In 2017, each Saudi nonfinancial listed firm was required to prepare their reports consistent with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The current study examined whether the application of IFRS is associated with higher Financial Reporting Quality (FRQ). Based on a sample of 465 nonfinancial listed firms, the current study finds that IFRS adoption is not significantly related to enhanced FRQ. The study suggests that cost considerations might be an important factor contributing to inappropriate application of IFRS and, in turn, reduce the quality of FRQ. Moreover, the incentive of management and enforcement mechanisms might have had a combined effect leading to a 'symbolic' application of IFRS. Taking into consideration the situational context of emerging institutions, this study adds insights into global accounting research on the impact of IFRS on FRQ, supporting the view that the relationship between IFRS and FRQ may be confounded by other institutional factors such as cost considerations, enforcement mechanisms, and the development of distinctive legal and accounting systems.


Krishnamurti's last journal, spoken into a tape recorder at his home, Pine Cottage, in the Ojai Valley, brings the reader close to this renowned spiritual teacher. Dictated in the mornings, from his bed, undisturbed, Krishnamurti's observations are captured here in all their immediacy and candor, from personal reflections to poetic musings on nature and a serene meditation on death.Reflecting the culmination of a life of spiritual exploration, these remarkable final teachings engage and enlighten.


The progress made in terms of controller technologies with the introduction of remotely-accessibility capacity in the digital controllers has opened the door to new cybersecurity threats on the Industrial Control Systems (ICSs). Among them, some aim at damaging the ICS's physical system. In this paper, a corrupted controller emitting a non-legitimate Pulse Width Modulation control signal to an Electro-Mechanical Actuator (EMA) is considered. The attacker's capabilities for accelerating the EMA's aging by inducing Partial Discharges (PDs) are investigated. A simplified model is considered for highlighting the influence of the carrier frequency of the control signal over the amplitude and the repetition of the PDs involved in the EMA's aging.


INTRODUCTION
Cardiovascular disease is one of the main causes for Turner syndrome (TS) mortality and the evaluation of its risk factors such as excess body fat and its distribution is considered one of the major aspects of the adult patient care.

OBJECTIVE
To develop and validate a specific bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) equation to predict body composition in TS patients.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
Clinical and anthropometric data, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for total fat-free mass (FFM) and BIA for resistance and reactance were obtained from 50 adult TS patients. Linear regression analysis was performed with multiple clinical and BIA data to obtain a predicting equation.

RESULTS
The equation developed to estimate FFM in adult TS patients showed great consistency with DXA, elevated correlation (r = 0.974) and determination (r(2) = 0.948) coefficients and an adequate standard error estimate (SEE = 1.52 kg).

CONCLUSIONS
The specific equation developed here allowed making an adequate FFM estimate in adult TS patients.


Obesity and gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) are two of the major health problems of the industrialized world. Both condition have increased prevalence, pathophysiological and endoscopic studies identified obesity a major risk factor in the development of GERD. Conversely, successful weight reduction improves GERD symptoms and diminishes the use of acid suppressive medication. Bariatric interventions are not all equal when it comes to controlling GERD symptoms, lesions and use of medication. Gastric banding has a variable influence on GERD, while most patients report improved reflux symptoms, up to 20% of patient can develop "de novo" reflux symptoms following gastric banding. Gastric sleeve resection increases reflux symptoms, in particular in patients with an ideal, tubular gastroplasty and those with proximal (fundic) pouch. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass has a positive effect of GERD, reducing symptoms and use of acid suppressive medications. From an esophageal perspective, gastric bypass is the preferred bariatric procedure to treat and prevent GERD in morbidly obese patients.


Abstract Applied historical landscape research often takes place under the umbrella of sustainability issues and sustainability research, but now includes both environmental sustainability and community resilience. This confronts the study of cultural landscapes with new issues and challenges such as how to utilize long-term and more recent perspectives, and to integrate economic, cultural and ecological drivers of landscape change. A key question is how to make landscape studies relevant for both contemporary landscape services and future landscape changes. We propose a new framework for study that combines insights from landscape biography, historical ecology and systems theory. It presents a 'protocol' for exploratory research with premises and operational principles, and argues for geodesign in connecting environmental issues, heritage practices and question-driven historical analysis. The framework and protocol are based on recent research within the European Community's Seventh Framework project Sustainable Futures for Europe's Heritage in Cultural Landscapes (HERCULES).


Decoupling capacitors minimize both power and return plane bounce developed in power distribution networks when digital components transition logic states. State changes causes significant current spikes in the power and image rails at every edge time and are sometimes called "ground bounce" or "shoot-through" potentials. If there is insufficient energy storage for both the power and return pins, plane bounce will occur. Which plane bounces depends on system and printed circuit board design and layout, particularly in regard to the location of the signal via escape anti-pads compared to the position of the decoupling capacitors. If plane bounce exceeds voltage tolerance margins, functional operation is not ensured resulting in signal integrity problems as well as development of common-mode electromagnetic interference (EMI). We investigate the magnitude of plane bounce at different locations with multiple components switching simultaneously, both with and without decoupling capacitors.


This paper analyses how graduate trainees in one UK-based private sector retail organization talked about being silenced. The paper illustrates how the trainees' constructions formed a set of discursive practices that were implicated in the constitution of the organization as a regime of power, and how they both accommodated and resisted these practices. Our case focuses on the trainees' discursive construction of normative pressures to conform, compliant and non-compliant types of worker, and explicit acts of silencing, together with their reflexive interrogation of the nexus of discursive constraints on their opportunities to be heard. Drawing on the analytical resources associated with the 'linguistic turn' in organization studies, our research is an exploration of the importance of language as a medium of social control and power, and means of self-authorship. It is also an attempt to locate 'silence' in putatively polyphonic organizations.


Analysis of the treatment and follow‐up records of 377 Hodgkin's disease patients who received mantle irradiation but no planned chemotherapy reveals an overall supradiaphragmatic relapse rate of 21%. Complications of treatment included symptomatic pulmonary radiation reaction (20%), pericarditis (13%), Lhermitte's sign (15%), and thyroid dysfunction (13%). The addition of a subcarinal block after 2500 to 3500 rads and the use of the thin lung block technique in selected patients have reduced the incidence of pulmonary and pericardial complications to less than 5% without sacrificing local control. Further modifications in technique and treatment policy are discussed in terms of improving the therapeutic ratio.


Sampling strategy, in terms of physical size and positioning of the sampling units, may affect strongly the results of spatial surveys. The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of sampling unit size on the perception of spatial patterns of earthworm ( Lumbricus terrestris L.) middens. The implications for optimal sampling strategy for spatial interpolation were assessed. Spatial variation of midden density was investigated in Vaisakko forest, south-western Finland, using 225 sample points distributed on a square grid with a minimum distance of 25 m between samples. At each point, middens were counted within samples of sequentially increasing size (sample surface 0.125, 0.25, 1 m 2) and analysed by means of geostatistics. The results showed significant spatial continuity of midden distribution in all cases. Whereas, neither the estimate of mean middens density nor the global distribution pattern were markedly affected by sample unit size, the total variance increased considerably with decreasing sample unit area. Isotropic variograms for different sample unit sizes were all spherical but large discrepancies in the model parameters were observed. The nugget variance tended to decrease with increasing sample unit size while the spatial variance increased slightly. Since changing sample unit size affected the variogram we also investigated the consequences in terms of optimal sampling strategy for spatial interpolation by punctual kriging. Increasing the quadrat size from 0.25 to 1 m2 and simultaneously increasing the sample spacing from 25 to 50 m, so that the sampling effort was constant in terms of total surface investigated, did not affect the kriging standard deviation. The positive effect of increasing quadrat size was thus enough to compensate the negative effect of the correspondingly sparser sampling grid. The results showed that while the sampling unit size did not have strong effect on the perception of general midden distribution in the forest, it did have marked consequences in the spatial modelling of the phenomenon. The issue of sampling unit size is clearly worthy of careful consideration in the planning of field studies and geostatistical tools can be put to good use in evaluating the pros and cons of different sampling strategies. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


The liver of 30-day ratlings was studied spectrocytophotometrically (glycogen, amino acid, RNA, and DNA content) and morphometrically (the size of the nuclei, nucleoli, mitotic index) 48 hours after the intragastric administration of CCI4; the mothers of these ratlings had sustained toxic hepatitis before pregnancy. The results obtained indicated that hepatitis sustained by the female animals not only influenced the morphological peculiarities and the histochemical properties of the liver of the progeny, but also largely conditioned the changes in the response of hepatocytes to the poison -- enhanced the damaging effect of the hepatotoxin.


We study the optimal portfolio policy for a multi period mean variance investor facing multiple risky assets subject to proportional transaction costs, market impact or quadratic transaction costs. We demonstrate analytically that, in the presence of proportional transaction costs, the optimal strategy for the multiperiod investor is to trade in the first period to the boundary of a no trade region shaped as a parallelogram, and not to trade thereafter. For the case with market impact costs, the optimal portfolio policy is to trade to the boundary of a state dependent rebalancing region. In addition, the rebalancing region converges to the Markowitz portfolio as the investment horizon grows large. We contribute to the literature by characterizing the no trade region for a multiperiod investor facing proportional transaction costs, and studying the analytical properties of the optimal trading strategy for the model with impact costs. Finally, our contribution is to study numerically the utility losses associated with ignoring transaction costs and investing myopically, as well as how these utility losses depend on relevant parameters. We find that the losses associated with either ignoring transaction costs or behaving myopically can be large. Moreover, the losses from ignoring transaction costs increase in the level of transaction costs, and decrease with the investment horizon, whereas the losses from behaving myopically increase with the investment horizon and are concave unimodal on the level of transaction costs. Our work is related to mean variance utility and proportional transaction costs. For the case with multiple risky assets, the optimal portfolio policy is characterized by a no trade region shaped as a


ABSTRACT Two junior homonyms were detected amongst the genera of Melolonthinae and the following replacement names are proposed: Brittonius nom. nov. for Bryantella Britton, 1957 and Bezdekia nom. nov. for Metagonia Kolbe, 1899. Accordingly, new combinations are herein proposed for the species currently included in these genera.


OBJECTIVES
Many patients undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) multiple times before being referred for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), in which bypass grafts are often anastomosed to small distal targets with higher risk of graft failure. We aimed to assess whether multiple PCIs adversely affect the long-term outcomes of patients who undergo CABG subsequently.

METHODS
A cohort of 368 patients with no history of PCI underwent initial isolated CABG between 2003 and 2013 (no PCI group). Ninety-seven patients who had undergone PCI 2 or more times preoperatively during the same period constituted the multiple PCI group. After propensity score matching, the group outcomes were compared.

RESULTS
There were no significant differences in the 10-year all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event rates in both groups. Although the left ventricular end-diastolic dimension in the multiple PCI group did not change markedly (from 48.0 ± 6.0 to 47.2 ± 7.9 mm; P = 0.25), it decreased significantly in the no PCI group (from 48.3 ± 6.1 to 44.9 ± 9.1 mm; P < 0.001). The left ventricular end-systolic dimension in the no PCI group decreased significantly (from 34.1 ± 8.7 to 31.4 ± 8.6 mm; P = 0.024), while it in the multiple PCI group did not (from 33.6 ± 8.3 to 32.7 ± 8.6 mm; P = 0.21).

CONCLUSIONS
For complex coronary artery disease, early surgical intervention could be considered with respect to postoperative left ventricular remodelling during the long-term follow-up.


In this paper we introduce an adaptive control scheme for robots with elastic joints (in particular for the DLR medical robot) in order to increase the positioning accuracy and the performance of control with respect to uncertainties of the parameters of the robot dynamics. In order to design control and analyze system stability a static friction model is applied which describes Coulomb, viscose and load dependent friction. A stability analysis is done for this adaptive control scheme, allowing a Lyapunov based convergence analysis in the context of the nonlinear robot dynamics. Experimental results validate the practical efficiency of the approach.


Information Communication Technology (ICT) is becoming valuable tools to help improve education, especially during teaching and learning of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects. In this regard, we conducted this study to explore the usability of ICT tools in Physics taught courses. To collect data, we used classroom observation protocol for undergraduate STEM to assess how teachers and learners spend time on classroom activities among day and boarding schools and urban and rural schools. We also surveyed physics teachers after a short workshop on the use of PhET simulations and YouTube videos for teaching optics to reveal their workability and usefulness. As a result, we found that teachers in the day schools guide and assign more work to their learners, allow them to work in groups more than those in boarding schools. Similarly, learners in rural schools spend much time working in groups more than their colleagues in urban schools. However, teachers in urban schools spend much time guiding their learners than teachers in rural schools. Teachers use more of textbooks among various instructional tools. Teachers were not aware of and used to PhET simulations and YouTube videos in physics class; however, after the workshop, they conceived them as convenient electronic instructional tools that can accelerate the active learning of Optics. Since these resources are free to access and easy to use, we highly recommend teachers to use them in their daily teaching and learning activities.


Large scale genomic characterization efforts such as TCGA have painted an unprecedentedly detailed picture of the genetic alterations that underlie tumorigenesis. Yet, the majority of genetic alterations are passenger rather than driver events and are considered unactionable. We have previously proposed that passenger or collateral deletions could serve as pharmacologically targetable vulnerabilities Collateral Lethality, in case passenger genes are homozygously deleted and member of a paralogous gene family carrying out an essential housekeeping function. We have presented proof-of-principal, whereby passenger deletion of the glycolytic gene Enolase 1 (ENO1) as part of the 1p36-tumor suppressor locus, renders glioma cells harboring such deletions highly sensitive to ablation of its redundant paralogue, ENO2. While our original analysis identified ENO1-homozygous deletions in Glioblastoma (GBM), recent bioinformatics analyzes, backed by immunohistochemistry, show that ENO1-homozygous deletions also occur in Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Cholangiocarcinoma. In GBM, multisector analysis of primary and recurrent tumors, indicate that ENO1 deletion is an early event which is homogenously distributed through the primary tumor and persist during recurrence. To pharmacologically exploit ENO1-deletion, we have pursued two approaches. First, we have synthesized cell-permeable prodrug derivatives of the natural Enolase inhibitor SF2312. The lead compound, POMHEX, shows potent killing of ENO1-deleted glioma cells in the low nM range while ENO1-restored isogenic or normal cells can tolerate μM doses. POMHEX has a short half-life yet can eradicate intracranial xenografted ENO1-deleted tumors, provided extensive breakdown of the blood-brain barrier. Our second approach to targeting ENO1-deletion consisted of chemical biology screening of drug libraries for the ability to kill ENO1-deleted but not isogenic rescued cells. We find that ENO1-deleted cells show a dramatic sensitization to inhibitors of the mitochondrial electron transport chain. These include tool compounds such as rotenone as well as compounds not previously associated with mitochondria, such as Mubritinib and an experimental anti-neoplastic agent previously described as a HIF1-inhibitor, now known to inhibit mitochondrial Complex I. The latter agent shows potent activity against ENO1-deleted intracranial xenografts. The likely cause for this sensitivity is the inability of ENO1-deleted cells to compensatory upregulate glycolysis in response mitochondrial inhibition, the typical response of ENO1-intact glioma cells and normal cells. Together, these data indicate that passenger deletion of ENO1 is an encouraging drug-target and provide support for collateral lethality as a viable therapeutic strategy, which, given the large number of passenger deletions in the cancer genome, may be broadly applicable. Citation Format: Yu-Hsi Lin, Nikunj Satani, Naima Hammoudi, Joe Marszalek, Yuting Sun, Marina Protopopova, Maria E. Di Francesco, Barbara Czako, Alan Wang, Ronald A. DePinho, Florian L. Muller. Passenger deletion of ENO1 as a collateral lethality target in cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3837.


everal studies have shown that individuals born
with a lower birth weight have an increased risk
of depression as adults. Birth weight reflects
not just fetal growth but also length of gestation, yet
there has been little evidence to date on the effect of
gestational length on susceptibility to depression.
Raikkonen and colleagues addressed this gap by
measuring depressive symptoms in a cohort of men
and women aged around 61 for whom birth records
were available; they restricted the sample to term
births, thus avoiding the potential problem of
confounding due to prematurity or postmaturity. They
found that depressive symptoms increased with
shorter gestational length, independent of birth weight.
Although there was no association over the whole
range of birth weight and later risk of depression, those
born with a low birth weight (<2.5 kg) were more
likely to have depressive symptoms in later life, a
finding consistent with earlier research.


This paper examined the impact of the UNICEF supported school feeding programm on the academic performance of pupils in the Federal Capital. The survey research design was adopted in this study. A sample of 385 pupils; from school feeding schools, 216 from non-school feeding schools and 30 teachers from school feeding schools were utilized for the study. One research question and one hypothesis guided the study. A self-structured 13-item questionnaire was administered to gather data for the study. The Mean Standard Deviation was used to analyze the research question while t-test was utilized to test the hypothesis at.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that: teachers agree that the SFP had a positive impact on the performance of pupils in the area of the attention span of pupils, the stability of pupils in class and that pupils were consistent in their academic performance. The hypothesis tested revealed a significant difference between the performance of pupils under the school feeding program and the pupils without a school feeding program. This paper recommends among others that the federal government of Nigeria should scale up the implementation of the SFP to cover all states of the federation so as to benefit more school children in their academic performance. Key Words; malnutrition, stability, attention, hunger, performance


In a study of the influence of nutritional state on halothane anaesthesia, results were obtained which showed how the blood/gas partition coefficient for halothane varied with blood chemistry in 20 patients undergoing elective surgery. For each patient the partition coefficient lambda was measured by equilibration at 37 degrees C of a blood sample with a 1% halothane in 5% carbon dioxide in air mixture, followed by chemical extraction and estimation of the halothane content by gas chromatography. The haematocrit and haemoglobin, serum albumin, total protein, triglyceride and cholesterol concentrations were measured by routine laboratory methods. Regressions were sought of lambda on each of these, and on the globulin concentration and the ratios of albumin: globulin and albumin: total protein, deduced from these determinations. The only statistically significant regression (P = 0.0004) was that of lambda on the serum triglyceride concentration (T) (mmol/litre): lambda = 1.83 + 0.424T. The dependence of lambda on haemoglobin concentration was not statistically significant, but the slope of the regression was consistent with those of previous investigators. The regressions of lambda, corrected to the mean triglyceride concentration, on the ratios of albumin: globulin and albumin: total protein were not statistically significant but were not significantly different from an earlier reported result.


This paper represents the GSA that can be used to determine the optimal location and rating of FACTS devices. They are devices used to regulate and improve the power flow in the power system. The method used in this study was GSA. FACTS types used were TCSC implemented on 500kV Java-Bali Power System. Load flow results before optimization showed that the active power loss was 297.607MW. While the load flow results after optimization using GSA with 5-TCSC obtained were 287.926MW of active power loss, with 10-TCSC, it was obtained 281.143MW of active power loss. In addition, using 15-TCSC, the active power loss obtained was 279.405MW. GSA methods can be used to minimize power losses and transmission lines as well as to improve the value of the voltage in the range of 0.95+ 1.05pu compared with load flow results before optimization. DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/telkomnika.v10i5.1183


Description of the technique of super-radical mastectomy with removal of axillary, internal mammary, supraclavicular and mediastinal lymph nodes developed at the National Cancer Institute of Milan and previously reported (1). The thoracic defect due to thoracectomy with removal of the clavicle, the medial portion of the first and second ribs and the corresponding half of the sternum is now avoided by sternal replacement and suture. Thus radicality is maintained and cosmetic impairment is confined to breast removal.


Although laboratory stressor tests have been applied as a preliminary protocol in some cardiovascular studies, there is a lack of data comparing the pressor and chronotropic responses among the main stressor tests. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the variability in hemodynamic responsiveness to the main stressor tests, establish a hyperresponsiveness cutoff criterion and analyze the influence of gender and family history of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in healthy subjects. We examined hemodynamic responses to physical (cold pressor and handgrip tests) and mental (Stroop color-word test) stressors in 98 subjects (48 males and 50 females) without CVDs. All stressor tests resulted in increased blood pressure (BP) levels, which were lower and less dispersed in the handgrip test compared to the cold pressor test. Adopting the 75th percentile as the cutoff in our data, we classified subjects exhibiting absolute pressor changes equal to or higher than 14, 24 and 36 mmHg in systolic and 9, 13 and 24 mmHg in diastolic BP during the handgrip, Stroop and cold pressor test, respectively, as hyperresponsives. Males exhibited greater (p<0.05) increases in systolic BP in the handgrip (11% vs. 8%) and cold pressor (25% vs. 21%) tests and in diastolic BP in the handgrip (12% vs. 7%) and Stroop (22% vs. 19%) tests than females. A positive association between family history of CVDs and pressor hyperreactivity to stressor tests was observed. We propose using the 75th percentile of hemodynamic sample values as a cutoff criterion to classify individuals as pressor or chronotropic hyperreactives. We conclude that hemodynamic responsiveness to stressor tests in healthy subjects is positively influenced by male gender and family history of CVDs.


This research aims to examine the implications of metacognitive strategies on problem-solving and students' self-efficacy in English writing skills. The study utilized a Quasi-Experimental research design involving a sample size of 100 participants. Tests were used to assess writing skills, and questionnaires were employed to gather data on the application of these strategies from the perspectives of problem-solving and self-efficacy. Subsequently, both the experimental and control groups received their respective treatments. The data was then analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) with the assistance of SPSS 22. The research findings indicated that students who were exposed to the metacognitive strategy showed significant improvements in problem-solving and self-efficacy. This study contributes new insights into the importance of metacognitive strategies in the field of education.


Abstract The German system of corporate governance changed considerably after the end of the Great War. This change was, among other things, marked by the rise of shares with multiple voting rights, often concentrated in the hands of incumbent business leaders. The development was publicly criticized by the promoters of a more equal corporate constitution and led the Imperial government as well as stock exchanges to consider reform. The article traces this debate based on source material from the Bundesarchiv and the Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz. In doing so, I find that, contrary to John Coffee's claim, public regulation followed the practice of private regulation until the late 1920s but that the latter was dismissed as a role model during the Great Depression. The quantitative evidence furthermore shows that public as well as private actors achieved their regulatory targets. Yet, these targets did not include the full removal of shares with multiple voting rights.


Holistic utilization of cotton linter black liquor is crucial from both economic and environmental standpoints. For this purpose, the hydrothermal conversion process was selected to produce hydrochar from organic materials dissolved in black liquor. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis showed that there were no significant functional changes in the hydrochar compared with black liquor solid (BLS) at different preserving temperatures. However, a C-O bond was ruptured by the hydrothermal carbonization. Thermogravimetric analysis also showed that the thermal stability of the hydrochar was increased. The higher heating value (HHV) of hydrochar at the different preserving temperature from 200 °C to 280 °C was higher than BLS, reaching a maximum at 200 °C. On the other hand, the alkali from the liquor production of hydrothermal carbonization was recovered by causticization; the highest causticizing efficiency (CE) was 45.2%. The recovered liquor alkali can be used in pulping or pretreatment strategies.


Following the seminal trial conducted by the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and the National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC), concurrent temozolomide and radiotherapy has become the new standard of care for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Investigation of emerging therapies (which are now used as salvage therapy) such as small-molecule inhibitors (for example, epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors) and convection-enhanced delivery (CED) of targeted toxins (for example, interleukin-13/pseudomonas exotoxin) is likely to build on the EORTC/NCIC treatment platform and will, it is hoped, improve survival rates in patients with GBM. The majority of adjuvant Phase I and II trials being conducted by the brain tumor consortia are based on the EORTC/NCIC treatment platform and have added a targeted therapy in an effort to find a promising synergistic treatment. Furthermore, researchers in the consortia are continuing to explore treatments for recurrent GBM, not otherwise eligible for local therapies, such as CED. The treatments under study include novel cytotoxic chemotherapy as well as small-molecule inhibitors; these are being assessed in a variety of Phase I or II trials.


Square array of circular dots with varying interdot spacing in the range of 1-4 μm has been investigated. The dots were patterned by physical mask. Magnetic properties were explored by the ferromagnetic resonance technique and a micromagnetic simulation based on metropolis algorithm. Evaluation of the resonance fields showed that magnetic anisotropy depends on interdot distance indicating an evidence of interdot coupling in system. The coupling is getting weaker with increasing separation from 1 to 4 μm. The study revealed that magnetic behavior of the patterned structures can be tuned by changing interdot distance.


This chapter discusses the Roman law of inheritance. It covers intestacy; making a will; heirs; legacies; testamentary freedom; the failure of wills, heirs, and legacies; and codicils and trusts. The importance of inheritance as a means by which property can be acquired is obvious. A Roman citizen might easily pass through life untouched by the rules, say, of usucapion or accessio, but he could not escape the operation of the law of inheritance (or at least his estate could not when he died). And he would often have inherited property himself on the death of family members or friends. Moreover, inheritance, unlike most other forms of acquisition of property, involved the transfer of the whole of a person's property.


Super fine mesocarbon microbead powders (SFMCMBs) as the new supports for platinum electrocatalysts were first investigated. The Pt/SFMCMB electrocatalysts were prepared by an impregnation-reduction method, with hexachloroplatinic acid as the platinum precursor and formaldehyde as reducing agent. The catalysts were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission gun transmission electron microscope (TEM) and cyclic voltanumetry (CV). TEM photos showed the platinum particles were dispersed uniformly on the surface of SFMCMBs where the average platinum particle size were 4-6 nm and there existed a little aggregation of platinum particles in the Pt/SFMCMB catalysts. The XRD patterns showed the existence of the platinum on the supports. The acute peak corresponding to diffraction of graphitic structure indicate that SFMCMBs have good electric-conducting performance. The electrochemical analysis proved that SFMCMBs are excellent candidates to be used as the support of platinum electrocatalyst for methanol electrochemical oxidation as the potential catalyst candidate for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs).


The research summarized in Volume I of this two volume study of Johnstown, Pennsylvania provides an overview of the city's social and economic structure. This project was designed to help cure the area's chronic unemployment and economic instability and to serve as a prototype study for other communities with similar problems. Community views and aspirations, as well as government services and taxes, are stressed as major factors in economic growth. Several possible solutions which are suggested have in common an emphasis on the need for greater civic awareness among the residents, so that needed tax levies can be passed. This requires better public relations by lc.al government in older to increase community participation. In addition, the researchers consider proposals for governmental reorganization which would eliminate duplication of rAfort and competition between various levels of government in the area. One such alternative, the voluntary council, would enable goverrments to cooperate while remaining autonomous. Although this volume gives general solutions, the detailed analysis of the data, and specific conclusions are contained in Volume II, available as VT 011 117 . mg THE POTENTIAL FOR,HUMAN RESOURCES AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN A DECLINING LOCAL.COMMUNITY


Informed by theory and the available empirical research, 3 family processes are identified that contribute to child trauma within the context of a parent's imprisonment: (a) preincarceration factors, including the involvement of the offender parent and children's exposure to arrest; (b) caregiving quality and stability; and (c) the nature of children's visitation experience during the offender parent's confinement. Children whose parents were involved contributors in their day-to-day lives prior to imprisonment, who have been subject to harsh and unstable care and exposed to other traumagenic factors associated with incarceration (e.g., violence, maltreatment), and who have difficult visitation experiences have the most intense and long-lasting traumatic experiences.


Processing conditions and final mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites are affected by their interfacial layers behavior. However, it is impossible to determine directly the properties of these layers by dynamic rheometry tests. In this work, the interfacial layers properties are evaluated for polystyrene containing silica nanoparticles by the concept of glass-transition temperature shift. The samples were prepared via solution-mixing method and dynamic rheometry was used to determine the viscoelastic behavior of filled polymers in the melt state. This initial step showed that addition of silica particles increased the glass-transition temperature. By preference, decrease in the filler particle size lead to a drastic increase in the glass-transition temperature and interfacial layer volume fraction due to relatively high surface area of the small filler particles. Then, in the next step, the viscoelastic properties of interfacial layer have been evaluated on the basis of the properties of neat polystyrene using temperature-frequency superposition law. For this purpose, the shift factor was calculated from the glass-transition temperature of the sample with maximum filler content. Finally, the effect of immobilized interfacial layer on the viscoelastic properties of the polymer nanocomposite samples has been estimated. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011


Objectives
Published in vitro stability data for ceftolozane-tazobactam supports intermittent short duration infusions. This method of delivery is not feasible for many outpatient antimicrobial therapy services that provide only one or two visits per day. This study aimed to assess time, temperature and concentration-dependent stability of ceftolozane-tazobactam in an elastomeric infusion device for continuous infusion across clinically relevant ranges encountered in outpatient antimicrobial therapy.

Methods
Ceftolozane-tazobactam was prepared to achieve initial concentrations representing total daily doses for 'renal', 'standard' and 'high' dose schedules in elastomeric infusion devices with a volume of 240 mL. Infusion devices incubated at room and body temperature were serially sampled over 48 hours. Refrigerated infusion devices were sampled over 10 days. Concentrations of ceftolozane and tazobactam were separately quantified using a validated ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array method.

Results
The greatest loss of ceftolozane occurred at 37°C, however, stability remained above 90% at 24 hours. Tazobactam was more stable than ceftolozane under these conditions. There was minimal loss at 4°C for either component over 7 days.

Conclusions
Ceftolozane-tazobactam is suitable for ambulatory care delivered as a continuous infusion via an elastomeric infusion device.


Long-term hypertension has been implicated as one of the greatest risk factors for the cause of stroke, but yet it is a very controllable one. The risks of stroke increase with age and, as the population of the United States grows older, the number of people who will experience a stroke will greatly increase. In the past, various antihypertensive therapies have proved to lower blood pressure with a resulting decrease in stroke. Stroke can be devastating in terms of quality of life and cost of care; therefore, prevention of stroke should become a priority for all health care professionals. As newer antihypertensive classes of drugs are being studied in high-risk cardiovascular populations, health care professionals need to educate themselves and their patients regarding new treatment options, where these options belong within treatment guidelines for hypertension, and their relevance in preventing the incidence of stroke. This review briefly summarizes the significance of controlling hypertension to reduce the risk of stroke by reviewing some of the clinical trials that support pharmacologic intervention.


All rights reserved by www.ijsrd.com 902 Abstract— An internal combustion (IC) engine has a predominant role in a low power generation and a virtual monopoly in mobile applications today. One of the best methods to improve the engine performance and reduce the exhaust emission in a SI engine is by using introduction of twin spark into the combustion chamber. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of twin spark using CNG fuel in SI engine. The performance and emission analysis of an engine are investigated by experiment with CNG kit and gas analyzer. From this study the fuel consumption is reduce in twin spark arrangement for the same power output as compare to single spark using both of the fuel gasoline as well as CNG. Engine emission is considerably reduced using twin spark plug.


Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is among the most venerable of neurological diseases and one of the most important by virtue of its frequency, chronicity, and tendency to attack young adults Aim of the work: Evaluation of the clinical aspects of multiple sclerosis and its correlation with the results of MRS for better diagnosis, selection of treatment and prognosis of patients with multiple sclerosis. Patients and Methods: 50 patients [28 females and 22 males] with definite Multiple sclerosis and 20 healthy controls were subjected to: Thorough Clinical assessment, Routine Laboratory Investigation, Rating Scales including 1-EDSS 2-FSS 3-HDRS 4-MMSE, CSF examination for OCBs, Conventional MRI (including measurement of intercaudate ratio as a measure of central atrophy) and Single Voxel Proton MRS (H-MRS). Results: The course of the disease was RRMS in 62% and SPMS in 38% of the patients. A statistically significant higher FSS score was detected in patients with CSF positive for OCBs. Intercaudate ratio (ICR) was significantly higher in patients compared to controls and also in patients with moderate & severe disability (EDSS>3) compared to patients with minimal disability. A statistically significant lower NAA/Cr ratio in patients with MS was found compared to controls. NAA/Cr ratio was significantly reduced in patients with (EDSS>3) compared to patients with minimal disability. The Cho/Cr ratio was higher in the active cases (n=15) compared to the controls. A statistically higher mI/Cr ratio was found in patients compared to controls. Also, mI/Cr ratio was positively correlated to the EDSS scores in patients with SPMS. Patients with (EDSS>3) had a higher number of corpus callosum lesions compared to those with minimal disability. The EDSS score of patients was negatively correlated with NAA/Cr ratio and Cho/Cr ratio and positively correlated with the number of frontal lobe and Corpus callosum lesions. Conclusion: MRS helps better understanding of disease pathology as it could differentiate active from old lesions from resolving activity with treatment. Attention should be paid for patients with EDSS score 3 as this could point towards a sharp turn in the disease course that might necessitate disease modifying therapies at earlier stages. NAA/Cr ratio can serve as a reliable prognostic factor and predictor of conversion from a benign course to a rather aggressive or irreversible course Cho/Cr is a reliable marker of disease activity even in absence of clinical or conventional neuroradiological evidence for activity. (Egypt J. Neurol. Psychiat. Neurosurg., 2006, 43(1): 479-494)


Two analogs of thionaphthoquinone dyes, viz; AMT; 2-((thiophen-2-yl)methylamino)-3-chloro-naphthalene-1,4-dione and AET;2-((thiophen-2-yl)ethylamino)-3-chloro-naphthalene-1,4-dione are synthesized from 2,3-dichloronaphthalene-1,4-dione and were used as light harvester in the TiO2 and ZnO based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC's). FT-IR analysis of AMT and AET showed N-H band's existence at 3316 cm and 3269 cm, respectively. X-Ray Crystallographic Data Collection and Refinement confirms the AMT crystallizes in monoclinic space group P2/c. The optical properties of the photosensitizers loaded ZnO shows the broadband in the UV region assigned to π → π⃰ transition while a visible region band assigned to n → π⃰ charge transfer transition. The photovoltaic performances of thionaphthoquinone photosensitizers in TiO2 nanorod and ZnO nanograin based electrodes were studied and compared. Electrochemical impedance analysis reveals the higher electron transport rate in ZnO, but the improved efficiency of TiO2 based DSSC is due to the higher dye loading and fast electron injection. The power conversion efficiencies of the DSSC's fabricated using AMT and AET photosensitizers on ZnO and TiO2NR (NR = nanorod) electrodes are 0.02, 0.03, and 0.23, 0.32 %, respectively. The hydrothermally deposited TiO2nanorod arrays exhibited the highest performance over doctor blade method deposited ZnO based DSSC's. The present study will open a new route to fabricate highly efficient DSSC's using morphologically dependent photoelectrode.


The development of technology in the media field is increasing diversly. Facebook is one of the media that can share information. Info Cepat Ngawi Peduli is a group formed on the basis of the wishes of the people of Ngawi Regency for problems or social events that occur in Ngawi Regency. This type of qualitative research by collecting data using observation and documentation, documenting content in groups and then analyzed. The results of the study showed that information commonly shared by group users was Social Information, Criminal Information, Traffic Information and Entertainment. In meeting the information needs of the Info Cepat Ngawi Peduli group, it becomes a source of information exchange, while the information needs of the Info Cepat Ngawi Peduli group are cognitive, affective, personal integration, social integration and imaginary needs. It is expected that in this study, group administrators and group moderators will filter to prevent violations that have become the rules of the group, knowing content or submissions that are the most discussed, criminal information and traffic information.


Security Document Theory is an economic and security based framework to explain fraud that occurs to documents of value, such as photo ID cards and money. The principle of SDT is that humans are mislead by a document's trust value - a psychological perception of how trustworthy a document is, and what they indicates about the bearer. Trust values often result in higher misrepresenting values - the value of a document to a criminal. These higher misrepresenting values create criminal opportunities, regardless of the sophistication of the document, and in many cases, specifically because of the documents sophistication.


A puzzle is why a large proportion of firms eligible for income tax refunds do not file claims for such refunds on a timely basis. I hypothesize that firms with private information about higher future profitability and seeking debt financing forgo immediate use of provisions that allow the carryback of net operating losses as a signaling device to separate from firms with lower future profitability in order to obtain more favorable borrowing terms. Firms expecting lower profitability are deterred from mimicking because carrying net operating losses forward is less valuable to them. Consistent with this hypothesis, firms that do not file claims for refunds on a timely basis display higher future profitability and receive lower debt financing costs than firms that file when they first become eligible. These results are stronger when the level of information asymmetry about the borrower's type is greater. This study is the first to offer a rational explanation for the low take-up rate of tax refunds. As a result, the evidence presented in this study could be relevant to academics and fiscal policy makers that seek to better understand how tax policies affect real decisions. This Draft: February 2016


Abstract We introduce The Benchmark of Linguistic Minimal Pairs (BLiMP),1 a challenge set for evaluating the linguistic knowledge of language models (LMs) on major grammatical phenomena in English. BLiMP consists of 67 individual datasets, each containing 1,000 minimal pairs—that is, pairs of minimally different sentences that contrast in grammatical acceptability and isolate specific phenomenon in syntax, morphology, or semantics. We generate the data according to linguist-crafted grammar templates, and human aggregate agreement with the labels is 96.4%. We evaluate n-gram, LSTM, and Transformer (GPT-2 and Transformer-XL) LMs by observing whether they assign a higher probability to the acceptable sentence in each minimal pair. We find that state-of-the-art models identify morphological contrasts related to agreement reliably, but they struggle with some subtle semantic and syntactic phenomena, such as negative polarity items and extraction islands.


Early booking, prior to fourteen weeks gestation is usually recommended to achieve improved outcome of pregnancy for the mother and the fetus.A survey of information among patients attending post-natal clinic at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos Nigeria was carried out using a structured questionnaire. The mean gestational age at booking was 23.5(+6.9) weeks. Only 23(6%) booked before 14 weeks gestation.The reasons given for late booking were mandatory blood donation of one pint of blood to the hospital's blood bank by the husband or the relative (44%), convenience (25%), the logistics involved in registration (24%), affordability (3%) while relocation and assurance of a live fetus (quickening) contributed 2% each. The need to educate women in the reproductive age group on the importance of early booking is recommended. It is also recommended that the logistics involved in registration and blood donation should be reviewed.


The objective of many high-throughput "omics" studies is to obtain a relatively low-dimensional set of observables - signature - for sample classification purposes (diagnosis, prognosis, stratification). We propose DNetPRO, Discriminant Analysis with Network PROcessing, a supervised signature identification method based on a bottom-up combinatorial approach that exploits the discriminant power of all variable pairs. The algorithm is easily scalable allowing efficient computing even for high number of observables (104 − 105). We show applications on real high-throughput genomic datasets in which our method outperforms existing results, or compares to them but with a smaller number of selected variables. Moreover the linearity of DNetPRO allows a clearer interpretation of the obtained signatures in comparison to non linear classification models


Ten patients aged 64-94 yr (mean 80 yr) underwent percutaneous transhepatic removal of common duct stones after endoscopic papillotomy and stone removal were judged to be contraindicated. The technique involved percutaneous placement of a modified Dormia basket in the common duct with its tip in the duodenum. The stones or fragments were then snared and carried into the duodenum. In 5 patients monooctanoin infusion was attempted after the basket procedure in order to remove sludge or fragments that resisted snaring or crushing. The stones were 0.5-2.5 cm in diameter. Symptoms disappeared in all 10 patients without further therapy. Complications included an abdominal wall abscess, an unexplained drop in hematocrit, a subcapsular hematoma, and one episode of pancreatitis. All complications resolved without further incident.


Abstract. The Walloon region of Belgium has launched a research project that aims at elaborating a methodology for automated, high-quality land cover mapping, based primarily on its yearly 0.25m orthophoto coverage. Whereas in urban areas an object-based (OBIA) approach has been the privileged path in the last years as it allows taking into account shape information relevant for the characterization of man-made constructions, such an approach has its limits in the rural and more natural areas due to increased difficulties for segmentation and less sharp boundaries, thus calling for a pixel-based approach. The project thus consists in developing a combination of methods, and to integrate their results through an ensemble fusion approach. As many of the more natural land cover classes have temporal profiles which cannot be detected in a one-date orthoimage, Sentinel 1 and 2 data are also included in order to take advantage of their higher spectral and temporal resolution. All methods are trained using existing regional databases. In a second step, we combine the different LC classification results by fusioning them into one high-accuracy (over 90% OA) product, using a series of different approaches ranging from rule-based to machine learning to the Dempster-Shafer method. The entire toolchain is based on free and open source software, mainly GRASS GIS and Orfeo ToolBox. Results indicate the importance of the quality of the individual classifications for the fusion results and justify the choice of combining OBIA and pixel-based approaches in order to avoid the pitfalls of each.


Background Systemic lupus is a highly heterogeneous disease. Along with production of autoantibodies against double stranded DNA, some patients also show reactivity for different ribonucleoprotein complexes (RNP), and they appear to share a distinct phenotype. Toll-like receptors (TLR) are pathogen detectors that trigger the innate defense and lead to the maturation of immunocompetent cells. Endosomal TLR have been associated to the pathogenesis of SLE and to the production of autoantibodies. We have recently shown that also surface TLR were associated to more active disease in a cohort of lupus patients. Objectives Our current objective was to seek for a specific innate activation footprint in circulating mononuclear cells (PBMC) from the anti RNP+ subgroup of lupus patients. Methods Thirty six patients diagnosed with lupus and 13 matched controls were recruited. Cumulative features and biologic markers were registered. PBMC were isolated and the CD14, CD3, and CD19 subpopulations were positively selected with magnetic sorting. The mRNA levels of TLR, interferon inducible peptide 10 (IP10), the MHC class I-related ligand A (MICA), and the expression of miR146a, and miR181a were determined with qPCR techniques. Statistics were carried out with Spearman's correlation, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests for independent samples. Categorical variables were compared with Chi-Square and Fisher's exact test. Significance was set at 95%. Results Anti RNP antibodies were found in 55% of the patients. Of all the TLR studied in the sorted subpopulations of PBMC, gene expression levels of TLR2, TLR4 and TLR7 in CD14 cells were significantly higher in the anti RNP+ subgroup of patients (p 0.008, p 0.007, p 0.01, respectively). The 3 molecules were significantly enhanced in active disease, but were not associated to low complement or higher ANA titers. There was a strong correlation between the up-regulation of all TLR in CD14 cells and the gene expression levels of IP10 in these cells (p<0.001), as well as in CD19 cells (p<0.05). The induction of these TLR was also correlated with the gene expression of MICA in CD14 and CD3 cells. In contrast, levels of miR146a, a regulator of the innate activation of nuclear factor kappa B, were not changed upon TLR induction, while levels of miR181a in CD3 cells were negatively correlated with MICA expression levels in these cells and with levels of TLR7 in CD14 cells. An increase in IP10 levels in CD14 and in CD3 cells was found in anti RNP+ patients compared to healthy controls. Compared to the anti RNP- subgroup, anti RNP+ patients showed an up-regulation of IP10 in CD14+ cells, and of MICA in both CD14 and CD3 cells, while the RNP- subgroup showed a profound down-regulation of MICA in CD3 compared to healthy controls. Conclusions Our results identified an innate activation pathway selectively associated to the subgroup of anti RNP+ lupus patients. Our data showed relevant differences in the phenotype of monocytes and T lymphocytes exhibited by anti RNP+ and RNP- patients, and these findings suggest that different pathogenic factors trigger an IFN response in both subgroups as well. Disclosure of Interest None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.5350


Because of the lack or incompleteness of data, a number of maritime risk studies based on fuzzy rule‐based approaches have been proposed. However, two drawbacks can be identified in such approaches. The first is the low degree of discrimination of risk results because of the membership function distribution of the linguistic terms describing inputs. The lack of discrimination becomes degenerative in circumstances where the membership functions of linguistic terms are disproportionately distributed. The second is the lack of consideration for different effects of risk results caused by input weights because of the loss of information from the inputs. By developing a new mechanism for constructing rules and fuzzy conclusions, a risk modelling capable of overcoming such difficulties is proposed. The methodology is validated using two case studies selected from the literature. It is concluded that the framework is able to provide better discrimination of risk results. Risk outcomes can be generated with confidence regardless of the membership function shapes of linguistic terms in both the antecedent and consequent parts. It also has the feature that enables risk results to be sensitive to the minor alterations of input weights.


PURPOSE
The efficacy and thrombogenicity of transdermal estradiol in the management of refractory uremic bleeding in adults are examined.

SUMMARY
Platelet dysfunction from chronic kidney disease may induce uremic bleeding. This type of bleeding may involve the skin, oral and nasal mucosa, gingivae, respiratory system, and gastrointestinal or urinary tract. While the mainstay of treatment for uremic bleeding primarily involves dialysis and use of prohemostatic agents such as desmopressin and erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, certain patients may experience bleeding refractory to these interventions. In this clinical scenario, a weak conditional recommendation (grade 2C) supporting transdermal estradiol as a therapy of last resort exists. Limited data suggest that transdermal estradiol may reduce bleeding time and transfusion requirements in dialysis patients with recurrent episodes of hematochezia, gastrointestinal telangiectasia, and hematomas. The management of uremic bleeding will require long-term therapy, and case reports have documented the safe use of transdermal estradiol for up to 25 months. Oral conjugated estrogens increase the risk of deep vein thrombosis in women; however, the transdermal route of administration has been associated with a lower incidence of venous thromboembolism and stroke relative to oral estrogen and, in some studies, its associated risk of thrombosis is not significantly different when compared with placebo.

CONCLUSION
Patients who are refractory to routine interventions for uremic bleeding may benefit from transdermal estrogen despite the limited data. Extended therapy with low-dose transdermal estrogen (≤50 μg daily) may provide a hemostatic benefit that outweighs thrombotic risk.


1. Impulse activities of muscle spindle afferents from the finger extensor muscles were recorded in the radial nerve of human subjects. In addition to single unit activity, surface EMG was recorded as well as finger joint position and angular velocity. 2. All units were studied under two conditions of voluntary finger movements. In the visual condition, the subject tracked ramp and hold sequences at a single metacarpophalangeal joint. In the non‐visual condition the subject was asked to produce the same movement while visual control was denied altogether. 3. With sixteen units, detailed statistical analyses failed to reveal significant differences in muscle spindle afferent activity between the visual and the non‐visual task. However, with two group Ia units, impulse rate was marginally but significantly higher in the visual task even when differences in average movement velocity, velocity variability and EMG level had been factored out. 4. The findings suggested that access to visual information for movement control did not produce any large‐scale differences in spindle afference, although a small effect of an increased and independent gamma‐activation emerged in the statistical analysis in 11% of the units.


Knowledge, as represented in the history of ideas and in studies of knowledge paradigms and bibliographical structures, appears coherent and rationalistic. By examining the work of the French historian and philosopher Michel Foucault, this view is discussed. Special attention is given, in any cultural or scientific interpretation of an age, to the need to get behind the dominant or hegemonistic body of institutionalized and documented knowledge. We need to investigate the assumptions and underlying influences on the ways in which discourse embody and shape meanings. What preconceptually underpins, we might ask, what people know as knowledge. Important links between language, truth and power are examined, and these are major concerns for Foucault. It is argued that Foucault's 'archaeological' and 'genealogical' insights into the nature of warranted knowledge are crucial for an understanding of the communication process and the knowledge‐organizing activities of information specialists.


The practical success of service platform technology for next-generation wireless multimedia relies largely on its flexibility in providing adaptive and cost effective services. This article aims to present an overview of existing work in the area, pointing out key research issues and possible solutions for successful implementation a well engineered next-generation services to be created, deployed and managed, addressing customer as well as operator needs. The first part of the presentation deals with advances in service platform technologies for next generation mobile systems. Cellular networks have provide a wide range of services and worldwide roaming with low costs and stable service quality. This technology plays an important role in providing mobile communication services. The next part of this presentation contains IP multimedia subsystem service platform including key parts: QoS and policy. In the third part, network support for multimedia delivery together with multimedia conferencing is described. This article is concluded with long term evolution technology.


Until recently, there was no regional civil society alliance dedicated exclusively to addressing statelessness. This changed with the advent of the European Network on Statelessness (ENS), which has attracted fifty non-governmental organization (NGOs) members since its public launch in June 2012. Aside from vindicating the need for such a coordinating body in the region, the development of ENS also offers several useful perspectives on how networks can serve as effective generators for change and as forums to help overcome a historical lack of awareness of, or even indifference to, the plight of stateless persons. This article explores the importance of awareness-raising and the gains possible through finding diverse and multiple entry points to approach the issue. It reflects on these lessons and the challenges that remain, including their potential to help inform an emerging discussion around the need to develop an international coalition of actors dedicated to combatting statelessness. The article concludes that only through working together will it be possible to make real progress towards achieving the recently articulated ambition by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to eradicate statelessness within a decade.


Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a type II transmembrane glycoprotein that is highly expressed in the malignant human prostate epithelium. Therefore, PSMA has emerged as a very attractive target for developing radiopharmaceuticals for the diagnosis, e.g., by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, and radiotherapy of prostate cancer. The aim of this study was to develop 18F-labeled PSMA ligands bearing different 18F-glycosyl moieties to study the effect on the in vivo clearance behavior of radiotracers in addition to their tumor binding ability. Therefore, we applied click chemistry-based 18F-fluoroglcosylation using 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoroglucosyl azide or 6-deoxy-6-[18F]fluoroglucosyl azide as prosthetic groups for the radiosynthesis of the 18F-fluoroglycosylated glutamate-urea-lysine based PSMA inhibitors 2-[18F]FGlc-PSMA ([18F]7) and 6-[18F]FGlc-PSMA ([18F]8). The PSMA-binding affinities were determined by competitive radioligand binding assays using 99mTc-MIP-1404 and PSMA-expressing PC-3 PIP cells, revealing moderate affinities to PSMA for [18F]7 (IC50=234 nM) and [18F]8 (IC50=59 nM). Biodistribution and small animal PET studies were performed using PSMA-positive PC-3 PIP and PSMA-negative PC-3 tumor-bearing nude mice. PSMA inhibitors [18F]7 and [18F]8 were obtained in high radioactivity yields of 19-22% (non-decay-corrected, referred to [18F]fluoride) and with molar activities of 71-136 GBq/µmol. In the biodistribution studies, the uptake levels of [18F]7 and [18F]8 in PC-3 PIP tumors were 13±3 %ID/g and 6±5 %ID/g at 60 min p.i., respectively. PSMA-negative PC-3 tumors and all other tissues had negligible low uptake values. Interestingly, [18F]7 had high uptake in the kidneys, with remarkable retention from 30 to 60 min p.i. (74 to 72 %ID/g). In contrast, [18F]8 revealed a low uptake of 7.5 %ID/g in the kidneys at 30 min p.i. and was rapidly cleared through the kidney (0.9 %ID/g at 120 min p.i.). In direct comparison to a 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET scan of the same mouse, [18F]7 and [18F]8 showed 2- to 3-fold higher uptake values in PC-3 PIP tumors. Both radiotracers were solely cleared via the kidneys and not via the hepatobiliary pathway. The regional kidney distribution pattern of the tracers in the kidneys revealed that 68Ga-PSMA-11 and 2-[18F]FGlc-PSMA ([18F]7) mainly accumulated in the cortex of the kidneys, whereas 6-[18F]FGlc-PSMA ([18F]8) showed 10-fold lower kidney uptake with accumulation in the inner medulla or pelvis of the kidneys. Overall, the developed 6-fluoroglucosyl derivative [18F]8, with its considerably low kidney uptake and fast clearance, demonstrated high uptake in PSMA-positive tumors in vivo. This candidate could, therefore, be valuable for translation into the clinic.


Why vegans are hesitant about vaccines x First, vaccines typically have to be tested on non-human animals as part of official approval procedures. Since ethical vegans reject the notion that humans have the right to exploit non-human animals, they may reject vaccines at a philosophical level because testing still involves treating non-human animals as objects of use. [...]vaccines often, but not always, contain animal ingredients, including gelatin, lactose, and blood from endangered horseshoe crabs. [...]vegans are not one homogenous group. [...]while authenticity involves being true to oneself, it is also socially constructed and requires living up to particular norms or expectations of others. [...]being authentic involves both being oneself and fitting in.


The RADclock is an open source software clock that is highly robust to latency variability. A limitation up to now has been that it could only be used with NTP servers, and was unable to take advantage of IEEE-1588 enabled devices, including PTP masters and NICs with hardware timestamping. This paper benchmarks an early implementation of PTP support for RADclock, with and without hardware timestamping. We evaluate performance under both nominal and stressed conditions against alternative software clients ptpd and timekeeper and find that it compares very well.


Abstract Objective: Psychiatric disorders and suicide risk (especially in psoriasis) are frequent and disabling conditions in patients with skin diseases. The aim of this study was to examine the risk of suicide and stressful life events in a sample of patients with skin disease. Methods: A sample of 242 dermatological patients (142 women and 100 men), 112 of which had psoriasis, 77 had melanoma, and 53 were suffering with chronic allergic diseases. Patients were administered the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), and the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). Patients were also asked about their experiences with stressful life events. Results: Patients with psoriasis were more likely to have a history of psychiatric disorders (36.6% vs. 13.2% χ2(1) = 9.55; p = 0.002) compared to patients with allergies. Specifically, patients with psoriasis more likely had a diagnosis of a mood disorder (16.1% vs. 3.9% χ2(1) = 6.85; p = 0.009; 16.1% vs. 0% χ2(1) = 9.56; p = 0.002) and reported past suicidal ideation (33.9% vs. 15.6% χ2(1) = 7.89; p = 0.005; 33.9% vs. 18.9% χ2(1) = 3.96; p = 0.047) as compared to those with melanoma and allergy. Conclusions: The results from this study suggest that patients affected by psoriasis have an increased risk of psychiatric comorbidities and suicidal ideation compared to those who have other dermatological disorders.


Sleep is increasingly recognized as an important determinant of health and well-being. Approximately 50 million to 70 million Americans have either a sleep disorder or habitually insufficient sleep.1 How insufficient sleep ultimately affects disease risk remains unclear. Experimental evidence demonstrates that sleep loss can adversely affect components of the immune system critical to host resistance to infectious illness. Furthermore, short sleep duration and sleep disturbances prospectively predict increased susceptibility to upper respiratory infection after an experimental viral challenge.2,3 Despite this evidence and the common belief that risk of infectious illness increases during periods of insufficient sleep, to our knowledge this has not been investigated at the population level. We examined associations between self-reported measures of sleep and the probability of occurrence of colds and infections, including influenza, pneumonia, and ear infections, in a nationally representative sample of adults.


Women with HIV infection have an increased risk of developing certain malignancies. These malignancies are commonly human papillomavirus (HPV)-related, reflecting the high rate of coinfection with HPV in women with underlying HIV infection. These women also have a high incidence of premalignant HPV-related changes, such as high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions as diagnosed on Pap smears and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia on cervical biopsy. Screening recommendations for HIV-infected women reflect the need for vigilance in detecting and treating these lesions early. In addition, recent interest has focused on the use of cervical cancer screening, employing HPV-testing techniques, and on HPV vaccination in younger women to prevent initial infection and the subsequent development of cervical and other HPV-related cancers. The incidence of other types of malignancies, such as Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is also increased in HIV-infected individuals. When these lymphomas occur, they tend to be of advanced stage and high-grade histologies. The advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy has been associated with a marked decrease in the incidence of some of these cancers. The use of therapy has been associated with marked improvement in response rates and overall survival of affected patients.


In many branches of science, particularly astronomy and geophysics, power spectra of the form f/sup -/spl beta//, where /spl beta/ is a positive power-law exponent, are common. This form of spectrum is characterized by a sharp increase in the spectral density as the frequency f decreases toward zero. A power spectrum analysis method that has proven very powerful wherever the spectrum of interest is detailed and/or varies rapidly with a large dynamic range is the multitaper method. With multitaper spectral estimation, a set of orthogonal tapers are applied to the time series, and the resulting direct spectral estimators ("eigenspectra") are averaged, thus, reducing the variance. One class of processes with spectra of the power-law type are fractionally differenced Gaussian processes that are stationary and can model certain types of long-range persistence. Spectral decay f/sup -/spl beta// can be modeled for 0</spl beta/<1. Estimation of the spectral slope parameter by regression on multitaper spectral ordinates is examined for this class of processes. It is shown that multitapering, or using sine or Slepian tapers, produces much better results than using the periodogram and is attractive compared with other competing methods. The technique is applied to a geophysical estimation problem.


Leaks in geomembrane liners of waste landfills and liquid impoundments cause chemical contaminants to leak into the subsurface environment. A mathematical model is presented to simulate electrophoretic sealing of impoundment leaks. The model describes the formation of a compressible clay cake because of electrical and gravitational forces. The model includes mass balance equations for the solid particles and liquid phase, modified Darcy's law in an electrical field, and Terzaghi's definition of effective stress. The formulation is presented in the Eulerian coordinates. The resulting second-order, nonlinear partial differential equation and the lower boundary condition are linearized to obtain an analytical solution for time-dependent settlement. After discretizing in time the analytical solution is applied to simulate compression of an accreting sediment. In the simulation of an accreting sediment, solid fluxes on either side of suspension/sediment interface are coupled using a no-jump condition. The velocity of a discrete particle in the suspension zone is assumed to be equal to the algebraic sum of electrophoretic and Stoke's settling velocities. An empirical relationship available in the literature is used to account for the effect of concentration on the velocity of solid particles in the suspension zone. The validity of the semianalytical approach is partially verified using an exact steady state solution for self-weight consolidation. The simulation results obtained for a set of material parameters are presented graphically. It is noted that the electrokinetic consolidation of sediment continues even after the completion of electrophoretic settling of all clay particles. An analysis reveals that the electrophoretic cake formation process is quite sensitive to voltage gradient and the coefficient of compressibility.


Mutations in the FLT3 gene are the most common genetic alteration found in AML patients. FLT3 internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutations result in constitutive activation of FLT3 tyrosine kinase activity. The consequences of this activation are an increase in total phosphotyrosine content, persistent downstream signaling, and ultimately transformation of hematopoietic cells to factor-independent growth. The Src homology (SH)2 domain-containing protein-tyrosine phosphatase (SHP)-1 is involved in the down-regulation of a broad range of growth factor and cytokine-driven signaling cascades. Loss-of-function or deficiency of SHP-1 activity results in a hyperproliferative response of myelomonocytic cell populations to growth factor stimulation. In this study, we examined the possible role of SHP-1 in regulating FLT3 signaling. We found that transformation of TF-1 cells with FLT3/ITD mutations suppressed the activity of SHP-1 by ∼3-fold. Suppression was caused by decreased SHP-1 protein expression, as analyzed at both the protein and RNA levels. In contrast, protein levels of SHP-2, a phosphatase that plays a stimulatory role in signaling through a variety of receptors, did not change significantly in FLT3 mutant cells. Suppressed SHP-1 protein levels in TF-1/ITD cells were partially overcome after cells were exposed to CEP-701, a selective FLT3 inhibitor. SHP-1 protein levels also increased in naturally occurring FLT3/ITD expressing AML cell lines and in primary FLT3/ITD AML samples after CEP-701 treatment. Furthermore, a small but reproducible growth/survival advantage was observed in both TF-1 and TF-1/ITD cells when SHP-1 expression was knocked down by RNAi. Taken together, these data provide the first evidence that suppression of SHP-1 by FLT3/ITD signaling may be another mechanism contributing to the transformation by FLT3/ITD mutations.


Abstract Smoking is known to have various deleterious effects on health. However, it is not clear whether smoking negatively affects the postoperative outcome following matrix-based autologous cartilage implantation (MACI) in the knee. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of smoking on the outcome of MACI in the knee. A total of 281 patients receiving MACI in the knee between 2015 and 2018 were registered in the German Cartilage Database. The cohort was divided into ex-smokers, smokers, and nonsmokers. Data regarding the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), the numeric rating scale (NRS) for pain, and satisfaction with the outcome were analyzed and compared. Follow-ups were performed at 6, 12, and 24 months after surgery. Of the 281 patients, 225 (80.1%) were nonsmokers, 43 (15.3%) were smokers, and 13 (4.6%) were ex-smokers. The three groups were comparable with respect to age, sex, body mass index (BMI), height, defect size, the need for additional reconstruction of the subchondral bone defect, number of previous knee surgeries, and defect location. However, nonsmokers had a significantly lower weight as compared with smokers. Besides a significantly lower preoperative NRS of nonsmokers as compared with smokers, there were no significant differences between the three groups with respect to KOOS, NRS, and satisfaction at 6, 12, and 24 months of follow-ups. The present study of data retrieved from the German Cartilage Registry suggests that the smoking status does not influence the outcome of MACI in the knee.


Throughout the past public health early warning work, there is still a lack of early warning. Therefore, starting from the reform of the public health early warning mechanism, this paper sorts out the design and development of our country's public health early warning mechanism and its legal framework and further analyzes the unresolved problems that exist in early warning work. At this stage, our country's public health departments have put forward targeted suggestions for improving the early warning mechanism for emergencies and stabilizing public order. In this context, the following data are obtained: (1) The timeliness under the big data model is 73.81%, the prudence is 84.25%, the sustainability is 96.28%; the timeliness under the data mining model is 61.98%, prudence is 77.58%, sustainability is 83.24%; and the timeliness of the intelligent computing model is 53.44%, prudence is 65.58%, and sustainability is 96.28%. (2) During public health emergencies, the path of news dissemination includes 54 people for radio and television communication, accounting for 13%; 98 people for digital communication, accounting for 24%; 73 people for digital TV communication, accounting for 19%; the number of public relations companies was 63 people, accounting for 16%; the number of people who reprinted and spread was 52 people, accounting for 12%; the number of people who searched and spread was 73 people, accounting for 19%; the number of people who spread mobile phone messages was 32 people, accounting for 9%. At this stage, according to the characteristics of public health emergencies, the problems existing in the early warning work are analyzed, and specific suggestions for improving the early warning mechanism of public health emergencies in our country are put forward to stabilize the "public order." Research in this area is ongoing.


The objective of this study was to investigate the neurite guidance potential of concentration gradients of glycine–arginine–glycine–aspartic acid-serine (GRGDS) oligopeptides immobilized within three-dimensional patterned cylindrical volumes created in a biodegradable nerve guidance matrix. This was achieved using ultraviolet (UV) laser micropatterning of a hyaluronan (HA) hydrogel matrix modified with S-2-nitrobenzyl cysteine. Upon exposure to focused laser light, the 2-nitrobenzyl group was cleaved, exposing thiol groups which reacted with maleimide-terminated GRGDS exclusively within these laser-defined volumes. We show that the UV laser micropatterning technique can be used to create GRGDS peptide concentration gradients within the oligopeptide channels and that these channels guide neurite outgrowth from primary neural cells.


The article analyses the job quality and the job satisfaction from a regional point of view, paying an especial attention to the especial case of the region of Madrid. Job satisfaction is a relevant matter, explaining some of the most important outcomes of labour market. The quality of job is the main aspect setting worker's feeling about job. In this context, this paper pursuit several goals: First, we want to know the level of job quality form a regional point of view. Second, we are interested on relation between job quality and job satisfaction, explaining the observed different between Madrid and the rest of Spain. Results point out that Madrid has a high level of job quality but their workers show a less job satisfaction than other Spanish regions.


OBJECTIVE
To study clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of syphilitic posterior uveitis.

METHODS
A retrospective study was conducted in 26 patients with syphilitic posterior uveitis. The diagnosis was confirmed by clinical and laboratory tests.

RESULTS
There were 26 patients, 16 males and 10 females, mean age was 40 years. Fourteen patients were bilateral. The symptoms included impaired vision and floaters. In 40 eyes, yellow-white lesions in the posterior pole were present in 8 eyes, 22 eyes showed mild congestion of optic discs and loss of reflex in the fovea, and 6 eyes showed significant congestion and swelling of the optic disc. Fluorescein angiography showed staining or hyperfluorescence of optic disc in 40 eyes, venous leakage in 26 eyes, retinal pigment epithelium damage with dye pooling in 6 eyes, and cystoid macular edema in 6 eyes. ICGA: squamous or disseminative hypofluorescence damage was present in all 40 eyes. After the treatment, 32 eyes had improved vision and fundus damage.

CONCLUSIONS
Syphilitic posterior uveitis has typical symptoms and signs. This is a curable disease, early diagnosis and prompt treatment are important for the improvement of prognosis.


The Social Brian Hypothesis predicts the cognitive ability of hominin species by utilising estimated brain and group sizes in relation to an ordinal scale of cognitive complexity expressed as orders of intentionality. The Social Brain Hypothesis predictions however, have never been correlated to the archaeological behavioural record in order to ascertain their behavioural validity. This thesis is concerned with testing the cognitive predictions of the Social Brain Hypothesis against the material culture evidence of hominin behaviour through a new theoretical construct termed the Identity Model. The Identity Model offers a theoretical perspective on the construction of individual and group identity through the Palaeolithic linked to a scale of cognitive complexity shared by the Social Brain Hypothesis. Embedded within the Identity Model are the notions that material culture / behaviour could be imbued with culturally significant social meaning once the ability to construct proxies had been achieved, this in turn feeds into the development of language from non-linguistic societies based on visual display to fully grammatical syntax. Using technological modes and widely held beliefs within the academic community relating to hominin behavioural practice and artefact manufacture as a heuristic, the Identity Model (and through the orders of intentionality, the Social Brain Hypothesis) has been related to the archaeological record, and the predictions preliminarily tested though a series of eleven case studies stretching circa 600,000 – 24,000 years before present. The results of the lithic analysis show that despite common perception (and the Social Brain Hypothesis predictions on cognitive potential), the use of lithic artefacts in actively negotiating hominin social relationships may not have had their genesis with the mode 2 (Acheulean) biface, but rather may be more securely associated with mode 3 prepared core technologies and the advent of the composite tool and pigment use. This in turn intimates that the Social Brain Hypothesis predicts the potential cognitive ability of ancient hominin species whilst the archaeology, through the filter of the Identity Model, illustrates the realised cognitive ability, and the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Based on the results and discussions of this thesis, it would appear that cognitive potential must therefore be in place before it can be realised, further suggesting that hominin physiological changes must occur before behavioural changes become evident within the archaeological record.


Optimizing the performance of distributed database applications is difficult to combine with middleware vendor independence since cache, transaction and cluster configuration is database and application server specific. The most promising approach is to use a flexible code generator. The model driven architecture can become a successful standard for model based code generation by offering a set of high quality code generation languages. To focus the comparison of such languages on criteria that matter in practical development, there is an urgent need for more, and more realistic, case studies. Therefore, we present a complex middleware performance pattern that should be generated for at least two application servers. The code generator should have maximal reuse, separation of concerns and evolution support. From this case study, we derive the requirements for model refinement and code generation languages. We illustrate how existing UML standards can be integrated to satisfy these requirements and conclude with an overview of the language features that were needed to provide an elegant solution to the case study.


Abstract Andronovo culture is the largest Eurasian formation in the Bronze Age, and it had a significant impact on neighboring regions. It is the important culture for understanding many historical processes, in particular, the origins and migration of Indo-Europeans. However, in most works there is a very simplified understanding of the scientific problems associated with this culture. The history of its study is full of opposing opinions, and all these opinions were based on reliable grounds. For a long time, the existence of the Andronovo problem was caused by the fact that researchers supposed they might explain general processes by local situations. In fact, the term "Andronovo culture" is incorrect. Another term "Andronovo cultural-historical commonality" also has no signs of scientific terminology. Under these terms a large number of cultures are combined, many of which were not related to each other. In the most simplified form, they can be combined into two blocks that existed during the Bronze Age: the steppe (Sintashta, Petrovka, Alakul, Sargari) and the forest-steppe (Fyodorovka, Cherkaskul, Mezhovka). Often these cultures are placed in vertical lines with genetic continuity. However, the problems of their chronology and interaction are very complicated. By Andronovo cultures we may understand only Fyodorovka and Alakul cultures (except for its early stage); however, it is better to avoid the use of this term.


Edge finite elements are typically used in many modern applications, where modeling of distribution of electromagnetic fields is required. These elements differ from nodal finite elements in the fact that they provide continuity of tangential components of the field variables across element interfaces while allowing discontinuity in normal components. This, in turn, eliminates the so-called spurious solutions in eigenvalue analysis in cavities. Comparison of edge and nodal finite elements is presented by analyzing their advantages and disadvantages. Form functions used to describe rectangular finite element in 3D space are presented. Properties of the edge finite element SOLID117, which is implemented in the software package ANSYS/Emag (ANSYS Inc., www.ansys.com) and intended for modeling of low-frequency electromagnetic fields, are discussed here. Generalized electromagnetic field modeling algorithm using edge finite elements was created.


We introduce Jukebox, a model that generates music with singing in the raw audio domain. We tackle the long context of raw audio using a multi-scale VQ-VAE to compress it to discrete codes, and modeling those using autoregressive Transformers. We show that the combined model at scale can generate high-fidelity and diverse songs with coherence up to multiple minutes. We can condition on artist and genre to steer the musical and vocal style, and on unaligned lyrics to make the singing more controllable. We are releasing thousands of non cherry-picked samples at this https URL, along with model weights and code at this https URL


The scientific detection of cosmic dust particles will provide information about their astrophysical source and velocity. A suitable capture medium will preserve the particles in such a state (not necessarily the state just before capture) that their intrinsic chemical, mineral, and/or biological information can be determined. Foam and stacked, thin foil arrays provide the best current technology for effecting this capture. This paper presents physical and chemical data about a number of commercial and experimental foams and metal foils that could potentially be used to capture cosmic dust particles. The most promising foams are polystyrene-based: bead, extruded, and emulsion-polymerized. The most promising foils are those made of beryllium, aluminum, or gold. 30 refs., 1 fig., 6 tabs.


Two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnetic (FM) semiconductors have been paid much attention due to the potential applications in spintronics. Here, the electronic and magnetic properties of 2D Janus Ni-trihalide monolayer Ni2X3Y3 (X, Y = I, Br, Cl; X ≠ Y) are investigated by first-principle calculations. The properties of Ni2X3Y3 (X, Y = I, Br, Cl; X ≠ Y) monolayers are compared by selecting the NiCl3 monolayer as the reference material. Ni2X3Y3 monolayers have two distinct magnetic ground states of ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AFM). In the Ni2X3Y3 monolayer, two different orbital splits were observed, one semiconductor state and the other semimetal state. The semimetal state of Ni2X3Y3 can be tuned to semiconductor or metallic state when biaxial strain is applied. The magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) of the Ni2X3Y3 monolayer can display variations compared to that of the NiCl3 monolayer, with the direction of easy magnetization being influenced by the specific halogen elements present. The easy magnetization direction of Ni2X3Y3 can also be changed by applying biaxial strain. The Tc of Ni2X3Y3 is predicted to be about 100 K according to the calculation of the EAFM-EFM model. The design of the Janus Ni2X3Y3 structure has expanded the range of 2D magnetic materials, a significant contribution has been made to the advancement of spintronics and its applications.


Language processing architectures are often evaluated in near-to-perfect conditions with respect to processed content. The tools which perform sufficiently well on electronic press, books and other type of non-interactive content may poorly handle littered, colloquial and multilingual textual data which make the majority of communication today. This paper aims at investigating how Polish Twitter data (in a slightly controlled 'political' flavour) differs from expectation of linguistic tools and how they could be corrected to be ready for processing by standard language processing chains available for Polish. The setting includes specialised components for spelling correction of tweets as well as hashtag and username decoding.


Abstract Context: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a devastating disease characterized by progressive elevation of pulmonary arterial pressure and vascular resistance due to pulmonary vasoconstriction and vessel remodeling. The activation of RhoA/Rho-kinase (ROCK) pathway plays a central role in the pathologic progression of PH and thus the Rho kinase, an essential effector of the ROCK pathway, is considered as a potential therapeutic target to attenuate PH. Objective: In the current study, a synthetic pipeline is used to discover new potent Rho inhibitors from various natural products. Materials and methods: In the pipeline, the stepwise high-throughput virtual screening, quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR)-based rescoring, and kinase assay were integrated. The screening was performed against a structurally diverse, drug-like natural product library, from which six identified compounds were tested to determine their inhibitory potencies agonist Rho by using a standard kinase assay protocol. Results: With this scheme, we successfully identified two potent Rho inhibitors, namely phloretin and baicalein, with activity values of IC50 = 0.22 and 0.95 μM, respectively. Discussion and conclusion: Structural examination suggested that complicated networks of non-bonded interactions such as hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic forces, and van der Waals contacts across the complex interfaces of Rho kinase are formed with the screened compounds.


Abstract Fibre migration in yarns is thought to take place in the spinning triangle (ST), where high tensioned edge fibres tend to compete for a low tension state by displacing inner fibres outwards to occupy the core position – the tension mechanism. The angular alignment of fibres in the drafted roving – the geometric mechanism – is also considered to contribute to this movement. Although there is an understanding of the mechanisms of fibre migration, the outward movement of core fibres, from a low to high tension state and through a thick web of gripped fibres – moving inwards – has not been fully understood. In this study, we have attempted to reanalyse the classical migration mechanism from a new perspective and establish its relationship with a real ST using a new reflective imaging technique. The study findings suggest that pre-twist region in the ST, which is generally considered to be stable at one location, shows a rather dynamic oscillatory movement – a result of continuous change in ST tension profile. Spinning trials were conducted to confirm a relationship between pre-twist movement and degree of fibre migration.


An optically pumped semiconductor ring laser having a plurality of reflective elements optically aligned with one another to form a ring-shaped resonant cavity. A semiconductor lasing medium is mounted within the ring-shaped resonant cavity by a transparent, heat conductive mount located within a vacuum/cooling chamber of the type which allows the passage of a laser beam therethrough. A pump beam initiates a lasing action within the ring-shaped resonant cavity to produce said laser beam and said laser beam exits the resonant cavity as a pair of outputs. An alternate embodiment of the above described semiconductor ring laser provides a semblance of unidirectional lasing operation.


Abstract Nanoparticles composed of poly(alkyl cyanoacrylate) (PACA) have shown great promise due to their biodegradability and high drug loading capacity. Development of optimal PACA nanocarriers requires detailed analysis of the overall cellular impact exerted by PACA variants. We here perform a comprehensive comparison of cabazitaxel (CBZ)-loaded nanocarriers composed of three different PACA monomers, i.e. poly(n-butyl cyanoacrylate) (PBCA), poly(2-ethylbutyl cyanoacrylate) (PEBCA) and poly(octyl cyanoacrylate) (POCA). The cytotoxicity of drug-loaded and empty PACA nanoparticles were compared to that of free CBZ across a panel of nine cancer cell lines by assessing cellular metabolism, proliferation and protein synthesis. The analyses revealed that the cytotoxicity of all CBZ-loaded PACAs was similar to that of free CBZ for all cell lines tested, whereas the empty PACAs exerted much lower toxicity. To increase our understanding of the toxic effects of these treatments comprehensive MS-based proteomics were performed with HCT116, MDA-MB-231 and PC3 cells incubated with PACA-CBZ variants or free CBZ. Interestingly, PACA-CBZ specifically led to decreased levels of proteins involved in focal adhesion and stress fibers in all cell lines. Since we recently demonstrated that encapsulation of CBZ within PEBCA nanoparticles significantly improved the therapeutic effect of CBZ on a patient derived xenograft model in mice, we investigated the effects of this PACA variant more closely by immunoblotting. Interestingly, we detected several changes in the protein expression and degree of phosphorylation of SRC-pathway proteins that can be relevant for the therapeutic effects of these substances.


During February 1973 to October 1974 950 inpatients of the Department of Surgery, Erlangen, were tested for the presence of iso-antibodies before and after blood transfusions. Irregular antibodies were demonstrable in 0.95% of the patients before they received a blood transfusion. In 2.73% of the cases blood transfusion resulted in sensitization with the formation of specific blood group antibodies. Identification of the 26 iso-antibodies showed a prevalence of anti-Kell and anti-E (7 cases each). In view of the frequent occurrence of these two antigens tests for their presence are advisable before a blood transfusion is given. Persons who are re-admitted to hospital should also be tested to the presence of irregular antibodies to ensure that sensitization has not occurred during the intervening period.


This project is a review of prospects for room temperature magnetic semiconductors and their applications. We also studied general properties of semiconductors related to and found that their conductivity increases as temperature increase. Moreover, diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) are understood as a class of magnetic semiconductor in which a fraction of the cations are substitutionally replaced by magnetic ions. Finally, by using Heisenberg model of magnetic interaction we demonstrated the dispersion relation of magnons, average number of magnons, density of state for three dimension or bulk system and found that magnons dispersion is affected by magnetic spins from the magnetic dopant, the increase of density of state with energy, variation of number of magnons with temperature and lattice constant of the host material.