Objective: Obstructive sleep apnea is characterized by a number of airway obstructions. Esophageal pressure manometry (EPM) based estimation of consecutive peak to trough differences (ΔPes) is the gold standard method to quantify the severity of airway obstructions. However, the procedure is rarely available in sleep laboratories due to invasive nature. There is a clinical need for a simplified, scalable technology that can quantify the severity of airway obstructions. In this paper, we address this and propose a pioneering technology, centered on sleep related respiratory sound (SRS) to predict overnight ΔPes signal. Approach: We recorded streams of SRS using a bedside iPhone 7 smartphone from subjects undergoing diagnostic polysomnography (PSG) studies and EPM was performed concurrently. Overnight data was divided into epochs of 10 s duration with 50% overlap. Altogether, we extracted 42 181 such epochs from 13 subjects. Acoustic features and features from the two PSG signals serve as an input to train a machine learning algorithm to achieve mapping between non-invasive features and ΔPes values. A testing dataset of 14 171 epochs from four new subjects was used for validation. Main results: The SRS based model predicted the ΔPes with a median of absolute error of 6.75 cmH2O (±0.59, r = 0.83(±0.03)). When information from the PSG were combined with the SRS, the model performance became: 6.37cmH2O (±1.02, r = 0.85(±0.04)). Significance: The smart phone based SRS alone, or in combination with routinely collected PSG signals can provide a non-invasive method to predict overnight ΔPes. The method has the potential to be automated and scaled to provide a low-cost alternative to EPM.


Schoolchildren from 2 areas of Kenya, Kangundo and Kambu, have contrasting prevalences of hepatosplenomegaly, despite having similar prevalences and intensities of Schistosoma mansoni infection. However, in individual children, S. mansoni infection intensity is positively correlated with organomegaly. In a previous study, hepatosplenomegaly was associated with Th1-type anti-schistosome cytokine responses. Although the high-morbidity Kambu area had higher malaria transmission than did low-morbidity Kangundo, hepatosplenomegaly was not associated with clinical malaria or with patent malarial parasitemia. However, chronic exposure to malaria might be involved. Here, retrospectively, we assayed plasma from this original study, for anti-Plasmodium falciparum and anti-S. mansoni antibodies, to test whether greater exposure to Plasmodium was a cofactor for hepatosplenomegaly. We found that hepatosplenic children had significantly higher levels of anti-P. falciparum antibodies, compared with nonhepatosplenic children, a finding that strongly suggests that some experience of P. falciparum influenced the development of hepatosplenomegaly in these S. mansoni-infected children.


: Image hosting platforms are a popular way to store and share images with family members and friends. However, such platforms typically have full access to images raising privacy concerns. These concerns are further exacerbated with the advent of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) that can be trained on available images to automatically detect and recognize faces with high accuracy. Recently, adversarial perturbations have been proposed as a potential defense against automated recognition and classification of images by CNNs. In this paper, we explore the practicality of adversarial perturbation-based approaches as a privacy defense against automated face recognition. Specifically, we first identify practical requirements for such approaches and then propose two practical adversarial perturbation approaches – (i) learned universal ensemble perturbations (UEP) , and (ii) k-randomized transparent image overlays (k-RTIO) that are semantic adversarial perturbations . We demonstrate how users can generate effective transferable perturbations under realistic assumptions with less effort. We evaluate the proposed methods against state-of-the-art online and offline face recognition models, Clari-fai.com and DeepFace, respectively. Our findings show that UEP and k-RTIO respectively achieve more than 85% and 90% success against face recognition models. Additionally, we explore potential countermeasures that classifiers can use to thwart the proposed defenses. Par-ticularly, we demonstrate one effective countermeasure against UEP.


Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has one of the worst prognoses of any human malignancy. When human PDAC cells are injected into immunodeficient animals, they create tumors of the late stage from which they were derived. We hypothesized that if human pancreatic cancer cells were converted to pluripotency and then allowed to differentiate back into pancreas, the developmental progression would recapitulate early stages of the cancer. To that end, we generated isogenic pairs of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-like lines from epithelial cells of human pancreatic tumors and from histologically normal epithelial cells at the resected pancreatic margins. When injected into immunodeficient mice, at low or high passages, a human pancreatic cancer iPS-like line, but not the corresponding margin iPS-like line, generates pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) ductal structures that represent the predominant precursor to PDAC. The PanIN-like ducts can be isolated, cultured, and release protein products reflective of PanINs, thereby providing new insights into underlying regulatory networks and potential markers of early diagnosis. These studies demonstrate that iPS technology can be exploited to recapitulate early progression events of a human epithelial cancer.

Citation Format: Jungsun Kim, Kenneth S. Zaret, John P. Hoffman, Maximilian . Reichert, Andrew D. Rhim, Ben Z. Stanger, Andrew Gumbs. Induced pluripotent stem cells from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma can recapitulate early developmental stages of cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer: Progress and Challenges; Jun 18-21, 2012; Lake Tahoe, NV. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(12 Suppl):Abstract nr B98.


Research has found higher education students are typically passive and disengaged. This paper updates and expands upon the author's previous study of engagement issues in universities and the value of work-related learning for improving engagement and enhancing student learning. This previous work involved a case study designed to improve engagement in lab sessions with realistic/real-world work-based examples. While results indicated that activities like this can increase engagement and enhance student learning the study only involved a small sample and there were some areas for improvement. Consequently, the study has been repeated with an expanded case study which takes a holistic approach where students take on the role of an ethical hacker to identify security weaknesses and then fix those security issues. Findings corroborate the previous study's findings and add further weight to the argument that work-related learning activities can increase engagement and enhance the student experience and student learning.


Objective: To determine the predictors of outcome of thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) surgery in a population-based cohort of injured workers. Methods: All injured workers in the Washington State Workers' Compensation system who received TOS surgery during 1986 to 1991 were identified by computerized bill payment records and validated by medical record review (n = 158). The main outcome measure was work disability status 1 year after surgery. Additional functional status and quality of life outcomes were determined by telephone survey an average of 4.8 years after operation. A sample of workers with a TOS diagnosis who did not receive surgery during 1987 to 1989 were identified as a comparison group (n = 95). Results: Sixty percent of workers were still work disabled 1 year after surgery. The strongest predictors of remaining disabled were the amount of work disability before surgery (OR = 1.85; 95% CI, 1.51 to 2.28), longer time between injury and TOS diagnosis (OR = 1.34; 95% CI, 1.09 to 1.64), and older age at injury (OR = 1.07; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.13). There was no relationship between type of surgery, presence of any provocative tests, or experience of surgeon and work disability outcome. In follow-up surveys an average of 4.8 years after surgery, 72.5% of workers still reported they were "limited a lot" in vigorous activities. Compared with a nonsurgical sample of TOS patients, those receiving surgery had 50% greater medical costs and were three to four times more likely to be work disabled. Conclusions: The outcome of TOS surgery among injured workers is worse than has generally been reported. The nonspecific neurogenic TOS diagnosis, the complexity of workers' compensation cases, and the adverse event profile are likely substantial contributors to the worse outcomes reported here. Well-designed prospective studies and randomized trials are required to elucidate any role of TOS surgery in nonspecific TOS.


Abstract. We report a quenching phenomenon within the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum in the photonic response of a passive Fe3O4-silicone elastomer composite film due to magnetically aligned Fe3O4 nanoparticles. We performed systematic studies of the polarization dependence, the effect of particle size, and an in- and out-of-plane particle alignment on the optical response of the Fe3O4-silicone elastomer composites using a UV/vis/NIR spectrometer. We observed systematic redshifts in the response of the out-of-plane composite films with increasing particle alignment and weight that are attributed to dipole-induced effects. There were no observable shifts in the spectra of the in-plane films, suggesting the orientation of the magnetic dipole and the induced electric dipole play a crucial role in the optical response. A dramatic suppression to near quenching of the photonic response occurred in films containing moderate concentrations of the aligned nanoparticles. This is attributed to the interplay between the intra- and the interparticle dipoles. This occurred even when low magnetic fields were used during the curing process, suggesting that particle alignment and particle size limitation are critical in the manipulation of the photonic properties. A dipole approximation model is used to explain the quenching phenomenon. An active system of such a composite has a potential application in magneto-optic switches.


Skin wounds are common and represent a major public health and economical problem, with risks of complications and a significant negative impact on the quality of life of patients. Cutaneous wound healing is a tightly regulated process resulting in the restoration of tissue integrity. Wound healing involves the interaction of several skin, immune and vascular cells, growth factors and cytokines. However, external actors can play an important role in wound healing, such as the skin microbiome, which is the microbial commensal collection of bacteria, fungi and viruses inhabiting the skin. Indeed, recent advances have featured the interactions, within the wound environment, between different microbial species and between microbial species and the host immune system. This article reviews the relationship between the skin microbiome and the wound healing process. Although cutaneous wounds are a potential entry site for infection, the wound microbiome can have either a detrimental or a beneficial role on wound healing. Thus, targeting the skin microbiome could represent an essential part of wound healing management.


The IEEE staff organization has undertaken a major quality initiative that has required a major staff learning and training program followed by pilot quality initiatives in a number of major areas. We begin with the quality principles that provide the foundation for the initiatives and then move to describe the initiatives and their effects on members, employees, suppliers, and the technical communities served by the IEEE. The quality principles upon which the initiatives are based are few and unambiguous: the customer comes first; all work is part of a process; suppliers are an integral part of our business; quality happens through people; prevention is achieved through planning; and quality improvement never ends. We use these quality principles to guide the management of all parts of the IEEE in order to meet the needs of our members, other customers, employees, suppliers, and the technical communities we serve.<<ETX>>


Tuberculum sellae meningiomas (TSMs) represent special surgical challenge for neurosurgeons. In this review, we summarize the most common clinical manifestations, diagnostic images, surgical approaches and prognostic factors for outcome at single tertiary care teaching hospitals. Material and Methods: Prospective study was done between January 2010 and January 2017 (Minimum 24-month follow-up). Imaging and clinical data of 31 consecutive patients with TSMs were collected and analyzed. There were no exclusion criteria. Result: The majority of patients were >40 years old (22 patients; 71%). There was a female preponderance 74%: 23 cases (M/F ratio was 1:3). The most common clinical presentation was visual impairment (24; 77%). The mean tumor size was 3.3 cm. Thirty-one patients underwent surgical excision by different approaches. The overall visual improvement was 29% (9 of 31 patients) however visual deterioration occurred in 6.4% (2 of 31 patients). Favorable prognosis was found in patients with short preoperative visual affection (less than 6 months). This finding was statistically significant (P ≤ 0.05). Also, visual outcome had significant correlations with edema surrounded tumor: arterial encasement by the tumor and brain-tumor interface. Two patients died 3 weeks postoperatively from brain stem infarction (overall incidence of mortality 6%) while the overall incidence of morbidity was 19% (6 of 31 patients). Conclusion: The most common symptom of Tuberculum sellae meningioma is visual affection. The favorable prognosis was found in patients with short preoperative visual affection (less than 6 months). Also; visual prognosis had significant correlations with peritumoral edema, arterial encasement by the tumor, and brain-tumor interface.


How to import modern Western Institutions to suppress economic growth in underdeveloped countries? Russian experience and some warnings for newcoming reformers The monograph «Institutional Constraints on Modern Economic Growth" deals with the most dangerous obstacles standing in the way of long term economic growth. Some of these obstacles have been studied extensively, while others are well known but have been largely forgotten over time; finally, there are some that for various reasons are normally ignored. "I believe that the United States today is not an appropriate model for Mexico or other low-income countries…. There have been no summits about how you privatize governmental activities. You have seen summits about how to raise taxes, about spending more of the taxpayers' money, about how to impose more controls on the people. That is the sense in which I say, take as your model the U.S. in its first 150 years. We can afford our nonsense now because we had so long a period during which to build a base. You can't." wrote Milton Friedman[1] in 1994. The book contains specification of the principal cases of "nonsense". The authors are searching for historic records of "damaged" institutions their roots and causes of the damages, tracking them to universal suffrage rising and to the earlier, pre-capitalist institutions, so that to develop the policy advice for new democracies how to escape all these traps.


MutY protein, a DNA glycosylase found in Escherichia coli, recognizes dA:dG, dA:8-oxodG, and dA:dC mismatches in duplex DNA, excising the adenine moiety. We have investigated the mechanism of action of MutY, addressing several points of disagreement raised by previous studies of this enzyme. MutY forms a covalent intermediate with its DNA substrate but does not catalyze strand cleavage. The covalent intermediate has a half-life of approximately 2.6 h, 2 orders of magnitude greater than the half-life of Schiff bases formed when E. coli formamidopyrimidine-DNA glycosylase (Fpg) and endonuclease III react with their respective substrates. The covalent complex between MutY and its DNA substrate involves Lys-142; however, the position of this residue in the presumptive active site differs from that of catalytic residues involved in Schiff base formation associated with endonuclease III and related DNA glycosylases/AP lyases. MutY converts DNA duplexes containing the dA:8-oxodG mispair to a product containing an abasic site; heat-induced cleavage of this product may account for the several reports in the literature that ascribe AP lyase activity to MutY. The MutY-DNA intermediate complex is highly stable and hinders access by Fpg to DNA, thereby avoiding a double-strand break. Cross-linking of MutY to DNA may play an important role in the regulation of base excision repair.


Biological theory has long been a source of inspiration for economists, and the analogy between market competition and what Darwin called 'the struggle for existence' has informed both neoclassical and heterodox views of the firm. What has gone largely unnoticed, however, is that Darwin's theory of evolution rests on two pillars. In nature, the process of 'survival selection' that has inspired economists is complemented by 'sexual selection'. Sexual selection is a fundamentally different process from survival selection and can lead to very different selective outcomes. This paper explores how the notion of sexual selection can inform economic theory. We argue that sexual selection theory provides the ontological foundation for incorporating social aspects of human organization into evolutionary theories of the firm. This foundation provides the basis for a theory that can explain differences between firms that theories based on survival selection alone cannot. Moreover, in contrast to the optimality arguments that have been made on the basis of the logic of survival selection alone, a theory of the firm that also incorporates the logic of sexual selection would predict that firms may evolve stable characteristics that are deleterious from the point of view of their efficiency in product markets.


ABSTRACT Background: Recent studies support the need for sagittal alignment restoration when performing lumbar degenerative spinal fusions. The development of patient-specific spine rods (PSSRs) may help maintain or improve sagittal alignment in these surgeries. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted for patients who underwent posterior spinal surgeries involving 4 or less levels. The preplanned PSSR radii of curvature (ROC) was compared with standard prebent rods with a ROC of 125 mm. All surgeries were performed at a single institution by 3 surgeons from September 2016 through October 2018. Data were then compared using a 2-tailed paired t test. PSSR had either 1 or 2 definitive ROCs. Results: For rods with 2 ROCs, the "cranial" curve was measured between the upper instrumented level and L4 or L5. The "caudal" curve was measured between L4 or L5 and the lower instrumented level. The PSSR with 1 ROC and the caudal portion of the rods with 2 ROCs were significantly smaller than the industry standard ROC. Conclusions: PSSR demonstrate more acute ROC than industry standard rods. In PSRs, the most lordosis occurs between L4-S1 and flattens out at the thoracolumbar junction, mimicking the normal distribution of lumbar lordosis. PSSRs could help achieve or maintain sagittal alignment and prevent the sequela of flat back syndrome.


A76 Introduction The androgen receptor (AR) plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer (PCa), and down-regulated expression in prostatic epithelium is linked to decreased differentiation and increased proliferation of tumors cells. Genetic variation in the AR gene, located on the X-chromosome, has previously been linked with PCa risk. Whether the effect of AR variants on cancer risk is explained through regulation of prostate AR expression is not well understood. This study examines whether six SNPs located in AR, as well as the CAG repeat, are related to expression of cytoplasmic and nuclear AR in prostate tumor tissue. Methods We genotyped 6 SNPs with minor allele frequencies greater than 5% located in a 310 kb region overlapping the AR gene and the CAG repeat in 270 PCa cases diagnosed among participants in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and the Physicians Health Study. AR expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry in tumor tissue obtained from archival prostatectomy blocks. To determine if expression levels varied by genotype, we conducted an ANOVA analysis with AR expression modeled as the dependent variable. Results We found two SNPs that were significantly associated with AR nuclear expression. Men who carried the rs1337082 variant allele (18.2% of men) had reduced AR nuclear expression (p= 0.03) compared to wild-type in the non-adjusted analysis. In addition, men with the rs6152 variant allele (13.6% of men) also had decreased AR expression (p= 0.04) when adjusted for age at diagnosis. When adjusting for age, the association between rs1337082 and AR expression also became stronger (p= 0.02). The linkage disequilibrium R2 value was 0.63. Approximately 2% of the variation in AR expression can be explained by these two SNPs. The four other SNPs examined were weakly but not significantly associated with AR expression. CAG repeat length was not correlated with expression of AR. Discussion rs1337082 (approximately 40 kb downstream of AR) is an A/G polymorphism while rs6152 (exon 1) is a silent G/A polymorphism. The link between nuclear AR expression and these two non-coding SNPs provides evidence of novel genetic factors that may influence AR expression. Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2008;1(7 Suppl):A76.


We analyze differences in gambling motivations for skill and luck gamblerson the basis of a questionnaire distributed to students from the University of Pisa (Italy). We find that the probability of playing skill rather than luck games is positively correlated to being a male, to the socialization motive and to having a planning attitude, that we use to define the kind of amusement experienced in gambling, while it is negatively correlated to the money motive, the perceived risk of losing social esteem, and age. Results are then applied to marketing strategies and public policies, with particular attention to the online environment.


A paper dealing with parameters' errors of a least-squares determined curve was published by G.C. Cecchi (1991). A.H. Kalantar (1992) correctly pointed out that the results quoted by Cecchi for the variance estimates of a straight-line fit do not agree with those previously reported by other authors. Nevertheless, for straight-line fits the formalism discussed by Cecchi is essentially correct. In the present communication, complete agreement between results is achieved after some detailed calculations.


Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) have revolutionized the computing landscape over the past decade. However, the growing energy demands of data centres and computing facilities equipped with GPUs come with significant capital and environmental costs. The energy consumption of GPU applications greatly depend on how well they are optimized. Auto-tuning is an effective and commonly applied technique of finding the optimal combination of algorithm, application, and hardware parameters to optimize performance of a GPU application. In this paper, we introduce new energy monitoring and optimization capabilities in Kernel Tuner, a generic auto-tuning tool for GPU applications. These capabilities enable us to investigate the difference between tuning for execution time and various approaches to improve energy efficiency, and investigate the differences in tuning difficulty. Additionally, our model for GPU power consumption greatly reduces the large tuning search space by providing clock frequencies for which a GPU is likely most energy efficient.


Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is an important therapeutic option for gastric adenoma and early gastric cancer (EGC). However, ESD is technically difficult when lesions are located in the pyloric area. Our aim was to introduce the transnasal endoscope-assisted ESD method, which provides for excellent cutting-line visualization through control of submucosal traction. A total of eight patients with gastric adenoma or EGC located in the pyloric area were consecutively enrolled. A primary operating endoscope was used to perform marking, incision, submucosal dissection, and hemostasis, while a thinner, transnasal endoscope operated by a second endoscopist was used to retract connective submucosal tissue to provide cutting-line visualization using V-shaped grasping forceps. En bloc resection was achieved in all eight cases, as was complete resection. The median longest lesion diameter was 19 mm (range: 12-25 mm), and the median procedure time was 37.5 minutes (range: 29-59 minutes). There were no incidents of significant bleeding or perforation. Transnasal endoscope-assisted ESD was useful for treating gastric neoplasms in the pyloric area. The procedure was relatively easy and safe, provided excellent visualization through tissue retraction, and allowed for complete en bloc resection.


System validation in the industry needs a lot of servers to generate test sets and run them on the validated processors or SoCs. With the requirement of a competitive time to-market, this process has to happen speedily and, yet thoroughly to ensure a quality product. As the validation is automated using software, this implies that effective and efficient validation software is absolutely needed. This paper reports the basics that were revisited while our team was trying to improve the performance of our validation software. The analysis and improvement process was aided by functional-level algorithm analysis software called VTune™ that could precisely pinpoint the caveats in the source code. Revisiting the basics resulted in three key learnings on software improvements. A significant 16 percent performance improvement was achieved. Index Terms-algorithm analysis, software, aided, improvement techniques


Power transformers are main devices in the performance of energy supply systems. Therefore, there is a great interest in its health state. Frequency response analysis (FRA) is nowadays an appreciated preventive technique used for transformer maintenance in order to detect winding displacements. But, in spite of the advantages of FRA, a systematic diagnosis procedure has not been still developed due to the physical meaning of the frequency response is not really obtained. Our research group has developed a three phase magnetic core model that provides the relations among the raw frequency response and the different parts inside the three phase transformer. Different effects of the magnetic core are recognized through different parameters of this model. A diagnosis procedure is available taking into account these parameters because the internal parts of the transformer are distinguished


OBJECTIVES
Important barriers to addressing the sexually transmitted infection (STI) epidemic among adolescents are the inadequate partner notification of positive STI results and insufficient rates of partner testing and treatment. However, adolescent attitudes regarding partner notification and treatment are not well understood. The aim was to qualitatively explore the barriers to and preferences for partner notification and treatment among adolescent males and females tested for STIs in an emergency department (ED) setting and to explore the acceptability of ED personnel notifying their sexual partners.

METHODS
This was a descriptive, qualitative study in which a convenience sample of 40 adolescents (18 females, 22 males) 14 to 21 years of age who presented to either adult or pediatric EDs with STI-related complaints participated. Individualized, semistructured, confidential interviews were administered to each participant. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim by an independent transcriptionist. Data were analyzed using framework analysis.

RESULTS
Barriers to partner notification included fear of retaliation or loss of the relationship, lack of understanding of or concern for the consequences associated with an STI, and social stigma and embarrassment. Participants reported two primary barriers to their partners obtaining STI testing and treatment: lack of transportation to the health care site and the partner's fear of STI positive test results. Most participants preferred to notify their main sexual partners of an STI exposure via a face-to-face interaction or a phone call. Most participants were agreeable with a health care provider (HCP) notifying their main sexual partners of STI exposure and preferred that the HCP notify the partner by phone call.

CONCLUSIONS
There are several adolescent preferences and barriers for partner notification and treatment. To be most effective, future interventions to prevent adolescent STIs should incorporate these preferences and address the barriers to partner notification. In an ED setting, using HCPs to provide partner notification of STI exposures is acceptable to adolescent patients; however, the feasibility of this type of program needs further exploration.


Ansoff and McDonnell (1990) define Strategic Issues as forthcoming developments, either inside or outside of the organization that are likely to have an important impact on the ability of the enterprise to meet its objectives. Despite of their fundamental socio-economic role in Kenya, most savings and credit cooperative societies (Saccos), also hereby referred to as cooperatives, are faced with a number of challenges, such as: traditional products, leadership and governance issues, capital base requirement, taxation, Information and Communications Technology, regulation and supervision, developing competitive business models, demand for loans, non-remittance of fees by members, forgery, HIV/AIDS and outreach issues. Thus the central challenge for Saccos is to find constructive ways to build and retain competitive advantages in the market place. In a bid to enhance cooperatives' performance, this study was destined to identify some challenges facing strategic issue management practices by cooperatives in Mombasa County. The findings revealed that cooperatives experience a myriad of challenges hence need to practice Strategic Issue Management.


Purpose: To study the causes of bilateral superior oblique palsy (BSOP), treatment with botulinum toxin and/or surgery, and outcome of treatment. Methods: This was an 11-year retrospective study of patients with BSOP treated with injections of botulinum toxin (Botox), surgery, or both. Treatment was considered successful when anomalous head turn and diplopia in primary gaze position and downgaze resolved. Results: Bilateral superior oblique palsy was diagnosed in 12 patients (8 male; mean age, 29.5 years). Palsy was secondary to a neoplasm in 3 cases and to head trauma in 2. In 2 cases, it was ischemic, in 2 it was congenital; the remaining cases were iatrogenic (hydrocephalus secondary to meningitis, 1), hemorrhagic (1), and idiopathic (1). The clinical manifestations recorded were diplopia (10), anomalous head posture (9), V pattern (12), subjective excyclotorsion (8), and objective excyclotorsion (6). Recovery was spontaneous in 1 case with neoplastic disease. Botox was injected in 8 cases (inferior oblique and/or inferior rectus muscles [successful in 2]), and subsequent surgery was required in 6. Two patients underwent surgery without prior injection of Botox. The most common surgical technique was recession of the inferior oblique muscle (6 patients), either as the only operation or associated with other procedures. The final result was good in 72.72% (8/11). Mean follow-up was 62.6 months (range 9-99 months). Conclusions: Causes of BSOP were varied (most frequently neoplastic). Botox was effective as the only treatment in 25% (2/8). Outcome was good in a high percentage of cases with Botox, surgery, or both.


Relativistic radiation mediated shocks (RRMS) likely form in prodigious cosmic explosions. The structure and emission of such shocks is regulated by copious production of electron-positron pairs inside the shock transition layer. It has been pointed out recently that substantial abundance of positrons inside the shock leads to a velocity separation of the different plasma constituents, which is expected to induce a rapid growth of plasma instabilities. In this paper, we study the hierarchy of plasma microinstabilities growing in an electron-ion plasma loaded with pairs and subject to a radiation force. Linear stability analysis indicates that such a system is unstable to the growth of various plasma modes which ultimately become dominated by a current filamentation instability driven by the relative drift between the ions and the pairs. These results are validated by particle-in-cell simulations that further probe the nonlinear regime of the instabilities, and the pair-ion coupling in the microturbulent electromagnetic field. Based on this analysis, we derive a reduced transport equation for the particles via pitch angle scattering in the microturbulence and demonstrate that it can couple the different species and lead to nonadiabatic compression via a Joule-like heating. The heating of the pairs and, conceivably, the formation of nonthermal distributions, arising from the microturbulence, can affect the observed shock breakout signal in ways unaccounted for by current single-fluid models.


World population is increasing day by day to fulfil its' food requirements. An important strategy are been practised to utilise per unit area of available land. Intercropping, the agricultural practice of cultivating two or more crops in the same space at the same time, to match efficiently crop demands to the available growth resources and labour. The most common advantage of intercropping is the production of good crop yield on a same land by making more efficient use of the available growth resources. Sugarcane is a long duration crop and takes about 90-120 days for canopy development, which allows for growing intercrops during the early stage. Taking advantage of this, sugarcane cultivators grow various short duration crops like pulses, vegetables, etc. as intercrops to get interim return since small sugarcane grower's cannot wait for a long time to get financial return from sole sugarcane crop. Since sugarcane is an important commercial crop all over the world and is most suitable for intercropping, this review focuses on sugarcane based intercropping system.


Introduction Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has a huge societal impact due to the high prevalence, irreversible joint damage and systemic complications. Gut microbiota plays an important role in the pathogenesis and progression of RA by regulating the host immune system. Restoring intestinal homeostasis by altering the microbiota could be an attractive strategy for the prevention and treatment of RA. However, the signature features of microbial dysbiosis in RA are still controversial. Therefore, we aim to elucidate the characteristic change in the diversity and composition of gut microbiota in RA. Methods and analysis We will systematically search through PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane Library, as well as dissertations and conference proceedings. The reference lists of all included studies will be also reviewed to retrieve additional relevant studies. The case-control studies that reported either the relative abundance of bacteria at the phylum or genus level or at least one of the alpha-diversity, beta-diversity indexes in both RA and healthy controls will be included. Eligible studies will be screened independently by two reviewers according to the inclusion criteria. The Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale will be used to assess the quality of the included studies. Data extraction, qualitative and quantitative analysis will be performed within the gut microbial dysbiosis in RA. The expected outcomes will be the identification of the specific changes in composition and diversity of the gut microbiota in patients with RA. The quality of evidence will be assessed by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval is unnecessary as this review does not address the data and privacy of patients. The results will be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal and conference presentations. PROSPERO registration number CRD42021225229.


personal character of religion. Offering no grand comprehensive plan for immediate world peace, he yet sees in religion the only final solution of the world's problemsbut a long-term solution, depending upon the appearance of leaders of the right type. "Meanwhile we can all help by the type of our thinking." Professor Murdoch's discussion of "What Can Each Citizen Do Individually to Promote Peace?" is characteristic. His principal thought is that the individual must accept his personal responsibility as a citizen. He must not surrender his right to a personal opinion, for personal opinions sho~ld make up the group opinion, not vice versa. At the same time he can cease to be "a mere private individual, lonely and aloof", and join a group of individuals working to the same end. It is unhappily true that the cause of peace has been used as a front to further a variety of quite different objects, and groups need to be joined with due care; but that fact does not invalidate Professor Murdoch's advice. His short chapter is commended to all who feel that they are too unimportant to matter in big issues.


Although the ISO 9001 quality management system is often
perceived to be a marketing tool within the manufacturing industry, its implications on the innovation and management capacities of the furniture industry remain unknown. A survey of furniture manufacturers in Malaysia revealed that lack of innovation and ineffective management were among the
main problems faced within the industry. Using a structured questionnaire, a survey of the ISO-certified manufacturers revealed that the ISO 9001 quality management system has a positive correlation on process innovation but not on product innovation. Therefore, ISO-certification would be beneficial for productivity improvement and identifying cost-cutting measures in furniture manufacturing enterprises. On the other hand, ISO-certification has a significant influence on the management of furniture enterprises, especially with regards to systematic decision-making and boosting the level of professionalism. Therefore,
ISO-certification may be a useful tool to enhance the management competency and also improve the productivity within the furniture manufacturing sector.


Background Development of drugs in SLE is difficult for many reasons including the heterogeneity of the disease, the outcome measures used to define responsiveness which are cumbersome, poorly responsive to change and have little relationship to clinical practice. The drugs targets are potentially immunosuppressive in an immunologically compromised host. Regulatory agencies require large safety databases associated with the development programs. Consideration of alternate pathways for approval may be warranted. In Europe and the US the Orphan Drug Designation allows for therapies to be approved on far smaller data bases, at typically less cost and patient burden. Methods In the US, the US FDA requires the disease or condition for which the drug is intended will affect fewer than 2 00 000 people in the United States or, if the drug is a vaccine, diagnostic drug, or preventive drug, the persons to whom the drug will be administered in the United States are fewer than 2 00 000 per year. Alternatively, for a drug intended for diseases or conditions affecting 2 00 000 or more people, or for a vaccine, diagnostic drug, or preventive drug to be administered to 2 00 000 or more persons per year in the United States, there is no reasonable expectation that costs of research and development of the drug for the indication can be recovered by sales of the drug in the United States. In the US, if a sponsor requests orphan-drug designation for a drug for only a subset of persons with a particular disease or condition that otherwise affects 2 00 000 or more people ('orphan subset'), a demonstration that, due to one or more properties of the drug, the remaining persons with such disease or condition would not be appropriate candidates for use of the drug. In Europe, the EMA expects that the disease is either life-threatening or debilitating, the medical plausibility of the proposed orphan indication; and importantly, that the prevalence of the condition in the European Union is not more than five in 10,000; or that it is unlikely that marketing the medicinal product in the European Union, without incentives, would generate sufficient return to justify the necessary investment; and furthermore, that no satisfactory method of diagnosis prevention or treatment exists, or if such a method exists, that the medicinal product will be of significant benefit to those affected by the condition. An example of a prevalence analysis in SLE is shown in table 1.Abstract CT-05 Table 1 Prevalence of non-class III-VI LN SLE Parameter Estimate Source U.S. Population Estimate 320,000,000 U.S. Census Bureau (2014), July 2014 estimate Overall U.S. Prevalence of SLE 97 per 1 00 000(n=310,400) Upper confidence limit of most conservative SLE prevalence estimate from Lim et al. (2014) Proportion of SLE patients with LN 50%(n=155,200) Dooley 2007 and Mok et al. 2013 Proportion of LN patients with Class III-Class VI LN 92%(n=142,784) Mok et al., 2013 Orphan population of SLE among patients with no Class III-Class VI LN n=1 67 616 --


In the view of transmutation of transuranium (TRU) elements, molten salt fast reactors (MSFRs) offer certain advantages compared to solid fuelled reactor types like sodium cooled fast reactors (SFRs). In the first part these advantages are discussed in comparison with the SFR technology, and the research challenges are analyzed. In the second part cycle studies for the MSFR are given for different configurations – a core with U-238 fertile, a fertile free core, and a core with Th-232 as fertile material. For all cases, the transmutation potential is determined and efficient transmutation performance for the case with thorium as a fertile material as well as for the fertile free case is demonstrated and the individual advantages are discussed. The time evolution of different important isotopes is analyzed. In the third part a strategy for the optimization of the transmutation efficiency is developed. The final aim is dictated by the phase out decision of the German government, which requests to put the focus on the determination of the maximal transmutation efficiency and on an as much as possible reduced leftover of transuranium elements at the end of the reactor life. This minimal leftover is achieved by a two step procedure of a first transmuter operation phase followed by a second deep burning phase. There the U-233, which is bred in the blanket of the core consisting of thorium containing salt, is used as feed. It is demonstrated, that transmutation rates up to more than 90% can be achieved for all transuranium isotopes, while the production of undesired high elements like californium is very limited. Additionally, the adaptations needed for the simulation of a MSFR, and the used tool HELIOS 1.10 is described.


David John Faulkner, one of the pioneers of marine natural products chemistry and the 2003 recipient of the ASP Research Achievement Award, passed away on November 23, 2002. John was very pleased to learn that he'd been named as the award recipient and was intending to present the ASP Research Achievement Award Address at the annual meeting in July 2003, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. John's untimely death left an unprecedented event in the history of the ASP-a posthumous Research Achievement Award to a deserving individual and an untimely loss for us all. We are bereft of a colleague, a friend, and a mentor, and the opportunity to hear John's words on the occasion of his own award. In tribute to John, we have assembled a retrospective of John's work that is not meant to be a comprehensive review (this would take considerably more space) but a selection of highlights and personal vignettes from some of those that trained in marine natural products under his mentorship. This paper is a written account of the symposium presented by the authors at the ASP Annual Meeting in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on July 16, 2003.


SIR—I read with interest the correspondence sent by Drs Rewari and Trikha, Atropine fever – an anesthetic dilemma (1). This is an interesting hypothesis relating to the systemic anticholinergic effects of ocular atropine ointment, 2–3 days after application in children. The authors discuss concerns of the adverse systemic effects of topically applied atropine if used in excessive doses or in susceptible patients presenting for anesthesia. Fever of more than 38 C presumed to be the combined effect of atropine eye ointment and high environmental temperature, if accompanied by mild upper respiratory symptoms, leads to the postponement of the case. The authors suggest in cases where fever is thought to be the result of the combined effect of atropine and the environment then it can usually be controlled by cooling the patient in the air-conditioned environment in a preoperative holding area (1). First, probably in such cases it is inappropriate to presume and proceed as it is difficult to rule out any underlying infection as the cause of fever. Secondly, one would expect the caregivers to be aware of the effects of overdosing and should therefore strictly follow the drug prescription. The susceptible patients should be identified before and should receive modified doses of topical atropine. Caution is required in the application of topical ocular medications in children, especially in infants. It has been suggested that the estimated required topical dosage from birth to age 2 years is approximately one-half the adult dose; at age 3 years, two-thirds of the adult dose should give equal drug concentrations, and after 3 years of age, the adult dose can be used for practical purposes (2). Thirdly, other options are either to use atropine eye drops rather than ointment which can be discontinued in the event of fever, flushing and irritability, or use single dose of atropine prior to examination. One study demonstrated that an accurate assessment of refraction was possible with a single dose of atropine 90 min prior to examination. The residual accommodation 90 min after two drops of atropine was not more than 1 diopter in all children. The additional cycloplegic effect of the 3-day atropinization was only 0.5 diopters. This application allowed a more rapid and less toxic assessment of refraction than the usual 3-day atropinization (3). A study will certainly be needed to find the circulating atropine (1-hyoscyamine) levels in these symptomatic cases to prove the hypothesis. Piyush Singh Department of Pediatric Anesthesia, Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Pendlebury, Manchester, M27 4HA, UK (email: email@example.com)


The years since the rise of gay liberation in 1969 have seen remarkable changes in the realm of sexuality. Lesbians and gay men have won important rights and attained a cultural visibility that would have been impossible to imagine even thirty years ago. Yet these rights are limited, and apply only to specific sections of those who face exclusion, discrimination or violence on the basis of their queerness in the realm of gender and/or sexuality.


In most image quality metrics (eg MTFA, ICS, SQF, DDD, SQRI) use is made of the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the imaging system and the contrast sensitivity function (CSF) of the human visual system. All metrics usually show a positive correlation with perceived image quality. This does not, however, say much about the correctness of the underlying equations. Defocusing experiments where an image is defocused by one just-noticeable difference can give information about the contribution of different spatial-frequency ranges to image quality. By performing defocusing experiments with images where contrast is also varied, information can be obtained about the dependence of image quality on contrast. In our investigation defocusing measurements from Baldwin (1940), Carlson and Cohen (1980) and Watt and Morgan (1983) were used. Comparison of the results with the fundamental dependence of some image quality metrics on spatial frequency and contrast indicates that only the SQRI (square-root integral) showed the right behaviour with respect to these parameters.


The Common Technical Document (CTD) was designed to provide a common format between Europe, USA, and Japan for the technical documentation included in an application for the registration of a human pharmaceutical product. The CTD dossier is divided into five main modules: Module 1 – Administrative information and prescribing information; Module 2 – Overviews and summaries of Modules 3–5; Module 3 – Quality (pharmaceutical documentation); Module 4: Non-clinical reports (pharmacology/toxicology); Module 5: Clinical study reports (clinical trials). Detailed guidelines are provided describing the content of each module and the majority of submissions must now follow the CTD format for submission dossiers.


Paraffin sections from various organs of sheep fetuses following transplacental infection with non-cytopathogenic (ncp) bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) or cytopathogenic (cp) BVDV were stained immunohistochemically with BVDV-specific monoclonal antibodies. Comparison of the distribution of viral antigen in sections from fetuses of experiment A revealed that in organs such as parotid, thyroid, thymus, lung, spleen, kidney, liver and skin from 20 days post inoculation (p.i.) onwards numerous antigen-containing cells were present. In organs of fetuses infected with cp BVDV, however, antigen-positive cells were only detectable until days 10 and 14 p.i. These findings suggest that the ncp BVDV used in experiment A replicated considerably faster and more efficient than the cp BVDV used in experiment B and that the two virus biotypes differ considerably concerning their tropism for fetal ovine organs.


A field observation trial was carried out at Agricultural Research Center, Rumais, Sultanate of Oman to evaluate the productivity and forage quality of two species of Saltbush viz. Quali saltbush (Artiplex lentiformis L.) And Fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens L), both are perennial and of North American origin. Plants were irrigated with brackish water (EC more than 10.00 dS/m) under drip irrigation and grown with minimum tillage and sub-optimum management conditions. Biomass production was evaluated in terms of five characters i.e. plant height, plant width, plant volume, green fodder yield/plant and green fodder yield/ha over the experimental period (747 d). Arriplex lenformis produced a total green fodder yield of 53.29 kg/plant equivalent to 59.21 t/ha as compared to that of 31.27 kg/plant (34.75 t/ha) produced by Atriplex canescens. The cut yields and interaction effects (between the species and cuts) were also significantly different with respect to all the characters. Chemical composition of the Atriplex species indicated that A Ientiformis had higher levels of Na, K, Cl and Ca as compared to A canescens. The studies of nutrient composition of bulk samples of the Atriplex species revealed that the fresh material contained 34.30% dry matter. On dry matter basis, the Atriplex material had 9.40% crude protein (CP), 24.00% crude fiber (CF), l.5% extract ( EE), 19.60% ash and 45.50% nitrogen free extract (NFE). Despite its high ash content, Atriplex material appeared to be a nutritious and cheap source of nitrogen complementation.


Abstract We investigated the expression of membrane-type matrix metalloproteinase (MT-MMP) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) mRNAs in synovial tissue from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n = 5) or osteoarthritis (OA, n = 5) by Northern blot analysis. Northern analysis demonstrated strong expression of MT1-MMP, MT3-MMP, MMP-1, and MMP-3 and weak expression of MT2-MMP and MMP-8 in synovial tissue from patients with RA or OA. MT4-MMP was not detected. No significant difference was shown in the expression of MT-MMP mRNAs between RA and OA. Synovial tissue of RA or OA patients expressed MT-MMPs as well as MMPs. These results indicate that, in addition to MMPs, MT1-MMP, MT3-MMP, and probably MT2-MMP may play a role in the degradation of bone and cartilage matrix in RA and OA. Such information may provide a clue to the development of a novel therapeutic approach targeted on the prevention of joint destruction.


This paper examines the history of clinical librarianship in Canada from 1970 to 2013 as seen through the lens of practitioner narratives and published literature. While no reviews of clinical librarianship in Canada were found in the literature search, there were many project descriptions in articles and published reports that have provided insight into the field during its formative period in Canada from the 1970s. In addition to tracing narrative histories from 1970 to 2013, the author has continued to wonder why these important stories have never properly been told. Was it because the scope of clinical librarianship, its expected and embodied professional duties, was not regulated (as it is in the United States and United Kingdom)? Is it because the American Library Association accredited library schools in Canada do not offer appropriate curricula and professional training? It seems clear that some librarians in Canada were pioneers in the way that Gertrude Lamb was in the United States, but they did not call themselves clinical librarians. Consequently, they opted for more generic job titles such as medical librarian and health librarian. Whatever the reasons for this, it is within this framework that the author begins an exploration of clinical librarianship in Canada. The paper's aim is to provide a view into clinical librarianship in Canada back to the 1970s to ensure the story is properly told.


In this manuscript, we study the approximate controllability results for nonlocal impulsive fractional neutral stochastic integro-differential equations with state-dependent delay conditions in Hilbert spaces under the assumptions that the corresponding linear system is approximately controllable. The results are obtained by using fractional calculus, semigroup theory, stochastic analysis and fixed point theorem. An example is provided to show the application of our result.


Abstract In order to enhance rice productivity under water-deficient conditions, it is essential to improve nitrogen (N) uptake ability or its use efficiency. The objectives of the present study were to examine the genotypic variation in N uptake ability and physiological N use efficiency (PNUE) among 70 rice cultivars, and to clarify its association with biomass production and water uptake ability. Plants were grown under three soil moisture regimes: flooded and two non-flooded (−0.10 and −0.52 MPa soil water potential) conditions. A substantial genotypic variation in the amount of aboveground N uptake was observed, and the amount bore a positive correlation with aboveground biomass production regardless of soil moisture regime, whereas PNUE showed a negative if any correlation with biomass production depending on soil moisture regime. A significant interactive effect on the amount of aboveground N uptake between cultivars and soil moisture regimes was observed; there existed cultivars that exhibited superior N uptake only under non-flooded conditions. N uptake ability was closely correlated with water uptake ability, while a substantial genotypic variation in N uptake per unit water uptake was found in the two non-flooded regimes. These results indicate that a substantial genotypic variation in N uptake ability under water deficient conditions exists among diverse rice genetic resources, and that the variation is associated with water uptake ability and biomass production under the water-limited conditions at the early growth stage.


The circadian regulation of leaf hydraulic conductance (Kleaf) was investigated in Helianthus annuus L. (sunflower). Kleaf was measured with an high pressure flow meter during the light and dark period from plants growing at a photoperiod of 12 h. Kleaf was 4.0 e−4 kg s−1 m−2 MPa−1 during the light period (LL) and 30–40% less during the dark period (DL). When photoperiod was inverted and leaves were measured for Kleaf at their subjective light or dark periods, Kleaf adjusted to the new conditions requiring 48 h for increasing from dark to light values and 4 d for the opposite transition. Plants put in continuous dark showed Kleaf oscillating from light to dark values in phase with their subjective photoperiod indicating that Kleaf changes were induced by the circadian clock. Several cuts through the minor veins reduced leaf hydraulic resistance (Rleaf) of both LL and DL to the same value (1.0 e + 3 MPa m2 s kg−1) that equalled the vascular resistance (Rv). The contribution of the non-vascular leaf resistance (Rnv) to Rleaf was of 71.9% in DL and of 58.4% in LL. The dominant Rnv was shown to be reversibly modulated by mercurials, suggesting that aquaporins play a role in diurnal changes of Kleaf.


Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 46, 2005

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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States. One approach to control this malignancy is its preventive intervention by dietary agents. Several naturally occurring compounds, especially plant products and dietary constituents, have been found to exhibit chemopreventive as well as chemotherapeutic activities when assessed under in vitro and in vivo model systems for lung cancer. However, search for an ideal cancer chemopreventive agent for lung cancer continues. Pomegranate ( Punica granatum ), a fruit native to the Mediterranean region has been used extensively in the folk medicine. We extracted edible seeds of pomegranate fruit with acetone, hereafter referred to as pomegranate fruit extract (PFE). Based on MALDI-TOF MS analysis PFE was found to contain anthocyanins (such as delphinidin, cyanidin, and pelargonidin), hydrolyzable tannins (such as punicalin, pedunculagin and punicalagin) and oligomeric ellagitannins in which two to five glucose units are crosslinked by dehydrodigalloyl units. Studies have shown that PFE possesses strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Recently, we have shown that PFE possesses remarkable anti-tumor promoting effects in mouse skin model of chemical carcinogenesis (Afaq et al., Int J Cancer, 113:423-433, 2005). In the present study, employing normal human bronchial epithelial cells (NHBE), and human lung carcinoma A549 cells, we first compared the growth-inhibitory effects of PFE. PFE (50-150 μg/ml) treatment (for 72 hrs) was found to result in a dose-dependent decrease in the viability of A549 cells but had only minimal effects on NHBE cells as assessed by MTT and Trypan blue assay. To assess the antioxidant capacity of PFE in A549 cells, trolox antioxidant assay was performed and we found that PFE exhibited excellent antioxidant activity even higher than that of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate, the major polyphenol present in green tea. PFE treatment (50-150 μg/ml for 72 hrs) to A549 cells resulted in induction of apoptosis as determined by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. The immunoblot analysis revealed that PFE treatment resulted in a dose-dependent (i) induction of WAF1/p21 and KIP1/p27, (ii) decrease in the protein expressions of cyclin D1, cyclin D2, and cyclin E, and (iii) decrease in the protein expressions of cdk2, cdk4, and cdk6. Further, employing immunoblot analysis we found that treatment of A549 cells with PFE resulted in down-regulation in the expression of biomarkers of cell proliferation i.e. Ki67 and PCNA in a dose-dependent manner. These data establish the involvement of cki-cyclin-cdk network with concomitant decrease in Ki67 and PCNA during the antiproliferative effect of PFE. Taken together, these findings suggest that PFE may have cancer chemopreventive as well as cancer chemotherapeutic effects for lung cancer in humans.


We report a small aperture 850-nm oxide vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) operating at 20 Gb/s (pseudorandom bit sequence 31) 25°C-70°C with 5 dB extinction ratio. The VCSEL is designed to target anticipated 20-Gb/s transceiver module requirements, and is fabricated using production equipment including metal-organic chemical vapor deposition reactors for the growth of GaAs-AlGaAs epitaxy. We have characterized small signal modulation response properties in detail and obtained good agreement with finite element VCSEL simulation results. Preliminary accelerated lifetime testing indicated that the wear out lifetime would exceed 10 years for 70°C operations.


Background Heartworm infection in dogs is caused by Dirofilaria immitis and common in shelter animals and outdoors dogs. Caval syndrome can develop with severe infection and physical heartworm removal is essential with heartworm burdens. In this study, we used an improved transvenous heartworm extraction brush, which was expected to cause less cardiovascular damage and allow easier manipulation. Objectives This study aims to evaluate efficacy of this improved transvenous heartworm extraction brush. Methods The brush was designed to improve upon the limitations of the previous brush-type devices. The brush was made of a polyvinyl chloride tube and threads of polyamides or polyglyconates. Metal material was inserted at the front tip for easy visualization under fluoroscopy. The eight dogs diagnosed with caval syndrome with large numbers of heartworms and pulmonary hypertension were used in this study. The removal procedure began with the dissection of the subcutaneous tissue around the right jugular vein. The device was inserted through the jugular vein. After insertion, the tube was rotated to catch the heartworms and extracted with the heartworms hanging on the threads. The procedure was repeated several times. Lastly, jugular vein and skin sutures were made. Adulticidal therapy was administered after heartworm removal. Results The mean number of removed heartworms was 10.5 ± 4.24 and mean number of remaining heartworms was 0.63 ± 1.06. Total procedure time was 72.63 ± 51.36. Except for three cases, heartworms were not detected on ultrasonography after the procedure. No procedure-related side effects were observed within the 1- to 2-mon. Conclusions An improved transvenous heartworm extraction brush is efficient for heartworm removal in dogs with caval syndrome.


A correlation for the prediction of flame lean extinction limits for premixed combustion systems by Sullivan-Lewis and McDonell is examined. The correlation was developed with the data collected from Sullivan-Lewis' experiments of methane and hydrogen mixtures at elevated temperatures and pressures, similar to gas turbine conditions. Recent flame stability studies have since appeared in literature and has allowed for inspection of the validity of the predictive flame extinction boundary correlation with new data. The blow-off boundary correlation is also examined with previous flame blow off studies with significant variances of parameters compared to the original study used to build the correlation. The data used for comparison differ with fuel type, equivalence ratios, pressures, temperatures, turbulence intensities, and flameholder geometries. The analysis concludes that the predictive flame extinction correlation developed is able to accurately predict a wide range of extinction conditions reported in the literature. However, it is observed that the correlation is not able to fully capture the behavior of the data for conditions in which turbulence intensities are above 5%.


1053 A number of investigators have developed models of lung cancer in mice that result from orthotopic activation of a mutated K-ras gene in pulmonary epithelial cells (Jackson et al., Genes and Development: 15:3243). Although these models have many advantages over injection of lung cancer cell lines, it has been difficult to quantify the amount of tumor within the lungs by using histologic examination. This is particularly limiting at time points early in the natural history of tumor formation or after therapeutic interventions associated with inflammation. We hypothesized that tumor burden could be measured by quantifying the amount of mRNA encoding for the specific K-ras mutations only expressed in tumor cells. Our approach takes advantage of commercially available kits that can detect single point mutations (Mutector Kits, Trimgen, Sparks, MD) in an ELISA format. A kit was ordered to detect the point mutation (G12D) in mouse K-ras that was engineered into the transgenic mouse strain studied. To test our approach, we used a lung cancer cell line derived from a tumor-bearing transgenic mouse carrying the K-rasG12D mutation (LKR cells). LKR cells were mixed with a mouse lung cancer cell line lacking a K-ras mutation (L1C2) at different ratios. Total RNA was isolated from the mixtures, reverse transcribed and followed by PCR amplification. RT/PCR products were then used for detection of K-ras mutation. The K-rasG12D mutation was clearly detected when as low as 0.5% of cells containing the mutation were present. We next measured K-rasG12D expression from frozen sections of mouse lung. Increasingly strong signals were detected in lung sections in mice with larger tumor loads. Interestingly, positive signals could be detected in mice with early lesions that were not visible by routine histology. In conclusion, application of the Mutector kit to detect mutant K-ras message provided a sensitive, accurate, and quantifiable method for evaluating tumor loads in mouse K-ras lung cancer model and could be applied to other transgenic models. This approach will be useful in monitoring prevention and treatment strategies.


The MRN complex is formed by the interaction of the products of the Mre11, Rad50 and Nbs1 genes. This complex plays a central role on repair of double-strand breaks (DSBs) and acts in a great number of cel - lular processes. In this study we have performed the analysis of the MRN complex in diploid and polyploid species of wheat. The molecular characterization was carried out in the diploid T. monococcum (genome A) and Ae. tauschii (genome D) and in the tetraploid T. turgidum (genomes A and B). The results obtained showed that in all cases the genes presented the main characteristics previously described in other species. A modified FISH protocol was used to locate the Rad50, Mre11 and the Nbs1 genes on the homoeologous chromosomes 5, 2 and 1, respectively. Analysis of expression showed that the hexaploid T. aestivum was the species with the higher level of expression whereas the rest of the species analysed showed no relation with its ploidy. Also, quantification of the expression of each homoeologous gene in the polyploid species evidenced in some cases a process of silencing after polyploidization. The study of the interaction between the proteins demonstrated that the interaction of proteins was not restricted to each genome, detecting interaction between proteins belonging to different genomes.


Arrays of phase-locked lasers are envisioned for planetary defense and exploration systems. High-energy beams focused on a threatening asteroid evaporate surface material, creating a reactionary thrust that alters the asteroid's orbit. The same system could be used to probe an asteroid's composition, to search for unknown asteroids, and to propel interplanetary and interstellar spacecraft. Phased-array designs are capable of producing high beam intensity, and allow beam steering and beam profile manipulation. Modular designs allow ongoing addition of emitter elements to a growing array. This paper discusses pointing control for extensible laser arrays. Rough pointing is determined by spacecraft attitude control. Lateral movement of the laser emitter tips behind the optical elements provides intermediate pointing adjustment for individual array elements and beam steering. Precision beam steering and beam formation is accomplished by coordinated phase modulation across the array. Added cells are incorporated into the phase control scheme by precise alignment to local mechanical datums using fast, optical relative position sensors. Infrared target sensors are also positioned within the datum scheme, and provide information about the target vector relative to datum coordinates at each emitter. Multiple target sensors allow refined determination of the target normal plane, providing information to the phase controller for each emitter. As emitters and sensors are added, local position data allows accurate prediction of the relative global position of emitters across the array, providing additional constraints to the phase controllers. Mechanical design and associated phase control that is scalable for target distance and number of emitters is presented.


Understanding how movement is controlled by the CNS remains a major challenge, with ongoing debate about basic features underlying this control. In current established views, the concepts of motor neuron recruitment order, common synaptic input to motor neurons and muscle synergies are usually addressed separately and therefore seen as independent features of motor control. In this review, we analyse the body of literature in a broader perspective and we identify a unified approach to explain apparently divergent observations at different scales of motor control. Specifically, we propose a new conceptual framework of the neural control of movement, which merges the concept of common input to motor neurons and modular control, together with the constraints imposed by recruitment order. This framework is based on the following assumptions: (1) motor neurons are grouped into functional groups (clusters) based on the common inputs they receive; (2) clusters may significantly differ from the classical definition of motor neuron pools, such that they may span across muscles and/or involve only a portion of a muscle; (3) clusters represent functional modules used by the CNS to reduce the dimensionality of the control; and (4) selective volitional control of single motor neurons within a cluster receiving common inputs cannot be achieved. Here, we discuss this framework and its underlying theoretical and experimental evidence.


Objective: Signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs) play a critical role in antiviral defense. To better understand pegylated interferon (IFN)-α and ribavirin combination therapy resistance, we examined the STAT expression in the liver. Methods: We immunostained Phospho-STAT1 (P-STAT1) and Phospho-STAT3 (P-STAT3) in 59 hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected liver tissues and compared the expression of these STATs proteins and the clinicopathological factors. Results: The number of P-STAT1 observed correlated significantly with the body mass index (BMI; p = 0.03) and homeostatic model assessment (p = 0.007). The number of P-STAT3 observed correlated significantly with the ALT level (p = 0.002) and platelet count (p = 0.002). The number of P-STAT1 nuclei in the sustained virological response (SVR) group was significantly larger than in the non-SVR group (p = 0.003). On multivariance analysis, the number of P-STAT1 nuclei (p = 0.004) and age (p = 0.016) were significant predictors of SVR. Conclusions: P-STAT1 in the liver tissue prior to IFN therapy correlated with an increased BMI and increased insulin resistance, and might be a useful predictor of HCV clearance by IFN therapy. On the other hand, P-STAT3 might play a critical role in the hepatocellular response against inflammatory damage.


We propose a novel reduced reference quality assessment metric for image transmission rooted in an optimization approach toward parameterized wavelet-based data hiding. The approximation coefficients of one level parameterized wavelet transform of the original image at the transmitter are embedded into that of the horizontal and vertical detail coefficients in a robust and invisible manner to be used as a feature of the original image for comparisons at the receiver side. The best wavelet type used for decomposition is obtained by a curve fitting process, resulting in the most optimum parameters in terms of which the wavelet transform is formulated using genetic algorithm. Simulation results demonstrate the efficiency of our proposed image quality metric in that it has strong correlation with already established image quality metrics, e.g., Structural Similarity Index (SSIM).


Seas, coasts and coastal fishing have a profound economic, social, cultural and environmental importance for the nation. For many years, particularly during the last neoliberal governments, a series of misguided policies have pushed this activity and these ecosystems into a deep crisis. This article presents some features of the problems facing this sector, as well as some solution proposals to elaborate and implement public fisheries policies within the framework of the "Fourth Transformation "1 of the country.


Congenital anal atresia is a rare abnormality which in two thirds of the cases is associated with other congenital abnormalities or syndromes. Prenatal diagnosis is usually achieved in cases with coexisting abnormalities. The diagnosis of isolated anal atresia is extremely difficult and can be suspected in the presence of colon dilatation. We present the case of a fetus in which marked dilatation of the colon was diagnosed at 16 weeks of gestation. Four weeks later the sonographic appearance of the bowel was normal and remained normal for the rest of the pregnancy. Anal atresia was diagnosed immediately after birth and corrected surgically. No other abnormalities were present. This case report illustrates that in anal atresia, bowel dilatation may be only transient.


Deep ultraviolet radiation of solid-state near-infrared (∼ 1 pm) lasers is often generated as the second harmonic of the frequency doubled beam, i.e. the wavelength of ∼260 nm, and as the sum harmonic frequency, the wavelength of ∼200 nm. For these processes usually BBO and CLBO crystals are used. The big advantage in the fourth harmonic generation of the BBO crystal is its high nonlinear coefficient (1.69 pm/V), however, its walk-off angle (84.5 mrad) is quite big and limits the exploitable length of the crystal. The nonlinear coefficient of the CLBO crystal is half of that for BBO (0.83 pm/V), but the walk-off is small (28.8 mrad). Unpleasant with the CLBO is its hygroscopicity, which has to be compensated by keeping the crystal at higher temperature, 150 °C recommended [1]. Nevertheless, the elevated temperature is beneficial for lowering the nonlinear absorption which proceeds as two photon absorption [2]. Regarding the nonlinear absorption, both crystals do not differ much. Our study concerns the CLBO crystals as converters into the deep ultraviolet (DUV) range.


Fluorogenic bioorthogonal reactions are promising tools for tracking small molecules or biomolecules in living organisms. Two-photon excitation, by shifting absorption towards the red, significantly increases the signal-to-noise ratio and decreases photodamage, while allowing imaging about 10 times deeper than with a confocal microscope. However, efficient two-photon excitable fluorogenic probes are currently lacking. We report here the design and synthesis of fluorogenic probes based on a two-photon excitable fluorophore and a tetrazine quenching moiety. These probes react with bicyclo[6.1.0]no-4-yn-9ylmethanol (BCN) with a good to impressive kinetic rate constant (up to 1.1 × 103 M−1 s−1) and emit in the red window with moderate to high turn-on ratios. TDDFT allowed the rationalization of both the kinetic and fluorogenic performance of the different probes. The best candidate displays a 13.8-fold turn-on measured by quantifying fluorescence intensities in live cells under one-photon excitation, whereas a value of 3 is sufficient for high contrast live-cell imaging. In addition, live-cell imaging under two-photon excitation confirmed that there was no need for washing to monitor the reaction between BCN and this probe since an 8.0-fold turn-on was measured under two-photon excitation. Finally, the high two-photon brightness of the clicked adduct (>300 GM) allows the use of a weak laser power compatible with in vivo imaging.


Quality of service (QoS) in Web services has been an active research topic in service-oriented applications. This paper presents a framework for application-level QoS management in services-oriented systems using AI techniques. More precisely, we introduce a management layer, called the business end-user QoS management layer, to be in charge of QoS management at the application level of the applications based on composite Web services. This management layer relies on the measurements against various QoS dimensions of constituent Web services of such applications. A robust algorithm is applied in order to select the most suitable Web services that satisfy the user QoS requirements in a robust way. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm for this layer of QoS management is demonstrated by experimental results.


Background: Disturbed sleep is a common complaint in patients with Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD). Moreover, the factors affecting sleep quality of those patients remain unclear. The aim of this study: was to assess factors affecting sleep quality among patients with the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Material and Methods: A descriptive exploratory design was utilized and conducted at the intermediate respiratory care unit at Mansoura university hospital including a convenient sample of 60 patients of both sexes, able to verbalize their health status and who stayed more than two days at intermediate care unit. Patients' Demographic, Health Relevant Data, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and factors affecting sleep quality instruments were utilized in data collection. Results: Most of the patients were married males, their age ranged between 50 and 69 years with a mean age of 61 and one-third of them were smokers. The majority of patients (80%) had the unsatisfactory level of sleep according to Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The factors altered the patients' sleep included physiological factors such as the production of sputum and chest tightness. The most influential environmental factors included the movement of health care members, performing nursing procedures and administration of nebulizer sessions. The dietary factors included hunger. The influential psychological factors included patients' anxiety and fear of being alone. Finally, daily life habits as daytime naps and smoking. Conclusion and recommendations: It can be concluded that most of the patients had an unsatisfactory level of sleep and need to be improved. As well, further researches are highly recommended on a larger probability sample in different geographical hospitals in Egypt to ensure generalization of findings


Human immunodeficiency virus 1-related idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (HIV-1-ITP) patients have a 4-fold increased percentage of CD5+ B cells and a 4.8-fold increased percentage of serum immune complexes precipitated by polyethylene glycol (PEG-ICs) compared to control subjects, as reported previously. Since CD5+ B cells produce predominantly IgM rheumatoid factor (RF) vs. Fc of IgG and PEG-ICs contain high levels of IgM, we looked for the presence of RF in the immune complexes of HIV-1-ITP patients. PEG-ICs were adsorbed to protein A and dissociated with acid, and IgM and IgG were purified by gel filtration and affinity chromatography. Solid-phase ELISA was used to measure antibody specificity vs. platelets, Fc, and HIV-1 gp120, p24, and CD4. Dissociated IgG antibody reacted with platelets, HIV-1 gp120, p24, and CD4, but not with Fc. Serum IgG did not react with platelets or Fc but did react with HIV-1 gp120, p24, and CD4. Both PEG-IC IgM and serum IgM reacted with Fc as well as the other four antigens. Control IgM and IgG were unreactive. Isolated IgM from PEG-ICs relocated approximately 50% of the IgG preincubated with IgM to the Vo region of a G200 gel-filtration column. Anti-platelet IgG but not IgM could be affinity-purified from fixed platelets. Both F(ab')2 fragments of anti-platelet IgG and the total PEG-IC bound to platelets in a saturation-dependent manner. F(ab')2 of anti-platelet IgG inhibited 50% binding of PEG-IC to platelets at an F(ab')2/complex ratio of 3:1 (wt/wt). Scatchard analysis revealed two classes of binding sites: high-affinity Kd values of 0.8-1.8 nM and lower-affinity Kd values of 6.6-12.3 nM with respective numbers of binding sites of 44,000-57,000 and 122,000-256,000 (n = 4). Anti-platelet IgG of 6/6 patients precipitated GPIIIa from platelet lysates of surface 125I-labeled platelets. Platelet count correlated inversely with anti-platelet IgG (r = -0.73; P < 0.01; n = 27). Thus, PEG-ICs of HIV-1-ITP patients contain IgM RF, which sequesters serum anti-platelet IgG containing anti-GPIIIa. Anti-platelet IgG contributes to binding of immune complexes to platelets and correlates with thrombocytopenia.


Recently in semiconductor memories such as embedded memories (SRAM, e-DRAM), main memories (DRAM) and storage memories (NAND memory), it is becoming difficult to meet the target performance only by scaling technologies. Especially for high speed embedded memories, the large power consumption brings more serious issues due to rapid increase in memory capacity under multi core MPUs, operation speed and leakage current of scaled CMOS. Moreover, the speed gap between each memory levels in addition to that between the operation speed of MPUs and that of embedded memories and main memories have expanded year by year.


The dynamic response of the Liyutan earth dam to the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake (ML=7.3) in Taiwan was nu- merically analyzed. First, the staged construction of the dam was simulated. Then, seepage analysis, considering a 60-m water level, was performed. After seepage analysis, the ini- tial static stress (prior to dynamic loading) was established in the dam. Both the horizontal and vertical acceleration time histories recorded at the base of the dam were used in the numerical simulations. The dynamic responses of the dam were analyzed for 50 s in the time domain. The simulated re- sults were in agreement with the monitored data. The trans- fer function analysis and Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT) were used to compare the results and to perceive the response characteristics of the dam. In particular, the time-frequency- energy plots of the HHT can reveal the timing and time frame of the dominant frequencies of the dynamic response. The influences of the initial shear modulus and uni-axial earth- quake loading were also investigated.


Introduction Patients with similar local advanced breast cancer (LABC) could respond different to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NC). Luminal HER2(-) tumors have pathologic complete response (pCR) by 5-7%. Ki67, tumor grade and hormonal receptors, could be helpful but not enough to choice between NC vs. initial surgery. Response to drugs depends on enzymes involved in absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination (ADME); the drug-metabolizing enzyme and transporter platform (DMET), could identify 1936 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) from 225 genes involved in ADME proccess. Objective To identify predictive factors to pCR in patients with Luminal HER2(-) LABC underwent NC, to distinguish wish patients could have a real benefit from NC. Material and Methods This is a prospective nested case control study (1:4) with LABC patients, pure invasive ductal carcinoma Luminal HER2(-) subtypes, and sequential NC (anthracyclines and taxanes). Cases were defined as patients with pCR (Residual Cancer Burden=0), and controls those without pCR. SNPs were evaluated from DNA of leucocytes using DMET microarrays by Affymetrix. Bivariate analyses were used as appropriate. Microarrays were processed by the DMET analyzer console. OR and 95%CI were used to test association between pCR and variables with a non-conditional logistic regression analysis; p value ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant (two-sided). Results From 2005 to 2014, of 3762 treated patients, 287 women met inclusion criteria. We included 117 patients, 21 cases and 96 controls. Patients with pCR were 5 years younger than controls (45.4 vs 49.4), have more grade-3 tumors, (66.7 vs 22.3%), more Luminal B subtypes (90.5 vs 64.6%), lower expression of estrogen receptor (60 vs 80%) and higher Ki67 expression (65 vs 12%), all with p≤0.05. No differences in toxicity existed between groups. In an initial screening procedure, 13 SNPs were identified, but only 4 SNPs (4 genes) are known to participate in ADME of antineoplastic agents. All pCR cases did not have the C/C allelic variant in the rs2072671 SNP (CDA gene); while in rs1883322 SNP (PPARD gene) all had T/T variant After logistic regression analysis, pCR predictive factors were the presence of grade-3 tumors OR=6.66 (95%CI=1.67-26.56), Ki67 ≥14% OR=15.45 (95%CI=1.71–138.86), premenopausal status OR=6.540 (95%CI=1.50–28.38) and A/A or A/G allele in rs7483 SNP (GSTM3 gene) OR=19.16 (95%CI=1.97–185.93). Conclusions Genetic variability encoded in the DMET-chip, could be helpful as a predictive factor of pCR in patients with Luminal HER2(-) LABC, but only in combination with other factors such as grade-3 tumors, elevated Ki67, and premenopausal status. Citation Format: Ruvalcaba-Limon E, Rodriguez-Cuevas S, Hidalgo-Miranda A, Villa-Romero A, Bautista-Pina V, Rebollar-Vega R, Fernandez-Lopez JC, Morales-Vasquez F. Predictive factors of pathologic complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with Luminal HER2(-) local advanced breast cancer using the DMET microarray [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-09-18.


ABSTRACT This paper summarizes the findings of studies of schools where initiatives were under way to develop provision for pupils experiencing difficulties in learning, and discusses the theoretical significance of these findings for our understanding of how mainstream schools can be made more inclusive. It submits the 'consensus thesis', which has been influential in recent research in this field, to a critical examination in the light of this evidence. It shows that teaching staff in the schools investigated used contrasting discourses of learning difficulty. The various types of relationship which were found to occur in practice between different constituencies of staff are described and analysed. In the light of this analysis, it is argued that the consensus thesis stands in need of revision. An alternative theoretical account of the relationship between contrasting discourses of learning difficulty and the dynamics of the school development process is proposed.


Authigenic chlorite, which is frequently found in sandstone, has a controlling effect on the reservoirs in which tight oil is adsorbed during hydrocarbon filling. In this study, the content, occurrence state, timing, mechanism and influence of authigenic chlorite on the micro-occurrence states of tight oil were studied using Thin Section (TS), Fluorescent Thin Section (FTS), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy (ESEM), and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). The results indicate: (1) a spatial coupling between chlorite development, a brackish water delta front facies depositional environment, and biotite-rich arkosic sandstone. (2) Authigenic chlorite can be divided into three types: grain-coating chlorite, pore-lining chlorite, and rosette chlorite. Chlorite forms after early compaction but before other diagenetic phases, and grows via precipitation from pore waters that contain products released during the dissolution of volcanic rock fragments and biotites. Porewater is also pressure-released from feldspars and mudstone. (3) The micro-occurrence states of tight oil can be divided into five types: emulsion form, cluster form, throat form, thin-film form, and the isolated or agglomerated particle form. (4) During hydrocarbon filling, tight oil mainly occurs on the surface of grain-coating and pore-lining chlorite in the form of a thin film, the granular or agglomerated forms are mainly enriched within the intercrystalline pores within the authigenic chlorite, and the cluster forms are mainly enriched in dissolution pores. Isolated or agglomerated particles of tight oil primarily occur in the intercrystalline pores of the rosette chlorite. (5) The specific surface area and the authigenic chlorite's adsorption potential of authigenic chlorite control the micro-occurrence of tight oil on the surface of the chlorite and in intercrystalline pores. The adsorption capacity of chlorite lies in the following order: pore-lining chlorite intercrystalline pores > rosette chlorite > chlorite in feldspar dissolution pores > pore-lining chlorite surface > grain-coating chlorite intercrystalline pores > grain-coating chlorite surface.


Distributions of the 373 described and c. 113 undescribed species of Acacia occurring in Western Australia were plotted on state maps divided into 1° latitude by 1.5° longitude grids. The number of species per grid was determined, and species richness was shown to be highest along the inland eastern margin of the South-West Botanical Province. Minor centres of richness were found associated with mountainous areas of the Pilbara Region, Desert Region and Northern Botanical Province. It is proposed that the centres of species richness have been foci of recent evolutionary divergence and also refugia favouring the persistence of some relict forms. It is suggested that recent speciation has been promoted by recurrent migration, extinction and isolation of populations as a result of Pleistocene climatic fluctuations and their erosional consequences in climatically transitional areas. An analysis of the distribution of selected closely related species groups occurring in a range of habitats throughout Western Australia indicates that geographical isolation has played an important role in speciation in the genus.


We examined distributions of 33 gall forming insect species on parent species and three hybrid phenotypes in two Eucalyptus hybrid zones in Australia. Variation in insect abundance among hybrid classes was greater than variation between species suggesting that hybrid zones are sites of dynamic interactions between plants and herbivores. For instance, of 25 galling species in Victoria, 52% showed significant differences in abundance among hybrid classes, whereas only 24% differed between pure host species. While some components of hybrid use were very predictable, others were not. Based on galler use of pure species, we could accurately predict which hybrid phenotype would be most used. Our data show that most gall species concentrate on the hybrid class that is most similar to the parent species on which it is most abundant. However, species related taxonomically or by feeding guild did not exhibit consistent responses to hybrid and parent hosts. Thus pooling either hybrid classes or insect species for statistical analysis may mask underlying patterns. Overall, galler responses to three hybrid phenotypes are consistent with the hypothesis that plant hybrid zones and especially backcross hybrids are centers of insect species richness and abundance. Furthermore, galler response to hybrids plants suggests that the narrow host specificity characteristic of gallers may be less strongly influenced by plant developmental processes than generally thought.
Our observations support the hypothesis that genetic differences among host plants in hybrid zones underlies patterns of insect host use. They also suggest that other mechanisms might be involved. Hybrid zone studies may have much to tell us about the ecology and evolution of plant-herbivore interactions.


This study, commissioned by the European Parliament Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs, presents an overview of the situation within the EU with regard to the way energy poverty is experienced by women and men and explores through a gender lens existing EU legislation and policy to address energy poverty. Interpretation and implementation of EU legislation at national level are also investigated. Possible opportunities to ensure that policies and interventions to address energy poverty are more gender aware are identified and discussed.


Abstract The Iron-Age Eurasian nomads created and circulated elaborate metalworks embellished with images of entwined, abbreviated, or contorted zoomorphic anatomies. This approach to zoomorphism has entered scholarly discourse under the blanket name "animal style," a term often used to describe a vast corpus of zoomorphic images associated with the arts of steppe pastoralists. Numerous Warring States burials across the Ordos Loop indicate the transmission and adaptation of steppe-inspired zoomorphism into the funerary cultures of China's northern zone (beifang diqu 北方地區) and the Eastern Steppe more broadly. In the Han dynasty, animal-style images seem to have been transmitted even more widely, reaching China's southern periphery at the Kingdom of Nanyue 南越 and Lelang 樂浪 in the northern Korean peninsula. The Xianbei hegemony in the post-Han period marked a new trajectory for these designs, which reached Kofun Japan in the fifth century. Thus, the original trans-steppe visual formula underwent significant regional and local translations on a material and conceptual level to fit already established Chinese design strategies, techniques, and conceptions of animality. In this essay, I explore the regional alterations applied to the "supra" animal-style visuality in the Chinese northern periphery and other regions of Chinese political influence in North and Central Asia. In so doing, I seek to understand the swift entry of nomadic visual tropes, namely a specific "pars-pro-toto" device, into the visual vocabulary of early Chinese craftsmen from the Eastern Zhou to the Northern dynasties.


Motivated by the prevalent data science applications of processing large-scale graph data such as social networks, web graphs, and biological networks, as well as the high I/O and communication costs of storing and transmitting such data, this paper investigates universal compression of data appearing in the form of a labeled graph. In particular, we consider a widely used random graph model, stochastic block model (SBM), which captures the clustering effects in social networks. A universal graph compressor is proposed, which achieves the optimal compression rate for a wide family of SBMs with edge probabilities from $O$(1) to Ω(1/$n$ 2-∊) for any 0 < ∊ < 1. Existing universal compression techniques are developed mostly for stationary ergodic one-dimensional sequences with entropy linear in the number of variables. However, the adjacency matrix of SBM has complex two-dimensional correlations and sublinear entropy in the sparse regime. These challenges are alleviated through a carefully designed transform that converts two-dimensional correlated data into almost i.i.d. blocks. The blocks are then compressed by a Krichevsky-Trofimov compressor, whose length analysis is generalized to arbitrarily correlated processes with identical marginals.


Abstract : Direct-write techniques allow processing in the nanometer range and have become powerful methods for rapid prototyping of microelectronic circuits and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). Chemical reactions are initiated by a focused beam leading to deposition of solid material on literally any surface. We have used this method to deposit metals such as tungsten and dielectrics such as silicon oxide using a focused ion beam (FIB) with 10 to 50 kV acceleration voltage. Controlled guidance of the beam allows deposition of both metallic and dielectric material with features in the 100 nm range. The deposition of separate structures of metallic and dielectric material deposited next to each other is shown on samples of different roughness. 3-dimensional exemplary prototypes in the sub-micrometer range and multilayer structures demonstrate the versatility of this method for prototyping and mix-and-match approaches with commercial semiconductor devices. A characterization of the deposited material was performed to clarify chemical composition and surface morphology of deposited structures. The deposition parameters were found to influence the chemical composition and electronic properties of the material. Direct-write deposition of dielectrics and metals by FIB allows fabrication of 3-dimensional prototypes with custom-tailored material properties.


This paper examines the perceptions and evaluations of Malaya and various aspects of life there of two colonial In particular, we discuss their perceptions and evaluations as derived from their literary works, highlighting similarities and differences between these two men. We contend that their literary works are repositories of historical documentation, providing insights into the 'existential' and social history of Malaya as well as individual perspectives of a political history. Specific attention is paid to their view of Malaya as exotic and mysterious; their evaluation of Malaya's nature and landscape as pristine delights and/or economic resource; their understanding of Malay psyche and society; and their appraisal of British colonialism in Malaya.