This paper suggest a different approach to doing skill formation research in the IT industry - one that takes into account the interaction over time of intentions, context, process, and action around formal, accredited on-the-job training schemes. To demonstrate, the paper presents the findings of an empirical study into eight small and medium sized enterprise (SME's) experiences when deciding to participate with an on-the-job training scheme for the first time. The literature on vocational training, and specifically participation with work-place based training schemes, is reviewed. The review indicates a need for process research to complement existing research in the field. Eight case studies were designed around semi-structured in-depth interviews, and were conducted to investigate how and why owner/managers decide to participate with on-the-job training for the first time. The study focused on contextual and process elements as well as the action of key players associated with participation. Grounded theory analysis of the case data produced a structure of conceptual categories and themes related to the participation process within the context of small business in the information technology industry. The theory generated from the empirical findings suggests that the intentions and actions of owner/managers, the processes they enact, as well as the social context into which they are implemented, critically influence what decisions are associated with on-the-job IT skilling. The findings provide insights for policy and practice, detailing the organisational decision-making that are associated with skilling under certain circumstances, and how these might be assessed and managed. Implications for vocational training in small business based on the findings are advanced.


A security article comprising a polymeric material is processed into a non-opaque latent image layer (10) comprising at least one optically anisotropic region (12), so that when viewed directly, the at least one region of the latent image layer other regions no difference, but when viewed through polarized, the at least one region is distinguished readily from the remainder of the latent image layer region. This latent image can be visualized information layer, a reflecting layer, a quarter-wave plate, or a polarizer composed of more complex multilayer structures. This article is suitable for a wide range of security applications. Also describes a method of preparing such a latent image, comprising a light-activated, and the selective exposure of the image processing / fix steps.


Objective To assess the correlation between inflammation,specific immune response and coronary heart disease(CHD). Methods Thirty healthy cases passed the health examination were taken as the control group. Eighty cases who were diagnosised into CHD,affirmed by coronary angiography,were divided into three groups: acute myocardial infarction (AMI) group(26 cases),unstable angina pectoris (UP) group (24 cases),and stable angina pectoris (SP) group(30 cases). All the cases were tested on the concentrations of C-reactive protein(CRP),IgA,IgG,IgM in serum. Results The serum indices of CRP,IgG,IgA in AMI group and UP group were significantly difference than those in the control group (P0.05),but there was no significant difference in the indices of IgM in UP group,SP group and AMI group,and the indices of CRP,IgG of the SP group than that in the control group (P0.05). Conclusion The correlation between inflammation and immune system activation are closely associated with CHD.


Given the critical role of pediatricians in child advocacy, it is important to understand how to train pediatricians to speak out to improve the health and well-being of children. This article describes the experience of developing and implementing a 5-day child advocacy course at the University of Leeds, which formed part of a master's program. Eight community pediatricians and pediatric registrars participated in the initial course. The material from the course has been published in Archives of Disease in Childhood.(1) This exercise was about the only time as a teacher that I also started at the same level as the students in the course. We started off by defining what we meant by advocacy. The definition that we chose was "the active support of a cause or course of action," and we applied this to any child problem for which the system was at fault and use of action was required. What is needed to be an effective advocate? One must have an awareness of issues confronting children, in particular on the local level and not only on the national and international levels. One then needs to gain an understanding of the political framework of the issue, how change can occur, and how one can contribute to bringing about the necessary change. Then follows the identification and acquisition of the practical skills and competencies related to effecting these changes. Finally, one needs to have a successful experience tackling a particular issue to realize that one can be effective.


A high accuracy boundary element method is used to compute the propagation of solitary waves from a constant depth region onto a plane slope. Initial wave heights range from H/h = 0.06 to 0.775, slopes between 1:35 and 1:1.73 (30°) have been investigated. The prebreaking shoaling shows very different characteristics on gentle slopes (1:20 and less) and on steeper slopes. A diagram constructed on the basis of a large number of numerical experiments gives a simple limit between which waves break on which slopes and which not. Typical examples of the range of wave behavior are shown. Waves that do not break at run up often break during run down. The velocity fields for the two types of breaking are compared and found to be very different. A simple explanation for this is offered.


P2PDC is an environment for high performance peer to peer computing that allows direct communication between peers. This environment is based on P2PSAP, a self adaptive communication protocol. P2PDC is suited to the solution of large scale numerical simulation problems via distributed iterative methods. dPerf is a performance prediction environment for parallel and distributed applications, with primary interest in programs written in C, C++, Fortran for P2PDC. The dPerf performance prediction tool makes use of static and dynamic analyses combined with trace-based simulation. In this paper, we present a decentralized version of P2PDC and show how dPerf predicts performance for the P2PDC environment. We present new features of P2PDC aimed at making it more scalable and robust. Through experiments with P2PDC and dPerf, we show how to properly choose a peer to peer computing system which can match the computing power of a cluster.


An \emph{adjacency labeling scheme} for a given class of graphs is an algorithm that for every graph $G$ from the class, assigns bit strings (labels) to vertices of $G$ so that for any two vertices $u,v$, whether $u$ and $v$ are adjacent can be determined by a fixed procedure that examines only their labels. It is known that planar graphs with $n$ vertices admit a labeling scheme with labels of bit length $(2+o(1))\log{n}$. In this work we improve this bound by designing a labeling scheme with labels of bit length $(\frac{4}{3}+o(1))\log{n}$. In graph-theoretical terms, this implies an explicit construction of a graph on $n^{4/3+o(1)}$ vertices that contains all planar graphs on $n$ vertices as induced subgraphs, improving the previous best upper bound of $n^{2+o(1)}$. Our scheme generalizes to graphs of bounded Euler genus with the same label length up to a second-order term. All the labels of the input graph can be computed in polynomial time, while adjacency can be decided from the labels in constant time.


Modulating electronic structure of two-dimensional (2D) materials represents an exciting avenue for tailoring their optoelectronic properties. Here, we identify a strain-induced, cooperative effect of intraband and interband excitations contributing to high harmonic generation (HHG) in prototype dichalcogenide MoS2 monolayer. We find that besides the dominant intraband contributions, interband current is also indispensable in modulating HHG. The HHG yields increase linearly with the compressive strain since flatter band dispersion and Berry curvature enhance both interband and intraband dynamics. Band structure can be retrieved with high reliability by monitoring the strain-induced evolution of HHG spectra, suggesting that strain not only provides an additional knob to control HHG in solids, but also marks a way towards a complete understanding of underlying microscopic mechanisms.


AIM
  To explore continuity of care from a manager's perspective: How do managers understand the concept of continuity of care and how do they assess continuity of care in home health-care? How do managers work to ensure continuity of care when managing care provision for patients in their homes?

BACKGROUND
  Continuity of care is considered a prerequisite for service quality. Managers can influence continuity of care through managing day-to-day work.

METHODS
  Semi-structured interviews of a purposive sample of 16 managers from 12 municipal units. Theory-driven and data-driven analysis was applied.

RESULTS
  Ideally, to promote continuity of care, the number of carers should be limited. Yet, in practice, discontinuity of care was accepted as a working compromise. The managers faced two paradoxes: the continuity ideal vs. the practicalities of home health-care, and caring for patients vs. caring for staff.

CONCLUSIONS
  The managers were forced to prioritize, in conflict with ideals or professional standards, patients' wellbeing or the wellbeing of the staff. Ensuring continuity of care for all patients did not seem feasible.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT
  The study highlights management paradoxes: possible unintended consequences of prioritizing needs for continuity of care should be objects of reflection in care management.


This study investigated the probiotic and functional characteristics of Mukeunji starter, Lactobacillus curvatus ML17, isolated from Mukeunji. Lb. curvatus ML17 was confirmed as a safe microorganism due to its non-he- molytic activity and non-production of harmful β-glucuronidase and β-glucosidase. Tolerance to artificial gastric and bile juice of Lb. curvatus ML17 was investigated. After incubation in artificial gastric and bile juice, the number of surviving cells was 1.38×10 8 CFU/mL. According to the results of adhesion assay, this strain also exhibited good adhesion to Caco-2 cells. Lb. curvatus ML17 showed good antimicrobial activity against food borne pathogens, espe- cially Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Cell-free extract of Lb. curvatus ML17 exhibited high levels of DPPH scavenging capacity and inhibitory effects on growth of AGS human gastric adenocarcinoma cells and HT-29 human colon carcinoma cells. These results suggest that Lb. curvatus ML17 has potential for application in functional foods.


S. Enteritidis during its life cycle encounters diverse stress factors inside the host. These intracellular conditions allow activation of specialized secretion systems to cause infection. We report a conserved membrane protein, YdeI, and elucidate its role in protection against various intracellular stress conditions. A key aspect of the study of a pathogen's stress response mechanism is its clinical relevance during host-pathogen interaction. Bacterial adaptation to stress plays a vital role in evolution of a pathogen's resistance to therapeutic agents. Therefore, investigation of the role of YdeI is vital for understanding the molecular basis of regulation of Salmonella pathogenesis. In conclusion, our findings may contribute to finding potential targets to develop new intervention strategies for treatment and prevention of enteric diseases. ABSTRACT An essential feature of the pathogenesis of the Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis wild type (WT) is its ability to survive under diverse microenvironmental stress conditions, such as encountering antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) or glucose and micronutrient starvation. These stress factors trigger virulence genes carried on Salmonella pathogenicity islands (SPIs) and determine the efficiency of enteric infection. Although the oligosaccharide/oligonucleotide binding-fold (OB-fold) family of proteins has been identified as an important stress response and virulence determinant, functional information on members of this family is currently limited. In this study, we decipher the role of YdeI, which belongs to OB-fold family of proteins, in stress response and virulence of S. Enteritidis. When ydeI was deleted, the ΔydeI mutant showed reduced survival during exposure to AMPs or glucose and Mg2+ starvation stress compared to the WT. Green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assays showed ydeI was transcriptionally regulated by PhoP, which is a major regulator of stress and virulence. Furthermore, the ΔydeI mutant displayed ∼89% reduced invasion into HCT116 cells, ∼15-fold-reduced intramacrophage survival, and downregulation of several SPI-1 and SPI-2 genes encoding the type 3 secretion system apparatus and effector proteins. The mutant showed attenuated virulence compared to the WT, confirmed by its reduced bacterial counts in feces, mesenteric lymph node (mLN), spleen, and liver of C57BL/6 mice. qRT-PCR analyses of the ΔydeI mutant displayed differential expression of 45 PhoP-regulated genes, which were majorly involved in metabolism, transport, membrane remodeling, and drug resistance under different stress conditions. YdeI is, therefore, an important protein that modulates S. Enteritidis virulence and adaptation to stress during infection. IMPORTANCE S. Enteritidis during its life cycle encounters diverse stress factors inside the host. These intracellular conditions allow activation of specialized secretion systems to cause infection. We report a conserved membrane protein, YdeI, and elucidate its role in protection against various intracellular stress conditions. A key aspect of the study of a pathogen's stress response mechanism is its clinical relevance during host-pathogen interaction. Bacterial adaptation to stress plays a vital role in evolution of a pathogen's resistance to therapeutic agents. Therefore, investigation of the role of YdeI is vital for understanding the molecular basis of regulation of Salmonella pathogenesis. In conclusion, our findings may contribute to finding potential targets to develop new intervention strategies for treatment and prevention of enteric diseases.


Modern flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) are highly automated and flexible in which raw parts of various types are processed concurrently. Deadlock issue arises easily in these systems due to shared equipment usage and high production flexibility. This paper presents a deadlock avoidance algorithm for FMS with free choices in part routing by calculation of effective free space of circuits of the digraph model. The algorithm is highly permissive since the effective free space calculation captures more parts flow dynamics, especially when there exist multiple knots in the digraph model. It runs in polynomial time once the set of circuits is computed offline. Simulation results are provided.


OBJECTIVE
This report describes changes in the use of voluntary workers in nursing homes between 1985 and 1999. Statistics are presented on selected characteristics of nursing homes using voluntary workers and the services they perform. Factors that may contribute to the increased use of voluntary workers are also discussed.

METHODS
The data presented in this report were collected from the 1985 and 1999 National Nursing Home Surveys (NNHS). NNHS is a part of the National Health Care Survey, which measures health care utilization across various types of providers. Conducted periodically since 1973, NNHS obtains information from a nationally representative sample of nursing home facilities based on interviews with administrators and staff. Sample data are weighted to produce annual national estimates.

RESULTS
In 1999, 87 percent of all nursing homes reported using voluntary workers, up from 78 percent in 1985. In 1985, unpaid workers were most likely found in large nursing homes (100 beds or more). By 1999, about the same proportion of nursing homes, large and small, reported their use. In 1999, the Northeast region had the greatest proportion of nursing homes that used volunteers--93 percent. Chain-affiliated and independent facilities used volunteers with about the same frequency, and about the same percentage of nursing homes not certified by either Medicaid or Medicare used voluntary workers as did dually-certified facilities. However, in 1999, proportionately fewer proprietary (for-profit) nursing homes reported having volunteers (85 percent) than did nonproprietary facilities (93 percent).


Hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension (HPH) is a severe condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality in people living at high altitude. Tsantan Sumtang, a traditional Tibetan medicine, has been routinely used for the treatment of cardiopyretic disease, as well as stenocardia. Interestingly, our previous research found that Tsantan Sumtang improved HPH in rats maintaining in a hypobaric chamber. We performed a series of experiments to test the indexes of vasoconstriction and vascular remodeling, the key pathophysiological characteristics of HPH. Our results showed that Tsantan Sumtang relaxed noradrenaline (NE)-precontracted rat pulmonary artery rings in a concentration-dependent manner in vitro. The PGI2-cAMP (prostaglandin I2-cyclic adenosine monophosphate) pathway, NO-cGMP (nitric oxide-cyclic guanosine monophosphate) pathway, and the opening of K+ channels (inward rectifier K+ channels, large conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels, and voltage-dependent K+ channels) might play major roles in the vasorelaxation effect. In vivo, the administration of Tsantan Sumtang resulted in a substantial decrease in the rat mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) and the right ventricular hypertrophy index (RVHI). The reduction of thickness of small pulmonary arterial wall and the WT% (the ratio of the vascular wall thickness to the vascular diameter) were observed. The smooth muscle muscularization of the arterials was alleviated by Tsantan Sumtang treatment at the same time. Tsantan Sumtang also reduced remodeling of pulmonary arterioles by suppressing the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), cyclin D1, and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) through inhibition of p27Kip1 degradation. Therefore, Tsantan Sumtang could be applied as a preventative medication for HPH, which would be a new use for this traditional medicine.


Uninduced cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae exhibit high basal levels of allantoinase, allantoicase, and ureidoglycolate hydrolase, the enzymes responsible for degrading allantoin to urea. As a result, these activities increase only 4- to 8-fold upon induction, whereas the urea-degrading enzymes, urea carboxylase and allophanate hydrolase, have very low basal levels and routinely increase 30-fold on induction. Differences in the inducibility of these five enzymes were somewhat surprising because they are all part of the same pathway and have the same inducer, allophanate. Our current studies reconcile these observations. S. cerevisiae normally contained up to 1 mM allantoin sequestered in a cellular organelle, most likely the vacuole. Separation of the large amounts of allantoin and the enzymes that degrade it provide the cell with an efficient nitrogen reserve. On starvation, sequestered allantoin likely becomes accessible to these degradative enzymes. Because they are already present at high levels, the fact that their inducer is considerably removed from the input allantoin is of little consequence. This suggests that at times metabolite compartmentation may play an equal role with enzyme induction in the regulation of allantoin metabolism. Metabolism of arginine, another sequestered metabolite, must be controlled both by induction of arginase and compartmentation because arginine serves both as a reserve nitrogen source and a precursor of protein synthesis. The latter function precludes the existence of high basal levels of arginase.


Digital technology has been completely integrated into our daily lives, yet the potential of technology to improve its users' life satisfaction is still largely untapped. Mindfulness, the act of paying a deliberate and non-judgmental attention to the present moment, has been shown to have a positive impact on a person's health and subjective well-being--commonly called "happiness". Based on an iterative process with meditation teachers and practitioners, we designed a new tool to support mindfulness practices. This tool takes the shape of an augmented sandbox, designed to inspire the user's self-motivation and curiosity. By shaping the sand, the user creates a living miniature world that is projected back onto the sand. The natural elements of the garden are connected to real-time physiological measurements, such as breathing, helping the user to stay focused on the body. Moreover, using a Virtual Reality headset, they can travel inside their garden for a dedicated meditation session. Preliminary results seem to indicate that the system is well suited for mindfulness and induces a calm and mindful state on the user. The meditation teachers envisioned the use of Inner Garden in their practice.


Four cases of urothelial tumors diagnosed during hemodialysis were reported. Patients' ages ranged from 43 to 74 years old. One case was female and others were male. Durations of dialysis at the time of diagnosis were 13 to 24 months. Chief complaints of these four cases were gross hematuria. One case with bladder tumor underwent emergency operation because of repeated bladder tamponade. Partial cystectomy was performed on this case. Other two cases with bladder tumor were treated with endoscopic method. Simple nephrectomy was done in the case with renal pelvic tumor. Post operative course in all four cases were uneventful without major complications.


A review of pituitary imaging is presented based on the history of neuroradiologic definition of the sellar contents as well as modern diagnostic techniques. The importance of normal pituitary and seller anatomy is stressed in an attempt to determine the limitations of defining abnormal sellar contents with the imaging techniques of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. The sensitivity and specificity of these techniques are illustrated with histopathologic correlation.


We consider decision makers who know that payoff-relevant observations are generated by a process that belongs to a given class M, as postulated in Wald [Wald A (1950) Statistical Decision Functions (Wiley, New York)]. We incorporate this Waldean piece of objective information within an otherwise subjective setting à la Savage [Savage LJ (1954) The Foundations of Statistics (Wiley, New York)] and show that this leads to a two-stage subjective expected utility model that accounts for both state and model uncertainty.


Frequency support from renewable power generators is critical requirement to ensure the frequency stability of remote area power supply (RAPS) systems with high penetration of renewable power generation. However, traditional control strategies and the stochastic nature of wind resource constrain wind energy conversion system (WECS) such as permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) from participating in frequency regulation. This work proposes to integrate hybrid energy storage including ultracapacitors (UCs) and lead-acid batteries (LABs) into a PMSG to provide frequency support. The UCs deal with fast changing frequency by emulating conventional inertial response, whereas the LABs mimic automatic governor response (i.e., primary frequency response). The mechanical power reserved in wind turbine using suboptimal maximum power point tracking strategy is utilized to restore system frequency (i.e., secondary frequency response). Moreover, supplementary control strategies are proposed to enable the UCs and LABs to assist primary frequency response and secondary frequency response, respectively. Simulation study and experimental test are carried out to validate the effectiveness of frequency response provided by the multilevel energy storage. The multilevel energy storage solution can effectively regulate RAPS system frequency while avoiding abrupt and frequent charging/discharging of the LABs and significant mechanical/electromagnetic stress on the WECS.


The present experiment was conducted to assess the effect of  herbicides on growth and biochemical behaviour of wheat crop during the rabi season 2009-10 at Instructional farm of Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. The experiment comprised one wheat variety HUW-468 and four herbicides treatments, isoproturon, phenoxaprop-p-ethyl, sulfosulfuron and one untreated check. All the plots were kept free of weeds manually throughout the growing season. Plant height, number of tillers plant-1 and leaf area index of wheat were reduced under herbicides treatments with respect to untreated check. Reduction in above growth characters was lowest with sulfosulfuron followed by phenoxaprop-p-ethyl and isoproturon. Although, the difference between untreated check and herbicides for grain yield, biological yield and harvest index was non significant but slightly lower values for above traits were observed with herbicides as compared to untreated check. Nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase activity and protein content in leaves were also reduced due to herbicides relative to untreated check, however sulfosulfuron caused least reduction. Catalase and peroxidase activities in leaves were significantly increased due to herbicides over untreated check; minimum increase was observed with sulfosulfuron, while isoproturon had maximum increase. Thus, it may be concluded that among herbicides used in the experiment, sulfosulfuron is the safest for weed control in wheat as it showed least adverse effect on growth, yield and biochemical parameters of crop.

 Key words: Triticum aestivum L., herbicides, isoproturon, phenoxaprop-p-ethyl, sulfosulfuron, nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase, catalase, peroxidase.


All social structures, ranging from world-wide cultural communities to local networks of individuals, develop more or less specific memory cultures to connect places, buildings and land to memories and notions of ancestry and origin. One can focus on several histories in the landscape or bring one moment in time to the exclusive attention. This paper will discuss two examples of landscapes of commemoration using a landscape-biographical approach. This approach is used to demonstrate a multi-vocal past with its complex overlapping layers of social, economic and political history. Wars are etched on the memories of nations, communities and individuals. What people remember, and how, changes with time, especially now that historic events are disappearing in living memory. This paper analyses how nations, local communities and individuals reshaped their violent past through time.


Three vibrational frequencies have been recently observed in hydrogenated GaAs and assigned to the localized modes of two H atoms in a complex whose geometry, however, has not been identified. In the present study, the structural, electronic and vibrational properties of a number of configurations of the complex have been investigated by performing first-principles total energy calculations. Although the best agreement between theoretical and experimental results has been found in the case of the stable configuration, the geometry of the complex could not be definitively established because a metastable configuration may also account for the experimental frequencies. The reorientation of the complex in the stable configuration has been subsequently investigated and suggestions have been made for experiments based on infrared-absorption spectroscopy involving application of stress which can resolve the uncertainty as regards the above two configurations.


This article aims at a distributed design to minimize the nuclear norm (the sum of all singular values) under linear equality constraints over a multiagent network. The problem is reformulated as a distributed trace norm minimization problem by introducing substitutional variables. A distributed projected primal-dual algorithm is proposed for the reformulation. It is shown that the algorithm converges to an optimal solution with a rate of $\mathcal O(1/t)$. Numerical simulations on three classical problems, including linear matrix equality constraints, cardinality minimization, and low-rank matrix completion, are carried out for illustration.


argument is an informed, critical and invigorating engagement with trends in culture and contemporary liturgical practice. I found his chapter on Baptism particularly helpful in the way it addresses the way the Church has forgotten to keep alive the memory of Baptism for its members (perhaps particularly a problem for paedo-baptists), and also for its remedial suggestions. This book will be a stimulating read for anyone responsible for planning and leading worship and from this perspective one of its most helpful features is a concluding section in which the practical implications of each chapter are summarized. The book's economy and clarity of style also lends itself to group study. Its accessibility may mean, however, that those wanting a more sustained theological treatment of issues will be disappointed; it would have been interesting, for example, to have read more about the way the Holy Spirit is involved in the act of remembering (e.g. John 14.26). But anyone interested in the future flourishing of Christian worship ought to read this book. 'The first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory' writes Atkins, quoting Milan Herbl; Atkins goes on to conclude, 'Thus the first step in liquidating the people of God is to separate them from a living liturgy.'


In this paper we apply the concept of radar time (popularised by Bondi in his work on k-calculus) to the well-known relativistic twin 'paradox'. Radar time is used to define hypersurfaces of simultaneity for a class of travelling twins, from the 'Immediate Turn-around' case, through the 'Gradual Turnaround' case, to the 'Uniformly Accelerating' case. We show that this definition of simultaneity is independent of choice of coordinates, and assigns a unique time to any event (with which the travelling twin can send and receive signals), resolving some common misconceptions. INTRODUCTION It might seem reasonable to suppose that the twin paradox has long been understood, and that no confusion remains about it. Certainly there is no disagreement about the relative aging of the two twins, so there is no 'paradox'. There is also no confusion over 'when events are seen' by the two twins, or over the description by the stay-at-home twin (Alex say), of 'when events happened'. These aspects of the twin paradox are treated in the standard texts 2, 3, . However, the description of 'when events happened' according to the travelling twin (Barbara say) seems never to have been fully settled . In textbook treatments, Barbara's hypersurfaces of simultaneity, which define 'when events happened' according to her, have consistently been misrepresented or ignored. A common diagram for such hypersurfaces 2, 3, 6] is shown in Figure 1.


Tumor B-cell mitogenesis may be regulated by autocrine secretions that cross-react immunologically with neuroendocrine peptides. This hypothesis is supported by our recent report that immunoreactive human PRL (ir-hPRL) is produced by and required for the continuous growth of sfRamos, a Burkitt tumor serum-free cell line. Further support for the hypothesis is provided in this study. The data illustrate that antiserum immunoglobulin fraction G (IgG) to synthetic human GH (NIDDK anti-synth hGH IC-4), but not nonimmune serum IgG, completely inhibited sfRamos proliferation. In addition, anti-synth hGH, but not nonimmune serum, identified several polypeptides in sfRamos spent medium that were not in serum-free control medium, as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) under reducing conditions and the Western immunoblot procedure. The ir-hGH polypeptides were in the 35- to more than 300-kilodalton (kDa) range, with a 48-kDa polypeptide as a major component. A polypeptide with electrophoretic properties identical to those of the hGH monomer (22 kDa) was not detected, even with prior incubation of spent medium with N-ethylmaleimide and dithiothreitol. Pituitary preparations of hPRL and hGH, each with the monomer form as the major component, were neither mitogenic for growth-arrested cells nor did they synergize with spent medium to enhance growth, either alone or in combination, whereas spent medium with immunoreactive polypeptides larger than the monomer form markedly stimulated proliferation of growth-arrested cells. These findings demonstrate that sfRamos mitogenesis is potentially regulated by autocrine secretions with cross-immunoreactivity to two anterior pituitary hormones.


Objective There is a lack of literature on postendoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) complications in predominantly black urban populations of low socioeconomic status. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and predictors of post-ERCP complications in this patient population. Design Retrospective review of ERCP cases performed at two hospitals from 2007 to 2017 was performed. The categories of complications evaluated were overall complications, severe or fatal complications, pancreatitis, bleeding, infection, perforation and cardiopulmonary events. Predictors of complications were determined by univariate analysis. Results A total of 1079 ERCP procedures were reviewed. There were 106 complications (9.8%). Twenty-one were severe (1.9%) and 20 were fatal (1.9%). Both post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP) and post-ERCP bleeding occurred in 18 patients (1.7%) each. Risk factors for overall complications were male sex (OR 1.54), ASA grade IV or V (OR 2.19), prior history of PEP (OR 6.98) and pancreatic duct stent placement (OR 2.75). Those who were ASA grade III or lower (OR 0.4) or who underwent biliary stone extraction (OR 0.62) had fewer complications. PEP was more likely in those with a prior history of PEP (OR 37.6). Those with a suspected or known biliary duct stone had less frequent pancreatitis (OR 0.32). Post-ERCP bleeding was more likely in the presence of cholangitis (OR 8.72). Conclusion Outcomes of ERCP in a predominantly black urban population demonstrate a lower incidence of PEP and all-cause mortality compared with historical data reported in the general population. Potential risk factors for post-ERCP complications were identified but require larger studies for validation.


Embedded questions (EQs) are islands for filler–gap dependency formation in English, but not in Norwegian. Kush and Dahl (2022) found that first language (L1) Norwegian participants often accepted filler–gap dependencies into EQs in second language (L2) English, and proposed that this reflected persistent transfer from Norwegian of the functional structure that licenses such filler–gap dependencies. However, their results do not conclusively establish that the judgment patterns were specific to transfer from L1 Norwegian and not a general L2 effect. To address this issue, we conducted elicited production tasks comparing how L1 Norwegian and L1 Swedish speakers complete dependencies into declarative complement clauses and EQs both in their native languages and L2 English. Despite its similarity to Norwegian, Swedish prohibits the filler–gap dependency into EQs that Norwegian allows. We expected participants to complete dependencies that they considered grammatical with gaps and to avoid gaps where they considered them ungrammatical. Our results clearly indicate transfer: L1 Norwegian participants overwhelmingly used gaps when completing dependencies into EQs in both L1 and L2, whereas Swedish participants almost never used gaps in either language. We interpret our results as support for models that allow transfer of functional heads and their associated features from L1 to L2, and suggest that such transfer persists when the L2 input does not provide relevant evidence for restructuring.


Answer Set Programming (ASP) is a powerful modeling formalism for combinatorial problems. However, writing ASP models can be hard. We propose a novel method, called Sketched Answer Set Programming (SkASP), aimed at facilitating this. In SkASP, the user writes partial ASP programs, in which uncertain parts are left open and marked with question marks. In addition, the user provides a number of positive and negative examples of the desired program behaviour. SkASP then synthesises a complete ASP program. This is realized by rewriting the SkASP program into another ASP program, which can then be solved by traditional ASP solvers. We evaluate our approach on 21 well known puzzles and combinatorial problems inspired by Karp's 21 NP-complete problems and on publicly available ASP encodings.


This paper proposes a BLE Mesh network scheduling algorithm using SmartPlug. And proposes random-backoff, a very simple method for collision avoidance. The low-energy scheduling algorithm of SmartPlug and BLE node is proposed. SmartPlug periodically broadcasts its own information to inform the surrounding BLE nodes and SmartPlug. A node for data communication with SmartPlug is decided for efficiency. The BLE node periodically transmits data and switches to sleep mode after data transmission. In this paper, propose a very simple method, random-backoff, to reduce collisions when transmitting data in a BLE node. In the simulation of results shows when the data size is 1 ~ 31 bytes and 32 ~ 255 bytes, and random-backoff is effective when 1~31 bytes length. In the case of 32 to 255 bytes, random-backoff is not effective, so additional research is needed. And the simulation conducts under the same condition, but it shows that the data length and the number of transmission attempts has an effect. The simulation results show the transmission success ratio is similar regardless of the data length when random-backoff is not applied. It also shows the number of transmission attempts has an effect. Also, this simulation shows the results that as the number of nodes increases, the wireless environment becomes congested, and the transmission success ratio decreases. As a result of the simulation, random-backoff for collision avoidance is effective in transmitting data of 1 to 31 bytes better than 32 to 255 bytes in the data length.


Abstract
The censored quantile regression model is derived from the censored model. This method is used to overcome problems in modeling censored data as well as to overcome the assumptions of linear models that are not met. The purpose of this study is to compare the results of the analysis of the quantile regression method with the censored quantile regression method for censored data. Both methods were applied to generated data of 150, 500, and 3000 sample size. The best model is then chosen based on the smallest absolute bias and the smallest standard error as an indicator of the goodness of the model. This study proves that the censored quantile regression method tends to produce smaller absolute bias and a smaller standard error than the quantile regression method for all three group data specified. Thus it can be concluded that the censored quantile regression method could result in acceptable model for censored data.

Keywords: Censored data; quantile regression; quantile regression censored; standard error; absolute bias.


Emotional support conversation (ESC) task can utilize various support strategies to help people relieve emotional distress and overcome the problem they face, which has attracted much attention in these years. However, most state-of-the-art works rely heavily on external commonsense knowledge to infer the mental state of the user in every dialogue round. Although effective, they may suffer from significant human effort, knowledge update and domain change in a long run. Therefore, in this article, we focus on exploring the task itself without using any external knowledge. We find all existing works ignore two significant characteristics of ESC. (a) Abundant prior knowledge exists in historical conversations, such as the responses to similar cases and the general order of support strategies, which has a great reference value for current conversation. (b) There is a one-to-many mapping relationship between context and support strategy, i.e.multiple strategies are reasonable for a single context. It lays a better foundation for the diversity of generations. Taking into account these two key factors, we propose Prior Knowledge Enhanced emotional support model with latent variable, PoKE. The proposed model fully taps the potential of prior knowledge in terms of exemplars and strategy sequence and then utilizes a latent variable to model the one-to-many relationship of strategy. Furthermore, we introduce a memory schema to incorporate the encoded knowledge into decoder. Experiment results on benchmark dataset show that our PoKE outperforms existing baselines on both automatic evaluation and human evaluation. Compared with the model using external knowledge, PoKE still can make a slight improvement in some metrics. Further experiments prove that abundant prior knowledge is conducive to high-quality emotional support, and a well-learned latent variable is critical to the diversity of generations.


INTRODUCTION: The use of multi-sensor devices, which integrate accelerometry and physiological signals to predict PAEE, is widespread in able-bodied humans. However, the validity of such devices remains to be established in wheelchair users. The aim of this study is to assess the error of a multi-sensor physical activity monitor to predict PAEE in wheelchair users and to assess the efficacy of individual heart rate calibration. METHODS: Seventeen manual wheelchair users (36±10 yrs, 72±11 kg) completed an activity of daily living and wheelchair propulsion at various velocities and gradients on a motorised wheelchair treadmill. Participants wore a combined accelerometer and heart rate monitor (ActiheartTM). Heart rate was also monitored during an incremental arm crank ergometer test to permit retrospective individual calibration of the ActiheartTM for the activity protocol. Linear regression analysis was conducted between criterion (indirect calorimetry) and estimated PAEE from the ActiheartTM using manufacturers proprietary algorithms or individual calibration. Subsequent error statistics were calculated. RESULTS: Predicted PAEE was significantly (p<0.01) associated with criterion PAEE (manufacturer algorithm; r=0.76 and individual calibration; r=0.95, Figure 1). Average PAEE estimation error for all activities was 14.6±63.2% and -10.1±20.7% using the manufacturer algorithm and individual calibration, respectively. Absolute PAEE estimation errors using the manufacturer algorithm varied from 42.4 to 66.3% and from 10.4 to 43.1% using individual calibration. DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION: The error associated with predicting PAEE in manual wheelchair users, using a multi-sensor device, is improved using an individual heart rate calibration. The inter-individual variance in cardiovascular response to exercise is high among this population. Therefore, we advocate the importance of using individual calibration of multi-sensor devices to predict PAEE in manual wheelchair users.


Radial scars are breast lesions of uncertain pathogenesis that are associated with a 2-fold increased risk of breast cancer compared with that in controls. Activating point mutations in PIK3CA are found in 25% to 30% of invasive breast cancers; however, they have not previously been investigated in radial scars. We sought to evaluate radial scars for known activating point mutations commonly seen in invasive breast cancer. Sixteen surgical cases containing 22 radial scars were identified from pathology archives. Lesional tissue was macrodissected from unstained paraffin sections; genomic DNA was then extracted and screened for a panel of known hotspot mutations using polymerase chain reaction and mass spectroscopy analysis. Of the 22 radial scars, 14 (63.6%) had PIK3CA mutations (10 with H1047R mutations, 2 G1049R mutations, 1 E542K, 1 E545K). The remaining 8 lesions were wild type for all of the screened genes. Of the radial scars without epithelial atypia, 9/16 (56.3%) had PIK3CA mutations; furthermore, 5/6 (83.3%) radial scars with atypia had mutations detected. In this study, the frequency of PIK3CA mutations was notably higher than the 25% to 30% mutation frequency of invasive breast cancer. This finding raises interesting questions as to the role of PIK3CA mutations in breast cancer development. Additional larger studies are indicated to confirm and extend these observations in understanding the pathogenesis of radial scars and their relationship to breast cancer.


This paper sets out to examine the prospects for EU constitutionalism in the light of the protracted and perhaps insuperable difficulties surrounding the ratification of the 2004 Constitutional Treaty. It argues that these difficulties simply reinforce the need for thinking about the EU's constitutional settlement in non 'finalist' terms. The EU polity has always been and remains dynamic and open-ended, and so the attempt to 'contain' it within a final settlement is probably in practice misconceived, as well as leading to deep disagreement about the terms of any such purported final agreement. The constitutional idea remains a powerful one - a key way for the European polity to think about itself seriously as collective project rather than the sum of it various national parts - provided the association of constitutional thought and method with finalite is broken.


Sex allocation theory predicts that, in hermaphroditic organisms, individuals allocate a fixed amount of resources divided among male and female functions to reproduction and that the proportion devoted to each sex depends on the mating group size. As the mating group size increases, hermaphrodites are predicted to allocate proportionally more resources to the male and less resources to the female function (approaching equal allocation to both sexes) to face increased sperm competition. Up to now little experimental evidence has been provided to support the theory in hermaphroditic animals. Facultative shift between male and female allocation in response to variation in local group size does occur in several taxa but not always in the expected direction and not with similar patterns. In the protandric and then simultaneously hermaphroditic polychaete worm Ophryotrocha diadema reproductive resources are flexibly allocated in the protandrous and the hermaphroditic phase. The cost of male reproduction during adolescence is spread over the whole energy budget of the animal as shown by the shortening of lifespan and the lowering of growth rate in individuals with enhanced male expenditure during the protandrous phase. Moreover, in this species, short term sex allocation adjustments differ from those described in other taxa. Individuals regulate their reproductive output so that where reproductive competitors are present, the number of female gametes is strongly reduced but the number of male gametes (although it changes) is not significantly increased. Resources subtracted from the female function are not directly allocated to sperm production, but to expensive male behaviors that are likely to enhance male reproductive success. These results are discussed in the light of the relevance of sexual selection in large populations of hermaphrodites.


Utilizing quantitative microchemical techniques developed by Lowry, an attempt was made to obtain biochemical biopsy specimens and to determine the enzyme content of morphologically selected areas from malignant and benign lesions of the skeletal system. Osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, proliferating bone from Paget's disease, and tissue from polyostotic fibrous dysplasia were analyzed for enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism, hexosamine, and total phosphate content. Generally the areas and lesions characterized by rapid proliferation were the most active enzymatically and in the selections from malignant neoplasms lactic dehydrogenase was predominant. Benign proliferating bone in Paget's disease was featured by more active aerobic pathways with more malic dehydrogenase.

Comparison of neoplastic cartilage from the osteosarcoma with the morphologically similar cartilage from chondrosarcoma demonstrated considerable chemical differences between the two cartilage types. In general, the clinical course and manifestations of the lesions studied could be correlated with the metabolic activity as determined by the alkaline phosphatase and carbohydrate intermediate enzyme content.


Psychotic denial of pregnancy in chronic mentally ill women may place the women and their fetuses at high risk of postpartum emotional disturbance, precipitous or unassisted delivery, fetal abuse, and neonaticide. Psychotic denial of pregnancy is illustrated with case reports from an inpatient program for pregnant mentally ill women. Women who denied their pregnancies tended to have a diagnosis of chronic schizophrenia, to have previously lost custody of children, and to anticipate separation from the baby they were carrying. The author suggests that treatment for such patients should take place in a setting that integrates comprehensive psychiatric and obstetrical care and may include pharmacotherapy, supportive psychotherapy, and evaluation of the patient's parenting skills and support network to assess whether she is able to keep her baby.


OBJECTIVE
To examine changes in healthcare utilization resulting from a formulary switch to cimetidine from nizatidine at the Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System.

STUDY DESIGN
A retrospective analysis of administrative and clinical data 6 months before and 6 months after the therapeutic substitution.

METHODS
The 704 patients who were switched from nizatidine to cimetidine were included in the study. Administrative data included total and primary care clinic visits, emergency room visits, gastrointestinal (GI)-related radiological studies, and GI endoscopic procedures. Discharge summaries were examined, and rates of total and GI-related hospitalizations were calculated.

RESULTS
There was no evidence of increased utilization of healthcare resources during the 6 months after the formulary switch. Estimated monthly pharmaceutical savings for the Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System were $7260.

CONCLUSIONS
A formulary switch from nizatidine to cimetidine can be accomplished at significant pharmaceutical cost savings, and this retrospective study suggests that this can be done without increasing other aspects of healthcare resource utilization.


By combining elastic recoil detection analysis with the channeling technique, energy analysis of forward-scattered H1 permits determination of the H1 lattice location. We have used this technique to study the lattice location of hydrogen in a crystalline Si containing a buried boron-doped layer. We showed that hydrogen atoms are trapped at the boron-doped Si layer after hydrogenation and that the majority of the trapped hydrogen atoms are located near bond-center sites.


All cells respond to metabolic stress. However, a variety of specialized cells, commonly referred to as O2‐sensing cells, are acutely sensitive to relatively small changes in P  O 2. Within a variety of organisms such O2‐sensing cells have evolved as vital homeostatic mechanisms that monitor O2 supply and alter respiratory and circulatory function, as well as the capacity of the blood to transport O2. Thereby, arterial P  O 2 may be maintained within physiological limits. In mammals, for example, two key tissues that contribute to this process are the pulmonary arteries and the carotid bodies. Constriction of pulmonary arteries by hypoxia optimizes ventilation–perfusion matching in the lung, whilst carotid body excitation by hypoxia initiates corrective changes in breathing patterns via increased sensory afferent discharge to the brain stem. Despite extensive investigation, the precise mechanism(s) by which hypoxia mediates these responses has remained elusive. It is clear, however, that hypoxia inhibits mitochondrial function in O2‐sensing cells over a range of P  O 2 that has no such effect on other cell types. This raised the possibility that AMP‐activated protein kinase might function to couple mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation to Ca2+ signalling mechanisms in O2‐sensing cells and thereby underpin pulmonary artery constriction and carotid body excitation by hypoxia. Our recent investigations have provided significant evidence in support of this view.


After alluding to the importance of the subject, and the production of the safety-lamp by Sir Humphry Davy, which, however, had not answered all the purposes which its celebrated designer intended it should, he proceeded as follows:—

Having been an eye-witness to many of the calamities which have overtaken not a few of my ill-fated countrymen who were obliged to toil in the bowels of the earth for a scanty subsistence for themselves and families, I turned my attention to this subject, with a view to ascertain every cause of the frequent explosions in coal mines; and after much consideration and a series of experiments, I have been enabled to produce (what I think I shall prove to this Society) an unexceptionable remedy, and a certain and never-failing preventive of the so much and justly-dreaded explosions of coal mines, from fire-damp, &c., by admitting to every part of the most capacious mines a full current of pure air.

In a copious extract, entitled "An Exposition of the insecure Nature and Principles of the Davy and other Lamps, as applied to Coal Mining, taken from the Parliamentary Report for 1835," the subject is fully discussed; and in the evidence given by Dr. Murray, Lecturer on Chemistry, &c., as well as other scientific individuals present, it was their unanimous opinion that ventilation was the prime object. Yet there has not hitherto been any system of proper and efficient ventilation proposed, applicable to the numerous mines continually at work in this country. I ...


CONTENTS Immunological Prophecy from Ancient HieroglyphSpecial Articles: ics: PROFESSOR W. H. MANWARING .................................... 1 On the Relation of Potassium to Iron in the Combustion of Cigar-leaf Tobacco: DP. D. E. HALEY Obituary: and OTTO OLSON. Carban Disulfide Emulsion Recent Deaths ......................................... 8 for the Control of a Nematode: P. J.CHAPMAN andM. M.PARER ............ ............................. 17 Scientific Events: The Ceiitenary of James Smithson; Besearch in Index to Volume LXIX . .................... i Coal Mining and MLetallurgy at the Carnegie Institute of Technology; The Murry and Leonie Science News.X Guggenheim Foundation; The American Institute of Electrical Engineers .........................................


BACKGROUND
Because sucrose may change the composition of biofilms formed on dental surfaces, the aim of this study was to evaluate in situ the effect of this dietary sugar on biofilm formation on titanium surface.

METHODS
In this blind, crossover, in situ study, 10 volunteers wore, in 3 phases of 7 days each, a palatal appliance containing titanium specimens. In each phase, the specimens were treated extraorally with 20% sucrose solution at a frequency of 4 or 8 times per day. As control, no treatment was rendered (0×). At the end of each phase, the biofilms were collected for biochemical analysis of biofilm wet weight (biomass), protein concentration, soluble (S-EPS), and insoluble (I-EPS) extracellular polysaccharides and intracellular polysaccharides (IPS), and for microbiologic analysis by checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization (for levels and proportions of 40 bacterial species). Biochemical data were analyzed by linear regression and microbiological findings by Friedman and Dunn tests (α = .05).

RESULTS
A positive significant linear relationship was found among sucrose exposure (0×, 4×, and 8×) and biomass, S-EPS, I-EPS and IPS (p < 0.05). The biofilms treated with sucrose (4× and/or 8×) presented higher mean total levels of the 40 bacterial species evaluated, higher proportions of red complex species and lower proportions of the host-compatible green complex species, in comparison with the control group (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
The findings of the present study suggest that daily sucrose exposure has a harmful effect on the composition of biofilms formed on titanium surfaces.


The use of neural network parametrizations to represent the ground state in variational Monte Carlo (VMC) calculations has generated intense interest in recent years. However, as we demonstrate in the context of the periodic Heisenberg spin chain, this approach can produce unreliable wave function approximations. One of the most obvious signs of failure is the occurrence of random, persistent spikes in the energy estimate during training. These energy spikes are caused by regions of configuration space that are over-represented by the wave function density, which are called ``spurious modes'' in the machine learning literature. After exploring these spurious modes in detail, we demonstrate that a collective-variable-based penalization yields a substantially more robust training procedure, preventing the formation of spurious modes and improving the accuracy of energy estimates. Because the penalization scheme is cheap to implement and is not specific to the particular model studied here, it can be extended to other applications of VMC where a reasonable choice of collective variable is available.


Experiments were performed to determine whether the mammary gland myoepithelium of the lactating rat responds to direct mechanical stimulation. Rat pups on postpartum day 14 obtained 8.6 and 12.2% of the total extractable milk in the mammary glands in 31–41 min from anesthetized spinal cord-sectioned and sham-operated mothers, respectively. The mammary glands of both groups responded with a rise in intramammary pressure following mechanical stimulation of the skin overlying the cannulated mammary gland. The responses occurred after a latent period of 1–2 sec, attained an amplitude of 1–13 cm H 2 O, and lasted 8–18 sec. Summation of the responses did not occur. Temporary fatigue of the response could be induced with repetitive stimuli. Stimulation of mammary glands contralateral to or adjacent to the cannulated gland never produced a response in the cannulated gland. The exposed mammary gland responded to lightly applied mechanical stimulation with alveolar contractions confined to the area of stimulus contact. Each rat responded to intravenous oxytocin (25 mU) with a 10–29 cm H 2 O intramammary pressure rise of 4–31 min duration.


Post-World War II international trade liberalization has eliminated many border restrictions and spurred economic growth. Nevertheless, there are certain types of activities with substantial negative implications for trade and competition that are not truly subject to national or international trade and competition strictures—these are in effect, "ungoverned spaces." These harmful activities are the fruit of anticompetitive market distortions (ACMDs)—rules imposed by the state that distort competitive interactions and, frequently, trade flows. Sanctioned by governments, ACMDs are far more difficult to combat than purely private restrictions. Recent scholarly studies highlight the magnitude of the harm generated by ACMDs. One promising approach to curb ACMDs involves empowering government officials who support regulatory reform (for example, antitrust policymakers) to intervene with other organs of government in order to encourage the eradication or curbing of ACMDs. The growth of internet-enabled business platforms, which are far better able to evade governmental limits on competition than traditional suppliers of goods and services, may strengthen reformers' hands. In addition, armed with research on the economic benefits of reform, a coalition of willing nations might be assembled to negotiate a plurilateral trade accord to reduce and eliminate particular types of ACMDs. To the extent they succeed, national and multilateral initiatives to curb ACMDs would broaden the reach of competition and trade laws, thereby shrinking the scale of ungoverned trade and competition law space in a welfare-enhancing manner.


BACKGROUND
Weight loss and dysphagia are frequent features of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and influence prognosis. The aim of this study was to determine complications and outcomes in patients with percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) insertion in a high-volume center.

METHODS
A single center retrospective study on a prospectively collected cohort of 187 consecutive patients who have undergone PEG placement due to ALS was performed. Demographic and clinical parameters were analyzed.

RESULTS
There were 51.3% male; mean age at insertion was 65.7 years. Major complications occurred in 5 (2.7%) patients: 3 with local infections requiring intravenous antibiotic treatment, 1 patient with PEG dislocation required laparotomy and a new surgically introduced gastrostomy and 1 patient with buried-bumper syndrome. Improvement in Body Mass Index (BMI) and serum albumin levels were recorded in 37.3% and 51.9%, respectively. Mortality after 30 days, 6 months and 12 months was 5.3%, 38% and 64.3%, respectively. At the time of data collection, 78.9% of the patients had died. Mean survival after ALS diagnosis was 20.5 months.

CONCLUSIONS
PEG placement is as an effective, safe nutritional method with a low complication rate in patients with ALS, with or without non-invasive ventilation. The BMI and albumin levels stabilize after PEG placement, indicating benefits of early placement.


In terrestrial plethodontid salamanders, aggressive behaviour is thought to function in the spacing of territorial residents among contested cover objects on the forest floor. Such behaviour, when exhibited toward heterospecifics, plays an important role in the competitive interactions between species. We compared levels of aggressive behaviour in intra- and interspecific contexts in two species of sympatric salamanders (Plethodon ouachitae and P. albagula) that have similar ecological requirements but differ in adult size. We also tested the effectiveness of such behaviour in holding cover objects (territorial foci) in the laboratory and on the forest floor. We predicted that if one species were more aggressive than the other, then that species would have greater success in obtaining and holding cover objects. In laboratory trials, residents of P. ouachitae (the smaller species) were extremely aggressive in both intra- and interspecific contexts. Individuals of P ouachitae delivered bites at a rate 14 times that of previously studied species of Plethodon and were significantly more likely to escalate to biting when tested as territorial residents (in intra- and interspecific trials) and as intruders (in interspecific trials). Plethodon albagula exhibited a lower level of aggression, similar to other species of Plethodon. In laboratory trials, in which salamanders competed for cover objects of differing quality, residents of P. ouachitae were effective in expelling conspecific intruders, and they were marginally effective at expelling intruding P. albagula. Residents of P. albagula were less effective in expelling conspecific intruders and did not expel intruding P. ouachitae. We conclude that the extreme aggression exhibited by P. ouachitae enabled it to expel intruders from artificial cover objects and to invade cover objects held by larger heterospecific residents. Field data supported intraspecific defence of cover objects by P. ouachitae, but results for P. albagula were inconclusive. These results are consistent with the geographic distributions of these species (P. ouachitae typically outnumbers P. albagula in the Ouachita Mountains) and provide an example of a behavioural mechanism overcoming a size-related disadvantage.


English Abstract: State-controlled entities (SCEs) — especially state-owned enterprises (SOEs) — are important players in the world FDI market. Among the 100 largest MNEs from developed countries and the 100 largest from emerging markets, at least 49 are SOEs. They control nearly US$ 2 trillion in foreign assets, the bulk of them by MNEs headquartered in developed countries. Care needs to be exercised that regulatory initiatives regarding SCEs do not lead to a fragmentation of the international investment law regime.

Chinese Abstract: 国家控制的实体(SCEs)——特别是国有企业(SOEs)——是世界外商直接投资市场上的重要参与者。在最大的100家发达国家跨国公司和新兴市场跨国公司中,至少有 49 家国有企业。他们控制着将近2万亿美元的外国资产, 大部分由总部在发达国家的跨国公司掌控。需要注意的是,对国家控制的实体的监管举措不会国际投资法制度的分裂。


This research investigated the appropriateness of assessment method and payment liability of Anambra State Property and Land Use Charge (APLUC) and how well the property tax system fulfilled the revenue yearnings of the state. Objectives of the study include: to determine the appropriateness of the method of tax assessment used by the government in the assessment of the tax and to establish the success rate of the failed property tax system. Survey research method was employed in the study. Mean, percentages, frequencies and paired Sample T- test were used to analyse the data collected. The study discovered that the basis and method of tax assessment used by the government based on responses are not consistent with known equitable principles of taxation.  The analysis of yearly tax revenue shows a four percent (4%) success rate which indicates a low performance of the tax system. There was a significant difference between APLUC tax values and researcher's calculated values using income based assessment methods as shown by the t-values (10.99, 43.09, -3.79 and 4.66) for four out of the five property types assessed and their corresponding P-values (< 0.05). The study recommended that the basis of tax assessment should be income generated from property on annual value as against market value of property. Income based tax assessment methods should be employed instead of the depreciated replacement cost method.  Estate Surveyors and Valuers should also be involved both in the drafting of the tax laws and most importantly in tax assessment to curb the challenges of inappropriate tax assessment. The authorities should provide more tax education to property owners to make them understand why real properties are taxed, the process of taxation and also partner with them in property tax administration.


Despite the recent progress in image dehazing, several problems remain largely unsolved such as robustness for varying scenes, the visual quality of reconstructed images, and effectiveness and flexibility for applications. To tackle these problems, we propose a new deep network architecture for single image dehazing called DR-Net. Our model consists of three main subnetworks: a transmission prediction network that predicts transmission map for the input image, a haze removal network that reconstructs latent image steered by the transmission map, and a refinement network that enhances the details and color properties of the dehazed result via weakly supervised learning. Compared to previous methods, our method advances in three aspects: (i) pure data-driven model; (ii) the end-to-end system; (iii) superior robustness, accuracy, and applicability. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our DR-Net outperforms the state-of-the-art methods on both synthetic and real images in qualitative and quantitative metrics. Additionally, the utility of DR-Net has been illustrated by its potential usage in several important computer vision tasks.


Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL

Background: Aurora kinases are promising targets for cancer chemotherapy. Many reports have been published that some cancers overexpress Aurora kinases, which correlates with tumor grade and poor prognosis. Hence Aurora kinases were considered key genes for cancerogenesis and progression. Many Aurora kinase inhibitors(AKI,s) are in various phases of pre-clinical and clinical development and promising anticancer effects have been reported. Tumor resistance remains one of the major problems in chemotherapy.

Objectives: Our work is mainly aimed at identification of potential resistance mechanisms towards CYC116 (new small molecule pan Aurora kinase inhibitor) and ZM447439. The main aims include generation and selection of resistant tumor cell clones, characterization of resistance, cross resistance with other AKI,s and multidrug resistance. Further characterization of the resistant clones included cell cycle analysis, expression and DNA sequencing of Aurora kinases, cellular target inhibition, and expression of common drug transporters.Gene expression analysis of the resistant clones was carried out to reveal differential gene expression profiles.

Results: The isogenic pair HCT116 cell lines (p53+/+ and p53-/-) were used to study CYC116 and ZM447439 induced resistance. HCT116p53+/+ (called HCT116) and HCT116p53-/- resistant clones were generated. HCT116:CYC116, HCT116p53-/-:CYC116, HCT116:ZM447439, HCT116p53-/-:ZM447439 clones were 9-82 fold, 36-64 fold, 18 – >83 fold, and 33-39 fold resistant respectively to selecting agents. They were also cross resistant to other AKI,s. 13 approved anticancer drugs were used to determine multidrug resistant phenotype. All clones were highly resistant to etoposide(5-53 fold). As expected, ZM447439 clones contained mutated Aurora B; three novel mutation sites were identified. No mutations of Aurora A or B were identified in CYC116 resistant clones. Instead these became stably tetraploid. Aurora kinases expression were similar to that of parent cells, however no inhibition of phospho Histone H3 (Aurora B target) was observed at effective CYC116 and ZM447439 concentrations. Flowcytometry studies revealed no overexpression of PgP or MRP1 transporters. Microarray gene expression analysis showed large number of genes which were differentially expressed in the resistant clones in comparison with the parent cell lines. A number of these were validated by qRT-PCR. Further analysis will be carried out to identify gene expression signature of CYC116 induced resistance. Using the developed CYC116 resistant clones we have identified chemotherapeutic agents which are highly effective in the induced phenotype. Our results can assist the further development of CYC116, a pan Aurora inhibitor which cross-reacts with VEGFR2, has potent anti-mitotic and anti-angiogenic activity in vivo and is tested in Ph I clinical trial.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 735. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-735


The key objective of this study was to measure particle size distributions of particulate matter emitted from swine buildings. Particle size distribution and concentration emitted from various types of swine buildings were collected and measured. Particle size was measured using four different instruments: a Horiba (Model LA-300, Horiba Instruments, Inc., CA, USA), an Aerosizer DSP (Model 3225, TSI Inc., MN, USA), a Coulter Multisizer (Model Multisizer 3, Beckman Coulter Inc., CA, USA) and a Malvern Mastersizer 2000 (Model Mastersizer 2000, Malvern Instruments Ltd., UK). Dust particles were collected using filters over a 20-hour period. The collected filter samples were analyzed for particle size distribution and particle mass concentration. Mass median diameters and geometric standard deviations were compared with four different particle sizing analyzers. The measured mass median diameter varied from 9 µm to 25 µm, and observed particle mass concentrations ranged from 0.5 to 1.9 mg/m3. The largest and smallest mass median diameter (MMD) was observed by Horiba and Aerosizer DSP, respectively, in most of the field measurements, and this trend was in accordance with preliminary instrumental examinations conducted in a laboratory. Currently, field campaigns for collection of swine building dust are still in process to cover seasonal variations.


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At present, FSW(friction stir welding) process is being considered as an actual way for production of various industrial products. However FSW process involves high temperature and load on the tool during welding. These are make a difference between FSW machine and general machine tools. From this reason, development of FSW machine needs very careful consideration on stiffness of machine structure, spindle and moving axis including machine control system. In this study authors investigate on the trends of technology development of FSW machine in order to share the information for more extension of FSW technology with related researchers and engineers.


Obesity-induced inflammation can lead to an imbalance in bone formation and resorption. Our previous studies have demonstrated that apple polyphenols (APs) can reduce body weight and inflammation. But their effect on bone is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of APs on bone loss in mice with high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced obesity. Forty male C57BL/6J mice were divided into control group (10% fat diet), HFD group (60% fat diet), resveratrol group (60% fat diet), and AP group (60% fat diet). Micro-computed tomography revealed a significant increase in bone volume fraction and bone mineral density, and more trabecular bone and less trabecular bone separation in the AP group compared with the HFD group. In addition, serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRACP) levels were decreased; runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) levels were increased; the collagen area was enlarged; and femur biomechanical property was enhanced in the AP group compared with the HFD group. APs significantly increased the ratio of osteoprotegerin to the receptor activator for the nuclear factor-κB ligand (OPG/RANKL) compared with the HFD group. Resveratrol could also improve the glucolipid regulation, but poorer osteogenic promotion was found compared to APs. The present study demonstrated that APs prevent loss of bone mass induced by obesity, which has potential implications for the prevention and treatment of obesity-related osteoporosis.


The proper tax treatment of a fully taxable welfare benefit trust – as opposed to the more common tax-exempt voluntary employees' beneficiary association ("VEBA") – is unsettled. This article explores the theories under which such a trust might be taxed, and demonstrates that if the ordinary trust tax rules apply, the presumed advantages of tax-exempt status as a VEBA may in many cases, surprisingly, be nonexistent. The article evaluates the arguments for and against taxation of a nonexempt welfare benefit trust as an ordinary trust, and concludes that the stronger arguments appear to support this (as opposed to taxation as a grantor trust or insurance company, for example) as the appropriate taxation theory.


Ernest Hemingway's A Clean, Well-lighted Place is presumably one of his most written about short stories of all time. In this short story, Hemingway endeavors to sketch the frustrating and lonesome condition of the western old generation and the reaction of the younger generation to that frustration. He very precisely but beautifully has pointed out some important issues of the then American society which is exceeding its limit day by day. This study seeks to bring those problems on the limelight for one more time and also tries to give some possible solutions based on Islam.


The paper provides a comprehensive analysis of urban development trends in the Latgale region, observed at the beginning of the 21st century and to a large extent also outlines the direction of future development. The paper is based on the evaluation of spatial development planning documents,the analysis of the available statistical data and the review of the urban development projects subject to implementation, supplemented by some results of field studies on the urban environment quality. Though the urban environment and partly also the landscape quality has been improved during the last period, as well as in many areas with support of the EU programmes major urban environment development projects are being implemented, however the economic growth is stalling, depopulation processes are not contained, and the regional urban development index is expressly negative. In the course of the administrative and territorial reform the status of the majority of towns and cities of the Latgale region has significantly changed, and sustainable urban development in the region is still under real threat.


Liner shipping Companies dominate maritime trade in the world's main geographic areas, with a form of organization based on transshipment. The structure of trade is now driving the shipping Companies to move toward exerting direct or indirect domination over large inland areas from whence goods derive and to which goods are shipped. Until recently their attention had not focused closely on the Mediterranean, considered merely as an east-west transit route. Previously home to high costs, inadequate investments and low service levels, the Mediterranean is now a growing market that can offer and absorb containers and commodities and it is the shortest route to the rich countries of southern Europe. Furthermore, the rapid development of transshipment has radically changed the market and the list of top ports. In this context, the new policy of shipping Companies is to achieve larger dimensions and control the hub and spokes port system and inland intermodality also in Mediterranean area. The consolidation of bigger shipping Companies has now reached a relatively stable position and Companies are planning a new leap forward towards the control of inland transport and value-added logistic services. But this policy in the Mediterranean sea is not going on. The paper is structured as follows: In Section 1 and 2 we analyse shortly the development of North African, Black Sea countries and the growth of Southern European countries in term of GDP. We analyse EU maritime policy towards Mediterranean third countries to improve logistical and intermodal possibilities; in Section 3, an analysis is offered of the capacity of inland facilities (roads and railways) to deal with the growing flow of containers in Mediterranean zone; in Section 4 we focus on the IT available at container terminals and to users; Section 5 underlines that scattered productive structures, high value goods produced in small quantities, maritime and inland services supplied by small and specialized Companies, in one hand impede the managing intermodal services controlled by IT, and in other hand give opportunities to direct, maritime deliveries; finally, in the conclusions, it is stressed that the lack of availability of IT, road and rail links with direct access to the ports, compared with the amount of container throughput expected in ports, constitute negative aspects that threathen the power of attraction of Mediterranean ports.


Much recent scholarly writing on the Taiwan "miracle" has shifted beyond the success of economic liberalization and toward a political transition that has seen the seemingly spontaneous dismantling of an autocratic regime and the heralding of democracy as an ideological mantle. Contrasts with the failure of perestroika and market reform elsewhere have led scholars to point to the visionary role of leaders such as Chiang Ching-kuo and to institutional peculiarities (not to mention neo-Confucianism) as seminal factors underlying this transition. The appearances are deceiving, however. Beginning with the geopolitics of Taiwan's emerging neo-nationalism, I argue that the dual policy of market liberalization and ethnic indigenization was part of larger changes in the conception and practice of the state/party regime that had as its goal a new kind of hegemony that could coopt the interests of a cultural China and a Taiwanese renaissance, that in turn undermined support for an increasingly conservative Old Guard and an increasingly extremist ethnic nativism.


We report the results obtained by cavitating water solutions of iron salts (iron chloride and iron nitrate) with different concentrations at different ultrasound powers. In all cases we detected a neutron radiation well higher than the background level. The neutron production is perfectly reproducible and can at some extent be controlled. These evidences for neutron emission generated by cavitation support some preliminary clues for the possibility of piezonuclear reactions (namely nuclear reactions induced by pressure and shock waves) obtained in the last ten years. We have been able for the first time to state some basic features of such a neutron emission induced by cavitation, namely: 1) a marked threshold behavior in power, energy and time; 2) its occurring without a concomitant production of gamma radiation.


Background The prognostic or predictive value of commonly used multigene assays in young patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2−) early breast cancer is unclear. In this study, we assessed the prognostic value of the GenesWell BCT assay according to age group. Methods We identified patients with pN0-1, HR+/HER2− breast cancer in a prospective cohort of women who underwent surgery between 2005 and 2017. The GenesWell BCT assay was performed on tissue samples from selected patients. Distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were compared between the risk groups assigned by the BCT score. Results A total of 712 patients were eligible for analysis. The median follow-up time was 7.47 years. The BCT score was prognostic in patients aged ≤50 years (n = 404) and those aged >50 years (n = 308). In both age groups, the 10-year DMFS and DFS rates for patients classified as high risk by the BCT score were significantly lower than those for patients classified as low risk. A multivariate analysis revealed that the BCT score was an independent prognostic factor for DFS in patients aged ≤50 years (hazard ratio, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.05–1.56; P = 0.015), as well as those aged >50 years. Conclusion The BCT score could be used to identify low-risk patients who will not benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy to treat HR+/HER2− early breast cancer regardless of age. A further prospective study to assess the prognostic and predictive value of the BCT score is required.


[60]Fullerene adducts carrying oligocarbazole moieties were successfully prepared by the Bingel reactions. Their fluorescence spectra and transient absorption spectra suggested the intramolecular electron transfer from the oligocarbazole moiety to the fullerene moiety mainly via 1 C 60 * .


Trichloroethylene, a solvent used in a variety of industrial settings for more than 60 years, has caused adverse health effects on the central and peripheral nervous system, the skin, liver, kidney, and heart. Three men have shown relatively unusual manifestations secondary to exposure to trichloroethylene in degreasing operations in the jewelry industry. Toxic encephalopathy, hepatitis, and carpal spasm occurred among young, healthy workers. Clinical and laboratory data, including measurement of urinary trichloroacetic acid concentrations, are presented.


An 80-year-old female with fever, edema in the lower extremities, and marked eosinophilia was referred to our hospital. Based on the presence of the Philadelphia chromosome, she was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Although imatinib induced a complete cytogenetic response (CCyR), CML relapsed after 28 months of starting it. A CCyR was achieved again by nilotinib but was lost after about 14 months. Only transient response occurred to dasatinib, and the patient died. At relapse, neutrophilia was more predominant than eosinophilia. We reviewed 6 patients with CML whose eosinophil rate in the peripheral blood was >50%. Most patients were males with palpable splenomegaly and had cardiac disorders, peripheral vascular disease, or pleural effusion. Typically, CML causes neutrophil-predominant leukocytosis. However, a subgroup of CML with marked eosinophilia resembles chronic eosinophilic leukemia or idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome.


Gram‐negative bacteria have mechanisms through which they can colonize and survive in different environments, such as the secretion systems types (1‐6) that have been widely studied and characterized. Nowadays, some authors have proposed extracellular structures, such as the outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), to be considered as an additional and independent secretion system. The OMVs are spherical particles of 50‐250 nm in diameter; they originate in the outer membrane, and therefore they have a very similar composition to the latter. These particles can transport an important variety of biomolecules: enzymes, toxins, antigenic determinants and even nucleic acids. Thus, it is of great interest to collect data describing the advantages of the transport of biomolecules through the OMVs and, thus, determine their role as a potential secretion system.


Has Sweden abandoned its traditions on what foundations military interventions are decided upon, such as a solid UN mandate, valid framework organizations and inviolable legal status of its personnel? In June 2015 Sweden decided to participate in Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq. Twelve days later a new defence-policy was decided, focusing on national capabilities. Furthermore, government was criticized for abandoning military interventions decision-making traditions. Through qualitative text analysis of public documents originating from the decision-making process the decisions between June 2015 and December 2017 is analysed in order to explain why Sweden choose to participate in Operation Inherent Resolve. The analysis is framed by Graham Allison´s theories on foreign policy decision-making, using the rational actor model and the governmental politics model. By participating in Operation Inherent Resolve Sweden manage to maintain and develop its broad global cooperation that is vital for Swedish national security and at the same time initiating a security policy change that pays more attention to national capabilities than before. Altruistic rhetoric frames the government bill and sets the conditions for making all political parties favour the decision though there were several vital basics missing compared to Swedish tradition. (Less)


Forty six selected autopsy livers with hepatic disorders were classified histologically into three groups, i.e., hepatitis 8, liver cirrhosis 16 and hepatocellular carcinoma 22, chiefly by histological findings. These groups were subdivided into two categories after determining the presence or absence of three HBV associated markers, i.e., the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), the antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) and the antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) in the sera and liver homogenates. At least one of these markers was found to be present in the sera and homogenates of 38% of the livers with hepatitis, 69% of the livers with liver cirrhosis and 77% of the livers with hepatocellular carcinoma. When the liver tissues were examined for the presence of HBV DNA using Southern blot technique, the majority of them (10 out of 11) which proved to be positive for at least one HBV associated marker were also positive for HBV DNA. However, HBV DNA could not be detected in the other 10 livers which contained no HBV associated markers. These results showed that a HBV associated serological marker was always expressed, when liver tissue HBV DNA was demonstrable. The results of the two detection methods we used in this study were found to be almost equivalent. These results showed no evidence of nucleic acid homology between DNA from the liver of patients with non-B type liver disorders and HBV DNA.


Four immunopotentiators, levamisole, isoprinosine, muramyl dipeptide, and SM1213, were analyzed in vitro for their effect on phytohemagglutinin-induced lymphocyte proliferation and lymphokine-induced macrophage proliferation and activation to kill Listeria monocytogenes. Isoprinosine augmented all three functions. Levamisole augmented lymphocyte proliferation and lymphokine-induced macrophage activation. Muramyl dipeptide and SM1213 induced macrophage activation directly. The effects of these agents on these cells at concentrations relevant to in vivo therapy support their immunopharmacologic application to modify cellular immunity.


Bridging the gap: Snapshots of 1,6-H-shift precursors indicate that a narrower C-HC(+) separation (D in the ORTEP diagram) in the title complexes induces faster degenerate rearrangement of 1(+). A contact distance of less than 2.7 A is necessary to realize the organic three-center two-electron bond of [C-H-C](+), as indicated by extrapolation of the X-ray data.The isolation and low-temperature X-ray analyses of a series of intramolecular methylacridan-methylacridinium complexes have been achieved. The two chromophores are in close proximity due to an arylene spacer, such as a phenanthrene-4,5-diyl or biphenyl-2,2'-diyl unit. These bridged carbocations prefer the C-H localized structure both in solution and in the solid state. The bridging hydrogen atom undergoes a facile intramolecular hydride shift from one carbon atom to another in solution, and the energy barrier is linearly correlated with the intramolecular CC(+) distance in the solid-state geometry, as determined by single-crystal X-ray analyses. By extrapolation from the data, the delocalized three-center bond of [C-H-C](+) would be formed when the CC(+) distance is less than 2.7 A.


We have studied the excitation of H-like and He-like uranium (U91+ and U90+) in relativistic collisions with gaseous targets by observing the subsequent x-ray emission. The experiment was conducted at the ESR storage ring of the GSI accelerator facility in Darmstadt, Germany. The measurements were performed with a newly developed multi-phase target at different collision energies. This enabled us to explore the proton (nucleus) impact excitation as well as the electron impact excitation processes in the relativistic collisions. The large fine-structure splitting in uranium allowed us to unambiguously resolve excitation to different L-shell levels. Moreover, information about the population of different magnetic sublevels has been obtained via an angular differential study of the decay photons associated with the subsequent de-excitation process. The experimental results are compared with calculations performed within the relativistic framework including excitation mechanisms due to both protons (nucleus) and electrons.


DBA is a congenital form of pure red cell anemia characterized by a macrocytic anemia, reticulocytopenia, and a block in erythroid differentiation at the proerythroblast stage, often in association with physical anomalies and growth retardation. About 25% of the patients carry mutations in genes that encode for proteins (RPS19, RPS24 and RPS17) that bind to the 40S subunit of the ribosome. The resultant defect in ribosomal biogenesis has been proposed to impair the initiation of globin translation, leading to mismatch between intracellular levels of heme and globin chains. It has been hypothesized that the transient excess of intracellular free heme resulting from the delay in globin synthesis exerts direct toxicity to erythroid precursors and plays a major role in pathogenesis of DBA through apoptosis of proerythroblasts (Keel et al. , Science 319 ;825,2008).

Free hemin, however, is not necessarily toxic to developing erythroid precursors. Exogenously supplied hemin is readily taken up by erythroid cells in culture and its iron is incorporated into hemoglobin or stored in ferritin (Fibach et al. , J Cell Physiol 130 ;460,1987). Following addition of succinylacetone, a potent inhibitor of heme synthesis, exogenously supplied hemin can replace intracellularly synthesized heme and be incorporated into de novo formed hemoglobin (Fibach et al. , Blood 85 ;2967,1995). Hemin supplementation to semi-solid cultures promotes the growth of normal erythroid precursors (e.g., Lu and Broxmeyer, Exp Hematol 11 ;721,1983). We showed in a two-phase liquid culture that exogenous hemin promotes normal erythropoiesis by accelerating the proliferation and hemoglobinization of erythroid precursors in the presence or absence of transferrin (Fibach et al. , Blood 85 ;2967,1995). This effect was particularly prominent during the early stages of hemoglobinization, when iron-uptake and heme synthesis are rate-limiting. In the present study we show that surplus hemin (10 - 50 mM) supplemented to cultures at early stage of erythroid development is well tolerated. Although the generation of reactive oxygen species (measured by staining with dichlorofluorescein diacetate) was modestly (50 ± 15%, N=4) increased, it was not associated with increased apoptosis, as measured by binding of annexin V, nor necrosis as measured by propidium iodide staining.

Having demonstrated the growth and differentiation promoting potential of exogenous hemin on normal erythroid precursors and lack of overt toxicity, we studied the effect of exogenous heme in cultures of erythroid cells derived from six patients with DBA. We show that hemin, added as heme chloride or heme arginate, circumvented the primary defect and significantly stimulated (4 - 20-fold, p<0.001) ) the growth of DBA erythroid cells and their hemoglobinization.

In conclusion, our results show that

1. exogenous hemin is taken up by developing erythroid cells and can supplement or substitute endogenously synthesized heme;

2. excess heme stimulates free radical generation moderately but does not cause apoptosis or necrosis;

3. addition of hemin to cultured erythroid precursors derived from normal donors stimulates their growth and hemoglobinization, and in DBA, in contrast to the recently proposed scheme, heme can actually restore the growth and differentiation potential of the DBA-erythroid precursors.

The beneficial effect of hemin on DBA erythroid precursors may be related to its effect on translation initiation factors, such as eIF-2 , and suggests a therapeutic potential.


A 180-nm gap micromechanical resonator biased at 20 V and full custom integrated electronics are used to implement a 13-MHz oscillator that has noise floor of -147 dBc/Hz and power consumption of 240 µW including both the loop amplifier and the buffer to a 10-pF load. The design of Pierce type MEMS oscillator is discussed in terms of noise, power, and oscillator stability. Mixing of 1/f-noise is simulated and nonlinear electrostatic coupling is identified as a significant noise aliasing mechanism.


We review the main physical parameters involved in YAG laser surgery upon transparent ocular media, as well as the plasma creation process. Then we study the variations of the retinal illumination due to laser fluctuations, leading to some conclusions about safety.


Study Design A retrospective study. Purpose Our objectives were to determine the association between the pathological changes of disc herniation and the interval between primary and revision surgeries and to investigate the frequency and site of the dural laceration in the primary and revision surgeries. Overview of Literature Among 382 patients who underwent microsurgical lumbar discectomy, we investigated 29 who underwent revision surgery to analyze recurrent herniation pathologies and complications to determine the manner in which lumbar disc herniation can be more efficiently managed. Methods Of 29 patients, 22 had recurrent disc herniation at the same level and site. The pathological changes associated with compression factors were classified into the following two types depending on intraoperative findings: (1) true recurrence and (2) minor recurrence with peridural fibrosis (>4 mm thickness). The sites of dural laceration were examined using video footage and operative records. Results The pathological findings and days between the primary and revision surgeries showed no statistical difference (p=0.14). Analysis of multiple factors, revealed no significant difference between the primary and revision surgery groups with regard to hospital days (p=0.23), blood loss (p=0.99), and operative time (p=0.67). Dural lacerations obviously increased in the revision surgery group (1.3% vs. 16.7%, p<0.01) and were mainly located near the herniated disc in the primary surgery group and near the root shoulder in the revision surgery group, where severe fibrosis and adhesion were confirmed. To avoid dural laceration during revision surgery, meticulous decompressive manipulation must be performed around the root sleeve. Conclusions We recommend that meticulous epidural dissection around the scar formation must be performed during revision surgery to avoid complications.


A method for calculating short-circuit and leakage impedances in transformer windings is described. The method is based on a formula which is derived from an exact solution of Maxwell's equations for coils on ferromagnetic cores. The calculation is based on winding geometry and on the core magnetic permeability and effective electrical resistivity. Eddy-current losses in the core and windings are included. The model takes account of the frequency-dependent nature of short circuit and leakage impedances in transformers. Results are presented for a ferrite pot core of the type used in switching mode power supplies.<<ETX>>