Doing research among Mormons is unique for a number of reasons. Primary among them is the organizational hierarchy and the top-down administration which emphasizes centralized direction over local autonomy. Centralization of authority increases local support for research endeavors and facilitates data collection procedures. In addition, the existence of a centralized membership information system means easy access to names and addresses of Latter-day Saints in the United States and Canada. Finally, the resources required to put together a large survey or a complex longitudinal study is more readily available because LDS Church leaders have been willing to allocate funds to support the research. Since the late seventies, a great deal of social scientific research has been conducted among Latter-day Saints, particularly those living in the United States (Stark 1984:26). In spite of high institutional support, researchers face significant methodological problems in studying Latter-day Saints. This paper is a review of the methodological issues researchers confronted while conducting three major research studies. The three studies were (1) a demographic survey, (2) a survey of religious attitudes and beliefs of LDS Church members, and (3) a survey examining the experience of adult women and men with the institutional church. The topics addressed by each of the surveys grew out of organizational concerns. The demographic survey was needed to provide information about such things as marriage, divorce, and fertility rates, education levels, labor force participation for both women and men, and the age structure of the LDS Church in the United States. This information provided particularly valuable information for those who publish Church magazines or develop curriculum and church programs (see Heaton and Goodman, 1985; Heaton 1986, Goodman and Heaton 1986, Heaton, 1988, Heaton 1989). The second survey focused on religious beliefs and attitudes of members and was concerned with understanding how Latter-day Saints are religious, how many have had periods of less active church participation, and the reasons for leaving church activity (see Albrecht, et. al., 1988; Albrecht and Cornwall, 1989; Cornwall, 1985; Cornwall et. al., 1986; Cornwall, 1987; Cornwall, 1988; Cornwall 1989). The third survey focused on the experience both women and men have as members of the LDS Church. Attention was given to their experience with Church leaders, feelings about programs and curriculum offered by the Church, family and personal concerns, and the personal well-being of Church members (see Thomas, 1988). Of primary concern to researchers was the need to collect data which would be representative of all Latter-day Saints, no matter their current level of religious


Summary Five strains of Streptococcus cremoris were used to investigate how bitterness in pasteurized-milk cheese was influenced by different combinations and proportions of paired strains in the starter. The combination of strains as starter influenced bitterness in cheese at six months of age as follows: (a) The intensity of bitterness decreased as the proportion of the nonbitter-cheese-producing strain in the starter increased; (b) the intensity of bitterness was less in cheese made with Strain ML 1 in the combination than with Strain E 8 , even though the intensities of bitterness were low in cheeses made with either ML 1 or E 8 alone; and (c) the combination of two bitter-cheese-producing strains yielded bitter cheese. The results showed that nonbitter cheese could be produced even if one strain produced bitter cheese when used alone as starter. Being able to use a bitter-cheese-producing strain as one of a pair of strains in a starter simplifies the problem of selecting strains for rotation in a phage-control program. The intensity of bitterness was higher in cheese where the average chain lengths of TCA-soluble peptides and amino acids were higher.


In this paper, for a case of of incineration of two typical medical wastes in the furnace, maximum amounts of both wastes that can be burned at the given conditions were determined, that is, a larger number of limitations that are characteristic for the observed problem. At this, the analytical geometry method was applied, where were included two variables that represent the mass flow of mentioned wastes. A mathematical model with six limitations in linear form is formed on the basis of thermodynamic relations of combustion process of waste. At the end of the paper, a presentation of method at one numerical example from practice was given, where besides required quantities of waste, working area was determined. The solution of problem is obtained using lower heating value of waste. Obtained graphical solution was verified by analytical method.


Polymers carrying a hydrolyzable ester function and bactericidal quaternary ammonium salts were successfully synthesized in 2 steps. The first one was the modification of hydroxyl functions of poly(vinyl alcohol) by chloroacetic anhydride. The structure of synthesized polymers was confirmed by infrared (IR), 1H-, and 13C- nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The kinetic results were consistent with a 1-order reaction, and the activation energy in the case of total modification was found to be 16.8 kJ mol−1. The second step was the quaternization of the pendant chlorine atom with a long alkyl chain or aromatic tertiary amines. The percentage of grafting was almost total, except with 3-diethylaminophenol, probably due to steric hindrance. The thermal degradation of polymers was studied. Side chains carrying quaternary ammonium salts begin to degrade at 168°C with the emission of chloride and amine compounds. At about 250°C, acetic and chloroacetic acid are evolved due to acetate and chloroacetate side chains. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 70: 2657–2666, 1998


Insulin Resistance Syndrome (IRS) refers to a cluster of pathologies including hypercholesterolaemia, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease indicating that these diseases share a common aetiology in insulin resistance and hyperinsulinaemia. Recently a simple index of insulin resistance referred to as the Fasting Insulin Resistance Index (FIRI) was proposed by Duncan et al, for use in clinical practice and epidemiologic investigations of disease FIRI is estimated as the product of fasting plasma glucose and fasting plasma insulin divided by 25 (FIRI = (glucose x insulin/25). This communication evaluates the utility of FIRI using data from a large comprehensive ecologic study on diet and disease in rural counties in the People's Republic of China and provides support for the use of this biomarker/index in epidemiologic studies on disease states associated with IRS.


The turbidity control system of municipal water supply plant is a non-linear and time-variant process with a large time constant and large dead time,which is always difficult to control.It is difficult to get perfect perfor-mances to use the conventional PID controller.It makes against on-line tuning because the conventional PID con-troller need to set 3 parameters.Parameters of IMC-PID depends on the internal model.And there is only one on-line tuning parameter.That is the time constant of the low pass filter,which decides the performances and the ro-bustness of the system.For plant of FOPDT,IMC-PID controller is adopted to obtain good performances.Acceptable performance can also be obtained by tuning time constant of the low pass filter when the model doesn't match with the real process.


We introduce the new notion of ε-graded associative algebras which takes its root into the notion of commutation factors introduced in the context of Lie algebras [1]. We define and study the associated notion of ε-derivation-based differential calculus, which generalizes the derivation-based differential calculus on associative algebras. A corresponding notion of noncommutative connection is also defined. We illustrate these considerations with various examples of ε-graded algebras, in particular some graded matrix algebras and the Moyal algebra. This last example permits also to interpret mathematically a noncommutative gauge field theory.


Under what conditions do African rulers embroiled in secessionist war commit massive civilian killings? This article claims that severity of the government's atrocities hinges on whether regional identity reigns in secessionist territory. Strong regional identity assuages security dilemma and engenders a sense of duty among local ethnic groups, which enables secessionist insurgents to build trans?ethnic local support. Confronting these secessionists, the government perpetrates massive civilian killings as a strategy for subduing an ongoing insurgency and exercising firm control over secessionist territory. In contrast, weak regional identity stimulates security dilemma and breeds feelings of wariness and rivalry among local ethnic groups, which staves off rebels' mustering trans?ethnic local support. In this situation, embattled rulers refrain from massive civilian killings. The Eritrean War of Independence and the Casamance War illustrate this argument. Strong Eritrean identity generated cooperation between Tigre Muslims and Tigrinya Christians and thus extensive civilian support for the EPLF, which propelled Ethiopian rulers to massacre Eritrean civilians. On the other hand, weak Casamance identity hampered the emergence of trans?ethnic cooperation. Therefore, the MFDC dominated by Diolas failed to secure support from non?Diolas and even some Diolas. The narrow civilian support for secession restrained Senegalese leaders from orchestrating massive civilian killings.


Working in the dense loop representation, we use the planar Temperley–Lieb algebra to build integrable lattice models called logarithmic minimal models . Specifically, we construct Yang–Baxter integrable Temperley–Lieb models on the strip acting on link states and consider their associated Hamiltonian limits. These models and their associated representations of the Temperley–Lieb algebra are inherently non-local and not (time-reversal) symmetric. We argue that, in the continuum scaling limit, they yield logarithmic conformal field theories with central charges c = 1−(6(p−p′)2/pp′), where p, p′ = 1, 2, ... are coprime. The first few members of the principal series are critical dense polymers (m = 1, c = −2), critical percolation (m = 2, c = 0) and the logarithmic Ising model (m = 3, c = 1/2). For the principal series, we find an infinite family of integrable and conformal boundary conditions organized in an extended Kac table with conformal weights Δr,s = (((m+1)r−ms)2−1)/4m(m+1), r, s = 1, 2, .... The associated conformal partition functions are given in terms of Virasoro characters of highest-weight representations. Individually, these characters decompose into a finite number of characters of irreducible representations. We show with examples how indecomposable representations arise from fusion.


Alzheimer's disease is a common form of neurodegenerative disorders characterized by defective brain cells, such as neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaque that is progressive. One of the physical characteristics of someone suffering from Alzheimer's disease is shrinking of the hippocampus area of the brain. The hippocampus is the smallest part of the brain that serves to save memory. The detection of Alzheimer's disease can be done using a Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) which is a technique of noninovasive for an analysis of the structure of the brain in the Alzheimer's patient. In this research, K-Means Clustering and Watershed method are used to segment the hippocampus area which is one part of the brain that was attacked by Alzheimer's disease. The analysis used to detect Alzheimer's is comparing the value of the threshold with the number of white pixels in the images. The data used in this research are Open Access Series of Image Studies (OASIS) database by using the image of coronal slices. Based on the our experiment result, both K-Means Clustering and Watershed method can segment the hippocampus area to detect Alzheimer's disease.


This article discusses one knowledge supply chain system for effective kaizen activity in a small to medium-size enterprise (SME). It consists of two subsystems. The first subsystem is a team-building process. It supports a total management of kaizen activity from the viewpoint of team management by performing three phases, including an execution phase, a consultation phase, and a presentation phase. The second subsystem contributes to accumulate success factors in team management. A checklist style is applied as the accumulation methodology and an accumulation procedure consists of three steps: an attention step, a memorization step, and a confirmation step. A case study that was conducted over the course of a four-year period is presented to confirm the utility of the proposed system with the collaborative SME in Japan. As the result of this study, the proposed system delivers a visualization of valuable knowledge and a systematic skill succession of kaizen activity in a company that has limited human resources.


It is now well established that the antennal glands of Crustacea, both marine and fresh water, are concerned with regulation of the ionic composition of body fluids (Robertson, 1957; Shaw, i960; Lockwood, 1962; Potts & Parry, 1964). This activity is considered by some to be the main function of the antennal gland (Webb, 1940; Parry, i960). Because it produces urine and is undoubtedly concerned with ionic regulation, there is a tendency to discuss antennal gland function in terms of the physiology of the vertebrate kidney. The unqualified inference, often expressed in general zoology texts, that the antennal gland carries out all the functions of the vertebrate kidney is unwarranted, since information concerning antennal gland function, other than ionic regulation, is extremely limited. This is particularly so when considering nitrogen excretion by the antennal gland. A urine-producing 'excretory organ' is usually thought of as being concerned with, amongst other things, the elimination of nitrogenous waste products. This function is sometimes ascribed to the antennal gland, despite the fact that there is remarkably little information on this aspect of the physiology of the organ. After a survey of nitrogen excretion by Crustacea and a consideration of analyses of the urine of Maia, Delaunay (1931) concluded that the antennal gland was not concerned with nitrogen excretion and that its importance in this respect has been over-estimated by histo-physiologists. With only a little additional information available, Parry (i960) concluded that the antennal gland was concerned primarily with ionic regulation. Ramsay (1961) was more cautious and considered that because information is so limited, and because little is known of invertebrate biochemistry, the possibility remains that the antennal gland may be concerned with the removal of some excretory products. Because the excretion of nitrogen by Crustacea has been little studied, it is considered worthwhile to offer some data resulting from a study of antennal gland function in Carcinus. Measurements of the contribution of urine nitrogen to total nitrogen excretion by Crustacea have not been made. In this paper, figures obtained from analyses of some nitrogenous components of blood and urine of Carcinus are presented. Using this information, the role of the antennal gland of this animal in general nitrogen excretion can be estimated.


Floating apparatus for use under vacuum or near vacuum includes a floating plate (3) having a plurality of injection points for gas (1) and adjacent suction points (2), an air bearing (4) produce and, thereby supporting a thin plate-like substrate (5). Yet another embodiment includes a tilting mechanism for tilting the transport mechanism, and / or floating plates for supported substrate.


Background: The carbon catabolite repression 4 (Ccr4) family is implicated in RNA processing and modification. Results: Ccr4d inhibits cell proliferation and induces G1 arrest by binding to p21 mRNA 3′-UTR and stabilizing p21 mRNA. Conclusion: Ccr4d functions as an anti-proliferating protein through induction of cell cycle arrest via a p21-dependent and p53-independent pathway. Significance: Ccr4d might have significant pathophysiological functions in carcinogenesis. Ccr4d is a new member of the Ccr4 (carbon catabolite repression 4) family of proteins that are implicated in the regulation of mRNA stability and translation through mRNA deadenylation. However, Ccr4d is not believed to be involved in mRNA deadenylation. Thus, its biological function and mechanistic activity remain to be determined. Here, we report that Ccr4d is broadly expressed in various normal tissues, and the expression of Ccr4d is markedly down-regulated during cell cycle progression. We showed that Ccr4d inhibits cell proliferation and induces cell cycle arrest at G1 phase. Our experiments further revealed that Ccr4d regulates the expression of p21 in a p53-independent manner. Mechanistic studies indicated that Ccr4d strongly bound to the 3′-UTR of p21 mRNA, leading to the stabilization of p21 mRNA. Interestingly, we found that the expression of Ccr4d is down-regulated in various tumor tissues. Collectively, our data indicate that Ccr4d functions as an anti-proliferating protein through the induction of cell cycle arrest via a p21-dependent and p53-independent pathway and suggest that Ccr4d might have an important role in carcinogenesis.


Medical devices are known to carry risks from design to scrap. Accident reports in ICU show that medical device account for only 20 % of accidents. Formation of users and providing a postmarketing incident reporting are thus essential in health institutions. Clinical and engineering departments should cooperate to produce and secure procedures which should be applied during the lifetime of each clinical device. Several points should be especially fulfilled: close cooperation between clinical departments and biomedical engineering departments with available technicians, computer-based inventory of all devices, evaluation of specifications required before purchasing a new device, education of users on utilisation and maintenance, technical follow-up of devices and keeping maintenance and repair logs, ability to provide users with replacement devices, provision of check-lists before use, forging criteria to decide when device should be discarded. These principles are simple and should be considered as mandatory in order to improve medical device related security. # 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. Tous droits réservés. Mots clés : Matériel médical ; Sécurisation ; Réanimation


Further to a paper presented at the 96th Meeting of the ASA [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 64, S171(A) (1978)], in which a method for measuring the attack sequences and the spread of attack of musicians playing in ensemble was presented, a method has been developed for measuring the quantity of sound energy returned to stage positions within a nominated period of time. Hence, if a spread of attack of 80 ms is considered to be a clean attack, a measure of sound energy returned to stage positions within a period of 80 ms might be of value in assessing the comparative ease with which musicians can play in ensemble in various halls. In measuring the quantity of sound energy returned to stage positions in five Australian auditoria, a gated signal was emitted from an isotropic sound source, the SPL of the signal was calibrated to be 100 dB linear SPL at a distance of 0.4 m from the sound source, signals emitted were pure tones of frequencies 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz. The sound energy returned was displayed on a CRO sc...


We propose a new multiscale image representation based on OSV model.We obtain with OSV model,in which we give single scale decomposition.Then we give a hierarchical adaptive representation for the different features in images by iterating OSV model for different monotone scale parameters,applying the decomposition to the residual information of the previous step.The result multiscale decomposition is nonlinear.We discuss the numerical discretization of the new method.The numerical results show an excellent decomposition effect and significant improvement over Nezzar method.


Today microbial enzymes are commonly used in many industrial applications and the demand for more stable, highly active and specific enzymes is growing rapidly. The aim of this study was the screening of fungal enzymes. Four fungal cultures were isolated and identified. These fungal cultures were tested on Solidstate Fermentation (SSF). The fungal isolate (S2) was noticed to show maximum of lipase production and the fungal isolate (S4) showed maximum production of protein content and cellulase production.


Summary

A brief period of electrical stimulation of freshly slaughtered lamb carcasses by 250 V pulses is shown to increase subsequent rates of post-mortem glycolysis and hasten rigor onset. Stimulated carcasses put into a blast freezer at 5 hr post-mortem were as tender as untreated carcasses held for 16 hr before freezing to avoid toughness caused by post-mortem shortening. The relationship between the degree of acceleration of post-mortem glycolysis and pulse voltage is also discussed.


WHEREAS the Katy Independent School District is celebrating its centennial year; and WHEREAS the district's record of providing an outstanding education was recently recognized by the College Board; and WHEREAS the College Board recognized Katy ISD for expanding access to and increasing performance in A


The transport and mixing of pollution during the daytime evolution of a valley boundary layer is studied in an idealized way. The goal is to quantify horizontal and vertical tracer mass fluxes between four different valley volumes: the mixed layer at the valley floor, the slope wind layer, the stable core and the free atmosphere above the valley. For this purpose, large eddy simulations are conducted with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model for a quasi-two-dimensional valley. The valley geometry consists of two slopes with constant slope angle, which rise to a crest height of 1500 m, and a 4 km wide 5 flat valley floor in between. The valley is 20 km long and homogeneous in along-valley direction. Hence, only slope winds but no valley winds can evolve above this terrain. Various experiments are conducted for different surface heating and static stabilities. The surface sensible heat flux is horizontally homogeneous and prescribed by a sine function with amplitudes of Ashf = 62.5, 125, 250 and 375 W m−2 respectively. The initial sounding is characterized by an atmosphere at rest and by a constant Brunt-Väisälä frequency which is varied between N = 0.006 and 0.02 s−1. A passive tracer is released with an arbitrary but 10 constant rate at the valley floor and resulting tracer fluxes are evaluated between the aforementioned volumes. As a result of the surface heating, a mixed layer establishes in the lower part of the valley with a stable layer on top — the so-called stable core. The wind speed and, hence, the mass flux within the slope wind layer decreases with height due to the vertically increasing stability of the environment near the center of the valley. Due to mass continuity, this leads to a partial 15 redirection of the flow from the slope wind layer towards the valley center and the formation of a horizontal intrusion above the mixed layer. This intrusion is associated with a transport of tracer mass from the slope wind layer towards the valley center. For Ashf = 250 W m−2 and N = 0.018 s−1, about 45 % of the tracer mass released at the valley floor is transported by this circulation to the stable core. This number rapidly decreases with decreasing stability and increasing forcing since the breakup of the stable layer and, hence, the complete neutralization of the stratification in the valley is reached earlier. Between 60 and 20 85 % of the total tracer mass enters the slope wind layer at its lower end, but only a fraction is exported at crest height for high stabilities and a weak forcing. The total export of tracer mass drops from 80 % for the weakest stability and the strongest forcing to about 5 % for the strongest stability and the weakest forcing. The effects of initial stability and forcing can be combined to a single parameter, the breakup parameter B. An analytical function is presented that describes the exponential decrease of the percentage of exported tracer mass with increasing B. 25


Objective to investigate the changes of the trace elements and the erythrocyte parameters in the middle of pregnancy. Methods from December 2013 to December 2014,60 cases of 13 to 24 weeks of pregnant women in the obstetrical department of our hospital were randomly selected as the observation group,and 60 cases of non pregnant healthy women were selected as control group.Trace elements and the erythrocyte parameters between two groups were compared. Results The levels of Ca,Mg,Fe,and Zn in observation group was significantly lower than that in control group respectively(P0.05),while the difference of Cu between two groups was not statistically significant(P0.05).RBC,Hb,Hct,MCV,MCH and MCHC in observation group was significantly lower than that in control group respectively(P0.05),while RDW in observation group was significantly higher than that in control group(P0.05). Conclusion Different degree of trace elements deficiency and anemia exist in trimester pregnant women.So intervention treatment should be timely taken to ensure prepotency.


would here like to respond to that call and report on a study of certain aspects of the mental status examination. The study was carried out because of the relative paucity of such studies in the literature and the limited attempts at validation oftraditionally held views. The study was performed on 34 psychiatric inpatients of a provincial psychiatric hospital who had been referred for neuropsychiatric consultations. The aim was to determine if certain mental status variables could validly differentiate between patients with organic psychiatric syndromes and functional psychiatric syndromes. The mental status variables chosen for investigation included the following: recall for a story of sixteen ideas; five object recall after five minutes and 24 hours; a nine point orientation; and seriaI3's. An essential component ofthe study was the fact that the mental status items were administered according to a standardized routine and an attempt at greater precision was made by quantifying traditional items. For example, the number of ideas recalled in the short story was recorded, and orientation was scored on a nine point scale. Serial 3's were chosen as a measure of attention and concentration rather than serial 7's, as some patients find serial 7's too difficult because of their low educational attainment. The traditional cowboy story was replaced by a new story with a theme more congruous with a clinical context. A 6o-second learning period was allowed for the five object recall test in order to be sure that memory and not attention and concentration was being tested. All patients were interviewed and examined by the same psychiatrist and had full psychiatric and neurological examinations. In addition, all patients had neuropsychological testing. On the basis of the clinical and psychological data all patients were placed in one of two groups: I) those with primarily organic impairment; 2) those with primarily functional impairment. The performances of these two groups on the mental status variables were compared with each other and with two other groups: I) a group of unselected non-referred psychiatric patients, and 2) a group of staff volunteers. Although the groups were too small for any meaningful statistical analysis, the trends of the scores merit comment. The group diagnosed as having primarily an organic psychiatric disorder had the lowest mean scores on all the mental status variables. The group diagnosed as suffering primarily from functional psychiatric disorder had the next lowest scores, followed by the non-referred psychiatric group. The normals had the highest scores. Of particular note is that within the groups under study, there was tremendous variation with large standard deviations. Thus, some of the patients with functional psychiatric disorders did as poorly as some of the organics. This finding runs counter to generally held conceptions and would lend some support to Dr. Rapp's reservations about validity. Nevertheless despite this it was felt that the mental status examination provided a very useful tool that enabled the clinician to make a preliminary diagnostic discrimination that could later be confirmed or refuted. It should be remembered that the mental status examination does not pretend to be anything more than a gross clinical instrument. Nevertheless it was felt that the precision, validity, and usefulness of the instrument could be improved by the use of the standardized and quantified procedures outlined briefly above. It should of course be pointed out that mental status findings should never be interpreted in isolation from the patient's history, family history, course of illness, response to treatment, or the context in which the findings are elicited.


Objective To explore the effect of metformin combined with clomiphene citrate on 35 cases of citrate in polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS) with hyperinsulinemia primary infertility.Methods 60 cases of PCOS with hyperinsulinemia primary infertility were randomly divided into study group(35 cases) and control group(25 cases).From the first day of the menstrual cycle or withdrawal bleeding study group began took metformin 500mg,three times a day,and even served three months;The fifth day began took clomiphene citrate 50mg,once daily,and even served 5d.Control group began with clomiphene citrate from the fifth day,used in conjunction 5d.Determined body mass index(BMI),sex hormone levels and fasting insulin(FINS) level after the treatment.Results After treatment,the LH,T,FINS level of study group were lower than those of control group,the differences were statistically significant(P0.05).The ovulation rate and pregnancy rate of study group were significantly higher than those of control group(P0.05).Conclusion Metformin compared with clomiphene citrate treat PCOS with hyperinsulinemia primary infertility,can reduce LH,T,FINS level and improve ovulation and pregnancy rate,should be widely applied.


How firms differentiate their products from competitors is a fundamental strategic decision for the performance of a firm. From the broader upper echelons perspective, a firm's strategy is shaped b...


Zataria multiflora is an endemic plant in Iran which has been used traditionally in food , especially in yoghurt as a flavouring agent , stimulant , condiment , carminative and for treatment of pre-mature labor pains and rupture. The extracts of aerial parts of Z.multiflora showed anti-inflammatory effects against acute and chronic inflammations in mice and rats .In the present study the hepathotoxicity was assassed in terms changes in histological damage and serum enzymes(SGOT , SGPT , ALP ) . In this study 25 male rats were divided into 5 equal groups randomly .Groups 1, 2 and 3 received Z.multiflora essential oil in different doses of 100, 200 and 300 μl / kg by gavage method respectively. Positive and negative control recieved BHT (15 mg /kg ) and normal saline. After 14 days all rats were killed and their livers and kidneys removed , fixed and prepared for histopathological evaluation. The result on this study showed that no sign of evidence of characteristic hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity was found in rat treated with different doses of Z. multiflora in this experiment . No significant changes was observed in relative weight of liver and kidney and serum enzymes in test group. In group BHT , mild billary hyperplasia and glomerular atrophy was seen. In conclusion , Z.multiflora has not poisonus effects on liver and kidney and can be use as antioxidant instead of BHT.


Poet W.H. Auden christened it a ''low, dishonest decade.'' But from another angle, despite the shameful collapse of Popular Front antifascism marked by the Nazi– Soviet Pact of 1939 (the occasion for Auden's elegiac poem), not to mention the Soviet Union's efficient liquidation of a generation of comrades stretching from Madrid to Moscow, the 1930s could be considered a glorious decade. For it was in these years that the modern synthesis of antifascism and anticolonialism came to fruition, as the struggles against global racism and a utopian faith in socialist transformation were joined. Whatever one makes of these struggles today, it remains clear that the great anticolonial nationalist upsurge of the post–World War II decades, whose apotheosis came with the end of apartheid in South Africa, had its intellectual and ideological roots in the Popular Front years. Together, these two books offer a fresh look at that earlier era through the lens of one of its defining events, the infamous Scottsboro case. The seed for these works was a path-breaking co-authored article that appeared in the American Historical Review in 2001. In conjunction with German historian Eve Rosenhaft, Miller and Pennybacker effectively showed the inflections of antiracist internationalism as the


Underwater wireless sensor network (UWSN) is a network made up of underwater sensor nodes, anchor nodes, surface sink nodes or surface stations, and the offshore sink node. Energy consumption, limited bandwidth, propagation delay, high bit error rate, stability, scalability, and network lifetime are the key challenges related to underwater wireless sensor networks. Clustering is used to mitigate these issues. In this work, fuzzy‐based unequal clustering protocol (FBUCP) is proposed that does cluster head selection using fuzzy logic as it can deal with the uncertainties of the harsh atmosphere in the water. Cluster heads are selected using linguistic input variables like distance to the surface sink node, residual energy, and node density and linguistic output variables like cluster head advertisement radius and rank of underwater sensor nodes. Unequal clustering is used to have an unequal size of the cluster which deals with the problem of excess energy usage of the underwater sensor nodes near the surface sink node, called the hot spot problem. Data gathered by the cluster heads are transmitted to the surface sink node using neighboring cluster heads in the direction of the surface sink node. Dijkstra's shortest path algorithm is used for multi‐hop and inter‐cluster routing. The FBUCP is compared with the LEACH‐UWSN, CDBR, and FBCA protocols for underwater wireless sensor networks. A comparative analysis shows that in first node dies, the FBUCP is up to 80% better, has 64.86% more network lifetime, has 91% more number of packets transmitted to the surface sink node, and is up to 58.81% more energy efficient than LEACH‐UWSN, CDBR, and FBCA.


A novel data analysis technique based on the "empirical mode decomposition" and Hilbert transform is applied to the analysis of edge fluctuation data and Mirnov coil data from the ADITYA tokamak [S. B. Bhatt et al., Ind. J. Pure Appl. Phys. 27, 710 (1989)]. It is shown that the edge fluctuations can be well represented by a finite number of about 10 discrete modes. Their instantaneous energies show intermittent bursts and the high frequency modes are nonstationary. The technique is further developed to study three-mode interactions and employed to show that triplet interactions are statistically significant among high frequency modes of the fluctuation data. A general critique of the method is presented and its utility for the analysis of nonlinear phenomena in complex systems like plasma turbulence is highlighted.


This paper presents a retrospective investigation into the performance of a new type of flexible-arch configurations in Shimenzi arch dam based on the past ten-year-long field measurements. The flexible-arch configurations are mainly comprised of artificial short joints at the middle downstream surface and a middle
contraction joint with hinged well and enlarged arch ends with bending joints. Fundamental design considerations of these components are provided, and their
contributions to the performance of Shimenzi arch dam are discussed in detail using the monitoring data from joint meters, strain gauges, and thermometers. Some elementary numerical studies have been conducted on a typical arch structure with different arrangements of artificial joints. Both the field data and numerical results
prove well the effectiveness of the purposely built short joints and the middle contraction joint on the relaxation of tensile stress mobilization. Field survey data also
clearly demonstrate the significance of the hinged well at the upstream side of the middle joint for a continuous arch force transfer.


So far there have been two kinds of problems for solving the nonlinear programmings: one is to decide under what criterion to terminate the searching procedure when a certain algorithm is adopted;the other is to determine whether the obtained solution is a local optimum or a global optimum.In the past,the method of allowable error was adopted for the first kind of problem,whereas there have not been feasible methods for the second kind.Two sufficient conditions are presented for stationary solutions.These conditions can be adopted as a new approach to the first kind of problem and used to solve the second kind of problem of identifying the local and global optima.When the relative differential/difference searching approach is implemented for solution of nonlinear continuous and discrete programmings,a stationary point is determined once the conditions are satisfied in the searching procedure.Based on the searching direction,it is easy to identify if the point is the maximum point or the minimum point of the programming.These sufficient conditions are practically important to the termination of the searching procedure.


Transregional interconnection of power systems,large-scale integration of renewable energy and interaction on the demand side are bringing new challenges to the operation of large-scale power system,such as complexity,uncertainty and riskiness.A risk quantitative assessment method of emergency control measures is proposed to improve power grid transmission capacity based on a study of the risk assessment model.Both the cost of emergency control measures of generator tripping,load shedding and HVDC modulation and stabilized control strategies influenced by Rule 599,are taken into consideration in this method.The transient stability level of power systems will be quantitatively assessed in the form of transient instability risk index.Also the influence of different control quantities on risk values is analyzed.By combining power grid security and stability with economy,this paper characterizes the cost of improving unit transmission capacity by utilizing the index to achieve the goal of comprehensively evaluating and screening emergency control measures.


As embedded software becomes complex and time to production needs to be minimized, early fixing of flaws in a software design is important. Memory leaks are the most important memory-related problems commonly occurring in embedded software development. We propose a novel hybrid automated memory leak detection approach for soft real-time embedded system software. Our approach combines static and dynamic methodologies to overcome their individual limitations. The static phase generates potential memory leak warnings with the help of source code annotation and control flow graphs. The dynamic phase involves simulation of abstracted memory behaviour with data collected in an abstract memory model (AMM). Actual leaks are determined from the potential leak warnings generated in the static phase. The dynamic simulation phase makes our approach faster and enables early phase leak detection. Our approach is platform independent and evaluation shows that it is more accurate than existing tools.


We prepared electroactive nanocomposite films consisting of poly(oligoaniline)s and Au nanoparticles via simultaneous deprotection and redox chemistry performed in the solid state. Thermal treatment of a mixture composed of tert-butoxycarbonyl-protected poly(oligoaniline) and chloroauric acid led to the reduction of Au(III) to Au(0) and the simultaneous deprotection and oxidation of the polymer. The reactivity between poly(oligoaniline) and chloroauric acid was controlled by varying several reaction conditions, yielding Au nanoparticles with a diameter of several nanometers dispersed uniformly in the poly(oligoaniline) matrix. The presence of electrostatic interaction between the polymers and the Au nanoparticles gave enhanced electrical conductivity and electrochemical activity as compared with pure polymers. The use of a precursor polymer containing multiple oligoaniline blocks and in situ generation of metal nanoparticles demonstrated here are promising for the creation of new electroactive functional polymeric materials.


The injection molding of semi-aromatic transparent nylon (polyamide) prepared by means of polybasic copolycondensation was studied. The mechanical properties, such as the tensile strength, bending strength, impact strength and elastic modulus, were measured. Hygroscopic treatment was progressed. The experiment results showed that injection molding could be progressed when melt temperature was 230 ~ 250 ℃, mold temperature was 60 ~ 70℃ and injection pressure was 50 ~ 120 MPa. With the increase of the injection pressure, the mechanical properties of the prepared nylon increased, and the impact strength of the hygroscopic treated product increased.


In this paper, we propose a technique to generate DCT based unique normalized face using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The idea of the PCA is to decompose face images into a small set of characteristic feature images. In the proposed technique we generate feature image by finding the peak values in the absolute DCT matrix followed by normalization. This maximizes the scatter between training dataset to give more discriminating power. The feature images so generated are called unique normalized faces as each image is different and unique from all other training faces. They have high recognition performance since they capture the global features onto a low dimensional linear "face space" extracted from the individual face of training dataset. We use Mahalanobis distance to measure the recognition between original face and the test face. The algorithm is tested on ORL face datasets. In the proposed technique we improved face recognition rate as compared to Eigenface, DCT-normalization and Wavelet-Denoising.


The distribution and its moments are given of the length of the intercept made by a random probe through a box having perpendicular edge lengths a, b and c. Three types of random probe are considered.


The article describes the process of designing and assembling an educational and laboratory stand "Ballast water treatment methods", which is planned to be used for laboratory (practical) work in the disciplines "Ecology" and "Ship equipment and environmental pollution prevention procedures" for marine specialties.
The knowledge requirements for graduates of marine specialties are very high and should be sufficiently deep in the field of environmental protection. The availability of practical and laboratory classes on specialized equipment makes it possible to improve the quality of students training, while observing the main purpose of the International Convention on Training, Certification of seafarers and watchkeeping (STCW-78), so that all ships are manned to the required extent, while the ship crew must have a high level of qualification and pass the appropriate theoretical and practical training for the high-quality performance of their duties.


The correct representation of the topside ionosphere is still an open question for the empirical ionospheric models. We presents new results of the concurrent analysis of the topside electron content values derived from the GPS measurements on board the GOCE and TerraSAR‐X satellites with two empirical ionospheric models: NeQuick 2 and IRI‐Plas. Two periods of low (2009/2010) and moderate (2012) solar activities were analyzed. It is found that the IRI‐Plas model overestimates the electron content in the 250–500 km altitude interval for low solar activity and the topside total electron content (TEC) for the 500–20,000 km altitude range during daytime local time at low and moderate solar activities. The NeQuick 2 model demonstrates very similar to the IRI‐Plas results for the 250–500 km region and the opposite behavior for the region above 500 km with underestimated values for all considered seasons and local time. The most important region for the model/model differences was found to be within the altitude range of 500–2000 km. The observed understatement in the NeQuick 2 topside TEC results can be related to the simplified extension of the electron density profile toward the GPS orbit altitude without adjustment of the specific plasmasphere model. However, the plasmasphere model included into the IRI‐Plas leads to the noticeable overestimation of the TEC values derived from the spaceborne GPS measurements.


Introduction:
 Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) has a higher prevalence of OSA. The impact of obstructive sleep apnea on perioperative complications in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) patients undergoing septal myectomy and the impact of septal myectomy on OSA are not yet clear. Therefore, we sought to examine the association between HOCM and OSA before and after septal myectomy.

 Methods:
 We studied 69 consecutive patents with a confirmed diagnosis of HOCM who underwent septal myectomy. All patients performed polysomnography before and three months after operation.

 Results:
 Of all the patients, 41 (59.4%) were diagnosed with OSA. Compared to patients without OSA, patients with OSA were significantly older. The incidence of atrial fibrillation increased significantly during perioperative period in patients with OSA (31.7% vs 10.7%, p=0.048). Three months after operation, the severity of OSA increased significantly, as reflected by AHI, OAI and HI (11.7[7.2-22.1] vs 25.6(17.7-33.8), p<0.001; 11.6[6.8-17.6] vs 15.1[9.5-20.8], p=0.024;) 4.4[2.5-7.1] vs 8.3[4.1-12.0], p=0.003) while the CAI decreased (0.4[0.0-2.1] vs 0.2[0.0-0.8], p=0.008). In a multivariate linear regression analysis, mean oxygen desaturation and time% with Spo2 <90% during sleep were significantly associated with an increased AHI independently of sex, BMI and gender (p=0.026 and p=0.007, adjusted R
 2
 =0.365).

 Conclusions:
 The severity of OSA increased significantly three months after septal myectomy as reflected by AHI, OAI and HI. The mean oxygen saturation and time% with Spo2 <90% during sleep are independently associated with the increase of AHI.


This chapter discusses how rights and guarantees granted to non-citizens have evolved and what treatment offered to noncitizens in the EU. The present political dominance of ethnocentric parties in the parliament has an impact on strengthening the ethnic orientation of citizenship. The principle of State continuity reflected in the citizenship policies of Latvia which followed that illegal Soviet occupation could not lead to loss of statehood and nationality. After restoration of independence Latvia hosted a large group of immigrants from former Soviet republics who arrived to meet the local demands of Soviet industrialisation and ethnic policies. Imposition of Soviet nationality on Latvian citizens declared null and void ab initio by Section of the Resolution on Renewal of the Republic of Latvia Citizens' Rights and Fundamental Principles of Naturalization. This conforms to general principles of international law which do not oblige recognition of status granted by an illegal regime. Keywords:illegal soviet occupation; immigrants; international law; Latvian citizenship; naturalization; non-citizen status; state continuity principle


For expanding the application field of bamboo and improving the utilization rate of bamboo, the effect of bamboo powder (BP) treated by NaOH on the asphalt binder's properties was discussed on the basis of previous study on the rheological property of bamboo powder modified asphalt
 at high temperature. The specific surface area, pore size distribution and pore structure of NaOH treated BP were analyzed by nitrogen adsorption experiment, and its micro morphology was explained by SEM. The high temperature stability, low temperature ductility, shear deformation resistance
 and rut resistance of BP asphalt binder were analyzed by the softening point, the ductility, the viscosity and dynamic shear rheological test. The results showed that under the treated by NaOH, the BP epidermis produced lamellar peeling, increased the specific surface area, the surface morphology
 was rougher, effectively improve the surface infiltration and physical adsorption capacity of BP and the asphalt binder. Both NaOH concentration and BP content increased would play positive roles on the asphalt binder's properties, including the high temperature stability and shear deformation
 resistance. But the concentration and proportion should be moderate. It is suggested that 10% of BP treated with 2.5 mol/L NaOH concentration can obtain better performance of asphalt binder. By turning waste into treasure, the effective utilization of bamboo leftovers, which is a green environmental
 protection material, is realized, and the asphalt binder's properties is significantly improved under the condition of simple process and low production cost.


1984 has been an exciting year for complex analysis. It even brought strong rumors that the Riemann hypothesis had been proved, but so far, the rumor has not been confirmed. However, we know for sure that the difficult Bieberbach conjecture has been settled this year. As many of you know, this famous conjecture of 1916 concerns the class S of normalized injective holomorphic functions. That class consists of the 1-1 holomorphic functions from the unit disc U into the complex plane C with a power series of the form


Organic-inorganic hybrid metal halides (MHs) are widely used in the field of photoelectricity due to their excellent structure and photoelectric tunability. When separate inorganic metal halides by larger organic cations...


A slit-slot transmission line is devised, investigated, and applied to a slit-slot antenna and a co-located tripolarized slit-slot antenna array for 2.45 GHz multipolarization multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) applications. The slit-slot transmission line, with slit array etched on its conductive planes, is analyzed and characterized by using an equivalent circuit model and a graphical method based on simulations. Taking advantage of the features of a slit-slot transmission line, which include a shorter wavelength and a favorable current distribution for antenna applications, a slit-slot antenna, and a co-located tripolarized slot antenna array are presented and investigated by simulations and experiments. The effects of slits on the performances of the slit-slot antenna and the antenna array are explained. The simulated and measured results of fabricated prototypes show that the slits improve the cross-polarization of both the slit-slot antenna element and the antenna array around 5 dB, and that the isolation among the tripolarized slit-slot antenna array is improved by 14 dB, compared to the associated slot antennas. Furthermore, tripolarized slit-slot antenna array has an omnidirectional radiation patterns and low correlation which are favorable for MIMO applications.


Note presenting an experimental determination of the distribution of shear stress in a plane parallel to and a short distance from the fastening between the outer and intermediate laminations on a wing and of the effect upon the distribution of change the length and width of the specimen.


Work-related stress appears to be especially high among teachers. However, most research on teacher stress relies exclusively on teachers' self-reports. Little is known about the physiological correlates of affective stress in teachers. This longitudinal study investigates the relationship between core self-evaluation and adverse psychological and physiological stress outcomes in 42 teachers. Self-report questionnaires were used to assess core self-evaluation, vital exhaustion, and resignation tendency. The concentration of cortisol was assessed using hair samples. One year after the initial measurement, vital exhaustion and hair cortisol were assessed again. Path-analytic mediational models showed that core self-evaluation strongly predicted vital exhaustion, and resignation tendency partially mediated this relationship. However, core self-evaluation did not predict hair cortisol concentration. These findings suggest that core self-evaluation plays a crucial role in preventing vital exhaustion among teachers. A positive core self-evaluation seems beneficial for teachers' primary and secondary appraisal and an essential resource for the long-term prevention of self-reported vital exhaustion.


Author(s): Chang, Ching | Advisor(s): Llewellyn Smith, Stefan G | Abstract: The motion of buoyant vortices is studied using reduced-order models. For a vortex filament, i.e. a curve in three-dimensional space along which vorticity is concentrated as a delta function, the evolution of the filament is calculated using a desingularized Biot–Savart integral. Buoyancy is added using a momentum balance argument while surface tension is also included. A set of equations that couples the transverse motion of the buoyant vortex filament and the axial flow within its core is derived. The new model is verified in an asymptotic limit by comparing it to the previous analytical solution for a thin vortex ring. In another approximation, axisymmetric contour dynamics is implemented to model a buoyant vortex ring of deforming core. A vortex patch is enclosed by a vortex sheet which emerges from baroclinic generation of vorticity. The evolution of the vortex sheet strength is derived from the Euler equation, and represents the effects of density, buoyancy and surface tension on the axisymmetric vortex ring. Numerical calculations for the integro-differential equations are carried out until the curvature singularity of vortex sheet evolution leads to a blowup. Finally, a linear stability analysis is performed for vortices in the presences of density and surface tension. The basic state solution is given as a perturbation series in a small parameter representing curvature of the vortex or a weak strain acting on it. With the small parameter in the basic state, instabilities are triggered by the resonances between two neutrally stable Kelvin waves for the unperturbed vortex. Those parametric instabilities are the curvature instability and the Moore–Saffman–Tsai–Widnall instability, corresponding to the parameter being curvature or a strain. The effects of density and surface tension on these instabilities are studied by calculating the growth rate and the instability bandwidth in various wavenumber regimes.


Linear programming techniques were used to obtain the solutions of Taylor analysis for {111}<112> twinning and {111}<110> slip under conditions of axisymmetric flow: tension and compression. The usual Taylor analysis, which considers that twinning and dislocation slip occur in 12 systems for each mechanism (total systems equal to 24), is compared with an identical analysis but under the assumption that twinning only activates one twinning system (among the 12 possible twinning systems), which leads to a total number of 13 systems (12 for dislocation slip and 1 for twinning). This hypothesis comes from the fact that the critical resolved shear stress for twinning depends on the number of active twinning systems: it is the lowest when only one twinning system is active. Introduction During the deformation of faced cubic centred metals with a low staking fault energy, a deformation mechanism, additional to dislocation slip, is present: the mechanical twinning. This is particularly relevant to mechanical behaviour and to texture deformation evolution [1]. The Taylor model adapted to mechanical twinning was previously used to simulate the influence of this mechanism on the deformation [2]. In the present paper, we consider the relative contribution of dislocation slip and twinning, in tensile and compression conditions. Based on simulation results, it contributes to the understanding of experimental observations, which point out that, in grains of a polycrystal, mechanical twinning occurs in only one system, even at large deformation stages. Taylor Calculations When substantial mechanical twinning takes place during plastic deformation of metals, the Taylor analysis must include this fact; this was previously proposed by Chin et al. [2]. The equation that represents the virtual work can be expressed as follows: 1 1 1 1 ( ) m n m n s s t t s s t c c c i j i j dw d d d d = = = = = + = + Eq.1 where s c and t c are the critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) for slip and twinning, respectively, and s d and t d are the shear deformations produced by slip and twinning, respectively; m and n are the number of possible active slip and twinning systems, respectively, and s c t c / = . To ensure any arbitrary deformation, five independent systems are enough; so the sum m plus n is equal to five. The parameter sc t c / = characterizes the evolution of the deformation microstructure. During deformation the CRSS of the twinning systems remains constant [3]; on the contrary, the CRSS on the dislocation slip systems increases its value with deformation. This gives rise to the macroscopic work hardening, due to dislocation-dislocation interaction. So, during deformation, the value of s c increases and the value of the parameter decreases, in equation Eq.1. The work necessary for deformation by twinning decreases, when compared with that needed to deform by activation of the dislocation slip systems. Key Engineering Materials Online: 2002-10-25 ISSN: 1662-9795, Vols. 230-232, pp 509-512 doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.230-232.509 © 2002 Trans Tech Publications Ltd, Switzerland All rights reserved. No part of contents of this paper may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of Trans Tech Publications Ltd, www.scientific.net. (Semanticscholar.org-13/03/20,22:50:24) From equation Eq.1, it is possible to define the total shear deformation as being:


Cybercrime is a borderless problem, committed online by using electronic communication networks and information systems. Cyber attacks have evolved in terms of sophistication and reach in the recent times. Attacks are often anonymous and difficult to impute to specific actors, states or non-states. Cyber security is a broad spectrum phrase and related to preventing any form of unauthorized and disingenuous access to a personal computer, a laptop, a Smartphone or major network like the national banking system or a national information technology asset that also has military implications whether it is for e-mail, net banking, WhatsApp or Paytm, almost everyone is dependent on the internet and hence potentially vulnerable. Security becomes a challenge as now privacy is a fundamental right as per Supreme court 's verdict and rise in cyber crimes have lead to the violation of private space and liberty of expression. In this paper, we have discussed the need for new tools, capacity building and mechanism in place to address the challenges. Institutions such as the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), National Technical Research Organization (NTRO) and National Cyber Security Coordinator Centre are all doing a reasonable job. In this paper, we have also discussed the prevention technique, detention technique and some online safety tips along with National Cyber Security Policy 2013 and Information Technology Act 2000.


Spondylolisthesis is a subject of fascinating interest. Arising as an abnormality of bony structure, minor in extent but having major and sometimes alarming consequences, it nevertheless holds no threat to life. What is perhaps not sufficiently realised is that it occurs in the circle of articulations surrounding the centre of gravity of the standing and walking body and, as with subluxations of the hip and coxa vara, its relation to this focal point of stress is a dominant feature in the evolution of deformity. It is obvious that if there is any serious mechanical defect in any of the constituents of this circle of articulations the others must all be affected and eventually will present compensatory change. This is particularly well illustrated by spondylolisthesis. Furthermore the lesions of these other articulations might well illuminate the etiological problems that this deformity presents. The present work is one of the best surveys of spondylolisthesis that have appeared, particularly because of the author's reasoned discussion of the etiology-congenital, traumatic, tropho-static and dysplasic. He totally discredits the congenital theory, but agrees that though the causal influence of trauma is uncertain it must, with static factors, play an important part in the evolution of the condition. A nice description is given of one or two cases in which such influences did in fact cause spondylosis at the upper end of the grafted area after lumbo-sacral fusion for spondylolisthesis at the usual lower level. For the present, Taillard feels that only the theory of dysplasia, influenced by a genetic factor, explains the observed facts in a satisfactory manner. From this review are excluded cases without neural arch defect (" pseudospondylolisthesis "), and other forms of vertebral sliding, such as fracturesubluxations and ihose due to inflammatory or neoplastic lesions. Treatment is very thoroughly discussed. Reduction is described as a possibility. The cases reported by Jenkins, Nicoll and WatsonJones are mentioned ; and a particular description is given of the earliest known case of reduction, that of Scherb in Zurich (1921), which is of interest because carried out by distraction in extension, a method which the reviewer also has found effective. Reduction of the deformity is almost impossible to retain. Posterior grafts do not offer much chance of success. The surgical treatment of the unreduced displacement by either posterior or anterior grafting is fully discussed. Posterior grafting has a 50 per cent expectation of pseudarthrosis of the graft. Anterior grafting has risks : the figure of seven deaths in seventy-nine cases is noted from the literature. Sensible conservative treatment is described. No mention is made of Girdlestone's original idea of fixing grafts between the transverse processes of the fourth lumbar vertebra and the ilium. The literary net has been cast very wide. It includes all


The work reported herein was supported in part by the Arctic Submarine
Laboratory, Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego, California under
Project Order Nos. 000007 and 00164.


This paper summarizes recent case law developments in fiduciary duty law affecting advice given to directors and officers of Delaware and Texas corporations.


. Ice-core water isotopes contain valuable information on past climate changes. However, such information can be 15 altered by post-depositional processing after snow deposition. Atmosphere-snow water vapor exchange is one of such processes, but its influence remains poorly constrained. Here we constructed a box model to quantify the atmosphere-snow water vapor exchange fluxes and the associated isotope effects at sites with low snow accumulation rate where the effects of atmosphere-snow water vapor exchange are suspected to be large. The model reproduced the observed diurnal variations of δ 18 O, δD, and d-excess in water vapor at Dome C, East Antarctica. According to the same model framework, we found that 20 under summer clear-sky conditions atmosphere-snow water vapor exchange at Dome A can cause diurnal variations in atmospheric water vapor δ 18 O and δD by 8.2±0.3 ‰ and 54.4±1.2 ‰, with corresponding diurnal variations in surface snow δ 18 O and δD by 0.11±0.01 ‰ and 0.62±0.01 ‰, respectively. The modeled results under summer cloudy conditions display similar patterns to those under clear-sky conditions but with smaller magnitudes of diurnal variations. After 24-hour simulation, snow water isotopes were enriched under both cloudy and clear-sky conditions. Under winter conditions at Dome A,


The idea for the title of this discussion paper comes from that of a recent British account of women's writing: Into the Mainstream. How Feminism Has Changed Women's Writing, by Nicci Gerrard. A literary journalist and co-editor of the now deceased feminist reviews magazine, Women's Review (1985-87), Gerrard argues that feminist literature in the 1980s is no longer marginalised, having become a part of the mainstream of publishing. She argues further that this 1980s work is of greater literary value than what she sees as its marginal 1960s precursors.To some extent Gerrard poses the question of whether this putatively mainstream women's work is selling, or selling out, although that formulation is not very satisfactory. Throughout she operates from a number of unexamined assumptions, including what the distinctions might be between feminist and women's writing, as well as among various forms of feminism. This assists in the rather bizarre phenomenon of Into the Mainstream itself somehow speaking from an assumed mainstream critical position to the extent that it is not clear what its own feminist purpose might be, that is, in the now apparently old-fashioned or marginal sense of an activist political orientation.(1)There are problems too with the term `mainstream,' one being the unadmitted but more interesting drug analogy of a similar word, `mainlining' or shooting up, which has more revolutionary implications of outlawed texts infiltrating and eventually overthrowing the host literary establishment which, it turns out, can't get enough of them.Gerrard prefers an only apparently more natural analogy of texts as tributary streams flowing to the larger river, or centre, if they're any good. Others presumably stagnate in marshes and bywaters; in Australia perhaps rather like falling, or jumping, into a billabong, an isolated end which it seems these texts deserve (together with their similarly isolated subcultural readers). But did she fall, or was she pushed, we might wonder. A too simple opposition of centre versus margin is in evidence, as if literary mainstream and billabong are always readily identifiable, mutually exclusive concepts, and not themselves illusions. Gerrard discusses the problem thus:...some ages seem to throw up an extraordinary number of writers of stature by somehow providing fertile soil for the creative imagination. Two decades have passed since the rebirth of the women's movement. Just as feminism has come of age, so too has the writing that grew up under its wing. Feminist literature has entered the mainstream of the 1980s. Entering the mainstream holds a host of opposing interpretations: selling, or selling out; gaining access, or losing substance; making more money, or taking fewer risks; becoming part of the larger world, or relinquishing the female world. It is `coping practically and courageously' with the world in which we live, and it is weakly swimming with the tide. It implies success to some and failure to others. Like all main streams, the waters are impure - and some women may long to return to the tributary days. But it is futile to feel nostalgic regret for the dramatic certainties of feminism's beginning. We have to live in today's muddy anxieties. (2)(2)The metaphor of flowing into the mainstream as `growing up,' which also means that earlier writing is seen as rebellious in an immature, quasi-adolescent sense, is itself part of the language of establishment co-option of selected liberal aspects of feminist discourses. It is not `natural' to swim against the current. As well, whose interests are served by times past being seen as simpler than the present? `Growing up' or `coming of age' as a metaphor for discouraging subversion is common wherever national unity is required, from ahistorical analyses of the Anzac landing to the Brisbane Expo to the Bicentenary: what is relatively new is their feminist appropriation. Admittedly in a celebratory sense, the inaugural 1989 Australian Feminist Book Fortnight featured the slogan, "Women's Writing Comes of Age," but the connotations of abandoning an earlier youthful excess are nevertheless unfortunate. …


Objectives Cancer is the major leading cause of death in children. Diagnosis of cancer can create numerous psychological traumas for children and decrease their quality of life. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of emotion regulation training with a positive thinking approach in quality of life and its dimensions among children with cancer.Methods This quasi-experimental study is followed by a pretest, posttest, and follow-up design with a control group. Statistical population of the current study constituted of 40 children with cancer who were hospitalized in Imam Ali hospital in Zahedan from January to April 2017. Among these people, 30 individuals (15 individuals assigned to a control group and 15 individuals assigned to an experimental group) were selected using a convenience sampling method. The experimental group took part in 8 60-minute sessions of emotion regulation training with a positive thinking approach. After completing the sessions, a posttest and a 1-month follow-up were carried out. To collect data, pediatric quality of life questionnaire (PedsQL) was used.Results Results of an analysis of covariance demonstrated that emotion regulation training, with a positive thinking approach was effective in promoting all dimensions of quality of life among children with cancer (P Conclusions Given the effectiveness of emotion regulation training with a positive thinking approach in improving the dimensions of quality of life, authorities are recommended to apply this training to improve the quality of life of children with cancer.


This research aims at quantifying the leakage occurring in Under Floor Air Distribution (UFAD) systems and Over Head Air Distribution (OHAD) systems. The study also classifies the leakage occurring in the different systems into Category 1 leakage and Category 2 leakage. The study is performed between a plenum supply UFAD system (having a maximum flow rate of 1272 m 3 /h), ducted supply UFAD system (having a maximum flow rate of 286 m 3 /h) and an OHAD system (having a maximum flow rate of 2004 m 3 /h). Results show that in plenum supply UFAD systems, 5.9% and 14.8% of the volume of air supplied by the Air Handling Unit (AHU) is attributed to leakage when the AHU is running at 50% and 100% fan speeds respectively. In ducted supply UFAD systems however, the leakage drops to 2.1% and 5.6% respectively at 50% and 100% AHU fan speeds. A ducted supply UFAD system in comparison to a plenum supply UFAD system lowers leakage by 62.2% when the AHU is operating at 100% fan speed and by 64.4% when the AHU is operating at 50% fan speed.


PROBLEM: Efficacy of immunotherapy for treatment of recurrent spontaneous abortion (SA) has been controversial. The low treatment effect of white blood cell immunization lead to investigations of alternative treatments including intravenous (IV) immunoglobulin (Ig). To evaluate the efficacy of IVIg for treatment of recurrent SA, a prospective, randomized, double blinded, placebo‐controlled trial was performed.


Measurement of level lifetime gives a direct insight into the structure of any excited nuclear level. Such measurements in the nuclei around Sn are of extreme importance in order to understand the two body effective interaction around the double shell closure of Z=50 and N =82. In several nuclei close to this double shell closure, the experimentally determined level energies and quadrupole moments show anomalies when compared with the shell model calculations [1,2]. This anomaly is observed mainly for the levels involving d5/2 orbital and there are two different types of explanations found in literature. One of them is the lowering of excitation energy of the d5/2 orbital [3] and the other is the change in n-n interaction due to the presence of the neutron skin [4]. Complete information on the lifetime and transition probabilities around Sn can help in probing specifically on the later phenomenon. Hence, a program has been taken up at VECC for the systematic study of the low lying level structure of the neutron rich nuclei in this region, by following the decay spectroscopy of radiochemically separated fission fragments [5,6].


Sistran is a multinational company specializing in the development of software for the insurance business, whose parent company is domiciled in Buenos Aires, Argentina; its main product is the Integrated System for Insurance Companies, SISE (in spanish acronym), which is a system that supports daily and monthly operations that an insurer must run in their production environment. The Ecuador Business Unit from Sistran, UNEC, wants to improve their service management processes, for which in the present project where designed processes for Incident Management, Problem Management and a Service Desk that were developed conform to best practices in iT Service Management, ITIL 2011 edition. To achieve this goal it was necessary to define current processes running on system maintenance SISE, to document a Base Line Information on which to propose improvements that help the unit to increase its services, reduce resolution incidents times and increase resource productivity. To verify the effectiveness of the improvements proposed a prototype of the Services Desk was implemented on a client, which were recorded and monitored all incidents related to SISE for two months. This prototype allowed the registration of resources and time needed to resolve incidents from initial registration through to resolution and closure. With the information obtained could be performed comparing the time it takes to resolve an incident with the current process and the proposed process, achieving determine that there is a decrease of 32% of the incident resolution time, and thus improved productivity of resources allocated to the area by 48.70 %.


There is a lot of debate about the myth, its specificity, and essence of the meaning of this term. The article contains information about various doctrines. And under the influence of these teachings we can see that the classification of myths has taken place. The well-known Uzbek folklorist M. Juraev emphasized that the myth was the first conscious notion of the occurrence of natural phenomena of our ancient ancestors [10.p.12.].


CAD systems increasingly require distributed collaborative design capabilities to meet the designers at different geographical locations to co-develop parts. It involves transmitting the CAD models back and forth among the systems in a distributed design environment. However, it is very difficult to apply because the CAD models are always very complex and the current network bandwidth is limited. In this paper, some important work about the compression and transmission of CAD models through the network is elaborated. Meanwhile, because a feature-based model always contains many extruded and revolved features, then we propose a new approach to transmission of feature-based models to deal with these extruded and revolved features. This approach can effectively cut down the transmission delay of the feature-based models, especially when the model contains many extruded and revolved features.


Objective To investigate the usefulness of plasma procalcitonin(PCT),D-dimmer and C-reactive protein(CRP)measurements for estimating the severity in patients with community-acquired pneumonia(CAP).Methods A total of 129 CAP patients hospitalized in the First People's Hospital of Changde from January 2006 to July 2009 were enrolled in this study;meanwhile,48 healthy individuals were served as the controls.CAP patients were divided into three CAP groups according to different severity assessment criteria.The variance of PCT,D-dimmer and CRP levels was compared among the four groups.Results The mean procalcitonin,D-dimmer and CRP levels were increased in severe patients,and there were statistically significant differences among the four groups.Conclusions Plasma PCT,D-dimmer and CRP levels are correlated with the severity of CAP patients.Dynamic measurement of PCT,D-dimmer and CRP levels may be helpful to evaluate CAP patient's condition.


Post-war peacebuilding is a delicate undertaking, and even the most promising process will face challenges and setbacks, purposeful as well as accidental. Examples include residual violence, coups ...


The time when cattle exchanged hands only for their meat and hides, is long gone. Just like meat and other livestock products, genetics has become a very expensive and highly tradeable commodity. It has also, in some respects, become the difference between financial survival and ruin.


A novel class of microstrip bandpass filter is configured using the impedance transformers and an improved stepped impedance resonator (SIR). This SIR is composed of a central narrow strip section with an aperture on ground and two wide strip sections at the two sides. This low-high-low SIR resonator has a promising capability in achieving an extremely large ratio of first two resonant frequencies for design of a bandpass filter with ultra-broad stopband. The two quarter-wavelength transformers with low and high impedances, referred as to impedance- and admittance-inverters, are modeled and utilized as alternative types of inductive and capacitive coupling elements with highly tightened degrees for wideband filter design. After extensive investigation is made on the two transformers and the proposed SIR, the two novel bandpass filters are constructed, designed and implemented. Two sets of predicted and measured frequency responses over a wide frequency range both quantitatively exhibit their several attractive features, such as ultra-broad stopband with deep rejection and broadened dominant passband with low insertion loss.


An in situ (internal) electric field is used as a dosimetric quantity for human protection from low-frequency electromagnetic fields (lower than 5 MHz) under international safety standard/;guidelines. The IEEE standard uses a homogenous elliptical cross section to derive external field strength corresponding to an in situ field strength, while the International Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines use anatomical models to relate them. In the latter, "the 99th percentile value of the in situ electric field averaged over the cube of its side length of 2 mm" is used to represent the maximum in situ electric field. This metric was introduced to suppress computational artifacts that are inherent when using voxelized anatomical models, in which curved boundaries are discretized with a stair-casing approximation. To suppress the error, a few schemes have been proposed for treating the computational artifacts. In this study, the various schemes to suppress the artifacts are reviewed. Subsequently, a postprocessing method for determining the appropriate maximum in situ field strength is proposed. The performance of the proposed scheme is first verified by comparison with an analytical solution in a multilayered sphere. The method is then applied for different exposure scenarios in anatomically realistic human models where the volume under computation is also considered.


1. Available from: http://www.ahrq.gov/research/dec12/1212RA4.htm [Last accessed on 2012 Dec 10]. 2. Kwon S, Thompson R, Florence M, Maier R, McIntyre L, Rogers T, et al. Surgical Care and Outcomes Assessment Program (SCOAP) Collaborative. β‐blocker continuation after noncardiac surgery: A report from the surgical care and outcomes assessment program. Arch Surg 2012;147:467‐73. 3. Neumayer L. To block or not to block?: Comment on "β‐blocker continuation after surgery". Arch Surg 2012;147:473.


Recent progress at understanding the excited state spectrum of mesons and baryons is described. I begin by outlining the application of the variational method to compute the spectrum, and the program of anisotropic clover lattice generation designed for hadron spectroscopy. I present results for the excited meson spectrum, with continuum quantum numbers of the states clearly delineated. I conclude with recent results for the low lying baryon spectrum, and the prospects for future calculations.


We investigate the semantic retrieval potential of pre-trained contextualized word embeddings (CWEs) such as BERT, in combination with explicit linguistic information, for various NLP tasks in an information retrieval setup. In this paper, we compare different strategies to ag-gregate contextualized word embeddings along lexical, syntactic, or grammatical dimensions to perform semantic retrieval for various natural language tasks. We apply this for fine-grained named entities, word senses, short texts, verb frames, and semantic relations, and show that incorporating certain linguistic knowledge improves the retrieval performance over various baselines. In a simulation study, we demonstrate the practical applicability of our findings to speed up the linguistic annotation of datasets. We also show that nearest neighbor classification, which implicitly uses the retrieval setup, works well with only small amounts of training data. 1


The article presents a method to the development of a dashboard for large-scale lectures (more than 100 students) based on information derived from educational IT-applications, which play an increasingly important role in the field of university education. Via mobile devices, IT-applications enable students to interact with lecturers as well as their fellow students in large-scale settings, e.g. forum or chat. From a service perspective, lectures can be enhanced by the real-time provision of relevant and useful data. However, data created by the use of IT applications is not yet systematically used to support lecturers' tasks, i.e,. by providing contents in a well-defined course setting. Feedback comes in the guise of information gathered through the adoption of said devices, e.g,. on what students have understood and which students are intellectually engaged. We are thus in the process of developing a dashboard, which collects information during the lectures to support lecturers' increasing interaction. We collected design requirements based on experts' testimonials and relevant literature. These have led to a mock-up which we designed according to literature and expert requirements. We introduce our planned steps to validate the proposed design guidelines through the implementation and evaluation of a proof-of-concept prototype dashboard.


Alcohol‐associated liver disease (ALD) is a rising indication for liver transplantation (LT). Prolonged opioid use after LT leads to increased graft loss and mortality. The aim is to determine if patients transplanted with a primary diagnosis of ALD had higher risk of post‐LT opioid use (p‐LTOU) compared to non‐ALD patients.


We have used the recently reduced Hipparcos data and the Washington Double Star catalogue to derive two volume- and magnitude-limited samples of single stars in the Galactic plane. The star count method has been used to compare synthetic to empirical samples of stars within both the main sequence and the evolved regions of the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram. Corrections have been made for unrecognized binaries and the residual incompleteness of the Hipparcos catalogue. Two methods of binary reduction have been compared, a flat 71 per cent binary fraction (including multiples) and a mass-dependent binary fraction, which decreases with primary mass from 71 to 57 per cent. A semi-empirical relation between the vertical scaleheight and stellar age has been derived from kinematic data provided by the OSACA data base. This relation is used to prescribe the loss of stellar content vertically from the plane due to heating. When employing the fixed binary ratio, we find that the best fit is provided by a Scalo initial mass function (IMF) with an exponent of 1.85 ± 0.15, together with an average Galactic thin-disc star formation rate (SFR) of 618(±15) stars Myr −1 kpc −3 with –


Abstract The percentage of 99m technetium bound to Red Cross, Fraction V, and crystalline human serum albumin was investigated by dialysis and gel filtration. Any variation in the percentage bound seems to be a function of the technetium‐iron‐ascorbic acid complex not broken down rather than of any variation in the albumins.


The type strain Raoultella electrica 1GB (DSM 102253T) was isolated from anodic biofilms of glucose-fed microbial fuel cells. The fully assembled, closed, circular 5.27-Mb genome and corresponding 0.52-Mb plasmid DNA sequences were elucidated. Potential electron transfer and pathogenicity mechanisms were deduced. ABSTRACT The type strain Raoultella electrica 1GB (DSM 102253T) was isolated from anodic biofilms of glucose-fed microbial fuel cells. The fully assembled, closed, circular 5.27-Mb genome and corresponding 0.52-Mb plasmid DNA sequences were elucidated. Potential electron transfer and pathogenicity mechanisms were deduced.


Summary: This work brings about the modification of sodium montmorillonite clay (MNa) by the cationic exchange with hexadecyltrimethylammonium to turn it into organophilic clay (MC16). Subsequently, MC16 was treated with silanes. Three silanes with functional groups of different chemical nature were used. The objective was to determine if the clay could affect high density polyethylene (HDPE) final behavior after being modified with each silane. The following silanes were used: Cl2Si(CH3)2, Cl2Si(CH3)(C6H5) and Cl2Si(C6H5)2. Finally, in situ hydrolysis was carried out to generate the respective siloxanes. These materials were characterized by XRD, FTIR and GPC analyses. Each one of these additives was mixed using melt compounding processing in a Haake torque rheometer Rheocord 9000 equipped with a mix chamber and roller rotors at 100 rpm and 190 °C. All hybrids were characterized by XRD, SEM and thermogravimetric analyses. Barrier properties to cyclohexane were also determined by pervaporation experiments. Results from all studies showed that the addition of approximately 3 wt% of clay has changed the macroscopic properties of the above-mentioned composites, as compared with pure HDPE. This can be explained considering the different polymer/filler interactions which take place in each system.


We demonstrate field emission from an integrated three-terminal device using a suspended planar graphene edge as the source of vacuum electrons. Energy spectra of the emitted electrons confirm the field-emission mechanism. The energy spectra produced by graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition and reduced graphene oxide are compared. The drain-source voltage required to produce a given drain current increases when negative voltages are applied to the gate, confirming field-effect transistor operation. The emission current rises exponentially with inverse voltage over the measured current range from 1 pA to 10 nA. The current-voltage characteristics are consistent with tunneling through barrier potentials calculated numerically from the device geometry.We demonstrate field emission from an integrated three-terminal device using a suspended planar graphene edge as the source of vacuum electrons. Energy spectra of the emitted electrons confirm the field-emission mechanism. The energy spectra produced by graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition and reduced graphene oxide are compared. The drain-source voltage required to produce a given drain current increases when negative voltages are applied to the gate, confirming field-effect transistor operation. The emission current rises exponentially with inverse voltage over the measured current range from 1 pA to 10 nA. The current-voltage characteristics are consistent with tunneling through barrier potentials calculated numerically from the device geometry.


A strategic planner gives advice on modernization and expansion decision-making, offering one approach to determining whether or not investments are worth the money.


Based on the basic principles of electromagnetism, the application of Shanghai Fudan-day Welcomes UNESCO Instruments Ltd. THQHC-1 type Helmholtz coil magnetic field measuring instrument for measuring coil uniform magnetic field generates a magnetic field on the carrier to get round the coil axis, online circle center at (coordinate origin) at the maximum magnetic field strength. Starting from the coordinate origin, to the sides, the magnetic field lines accelerate the decline, when the distance exceeds the coil radius, the decelerating decline. Conclusions for the understanding of a uniform magnetic field reference.


0214-6282/2004/$25.00 © UBC Press Printed in Spain www.ijdb.ehu.es *Address correspondence to: Dr. Marc Mareel. Laboratory of Experimental Cancer, Department of Radiotherapy, Ghent University Hospital, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000, Gent, Belgium. e-mail: email@example.com Professor Garth L. Nicolson is President, Chief Scientific Officer and Research Professor at the Institute for Molecular Medicine in Huntington Beach, California. He formerly held the David Bruton Jr. Chair in Cancer Research and was Chairman at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He was also Professor of Internal Medicine and of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston and Professor of Comparative Pathology at Texas A & M University. Among the most cited scientists in the world, having published over 550 medical and scientific papers (including 3 Current


Actually used diagnostic systems do not allow to evaluate fairly enough the background of loading of an object, to identify those states which are characterized by absence of a defect, but at the same time warn of a mature environment for its formation. That is, they do not provide a full assessment of risks and the residual operation life of an object. The main disadvantage is a fact that they do not permit to analyze the kinetics of transient processes related to operational or technological impact. The paper clarifies approaches to evaluation of kinetics of transient thermal processes in a running wrought wheel (the system «wheel-shoe») on the basis of original methodology established by authors and of the results of computer simulation.


Although the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2001 gave us a comprehensive readout of our DNA, our understanding of how to interpret this blueprint was far from complete. Over the last decade, our understanding of the complexity of the genome has been further advanced by the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project, a multi-center effort whose goal was to generate a comprehensive list of functional elements in the human genome by sequencing RNA from a diverse range of sources. Using comparative genomics, integrative bioinformatic methods, and human curation, the ENCODE investigators identified such elements as binding sites for proteins that influence gene activity, RNA species with numerous roles, and chemical modifications that serve to silence stretches of our chromosomes (1). From this annotation, it is now estimated that over 90% of the human genome serves some biochemical purpose, prompting scientists to reassess stretches of DNA that were previously disregarded as "Junk DNA."

In particular, noncoding RNA has emerged as an important class of regulatory molecules that modulate gene expression, including those that mediate pre-, co-, and post-transcriptional regulatory processes. These include long noncoding RNA (lncRNA, <200 nucleotides), which facilitate chromatin remodeling; small nuclear RNA (snRNA ∼150 nucleotides), which mediate splicing; and cytoplasmic microRNA (miRNA, ∼22 nucleotides), which destabilize RNA and/or inhibit protein translation. miRNAs are currently the most widely studied and can simultaneously repress hundreds of genes to directly influence the output of interconnected biological networks (2). Numerous reports have now shown these small RNAs to be potent posttranscriptional regulators of gene networks controlling lipid homeostasis. In the last several years, miRNAs have been proven to be: i) regulators of plasma levels of lipoproteins (3, 4), ii) novel intercellular signaling molecules (5), iii) plasma biomarkers of physiological status (6, 7), iv) etiological factors in complex diseases (8), and v) promising therapeutic targets (9, 10). These various roles are highlighted in this Thematic Review series in the current issue of the Journal of Lipid Research.

The human genome encodes over 1,000 miRNAs, approximately one-third of which are organized in polycistronic clusters. While most miRNAs are located within intergenic regions of the genome, others are located within protein-coding genes. One such example is miR-33, which is cotranscribed with the SREBF family of genes and is a critical regulator of lipoprotein metabolism and fatty acid oxidation (11). In a review of the roles of miRNAs in regulating HDL, Mireille Ouimet and Kathryn Moore of New York University School of Medicine discuss the functional relevance of miR-33 to lipid homeostasis, how this and other recently identified microRNAs regulate components of the reverse cholesterol transport pathway, and their potential as therapeutic targets for the treatment of atherosclerosis.

While miR-33 was one of the first miRNAs shown to have a role in lipid biology, the number of genes in the complex network that controls lipid homeostasis identified to be under miRNA control is rapidly growing and includes those involved in sensing and effector pathways, lipoproteins, and extracellular enzymes. It thus follows that natural genetic variation in the compendium of elements that regulate miRNA expression (transcriptional control elements and premiRNAs) or miRNA activity (target sites) will contribute to interindividual variability in lipid phenotypes. This is the topic of a review by Praveen Sethupathy of the University of North Carolina, who describes the evidence for miRNA-related genetic variation as etiological factors in lipid disorders and the use of systems approaches to uncover miRNA-related genetic associations, thereby illuminating the "needles in the genetic haystack" that control lipid phenotypes.

The exciting discovery that miRNAs can be exported into the extracellular space and be stably delivered to adjacent cells and/or distal tissues has unearthed new potential roles for miRNAs. Extracellular miRNAs are now recognized as a novel class of signaling molecules that mediate cell-to-cell communication, and distinct circulating miRNA signatures have been identified in health and disease. This is the topic of a review by Katey Rayner and colleagues of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, who highlight the various routes of export of miRNAs into the extracellular space, their transport by membrane-derived vesicles (exosomes and microparticles) and lipoproteins, and how miRNAs in the circulation may give us hints of the underlying biology of certain disease states.

As the tools to study miRNAs have been developed, our appreciation of the complexity of miRNA gene regulation has continued to expand. Recent advances in high-throughput small RNA sequencing technology have revealed an unexpected dynamic repertoire of miRNAs generated by a single genomic locus. In the final review of the series, Kasey Vickers and colleagues summarize the mechanisms through which multiple functionally distinct isoforms can arise from a miRNA coding sequence, the resulting plasticity of miRNA control, and the biological relevance of such isomiRs in regulating lipid metabolism.

As scientists continue to unravel the miRNA networks that regulate hepatic and systemic lipid homeostasis, exciting discoveries in the field of lipid metabolism are likely to proceed at an unprecedented pace. This will no doubt be paralleled by the rapid identification of novel disease biomarkers and targets for therapeutic intervention. Preclinical studies of miR-33 inhibitors in mice and nonhuman primates have revealed the potential for miRNA inhibitors in the treatment of dyslipidemias and atherosclerosis, and further studies in humans are eagerly awaited. The recent FDA approval of Mipomersen, a first-in-class antisense oligonucleotide inhibitor that targets apolipoprotein B-100 to reduce LDL cholesterol for the treatment of homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (12), opens the door to other oligonucleotide-based therapies, bringing miRNA therapeutics one step closer to reality.


BACKGROUND: The lipid composition of the plasma membrane provides an effective barrier towards exogenous, potentially cytotoxic molecules. As a consequence, membrane traversal of most therapeutic drugs is sub-optimal and remains a major limitation for clinical efficacy. We previously identified a class of short-chain sphingolipids that facilitate the accumulation of amphiphilic compounds, including the cytostatic drug doxorubicin, within tumor cells, leading to improved therapy response. AIM: In order to elucidate the mechanism of action of short-chain lipids, both in vitro and model membrane studies and in silico molecular dynamics simulation experiments were designed. RESULTS: We demonstrate that short-chain sphingolipids act at the level of the plasma membrane, however, independently of lipid microdomain (raft) formation or membrane proteins. In artificial lipid membranes of well-defined compositions short-chain sphingolipids enhanced doxorubicin-membrane traversal similar to cell membranes; N-octanoyl-glucosylceramide decreased the translocation half-time of doxorubicin over liquid ordered lipid membranes by a factor 1.93 (p Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2750. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-2750