A new hybrid preferential model (HPM) is proposed for generating both scale-free and small world properties. The topological transition features in the HPM from random preferential attachment to deterministic preferential attachment are investigated. It is found that the exponents γ of the power law are very sensitive to the hybrid ratio (d/r) of determination to random attachment, and γ increases as the ratio d/r increases. It is also found that there exists a threshold at d/r = 1/1, beyond which γ increases rapidly and can tend to infinity if there is no random preferential attachment (r = 0), which implies that the power law scaling disappears completely. Moreover, it is also found that when the ratio d/r increases, the average path length L is decreased, while the average clustering coefficient C is increased. Compared to the BA model and random graph, the new HPM has both the smallest L and the biggest C, which is consistent with most real-world growing networks.


It is well known that in a turbulent flow between two parallel flat plates, the horizontal mean velocity varies logarithmically with height (the so-called 'logarithmic-law-of-the-wall'). The law of the wall is a description of the mean velocity profile in wall bounded flows and has been regarded as one of the underpinning doctrine in the turbulence community for more than half a century. Much of our understanding in wall turbulence has been based from the continuum Navier-Stokes Equation (NSE). More recently, following studies of a modified Navier Stokes Equation, we applied a modified incompressible NSE to the flow of turbulent fluid between two parallel flat plates and solved it analytically [1]. We extended the analysis to the turbulent flow along a single wall and compared the results with the established controversial von Karman logarithmic law of the wall [2]. We found velocity profiles and velocity time evolution of a turbulent system, through simple numerical simulations, that cannot be reproduced from the classical NSE.


A kit for determining a hypothetical cornea for use with post-LASIK and post myopia Ortho-K amendment. The kit has a reference table for determining conformation data by using at least one of following data: pre-treatment KM readings, post-treatment KM readings, power reduced from before- to after-treatment, and post-treatment cornea optical zone. The kit further comprises a plurality of conformed lenses based on the conformation data in predetermined increments from the reference table. The pre-treatment KM readings comprise pre-operative or pre-ortho-K readings. The post-treatment KM readings comprise post-operative or post ortho-K readings. The post-treatment cornea optical zone comprises post-operative or post-ortho-K cornea optical zone. Also, a method of determining a hypothetical cornea for use with post-LASIK and post myopia Ortho-K amendment is disclosed. The method has inputting pre-treatment KM readings, inputting post-treatment KM readings, inputting power reduced from before- to after treatment, inputting post-treatment cornea optical zone, calculating conformation data, which is adapted to be used to generate specification for conformed lenses. Another kit for determining a hypothetical cornea for use with Keratoconus and post-hyperopia Ortho-K amendment can be constructed using at least one of following data: pre-altered KM readings, post-altered KM readings, pre-altered refraction error, and post altered specifications. The kit further comprises a plurality of conformed lenses based on the conformation data in predetermined increments from the reference table. The pre-altered KM readings comprise pre-keratoconus or pre-hyperopia ortho-K readings. The pre-altered refraction errors comprise refraction errors from a set of normal corneas. The post-altered specifications comprise cone widths of Keratoconus or steepened cornea zone of hyperopic Ortho-K and also magnitude of off centering of the cone apex.


ABSTRACT This systematic review deliberately included studies with diverse methodologies in order to establish the general applicability of a constraint-effects-mitigation involvement loyalty model, a status which has only been indirectly accorded to it within the literature to date. Studies conducted between 1987 and the present covering 27 papers in several different settings consistently demonstrated that leisure involvement can necessitate negotiation strategies to allow individuals to form loyalty to people, leisure activities and places, whilst still facing a myriad of constraints at any given time.


Investigating trust, acceptance, and attitudes towards automated driving is often investigated in simulator experiments. Therefore, behavioral validity is a crucial aspect of automated driving studies. However, static simulators have reduced behavioral validity because of their inherent safe environment. We propose VAMPIRE (VR automated movement platform for immersive realistic experiences), a movement platform designed to increase the sensation of realism in automated driving simulator studies using an automated wheelchair. In this work, we provide a detailed description to build the prototype (including software components and assembly instructions), a proposal for safety precautions, an analysis of possible movement patterns for overtaking scenarios, and practical implications for designers and practitioners. We provide all project-related files as auxiliary materials.


In this paper, an iterative enhancement of the robust Wiener filter (RWF) estimator is presented for a turbo-coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system under the umbrella of the 3GPP long term evolution. The proposed scheme can operate with uncoded or coded feedback, and outperforms the conventional linear RWF in the whole signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) range with both approaches. Results show that most of the gain is obtained in the first iteration of the algorithm, and better performance is achieved with the coded feedback scheme. A good tradeoff between accuracy and complexity is achieved by selecting a low number of turbo coding iterations (TCI) in the iterative loop and concentrating most of them at the final decoding stage. Following this design, cell spectral efficiency gains of around 2.7% and 6.5% can be obtained with respect to linear RWF for micro- and macro-cell scenarios respectively.


More than one billion people live in extreme poverty, more than 120 million are officially unemployed, and the gap between rich and poor is increasing. Now that the Cold War has ended, we are more secure about international military security on the global scale, but less secure about personal and community-related issues and problems. In this context, the heads of state from around the world will convene in Copenhagen at the first World Summit on Social Development to discuss poverty, employment, and achieving the full participation of all groups in society. This summit will be the seventh of ten global conferences organized by the United Nations this decade, but it has garnered only minimal media attention. By early February, 102 heads of state had committed to attending, but it remains uncertain at what level the US will participate. The draft declaration specifies nine commitments to which countries will, in some form, assent in Copenhagen. These commitments express social goals such as achieving full equity and equality between men and women, promoting the social development of the least developed countries, reforming structural adjustment programs, and increasing the share of the world's resources devoted to social development. A tenth commitment assuring universal access to education and basic health services remains bracketed for decision in Copenhagen.


Sea urchin (Mesocentrotus nudus) is an economically important mariculture species in China and the gonads are the solely edible parts to human. The molecular mechanisms of gonad development have attracted increasing attention in recent years. Although the nanos2 gene has been identified as a germ cell marker in several invertebrates, little is known about nanos2 in adult sea urchins. Hereinto, we report the characterization of Mnnano2, an M. nudus nanos2 homology gene. Mnnanos2 is a maternal factor and can be detected continuously during embryogenesis and early ontogeny. Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and section in situ hybridization (ISH) analysis revealed a dynamic and sexually dimorphic expression pattern of Mnnano2 in the gonads. Its expression reached the maximal level at Stage 2 along with the gonad development in both ovary and testis. In the ovary, Mnnanos2 is specifically expressed in germ cells. In contrast, Mnnanos2 is expressed in both nutritive phagocytes (NP) cells and male germ cells in testis. Moreover, knocking down of Mnnanos2 by means of RNA interference (RNAi) reduced nanos2 and boule expression but conversely increased the expression of foxl2. Therefore, our data suggest that Mnnanos2 may serve as a female germ cell marker during gametogenesis and provide chances to uncover its function in adult sea urchin.


Many Applications of scientific research have coupled with functional data signal clustering techniques to discover novel characteristics that can be used for the diagnoses of several issues. In this article we present an interpretable multi-scale cluster hierarchy framework for clustering functional data using its multi-aspect frequency information. The suggested method focuses on how to effectively select transformed features/variables in unsupervised manner so that finally reduce the data dimension and achieve the multi-purposed clustering. Specially, we apply our suggested method to mutual fund returns and make superior-performing funds group based on different aspects such as global patterns, seasonal variations, levels of noise, and their combinations. To promise our method producing a quality cluster hierarchy, we give some empirical results under the simulation study and a set of real life data. This research will contribute to financial market analysis and flexibly fit to other research fields with clustering purposes.


We introduce perfect resolving algebras and study their fundamental properties. These algebras are basic for our theory of differential graded schemes, as they give rise to affine differential graded schemes. We also introduce etale morphisms. The purpose for studying these, is that they will be used to glue differential graded schemes from affine ones with respect to an etale topology.


This article reviews the molecular genetic data pertaining to the major surface glycoprotein (MSG) gene family of Pneumocystis carinii and its role in surface variation and compares this fungal system to antigenic variation systems in the protozoan Trypanosoma brucei and the bacteria Borrelia spp.


The heterogeneity of Parkinson's disease (PD) has been recognized since its description by James Parkinson over 200 years ago. The complexity of motor and non-motor PD manifestations has led to many attempts of PD subtyping with different prognostic outcomes; however, the pathophysiological foundations of PD heterogeneity remain elusive. Genetic contributions to PD may be informative in understanding the underpinnings of PD subtypes. As such, recognizing genotype-phenotype associations may be crucial for successful gene therapy. We review the state of knowledge on the genetic architecture underlying PD subtypes, discussing the monogenic forms, as well as oligo- and polygenic risk factors associated with various PD subtypes. Based on our review, we argue for the unification of PD subtyping classifications, the dichotomy of studies on genetic factors and genetic modifiers of PD, and replication of results from previous studies.


In this paper a comprehensive study for the structural control of Jacket platform with Magneto-Rheological (MR) damper is presented. The control is implemented as a closed loop feedback of the applied voltage in the MR Damper using fuzzy logic. Nine cases of combinations with MR damper are presented to complete the work. The selection of the MR damper (RD 1005-3) is based on the operating parameters (i.e., the range of frequency and displacement). Bingham model is used to obtain the control forces. The damping co-efficient of the model is obtained using empirical relationship between the voltage in the MR damper and input velocity from the structural members. The force acting on the structure is obtained from Morison equation using P-M spectrum. The results show that the reliable control was obtained when there was a continuous connection of multiple MR dampers with the lower levels of the structure. Independent MR dampers at different levels provided control within a range, while the MR dampers placed at alternate positions gave very high control.


The purpose of this study is to reveal students' information gathering behaviors and processes and teacher's approaches to improve their learning outcomes in middle school inquiry-based learning. We compare the dif erences in behaviors in information gathering process between learners with high and low understanding of the themes as their learning outcomes and teachers' approaches for both types of learners.Participants were seventeen ninth grade students and two teachers as their supervisors. During the Period for Integrated Studies, the students searched for information, reflected on their behaviors, and summarized the information they gathered on slides. The analysis targeted seven students who selected themes related to SDG 4 (four students) and SDG 8 (three students) and two teachers. As a result of the analysis, students with a high level of understanding of the themes showed behaviors of browsing and referring to materials corresponding to pillars of investigation (sub-subjects). For the behavior, teachers provided students with supplementary guidance on keyword searches and introductions to websites.


We consider a novel null test for contamination which can be applied to CMB polarization data that involves analysis of the statistics of the polarization position angles. Specifically, we will concentrate on using histograms of the measured position angles to illustrate the idea. Such a test has been used to identify systematics in the NVSS point source catalogue with an amplitude well below the noise level. We explore the statistical properties of polarization angles in CMB maps. If the polarization angle is not correlated between pixels, then the errors follow a simple √ Npix law. However this is typically not the case for CMB maps since these have correlations which result in an increase in the variance since the effective number of independent pixels is reduced. Then we illustrate how certain classes of systematic errors can result in very obvious patterns in these histograms, and thus that these errors could possibly be identified using this method. We discuss how this idea might be applied in a realistic context, and make a preliminary analysis of the WMAP7 data, finding evidence of a systematic error in the Q and W band data, consistent with a constant offset in Q and U .


Abstract. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have been widely used to capture and down-link real-time videos/images. However, their role as a low-cost airborne platform for capturing high-resolution, geo-referenced still imagery has not been fully utilized. The images obtained from UAV are advantageous over remote sensing images as they can be obtained at a low cost and potentially no risk to human life. However, these images are distorted due to the noise generated by the rotary wings which limits the usefulness of such images. One potential application of such images is to detect changes between the images of the same area which are collected over time. Change detection is of widespread interest due to a large number of applications, including surveillance and civil infrastructure. Although UAVs can provide images with high resolution in a portable and easy way, such images only cover small parts of the entire field of interest and are often with high deformation. Until now, there is not much application of change detection for UAV images. Also the traditional pixel-based change detection method does not give satisfactory results for such images. In this paper, we have proposed a novel object-based method for change detection using UAV images which can overcome the effect of deformation and can fully utilize the high resolution capability of UAV images. The developed method can be divided into five main blocks: pre-processing, image matching, image segmentation and feature extraction, change detection and accuracy evaluation. The pre-processing step is further divided into two sub-steps: the first sub-step is to geometrically correct the bi-temporal image based on the geo-reference information (GPS/INS) installed on the UAV system, and the second sub-step is the radiometric normalization using a histogram method. The image matching block uses the well-known scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) algorithm to match the same areas in the images and then resample them. The image segmentation and feature extraction block is used to separate the images to different meaningful regions by the mean shift method, extract the textural features and contextual features (polygon,etc.) , Based on the features extracted above as well as the SIFT features of the area, the optimization result is achieved by considering the neighbourhood information .The proposed method is being tested by using multi-temporal images acquired by UAV. The results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach.


The aim of this research was to examine the teacher's facilitative role to engage students in values education. An action research approach reflected on the classroom context and provided a focus for a range of qualitative research methods. Multiple data sources such as teacher observations, interviews, students and teacher reflection logs and sociograms were used to triangulate findings from parents, students and teachers. A sociocultural perspective (Vygotsky, 1978) provided the conceptual framework as the underlying assumption is that students learn from each other, mediated by the teacher or more capable peers. The focus on the social context and the development of interpersonal relationships are key features of peer mediated learning which complemented the processes chosen by the researcher to elucidate how a caring, supportive and democratic classroom was created.

The major findings reflected the foci of student and teacher conversations about interpersonal skills. The three phases of the study included: establishing positive 'relationships'; providing opportunities to develop leadership skills; broadening views about discriminatory behaviours, friendship and leadership. The major conclusion drawn from the study is that teachers do play a significant role in mediating positive relationships amongst peers in the process of establishing the foundations for productive and active citizenship.


With the development of property management in our country, property management industry needs more and more high qualified talents. As an institute which trains the talents in property management, it must train the skilled personnel according to the needs of markets. After the investigation into the property management market and in the light of our teaching practice ,we fixed our teaching purpose, perfected the curriculum setting, utilized modularity teaching method, as a result, the teaching result was improved. We strengthened practical teaching and fostered students' practical management ability, we've got good results through carrying out the policy of two certificates. And it gained high social prestige in the property management industry of Tangshan.


Annual measurements of the distance between station marks on either side of the San Andreas fault have yielded estimates of fault movement. Measurements have been made by the California Department of Water Resources on over 500 miles of the San Andreas and related faults with a Model 2A Geodimeter since 1959. Results have been reported by this author and others in California's Department of Water Resources Bulletin 116-6, Geodimeter Fault Movement Investigations in California, May 1968, and in Proceedings of the 2nd United States-Japan Conference on Research Related to Earthquake Prediction Problems, June 1966.

Earthquakes of Richter Magnitude 4.5 to 6 were often preceded by anomalous fault movements measured with the Geodimeter. These events have been analyzed during the past year to determine their effectiveness in providing earthquake warnings.


The transient behavior of charge carriers generated by pulse illumination of arbitrary intensity is investigated. The configuration treated is that in which one surface of a photoinsulating sample is grounded and the other charged to an initial potential V0 and left floating. Within the framework of the assumed model, expressions have been derived which completely describe the spatial and temporal dependence of the carrier density, electric field, and conduction current density. These expressions provide a physical picture of the charge‐carrier dynamics within the photoinsulator and allow a qualitative discussion of possible trapping effects. Solutions are also obtained for the physically observable surface potential and its time rate of change. The geometry considered here is that usually employed in electrophotographic applications of photoinsulators for information copying and image conversion devices.


In this paper, we study the capacity of cognitive networks. We focus on the network model consisting of two overlapping ad hoc networks, called the primary ad hoc network (PaN) and secondary ad hoc network (SaN), respectively. PaN and SaN operate on the same space and spectrum. For PaN (or SaN resp.) we assume that primary (or secondary resp.) nodes are placed according to a Poisson point process of intensity n (or m resp.) over a unit square region. We randomly choose ns (or ms resp.) nodes as the sources of multicast sessions in PaN (or SaN resp.), and for each primary source v (or secondary source v), we pick uniformly at random nd primary nodes (or md secondary nodes) as the destinations of v (or v). Above all, we assume that PaN can adopt the optimal protocol in terms of the throughput. Our main work is to design the multicast strategy for SaN by which it can achieve the optimal throughput, without any negative impact on the throughput for PaN in order sense. Depending on nd and n, we choose the optimal strategy for PaN from two ones called percolation strategy and connectivity strategy, respectively. Subsequently, we design the corresponding throughput-optimal strategy for SaN. We further derive the regimes for n, nd, m and md where the throughput for PaN and SaN can simultaneously be achieved of the upper bound of their capacities asymptotically. Specifically, we show that (1) when n = o( m (log m)2 ), nd = O( n (log n)3 ), and md = O( m (log m)3 ), PaN and SaN can simultaneously achieve the optimal throughput, i.e., the upper bounds of the capacity (Θ( √ n · nd) and Θ(√m ·md), respectively); (2) when nd = Ω( n log n ) and md = Ω( m log m ), PaN and SaN also simultaneously achieve the optimal throughput, i.e., Θ(1) for both networks. Unicast capacity (or broadcast capacity) for the cognitive network can be derived by our results as special cases by letting nd = 1 and md = 1 (or nd = n− 1 and md = m− 1).


People modify behaviors according to their perceptions of the norms. However, people often utilize neutralization techniques to avoid social blame for ISP violations. We investigate how neutralization techniques affect normative influence on compliance by examining how different types of neutralization techniques impact employees' perceived descriptive norm and perceived injunctive norm and their influence on ISP compliance. We also propose measures to counter each type of neutralization techniques.


This paper describes results characterizing the range of the time-t heat operator on various manifolds, including Euclidean spaces, spheres, and hyperbolic spaces. The guiding principle behind these results is this: The functions in the range of the heat operator should be, roughly, those functions having an analytic continuation to the appropriate complexified manifold with growth in the imaginary directions at most like that of the time-t heat heat kernel.


Emerging knowledge about cancer stem cells (CSCs) is raising attention about the need to provide a more precise and complete diagnosis including the molecular profile of a patient's CSCs. As opposed to simply treating the bulk of the tumor, a more complete diagnosis can lead to treatment regimens designed to eradicate CSCs from a patient. In this review the authors detail the application of the mammosphere assay in the study of breast CSCs. The authors then describe the potential transition of the mammosphere assay from the research laboratory to the clinic by leveraging microsystems technology, which enables the integration of multiple functions into a single automated device. To conclude the review, the authors project that future clinical devices will be capable of isolating circulating metastatic cells from patient blood, enriching the dangerous CSCs, and providing a molecular profile of the CSCs, thus arming physicians with the information to select a treatment program that combats CSCs.


ABSTRACT Biodiesel is one of the promising energy sources that could replace petroleum oil in the near future. Microalgae is occupying a distinguished position among the promising sources for biodiesel production. Enhancement of the lipids production during the pretreatment is a key factor for the biodiesel production. High-pressure homogenizer is a better pretreatment procedure to enhance the lipid extraction from microalgae. In this research, a robust model of biodiesel system using fuzzy logic is built based on the experimental data for biodiesel system. Then, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) optimizer is applied for determining the best operating parameters of biodiesel system. The decision variables used in the optimization process are; pressure, number of passes, and reaction time that maximizes the percentage of recovery lipids of biodiesel. A comparison study was carried out between the optimized results thought PSO algorithm and those obtained by the experimental results and the optimized results through the Response Surface Methodology (RMS). Results demonstrated that using the proposed optimization methodology is significantly better than RSM, a nearly 78.7% increase in lipids extraction could be achieved according to the current model.


Abstract Type 2 endoleaks are the most common endoleak type following endovascular aneurysm repair. The natural history of these endoleaks can vary, with some demonstrating a self-limited or indolent course, while others can contribute to aneurysm sac enlargement and rupture. A variety of embolization techniques, including transarterial catheterization and direct sac puncture techniques, have been developed for the treatment of type 2 endoleaks. In this article, the authors review the indications, techniques, and outcomes of current treatment strategies for type 2 endoleaks.


We aimed to investigate effect of long term noninvasive mechanical ventilation(NMV) after dicharge on right heart function and hemodynamic results in hospitalized patients in intensive care unit(ICU) with respiratory failure due to obesity hypoventilation syndrome(OHS) Methods:Level of brain natriuretic peptide(BNP) at admission and after 9th month of discharge,hemodynamic and echocardiographic parameters of patients were recorded prospectively in level III ICU . Data were compared. Results: 36 OHS patients (23 female) with mean body mass index 45±11,age 61±13 were enrolled in the study.During 9 month among echocardiographic parameters related with right heart function significant change were found in systolic pulmonary arterial pressure,TAPSE and serum BNP levels(43±8 vs 38±8 mmhg ,p‹0.002; 2.1±0.3 cm vs 2.4±0.4 cm,p‹0.002; 1049±624 vs 358±255 pg/ml, p=0.029 respectively).However there was no significant difference in left ventricle ejection fraction and left atrial function(63 ±7 vs 64 ±7 %, pg0.11 ;3.7± 0.7 vs 3.6± 0.6 pg0.55 respectively) Conlusion: Long term NIV treatment in patients with respiratory failure due to OHS provides significant improvement in right heart failure and BNP level.


JC virus (JCV) together with Simian virus 40 (SV40) and BK virus (BKV), belong to the polyomavirus group and these viruses are neuro‐oncogenic to rodents by expression of large T antigen (LT), which binds to cellular p53 and pRB thus reducing the anticancer potential of the cell. The function of LT has not been clarified because small t antigen (st) is transcribed from the same start codon as the overlapping reading frame of LT, and is translated as a different protein with the same N‐terminal residues (1–81 amino acids) by a splice‐site variant of mRNA. To elucidate the function of LT without st, we constructed plasmids that express LT only by deleting the splicing region including the C‐terminus of st, and consequently stable cell lines were established that express only JCLT, SV40LT and BKLT. The growth rates of these cells were examined in colonies on soft agar and it was found that LT alone has a transforming capacity; the order of efficiency being SV40LT, BKLT and JCLT. In addition, to verify the involvement of JCV in human medulloblastoma, eight cases of medulloblastoma, six cases of frozen material and five cases of paraffin‐embedded tissues which included three cases of frozen tissues, were examined. PCR assay, genomic Southern blotting, and in situ hybridization were applied to detect the JCV genome, and LT and st were examined by immunohistochemistry; the results were compared with JCV‐infected tissues as a positive control. All methods failed to detect not only JCV genome but also LT protein in medulloblastoma and it was concluded that JCV LT has transforming activities in rodent cells, but is not related to human medulloblastoma.


Abstract Due to the increase in screening programs, more rectal polyps and early rectal cancers are detected. Transanal resection of these lesions is less invasive than a transabdominal approach. Transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) has gained a lot of interest, but the technique has several drawbacks such as the expensive instrumentation and considerable learning curve. With the evolution of single incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS), laparo-endoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) and natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES), new devices have become available. This led to the development of a hybrid technique of transanal surgery. The technique combines a transanal approach, a SILS port and standard laparoscopic instruments. We used this technique in 2 cases.


Results are reported from the culturing in vitro of cells from individual early gastrulae of the following four groups of X-linked embryonic lethal mutants of Drosophila melanogaster. (1) Notch lethals, Five Notch mutants were studied which have been reported to give similar abnormalities in whole embryos: the nervous system displays a three-fold hypertrophy as part of a shift in the pattern of differentiation within ectodermal derivatives, and mesodermal derivatives do not differentiate. An hypertrophy of nerve was found in cell cultures prepared from embryos of all five mutants. In addition, four of the five alleles consistently gave abnormalities of muscle differentiation: when compared to controls, Notch cultures had a reduced frequency of myotubes, and displayed unusual clusters of myocytes which had either failed to fuse or had fused incompletely. Results from mixed cultures prepared from two embryos were consistent with the autonomous expression of nerve and muscle abnormalities by Notch-8 cells in the presence of wild-type cells. It is argued that the Notch locus has a direct role in the differentiation of both nerve and muscle. (2) white deficiencies. Cells carrying either of two deficiencies gave a clear-cut pattern of abnormalities: initial cellular differentiations were normal, but nerve, muscle and fat-body cells progressively deteriorated during the culture period. Mixed cultures showed that wild-type cells could not 'rescue' mutant muscle and fat-body cells; however, the status of the autonomy of mutant nerve abnormalities in these cultures was unclear. Both white deficiencies remove cytological band 3C1, and this permits a comparison of results with those from cultures of cells from Notch-8 embryos (also deficient for 3C1). Abnormalities displayed in cultures of the two types of mutant show no overlap. Therefore no consistent cellular abnormality can be attributed to absence of band 3C1. (3) lethal(1)myospheroid. In contrast to earlier observations on in vitro cell cultures (Donady & Seecof, 1972) muscle was seen to differentiate, though its morphology was extremely abnormal. Observations indicated that all cell types within the cultures had poor properties of adhesion to a glass substrate. It is argued that the observed abnormalities are not consistent with a mutant lesion which is restricted to the basement membrane (contra Wright, 1960), and that all cell types carry a basic defect which may reside in the cell membrane. (4) shibirets alleles. Cultures of two temperature-sensitive lethal shibire alleles (shits1), shits3) were normal at the permissive temperature of 22 degrees C. At the restrictive temperature (29 degrees C) early cell differentiation was normal but subsequent development was blocked. This blockage could be partially reversed by shifting cultures to the permissive temperature after as much as 10 days exposure to the high temperature. It is suggested that shits cells are mutant in a process which is basic to several cell types.


Lipins are phosphatidic acid phosphatases involved in the biosynthesis of triacylglycerols and phospholipids. They are associated with the endoplasmic reticulum but can also travel into the nucleus and alter gene expression. Previous studies indicate lipins in solution form high molecular weight complexes, possibly tetramers. This study was undertaken to determine if lipins form complexes on membranes as well. Murine lipin 1b was applied to a supported bilayer of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylserine, and cholesterol and examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) over time. Lipin on bare mica appeared as a symmetric particle with a volume consistent with the size of a monomer. On the bilayer, lipin initially bound as asymmetric, curved particles that sometimes assembled into circular structures with an open center. Subsequently, lipin assemblies grew into large, symmetric particles with an average volume 12 times that of the monomer. Over time, some of the lipin assemblies were removed from the bilayer by the AFM probe leaving behind "footprints" composed of complex patterns that may reflect the substructure of the lipin assemblies. The lipin complexes appeared very flat, with a diameter 20 times their height. The footprints had a similar diameter, providing confirmation of the extensive deformation of the protein under the AFM probe. The ability of lipin to form large complexes on membranes may have significant implications for the local concentrations of the product, diacylglycerol, formed during hydrolysis of phosphatidic acid and for cooperative hormonal regulation of lipin activity through phosphorylation of one or more monomers in the complexes.


As senior house officers in a busy accident and emergency department, we were often required to deal with alcohol-related problems. We felt that a knowledge of blood alcohol levels in certain cases would be of benefit, for example, the unconscious or stuporose patient. The Lion Alcolmeter seemed to be an ideal instrument to gain such measurements, being painless, immediate and easy to operate. Therefore, we set out to test the reliability of the Meter in the clinical situation. Our tests revealed a number of limitations in the accuracy and usefulness of the Meter and the main shortcomings are outlined below. Firstly, accurate estimates of blood alcohol levels were only obtained from those patients coordinated and cooperative enough to give a mouth sample, i.e. low risk patients. Estimates from unconscious or uncooperative patients (obviously high risk) had to be made from nasal samples and were inconsistent and unreliable. Secondly, readings cannot be taken less than 20 min following ingestion or vomiting of alcohol. Timing such events is obviously difficult to assess in the unconscious patient. We also found, as expected, that the relationship between blood alcohol level and conscious level was extremely variable, the individuals alcohol tolerance being the most important factor. Thus, knowledge of blood levels is of little consequence in unknown individuals. We found that in no patient tested by the Alcolmeter did alcohol levels alter the treatment, the clinical state being of far greater significance. Thus, the reliability of the Lion Alcometer as an indicator of blood alcohol levels in the unconscious patient in the clinical situation must be questioned and the value of such knowledge also seems limited.


This work investigates the effects of climate and hydrology as factors controlling the trophic status of Selingue, a monomictic reservoir in Mali, West Africa. Environmental (water transparency, hydrochemistry, nutrients) and biological (chlorophyll a concentrations) descriptors were studied on water samples collected biweekly from November 2000 to November 2001 in a station representative of the northern part of the water body. Statistical methods were used to estimate the existence and significance of breaks in the time series and environmental data were used to explain these breaks. In Selingue Reservoir, the water column is stratified from March to May as a result of the cooling induced by the harmattan (North-East trade winds). Stratification lasts a few weeks, until the beginning of the monsoon (South-West trade winds), after which progressive warming allows vertical mixing of the lake. In harmattan or monsoon situations, the winds do not play a significant role except for storm events during the rainy season. Such events can change transiently, but markedly, the physical conditions prevailing in the whole water column. The water quality closely follows the hydrological cycle, characterized by a unique flood, which lasts a few weeks, from mid-July. Input of nutrients during the flood events is limited and local mineralization of organic matter in the hypolimnion during the stratification period seems to play a major role in the availability of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphorus. This availability is subject to vertical mixing which is only possible when the water height is sufficiently low and the wind-induced energy is sufficiently high. Dry (dust during the harmattan period) and wet deposition (linked to rains) play a role in supplying nutrients to the lake and can be factors in the observed increased chlorophyll a concentrations. Thus, environmental factors in Selingue change with the current hydrological conditions. Selingue Reservoir can be regarded as oligotrophic during the high water period, but as meso-eutrophic during the low water period. Each annual flood initializes the ecological conditions in this water body. This pattern limits the risks of trophic change (which can lead to algal blooms) to short periods of very low water levels immediately preceding flood events.


In recurrent or persistent hyperparathyroidism, accurate location of the abnormal gland is essential before further surgery, but the variety of available imaging techniques suggests that no one procedure is universally reliable. We report two cases in which clear preoperative visualization of adenoma with double-phase 99mTc-MIBI scintigraphy and exact high-resolution CT location permitted successful minimally invasive surgery.


Hospital infection with MRSA has increased in Saga Medical School Hospital. The causative MRSA consisted predominantly of coagulase type-II strain before 1989, but after 1990, coagulase type-VII MRSA increased rapidly. This type-VII strain has marked multiple drug-resistance, and the pattern of drug sensitivity of MRSA in this hospital was different from that of MRSA detected in other facilities, which are clinically serious problems, therefore, we conducted an etiological study of the background of the increase in MRSA infection in our hospital. The results of the study are summarized as follows: 1) The proportions of MRSA (on strain from one patient) to all types of S. aureus detected in the hospital were 26% for 1986, 23% for 1988, 37% for 1989, 30% for 1990 and 60% for 1991. The proportion increased greatly in 1991. 2) Coagulase type VII-MRSA was first detected only in 5 patients in 1989, then it tended to spread, and this type (probably derived from the same strain) accounted for 47% of MRSA infection in patients examined in 1991. 3) The study of the drug sensitivity pattern and etiological survey of the infection showed that coagulase type VII-MRSA prevalent in the hospital consisted of two types: CLDM, and EM-sensitive, IPM/CS, and MINO-resistant and TSST-1 non-producing and enterotoxin non-producing type, and CLDM, and EM-sensitive, IPM/CS, and MINO-resistant and TSST-1 non-producing type with enterotoxin serotype A. 4) Coagulase type VII-MRSA (Probably derived from the same strain) was detected in physicians and nurses working in affected wards and also in the patients's room.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


OBJECTIVE
Several studies have shown higher pregnancy rates and better perinatal outcomes with frozen embryo transfers than with fresh techniques, with better results in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) but with a higher rate of pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia. This retrospective cohort study aims to compare the cumulative live birth rates, maternal and neonatal complications of fresh embryo transfers (ET) and frozen-embryo transfers (FET) in infertile women who underwent assisted reproduction techniques (ART) at the Azienda Ospedaliera Ospedali Riuniti (AOOR) Villa Sofia Cervello, Palermo, Italy. In addition, the authors have focused on the legislative and ethical complexities which such a procedure entails.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Out of 475 women undergoing in vitro fertilization programs from January 2017 to January 2021, 128 were enrolled; 70 patients underwent ET, and 58 patients FET. The main outcome measure was live birth rates. Secondary outcomes were clinical pregnancy, ongoing pregnancy, pregnancy loss, low birth weight (LBW), ectopic pregnancy, and obstetrical and perinatal complications.

RESULTS
The cumulative live birth rates were similar between the fresh transfer (95.7%) and frozen transfer (93.1%). Biochemical pregnancy rates, clinical pregnancy, ongoing pregnancy, and pregnancy loss were similar between the groups.

CONCLUSIONS
Obstetrical outcomes were not statistically different between the two groups; a higher preterm delivery rate was reported in the FET group. ET birth weights were notably lower for singletons compared to the freeze-all strategy. ET patients also had higher LBW rates, with a 2.5-fold higher rate compared to FET. No significant differences were found in cumulative live birth rates between ET and FET, which is consistent with earlier studies. FET protocols are linked to higher neonatal birth weight and lower risk of LBW than fresh ET. The ethical and legal quandaries inherent in such techniques, as technology moves on and outpaces current legislative frameworks, cannot be discounted.


In the past decade ultrafast mid-IR laser sources have experienced fast growing, due to the fact that many applications benefit from long wavelength driving pulses. For instance the cut-off energy for high harmonic generation can be extended to the keV range [1], however the conversion efficiency varies as ∼λ−6 [2]. Consequently, the generation of few-tens of mJ mid-IR driving pulses is essential together with high repetition rate in order to compensate the low efficiency in strong field experiments. Commercially available ytterbium-based thin-disk pump lasers are now capable of delivering 200 mJ pulses at 1 kHz repetition rate [3], and it is expected that the average power of these pump lasers will be promoted to the 2 kW range soon. These are ideal sources for pumping mid-IR chirped pulse optical parametric amplifier (OPCPA) systems, thus making it possible to produce multi-mJ pulses in the mid-IR range beyond 1 kHz repetition rate.


Assuming the ambient manifold is Kahler, the theory of complex submanifolds can be placed in the more general context of calibrated submanifolds, see [HL]. It is therefore natural to try to extend some of the many results in complex geometry to the other calibrated geometries of [HL]. In particular, the question of deformability of calibrated submanifolds is addressed here (analogous to Kodaira's work on deformations of complex submanifolds [K]). Also, a formula for the second variation of volume of an arbitrary calibrated submanifolds which generalizes a result of Simons' in the complex category [S] is given.


OF THESIS CONCEPTUALIZING CITIZEN JOURNALISM: DEFINITIONS AND ROLES Through in-depth interviews with 12 regular contributors to the Lexington-Herald Leader's website, www.Kentucky.com, this study attempts to examine how online citizen journalists view the definitions of citizen and professional journalism, as compared to Singer's three dimensions of professionalism (i.e., cognitive, normative, and evaluative dimensions) as well as their perceived role conceptions of professional and citizen journalists, using Weaver and Wilhoit's four roles of journalists. Analyses reveal that the main difference in the definitions of the two types of journalists revolved around the cognitive dimension, specifically the education and training that professionals receive. The role conceptions of professional and citizen journalists were similar, with the both groups being described as serving the interpretive/investigative and disseminator roles. The roles of citizen journalists also included the adversarial and populist mobilizer roles.


Dealing with the question whether or not a given system does sulllce some interesting property one is confronted with the problem, how to navigate appropriately through the available knowledge space to prove or to refute that property under investigation. Moreover it is desireable to get an algorithm which solves that task efficiently. Applied to the area of system validation, we will propose some solution allowing for the reduction of test cases, i.e. of the scale of the knowledge space to be investigated, when validating some target system by testing. The key idea for test case reduction is to exploit certain inheritance properties of the underlying space of input data. In its right perspective, inheritance is induction. Due to the impossibility to create any general induction scheme for deductive justification of inductive reasoning, there arises the necessity of domain-dependent variants.


Most U.S. physicians limit their care of medically indigent populations, rendering millions of patients underserved. Using survey data from a national sample of 669 allopathic and osteopathic physicians, this paper explores the professional, demographic, and attitudinal correlates of care of medically indigent (Medicaid and uninsured) patients. Separate bivariate and multivariate data analyses for allopathic and osteopathic physicians generate path models of the influences of physician characteristics on care of indigent patients. For both physician groups, professional characteristics such as practice type, location, medical specialty, and perceptions of the medical system shape care of indigent patients. Differential patterns of association emerge, with care provided by osteopathic physicians most significantly influenced by private practice, while medical specialty and employment in community clinics shapes indigent care provided by allopathic physicians. Results highlight the utility of comparative analyses in discerning the mechanisms through which professional characteristics influence indigent care by diverse health providers.


Abstract. Singularity is an inherent property of robotic manipulators. A manipulator becomes singular when it gains or losses degrees of freedom at a particular configuration. In this work, a type of singularities caused by special shapes of platforms, either the mobile or the base platform, is addressed. This type of singularities pertains to the architecture singularity, but associated only with special shape designs of base and mobile platforms and spans in the whole workspace, which is referred as shape singularity. The paper provides formulations of shape singularity. The geometry and algebra properties of shape singularity are analyzed.
Three examples of shape singularity identification for parallel mechanisms with prismatic joints are included, one for 3-DOF planar mechanisms, the others for 3-DOF and 6-DOF spatial mechanisms.
The application of shape singularity in adjustable compliance mechanism design is illustrated.


Animals with complex life cycles often show large variation in the size and timing of metamorphosis in response to environmental variability. If fecundity increases with body size and large individuals are more vulnerable to predation, then organisms may not be able to optimize simultaneously size and timing of metamorphosis. The goals of this study were to measure and explain large-scale spatial and temporal patterns of phe- notypic variation in size at metamorphosis of the mayfly, Baetis bicaudatus (Baetidae), from habitats with variable levels of predation risk. Within a single high-elevation watershed in western Colorado, USA, from 1994 to 1996 we measured dry masses of mature larvae of the overwintering and summer generations of Baetis at 28 site-years in streams with and without predatory fish (trout). We also estimated larval growth rates and development times at 16 site-years. Patterns of spatial variation in mayfly size could not be explained by resource (algae) standing stock, competitor densities, or physical-chemical variables. However, size at metamorphosis of males and females of summer generation Baetis was smaller in fish streams than in fishless streams and decreased as densities of predatory stoneflies increased. Furthermore, overwintering individuals matured at larger sizes than summer generation Baetis, and the size of emerging Baetis declined over the summer, but predominantly in trout streams. Theoretical consideration of the effect of predation risk on size and timing of metamorphosis accurately predicted the observed temporal variation in size and timing of mayflies at emergence in fish and fishless streams. Baetis populations had similar growth rates but followed different developmental trajectories in high and low risk environments. In risky environments larval development was accelerated, resulting in metamorphosis of younger and smaller individuals, minimizing exposure of larvae to risk of mortality from trout predation, but at the cost of future reproduction. In safe environ- ments, larvae extended their development, resulting in larger, more fecund adults. Thus, we propose that large-scale patterns of variation in size and timing of metamorphosis represent adaptive phenotypic plasticity, whereby mayflies respond to variation in risk of predation, thereby maximizing their fitness in variable environments.


Examples are given of recent abuses or debatable applications of the R-factor ratio test (\cal R) for the assignment of absolute configuration, and it is shown that some of the enhanced ratios that have been used do not necessarily imply a statistically significant reduction in α, the probability of making a wrong assignment. Reasons are given for believing α is usually seriously underestimated anyway, and that in marginal situations the weighted ratio, \cal Rw, is a safer guide than \cal R and can even contradict the assignment based on \cal R. Aids are given to facilitate the estimation of α that are much easier to use than interpolation or extrapolation from Hamilton's tables [Hamilton (1965). Acta Cryst. 18, 502-510]. The misconceptions led to a re-examination of the validity of Hamilton's application of linear-hypothesis testing to this particular problem. A more rigorous justification can be achieved by expressing the atomic scattering factors of all the anomalous scatterers in a crystal in the form f0j + f'j + iηf''j and refining η, the chirality/polarity parameter. Its standard deviation offers an alternative and more realistic index of the probability of an assignment. A postscript contributed by Professor G. M. Sheldrick reports very encouraging results for η refinement of three structures.


The main challenge associated with sodium-ion battery (SIB) anodes is a search for novel candidate materials with high capacity and excellent rate capability. The most commonly used and effective route for graphene-based anode design is the introduction of in-plane "hole" defects via nitrogen-doping; this creates a spacious reservoir for storing more energy. Inspired by mountains in nature, herein, we propose another way – the introduction of blistering in graphene instead of making "holes"; this facilitates adsorbing/inserting more Na+ ions. In order to properly answer the key question: ""protrusions" or "holes" in graphene, which is better for sodium ion storage?", two types of anode materials with a similar doping level were designed: a phosphorus-doped graphene (GP, with protrusions) and a nitrogen-doped graphene (GN, with holes). As compared with GN, the GP anode perfectly satisfies all the desired criteria: it reveals an ultrahigh capacity (374 mA h g−1 after 120 cycles at 25 mA g−1) comparable to the best graphite anodes in a standard Li-ion battery (∼372 mA h g−1), and exhibits an excellent rate capability (210 mA h g−1 at 500 mA g−1). In situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations were utilized to uncover the origin of the enhanced electrochemical activity of "protrusions" compared to "holes" in SIBs, down to the atomic scale. The introduction of protrusions through P-doping into graphene is envisaged to be a novel effective way to enhance the capacity and rate performance of SIBs.


We consider the problem of optimal probing of states of a channel by transmitter and receiver for maximizing rate of reliable communication. The channel is discrete memoryless (DMC) with i.i.d. states. The encoder takes probing actions dependent on the message. It then uses the state information obtained from probing causally or noncausally to generate channel input symbols. The decoder may also take channel probing actions as a function of the observed channel output and use the channel state information thus acquired, along with the channel output, to estimate the message. We refer to the maximum achievable rate for reliable communication for such systems as the "Probing Capacity". We characterize this capacity when the encoder and decoder actions are cost constrained. To motivate the problem, we begin by characterizing the trade-off between the capacity and fraction of channel states the encoder is allowed to observe, while the decoder is aware of channel states. In this setting of `to observe or not to observe' state at the encoder, we compute certain numerical examples which exhibit a pleasing phenomenon, where encoder can observe a relatively small fraction of states and yet communicate at maximum rate, i.e., rate when observing states at encoder is not cost constrained.


The protein kinase Akt is involved in various cellular processes, including cell proliferation, growth and metabolism. Hyperactivation of Akt is commonly observed in human tumours and so this pathway has been the focus of targeted drug discovery. However, Akt also plays an essential role in other physiological processes, such as the insulin-regulated transport of glucose into muscle and fat cells. This process, which is essential for whole-body glucose homoeostasis in mammals, is thought to be mediated via Akt-dependent movement of GLUT4 glucose transporters to the plasma membrane. In the present study, we have investigated the metabolic side effects of non-ATP-competitive allosteric Akt inhibitors. In 3T3-L1 adipocytes, these inhibitors caused a decrease in the Akt signalling pathway concomitant with reduced glucose uptake. Surprisingly, a similar reduction in GLUT4 translocation to the plasma membrane was not observed. Further investigation revealed that the inhibitory effects of these compounds on glucose uptake in 3T3-L1 adipocytes were independent of the Akt signalling pathway. The inhibitors also inhibited glucose transport into other cell types, including human erythrocytes and T-47D breast cancer cells, suggesting that these effects are not specific to GLUT4. We conclude that these drugs may, at least in part, inhibit tumorigenesis through inhibition of tumour cell glucose transport.


What gets overlooked amid the hype surrounding the Internet/world-wide web is that these are a newer communicative means and medium for people to gather from all over the place, not only to meet each other but also to discuss a wide range of issues. Discussion Forums and News Groups are important and long-standing examples of these sorts of non-commercial online interactions. This article argues that this sort of onlineness constitutes emergent (cyber)spatial practices of everyday life. These entail complex gender-power relations that encompass struggles for ownership and control of ICTs, on the one hand, and the intimate, public and political nature of online discussions visà-vis lived lives offline on the other hand. One way of seeing these dynamics at work in everyday life online is when women from non-western diasporas talk about their personal-public lives and changing sociocultural obligations on Internet discussion forums. Such discussions provide newer, electronically mediated (re)articulations of the 'public-private' problematic and a (re)articulation of how the 'personal is political'. In so doing they recall feminist and postcolonial critiques of the androcentric and eurocentric nature of the public-private dichotomy itself. The article explores the intersection between these critiques, the practice of everyday life for postcolonial diasporas and the advent of the Internet/world-wide web. Through the reconstruction of someof these open andintimate online discussions between older andyounger women from the Samoan and Tongan diasporas, the article argues that postcolonial everyday uses of the Internet/www are challenging assumptions about what constitutes access, ownership and control of ICTs. These have implications for equitable research and development of ICTs in terms of the practice of everyday life online and offline and the future of public cyberspace(s) in a neo-liberal world order.


Following closely in the wake of the discovery that cancer of the skin can be produced experimentally by the repeated application of tar, attempts have been made, through the years, to induce cancer in practically all of the other body organs. It may be said, that, as a general rule, where a potent tar can be applied repeatedly, or where a sufficient quantity of it can be placed so as to remain immobile for a sufficient length of time, cancer may be induced in a varyingly high percentage of instances. There are regions, however, that tend to defy the experimenter. Among such locations are the lungs. The physical difficulty of applying tar directly to the lung structures is apparent and requires no explanation. The difficulties in the way of making repeated direct applications of tar to the same lung are even more obvious. A survey of the literature shows that the earliest experimental attack on the problem of experimental tar cancer of the lung was made by Murphy and Sturm (1), who noted that when mice were tarred in various skin areas they developed primary tumors of the lung. In one of their groups of mice these investigators observed a 78.3 per cent incidence of primary lung tumors in tarred animals, though no tumors occurred in a control series. Murphy and Sturm designate these lung tumors as "a distinct type of epithelial tumor" and furnish reasons for believing that they are primary neoplasms. Care was taken to kill the animals early enough in life to avoid the possible complicating factor of primary lung tumors incident to age rather than to tar. The authors furnish no dogmatic explanation for the development of the tumors, but they strongly incline to the belief that the tar painting has the constitutional effect of lowering the resistance of the animals, and that local irritation (caused by inhaled particles of shavings, sawdust and chopped food), grafted on the lowered resistance, induces pulmonary tumor formation


While the electromagnetic aspects of hairpin windings are actively being investigated and discussed in recent literature, including the design rules together with the loss calculation and reduction techniques, the thermal performance and modeling aspects have received less attention to date. In hairpin windings, the conductors (pins) are comparatively larger and arranged as separate components in parallel within the slot. In contrast, conductors randomly overlap and contact each other for traditional random windings. The differences in the aforementioned winding physical characteristics result in a different methodology to develop the thermal network. This article presents a 3-D lumped parameter thermal network (LPTN) approach for an oil-spray cooled hairpin winding, which includes the slot thermal model configuration, the end-winding connections, together with different methodologies of analyzing the end-winding sprayed oil characteristics. The aforesaid thermal model captures unique features related to the winding technology and cooling mechanism, such as the nonuniform end-winding temperature caused by the uneven oil-spray cooling effects. Finally, taking an existing propulsion drive hairpin stator and a bespoke-designed test setup, the presented steady-state thermal modeling approach is experimentally validated covering various experimental tests, including different spray conditions.


Background. Delirium is a common condition in geriatric patients. One of the trigger factors for this condition is an infection, such as COVID-19 infection. Elderly with COVID-19 show atypical symptoms such as delirium. Elderly patients with COVID-19 who present with delirium, either as a primary symptom or showing symptoms or signs, have a poor prognosis. This study were aimed to presents covid-19 elderly patient with comorbid delirium.
Case presentation. A 77-year-old woman with disorientation for one day came to Emergency Department with her family. She had no history of headaches, blurred vision, or seizures. However, she had a fever, did not want to eat for three days, and had a purulent decubitus ulcer. The patient was diagnosed with acute delirium syndrome, confirmed COVID-19 with sepsis, malnutrition, hypercoagulation, grade III decubitus ulcer, suspected dementia, immobilization, total dependence. The patient admitted to the isolation ward. The patient had meropenem 500 mg every 12 hours, anticoagulants and favipiravir according to the dose and parenteral nutrition.
Conclusion. Patients with COVID-19 who present with delirium, either as a primary symptom or presenting symptoms or signs, have a worse outcome. Delirium relationship with comorbid factors can increase mortality and morbidity in the elderly with COVID-19.


Cardiac muscle force development and shortening result from the interaction between actin and myosin within the myofibrillar contractile unit. This interaction is dependent upon intracellular Ca2+ and is controlled by the troponin‐tropomyosin regulatory proteins situated along the length of the actin thin filament. Enhancing the Ca2+ sensitivity of cardiac contractile protein interactions has been proposed as a novel mechanism for some positive inotropic agents. These myofibrillar Ca2+ sensitizers have variable effects on myofibrillar MgATPase activity among nonhuman animal species, and different effects between myofibrils from failed nonhuman hearts are evident. In this study, we have evaluated several myofibrillar calcium sensitizers, at maximal testable concentrations, for their effects on the calcium‐activated MgATPase of myofibrils prepared from normal human hearts and from hearts of patients with congestive heart failure. Bepridil (100 μM) increased MgATPase at pCA 9.0 (basal activity) and pCa 6.5 (an intermediate concentration of Ca2+ which stimulated activity 42–56% of maximal), with no effect at pCa 5.0 (maximal Ca2+ activity) in both normal and failing hearts. APP 201–533 (300 μM) increased MgATPase at pCa 6.5 in all hearts, but increased MgATPase at pCa 5.0 only in normal hearts. Pimobendan (100 μM) increased MgATPase at pCa 6.5 only in normal hearts and increased activity at pCa 5.0 only in failing hearts. In contrast, trifluoperazine (100 μM) reduced MgATPase at pCa 5.0 and pCa 9.0 in all hearts and at pCa 6.5 in failing hearts. The stimulating effects of bepridil, APP 201–533, and pimobendan (approximately 7–17%) were less than those observed in studies with nonhuman cardiac myofibrils (typically 30–40%). These data suggest that some myofibrillar Ca2+ sensitizers can have either modest stimulatory or inhibitory activity on human cardiac myofibrillar MgATPase activity. While these (Ca+‐sensitizing) effects on MgATPase activity are statistically significant, the biological relevance with respect to enhancing cardiac contractility is equivocal. Furthermore, both pimobendan and APP 201–533 inhibited cAMP‐phosphodiesterase III purified from failing human hearts with IC50 values of 0.35 and 2.0 μM, respectively. Since other inotropic mechanisms, such as cAMP‐phosphodiesterase inhibition, are also evident at much lower concentrations with some of these agents, the relevance of myofibrillar Ca2+ sensitization as the predominant inotropic mechanism of action of these compounds is questionable. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


A simple and sensitive kinetic spectrophotometric method was developed for the determination of some fluoroquinolonea antibiotics; gemifloxacin mesylate, moxifloxacin hydrochloride and gatifloxacin in bulk and in pharmaceutical preparations. The method is based upon a kinetic investigation of the oxidation reaction of the drugs with alkaline potassium permanganate at room temperature for a fixed time of 20 min for gemifloxacin and 15 min for moxifloxacin or gatifloxacin. The absorbance of the coloured manganate ion was measured at 610 nm. The absorbance–concentration plots were rectilinear over the ranges of 2.0-20, 4.0-24 and 4.0-40 µg mL −1 for gemifloxacin, moxifloxacin and gatifloxacin, respectively. The concentrations of the studied drugs were calculated using the corresponding calibration equations for the fixed-time method. The determination of the studied drugs by the fixed concentration and rate constant methods was also feasible with the calibration equations obtained but the fixed time method has been found to be more applicable. The different experimental parameters affecting the development and stability of the colors were carefully studied and optimized. The proposed method was applied to the determination of the studied drugs in pharmaceutical formulations. KEY WORDS : Kinetic determination, Spectrophotometry, Fluoroquinolone antibiotics, Potassium permanganate, Pharmaceutical preparations Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2013 , 27(3), 329-346. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v27i3.2


Antigenic material obtained by phenol-water extraction from Providencia rettgeri strains, Escherichia coli O:14 strains, and mutants of the E. coli O:14 strain were examined by the passive (indirect) hemagglutination technique, by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and by immune blotting (lipopolysaccharide (LPS) blotting). Providencia rettgeri 965, like E. coli O:14, was demonstrated to have an enterobacterial common antigen (ECA) in the immunogenic form but, unlike E. coli O:14, it possessed characteristics of a smooth strain. Two populations of molecules were observed to occur in P. rettgeri 965 phenol-water extracts: one consisting of LPS identifiable with specific O antisera and the other of ECA molecules identifiable with E. coli O:14 antiserum or with a monoclonal antibody against ECA.


A tensor network is a type of decomposition used to express and approximate large arrays of data. A given data-set, quantum state or higher dimensional multi-linear map is factored and approximated by a composition of smaller multi-linear maps. This is reminiscent to how a Boolean function might be decomposed into a gate array: this represents a special case of tensor decomposition, in which the tensor entries are replaced by 0, 1 and the factorisation becomes exact. The collection of associated techniques are called, tensor network methods: the subject developed independently in several distinct fields of study, which have more recently become interrelated through the language of tensor networks. The tantamount questions in the field relate to expressability of tensor networks and the reduction of computational overheads. A merger of tensor networks with machine learning is natural. On the one hand, machine learning can aid in determining a factorization of a tensor network approximating a data set. On the other hand, a given tensor network structure can be viewed as a machine learning model. Herein the tensor network parameters are adjusted to learn or classify a data-set. In this survey we recover the basics of tensor networks and explain the ongoing effort to develop the theory of tensor networks in machine learning.


Service-oriented architectures can be used to provide multiple simultaneous sessions to users that wish to communicate over a variety of media. This gives rise to rich, highly effective communication sessions that can greatly enhance userspsila interaction. For example, a health services virtual organization seeks to use such tools for a variety of purposes: virtual patient simulation, anatomical visualization and virtually sharing cadaveric dissections. We propose SAVOIR, Service-oriented Architecture for Virtual Or- ganization Resource and Infrastructure for this task, where tools and applications are resources and they can be accessed and controlled via Web Services. The purpose of this paper is to present a method for modeling sessions in SAVOIR by using Web Ontology Language (OWL). We express in OWL 1.1 constraints on when sessions can and cannot be run or cannot be run concurrently with the ses- sions now running. There are several types of violations: aggregate bandwidth may exceed capacity, network infras- tructure may not be available, too many users may want to access a limited shared resource, etc. The session scheduler depends on the OWL 1.1 description logic reasoner to evaluate the session for violation of these constraints before the session is allowed to be scheduled.


This article investigates the impact of neighborhood walkability, measured by Street Smart Walk Score and sidewalk density, on property values by analyzing the 2010–2012 single-family home sale transactions in Austin, Texas. The Cliff-Ord spatial hedonic model (also known as the General Spatial Model, or SAC) is used to control for spatial autocorrelation effects. Results show that improving walkability through increased access to amenities in car-dependent neighborhoods does not appear to increase property values; adding sidewalks in these neighborhoods leads to a minimal increase in property values. Investments in neighborhood amenities and sidewalks will yield a greater home price increase in a walkable neighborhood than in a car-dependent neighborhood.


OBJECTIVE
To compare learning approaches of male and female medical students.

METHODS
The cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted in March and April 2010 at the Bahria University Medical and Dental College, Karachi, Pakistan. Initially, 100 medical students were enrolled for assessment on the basis of Approaches and Study Skill Inventory for Students. Response to questions was summed up to get scores of subscales, which were then merged to formulate main scales representing learning approaches. Subscales and item responses of both genders were compared by chi-square test on SPSS 15. Results were considered significant at p<0.05.

RESULTS
After 2 (2%) dropouts, the sample size stood at 98. Of them, 51 (52%) were girls and 47 (48%) boys. Strategic learning approach was found to be significantly high in females (p<0.01). In subscale analysis, females were better in time management and alertness to assessment demands (p<0.01). In item analysis of deep approach, females scored better in seeking meaning and relating ideas (p<0.04). However, preferred learning environment to support understanding was found in males (p<0.04).

CONCLUSION
Female medical students in the study were strategic learners, who could manage time with respect to their studies.