an incident associated with the 1957 Royal Flying Doctor stamp.


It is generally agreed that the transition from authoritarian rule to a constitutional democracy often coincides with the adoption of a new, incomplete and often vague constitution that empowers, and more importantly constrains newly appointed and elected state officials and institutions. In such a transitional setting, it is to be expected that power will not only be exercised on the basis of democratic principles and practices, but that it will also be based on the rule of law, that serves to limit the arbitrary and abusive exercise of public power. Therefore, this thesis examines the role of newly empowered courts in emerging and transitional states and the far-reaching implications of transferring political conflicts into constitutional cases concerning the rule of law. It argues that resolving and judicialising contested constitutional questions can put the rule of law, the constitutional judiciary and the process of transition itself to the ultimate test in the period immediately following a transition to democracy. This thesis presents an in-depth case study analysing the recent constitutional and political developments in the fragile state of Iraq following the US-led invasion in 2003. It uses original and detailed analyses of the key case law of the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq; the legal doctrinal method and insights from comparative literature on courts, law and the political system. This thesis assesses the Court in the context of broader constitutional principles, such as the rule of law, and modern phenomena, such as the trend towards the judicialisation of politics, in the specific circumstances of transitional democratic states. Findings from this research are complex and multiple; they illustrate how establishing and upholding the rule of law in states that are newly emerged from authoritarian rule can be a formidable undertaking, one that is shaped by a legacy of authoritarianism and at best 'rule by law'. The research concludes that, judicialisation affects and is affected by the rule of law. Thus, state officials and institutions may well bypass the constitution as well as transfer political disputes into constitutional cases; often using the judiciary to legitimise and institutionalise excessive political powers. When the government is not bound by the rule of law and the law is not sovereign over all, judicialisation might expose the court to external interference, as well as affecting the functioning of a new parliament which is attempting to establish its powers and legitimacy.


The intracellular pH (pHi) of isolated human peripheral blood neutrophils was measured from the fluorescence of 6-carboxyfluorescein (6-CF) and from the equilibrium distribution of [14C]5,5- dimethyloxazolidine -2,4-dione (DMO). At an extracellular pH (pHo) of 7.40 in nominally CO2-free medium, the steady state pHi using either indicator was approximately 7.25. When pHo was suddenly raised from 7.40 to 8.40 in the nominal absence of CO2, pHi slowly rose by approximately 0.35 during the subsequent hour. A change of similar magnitude in the opposite direction occurred when pHo was reduced to 6.40. Both changes were reversible. Intrinsic intracellular buffering power, determined by using graded pulses of CO2 or NH4Cl, was approximately 50 mM/pH over the pHi range of 6.8-7.9. The course of pHi obtained from the distribution of DMO was followed during and after imposition of intracellular acid and alkaline loads. Intracellular acidification was brought about either by exposing cells to 18% CO2 or by prepulsing with 30 mM NH4Cl, while pHo was maintained at 7.40. In both instances, pHi (6.80 and 6.45, respectively) recovered toward the control value at rates of 0.029 and 0.134 pH/min. These rates were reduced by approximately 90% either by 1 mM amiloride or by replacement of extracellular Na with N-methyl-D-glucamine. Recovery was not affected by 1 mM SITS or by 40 mM alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate (CHC), which inhibits anion exchange in neutrophils. Therefore, recovery from acid loading is probably due to an exchange of internal H for external Na. Intracellular alkalinization was achieved by exposing the cells to 30 mM NH4Cl or by prepulsing with 18% CO2, both at a constant pHo 7.40. In both instances, pHi, which was 7.65 and 7.76, respectively, recovered to the control value. The recovery rates (0.033 and 0.077 pH/min, respectively) were reduced by 80-90% either by 40 mM CHC or by replacement of extracellular Cl with p-aminohippurate (PAH). SITS, amiloride, and ouabain (0.1 mM) were ineffective.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


A sufficient condition for the existence and uniqueness of solution of nonhomogenous fractional boundary value problem involving sequential fractional derivative of Riemann Liouville type is established by using a new Lyapunov type inequality and disconjugacy criterion. Green's function and some of its properties are also presented. Our approach is quite new and to the best of our knowledge, the uniqueness of solution of nonhomogenous fractional boundary value problems is proved by employing Lyapunov type inequality for the first time and this Lyapunov type inequality improves and generalizes the previous ones. AMS (MOS) Subject Classification. 34A08, 34B05, 34C10.


While there is a significant amount of research on cross-sector collaboration, we still lack an adequate understanding of the nature and dynamics of Alliance Management Capabilities (AMC) that organizations demand when stretching their inter-organizational relationships beyond the boundaries of their sector. We address this gap by investigating the role of AMC in establishing and maintaining cross-sector collaborations, focusing on the perspective of nonprofit organizations (NPOs). Using qualitative data obtained from a diverse group of NPOs that are actively in collaboration with the business sector, we identified a unique set of AMC that are deployed at the pre-and post-formation stages of collaboration, and concomitantly at both stages (or cross-cutting AMC). Moreover, we provide an integrative framework that explains how these capabilities are leveraged and developed within the context of cross-sector collaboration which takes a circular path that comprises strategic actions and learning routines. We draw implications for theory and practice.


The aim of the article is to define a tangible contour for the study of synesthesia in theology. Since both the sensory and synesthetic studies have intensified over the last few decades, there has naturally been a need to recognize and articulate synesthesia in various layers of culture. Synaesthesia in theology has not been thoroughly and consistently researched, so this article outlines possible guidelines for such research from sensory research, opening up anthropological foundations and cultural dynamics, then exploring the tradition of spiritual senses in Christian theology, starting with Origen thinking and reviewing the patristic, medieval mystic tradition and turning to the return of the doctrine of spiritual senses to theology in the 20th century. Consistent attention is given to the synesthetic assumptions of theological aesthetics. According to the material of this study, the relationship between theology and synesthesia is developed, emphasizing the uniqueness of synesthesia manifestations in theology.


Disabling the function of immune checkpoint molecules can unlock T cell immunity against cancer, yet despite remarkable clinical success with monoclonal antibodies (mAb) that block PD-1 or CTLA-4, resistance remains common and essentially unexplained. Certain tumors, especially pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA), are fully refractory to these antibodies. Using a genetically engineered mouse model of PDA in which spontaneous immunity is minimal, we found that PD-L1 is prominent in the tumor microenvironment, a phenotype confirmed in patients. Tumor T cells express PD-1 as prominently as in classical models of chronic infection, but treatment with PD-1 mAb, with or without CTLA-4 mAb, fails in well-established tumors, recapitulating clinical results. Two "vaccine strategies" can be used to induce T cell immunity and reverse resistance of PDA to PD-1 and CTLA-4. These approaches include hypofractionated radiation or chemotherapy in conjunction with a CD40 agonisitc antibody. Data suggest that in non immunogenic tumors, manifesting as immune privilege in PDA, baseline refractoriness to checkpoint inhibitors may be rescued by the priming of a T cell response. Citation Format: Robert H. Vonderheide. Breaking immune privilege in pancreatic cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy: A New Chapter; December 1-4, 2014; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2015;3(10 Suppl):Abstract nr IA05.


This article will emphasise that the time has arrived for another phase in LXX research that goes beyond text-critical studies. Studying the Septuagint entails dealing with translated literature, which requires an appropriate methodology. The truth of the matter is that the Septuagint (the Old Greek) is a translation of a translation. Therefore, translation studies (TS) come into play. It is, moreover, important to determine the translation technique followed by a translator, which should be done in conjunction with TS. Finally, in order to understand the Septuagint (the exegesis of the LXX), addressing issues of contextuality is a sine qua non. The Septuagint version of Proverbs is used as a case study. This article will argue that the context in which this translated unit came into being was an apocalyptic one,  inter alia , because of the devastating reforms of Antiochus Epiphanes.


Lignin is the most abundant aromatic polymer on Earth and a resource that could eventually substitute for fossil fuels as a source of aromatic compounds for industrial and biotechnological applications. Engineering microorganisms for the production of aromatic-based biochemicals requires detailed knowledge of the metabolic pathways for the degradation of aromatics that are present in lignin. Our isolation and analysis of a Rhodopseudomonas palustris strain capable of syringic acid degradation reveal a previously unknown metabolic route for aromatic degradation in R. palustris. This study highlights several key features of this pathway and sets the stage for a more complete understanding of the microbial metabolic repertoire required to metabolize aromatic compounds from lignin and other renewable sources. ABSTRACT While lignin represents a major fraction of the carbon in plant biomass, biological strategies to convert the components of this heterogeneous polymer into products of industrial and biotechnological value are lacking. Syringic acid (3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxybenzoic acid) is a by-product of lignin degradation, appearing in lignocellulosic hydrolysates, deconstructed lignin streams, and other agricultural products. Rhodopseudomonas palustris CGA009 is a known degrader of phenolic compounds under photoheterotrophic conditions via the benzoyl coenzyme A (CoA) degradation (BAD) pathway. However, R. palustris CGA009 is reported to be unable to metabolize meta-methoxylated phenolics, such as syringic acid. We isolated a strain of R. palustris (strain SA008.1.07), adapted from CGA009, which can grow on syringic acid under photoheterotrophic conditions, utilizing it as a sole source of organic carbon and reducing power. An SA008.1.07 mutant with an inactive benzoyl-CoA reductase structural gene was able to grow on syringic acid, demonstrating that the metabolism of this aromatic compound is not through the BAD pathway. Comparative gene expression analyses of SA008.1.07 implicated the involvement of products of the vanARB operon (rpa3619, rpa3620, rpa3621), which has been described as catalyzing aerobic aromatic ring demethylation in other bacteria, in anaerobic syringic acid degradation. In addition, experiments with a vanARB deletion mutant demonstrated the involvement of the vanARB operon in anaerobic syringic acid degradation. These observations provide new insights into the anaerobic degradation of meta-methoxylated and other aromatics by R. palustris. IMPORTANCE Lignin is the most abundant aromatic polymer on Earth and a resource that could eventually substitute for fossil fuels as a source of aromatic compounds for industrial and biotechnological applications. Engineering microorganisms for the production of aromatic-based biochemicals requires detailed knowledge of the metabolic pathways for the degradation of aromatics that are present in lignin. Our isolation and analysis of a Rhodopseudomonas palustris strain capable of syringic acid degradation reveal a previously unknown metabolic route for aromatic degradation in R. palustris. This study highlights several key features of this pathway and sets the stage for a more complete understanding of the microbial metabolic repertoire required to metabolize aromatic compounds from lignin and other renewable sources.


In spite of much research, stretching over more than a century and across numerous countries, the rapid and widespread decline of infant mortality in Europe, which began around 1900, remains a conundrum. Here, a new source - the Vaccination Registers - brings a new perspective. The Vaccination Registers are based on copies of Civil Registers of Births and Infant Deaths. By supplying individual level data they enable us to investigate the links between infant mortality and a variety of causal factors at a much lower level of aggregation than has hitherto been possible. This thesis is mainly concerned with how to social class and the urban-rural dichotomy affect infant mortality decline, but other topics, such as housing and income; births outside marriage; multiple births; seasonality of death; and place of birth are also investigated.

 The area of enquiry is the Loughborough Sub-registration District and the core period of analysis, the years 1888 - 1910. The thesis begins by describing the intellectual context of the study, followed by a description of the major sources. Prior to two chapters on the major areas of investigation, urban-rural differences and social class, I outline the locational context of the study. Chapter 7 then looks at what the vaccination registers can tell us about various related topics.

 Most studies of infant mortality in the period covered by this thesis have been carried out at a relatively high level of aggregation - the country, the county or Registration District. By going behind such aggregates to much smaller areas, such as the community, the street and the household, this study will show that explanations of the level and direction of infant mortality must acknowledge, not only that no mono-causal explanation is valid, but nor is there a standard set of explanations. Rather, 'every district is a law unto itself. Not by wide, sweeping generalisations but by careful local consideration of strictly local conditions will, in time, this problem be solved' (Pooler 1918:7:).


We investigate a power-constrained sensing matrix design problem for a compressed sensing framework. We adopt a mean square error (MSE) performance criterion for sparse source reconstruction in a system where the source-to-sensor channel and the sensor-to-decoder communication channel are noisy. Our proposed sensing matrix design procedure relies upon minimizing a lower-bound on the MSE. Under certain conditions, we derive closed-form solutions to the optimization problem. Through numerical experiments, by applying practical sparse reconstruction algorithms, we show the strength of the proposed scheme by comparing it with other relevant methods. We discuss the computational complexity of our design method, and develop an equivalent stochastic optimization method to the problem of interest that can be solved approximately with a significantly less computational burden. We illustrate that the low-complexity method still outperforms the popular competing methods.


Studies evaluating incentive programs for residential energy efficiency are examined to assess the roles of the size and type of incentive and of nonfinancial aspects of the programs and to infer lessons for policy. Larger incentives are found to increase participation, but marketing and implementation may be more important than incentive size: participation varies tenfold between programs offering identical financial incentives, with more participation in programs operated by trusted organizations and aggressively marketed by word of mouth and other attention-getting methods. Preference for grants versus loans varies with income and other household characteristics. Low-income households can be reached by strong incentives if marketing and implementation are designed carefully.


Session of Monday Morning, August 24. The Society met in the law lecture-room of Columbian University at 9.45 o'clock a. m., Vice-President G. K. Gilbert in the chair. In the absence of Dr. J. C. Welling, President of the University, who was expected to welcome the Society, Acting President Gilbert spoke a few words of greeting, and, in behalf of the Society, welcomed the invited foreign guests. ELECTION OF FELLOWS. The Secretary announced the result of the balloting for the election of Fellows as follows: William P. Blake, New Haven, Connecticut. Mining engineer. Clarence Raymond Claghorn, B. S., M. E., Birmingham, Alabama. Economic geologist and mining engineer; now working on the geology of coal. David T. Day, A. B., Ph. D., Washington, D. C. Chief of division of mining statistics and technology, United States Geological Survey. Maj. Clarence E. Dutton, Ordnance Department, U. S. A., San Antonio, Texas. Formerly of . . .


Asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnant women has been linked to an increased incidence of pyelonephritis, preeclampsia, hypertension, intrauterine growth retardation and premature delivery. Pyelonephritis and cystitis require different antibiotics and dosages in pregnant patients. Renal calculi can be difficult to detect during pregnancy. Women with preexisting renal disease usually do well during pregnancy if renal function is preserved and hypertension is not present.


Displacement of the non-reduction disk with limitation of opening
(DDwLO) can be treatment of
the non-surgical form. However, it required scientific and clinic knowledge of diagnostic area of the disorders temporomandibulares. This study was performed
with the patient CN, 18 years, white, female, who went to the orofacial pain
ambulatory with complaints of extreme pain on the right temporomandibular joint
(TMJ) and limitation of maximum opening of 29 mm with shift to right,
which she has been suffering for at least three years. After a criterion
anamnese the diagnosis hypothesis found was a displacement of the non-reduction disk with limitation of opening. The treatment was based on infiltration in the right TMJ with
anesthesic followed by mandibular
manipulation. After the therapeutic conduct the patient presented
clinical signals of normality with absence of trismus and mandibular movement
without shift to right. The patient was followed up during five years not presenting
return of the pathology.


The development of enzyme assays for the detection of enzymatic activity is of prime interest in academic and industrial research, for example, in enzyme engineering and drug discovery. Therein, each application has different specifications for an ideal enzyme assay. Recent developments include enzyme assays exploiting principles and achievements from the field of supramolecular chemistry. This affords label-free, continuously monitored, fluorescence-based assays, which are well suited for high-throughput screening applications. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of supramolecular approaches towards enzyme assays, including methods based on specifically designed chemoreceptors, on membrane transport systems and on macrocyclic receptors such as cyclodextrins, calixarenes and cucurbiturils. Focus is given to the particular applications and the challenges during development of enzyme assays.


The aim of this paper is to present a modelling heuristic framework that enables one to cope with a problem of a project-driven manufacturing. The objective is to find computationally effective method aimed at scheduling of a new project subject to constraints imposed by a multi-project environment. The application of a heuristic method of scheduling is demonstrated on one example of a makespan-feasible schedule that follows the constraints imposed by the precedence relation and by the time-constrained resources availability. This heuristic method is based on concept of critical path and branch and bound scheme.


This paper presents a new approach to planning in dynamic and uncertain environments. Planning is viewed as a process in which an agent's long term goals are transformed into short term tasks and objectives, given the agent's strategy and the context of planning. The developed model allows for a dynamic balance between long term strategic planning and short term tactical planning. The notion of a strategy hierarchy is introduced to explicitly represent the process of strategy formulation and refinement. A combination of rules and plan scripts is used. Rules are used for representing domain knowledge and reasoning about strategic choices. Plan scripts are used for representing specific tasks and objectives. The uncertainty calculi of RUM/PRIMO are used for supporting reasoning under uncertainty. In the proposed model, it is also possible to achieve a seamless integration of case-based reasoning into the planning process. These ideas have been implemented in a system called MARS, which plans in the financial domain of mergers and acquisitions. >


Electric powered wheelchair (EPW) controllers have not seen substantial improvement since the introduction of the microprocessor. There are no features that warn the driver of danger or help keep the EPW under control in adverse conditions such as slipping or tipping. With an estimated 300,000 EPWs in use in the United States and the population of older adults increasing rapidly, the need for safer control systems for EPWs is a priority. This paper presents in detail the electronic, mechanical, and software design used in developing a smart controller for EPWs. A single board computer provides the computational power and storage space needed to execute normal operations, complex safety algorithms, and extensive data logging. An array of sensors connects to the computer, providing feedback on velocity, inertia, caster angle, and obstacle range. A rugged aluminum enclosure protects the electronics and provides connectors for all the sensors. A real-time operating system is used as the basis for programming. The software architecture uses a 3 level hierarchical structure that organizes tasks based on periodicity, priority, and computational load. The goal of this project is to demonstrate what can be done with an EPW to enhance the mobility, participation, and safety of its occupant.


"The "circles" or halaqat begun in the early nineties have found increasing success in the bourgeois neighborhoods of Cairo. Far from producing a new, progressive discourse, as one might expect of educated, activist women who are pioneers in the taking up of religious responsibilities, the Egyptian preachers spread a conservative message of moral discipline and patience in struggle. This expression of religious feeling takes place in large meetings in female prayer rooms, as well as in private meetings conducted by rich, pious women in Cairo's bourgeois neighborhoods. In conformity with their gendered and segmented notion of space, these women categorically refuse to insert themselves into public spaces, instead delegating these to men. Despite all this, however, these women hardly conform to the stereotype of the wife who is submissive to male supervision; they argue and dispute a variety of social subjects. Their dynamism, their political consciousness, and their increasingly central role in religious matters, lead us to redefine what role they really play in the public sphere as well as their function in of "re-Islamicizing" Egyptian society, a process which has been underway since the 1980s. Analyzing the discourse and practice of these women permits us to explore the notion of an "informal" feminism in female spaces."


Identifying drug target genes in gene expression profiles is not straightforward. Because a drug targets not mRNAs but proteins, mRNA expression of drug target genes is not always altered. In addition, the interaction between a drug and protein can be context dependent; this means that simple drug incubation experiments on cell lines do not always reflect the real situation during active disease. In this paper, I apply tensor decomposition-based unsupervised feature extraction to the integrated analysis of gene expression between heart failure and the Drug Matrix dataset where comprehensive data on gene expression during various drug treatments of rats were reported. I found that this strategy, in a fully unsupervised manner, enables us to identify a combined set of genes and compounds, for which various associations with heart failure were reported.


This article discusses the results of archaeological investigations carried out by the Pontine Region Project (PRP) near the site of Astura in the coastal part of the Pontine Region. In the period 2005-2008 a long section, exposed by marine erosion, was drawn and sampled. Subsequently, in the years 2012 and 2013 small-scale geophysical prospections were carried out to assess the preservation of structural remains at the site. The investigation yielded evidence belonging to two main occupational phases. A large quantity – and wide variety – of Late Antique materials indicate the presence of a substantial settlement, that is alluded to in historical and textual evidence as well. For the High Medieval period (12th century AD) evidence was obtained for the production of pottery (ceramica a bande rosse) and lime, possibly forming part of the economic basis of a larger (private or ecclesiastical) estate.


Three patients with progressive supranuclear palsy demonstrated atrophy of the midbrain, pons, cerebellum, and cerebral hemispheres by computed tomography with horizontal, sagittal, and coronal reconstruction. Benztropine therapy resulted in improvement of speech and gait without significantly affecting the vertical gaze palsy.


Motivated by the numerical resolution of stochastic optimization problems subject to measurability constraints, we focus upon the issue of discretization. There exist indeed two components to be discretized for such problems, namely, the random variable modelling uncertainties (noise) and the $\sigma$-field modelling the knowledge (information) according to which decisions are taken. There is no reason to bind these two discretizations, which are a priori unrelated. In this setting, we present conditions under which the discretized problems converge to the original one. The focus is put on the convergence notions ensuring the quality of the approximation; we illustrate their importance by means of a counterexample based on the Monte Carlo approximation.


BACKGROUND
The year-by-year trend of HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China is not well documented.

METHODS
Published studies on HIV prevalence among MSM in China were reviewed and grouped by year, region and age group. Meta-analysis was used to summarise the estimates of national and regional HIV prevalence rates and trends among MSM from 2003 to 2009. HIV prevalence among MSM in different age groups (<25 years old v. ≥25 years old) was also calculated.

RESULTS
Eighty-three publications were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled HIV prevalence among MSM in China increased from 0.6% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.0-2.1%) in 2003 to 7.4% (95% CI: 5.7-9.2%) in 2009. A yearly increase of 1.1% (95% CI: 0.5-1.5%, P<0.001) in HIV prevalence was detected. The pooled regional HIV prevalence among MSM ranged from 2.3% (95% CI: 1.7-2.9%) in east China to 11.4% (95% CI: 9.2-13.6%) in south-west China. No difference was detected (χ(2)=0.5160, P=0.4726) between HIV prevalence in the <25-year-old age group (3.1%, 95% CI: 1.6-4.6%) and that in the ≥25-year-old age group (4.0%, 95% CI: 1.8-6.3%).

CONCLUSION
The HIV prevalence among MSM in China is high and climbing. Effective strategies are required to prevent the epidemic from continuing to spread.


As a unit or institution, the library can provide a meaningful contribution in building the intellectual community because that role can not be separated as a means of support for formal and informal education. Although today's decision-makers are beginning to pay attention to the problem of a library with many regulations set associated with the library. But unfortunately in practice some of the existing regulations through many dilemmas that consequently the role of school libraries in Indonesia is still facing various problems. This paper is as a review of some regulations libraries in reality on the ground causes a lot of dilemmas and matters that may lead to something that is not conducive to the development of libraries in the future, especially with regard to the librarian profession for graduates or bachelor of library science and information to make a career as the head of the school library. Because some library regulations made reality more favorable to the professional educators or teachers to fill the position of head of the library.


Copper(II) complexes of ethylene/propylene-bis(acetylacetoneimine), Cu(baen) or Cu(bapn), react quickly and quantitatively in aqueous methanol at the methine position with arene diazonium ions in a stepwise manner to yield mono- and di-substituted copper(II) complexes. All the complexes are paramagnetic with μeff∼1.88 B.M. In all the complexes the diazo substituted part of the ligand coordinates to the metal through the agr-nitrogen of the azo group and the imine nitrogen, forming glyoxaliminearylhydrazone type of ligand system. The complexes have been characterized by elemental analysis, electronic, esr, ir and mass spectroscopic methods.