A significant limitation to flourish poultry industry in Bangladesh is the emergence of multidrug resistance pathogenic bacteria like Salmonella spp. due to uncontrolled use of antibiotics for disease treatment. An alternative to antibiotics could be the application of probiotics. About 120 cloacal-swabs from poultry birds were investigated, seventy two (72) isolates of Salmonella spp. and twenty two (22) isolates of lactic acid bacteria (out of 50)were identified respectively by cultural, morphological and biochemical tests presumptively. Antibiotic sensitivity test of Salmonella spp. was performed, followed by Kirby-Bauer disc-diffusion assay with six antibiotic groups. All those isolates of Salmonella spp. were found to be highly resistant to â-lactam, cephalosporin, tetracycline and macrolide, highly sensitive to carbapenem and moderately sensitive to aminoglycosides. Then Salmonella spp. were used as a target for the prospective probiotic bacteria which were screened based on antimicrobial activity against those multidrug resistance Salmonella spp. In antagonism assay such as disc diffusion and one-streak method, it was revealed that five lactic acid bacteria showed antimicrobial activity against Salmonella spp. Further, lactic acid bacteria were characterized based on their tolerance ability to pH and NaCl, antibiotic susceptibility test. The tolerance range of Lactic acid bacteria was about pH (3.5-9.5), NaCl (4-8) % and also resistant to antibiotics groups like B lactam, aminoglycosides, and quinolone. Then 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis was performed for molecular identification of potential probiotic bacteria. One representative isolate was identified as phylogenetically closed relative to Pediococcus acidilactici. This study was able to demonstrate that Pediococcus acidilactici as anindigenous probiotic candidate to inhibit the growth of isolated multidrug resistant Salmonella spp. in poultry. The potent probiotic candidate Pediococcus sp. could be used to counter bacterial diseases in poultry, thereby it could ensure food safety in the poultry industries of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh J Microbiol, Volume 34 Number 2 December 2017, pp 83-90


Mild asthma is the heterogenic cohort with low level of adherence and asthma control, so investigators curiously study it.

The aim was to study the results of evolution of the disease in mild asthma cohort for the period of 3 years.

We studied the history of 141 patients with a 3 year history of mild persistent asthma. Three groups were formed: 1st group – had actual controlled asthma (n=43), 2nd – had partly controlled asthma (n=74),3d- uncontrolled asthma (n=24). E-data base collected the data of all the patients and includes information concerning educational level, passing educational asthma programs, lung function, Ig E level, treatment regimens, asthma control, measured by ACQ and ACT, cooperation index, life quality level and etc.

We observed in the 1st group – higher level of lung function and life quality level. Patients of this group more often took part in asthma educational programs, had higher cooperation index (p<0.05). Besides this, 28% this group didn't get any therapy for 3 last months and 6.9% passed successfully allergen-specific immunotherapy. We have revealed difference in educational status and life quality level in other two groups. Patients of the 3d group had significantly higher ICSs current dose (269.6±13.9 mkg per day vs 108.9±119.5 mkg per day in the 2nd group), Ig E level, low cooperation index, more rarely have made planned visits to their physician (p<0.05). Obvious difference in asthma control assessed by ACT test between 2nd and 3d groups was not found.

Conclusion: The results of evolution of the disease finally demonstrate several interventions that could influence predictably on it: taking part in asthma educational programs, pass allergen-specific immunotherapy, making planned visits to the physician.


* Equal contributors. Received October 17, 2015; Accepted November 28, 2015; Epub February 1, 2016; Published February 15, 2016 Abstract: Crohn's disease (CD) is frequently recurred in the site of the anastomosis after bowel resection. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are poorly investigated. Notch signaling plays an important role in maintaining intestine epithelial homeostasis and barrier function. In this study, we assessed whether Notch signaling is involved in the pathological processes of anastomosis. By an integrated informatics analysis, we found Notch-1 expression was dramatically increased in the CD tissues compared with disease-unaffected ileum. And this alternation was confirmed by real-time PCR and western blotting, respectively. Furthermore, we demonstrated that activation of Notch signaling is specially distributed in the mesenteric side compared with the anti-mesenteric side of ileum in CD patients. And up-regulated expression of NCID (intracellular activation fragment of Notch-1) in the mesenteric side was closely associated with increased recurrence rate of CD. In conclusion, Notch signaling is sig- nificantly activated in the mesenteric side of the diseased ileum, and it will be reasonable to construct anastomosis on the anti-mesenteric side of the ileum to prevent CD recurrence.


Silicon-based composite materials have been attracting significant attention because they offer an effective strategy for resolving the drawbacks of Si anodes, such as mechanical failure caused by significant volume changes and the resulting unstable interface. These drawbacks significantly affect the electrochemical properties of Si anodes and thereby inhibit their commercialization. Coupling Si anodes with inactive Al2O3 materials is one possible way of addressing these issues. In this study, we developed Si-based multicomponent anode materials comprising a multiscale porous silicon framework uniformly passivated with thin Al2O3 layers. This was achieved using a cost-effective, simple process of selective etching and wet oxidation. We found that the structural properties depended strongly on the Al residue in the core, which later generated asymmetries in the structure and the effective passivation layers. Our novel materials exhibited an excellent battery performance because of the structural robustness conferred by the Al/Al2O3 core support combined with the mechanical stability of the Al2O3 layers. The outermost protecting layers were also shown to enhance Li-ion diffusion through the Li-ion-conducting layers; this stabilized the solid–electrolyte-interphase layers. The wet oxidized Al–Si alloy (ASWO) exhibited an improved cycling performance with 81.9% capacity retention after 500 cycles at 0.2C in a Li half cell. In addition, a full cell using an ASWO-natural graphite (NG) anode and a lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cathode exhibited excellent cycling performance with 75.3% capacity retention after 200 cycles at 1C.


OBJECTIVES
The morphology and functional results of the ulnar nerve were evaluated in patients treated with simple decompression and anterior subcutaneous transposition due to the diagnosis of cubital tunnel syndrome.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Thirteen elbows of 13 patients (8 males, 5 females; mean age 41 years; range 25 to 56 years) treated with simple decompression and anterior subcutaneous transposition due to the diagnosis of cubital tunnel syndrome were investigated. The involvement was on the dominant side in six patients. There was a 25° cubitus valgus deformity in one patient. No significant etiologic cause was found in the other patients. Seven patients were treated with anterior subcutaneous transposition and six with simple decompression. During the follow-ups, the atrophy magnitude, the new pressure areas and the intrinsic structure of the nerve tissue along the ulnar nerve path were evaluated by using soft tissue ultrasonography (USG). The flow rate of the artery supplying the ulnar nerve by Doppler mode USG and ulnar nerve conduction rate by electromyography (EMG) were assessed. Functional results were evaluated according to the Akahori's criteria and the modified Bishop scoring system. The average follow-up time was two years (range 12-44 months).

RESULTS
In the Doppler USG examination, no arterial blood flow supplying the ulnar nerve was found in five of seven patients who underwent anterior transposition. A blood flow decrease of approximately 20 cm/s was found in two patients. A blood flow decrease of 10 cm/s on average was found in six patients who underwent simple decompression. There was a significant difference between the two groups (p<0.05). The control EMG revealed an increase of 9 m/s in the ulnar nerve conduction rate in the transposition group (p>0.05) and an increase of 17 m/s in the simple decompression group compared to the preoperative values (p<0.05). In seven patients who underwent anterior subcutaneous transposition, five excellent and two good results and an average of 8.2 points were achieved according to the Akahori's criteria and the modified Bishop scoring system, respectively. In six patients who underwent simple decompression, five excellent results, and one good result and an average of 8.1 points were achieved according to the Akahori's criteria and the modified Bishop scoring system, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between functional results of both surgical techniques (p>0.05).

CONCLUSION
Although the functional results of the cubital tunnel syndrome surgery are good, it must be noted that the blood supply to the nerve may be distorted, especially during anterior transposition. If there is no additional requirement, simple decompression may be considered as the first option.


The blue europium band in alkali-earth fluorophosphates, determining the allowed electric-dipole transitions in the ion, is studied. The simultaneous doping with provides a possibility of the realization of transitions and of formation of ions as blue emission centres of high intensity. The position is assumed for the ions in the apatite structure of the matrix.


Heats of solution at 25°C. for six trivalent metal beta-diketonates in benzene, acetone and chloroform, have been measured calorimetrically. These results show that the solution process is only slightly affected by changing the metal complex over the range of tris 2,4-pentanedione chelates, Macac[3] (M = Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co), including the gamma-substituted tris (3:methyl-2,4-pentanediono)aluminium(III), but that significant differences exist between solvents. On this basis, conclusions have been drawn regarding the heats of sublimation of the complexes, and tentative suggestions have been put forward regarding possible solvent interaction phenomena. In chloroform solutions, specific interaction involving two molecules of solvent held by hydrogen bonds has been postulated. Thermochemical measurements were carried out on a recording solution calorimeter, developed from a well-tested isothermal jacket design, using a 100 ml glass reaction vessel. The instrument incorporates a direct reading temperature sensing element made up of two chromel-constantan thermocouples connected in parallel. The thermostatically controlled water bath (+/- 0.001°C.) which provides environmental control for the isothermal jacket, has been utilised to stabilise all the temperature sensitive components of the thermocouple circuit, except the sensing junctions, which are housed in a re-entrant tube on the reaction vessel. The thermocouple output is applied to a high gain D.C. amplifier which displays the equivalent temperature (emf.) vs time curve for the calorimeter on a strip-chart recorder. Increased sensitivity has been achieved by using a precision microvolt source in the input circuit, to "back-off" most of the applied signal. Calibration is carried out electrically and reactions involving emf. changes of the order of 1.0 muV have been consistently measured to better than +/- 0.005 muV, i.e. equivalent to a resolution of 1 x 10[-4]°C. or 0.015 joules.


Treatment of thyroid abscess commonly includes the surgical drainage along with systemic antibiotic therapy. Alternatives for open surgical intervention may be the conservative management with use needle aspiration or catheter drainage. We report here two cases of thyroid abscess treatment with 21‐gauge needle aspiration under ultrasound guidance. In each case needle drainage was performed twice, at the 1st and 5th day of admission. Antibiotics were administered in pills and injected into the abscess cavity followed the pus aspiration and lavage. Both patients were cured. Follow‐up has not revealed recurrence during 6 month and 5 years. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound, 2007


This paper addresses the problem of tracking a dim moving point target in a sequence of IR images. The proposed tracking system, based on the track-before-detect (TBD) approach, is designed to track and detect dim maneuvering targets from an image sequence under low SNR conditions; a dynamic programming algorithm (DPA) is used to process the frames in the sequence. This paper deals with the practical issues of setting the parameters of our algorithm to maximize tracking capability. In our flexible approach, we are able to accommodate different levels of noise and different target velocities and mobilities. Our algorithm is tested on real data to determine its efficacy.


Assisted by the availability of data and high performance computing, deep learning techniques have achieved breakthroughs and surpassed human performance empirically in difficult tasks, including object recognition, speech recognition, and natural language processing. As they are being used in critical applications, understanding underlying mechanisms for their successes and limitations is imperative. In this paper, we show that overfitting, one of the fundamental issues in deep neural networks, is due to continuous gradient updating and scale sensitiveness of cross entropy loss. By separating samples into correctly and incorrectly classified ones, we show that they behave very differently, where the loss decreases in the correct ones and increases in the incorrect ones. Furthermore, by analyzing dynamics during training, we propose a consensus-based classification algorithm that enables us to avoid overfitting and significantly improve the classification accuracy especially when the number of training samples is limited. As each trained neural network depends on extrinsic factors such as initial values as well as training data, requiring consensus among multiple models reduces extrinsic factors substantially; for statistically independent models, the reduction is exponential. Compared to ensemble algorithms, the proposed algorithm avoids overgeneralization by not classifying ambiguous inputs. Systematic experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. For example, using only 1000 training samples from MNIST dataset, the proposed algorithm achieves 95% accuracy, significantly higher than any of the individual models, with 90% of the test samples classified.


We investigate singular geometries which can be associated with warped branes in arbitrary dimensions. If the brane tension is allowed to be variable, the extremum condition for the action requires additional constraints beyond the solution of the field equations. In a higher dimensional world, such constraints arise from variations of the metric which are local in the usual four-dimensional spacetime, without changing the geometry of internal space. As a consequence, continuous families of singular solutions of the field equations, with arbitrary integration constants, are generically reduced to a discrete subset of extrema of the action, similar to regular spaces. As an example, no static extrema of the action with effective four-dimensional gravity exist for six-dimensional gravity with a cosmological constant. These findings explain why the field equations of the reduced four-dimensional theory are not consistent with arbitrary solutions of the higher dimensional field equations consistency requires the additional constraints. The characteristic solutions for variable tension branes are non-static runaway solutions where the effective four-dimensional cosmological constant vanishes as time goes to infinity.


Florida Scrub Jays are an excellent example of a cooperative-breeding species, in which adult birds often help raise offspring not their own. For more than a decade Glen E. Woolfenden and John W. Fitzpatrick studied a marked population of these birds in an attempt to establish a demographic base for understanding the phenomenon of "helping at the nest." By studying both population biology and behavior, the authors found that habitat restraints, rather than kin selection, are the main source of the behavior of Florida Scrub Jays: the goal of increasing the number of close relatives other than descendants in future generations is of relatively minor importance in their cooperative-breeding behavior. The Florida Scrub Jay lives only in the Florida oak scrub. All acceptable habitat is constantly filled with breeders. Each year about half of the pairs are assisted by one to several nonbreeding helpers. This book provides extensive data on fecundity, survivorship, relatedness, and dispersal to establish the demographic milieu and to address questions arising out of observed helping behavior--whom, how, when, and why the helpers help.


"The Civilization of Angkor "is remarkable and unique in that it delves into the prehistoric roots of the civilization. Higham is "the "international authority on southeast Asian archaeology, and presents an up-to-date and provocative synthesis of Angkor."--Brian Fagan, author of "Floods, Famines, and Emperors" "In blending archaeological and documentary data to chronicle the rise of this important Southeast Asian state, Higham's rich history of Angkor effectively refutes traditional models of state development in the Mekong region and offers insights regarding the nature of Angkor and the processes that led to its emergence."--Miriam Stark, editor of "The Archaeology of Social Boundaries"


In this article we study the alkali metal-intercalated 2D polymeric Li4C60 and the monomeric Li12C60 under pressure up to 40 GPa at room temperature, using x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Li4C60 undergoes several transitions in the studied pressure range. At pressures lower than 8 GPa, we observed changes in both diffraction patterns and Raman scattering spectra, probably due to the displacement of Li atoms. At 8 GPa another structural and electronic transition occurs. We observe an enhancement of background and a broadening of diffraction peaks. Raman modes weaken and broaden considerably. An important structural transition occurs at around 16 GPa, in which new Raman bands exhibit features similar to those of a reported 3D C60 polymeric structure. The XRD data shows a collapse in volume with the simultaneous formation of amorphous material. The cell parameters deviate from their early pressure evolution and become less compressible. The high pressure study of highly doped monomeric Li12C60 shows that its structural integrity is retained up to 13 GPa, with increasing pressure-induced structural distortion and disorder. Above 13 GPa, Li12C60 transforms to a highly disordered state.


A patient with intractable tophaceous gout and advanced renal failure responded favorably to treatment by long-term hemodialysis and administration of allopurinol. Plasma uric acid levels returned to normal, tophi decreased in size, and the frequency of attacks of gout decreased markedly and permitted the patient to return to full-time employment.


This study examines the integration of statistical and psychological risk factors using psychometric markers of psychopathology and psychosexual characteristics from the Static-99 in 119 sexual offenders. Psychological risk markers are combined to approximate four deviancy domains: sexual interests, distorted attitudes, socio-affective functioning, and self-management. The sexual interests domain predicts sexual reconviction independent of Static-99. The four deviancy domains are used to calculate the Psychological Deviance Index, which was also found to predict sexual reconviction independent of Static-99. Organizing the Static-99 risk items into three subscales (sexual deviance, general criminality, and immaturity) reveals a distinct pattern of correlations within the psychological markers and risk domains. The Static-99 sexual deviance and general criminality subscales make modest predictions. Results support the use of integrating statistical and psychological markers within a risk domains framework in predicting sexual reconviction.


Since its first application to the field more than 10 years ago, micro‐computed tomography (micro‐CT) has been a state‐of‐the‐art technology in the study of insect morphology and anatomy. Despite showing great potential for various types of non‐destructive 'dissections', the method has, however, seen very limited use in descriptive taxonomy. Here we describe a method for carrying out virtual dissections of the genitalia in male Lepidoptera based on case studies involving the butterfly Argynnis paphia and the hawkmoth Cephonodes hylas. We demonstrate how a standard micro‐CT scanner in conjunction with freely available software can distinguish and illustrate taxonomically important characters, and propose a workflow by which valuable material (such as Linnaean types) can be made available as digital loans, and how users can subsequently carry out 'virtual dissections'. We emphasize that micro‐CT scanning does not remove the need for real dissections and morphological expertise to confidently evaluate virtual 'dissections'.


As the narratives that guide higher education fracture and realign, the topic of massive open online courses (MOOCs) makes visible the fault lines emerging in the field of contemporary academia. MOOCs challenge universities' conventional societal role as purveyors of knowledge and credentials: they are heralded by some as revolution, and derided by others as mere privatization. This position paper skirts that binary debate, with the author instead arguing that MOOCs may in the end be something else entirely: a Trojan horse for an ethos of participation and distributed expertise. While recognizing that most MOOCs at this juncture do not share those alignments, the author explores the possibility that digital, participatory literacies could be an unintended consequence of the combination of massiveness and openness. She draws on 2010 research into the early connectivist MOOC model as a means of teaching digital literacies. Focusing on MOOCs from a social communications and learning-focused perspective rather than an instrumental or technologically centered approach, the author suggests that it is the ways in which MOOCs open up questions of goal, purpose, and teacher/student roles that make their massive scale so powerful, and proposes that MOOCs can help acculturate learners to a form of new literacy development for the digital age.


To The Editor:

I enjoyed reading "Indomethacin Compared with Localized Irradiation for the Prevention of Heterotopic Ossification Following Surgical Treatment of Acetabular Fractures" (2001;83:1783-8), by Burd et al. Heterotopic ossification is an important problem in this patient population and needs to be addressed. More importantly, I commend the authors for their efforts to report a randomized, controlled trial that brings the highest quality data to the orthopaedic literature. The authors appropriately identified a priori their primary study result (the prevalence of Brooker grade-III or IV heterotopic ossification in patients who had been treated with operative fixation of an acetabular fracture with use of extensile, posterior, or combined approaches) in the two treatment arms (indomethacin and radiation). The a priori identification of the primary result is essential to the randomized, controlled trial design. Additionally, the description of the methods of data collection and the listing of criteria for inclusion/exclusion of patients allow the reader to fully appreciate the high quality of the data that the authors presented. One issue that should have been clarified was the use of the term "intent to treat." Usually this refers to the concept of "once randomized, always analyzed," which is generally preferred to a secondary analysis of data from subjects who did not complete treatment and constitute an unintentional control group. My main concern, however, is in regard to the "negative" result of the study. The conclusion that "we detected no significant difference in efficacy between the two prophylactic regimens" does not accurately report the results of the study. A look at the trends presented, a 4% prevalence of grade-III or IV heterotopic ossification in the radiation therapy group vs. a prevalence of 11% in the indomethacin group, reveals what could be a clinically relevant difference (a 63% reduction in heterotopic ossification). At face value, …


To fit hearing aids, estimated values are used to convert dB HL to dB SPL. This does not account for variance in ear canal shape and volume. Measured RECDs can change the NAL-NL1 targets. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if patients that deviate widely from the estimated RECDs are prone to additional follow-up visits.


The melting point and phase of slag was calculated with Factsage thermodynamics software, and base on this, taking desulfurization slag as the main raw material, which is leached by ammonium chloride as pretreatment. The composition of target slag system was adjusted with high aluminum powder coal ash and glass cullet, and then the reducing slag and metallic iron were separated by high temperature carbon thermal reaction. The prepared glass-ceramics with main crystal phases of diopside and nepheline were obtained by heat treatment, which shows that the new process is feasible. The crystallization activation energy was calculated by using Kissinger, Ozawa and Augis-Bennett method base on the differential heat curve. The results show that the crystallization activation energy is relatively high, and the crystal growth index n are all less than 3, which means that the crystallization capacity of the glass-ceramics is low. At the heating rate of 5 K/min, the n value of sample No. 3 is the largest, which is 2.7, and the mode of volumetric crystallization changes from two-dimensional to one-dimensional with the increase of heating rate, therefore, nucleating agent is needed in the preparation of glass-ceramics.


A dualband coplanar waveguide (CPW)-fed planar monopole antenna suitable for WLAN application is presented in this paper. The antenna resembling as a "G" shape and optimally designed by using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm can produce dual resonant modes and a much wider impedance bandwidth for the higher band. Prototypes of the obtained optimized antenna have been constructed and tested. The measured results explore good dualband operation with −10 dB impedance bandwidths of 9.7% and 62.8% at bands of 2.43 and 4.3 GHz, respectively, which cover the 2.4/5.2/5.8 GHz WLAN operating bands, and show good agreement with the numerical prediction. Also, good antenna performances such as radiation patterns and antenna gains over the operating bands have been observed.


Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between physical fitness (PF) level and Chinese middle-school students' perceived well-being, motivation, and enjoyment. Method: In this study, the participants were randomly selected from 16 Beijing-based middle schools in China. In addition to the collection of demographic data (i.e., gender, age, and parental education), tools including the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, the Behavioural Regulation in Sport Questionnaire, and the Physical Activity Children's Enjoyment Scale were employed for collecting data on other variables of well-being, motivation, and enjoyment, respectively. Results: A total of 1678 adolescents (M age = 14.66 years, SD = 1.80) participated in this study. According to the results, significant gender differences could be observed in the PF categories of mean age, BMI, vital capacity, 50-m sprint, muscular strength, and flexibility (all p < 0.05). In contrast, there was no significant gender difference in the levels of well-being, motivation, and enjoyment observed, with similar scores for boys and girls (p > 0.05). Indeed, adolescents with low BMI scores and high levels of vital capacity, muscular strength, and flexibility showed better well-being, motivation, and enjoyment. However, no association was observed between timed sit-ups and pull-ups and well-being, motivation, and enjoyment. Conclusions: This study produced preliminary findings on the relationship between PF and Chinese adolescents' perceived well-being, motivation, and enjoyment. To improve the health of adolescents, it is necessary to adopt prospective and experimental research designs for advocating for fitness education in school-based programs in future research.


Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important cool season food legumes with indeterminate growth habit. The crop is valued for its nutritive seeds and used as animal feed in many developing countries. The productivity of the crop is constrained by several abiotic stresses, among which drought stress is one of the key determinants of crop performance aaccounting for 40-50% yield reduction globally. The present study was conducted to screen, evaluate and select chickpea genotypes possessing high yield potential under drought stress condition at ASALs (arid and semi-arid lands) of Kenya. The experiment was conducted at Chemeron dry land and Eco-tourism Research station, Egerton University and Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Institute (KALRO), Pekerra, Marigat, Baringo County. The genotypes were planted in RCBD (randomized complete block design) in three replicates at a spacing of 30 cm × 10 cm, giving a plant density of approximately 25 plants/m2. Combined analysis of variance revealed existence of highly significant differences among the tested genotypes for most of the agronomic traits. Overall, the highest grain yield was obtained from ICCV 92944 (1,173 kg/ha), ICCV 92318 (1,103 kg/ha) and CAVIR (975 kg/ha), ICCV 92318 (967 kg/ha), ICCV 00108 (956 kg/ha) and ICC 4958 (921 kg/ha): possibly due to its comparatively higher drought (and heat) tolerance, and hence could be used as sources of drought tolerance in further breeding programs. This study was carried out in few drought tolerant sites and further more sites need to be evaluated in addition to other drought and heat screening and optimization of protocols, facilities and analytical approaches to identify better genotypes that respond appropriately to climate change.


A brightness-perceived color appearance model tailored for large gamut display devices, exemplified by laser displays, was investigated. Psychophysical experiments on the brightness matching of 30 color stimuli with achromatic white light were conducted by 16 observers. The analysis compares the performance of a number of existing color appearance models and equivalent luminance models in predicting brightness. None of the models performed acceptably due to a severe underestimation of the Helmholtz–Kohlrausch (H-K) effect. A modified model of perceived brightness based on CAM16, taking into account the H-K effect, is proposed. Evaluated by psychophysical experiments, the proposed model exhibits a superior performance compared to the preceding models, especially within the extensive color gamut range stipulated by BT.2020. The results help to optimize the design of laser displays with a wide color gamut and high perceived brightness.


Despite of remarkable interests in the nature and role of marketing application from servicing perspective, there are limited researches on service branding. By describing four major aspects of service branding, present study studies these aspects and their impacts on service conceived quality and finally it investigates the impact of service conceived quality on customer loyalty. Represented model includes the impact of brand traditional image along with other three impacts, that is, company image, employees' confidence and company's confidence. By using a 100-subject sample of Albania and Macedonia Insurance Company's customers, the analyses show that brand image and company's image have direct and positive impact on service conceived quality while a significant relationship is not seen between company' confidence and employees' confidence with service quality. Finally, the aspects of service brand impacts indirectly on customers' loyalty via impacting on service conceived quality. The positive impact on brand image and company's image on service conceived quality are too important due to the fact these two service brand aspects are highly impacted by external marketing as well as the importance of external marketing and throughout campaigns for insurance company via radio, TV and other mass media. In one hand, since most insurance companies are similar in terms of provided services, one can distinguish the special brand of Albanian and Macedonian Insurance in terms of special discounts, discounts on simultaneous usage of several types of insurance, etc. On the other hand, increasing the accessibility to services throug h opening further affiliated branches and full explanations of insurance services – that are typically varied and detailed – in guiding brochures and notebooks lead into customers' awareness and finally into a separated mindset and a positive and effective service brand for the company.


The osteonecrosis of the maxillares caused by bisphosphonates (OMB) either wrongly known or not reconised in earlier times became nowadays very important among the dentists and maxillo-facials surgeons because of the potential serious consequences that might bring in the oral cave of the patients, who are suffering already for their base condition. The goal of our work was to verify if a deep treatment and an attentive observation with a close follow-up can bring to the resolution of serious cases of ostenecrosis of the maxillares by bisphosphonantes. Although without a statistic value our case report put the basis for a chance to execute wider casistic studies.


: Birds, especially gulls ( Larus spp.), are attracted to landfills, and when landfills are close to airports, birds can pose a threat to aircraft safety. We conducted a 1-year ecological study to address concerns of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Accomack County, Virginia, officials over potential wildlife hazards caused by the Accomack County Southern Landfill. During 48 surveys conducted from December 1995 to December 1996, we observed 112,693 birds at the landfill ( x =503). Nine species represented 97% of all observations. Bird numbers varied during the year, increasing during winter and declining during summer. Bird abundance appeared unaffected by trash baling, with 629 and 612 birds per observation before and after implementation of a trash baling program on 24 January 1996, respectively. Bird management methods instituted by the landfill included harassment, exclusion, repellents, shooting, and habitat alteration. Pyrotechnics and pyrotechnics supplemented with shooting were used inconsistently and had only limited and temporary effects. Bird abundance actually increased 43% and 172% for gulls and crows ( Corvus brachyrhynchos ), respectively, while harassment supplemented by shooting was being conducted. Birds appeared to prefer bare (unvegetated) ground or trash habitats. We recommend continuing harassment of birds with pyrotechnics supplemented with shooting and limiting the amount of bare ground. Wildlife damage management should be conducted by professional biologists because when methods are applied inappropriately or inconsistently, desired results are difficult to achieve.


Audio streaming provides users with abundant music experiences. Scalable audio coding technology makes such experience possible with optimal quality and low cost. In this paper, adaptive audio streaming based on MPEG-4 scalable to lossless audio coding (SLS) is introduced. A model based technology is proposed for adaptive audio streaming to achieve optimal streaming quality. This scheme adaptively allocates the constraint resource to each audio frame according to the characteristics of different frames. As a result, the quality variation of streaming is reduced according to the available network condition. This scheme has low computational complexity and low memory requirement.


Objective:To explore the clinical diagnosis and treatment characteristics and clinical factors of extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type and provide the basis for clinical individual therapy and experience.Method:The 25 cases personal data of ENKTL received from December in 2009 to July in 2016 by our department including clinical manifestation, the serum EBV-DNA detection, imaging examination, Ann-Arbor staging, histological grade, treatment, and prognosis, etc. were retrospectively analyzed. All of the patients were pathological diagnosis and received standard, specification and system treatment. Single factor survival analysis was performed by Kaplan-Meier method and Log-rank test, and multivariate analysis was carried out using Coxproportional hazard model in the risk assessment about the factors affecting the prognosis of clinical.Result:Of the 25 patients, 15 cases(60%) were in stage ⅠE-ⅡE, which 1 year and 3 years (overall survival) OS were 100%, 100% respectively and 10 cases(40%) were in stage ⅢE-ⅣE, which 1 year and 3 years OS were respectively 40.0%, 26.7%. It had significant statistical difference (P= 0.000). Radiotherapy alone in 3 cases which 1 year and 3 years OS were respectively 100%, 100%;Chemotherapy alone in 6 cases, which 1 year and 3 years OS were 53.6% and 53.6%, respectively; 16 cases of comprehensive treatment combined radiation and chemotherapy which 1 year and 3 years OS are 84.6% and 84.6% respectively. There were significant difference between three kinds of treatment model (P= 0.027), and chemotherapy alone had the worst prognosis. Further multivariate analysis using Coxproportional hazard model showed that the course of the disease, B symptoms, EBV-DNA copy number positive, treatment mode closely associated with the prognosis (P were 0.006, 0.003, 0.010, 0.040 respectively).Conclusion:Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type invasive is strong, the overall prognosis is poor. For early Ann Arbor staging, low risk and limited to the nasal cavity cases, radiotherapy alone curative effect is better. While for strong attack range or terminal patients, chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy is the first selection. In addition, this result shows that Ann Arbor staging, treatment pattern, the course of the disease, B symptoms, EBV-DNA copy number positive are independent prognostic factors.


THE involuntary closure of the eye-lids occurs invariably with the onset of, and is maintained during, sleep. This protects the exposed surface of the eyeball from mechanical damage and reduces the intensity of light stimuli. The degree of rotation of the eyes behind their closed lids varies among individuals and there is no position which can be called "natural" for the eyes during sleep (Adler, 1965). Lagophthalmos during sleep has been described as a hereditary congenital abnormality in a mother and her son; voluntary lid movements were unimpaired but during sleep the eyes remained open and staring straight ahead (Duke-Elder, 1964). Some eyes of patients examined in Addis Ababa for full-thickness keratoplasty showed opacities which extended over the lower or middle one-third of their corneae and recalled the opacities following exposure-keratitis (Fig. 1, opposite). Accidental discovery of corneal exposure during sleep in a child aged 3 led to the following observations and a possible explanation for the development of such corneal scars.


A general framework for regional analysis and modeling of extreme rainfall characteristics is presented. The model is based on the partial duration series (PDS) method that includes in the analysis all events above a threshold level. In the PDS model the average annual number of exceedances, the mean value of the exceedance magnitudes, and the coefficient of L variation (LCV) are considered as regional variables. A generalized least squares (GLS) regression model that explicitly accounts for intersite correlation and sampling uncertainties is applied for evaluating the regional heterogenity of the PDS parameters. For the parameters that show a significant regional variability the GLS model is subsequently adopted for describing the variability from physiographic and climatic characteristics. For determination of a proper regional parent distribution L moment analysis is applied for discriminating between the exponential distribution and various two‐parameter distributions in the PDS model. The resulting model can be used for estimation of rainfall intensity‐duration‐frequency curves at an arbitrary location in a region. For illustration, the regional model is applied to rainfall data from a rain gauge network in Denmark.


The author examines the purposes and results of recent migration legislation aimed at reducing the number of immigrants to France. The effects of government policies on employment relocation of industry and ideological structures are analyzed. Resistance to these policies is discussed and other economic functions of immigration within the national framework are studied (ANNOTATION)


Previous reports have shown that ultrasonography (US) is inferior to computed tomography (CT) in detecting pancreatic carcinoma. Since our recent observations suggested the opposite we re-evaluated the accuracy of these two methods. Among 36 patients with malignant tumours the US was normal in one, in 4 it showed only secondary signs of tumour, and in 31 it revealed the tumour. The corresponding figures for CT were 2, 9 and 25, respectively. The conclusion is that US should be considered the primary method for imaging the pancreas.


Advancements in imaging and radiotherapy (RT) techniques have allowed for remarkably precise delivery of high radiation dose per treatment fraction to intrathoracic targets. As a non-invasive therapeutic modality (compared to surgery), stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is an attractive option for patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancers and oligometastases, especially for older patients with significant comorbidities and pre-existing pulmonary dysfunction. However, the outcomes and side effect profile of SBRT are highly dependent on tumor location, especially if the tumor is located centrally (within 2 cm of the proximal bronchial tree (PBT)] or ultracentrally (touching or within 1 cm of the mediastinum, esophagus, and PBT). In this focused review, we will examine the contemporary practice and principles of using hypofractionated RT or SBRT for central and ultracentral thoracic tumors. We will identify future directions on how this practice may be incorporated into the increasingly complicated modern paradigm of lung cancer treatments which now include immunotherapy along with proton beam radiotherapy.


This thesis examines some of the best known algorithms for solving the shortest point-to-point path problem, and evaluates their performance on real metropolitan area networks. The focus has mainly been on Dijkstra"s algorithm and different variations of it, and the algorithms have been implemented in C# for the practical tests. The size of the networks used in this study varied between 358 and 2464 nodes, and both running time and representative operation counts were measured. The results show that many different factors besides the network size affect the running time of an algorithm, such as arc-to-node ratio, path length and network structure. The queue implementation of Dijkstra"s algorithm showed the worst performance and suffered heavily when the problem size increased. Two techniques for increasing the performance were examined: optimizing the management of labelled nodes and reducing the search space. A bidirectional Dijkstra"s algorithm using a binary heap to store temporarily labelled nodes combines both of these techniques, and it was the algorithm that performed best of all the tested algorithms in the practical tests. This project was initiated by Netadmin Systems i Sverige AB who needed a new path finding module for their network management system NETadmin. While this study is primarily of interest for researchers dealing with path finding problems in computer networks, it may also be useful in evaluations of path finding algorithms for road networks since the two networks share some common characteristics.


The conclusions following in this paper are from an experience with amebic dysentery in the Department of Sanitation of the Canal Zone in Panama, covering the period from 1904 to 1913 inclusive. During that time various therapeutic measures were tried: First, the treatment with quinin irrigations, a measure carried over from the Philippine service; later, treatment by large doses of bismuth subnitrate, a measure instituted by Dr. W. E. Deeks, and finally, the use of ipecac after its reintroduction by Rogers in India and Dock in this country, to which I subsequently added bismuth as. a correlative treatment for thepurpose of hastening the process of healing the ulcerations present in the intestine, left only partly healed after ipecac had served the purpose of eradicating the amebas. Deeks1has also pointed out the advisability of using bismuth as an after treatment following ipecac or emetin, but so far I have


One of the key chemicals that give soil its earthy aroma, geosmin is a frequent water contaminant produced by a range of unrelated microbes. Many animals, including humans, are able to detect geosmin at minute concentrations, but the benefit that this compound provides to its producing organisms is poorly understood. ABSTRACT Known as the smell of earth after rain, geosmin is an odorous terpene detectable by humans at picomolar concentrations. Geosmin production is heavily conserved in actinobacteria, myxobacteria, cyanobacteria, and some fungi, but its biological activity is poorly understood. We theorized that geosmin was an aposematic signal used to indicate the unpalatability of toxin-producing microbes, discouraging predation by eukaryotes. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found that geosmin altered the behavior of the bacteriophagous nematode Caenorhabditis elegans on agar plates in the absence of bacteria. Normal movement was restored in mutant worms lacking differentiated ASE (amphid neurons, single ciliated endings) neurons, suggesting that geosmin is a taste detected by the nematodal gustatory system. In a predation assay, geosmin and the related terpene 2-methylisoborneol reduced grazing on the bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor. Predation was restored by the removal of both terpene biosynthetic pathways or the introduction of C. elegans that lacked differentiated ASE taste neurons, leading to the apparent death of both bacteria and worms. While geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol appeared to be nontoxic, grazing triggered bacterial sporulation and the production of actinorhodin, a pigment coproduced with a number of toxic metabolites. In this system, geosmin thus appears to act as a warning signal indicating the unpalatability of its producers and reducing predation in a manner that benefits predator and prey. This suggests that molecular signaling may affect microbial predator-prey interactions in a manner similar to that of the well-studied visual markers of poisonous animal prey. IMPORTANCE One of the key chemicals that give soil its earthy aroma, geosmin is a frequent water contaminant produced by a range of unrelated microbes. Many animals, including humans, are able to detect geosmin at minute concentrations, but the benefit that this compound provides to its producing organisms is poorly understood. We found that geosmin repelled the bacterial predator Caenorhabditis elegans in the absence of bacteria and reduced contact between the worms and the geosmin-producing bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor in a predation assay. While geosmin itself appears to be nontoxic to C. elegans, these bacteria make a wide range of toxic metabolites, and grazing on them harmed the worms. In this system, geosmin thus appears to indicate unpalatable bacteria, reducing predation and benefiting both predator and prey. Aposematic signals are well known in animals, and this work suggests that metabolites may play a similar role in the microbial world.


Space-times admitting a shear-free, irrotational, geodesic null congruence are studied. Attention is focused on those space-times in which the gravitational field is a combination of a perfect fluid and null radiation.


This article explores the use of photographic images of art pieces as a tool for assessment and attribution, focusing on Vasily Ivanovich Shukhayev's (1887–1973) paintings and drawings. Shukhayev was a famous Russian and Soviet artist, who contributed to greatly to Russian art during the six decades of his artistic career. The artist's works are kept in many state museums and private collections in Russia and abroad, and are also in high demand on the antiques market. Assessment and attribution of his works is, therefore, a pressing issue. Previously photographs of the pieces made at the exhibitions or during the plein-air paintings by the artist himself, as well as other photographic materials showing the artist with his works or their fragments were believed to be of low importance to the experts. The most important photos are those made within the artist's lifetime or which belonged to the artist personally, especially if they contain inscriptions on the back. Such photos help to understand what the missing pieces look like, to confirm authorship and the creation dates, to find its variations and copies, to detect fake works, to show the artist's working style and work stages and sometimes to prove that the artist painted the painting over (typical for V.I. Shukhayev). Altogether, creating a compilation of photographic images of works lost or distributed over the world helps shed light on the painter's artistic career, a task particularly important for research, for museums and exhibitions, for educational work for monographs and catalogues development.
Keywords: photographic images, works of art, assessment, attribution, painting, drawing, V.I.Shukhayev


Purpose – The Continuum of Narrative Comprehension has been designed as a framework for thinking about text and for application to the construction of specific comprehension strategies.Design/methodology/approach – This chapter identifies several factors that undermine the teaching of deep comprehension and demonstrates the benefits of identifying underlying themes as a springboard for effective teacher questioning.Findings – This chapter addresses the higher order demands of the Common Core State Standards and the comprehension requirements of international comparison assessments such as PISA and PIRLS.Research limitations/implications – Advancement in reading demands that readers see past the mere details of text and unearth the significance of the author's ideas in relation to the human condition.Practical implications – The primary resource discussed in the chapter is the Continuum of Narrative Comprehension which serves as a conceptual framework for clinical instructors to analyze text content and ideational complexity.Originality/value of chapter – The Continuum is a tool which can be used as a spur to student discussion but its ultimate value is the promotion of a lifelong view of reading as thoughtful literacy.


The Act adds new Code section 33-2456.3.
The Act requires most health
benefit insurance policies to provide
coverage for colorectal cancer
screening. The Act further provides
definitions to specify the health benefit
policies affected and to identify the
guidelines for the types of treatment to
be covered by those health benefit
policies.


The Los Menucos District, Rio Negro, Argentina, provides an excellent case history of a complex epithermal gold system mapped and explored using a combination of field mapping and multispectral/hyperspectral remote sensing. The district offers a host of argillic and advanced argillic alteration minerals at the surface, many of which are difficult to identify visually. A strategy utilizing regional targeting with Landsat TM to optimize field mapping followed by district-level survey with hyperspectral imaging (HSI) data demonstrates the value added by high-spectral resolution aircraft data. Standardized analysis methods consisting of spatial and spectral data reduction to a few key endmember spectra provides a consistent way to map spectrally active minerals. Miner- als identified in the Los Menucos district using the JPL Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) include hematite, goethite, kaolinite, dickite, alunite, pyrophyllite, muscovite/sericite, montmoril- lonite, calcite, and zeolites. Hyperspectral maps show good correspondence with the results of field reconnais- sance verification and spectral measurements acquired using an ASD field spectrometer. Further analysis of Hy- perion (satellite-based) hyperspectral data indicates that similar mapping results can be achieved from satellite altitudes. These examples illustrate the high potential of hyperspectral remote sensing for geologic mapping and mineral exploration.


To test the hypothesis that intrapulmonary perfluorochemical (PFC) liquid may induce hypothermia, and to compare the effects of internal (IC), external (EC), and combined cooling techniques (EC + IC), 14 juvenile rabbits were randomized to EC by a cold blanket (4°C, n = 5), IC by intrapulmonary cold PFC liquid lavage (4°C, n = 5), or combined IC with PFC and EC (n = 4). Arterial blood gas, blood pressure, and lung mechanics were monitored, and lung histology was examined by light microscopy. The results showed that cooling rates and the time needed to be cooled down to 30°C were significantly faster in EC and EC + IC than IC (p < 0.05). Blood gas analysis and cardiopulmonary function were within the normal range in all groups. Histological assessment revealed varied atelectasis in all lung regions in EC, whereas PFC-filled lungs (IC and EC + IC) demonstrated more homogenous expansion and no evidence of atelectasis. The results indicate that intrapulmonary PFC may be an effective technique to induce and/or augment hypothermia while supporting gas exchange, lung volume and pulmonary architecture.


Context: Tertiary Trauma Survey is an important tool for the detection of missed injury, and some trauma units have created their protocol for tertiary trauma surveys to decrease the incidence of missed injuries in trauma patients. Aim: This study aims to assess nurses' performance regarding tertiary Survey and Poly-trauma patients' outcome. Methods: Descriptive exploratory design utilized to achieve the aim of the study. A convenient sample of all available nurs- es (50 nurses) who are working in the intensive care unit at the emergency hospital affiliated to Ain Shams University Hos- pitals. A purposeful sample composed of (50) adult patients diagnosed as poly-trauma patients recruited from the same units. Data obtained through three main tools; Self-administered questionnaire for nurses, nurses practice observational checklist and clinical outcome record for patients.
Results: Nurses under study had an unsatisfactory level of knowledge and practice regarding tertiary trauma survey (44%&32%) respectively. There was a highly statistically significant positive correlation between the total level of knowledge and practice. There was the difference between injury severity score and laboratory, hemodynamic status, physi- cal assessment and radiological findings of polytrauma patients on admission and after 24 hours.
Conclusion: Less than half and less than one-third of the nurses under study had an unsatisfactory level of knowledge and practice respectively, regarding tertiary trauma survey. There was highly statistically significant positive correlation between the total level of knowledge and total level practice. Polytrauma patients' outcome, revealed a statistically significant differ- ence between injury severity score, hemodynamic status, physical assessment and radiological findings in polytrauma pa- tients on admission and after 24 hours. Recommendations: Further research is needed to follow the patients' outcome and missed injury. Replication of the current study on larger probability sample is recommended to achieve generalization of the result. Tailored Training courses are needed for nurses to improve unsatisfactory knowledge and practices regarding tertiary trauma survey- integrated studies with the emergency medical team to communicate patients' outcome research findings.


Background: Tension type headache is claimed to be one of top ten disabling conditions in the world. The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of muscle energy technique on pain, range of motion at cervical spine and disability related to tension type headache. Methods: A randomized control trial was conducted on 48 participants of both genders whose age was 18 to 40 years with complain of tension type at Rehabilitation and Injury Management Department of Medcare International Hospital Gujranwala, from July to December 2019. Participants were randomly selected and allocated into two groups (experimental and control group). The experimental group received both muscle energy technique and myofascial release technique on trapezius and sternocleidomastoid of both sides. The intervention was applied for 6 weeks (3 sessions per week). Assessments were done at baseline, 4th week and 6th week. Numeric pain rating scale (NPRS), Headache disability inventory (HDI), headache impact test (HIT) and cervical range of motion with the help of Inclinometer were tools for assessment. Data analysis was done using SPSS (version 21). Results: The mean age of experimental group was 26.5±5.42 and control group was 27.7±5.70. The experimental group was shown significant improvement in terms of pain and flexion and side flexion range of motion with p-value ≤0.05. Conclusion: It is concluded that muscle energy technique is effective treatment for tension type headache; it is associated to decreased range of motion at cervical spine and disability related to TTH. Trial registration: IRCT20190121042445N2, Registered 07-02-2021.


Mobile robots are an excellent tool for teaching engineering concepts. Practical demonstrations and hands-on experience encourage students and increase motivation. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of robotics, involving electrical, mechanical and computer engineering as well as artificial intelligence, they can be employed in a variety of different subjects at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and in PhD research. To provide a suitable robotics environment for teaching and research, we have to meet the requirements of educators and students which differ from solutions offered for commercial robot applications. This paper examines these educational requirements of robots and shows a number of approaches to meet the requirements in practical systems. Within an international collaboration, we developed a modular platform for education with appropriate infrastructure. Curricula with guidelines how to use robots as well as available teaching materials facilitate initiation of robot usage. We show examples of our systems and how they can be used by teachers and students. Course evaluation proved popularity and merit to acquire engineering skills. Our robotics environment provides a valuable tool for engineering education which can be used in many different disciplines as a demonstrator to teach the topics of individual subjects, in lab classes and practical exercises, and as a platform for PhD research.


OBJECTIVE
To study the information absorbency of Chinese Journal of Preventive Medicine and its half-citing life, to find out the core journals and characteristics of literature requested by scientists, and to analyze the trend of preventive medicine research.

METHODS
The citation analysis was used to analyze the references cited in 766 articles in Chinese Journal of Preventive Medicine from 2001-2004.

RESULTS
505 (65.93%) of 766 articles have the 4 708 references, and the self-citation rate was 3.97%. The average number of references per paper was 6.15, and the maximum of references in one paper was 39. Main types of citations were from journals (87.43%) and the books (9.98%). The Price Index was 45.20%, and the self-citation rate was 3.97%. The percent of citations from the high-ranked 22 journals were 26.51%.

CONCLUSIONS
The publications in Chinese Journal of Preventive Medicine have received more concerns than those from other major journals in medicine. Periodical and English literature were mostly used by the preventive researcher. Moreover, the articles published in the journal were able to keep closely along with the advances of the subject research.


It is not currently possible to directly and noninvasively measure in vivo patellofemoral joint contact force during dynamic movement; therefore, indirect methods are required. Simple models may be inaccurate because patellofemoral contact forces vary for the same knee flexion angle, and the patellofemoral joint has substantial out-of-plane motion. More sophisticated models use 3-dimensional kinematics and kinetics coupled to a subject-specific anatomical model to predict contact forces; however, these models are time consuming and expensive. We applied a principal component analysis prediction and regression method to predict patellofemoral joint contact forces derived from a robust musculoskeletal model using exclusively optical motion capture kinematics (external approach), and with both patellofemoral and optical motion capture kinematics (internal approach). We tested this on a heterogeneous population of asymptomatic subjects (n = 8) during ground-level walking (n = 12). We developed equations that successfully capture subject-specific gait characteristics with the internal approach outperforming the external. These approaches were compared with a knee-flexion based model in literature (Brechter model). Both outperformed the Brechter model in interquartile range, limits of agreement, and the coefficient of determination. The equations generated by these approaches are less computationally demanding than a musculoskeletal model and may act as an effective tool in future rapid gait analysis and biofeedback applications.


The heart lacks complete regeneration capacity. In mice, the cardiac apex can regenerate 1 day after birth, although 7 days after birth the repair occurs with a fibrous scar. However, the key transcription factors (TFs) related to this loss of regeneration capacity remain largely unknown. We aimed to find candidates for key TFs using proteomic profiling and comparison during loss of neonatal mouse cardiac regeneration capacity, with preliminary validation using western blotting (WB) and real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR). A total of 69 common discrepant TFs with similar variation trends in two TF response element experiments were identified, 18 of which were matched to known key signaling pathways of cardiac regeneration after pathway enrichment of downstream genes. Validation using RT‐qPCR‐selected DACH1, RBL1 (P107), and TBX20, and further validation with WB‐selected RBL1 (P107) and TBX20. We therefore identified two candidates for key TFs in the loss of mouse cardiac apex regeneration capacity. TBX20 has been biologically validated, and RBL1 (P107) needs to be validated in the future.


Aim. The aim of this study was to establish the chemical structure of teichoic acids of probiotic lactobacilli strains and to investigate their influence on murine macrophages phagocytosis and proliferation of the murine macrophages cell line J 774. Methods. Physical (infrared spectroscopy methodology, 1H, and 13C NMR experiments), immunobiological and statistical methods were used. Results. It was shown that cell walls of Lactobacillus plantarum 11/16 and Lactobacillus plantarum 195D contained glycerol teichoic acids with unusually high number of sugar elements. The teichoic acid of the strain L. plantarum 11/16 had 9 different pyranoses and furanoses sugars in alfa-configuration and L. plantarum 195D had 4 hexosopyranoses. The teichoic acids of L. plantarum 195D and 11/16 increased the percent phagocytosis by 15.00±5.72% and 13.75±4.65% respectively. Both teichoic acids in the doses of 32 and 64 μg/ml stimulated cell proliferation of murine macrophage cell line by 35–53%. It was not observed any considerable effect of studied teichoic acids on phagocytic index, pontaneous and stimulated NBT-test of peritoneal macrophages of mice.


Reports from the cutting edge, where physics and biology are changing the fundamental assumptions of computing. Computers built from DNA, bacteria, or foam. Robots that fix themselves on Mars. Bridges that report when they are aging. This is the bizarre and fascinating world of Natural Computing. Computer scientist and Scientific Americans Puzzling Adventures columnist Dennis Shasha here teams up with journalist Cathy Lazere to explore the outer reaches of computing. Drawing on interviews with fifteen leading scientists, the authors present an unexpected vision: the future of computing is a synthesis with nature. That vision will change not only computer science but also fields as disparate as finance, engineering, and medicine. Space engineers are at work designing machines that adapt to extreme weather and radiation. Wetware processing built on DNA or bacterial cells races closer to reality. One scientists extended analog computer measures answers instead of calculating them using ones and zeros. In lively, readable prose, Shasha and Lazere take readers on a tour of the future of smart machines. 50 illustrations.


Adopting the decolonial theoretical framework, as far as gender issues are concerned, we will address an important issue: the sexual imaginaries which, from Western cultures, have been projected onto non-Western alterities. In this regard, we will discuss "fantasised alterities" and the "coloniality of desire" in order to connote certain processes of domination which have to do with the racialisation of sexuality and with the sexualisation of race. However, we will at the same time address the criticisms which have been brought against Western-centric hegemonic feminism from the "other feminisms", because the former has on too many occasions been a discourse complicit in the secular subalternization of all "non-white" women, that is, racialized. Moreover, this complicity has been rooted specifically in the ignorance and misunderstanding of the intersectionality of gender, sex, race and class.


The testing of applications for mobile computing devices is cumbersome due to the bounded computational resources that these devices have and diversity in mobile environments. There are many different types of emulators that have been proposed and used nowadays for this purpose. But these emulators typically cannot emulate: actual network speed and availability, actual device specific content-rendering speed, memory limitation, cache size, CPU speed, and stack size. These emulators are designed for specific platforms, which lack testing of applications on heterogeneous mobile platforms. Cloud Computing has a potential to overcome these challenges by taking up contemporary progress in parallel and distributed systems, virtualization, and software services. Cloud computing empowers us to have adaptable and on-demand network access to a common group of configurable computing resources. In this article, we introduce a cloudbased model that provides solutions to aforesaid challenges. Our model sets up a mobile environment, actual device and platform on the cloud resources for a given system configuration. It also provides software testing services to execute numerous tests automatically according to a given application.


Background: Hospitals play an important role in health systems. However, hospitals can be high risk environments for employees, patients, visitors and the neighbors. The aim of this study was to explore experiences and perspectives of medical staff regarding the impact of hospitals on their health and also their suggestions for changing hospitals into health promoting hospitals. Methods : The study reported here was conducted using qualitative approach in five hospitals. 45 medical staff were interviewed. Semi-structured interview guide was developed based on health promoting hospitals and used to collect the data. Data were analyzed by framework analysis method. Results: In general 14 main themes were extracted from answers the participants gave to three questions of the interviews. In regards to positive impact of working in hospitals, answers were categorized under three themes of increase of knowledge and information, easy access to hospital services and happiness. Related themes about negative impact of working in hospitals were negative mental impact, diseases transmission and tiredness. Main themes of suggesting strategies for making the hospital a health promoting hospital included creating a healthier work environment, infectious disease control, educational classes, and better services to patients and their visitors. Conclusions: Differences in the quality and quantity of health related problems and the suggested solutions show clearly that hospitals have different needs and level of readiness to become a health promoting hospitals. Some studied hospitals have a long way to become health promoting hospitals.


3473 Mitogen- and stress-activated kinase 1 (MSK1) is a nuclear kinase that acts downstream of both ERK and p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases and is activated in response to stress or mitogenic extracellular stimuli. However, the physiological role of MSK1 in malignant transformation and cancer development is not clear . Here, we report that MSK1 is involved in 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)- or epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced cell transformation of JB6 Cl41 cells. H89, a potent inhibitor of MSK1, strongly suppressed TPA- or EGF-induced cell transformation. When cells overexpressing wildtype MSK1 were treated with TPA or EGF, colony formation increased markedly compared to untreated cells or cells that did not overexpress MSK1. In contrast, MSK1 C-terminal or N-terminal dead dominant negative mutants dramatically suppressed cell transformation. Introduction of small interfering (si) RNA-MSK1 into JB6 Cl41 cells resulted in suppressed TPA- or EGF-induced cell transformation. In addition, cell proliferation was inhibited in MSK1 knockdown cells compared to MSK1 wildtype cells. In wildtype MSK1-overexpressing cells, AP-1 activation increased after TPA or EGF stimulation, whereas AP-1 activation decreased in both MSK1 dominant-negative mutants and MSK1 knockdown cells. Moreover, TPA- or EGF-induced phosphorylation of histone H3 at Ser10 was increased in wildtype cells but the induced phosphorylation was abolished in MSK1 dominant-negative mutant or MSK1 knockdown cells. Histone H3 mutant (S10A) cells also inhibited EGF- or TPA-induced colony transformation. Thus, MSK1 is required for tumor promoter-induced cell transformation through its phosphorylation of histone H3 at Ser10 and AP-1 activation.


It has been proposed that the hyperthermia in pregnant women may be associated with birth defects in their offsprings. We analysed the retrospective interview data on probable febrile illness during critical period of orofacial clefts development in 992 mothers of boys and girls with three types of orofacial clefts--cleft lip, unilateral or bilateral cleft lip and palate and cleft palate. A number of mother that gave the positive answer was relatively high and varied from 24% to 33%. There were no significant differences of the incidence of mother febrile illness between three groups of orofacial clefts in boys and girls. These data support presumption on the harmful effect of febrile illness during early pregnancy on craniofacial development.


Fluoroquinolones are group A drugs in tuberculosis guidelines. We aim to compare the culture conversion between new-generation (levofloxacin and moxifloxacin) and old-generation (ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin) fluoroquinolones, develop pharmacokinetic models, and calculate target attainment for levofloxacin and moxifloxacin. We included three U.S. tuberculosis centers. ABSTRACT Fluoroquinolones are group A drugs in tuberculosis guidelines. We aim to compare the culture conversion between new-generation (levofloxacin and moxifloxacin) and old-generation (ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin) fluoroquinolones, develop pharmacokinetic models, and calculate target attainment for levofloxacin and moxifloxacin. We included three U.S. tuberculosis centers. Patients admitted between 1984 and 2015, infected with drug-resistant tuberculosis, and who had received fluoroquinolones for ≥28 days were included. Demographics, sputum cultures and susceptibility, treatment regimens, and serum concentrations were collected. A time-to-event analysis was conducted, and Cox proportional hazards model was used to compare the time to culture conversion. Using additional data from ongoing studies, pharmacokinetic modelling and Monte Carlo simulations were performed to assess target attainment for different doses. Overall, 124 patients received fluoroquinolones. The median age was 40 years, and the median weight was 60 kg. Fifty-six patients (45%) received old-generation fluoroquinolones. New-generation fluoroquinolones showed a faster time to culture conversion (median 16 versus 40 weeks, P = 0.012). After adjusting for isoniazid and clofazimine treatment, patients treated with new-generation fluoroquinolones were more likely to have culture conversion (adjusted hazards ratio, 2.16 [95% confidence interval, 1.28 to 3.64]). We included 178 patients in the pharmacokinetic models. Levofloxacin and moxifloxacin were best described by a one-compartment model with first-order absorption and elimination. At least 1,500 to 1,750 mg levofloxacin and 800 mg moxifloxacin may be needed for maximum kill at the current epidemiologic cutoff values. In summary, new-generation fluoroquinolones showed faster time to culture conversion compared to the old generation. For optimal target attainment at the current MIC values, higher doses of levofloxacin and moxifloxacin may be needed.


Many neuro-ophthalmologic conditions may result from systemic disease or its treatments. This article provides an update on optic neuropathies, eye movement disorders, and intracranial visual pathway lesions that occur most commonly with systemic disease, are clinical emergencies, or have been identified or clarified in recent publications.


The efficacy of KRN8601 for neutropenia associated with HIV infection was evaluated in 24 patients. KRN8601 was infused intravenously at a dosage of 200 micrograms/m2 for 14 consecutive days. Neutrophil counts recovered in 19 (90.5%) out of 21 evaluable patients by KRN8601 treatment. The concomitant myelosuppressive agents for the treatment of HIV infection and complications could be continued without dose reduction in 15 (88.2%) out of 17 patients. The clinical improvement was observed in 66.7% (12/18) of patients who were treated with anti-microbial agents for opportunistic infections which indicates that KRN8601 shows an additive effect on infections when it was given with anti-microbial agents. Adverse events and abnormal laboratory findings were observed in 3 and 7 patients, respectively, and they were reversible and tolerable. This study demonstrated that KRN8601 improved neutropenia with HIV infection, made possible to continue the full dose of myelosuppressive treatments and have additive effect on the treatment of secondary infections.


BACKGROUND
  A consensus exists about the importance of interpreters for refugee and immigrant patients presenting with mental health problems. However, beyond this consensus, the specificities of working with interpreters in child mental health are barely mentioned in the literature.

METHOD
  This paper describes some of the challenges associated with working with interpreters for the diagnosis of child psychiatric disorders and for intervention in situations of family crisis.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION
  There is a need to develop appropriate training programs for interpreters and clinicians involved in child mental health. These programs should be evaluated and incorporated into existing practice guidelines in order to equip clinicians working with children and young people in multicultural communities.


Sudden death (SD) is the most dangerous and irreversible outcome of diseases in clinical as well as in sports medicine. Between 1980 and 2011, the Sudden Death in Young Athletes Registry in the USA, which was developed based on mass media information, recorded 2406 cases of sudden death, which were observed in 29 diverse sports. In the USA 80% of all SD occurred in high school/middle school or collegiate student athletes, and 20% were engaged in organized youth, postgraduate. Statistical data vary greatly in different countries: SCD incidence rate in the USA is 7.47 and 1.33 per 1,000,000 exercising male and female school-age athletes, respectively, whereas in Italy, the rate is 2.6 cases in men and 1.1 in women per 100,000 individuals per year who are involved in active competitive sports. The European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) position paper concluded that as an overall estimate, 1–2 out of 100,000 athletes between of age of 12 and 35 years old die suddenly each year. It was shown that the risk of SCD is significantly higher in athletes than in nonathletes with the same heart condition in the general population, by more than five times for ARVC, 2.6 times for coronary artery disease, 1.5 times for myocarditis, and more than 2 times for cardiac conduction system diseases.


The alveolar epithelium separates gas and liquid phases in the lung. Osmotic forces available for separating these phases will be determined by the solute permeability of the epithelium. The relative rates of diffusion of several simultaneously studied solutes of known molecular size have been used for measuring the equivalent pore radius across the alveolar epithelium in vivo in the perinatal period and in adult animals. In perinatal sheep, the equivalent pore radius increases from 0.5 nm in the fetal state to 1.5-4.5 nm during the first minutes of spontaneous ventilation. Postnatal animals, 12-60 hours of age, have pore radii of 0.7-1.4 nm. Static inflation of the lungs, in fetal lambs, produced pressure-dependent increases in pore radii. In adult sheep and rabbits the measured radius of equivalent pores across the epithelium in vivo was positively correlated with the degree of inflation of the lungs (P less than 0.005). Measurements varied from 0.5 nm at low levels of inflation to large leaks at high levels. These experiments indicate that solute permeability across the alveolar epithelium is a dynamic function of the inflation of the lung, rather than a static feature.


A220 Drug discovery is a difficult and time consuming process that involves the identification of potent therapeutic agents with good bio-availability, metabolic stability, and low toxicity. An important first step in this process is the identification of molecules that bind with high affinity and selectivity to the biological target. In the "one bead one compound" combinatorial library method, millions of random peptides can be generated rapidly, such that each bead displays only one peptide entity. When live cancer cells are co-cultured with these peptide-bead libraries, beads with cell adhesion peptides will be covered entirely by the cells. These positive peptide-beads are then isolated for sequence analysis. Using this high throughput screening approach, we evaluated four different peptide libraries and identified several peptides that bind to pancreatic cancer cells. We also constructed, solution phase small molecule combinatorial chemistry libraries with highly diverse 9216 membered small molecule having 2,4-dinitrobenzene as base structure. This was screened concurrently against pancreatic cancer cells and normal cells to identify pro-apoptotic compounds. This library was distributed to multiple 96 well plates with 8 compounds per well at a final concentration of 12.5 µM, 25 µM, 37.5 µM and 50 µM per compound. Several plates were made in replicas and one type of cell was used per plate. Approximately 100 cells (cancer or normal ductal cells) were added to each well and cell growth was monitored every day for five days. Immortalized pancreatic ductal cells (p-TERI-HPNE) and low passage pancreatic cancer cells XPA1,and XPA3 were used for this study. The compounds that induced apoptosis in only cancer cells but not normal cells were re-tested. Those compounds that were re-tested positive in three consecutive times were further characterized. Apoptotic and migration assays were performed. Three compound-wells showed specific growth inhibition on cancer cells and not normal cells. These active molecules may have therapeutic potential for pancreatic cancer, either alone or in combination with other therapies. This work is supported by grant R03 CA129786-01, DOD-CM064046 and Children's Miracle Network grant.


An unfavorable phenomenon is observed: current electronic markets are fragmented and have formed a set of autonomously distributed product information islands. This leads to heterogeneity of product information between separated sources and makes difficult on product document interoperation. To resolve the issue and facilitate business document interoperation, this paper proposes a heterogeneous concept mapping approach. By this approach, heterogeneous product documents are transformed from one context to another context without losing any semantic information. This transformation process is supported by a heterogeneous concept transformation algorithm that includes five transformation steps: source-local context transformation, local-common context transformation, common-common context transformation, common-local context transformation and local-source context transformation.


0th land and cellular teleDhone networks were originally designed to provide voice communication. However, among land networks in the United States, the demand for data is growing at a rapid annual rate of 20 percent, while demand for voice has slowed to less than 5 percent. Currently, the demand for voice is fueling the expansion to digital techniques in cellular. Since even conservative estimates indicate several million portable computers and fax units will be in use within the next few years, demand for mobile data is certain to grow. Once again, we are faced with the challenge of incorporating data into networks designed for voice. Analog cellular solutions cater to data but only within the constraints of channels established for voice communication. Digital cellular systems, however, are planned to exist as integrated services networks, and data must be given adequate consideration in the early definition of these networks. This requirement will have a significant impact on the architecture and signaling in digital cellular systems across the globe.


Objective: To evaluate the factors associated with non response to lactulose in patients with liver cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy (HE).
Design: Prospective non interventional.
Place and Duration of Study: Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad from August 2011 to February 2013.
Methods: A total of 250 patients with liver cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy were included. Patients were treated with lactulose. Nonresponse was defined if patient remained in HE after 10 days of treatment or died while in HE. The data was analyzed using SPSS v 16. Chi square test was used to assess categorical variables and Student T test for continuous variables.
Results: Out of total patients with hepatic encephalopathy, 193 (77.2%) responded to lactulose vs 57(22.8%) patients which did not respond. Patients not responding to lactulose had high MELD,CTP score,TLC, ammonia levels, low platelets and sodium levels in comparison to lactulose responsive patients (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Majority of patients with HE responded to lactulose. High baseline MELD,CTP score, total leukocyte count, ammonia levels, creatinine levels and low serum sodium levels were associated with nonresponse to lactulose.


The dominant theory of parts and wholes – classical extensional mereology – has faced a number of challenges in the recent literature. This article gives a sampling of some of the alleged counterexamples to some of the more controversial principles involving the connections between parthood and identity. Along the way, some of the main revisionary approaches are reviewed. First, counterexamples to extensionality are reviewed. The 'supplementation' axioms that generate extensionality are examined more carefully, and a suggested revision is considered. Second, the paper considers an alternative approach that focuses the blame on antisymmetry but allows us to keep natural supplementation axioms. Third, we look at counterexamples to the idempotency of composition and the associated 'parts just once' principle. We explore options for developing weaker mereologies that avoid such commitments.


How far does a researcher's responsibility extend when an incidental finding is identified? Balancing pertinent ethical principles such as beneficence, respect for persons, and duty to rescue is not always straightforward, particularly in neuroimaging research where empirical data that might help guide decision making are lacking. We conducted a systematic survey of perceptions and preferences of 396 investigators, research participants, and Institutional Review Board members at our institution. Using the partial entrustment model as described by Richardson, we argue that our data supports universal reading by a neuroradiologist of all research MRI scans for incidental findings and providing full disclosure to all participants.


To evaluate the effect of an interferon inducer on respiratory tract virus infection, poly l.poly C was administered intranasally to volunteers for a seven-day period beginning one day prior to inoculation of rhinovirus 13 or type A2 influenza virus/Hong Kong/68. In three separate trials, toxic effects were not detected and there was a small, but definite, reduction in symptoms of upper-respiratory tract illness associated with drug treatment. However, there was a variable effect on the pattern of virus infection. In only one of the two rhinovirus studies was a reduction of virus shedding observed. Treatment did not decrease the shedding of type A2 influenza virus. The minimal amounts of nasal interferon stimulated by the intranasally administered poly l.poly C may have been responsible for the less-than-optimal results obtained.


This paper examines the legal framework for curbing book piracy in Uganda. The paper sought to address the following objectives: to establish the forms of book piracy practiced; to establish the existing legal frameworks and efforts to curb book piracy; investigate the level of awareness of the legal framework among book printers and its implications on book piracy; to examine the scope of counter-piracy enforcement powers and the law; to identify the setbacks in the enforcement of the legal framework on book piracy. A case study research design and qualitative research paradigm were adopted. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), unstructured interviews and Document reviews were the data collection methods. The study findings reveal that: duplication, circumventing e-Books and plagiarism are the common forms of book piracy practiced; the legal and institutional frameworks are in place putting in efforts such as awareness and sensitization, engagement with universities, and promotion of the use of holograms; book printers were found to be moderately aware of the legal framework, but they were not deeply knowledgeable of many provisions of the laws; the laws as they are, are ineffective. The setbacks in the enforceability included: the high cost of registration, difficulty in differentiating between genuine and pirated books. The study concludes that different forms of book piracy are practiced in Uganda and that efforts are being undertaken to avert the practice. The study recommends the revision of the existing legal framework; adoption and promotion of security features and restructuring of the copyright registration process among others.


Monte Carlo simulations are an important tool in modern-day studies of many physical systems. Where unlikely events are to be simulated, the importance sampling technique can considerably ease the processing burdon, without compromising statistical significance. Here a comparison of importance sampling and standard Monte Carlo simulations is given. Emphasis is on variance reduction, and on the simulation gain of importance sampling, which is calculated explicitly for a simple example.


This study was conducted to determine the effect of non-wood forest products on rural households in Surulere Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria. It highlights; Socio-economic characteristic of the respondents, identify forest products available in the area, examine the effect of non wood forest products on rural household, analyze the determinants of level of income of the respondents and ascertained the constraints that hinder non-wood forest products based economic activities. Data were collected from the respondents with the aid of structured interview schedule guide and analyzed with descriptive statistics (frequency, percentages, mean and ranking) and regression and chi- square. Results showed that 87.5% of the respondents were within the age category of 30to59 years old and 53.3% were male, 88.3% were married, About 68.3% of the respondents years of experience on non wood forest products ranging from 6 to 15 year. 69.2% had household size of between 1 to 5, all (100%)  of the respondents indicated bush meat as the non-wood forest product available in the study area. About 48.3% of the respondents indicated collection and marketing of non-wood forest products as their economic activities. About 78.3% of the respondents indicated that income earned from non wood forest products economic activities ranges between N100 to N1000.00 per day. Even though respondents mentioned constraint hindered their non wood forest based economic activities. There was significant relationship between income determinants factors and income. Also significant relationships exist between rural household economic activities and constraints. Extension personnel need to be encouraged in order to disseminate appropriate information on forest protection, forest products harvesting technique and on economic and environmental value of forest . Keywords: effect, forest, non-wood forest products, rural household, Surulere, Oyo.


Although tsetse control measures were discontinued in Malawi in the early 1950s, the prevalence of sleeping sickness apparendy remained at low levels. A sleeping sickness survey conducted in 1987 to 1989 revealed a prevalence of the disease of 3% (103/3000). 7% (215/3000) of the individuals tested were positive for malaria. 87 in~ividuals traced 2 years after hospital discharge were found well and active in their villages. 4 died in villages after hospital treatment. 3 relapsed and were readmitted to hospital. Sera from 160 game ranger volunteers and from 82 suspected cases_of Rhodesian sleeping sickness were tested by use of ELISA, IF AT and CA TT. ELISA and CA TT, though not specific, proved to be useful tests for mass screening for human trypanosomiasis. Thick blood smear was found to be the best diagnostic method in this survey.


The densification mechanism of hydroxyapatite particles during spray pyrolysis with varying carrier gas flow rates was investigated. A calcium phosphate solution with a Ca/P ratio of 1.67 was prepared by dissolving calcium nitrate tetrahydrate and diammonium hydrogen phosphate in deionized water followed by the addition of nitric acid. Hydroxyapatite particles were then synthesized by spray pyrolysis at 1500°C with carrier gas flow rates of 10, 30, and 50 L/min, respectively. The lower the carrier gas flow rate, the smaller and denser the as-prepared hydroxyapatite particles. Consequently, the lower flow rates produced particles with higher sinterability at 1100°C. The results can be explained in terms of the nucleation and growth mechanism based on the degree of supersaturation of hydroxyapatite in a droplet, which was dependent on the evaporating speed of nitric acid and water. The practical implication of these results is that highly sinterable hydroxyapatite powders can be synthesized via spray pyrolysis by reducing the carrier gas flow rate in a fixed temperature environment.


We are developing a drinking water test kit based on colorimetric-solid phase extraction (C-SPE) for use onboard the International Space Station (ISS) and on future Lunar and/or Mars missions. C-SPE involves measuring the change in diffuse reflectance of indicator disks following their exposure to a water sample. We previously demonstrated the effectiveness of C-SPE in measuring iodine in microgravity. This analytical method has now been extended to encompass the measurement of total I (i.e., iodine, iodide, and triiodide). This objective was accomplished by introducing an oxidizing agent to convert iodide and triiodide to iodine, which is then measured using the indicator disks previously developed for iodine. We report here the results of a recent series of C-9 microgravity tests of this method. The results demonstrate that C-SPE technology is poised to meet the total I monitoring requirements of the international space program.