Human embryonic stem (hES) cells derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst propagate by self-renewal and can give rise to all cells of the body. However, they have a tendency to spontaneously differentiate in vitro, an effect which can be abrogated by culture at low, 5% oxygen tensions. This response is mediated by hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs) and in particular HIF-2α. However, the mechanism of this regulation is still unknown. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis showed that HIF-2α directly binds to a predicted hypoxia response element (HRE) in the proximal promoter of OCT4, NANOG, SOX2, GLUT1 and eNOS under hypoxic conditions. An increased level of enrichment (P<0.01) was observed in hES cells cultured at 5% oxygen whereas
no significant binding was observed in cells maintained at 20% oxygen. Interestingly, HIF-2α induced an array of histone modifications that are associated with gene transcription within the predicted HRE site for all the genes analysed. ChIP assays showed that the chromatin state is more accessible and transcriptionally active in hES cells cultured under hypoxic conditions. In contrast, a heterochromatin state exists in the HRE of OCT4, SOX2, NANOG, GLUT1 and eNOS in hES cells cultured under 20% oxygen tension. This was also confirmed using pyrosequence analysis which revealed a significant hypomethylation pattern (P<0.01) in the HRE site within the OCT4 proximal promoter in hES cells cultured at 5% oxygen compared to those maintained at 20% oxygen. hES cells were then used as a model to investigate the mechanisms acquired by resident stem cell populations to maintain an undifferentiate and proliferative state at the site of injury which are characterized by hypoxia and oxidative stress. Interestingly, an enhanced euchromatic state was found when hES cells were exposed to hypoxia/reoxygenation for 72 hours. Surprisingly, this was sustained by HIF-2α which was found significantly enriched within the HRE of all core pluripotency genes but particularly within the NANOG gene promoter. Furthermore, HIF-2α was found responsible of the establishment of a multiprotein complex thereby allowing interaction with an oct-sox cis-regulatory element in the NANOG promoter and sustaining selfrenewal. Thus, these data have uncovered a novel role of HIF-2α as a direct regulator of key transcription factors controlling self-renewal and epigenetic modifications which enhances the regenerative potential of hES cells exposed to hypoxia and reoxygenation.


almost exclusively enriched in the liver. When administered in amounts exceeding the known liver saturation doses, the peptide was also found in other organs. Within the liver the wildtype peptide was localized to the basolateral membrane of the hepatocytes. Interestingly, some hepatocytes, which were mostly organized in small groups, showed a prominent cytoplasmic staining, indicating a preferential peptide uptake by these cells. Co-localization with the HBV receptor NTCP could also be shown. This new method is a valuable tool to visualize the cellular distribution of NTCP within the different zones of the liver and provides important information on the pharmacokinetics of Myrcludex B in vivo.


Multiple ray paths are resolved using high-resolution digital signal processing algorithms. The Cramer-Rao (CR) bound is used as a benchmark where a combination of the singular value decomposition method and the eigen-matrix pencil method is proven to be most successful. The conventional complex channel model for wireless propagation is extended to include the frequency-dependent feature of rays which can be used to classify the ray arrivals and provide physical insight of the channel. A novel complex-time model is used to approximate the suggested model. This approach is important to various applications such as equalizers, RAKE receivers, etc., in wireless communication systems. Five key features (noise immunity, robustness, resolution, accuracy, and physical insight) of the proposed algorithm are studied using numerical examples.


INTRODUCTION
Myocarditis may lead to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in immunogenetically predisposed individuals. The diagnosis of myocardial inflammation is currently based on histopathological and immunohistochemical methods. Previous studies indicate that inflammatory cardiomyopathy occurs in approximately 50% of patients with DCM.

AIM
The goal of the study was to assess the inflammatory process in patients with DCM by endomyocardial biopsy using histopathological and immunohistochemical methods.

METHODS
Endomyocardial biopsy specimens was examined using routine histopathological methods and immunochemical staining for T lymphocytes (CD3(+), n=84), major histocompatibility complex I (HLA ABC, n=48) and II (HLA DPQR, n=84) antigens and the adhesion molecules ICAM-1 (n=51) and VCAM-1 (n=48) in 84 patients (69 male, 15 female; mean age 35.0+/-10.5 years) with angiographically-confirmed DCM. Familial disease occurrence was noted in 14 (16.7%) patients. Cardiac samples obtained from 18 patients who died of non-cardiovascular causes were used as a control group.

RESULTS
Myocarditis was diagnosed, according to the Dallas criteria, in 8 (9.5%) patients. The frequency of inflammatory cardiomyopathy, defined as the presence of >2 CD3(+) T lymphocytes per high-power field (hpf) in myocardial biopsy, was 14.3%. When broader criteria were applied (presence of >2.0 CD3(+) lymphocytes/hpf and/or 1.5 CD3(+) lymphocytes/hpf in multiple foci and increased expression of class I/II HLA), inflammatory cardiomyopathy was diagnosed in 32.1% of patients. Inflammatory activation of the endothelium, indicated by increased expression of at least three adhesion molecules (class I and II HLA, ICAM-1, VCAM-1), was present in 22 (45.8%) patients. The expression of HLA DPQR, HLA ABC and ICAM-1 was observed on the endothelium of capillaries and larger vessels, interstitial cells, and the surface of activated lymphocytes; immunohistochemical reactions were diffuse. In patients with markedly elevated expression of the aforementioned adhesion molecules, the expression was also present on cardiomyocyte cell membranes. VCAM-1 was restricted to the endothelium of individual small veins. The control group did not demonstrate any signs of myocarditis, inflammatory cardiomyopathy or inflammatory endothelial activation.

CONCLUSIONS
The application of immunohistochemical methods to myocardial biopsy in order to identify the inflammatory cell phenotype and the presence of adhesion molecules permits the diagnosis of inflammatory cardiomyopathy in 14% or 32% of patients, depending on the criteria used, while conventional pathology allows for this diagnosis in 9% of patients. The observed frequency of inflammatory cardiomyopathy, defined as the presence of >2 CD3(+) T lymphocytes/hpf in the myocardium, was lower (14%) than in previous studies, while the frequency of inflammatory endothelial activation was similar (45%).


The pro-poor growth concept came up in the economic literature recently and in the last decade a lot of researches have been dedicated to this study from many important international institutions and organizations. However, there are still disagreements on how we should intend the pro-poor growth and what kind of policies shall be implemented for it. Describing theoretical and analytical aspects of pro-poor growth, this paper represents a contribution to this literature and tries, in the end, to emphasize policy issues to obtain pro-poor growth.


Recently SVMs using spatial pyramid matching (SPM) kernel have been highly successful in image classification. Despite its popularity, these nonlinear SVMs have a complexity O(n2 ~ n3) in training and O(n) in testing, where n is the training size, implying that it is nontrivial to scaleup the algorithms to handle more than thousands of training images. In this paper we develop an extension of the SPM method, by generalizing vector quantization to sparse coding followed by multi-scale spatial max pooling, and propose a linear SPM kernel based on SIFT sparse codes. This new approach remarkably reduces the complexity of SVMs to O(n) in training and a constant in testing. In a number of image categorization experiments, we find that, in terms of classification accuracy, the suggested linear SPM based on sparse coding of SIFT descriptors always significantly outperforms the linear SPM kernel on histograms, and is even better than the nonlinear SPM kernels, leading to state-of-the-art performance on several benchmarks by using a single type of descriptors.


Internet continues to expand exponentially and access to the Internet become more prevalent in our daily life but at the same time web application are becoming most attractive targets for hacker and cyber criminals. This paper presents an enhanced intrusion detection system approach for detecting input validation attacks in the web application. The existing IDS for Input validation attacks are language dependent. The proposed IDS is language independent i.e. it works for any web application developed with the aid of java, php, dot net etc. In addition the proposed system detects directory traversal attacks, command injection attacks, cross site scripting attacks and SQL injection attacks, those were not detected in the existing IDS. This is an automatic technique for detection vulnerabilities over the internet. Our technique is based on the web application parameter which is in form of POST and GET which has generalized structure and values. This technique reduces analysis time of input validation attacks.


Thus ended Lord Salisbury's first administration. The division was followed by an impromptu supper of about a hundred M.P.s at the Carlton Club. I sat beside Lord Randolph who was in high spirits. He told me that there had been a similar gathering on the night Gladstone was defeated in the previous June and he hoped we should soon have another. The house adjourned to enable the new ministers to be re-elected; and I spent the interval in Ireland. As I did not share Lord Randolph's sanguine view of the situation, I thought it prudent to be prepared for years spent in the cool shade of opposition. & We gave up our horses and coachman, and put an end to all unnecessary personal expenditure.


This chapter briefly discusses aspects of the material culture of seventh-century bce Boiotia in general and makes specific reference to sites and areas of relevance in studying Hesiod, in particular Askra, Thespiai, the Valley of the Muses, Thebes, Plataiai, and Akraiphnia. It pays special attention to the sanctuary of Apollo on the Ismenion hill and to the Herakleion in Thebes, the sanctuary of the hero Herakles, who was worshipped there as an epichoric figure, and discusses inscriptions and finds from these two sites. The chapter also offers a view of Boiotia and of the environs of Thebes in particular as an early Greek center for artistic production during the time of Hesiod, as shown through vase painting, figurines, early writing, sculpture, and an artist's signature.


Rumex vesicalius L. (Polygonaceae) is an annual, monoecious, glabrous, pale green herb cultivated as a leafy vegetable in south western Asia and northern Africa. Its seeds are prescribed as a refrigerant, laxa- tive, antidote for scorpion venom and to cure dysentery and liver diseases. Phytochemical investigation of a methanolic extract of the seeds of R. vesicarius resulted in the isolation of a new aliphatic ester n-heptacosanyl n-hexanoate (2), a steroidal diglucoside stigmasta-5-en-3-ol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranosido-(4--->1")-O-β-D-glu- copyranoside (3) and two bioflavonoids characterized as (2a,3a-trans)-3a(β),5a,7a,3'a,4'a-pentahydroxyfla- vanolyl-(8a-2')-5,7,3'-trihydroxy-4'-methoxy-8-n-but-3"-enyl-flavanone (4) and 5,7,3',4',5'-pentahydroxy- 8-(cis-1" α,2"β-dihydroxyhept-4"-enyl-7"-oic acid)-flavanoyl-(2'--8a)-5a,7a,3'a,5'a-tetrahydroxy-4'a- methoxyflavanone (5) together with stigmasterol (1). The structures of all the isolated phytoconstituents have been established on the basis of spectral data analysis and chemical reactions.


Activation of component C3 is central to the pathways of complement and leads directly to neutralization of pathogens and stimulation of adaptive immune responses. The convertases that catalyze this reaction assemble from fragments of complement components via multistep reactions. In the lectin pathway, mannose-binding lectin (MBL) and ficolins bind to pathogens and activate MBL-associated serine protease-2 (MASP-2). MASP-2 cleaves C4 releasing C4a and generating C4b, which attaches covalently to the pathogen surface upon exposure of its reactive thioester. C2 binds to C4b and is also cleaved by MASP-2 to form the C3 convertase (C4b2a). To understand how this complex process is coordinated, we have analyzed the interactions between MASP-2, C4, C2, and their activation fragments and have compared MASP-2-catalyzed cleavage of C4b2 and C2. The data show that C2 binds tightly to C4b but not to C4, implying that C4 and C2 do not circulate as preformed complexes but that C2 is recruited only after prior activation of C4. Following cleavage of C4, C4b still binds to MASP-2 (KD ∼ 0.6 μm) and dissociates relatively slowly (koff ∼ 0.06 s–1) compared with the half-life of the thioester (≤0.7 s) (Sepp, A., Dodds, A. W., Anderson, M. J., Campbell, R. D., Willis, A. C., and Law, S. K. (1993) Protein Sci. 2, 706–716). We propose that the C4b·MASP-2 interaction favors attachment of C4b near to the activating MBL·MASP complex on the bacterial surface so that, following recruitment of C2, the proximity of enzyme and substrate (C4b2) combined with more favorable reaction kinetics drive the formation of the C3 convertase, promoting complement activation.


Despite a body of research revolving around online abusive language, aiming at different objectives such as detection, diffusion prediction, and mitigation, existing research has seldom looked at factors motivating this behaviour. To further research in this direction, we investigate the motivations behind online abuse by looking at the characteristics of the targets of such abuse, i.e. is the abuse more prominent for specific characteristics of the targets? To enable target-oriented research into online abuse, we introduce the Online Abusive Attacks (OAA) dataset, the first benchmark dataset providing a holistic view of online abusive attacks, including social media profile data and metadata for both targets and perpetrators, in addition to context. The dataset contains 2.3K Twitter accounts, 5M tweets, and 106.9K categorised conversations. Further, we conduct an in-depth statistical analysis of online abuse centred around the targets' characteristics. We identify two types of abusive attacks: those motivated by characteristics of the targets (identity-based attacks) and others (behavioural attacks). We find that online abusive attacks are predominantly motivated by the targets' identities (97%), behavioural attacks accounting for a much smaller proportion (3%). Abuse is also more likely to target users who are popular and have a verified status. Interestingly, an analysis of the user bios shows no clear indication that keywords used in the bios are likely to trigger abuse. Additionally, we also look at the frequency with which perpetrators perform online abusive attacks. Our analysis shows a large number of infrequent perpetrators, with only a few recurrent perpetrators. Findings from our study have important implications for the development of abusive language detection models that incorporate an awareness of the targets to improve their potential for prediction.


Background/Aim: γδ T cells mediate cytotoxicity against prostate cancer (PCa) cells in vitro; however, the clinical efficacy of γδ T cell-targeted immunotherapy for recurrent and metastatic PCa is unsatisfactory. We hypothesized that the resistance of recurrent and metastatic PCa to γδ T cells is related to the presence of prostate cancer stem cells (PCSCs), and we examined their relationship. Materials and Methods: PCa spheres (prostaspheres) were generated from five PCa cell lines, and their susceptibility to cytotoxicity by γδ T cells was investigated. Expression of stemness-related markers was evaluated by qRT-PCR. Results: Prostasphere-derived cancer cells were resistant to lysis by γδ T cells and expressed higher levels of several stemness markers, including CD133, NANOG, SOX2, and OCT4, than the parental PCa cell lines. Conclusion: Ex vivo-expanded γδ T cells are not effective against PCSCs.


2519 The RPA Binding Transcriptional Activator 1 (RBT1) is a protein we initially identified in the yeast two-hybrid screen employing the second subunit of DNA replication protein A as bait. We have cloned both the human and mouse genes (Gene Bank Accession Nos. AF192529 and AF317202, respectively) and characterized their products as a 22-kDa protein with several potential serine and threonine phosphorylation sites. BLASTP analysis of the human genome revealed that RBT1 is a member of the Trip-Br protein family, which includes TRIP-Br1/SEI-1 and TRIP-Br2, and HEPP. RBT1 and TRIP-Br1/p34 SEI-1 1 are located in tandem on human chromosome 19q13.1-q13.2 and in close proximity to the AKT2 oncogene; this chromosomal region is frequently amplified in ovarian carcinomas and pancreatic carcinomas. RBT1 transcripts are more abundant in cancer cell lines in comparison to non-transformed cells. Interestingly, NIH3T3 cells overexpressing RBT1 meet several criteria of transformed cells, including lack of contact growth inhibition, growth of colonies in soft agar and tumor formation in nude mice. Furthermore, HCT116 colon carcinoma cells overexpressing RBT1 exhibit an enhanced growth rate in culture and form extremely aggressive tumors in vivo supporting that RBT1 overexpression can enhance tumorigenesis. With respect to RBT1 function, RBT1 is found to act as a strong transcativator; the C-terminal 22 amino acids of RBT1 are sufficient for transcriptional activity, a region highly conserved amongst TRIP-Br genes. Analysis of synchronized cells released from G0/G1 by serum stimulation revealed that RBT1 can engage in several protein-protein interactions (including with RPA, Cdk4, Cdc2), and its overexpression can alter cell cycle progression from G1/S and possibly from G2/M. G1/S delay may involve inappropriate activation of E2F-1 transcription factor. Supported by the CIHR (MAJ).


[1] The oxygen isotopic ratio (δ18O) in tropical Pacific coral skeletons reflects past El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability, but the δ18O-ENSO relationship is poorly quantified. Uncertainties arise when constructing δ18O data sets, combining records from different sites, and converting between δ18O and sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity (SSS). Here we use seasonally resolved δ18O from 1958 to 1985 at 15 tropical Pacific sites to estimate these errors and evaluate possible improvements. Observational uncertainties from Kiritimati, New Caledonia, and Rarotonga are 0.12–0.14‰, leading to errors of 8–25% on the typical δ18O variance. Multicoral syntheses using five to seven sites capture the principal components (PCs) well, but site selection dramatically influences ENSO spatial structure: Using sites in the eastern Pacific, western Pacific warm pool, and South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) captures "eastern Pacific-type" variability, while "Central Pacific-type" events are best observed by combining sites in the warm pool and SPCZ. The major obstacle to quantitative ENSO estimation is the δ18O/climate conversion, demonstrated by the large errors on both δ18O variance and the amplitude of the first principal component resulting from the use of commonly employed bivariate formulae to relate SST and SSS to δ18O. Errors likely arise from either the instrumental data used for pseudoproxy calibration or influences from other processes (δ18O advection/atmospheric fractionation, etc.). At some sites, modeling seasonal changes to these influences reduces conversion errors by up to 20%. This indicates that understanding of past ENSO dynamics using coral δ18O could be greatly advanced by improving δ18O forward models.


The cloud is a virtual computing environment that provides applications, platforms and software support as services. The applications are extended over the Internet domain to the cloud service provider (CSP) with greater flexibility and availability at lower cost. Unfortunately, the cloud computing service also provides a better environment for criminals and increases the difficulties of cybercrime forensics. In this paper, we focus on the security issues of cloud services and present a forensic framework to beat cybercrime. We set an analysis engine in the cloud as a network service and this engine is used to monitor the network behaviors and collect the evidence when network criminal behaviors happen. FTK and Encase are used to help subsequently analyze the acquired evidence and obtain ideal results.


Here, we report on large eddy simulation (LES) of supersonic flow, mixing, self-ignition, and combustion in a supersonic hydrogen jet in a crossflow configuration. The configuration has been experimentally investigated at Stanford and consists of a rectilinear channel with a ramp inlet in which a hydrogen jet discharges at a 90° angle to the high enthalpy supersonic crossflow. This configuration has been extensively studied by several research groups and constitutes a good validation case for model development and physics elucidation. The LES model used is based on an unstructured finite volume discretization of the filtered mass, momentum, species, and energy equations and an explicit flow solver. In this study, we investigate the effects of the jet-to-crossflow momentum ratio, the chemical reaction mechanism, and the combustion subgrid model by comparing predictions and by comparing with experimental data including OH* chemiluminescence images and jet penetration data. In general, good agreement is found but with some departures for the smallest reaction mechanisms and some of the LES combustion models. The LES results are also used to elucidate the flow, mixing, and combustion features of this configuration.


We have identified and characterized pharmacologically alpha-1 adrenergic receptors in aorta from dog and rat utilizing two alpha-1 antagonists, [3H]prazosin and beta-3-iodo[125I]-4-hydroxyphenyl-ethyl-aminoethyl-tetralone [125I]HEAT, to determine receptor number and affinity. The rat and dog alpha-1 receptors were found to be very similar. In the dog, KD values were 27 and 11 pM for [3H]prazosin and [125I]HEAT, respectively, whereas maximum binding values were 89 and 65 fmol/mg of protein. KD values in rat aorta were 22 and 15 pM for [3H]prazosin and [125I]HEAT, respectively, whereas maximum binding values were 62 and 47 fmol/mg of protein. Both tissues demonstrated a rank order potency of antagonist inhibition of the two radioligands consistent with an alpha-1 adrenergic receptor with prazosin greater than phentolamine greater than yohimbine. A comparison between IC50 values for both the ligands and the tissues shows strong correlations suggesting the two radioligands are identifying a similar receptor population and that the receptor labeled by the ligands has similar pharmacologic characteristics in the two tissues.


The author proposes a problem of the influence of a type of multiproduct machinery production on the performance of technological and production processes. The analysis of the structure of the formula on determination of duration of the working cycle allowing to take into account technological and organizational characteristics, type of production is carried out.


Little has been done with respect to breeding for salt-tolerant cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) cultivars despite of salt stress being a growing threat to cowpea production. Seedling stage is one the most susceptible stages to salt stress in cowpea. Establishing a streamlined methodology for rapidly screening a large number of genotypes will significantly contribute toward enhancing cowpea breeding for salt tolerance. Therefore, the objective of this study was to establish and validate a simple approach for salt tolerance evaluation in cowpea seedlings. A total of 30 genotypes including two controls (PI582468, a salt-tolerant genotype, and PI255774, a salt-sensitive genotype) were greenhouse-grown under 0 mm and 200 mm NaCl. A total of 14 above-ground traits were evaluated. Results revealed: (1) significant differences were observed in average number of dead plants per pot, leaf injury scores, relative salt tolerance (RST) for chlorophyll, plant height, and leaf and stem biomass among the 30 genotypes; (2) all PI255774 plants were completely dead, whereas those of PI582438 were fully green after 2 weeks of salt stress, which validated this methodology; (3) RST for chlorophyll content was highly correlated with number of dead plants and leaf injury scores; (4) RST for leaf biomass was moderately correlated with number of dead plants and leaf injury scores; and (5) RST in plant height was poorly correlated with number of dead plants and leaf injury scores Therefore, less number of dead plants per pot, high chlorophyll content, and less leaf injury scores were good criteria for salt tolerance evaluation in cowpea. This study provided a simple methodology and suggested straightforward criteria to evaluate salt tolerance at seedling stage in cowpea.


This appendix to the ''Nevada Test Site Environmental Report 2005'', dated October 2006 (DOE/NV/11718--1214; DOE/NV/25946--007) expands on the general description of the Nevada Test Site (NTS) presented in the Introduction. Included are subsections that summarize the site?s geological, hydrological, climatological, and ecological setting. The cultural resources of the NTS are also presented. The subsections are meant to aid the reader in understanding the complex physical and biological environment of the NTS. An adequate knowledge of the site's environment is necessary to assess the environmental impacts of new projects, design and implement environmental monitoring activities for current site operations, and assess the impacts of site operations on the public residing in the vicinity of the NTS. The NTS environment contributes to several key features of the site which afford protection to the inhabitants of adjacent areas from potential exposure to radioactivity or other contaminants resulting from NTS operations. These key features include the general remote location of the NTS, restricted access, extended wind transport times, the great depths to slow-moving groundwater, little or no surface water, and low population density. This appendix complements the annual summary of monitoring program activities and dose assessments presented in the main body of this report.


The gamma rays emitted in the beta +/EC decay of 39.6+or-0.7 min 108In and 58.0+or-1.2 min 108Inm have been studied in singles and coincidence with Ge(Li) detectors. Decay schemes for 108In and 108Inm have been constructed. The results indicate that the spins and parities of 108In and 108Inm are 3+ and 5 or 6+ respectively. This is discussed in terms of the j-j coupling model.


This study was done to recover fungi associated with postharvest rotting of bitter yam, Dioscorea dumentorum tubers in Nsukka Agroecological Zone, Nigeria. Tubers showing signs of rot were picked from farmers in four randomly selected towns in the zone. The towns included, Nsukka, Orba, Ibagwa and Obollo-Afor. Five (5) samples each were picked from three (3) randomly selected farmers. Samples were packaged in sterile polythene bags, labeled accordingly and moved to the laboratory for studies. The fungal isolates were identified using both cultural and molecular techniques. Results showed that mycoflora of rotted bitter yams in the Zone were, Aspergillus flavus , Aspergillus niger , Lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae , Galactomyces candidum and Rhizopus delemar . The percentage frequencies of occurrence of the fungal organisms ranged from 14.03% to 26% with A. niger recording the highest (26%) while A. flavus recorded the least (14.03%). Pathogenicity tests revealed that the fungi produced rots (diameter) ranging from 1.70 cm to 2.40 cm with R. delemar recording the highest rot diameter (2.40 cm) while A. niger produced the least (1.70 cm) Keywords: Bitter yam, mycoflora, postharvest, fungal organisms, Nsukka, rots


Pantomorus albosignatus Boheman, 1840 (Entiminae: Naupactini), type species of the genus Pantomorus Schoenherr, 1840, is broadly distributed in Mexico, from Oaxaca and Veracruz to Chihuahua and Coahuila, and is probably related to P. parvulus Sharp 1891 (México: Oaxaca and Veracruz), P. andersoni sp. nov. (México: Guerrero), and P. crinitus (Boheman, 1840) (southern Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala). The four species are small (5-8 mm), apterous, usually show a characteristic maculation and erect setae on the elytra, short antennae, vestigial to absent humeri, and well-developed, squamose corbels of the metatibiae, and are here referred to as the Pantomorus albosignatus species group. Our study was based on the examination of type material and about 500 specimens from different collections, and provides a dichotomous key, descriptions or redescriptions of the species, habitus photographs, line drawings of female and male genitalia, a map of distribution, new locality records and new plant associations. We propose that Pantomorus nobilis (Boheman 1840) is a new junior subjective synonym of P. crinitus (Boheman, 1840), and we designate lectotypes for the species Pantomorus albosignatus Boheman, P. parvulus Sharp, P. crinitus (Boheman), P. nobilis (Boheman) and P. affinis Sharp, 1891 (the latter is also a junior synonym of P. crinitus). Pantomorus albosignatus usually inhabits Acacia grasslands and cactus deserts of the Mexican Plateau, at higher elevations than remaining species; P. parvulus occurs in cloud forests and tropical deciduous forests of southern Mexico; P. crinitus in open oak pine forests, cloud forests and tropical deciduous forests of southern Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador; and P. andersoni is endemic to the state of Guerrero, in Acacia-cactus woodlands.


The maximum apparent power that can be injected in a bus and the flicker emission can represent a significant limit in the total capacity of a wind farm when wind turbines are connected to a radial distribution system. Quantification of these values is important in determining the largest number of wind turbines that can be connected in a network. The calculation of maximum apparent power and flicker of residential and commercial radial distribution feeder with remotely connected wind turbines has been investigated using elaborated specific software denominated winds port program and data from two energy systems. The developed software can calculate the approximate injected maximum apparent power, for a wind farm, in one bus of the network and in two buses of the network, simultaneously, without the need of a load flow program. The various simulations results reveal that wind farm capacities, in each bus, can be limited firstly for flicker and later for bus injected power for a voltage variation value, and the calculation of approximate apparent powers allows a precise and fast adjustment of voltage variation. If a load flow program is used for the determination of the wind farm maximum apparent power in each bus of the distribution system, a lot of simulations with a lot of attempts must be necessary. Therefore the methodology used by the authors is advantageous.


In this paper we describe the results of a rigorous empirical study evaluating the coping responses of a computational model of emotion. We discuss three key kinds of coping, Wishful Thinking, Resignation and Distancing that impact an agent's beliefs, intentions and desires, and compare these coping responses to related work in the attitude change literature. We discuss the EMA computational model of emotion and identify several hypotheses it makes concerning these coping processes. We assess these hypotheses against the behavior of human subjects playing a competitive board game, using monetary gains and losses to induce emotion and coping. Subject's appraisals, emotional state and coping responses were indexed at key points throughout a game, revealing a pattern of subject's al-tering their beliefs, desires and intentions as the game unfolds. The results clearly support several of the hypotheses on coping responses but also identify (a) extensions to how EMA models Wishful Thinking as well as (b) individual differences in subject's coping responses.


In-situ atomic force microscopy has been used to investigate the dissolution behavior of industrially relevant silicoaluminophosphate catalysts SAPO-34 and SAPO-18. Spiral growth is prevalent on these materials and it is common for the spirals to be composites of multiple dislocation sources. The spirals dissolve via classical step retreat and the structure dissolves in a two-step process via unstable intermediates. The data support the proposition that the terminating surface of SAPO-34 is composed of double 6-rings. SAPO-34 and SAPO-18 both dissolve by removal of the same structural units with similar mechanisms.


Report on a case of primary basal cell carcinoma in the skin of the eyelid. Only bone metastases were detected after many local recurrences. The metastases were associated with myelophthisic anemia, leukoerythroblastosis in the peripheral blood and extramedullary hepatic hemopoiesis; these findings have not been reported before.


BACKGROUND
As intraocular pressure (IOP) and IOP fluctuation are known risk factors for glaucoma, it is important to understand the effects of high myopia on these ocular parameters. The aim of this study was to investigate if primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients with high myopia exhibit higher IOP and greater IOP fluctuations at resting conditions over 24 hours.

METHODS
We designed a prospective control clinical study. Eighty-two eyes of 82 high-tension Chinese POAG patients only on prostaglandin analogue locally were divided into 3 groups according to various myopic grades (< -6.0 D, n = 27 and between -0.76 and -5.99 D, n = 33) or without myopia (-0.75 to 0.75 D, n = 22). Single time IOP at 10 am, mean corrected 24-hour IOP, mean corrected night IOP, 24-hour IOP fluctuation and IOPs of 10 am, 2 pm, 6 pm, 10 pm, 2 am, 6 am and 8 am were measured.

RESULTS
The IOP was higher in POAG patients with high myopia over those POAG alone in three ways: the elevated IOP value was 0.65 mmHg measured in single time IOP at 10 am, 0.84 mmHg in mean corrected 24-hour IOP, 0.97 mmHg in mean corrected night IOP. The 24-hour IOP fluctuation was lower in the two myopia groups than in non-myopia group. Further, using repeated measurement analysis of variance, there was no statistical significance among groups regarding the IOPs at the seven time points (P = 0.77) and there was no interaction between groups and time points (P = 0.71), but the difference of IOPs at the seven time points in same group was statistically significant (P = 0.01).

CONCLUSION
High-tension POAG patients with high myopia, even on pharmacological glaucoma therapy, still have higher IOP, but 24-hour IOP fluctuation at resting conditions was lower in these patients.


Sciences have a role in society. Among the hierarchy of sciences, a science about designs and designing should exist, with sub-divisions for various more specialized disciplines. At a more detailed level, an Engineering Design Science is outlined and placed in context.


Individuals living with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) often exhibit impairments in cognitive function, which impedes their rehabilitation and transition into the community. While a number of clinical studies have demonstrated the impact of impaired cardiovascular control on cognitive impairment, the mechanistic understanding of this deleterious relationship is still lacking. The present study investigates whether chronic disruption of cardiovascular control following experimental SCI results in cerebrovascular decline and vascular cognitive impairment. Fourteen weeks following a high thoracic SCI (at 3rd thoracic segment), rats were subjected to a battery of in vivo and in vitro physiological assessments, cognitive-behavioral tests, and immunohistochemical approaches to investigate changes in cerebrovascular structure and function in middle cerebral artery (MCA). We show that in MCA of rats with SCI, there is 55% reduction in the maximal vasodilator response to carbachol, which is associated with reduced expression of endothelial marker cluster of differentiation 31 (CD31) and transient receptor potential cation channel 4 (TRPV4) channels. Compared to controls, MCAs in rats with SCI were found to have 50% more collagen I in the media of vascular wall and 37% less distensibility at physiological intraluminal pressure. Furthermore in SCI group , the cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the hippocampus was reduced by 32% in association with impairment of short-term memory based on a novel object recognition test. There were no changes in the sympathetic innervation of the vasculature and passive structure in the SCI group. Chronic experimental SCI is associated with structural alterations and endothelial dysfunction in cerebral arteries that likely contributes to significantly reduced CBF and vascular cognitive impairment.


The paper presents a method of automatic compensation of dynamic forces acting on a rigid rotors as a result of their unbalance. It is done by free elements located in two planes. The free elements rotate together with the rotor and generate forces that can be opposed to the rotor unbalance. The paper presents physical and mathematical models. It is shown for what positions of the free elements they can compensate the unbalance. Numerical simulations show that the elements status goes to these positions. The vibration forces were defined and it was pointed out that they push the free elements to these positions. The vibration forces take zero values in ball positions for which the system is balanced. They are positions of the equilibrium. The stability of the free elements in these positions is discussed. Ranges of the rotor velocity in which the system balances itself are defined. The paper presents a simulation of the behavior of the system during the balancing for different unbalance situation. The influence of resistance of the free elements on the efficiency of the method is verified. The theoretical results are verified during laboratory experiments.


Delivering course content to students in rural Alaska has historically been problematic. This paper will discuss the development of a web-based course designed for licensed teachers in rural Alaska. The graduate course was offered fall of 2000 by the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Center for Distance Education. As recently as two years ago, the primary means of teaching a distance education course at the university was by correspondence or by audio conferencing. The objective of the new course was to provide professional development to practicing classroom teachers in rural Alaska schools. The academic focus was on the integration of technology into the content areas of mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts. Two University of Alaska Fairbanks education professors co-taught the course-using Blackboard, the university's web-based, instructional program. The researchers concluded that adding a visual component in a web-based format, in addition to real-time interaction with the instructor can greatly enhance the delivery and effectiveness of distance education courses. For licensed teachers taking the web-based course in fall of 2000, this was the first time that they had used so many technologies while taking a distance education course. In a post survey given by their teachers, they uniformly reported a positive learning experience.


In this study, a numerical simulation method based on Eulerian–Eulerian model and population balance model (PBM) (i.e., computational fluid dynamics (CFD)–PBM coupling model) was developed to investigate the gas–liquid two-phase performance of centrifugal pump under bubble inflow. The realizable k–ε model turbulence model was implemented in ansysfluent solver. The air and water were employed as the working fluids, which was consistent with the experiment. The water head and pressure increment obtained by the experiment were used to validate the numerical method. The results show that the CFD–PBM coupling model is superior to the Eulerian–Eulerian model, particularly in the "surging" conditions. Using the CFD–PBM coupling model, the influences of parameters, such as inlet gas volume fraction, liquid phase flowrate, and rotational speed, on the head and efficiency of the centrifugal pump were investigated. Under the design condition, when the inlet gas volume fraction increases from 3% to 5%, the bubbles form air mass and stagnate in the impeller channel. The stagnated air mass can hardly be discharged with the liquid phase. Thus, the pump head drops suddenly, i.e., the surging occurs. The two-phase performance of centrifugal pump can be improved under the surging condition by increasing the liquid flowrate and the rotational speed to a certain value. The results contribute to an alternative simulation method to investigate the characteristics of bubble flow in pump and shed new lights on the understanding of the performance of centrifugal pumps under two-phase flow conditions.


A syndrome of community acquired liver abscess caused by highly virulent hypermucoviscous, rmpA positive Klebsiella pneumoniae strains occurs with high incidence in Asia. We here report a case complicated by metastatic infection, to our knowledge, the first one described in Northern Europe. This and other recently reported cases indicate the emergence of this severe syndrome outside of Asia.


Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics and pathogenesis of acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD) inducing lung injury after allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Methods: aGVHD inducing lung injury was investigated in 47 patients who had aGVHD of grade II–IV. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the chest and detections of serum interferon γ (IFNγ) and tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) were performed before the treatment for aGVHD. Transbronchial biopsies under the bronchofibroscope were performed in 4 patients whose HRCT scans did not show completely remission after treatment for aGVHD. Examination of hydrothorax was taken in 4 patients who had medium quantity of pleural effussion. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS/PC version 13.0. Results: In 47 cases, HRCT scans of the chest were abnormal in 20 cases. 17 cases were diagnosed of aGVHD inducing lung injury by HRCT scans. The characteristics of imageology are diffused interstitia infiltrates in 5 cases, diffused interstitial and alveolar infiltrates in 7 cases, diffused interstitial and segmental lobar infiltrates in 5 cases and bilateral pleural effusion accompanied by hydropericardium in 9 cases including 4 cases with myocardial hypertrophy. Serum levels of IFNγ and TNFα of lung injury cases were 6.901 ± 1.751ng/ml and 399.514 ± 101.598pg/ml and cases without lung injury were 6.280±1.150ng/ml and 427.871 ± 83.287 pg/ml, respectively. No statistical significant was shown between serum levels of IFNγ and TNFα in these two groups. Examination of pleural effusion showed white blood cell count (1200±517.204/μl,800∼2200/μl) and the quantity of proteinum (38.00±13.06g/L, 25.00∼62.00g/L) increased. The histopathology of lung injury in 4 cases was characteristic by disorganization, epithelial cell damage, interstitial fibroplasias and interstitial lymphocytic infiltrates which mainly consisted of T lymphocytes by immunohistochemistry. 47 cases attained treatment for aGVHD. The total effective rate of treatment for aGVHD was 74.47% with the rate of complete response (CR) of 44.67%. The effective rate of treatment for aGVHD inducing lung injury was 94.12% with the rate of CR of 58.82%. Comparison between effective rate of treatment for aGVHD and for aGVHD inducing lung injury showed no statistical significant ( P =0.169). 3 cases developed late noninfectious lung injury in 9 cases with lung injury and 3 cases in 15 cases without lung injury who survived more than 6 months. The difference of the morbidity of late noninfectious lung injury was not significant between cases with and without lung injury. Conclusions: Lung is one of the targets of aGVHD. Early noninfectious lung injury after allo-HSCT is primarily caused by aGVHD. The mechanism of aGVHD inducing lung injury is related to T lymphocyte. Early noninfectious lung injury induced by aGVHD can progress to be late noninfectious lung injury.


: As result of the modification of polyolefin, composite materials based on them were obtained for the use in special equipment in order to entrain their heat resistance. Data analysis DTA (differential thermal analysis) of the DTA curve of this polyethylene sample suggests a bimodal nature of their MWD (molecular weight distribution) which differs from polyethylene with unimodal MWD and a series of endo oxidation effects with a maximum temperature of 245, 335, 358 and 435 °С. X-ray structural studies showed that the crystal system and the size of the unit cells of the crystal lattice of LLDPE practically does not differ from those of LDPE. LLDPE as well as LDPE and HDPE has a layered structure with dense packing of macromolecules. In terms of crystallinity and crystallite sizes, LLDPE are on par with HDPE and significantly differ from LDPE. These data are in agreement with published data. The parameters of the unit cells of the crystal structure of UHMWPE are close to those of LLDPE, and by crystallinity it occupies middle ground between HDPE and LLDPE.


Since adenomas of the breast are probably intermediate between normal and malignant structures, their use has appealed to us as a means of studying several pathologic problems. These tumors occur spontaneously in rats. Bullock and Curtis (1) found 8 of them among 235 rat tumors in 2450 rat autopsies. In our stock of rats bred over a period of several years two mammary adenomas have been found: one in the inguinal, the other in the axillary region.

Various theories have been advanced to explain the origin of adenomas of the breast. Beneke (2) believed the adenoma to be a growth of mature glandular tissue. Stoerck and Erdheim (2) consider it related to mastitis. Ribbert and Wilms (2) suggest the theory that adenomas have their origin from the anlage of the mammary gland, i.e. germinal parts which contain both epithelial and connective-tissue potentialities. Substantiating this theory is the case reported by Leroux and Diamant-Berger (3), in which a pedunculated tumor, present in the axilla of a woman, proved upon removal and sectioning to be a canalicular adenoma. This case would also tend to support the generally accepted theory of the origin of supernumerary breasts in human beings, on the basis of a persistence of a portion of the milk ridge of the fetus. In connection with the theory of a congenitally displaced anlage in the origin of adenomas it might be well to consider the areolar glands (glands of Montgomery) as a possible basis for the tumors. These rudimentary mammary structures possess all of the elements necessary for the development of benign breast tumors.


The need for entertainment and leisure among youths more especially as it relates to European football matches in Nigeria necessitated the establishment of football viewing centres to cater for their needs. While this can be seen as a welcome development, it also raises questions about the youths who come to watch European football matches within the halls. Apart from watching European league matches, what other forms of social relationships are created and recreated in these viewing centres? Indeed, what kinds of youth subculture are produced? In what ways have their subculture impacted on them as youths, other youths and the wider society as a whole. This study therefore seeks to answer these research questions in a study to be conducted in Ado Ekiti south west nigeria.


In considering a novel function in ferromagnetic tunnel junctions consisting of ferromagnet (FM)/barrier/FM junctions, we have theoretically investigated the multiple-valued (or multi-level) cell property, which is in principle realized by sensing the conductances of four states recorded with magnetization configurations of two FMs; that is, (up, up), (up, down), (down, up), (down, down). To obtain such 4-valued conductances, we propose FM1/spin-polarized barrier/FM2 junctions, where FM1 and FM2 are different ferromagnets, and the barrier has spin dependence. The proposed idea is applied to the case of the barrier having localized spins. Assuming that all the localized spins are pinned parallel to the magnetization axes of FM1 and FM2, 4-valued conductances are explicitly obtained for the case of many localized spins. Furthermore, objectives for an ideal spin-polarized barrier are discussed.


The invention relates to slimming tea, specifically relates to grapefruit slimming tea and belongs to the field of health care foods. The grapefruit slimming tea comprises the following raw materials (in parts by weight): 40-60 parts of grapefruit, 10-20 parts of aloe, 15-20 parts of medlar, 5-10 parts of balloon flower and 5-15 parts of honey. The slimming tea adopts a pure natural fruit grapefruit component as a main material, does not add any pharmaceutical ingredients, is good in taste, easy to be accepted by people and good in slimming effect, has no rebound phenomenon and no beauty itch and can improve the immunity of people and strengthen the physique.


This article describes new concepts and algorithms used to generate tests for VLSI scan-design circuits. The new algorithms include: 1. a low-cost fault-independent algorithm (SMART), 2. a fault-oriented algorithm (FAST), and 3. an algorithm for dynamic test set compaction. The fault-oriented algorithm is guided by new controllability/observability cost functions whose objective is to minimize the amount of search done in test generation.


It has been suggested that poor and ill-fitting language policies within Africa have led to a majority of its population being unable to effectively engage with education systems within their countries (Djite 2008). Language-in-education policies in Malawi are a prime example of this as Malawi's language planning has repeatedly been criticised and epitomises the tension between the competing positions of English and the twelve Malawian languages in the country (Kayambazinthu 1998, Moyo 2001, Breton 2003). In 2014 a new language-in-education policy was announced in Malawi, which positioned English as the sole language to be used within education. This has led to increased debate around the appropriateness of English versus Malawian languages for educational purposes (Chiwanda 2014, Gwengwe 2014, see also Miti 2015a). A key criticism of Malawi's language-in-education policies is that they are not developed based on sociolinguistic evidence (Moyo 2001), despite claims that sociolinguistic studies can play a crucial role in the creation and implementation of successful and beneficial language policies (Kishindo 2008, Mtenje 2013). Through investigating the ways in which the languages in Malawi co-exist within higher education, this study therefore seeks to provide sociolinguistic evidence which can be used to inform the policy debate in Malawi.

The sociolinguistic situation in Malawian universities is ascertained through investigating the language attitudes and patterns of language use of individuals within them. Individuals in Malawian higher education have a variety of linguistic repertoires and this study explores: how students and staff make use of their multilingual linguistic repertoires to facilitate teaching, learning, and socialising in their institutions; the attitudes of students and staff towards the suitability of particular languages within higher education; and the impact this could have on educational language policy. The study adopts a linguistic ethnographic approach with methods including: participant observation; participant recording; interviews; and focus groups. Results show that Malawian universities are multilingual environments in which translanguaging occurs in both social and academic contexts. Students and staff show strongly positive attitudes towards the use of English within higher education and generally negative attitudes towards the use of Malawian languages. However, participants also exhibit favourable attitudes towards the use of a flexible language policy which embraces the multilingual reality of students and staff within the universities and allows translanguaging practices to take place.


A signal detection scheme is provided. According to the provided signal detection scheme, a received signal is correlated in a frequency domain with a reference signal. Additionally, the reception power of the received signal is calculated and the correlation value is normalized with the reception power. Therefore, a single threshold value may be used regardless of the reception power of the received signal when comparing the correlation between the received signal and the reference signal with the threshold value in order to determine whether the received signal is a desired signal or noise.


Background and objective : Queen Sirikit Heart Center of the Northeast, Khon Kaen University is an  organization that used system of outsource hiring for operational security. The study of  implementation made aware of operational conditions and problems to find the way solving these problems for more efficiency management. This study was objected to study security management conditions and to compare  security guards hiring of  Queen Sirikit Heart Center of the Northeast , Khon Kaen University. Methods: Two groups of population were used in this study; 742 personnels of the Queen Sirikit Heart Center of  the Northeast and 23 outsource security guards which  sample sizing got 234 samples from the Queen Sirikit Heart Center and all persons of outsource security guards. Collecting the data used open-ended questionnaire in conjunction with SWOT Analysis. The analysis for cause of the problems used Fishbone Chart. Data collecting period was during March to June 2013. Analysis, conclusion and presentation used descriptive statistics. Results: It was found that personnels of Queen Sirikit Heart Center commented that  the management level has to be improved. It was lack of systematic procedure and unclear services that  affected the lacking of discipline security guards.  There was no security policy information announcement to all personnels. The outsource security guards had comments that they got security management policy from their chief and systematic orderly implemented  already,  their services and management was in good  level and had been improved the defects to be better. Conclusion: Personnels of Queen Sirikit Heart Center wanted direct hiring of security guards. In the future, Queen Sirikit Heart Center of the Northeast  should get direct hiring of security guards to be their own personnel. If they use outsource hiring for operational security, they should have   more efficiency systems of evaluating, directing and  monitoring.


This interpretive study of the meaning of politics for Dutch citizens offers a distinct contribution to the debate about political disaffection. Politically disaffected citizens interviewed understand politics in terms of a lifeworld-politics clash, and they espouse a policy-oriented ideal of politics that puts their lifeworld at the centre. Although their approach suggests that they turn away from institutional politics that fails this ideal, their citizenship is political, and they demand acknowledgement and inclusion of their view of reality rather than simply improvement in policy quality. These citizens assume themselves to be standing together with others presumably sharing their common sense understandings of what politics should be and how it fails in reality. However, with their micro-level interpretations, they also often see themselves standing alone in politics, without aggregation, integration and articulation of their complaints and demands. So, although confident, opinionated and oriented towards 'big' politics, this citizenship is defined by disjunction.


Physician burnout in the United States has been growing at an alarming rate, and health care organizations are beginning to invest significant resources in combating this phenomenon. Although the causes for burnout are multifactorial, a key issue that affects physicians is that they spend a significant proportion of their time interacting with their electronic health record (EHR) system, primarily because of the need to sift through increasing amounts of patient data, coupled with a significant documentation burden. This has led to physicians spending increasing amounts of time with the EHR outside working hours trying to catch up on paperwork ("pajama time"), which is a factor linked to burnout. In this paper, we propose an innovative model of EHR training using high-fidelity EHR simulations designed to facilitate efficient optimization of EHR use by clinicians and emphasize the importance of both lifelong learning and physician well-being.


The aim of our paper is to investigate links between fertility and child mortality in Turkey during the second half of the 20 th century. Demographic trends of this country show a decrease of the TFR and of the infant mortality rate during this period. The context of this decrease is the progressive diffusion of contraceptives and the spread of childcare practices which improve the health of children. Our general hypothesis is that Turkey is currently in a demographic transition from a fertility regime in which prevailed the quantity of children to a fertility regime based on the quality of children. According to this hypothesis, we wish to analyse correlations between fertility and child mortality at the level of individuals. We expect a positive correlation, i.e., that the lower (respectively the higher) is the parity of a woman and the lower (the higher) is the probability that some of her children die. We suppose also that the adoption of the new behaviours of reducing fertility and "modern" childcare practices depend on several factors related to the status of women, like the level of education or type of marriage (arranged or not). Data used are the Turkish Demographic and Health data of 1998. In this survey were collected information on births and child mortality of women aged 15 to 49 years old. These data are analyzed with techniques of Event History


Purpose: To determine the diagnostic performance of PEM, a HR-PET with intrinsic resolution of 1.6 mm in detection of breast cancer (B-Ca). Methods and Material: PEM was performed in 122 lesions with suspicious breast lesions 90 min after i.v. application of 3.5 MBq F-18-FDG per KG body weight. A ROI marked the target lesion, measured the maximum PEM uptake value (PUVmax) and was correlated with a corresponding non-target ROI in the contra lateral healthy breast determining the target/non-target ratio. Two independent readers analysed images of all 122 lesions and compared the results to histopathology (11 PEM-Biopsies/8 Breast-Cancers) later. The group analyses for all malignant, benign, corresponding non-target lesions and the mean target/non-target ratio were calculated by paired Student t-Test. Results: 22 out of 122 lesions were malignant. Mean of PUVmax was measured 4.3±2,7 in malignant lesions and 1.1±0.4 for the contra-lateral healthy breast (p = 0.001). The mean target/non-target ratio in patients with B-Ca of 3.7±1.5 was also significantly higher compared to benign lesions 1.1±0.4 (p = 0.001). Considering a PUVmax >1.9, PEM was true-positive in all 22 cancers resulting in a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 97%, PPV of 88% and NPV of 100%. Detecting of B-Ca by PEM was at it´s best observed with a PUVmax cut-off level of >1.9 combined with a target/non-target ratio of >1.4. Conclusion: PEM can detect breast cancer with high accuracy using PUVmax as well as target/non-target ratio with high specificity. The results shown have to be confirmed in larger patient cohort. The higher specificity causes a lower rate of biopsies, surgery, chemotherapy and costs, therefore a evidence based medicine study will start in Germany. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2013;73(24 Suppl): Abstract nr P4-01-24.


Proton-magnetic-resonance data are presented for twenty different plasma-deposited amorphous-silicon---hydrogen films. The two-phase compositional inhomogeneity observed in these films is found to be independent of film thickness down to less than 1 \ensuremath{\mu}m. Models for various structural configurations show that these films contain heavily monohydride-clustered regions such as vacancies and voids, as well as ${(\mathrm{Si}{\mathrm{H}}_{2})}_{n}$ and Si${\mathrm{H}}_{3}$ local bonding configurations. The films also contain regions in which monohydride groups are distributed at random. Based on changes in a film whose proton NMR line shapes are metastable as deposited, a model based on strain relief is proposed for film development which explains the ubiquitous presence of the two-phase inhomogeneity. Examination of the changes in proton NMR data as a function of deposition conditions furnishes new insight on the role Si${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ and $\mathrm{Si}{{\mathrm{H}}_{x}}^{+}$ groups have in models for the gas-phase reactions involved in the developing films. Finally, $p$- or $n$-type doping is found to increase the hydrogen content of the films, and, under heavy $p$-type doping with diborane, boron clustering may occur within the films.


This paper designs a distributed Transmission Opportunity (TXOP) adaptation algorithm for IEEE802.11e Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA). Each node measures its throughput in a window and compares it with a target value. If the measured throughput is higher than the target value, the node reduces its TXOP, otherwise if the measured value is less than the target throughput, the node increases its TXOP. We show that the target throughput can be achieved in a globally stable manner.


During the last five years, a battery of tests measuring neurological function called the Quantitative Examination of Neurological Function (QENF) has been greatly expanded. To evaluate more effectively the efficacy of clinical trials, the results of a study on reliability of test measures and on long- and short-term effects of learning are reported. Of the 113 test measures that were evaluated using 18 young adult normal subjects, only the fatigue and error measures, the vibration sense and two simulated activities of daily living tests were found unreliable. With respect to learning, the largest improvements in performance were found for arm-shoulder pursuit tracking, followed by many of the tests of coordination, particularly those requiring manual and/or finger dexterity. Only slight changes were found for tests of vision, strength, and speed of hand and foot. There were no important differences between short- and long-term learning. Considering this and other studies, patients are not likely to improve their performance appreciably by learning in a clinical trial.


Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate the inhibition of hypoxia-induced angiogenesis after embolization in VX2 rabbit liver tumors by liposomal curcumin


This paper describes a spiking pixel architecture that can be used in a locally interconnected network in order to perform image capture as well as image segmentation. In this network, interaction between pixels can be locally obtained and is mediated via the discharge speed of each spiking pixel. The paper studies three different architecture of locally coupled pixels and shows that synchronisation of two coupled pixels can be obtained using only local excitation schemes. A theoretical condition for synchronisation was also deduced and which confirms the obtained simulation results. The proposed schemes were also successfully tested for a set of noisy gray scale images.


Francesco Sansovino's Italian re-edition of Giacomo Filippo Foresti's "Supplementum chronicarum" contains in its third part ("parte terza"; Venezia 1574), which consists of additions for the years 1490-1574, an unnoticed biographical profile of Michelangelo Buonarroti written by Francesco Sansovino himself. This brief report about Michelangelo belongs to a series of brief discussions and mentions of Michelangelo found over the course of three decades in Sansovino's printed works. The text testifies to the enormous importance of Michelangelo's achievements, but is also contains numerous criticisms of Michelangelo and his works. In part, these criticisms are similar to those found in Venetian art theoretical and critical texts, and, in part, they are a function of the artistic ambitions of Francesco's father, the sculptor and architect, Jacopo Sansovino. The text is analysed in terms of its structure and content. The novel elements are identified. A brief biography of Francesco Sansovino is followed by a selected bibliography of literature concerning him. Appendix I contains neglected texts about the painters Pordenone and Titian. Appendix II treats two mentions of Michelangelo in a related work by Francesco Sansovino, his "Cronologia del mondo" (Venezia 1582). FONTES 43 is No. 7 in a series of early "Sources and Documents for Michelangelo Buonarroti"; see: FONTES 12 (Paolo Giovio), FONTES 20 (Giorgio Vasari), FONTES 23 (Benedetto Varchi), FONTES 34 (Ascanio Condivi), and FONTES 35 (Anonymous, in: Giacomo Filippo Forresti), and FONTES 42 (Nicolo Franco).


The increased leakage, yield inefficiency, process, power supply, and temperature variations have significant aftereffects on the performance of complex VLSI architectures especially if mapped on ultra deep sub micrometer (UDSM) technologies. In this paper we assess the technology trend based on three industrial technologies (90, 65, and 45 nm) using a state of the art processor as benchmark: The UltraSparc Niagara 2 from SUN Microsystem. We analyze frequency, dynamic, and static power and area after synthesis varying power supply voltage and temperature. We then compare these exhaustive analyses of system level performance as a function of technology to ITRS device level estimations. The results suggest that this prediction can be of help when addressing both the technological scaling and the variability scenario of the selected technology. We believe that correctly predicting specific values on performance variations when realistic conditions and technologies are changed could provide a valuable information for the architect. Our analysis advises the designer on the effective applicability of the ITRS trends to system performance, but also pinpoints that a reliable system level prediction should better take into account the design complexity.


This paper assesses the high-temperature low-cycle fatigue of the Type 304 stainless steel and Alloy 718 superalloy friction-welded joints. Strain controlled low-cycle fatigue tests for 304-304 and 718-718 friction-welded specimens were carried out at 923 K in air to obtain the fatigue strength of the joints. These materials were selected as the cyclic hardening and softening materials, respectively. The 304-304 welded specimens showed inferior fatigue strength in comparison with the base metal while the 718-718 specimens exhibited fatigue strength equivalent to that of the base metal. The difference in the fatigue strength between the two materials is discussed from the viewpoint of the cyclic deformation behavior and strain reduction at weld interface.


In recent years, digital media scholars have begun to acknowledge and reveal the extent to which the production and consumption of popular culture are driven by participatory practices, including amateur subtitling. A growing body of literature has drawn attention to the ways in which ordinary people are ever more often taking on the role of language brokers and adopting subtitling as a means to facilitate the absorption of some (hitherto) marginal content into the fabric of the mainstream cultural industries. This chapter addresses the theoretical and methodological challenges presented by the emergence and consolidation of digitally born subtitling amateur agencies—whether they are constituted by a single individual or by virtual communities subject to varying forms of internal governance. After exploring the ecology of such agencies and the differences in the social and material aspects of their respective subtitling practices, the chapter moves on to examine the relevance of netnography and genetic criticism to the study of subtitled popular culture in the digital context—an area of enquiry that continues to move towards the core


A consecutive series of 24 knees in 21 patients who received a Finn rotating hinge for primary (nine knees) or revision (15 knees) total knee arthroplasty between August 1993 and January 1997 was reviewed. The average followup was 33 months (range, 21–62 months) for all patients in the study. Seventeen patients (20 knees) were followed up for more than 2 years. Twenty-four knees (21 patients) were categorized according to Knee Society scoring criteria: 37.5% (nine knees) were Category A, 25% (six knees) were Category B, and 37.5% (nine knees) were Category C. Using the Knee Society knee and function scores, clinical and radiographic results were assessed and outcome analysis was determined. The average Knee Society knee score improved from 44 points (range, 5–64 points) before surgery to 83 points (range, 45–95 points) after surgery; the average functional score according to the Knee Society system improved from 10 points (range, 0–35 points) before surgery to 45 points (range, 0–100 points) after surgery. Pain and function markedly improved after surgery. For treatment of the most severely affected knees with compromised bone and ligamentous instability, the Finn total knee replacement appears to be an acceptable option. As a rotating hinge design, the prosthesis at early followup provides excellent pain relief, restoration of walking capacity, and stabilization, without evidence of early mechanical failure.


Flexible III-nitride-based optoelectronic devices are crucial for the next-generation foldable/wearable lighting sterilization and sensor working in the ultraviolet (UV) region. However, the strong bonding effect at the epitaxial interface of III-nitride and bare sapphire substrate makes it difficult for epilayer separation and flexible applications. Although the emerging van der Waals epitaxy (vdWE) with graphene insertion layer offers a feasible route for weakening the interfacial adhesion, the intact centimeter-transferable III-nitride membrane still remains challenging. The spontaneous delamination occurs due to the too weak interfacial adhesion of pure vdW force, and on the contrary, the structural damage of graphene by high-temperature hydrogen etching during the III-nitride growth might also cause separation failure. Up to now, the efficient control of vdWE interfacial adhesion is still an on-going research hotspot. Herein, we demonstrate the interfacial adhesion control of III-nitride vdWE by utilizing graded high-temperature nitridation treatment of the graphene insertion layer, which generates defects and N doping in different levels. The corresponding epitaxial modes of pure-vdWE, quasi-vdWE, and mixed epitaxy are achieved according to the interfacial adhesion difference. It reveals that the quasi-vdWE enabled by small graphene defects and proper N doping triggers the low formation energy for AlN nucleation; meanwhile, the proper interfacial adhesion ensures the growth integrality and intact separation of III-nitride membrane in the centimeter scale. The UV resin-assisted bonding technique is proposed for the successful transfer of III-nitride onto a flexible substrate. The flexible photodetector is fabricated by using a graphene monolayer as the photocarrier transport channel, and it achieves a high device yield of 90%, retaining ∼60% of its initial performance after 250 bending cycles. This work offers the promising strategy for controlling vdWE interfacial adhesion, and the separable and transferable III-nitride membrane lays the foundation for advances of future UV foldable and wearable devices.


The interaction of two vasoactive substances, the vasodilator nitric oxide (NO) and the complex-acting peptide endothelin-1 (ET-1), may help explain the pathophysiology of pulmonary hypertension, an important part of many pulmonary disorders in neonates. To understand better the interactions of inhaled NO and ET-1, we investigated the effects of ET-1 infusions with and without inhaled NO in two groups of piglets, one group pretreated with L-nitro-arginine methylester (L-NAME) and the other not pretreated. Inhaled NO (60 ppm) was administered during infusion of 1.0 µg/kg or 2.5 µg/kg of ET-1. In animals not pretreated with L-NAME, the increase in PVR and in SVR induced by either dose of ET-1 was not reduced with administration of NO. The increase in systemic vascular resistance with ET-1 was greater (mean increase of 50% above baseline with 1.0 µg/kg ET-1 and 100% with 2.5 µg/kg ET-1 by 5 min) than the increase in PVR, but the PVR/SVR ratio did not change during ET-1 administration. In contrast, animals pretreated with L-NAME did demonstrate inhibition of ET-1-induced increase in PVR with NO. No differences in effects on SVR were noted. We conclude that ET-1-induced increases in PVR are not diminished by 60 ppm of inhaled NO unless there has been inhibition of endogenous NO production.


Spermatogenesis is the male version of gametogenesis, where germ cells are transformed into haploid spermatozoa through a tightly controlled series of mitosis, meiosis and differentiation. This process is reliant on precisely timed changes in gene expression controlled by several different hormonal and transcriptional mechanisms. One important transcription factor is SRY-box transcription factor 3 (SOX3), which is transiently expressed within the uncommitted spermatogonial stem cell population. Sox3-null mouse testes exhibit a block in spermatogenesis, leading to infertility or subfertility. However, the molecular role of SOX3 during spermatogonial differentiation remains poorly understood because the genomic regions targeted by this transcription factor have not been identified. In this study we used chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing to identify and characterise the endogenous genome-wide binding profile of SOX3 in mouse testes at Postnatal Day 7. We show that neurogenin3 (Neurog3 or Ngn3) is directly targeted by SOX3 in spermatogonial stem cells via a novel testes-specific binding site. We also implicate SOX3, for the first time, in direct regulation of histone gene expression and demonstrate that this function is shared by both neural progenitors and testes, and with another important transcription factor required for spermatogenesis, namely promyelocytic leukaemia zinc-finger (PLZF). Together, these data provide new insights into the function of SOX3 in different stem cell contexts.


Vocational education and training plays a crucial part in the creation of decent job. The fast growth of information and communication technology (ICT) during the past ten years has increased work opportunities for laborers. This research uses the yearly labor force survey data to study the impact of vocational education and training on decent job opportunities for employees in the context of Vietnam's information and communication technology development. The logit model results indicate that the 2020 rate of decent jobs is still low, at approximately 25.6 percent. However, vocational education and training and the advancement of ICT positively affect decent job opportunities. This long-lasting impact affects laborers in various areas, regions, and industries. These findings suggest that vocational education and training and ICT must play a significant role in transitioning from precarious to more secure employment, so laborers must acquire professional knowledge and information technology skills.


This study explored gender differences in quality of life and depressive symptoms over time among people with coronary heart disease (CHD) and compared them with a healthy population. Using three waves of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2002-03, 2004-05 and 2006-07) methodological problems such as missing data and sources of error and uncertainty which may arise from reliance on a self-reported measure of CHD were addressed.
A simulation study was set up to compare three techniques for dealing with missing data: full information maximum likelihood, multivariate normal imputation and a two-fold fully conditional specification. Results supported the use of the latter technique which outperformed the other two techniques in recovering the targeted parameters, especially with a binary outcome.
Results based on imputed data showed that compared to people from the healthy population, men and women with CHD had on average lower levels of quality of life. Men with CHD were also at higher risk of having depressive symptoms than men from the healthy population. Women with CHD were as likely as women from the healthy population to have depressive symptoms. Trajectories over time of quality of life had a different shape from trajectories of depressive symptoms after the onset of CHD. Men's quality of life declined over time and no changes in depressive symptoms were found. Women's quality of life declined only between baseline and four year follow-up, while in the same period their risk of having depressive symptoms reduced.
A sensitivity analysis based on an external validation study and a deterministic sensitivity analysis helped understand the impact that misclassification of the self-reported CHD measure could have on the results of this thesis. It was found that the reliability of the results presented could be affected by false positive and false negative cases of CHD.


Six studies examine the influence of positive affect on self-control in intertemporal choice (consumers' willingness to wait for desired rewards) and the cognitive processes underlying this effect. Two studies measure participants' levels of thinking in two different ways, showing that positive affect can promote forward-looking, high-level thinking. Two studies using a delay-of-gratification paradigm demonstrate this forward-looking thinking and show it to be a mindful process. Participants in positive (vs. neutral) affect were more likely to choose a larger mail-in rebate over a smaller instant rebate when the reward differences were moderate (but not when they were small). Two studies demonstrate the impact of positive affect on intertemporal preference in another way, showing that participants in positive affect do not discount the value of delayed outcomes as much as people in neutral affect do (decreased present bias). Together, the results indicate that positive affect promotes cognitive flexibility and fosters a higher level of thinking and a more future-oriented time perspective, without obscuring practical considerations and other needed detail, including context and opportunity costs, when evaluating intertemporal options.


In this paper we present the morphological and structural properties of the low pressure chemically vapor deposited (LPCVD) silicon films after annealing at 600/spl deg/C for 26 hours in nitrogen, in comparison with the properties of as-deposited layers. For the films found in the polycrystalline state after deposition (i.e. those prepared at temperatures below and above 550/spl deg/C), XRD spectra have indicated a supplementary [111] diffraction peak after annealing. In addition, from XRD data, we obtained a dependence of grain size of annealed Si layers on initial CVD conditions. The spectroellipsometry (SE) and Ultra-Violet (UV) spectroscopy have indicated an important increase of the crystalline/amorphous silicon ratio for all annealed films. The signature of initial CVD conditions in optical properties investigated by SE and UV was found only for as-deposited Si films. From AFM measurements we have found that the surface roughness has increased by annealing, with a higher value for the annealed films, which were in the poly-crystalline state, immediately after deposition. In connection to our earlier results we bring here further support (by SE and UV data) for the crystalline state detected in as-deposited LPCVD films prepared at temperatures as low as 500/spl deg/C. The value of the amorphous fraction present in the as-deposited film can explain the structural changes of the LPCVD Si films after annealing, as a function of initial CVD conditions.


The study analyzed the physical and chemical compositions of seven honey samples, which were obtained from selected markets in Ibadan metropolis. Seven samples of honey were obtained namely from sample A (Forestry honey Ibadan), Sample B (Pure honey), Sample C (Mr. honey), Sample D (Taraba honey), sample E (Sokoto honey), sample F (Saki honey) and sample G (Natural honey). The variables analyzed were pH, % purity, Ash content, Refractive index, Viscosity, Colour and specific gravity. The average price/litre of the honey samples B,C and G (N1,250) was higher than samples D, E and F (N666.00). The average % purity of the honey samples is 92.64.Result also showed that the mean value of the variables tested namely Viscosity (4.37), Refractive index (1.49), specific gravity (1.12), pH (5.27) and % Ash content (0.35) were within the established codex standard values of honey; i.e. 1.95 – 5.65, 1.4000 – 1.9000, 1.38 - 1.45, 3.6 – 5.6 and 0.20 – 1.03 respectively. The result further revealed that the variables considered were within the standard set by Codex alimentrus. Improvement in processing and packaging techniques will not only enhance the acceptability of these products but also brings about higher income to the producers and marketers.


Purpose of review Eosinophilic pleural effusions (EPE) are defined as those that contain at least 10% eosinophils. EPEs account for 5 to 16% of exudative pleural effusions. However, their pathogenesis is poorly understood. The purpose of this review is to discuss the mechanisms that lead to eosinophilic pleural inflammation. Recent findings Eosinophilic pleural effusions are caused by the presence of air or blood or both in the pleural space, infectious or other inflammatory diseases, malignancy, pulmonary emboli, asbestos exposure, and drug reactions. Differences in the clinical features suggest that a variety of mechanisms operate to induce eosinophilic pleural inflammation and pleural fluid accumulation. Human and animal studies indicate that interleukin (IL)-5 is an important common contributor of different pathogenetic pathways. The possible role of other cytokines, chemokines, and adhesion molecules in the development of EPE is under investigation. Summary Understanding the pathogenesis of EPE will permit the development of novel therapies for the persistent, symptomatic, posttraumatic and idiopathic EPE. Anti-IL-5 treatment is an interesting option that requires further research.


Nowadays training of specialists for different branches of national economy acquires more significance than 20-25 years ago. As in other branches of economy, the same competition is met in an educational system in a marketplace. The main reason of it is globalization and general development of production technology and service in developed countries. It should be noted that in conditions of globalization of economy the competition envelopes not only the marketplace, but also the production process itself. The purpose of the work is investigation of problems of improving education system in conditions of severe competition and possibility of applying of REENGINEERING in revealing of a number of priority factors of success.


Abstract : Due to poor atmospheric density models for computing drag forces on satellites, AF Space Battlelab approved the initiative MADM. The Modified Atmospheric Density Model's objective is to update an atmospheric density model in near real-time using satellite-tracking data. This is accomplished by attempting to apply intelligent feedback from the empirical drag data for satellites in stable orbits to correct the overall atmospheric model density error. MADM uses an engineering approach, opposed to a scientific approach. MADM was able to reduce the modeled density error from approximately 15% to about 5% when applied to a study set of LEO satellites. This model density improvement dampened fluctuations in ballistic coefficients leading to an average improvement of about 200%. The final demonstrations showed that 80% of the overall catalog had improved prediction orbits in near real-time. Final operational processing techniques show significant promise, but will require some additional work.


We introduce two new variance estimation procedures that use non-overlapping and overlapping blocks, respectively. The non-overlapping blocks estimator can be viewed as the limit of the thinned block bootstrap estimator recently proposed in Guan Loh (2007), by letting the number of thinned processes and bootstrap samples therein both increase to infinity. The non-overlapping blocks estimator can be obtained quickly since it does not require any thinning or bootstrap steps, and it is more stable. The overlapping blocks estimator further improves the performance of the non-overlapping blocks with a modest increase in computation time. A simulation study demonstrates the superiority of the proposed estimators over the thinned block bootstrap estimator. Copyright 2009, Oxford University Press.


We have found that the high velocity dispersions of dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) can be well explained by Milky Way (MW) tidal shocks, which reproduce precisely the gravitational acceleration previously attributed to dark matter (DM). Here we summarize the main results of Hammer et al. (2019) who studied the main scaling relations of dSphs and show how dark-matter free galaxies in departure from equilibrium reproduce them well, while they appear to be challenging for the DM model. These results are consistent with our most recent knowledge about dSph past histories, including their orbits, their past star formation history and their progenitors, which are likely tiny dwarf irregular galaxies.


Background: Nurses' role is warned to view blood transfusion responsibilities, and able to identify the nursing required to care for patients receiving a blood transfusion so that they can develop their skills. The aimed of the study to assess nurses' knowledge level procedure of blood transfusion. Materials and method: A descriptive study approach was carried out at Al-Salam teaching hospital in Mosul city. A random sample consists of (130) nurses, the questionnaire was used for data collection, it include two parts. Part one was demographic data, and Part two including (16) questions for nurses' knowledge of blood transfusion. Content validity was determined by presenting the items to a panel of (10) experts, and used the Coefficient Correlation for questionnaire items showed that the reliability of the questionnaire which was (r = 0.90). Results: The study finding that there average of true answers (64%), while (36%) false answers of nurses' knowledge of blood transfusion procedure for the patient. Also the present study indicates (65%) of nurses have good knowledge and (35%) of nurses has poor knowledge about procedure of blood transfusion. Conclusions: The present study showed that a third of nurses' have poor knowledge of blood transfusion, and finding a significant relationship between the nurses knowledge and level of education, also a significant relationship between the nurses' knowledge and course trainings.


The article highlights the results of a study carried out to understand the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) response to the second most important fibre crop of India i.e. Jute at C and L band frequency and at multiple polarizations. Methodology has been well established to classify jute crop using 3-date multitemporal HH SAR data and is being used for national level forecast in India. Performance comparison of single polarization (HH) multi-date versus dual-polarization 2-date data from Radarsat (both dual-pol HH/HV and quad-pol) was evaluated. Three-date HH polariza-tion (May, 05, May 29 and June 22) data had results comparable to two-date HH/HV data with around 90% accuracy. Correlation between backscattered signals and crop height shows that L-band signal has high correlation with crop height particularly in the peak or advanced crop growth stage as compared to C-band. Also backscatter variation with percent area cover has been investigated. Both plant height and area cover show stronger dependence to cross-polarization backscatter. Biophysical parameters viz. crop height and vigour map has been generated which will aid in monitoring growth and yield potentials.


Microorganisms are among the most important organisms to the ecology of salt marsh estuaries; however, fundamental questions regarding their distribution, environmental controls, and interactions with phytoplankton remain unanswered. We used denaturing gradient gel electrophore- sis (DGGE) of bacterial rRNA genes and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of phyto- plankton photopigments to characterize planktonic communities from the Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto (ACE) Basin and North Inlet (NI) estuaries on the South Carolina coast, USA. Multivariate comparisons of the planktonic community profiles revealed that the 2 estuaries supported distinct bacterial communities. Furthermore, bacterial communities in both systems were partitioned into separate particle-associated (PA) and free-living (FL) components. Differences in bacterial popula- tions were also observed along the salinity gradient within each system. Comparisons of water physicochemistry with bacterial profiles indicated significant correlation of PA bacterial community structures with temperature, salinity, organic carbon, total phosphorus, and ammonium, whereas FL communities were affected by nitrate, ammonium, total phosphorus and orthophosphate. PA bacteri- oplankton community structures were also associated with diatoms, dinoflagellates, haptophytes and cryptophytes, while FL assemblages corresponded to prasinophytes, chlorophytes, and cyanobacte- ria. Comparisons between estuaries further demonstrated that ACE Basin communities were mostly associated with the same pigments as PA samples, and that NI assemblages correlated with FL- associated phytoplankton, suggesting different trophodynamics of particles in the 2 systems.


Introduction. Development of new therapies for cancer and infections frequently involves combinations of two or more drugs. Existing methods to quantify drug interactivity are suitable for analyzing drugs with parallel concentration-effect curves and similar maximum drug effects. This study established a method for the remaining situations. Methods. Equations describing zero-interactivity effects of combination therapy were developed based on the principle that a drug cannot interact with itself (i.e., additivity only). These equations were used to convert the concentration-effect (C-E) curve of the combination to C-E curve for each of the two drugs in the combination as if they were used as single agents (single agent-equivalent curves). Confidence intervals (CI) of these curves were generated using the error propagation method. Effect data of drug combinations were analyzed by the new and existing methods. Results. The calculated single agent-equivalent curves plus 95% CI defined the boundaries of an envelope for additive drug effects (Uncertainty Envelope). The Envelope shape and size were determined by differences in the shapes of single agent C-E curves. The nature of drug interactivity is indicated by the location of experimental data points of the combination; data points located within the Envelope indicate additivity, whereas points above and below the Envelope respectively indicate statistically significant synergy and antagonism. In comparison with the existing methods, the Envelope method yielded more conservative results (additivity vs. synergy or antagonism). Conclusion. Uncertainty Envelope method enables the interactivity analysis between drugs with nonparallel C-E curves and unequal maximal effect, with statistical confidence. Citation Format: Liang Zhao, Jessie L.-s. Au, M. Guill Wientjes. Uncertainty envelope to evaluate drug interactivity with statistical analysis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 3485. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-3485


Abstract Let
$\Omega \subset \mathbb {R}^N$
 ,
$N\geq 2$
 , be an open bounded connected set. We consider the fractional weighted eigenvalue problem
$(-\Delta )^s u =\lambda \rho u$
 in
$\Omega $
 with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition, where
$(-\Delta )^s$
 ,
$s\in (0,1)$
 , is the fractional Laplacian operator,
$\lambda \in \mathbb {R}$
 and
$ \rho \in L^\infty (\Omega )$
 . We study weak* continuity, convexity and Gâteaux differentiability of the map
$\rho \mapsto 1/\lambda _1(\rho )$
 , where
$\lambda _1(\rho )$
 is the first positive eigenvalue. Moreover, denoting by
$\mathcal {G}(\rho _0)$
 the class of rearrangements of
$\rho _0$
 , we prove the existence of a minimizer of
$\lambda _1(\rho )$
 when
$\rho $
 varies on
$\mathcal {G}(\rho _0)$
 . Finally, we show that, if
$\Omega $
 is Steiner symmetric, then every minimizer shares the same symmetry.


Background: Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) has been the focus of research regarding its effects on liver function due to its potential for bioaccumulation in human body, widespread exposure, and the ability acting as an endocrine disruptor. Although the hepatotoxicity of PFOA has been identified, conclusions from population-based studies remain inconsistent, and the purpose of this study was to systematically review the epidemiological evidence linking PFOA to the four most common liver enzyme indicators and to quantitatively pool the effects of existing longitudinal cohort studies.Methods: Longitudinal cohort studies on PFOA and the four liver enzyme indicators (alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP)) were searched in three electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science and EMBASE) until July 10, 2021. Random-effects meta-analysis was used to calculate pooled effect estimates for continuous exposure. We also assessed the risk of study bias and the overall quality and level of evidence for each exposure and outcome combination.Results: The initial search identified 18 studies, 9 of which were eventually included. PFOA showed significant relationships with all four liver enzyme metrics: ALT (N=7, β=0.012, 0.001-0.023), AST (N=6, β=0.041, 0.002-0.079), GGT (N=6, β=0.010, 0.001-0.020), ALP (N=4, β=0.007, 0.002-0.011) with low to high concomitant heterogeneity. The certainty of the combined evidence for each exposure-outcome combination was considered "moderate".Conclusions: We conducted the first meta-analysis and systematic review based on a longitudinal cohort study, and the results support the hypothesis that PFOA increases levels of four common liver enzymes, and that this causal relationship was observed within the context of a population-based study area. Further clinical or epidemiological research, especially longitudinal studies, are needed to expand the sample size and further determine the effect of different types and doses of confounders of PFOA exposure on liver enzyme indices, with adequate consideration of sex, age, and other confounders as well as reverse causality.


Patients with corrosive related maladies frequently need to take multiple pharmaceuticals. Treatment of Helicobacter pylori disease frequently incorporates either a histamine sort 2 (H2) - receptor opponent or a proton pump (H+, K+-ATPase)inhibitor (proton pump inhibitor), controlled in conjunction with at least one antimicrobials. Likewise, treatment for corrosive related maladies regularly requires extended treatment amid which numerous attendant medicines might be regulated for simultaneous ailments rates. Polypharmacy might be the outcome, especially in elderly patients, who are at expanded hazard for both corrosive related and numerous different illnesses. Accordingly, it is vital to understand the potential for clinically noteworthy medication sedate cooperations in this setting.


We tested the hypothesis that languages can be classified by their degree of tonal rhythm (Jun, 2014). The tonal rhythms of English and Italian were quantified using the following parameters: (a) regularity of tonal alternations in time, measured as durational variability in peak-to-peak and valley-to-valley intervals; (b) magnitude of F0 excursions, measured as the range of frequencies covered by the speaker between consecutive F0 maxima and minima; (c) number of tonal target points per intonational unit; and (d) similarity of F0 rising and falling contours within intonational units. The results show that, as predicted by Jun's prosodic typology (2014), Italian has a stronger tonal rhythm than English, expressed by higher regularity in the distribution of F0 minima turning points, larger F0 excursions, and more frequent tonal targets, indicating alternating phonological H and L tones. This cross-language difference can be explained by the relative load of F0 and durational ratios on the perception and production of speech rhythm and prominence. We suggest that research on the role of speech rhythm in speech processing and language acquisition should not be restricted to syllabic rhythm, but should also examine the role of cross-language differences in tonal rhythm.


This study aims to propose a performance metric for the application of a horizontal air-exhausting system to be used for the reduction of vapor and/or moisture that exists in the waterproof layer, by evaluating the physical properties. For this reason, tests in accordance with current standards were carried out, and the results were examined . Finally, a proposal was established for a general performance metric that could be applied as fundamental data based on the user"s judgment. This has some limitations, in that the object is existing merchandise, however it should be useful for application in the construction field. In the future, analysis of a wider area, including workability, should be added in the phase of field application.