Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a member of the TNF superfamily and has selective antitumor activity. Although TNF-α-induced intracellular signaling pathways have been well studied, TRAIL signaling is not fully understood. Here, we identified a novel TRAIL receptor-binding protein, protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5), as a result of proteomic screening. PRMT5 selectively interacted with death receptor 4 and death receptor 5 but not with TNF receptor 1 or Fas. PRMT5 gene silencing sensitized various cancer cells to TRAIL without affecting TRAIL resistance in nontransformed cells. PRMT5 contributed to TRAIL-induced activation of inhibitor of κB kinase (IKK) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), leading to induction of several NF-κB target genes. Although IKK inhibition increased sensitivity to both TRAIL and TNF-α, PRMT5 knockdown potentiated TRAIL-mediated cytotoxicity alone. PRMT5 had no effect on TNF-α-mediated NF-κB signaling. These results show the selectivity of PRMT5 for TRAIL signaling. The PRMT5 small interfering RNA-mediated susceptibility to TRAIL was rescued by ectopic expression of active IKKβ, confirming the involvement of PRMT5 in TRAIL resistance by activating the NF-κB pathway. Collectively, our findings suggest the therapeutic potential of PRMT5 in TRAIL-based cancer treatments. (Mol Cancer Res 2009;7(4):557–69) Introduction The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily plays a critical role in such physiologic and pathologic phenomena as immune system, inflammation, and development through regulation of cellular apoptosis and proliferation (1-3). TNFrelated apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), a member of the TNF superfamily, induces apoptosis in a wide variety of tumor cells, including resistant cells to other TNF superfamily members (4, 5). In contrast to TNF and Fas ligand, the cytotoxicity of TRAIL is characterized by selectivity to tumor cells. TRAIL does not kill normal cells, except hepatocytes and several hematopoietic cells, suggesting therapeutic potential for cancer (6–8). Administration of TRAIL suppressed tumor progression, without apparent toxicity, in mouse and in nonhuman primate models (9, 10). TRAIL-based therapies, recombinant TRAIL, and monoclonal antibodies targeting TRAIL receptors have now entered phase I and II clinical trials. TRAIL binds to cell surface receptors, death receptor 4 (DR4) or death receptor 5 (DR5), triggering their trimerization. The trimerized receptors interact with an adaptor protein Fas-associated death domain (FADD) and then FADD recruits caspase-8 and caspase-10. This signaling complex, consisting of ligand, receptor, FADD, and apical caspases, is named the death-inducing signaling complex (DISC). Caspases are self-activated in DISC and initiate cleavage and activation of downstream effector caspases, resulting in cellular apoptosis (11-13). TRAIL also binds to decoy receptors that have no ability to transduce apoptosis signaling. Therefore, the decoy receptors compete with DR4/DR5 and diminish TRAIL-mediated cytotoxicity. Certain tumor cells exhibit resistance to TRAIL that is not fully explained by expression levels of DR4/DR5 and decoy receptors. Such TRAIL resistance might be caused by activation of other signaling pathways. TRAIL association with DR4 or DR5 is known to activate the inhibitor of κB (IκB) kinase (IKK)/nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase, and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways (8, 14). Specifically, NF-κB is a transcription factor involving various antiapoptotic gene expressions that affect cellular response to TRAIL. NF-κB is composed of dimers of Rel family members. Classic NF-κB complexes, typically p65 and p50, are sequestered in the cytoplasm of resting cells by association with the IκB family proteins. Once the cells are stimulated by TNF superfamily members, IκB is phosphorylated by the IKK complex containing catalytic subunits IKKα and IKKβ and a regulatory subunit IKKγ/NEMO (15-17). This phosphorylation targets IκB for degradation via the ubiquitinproteasome pathway and allows nuclear translocation of NFκB, leading to transcription of target genes (18, 19). Candidates for NF-κB-inducible, antiapoptotic proteins include the inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins (20, 21). Genetic and pharmacologic inhibition of the NF-κB pathway is well known to enhance TRAIL-induced apoptosis (22, 23). Received 4/22/08; revised 12/7/08; accepted 1/3/09; published online 4/16/09. Grant support: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan special grants 17016012 and 18015008 (T. Tsuruo and N. Fujita); Mochida Memorial Foundation for Medical and Pharmaceutical Research, Kobayashi Institute for Innovative Cancer Chemotherapy, and Vehicle Racing Commemorative Foundation (N. Fujita); and Research Fellowships for Young Scientists from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (H. Tanaka). The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact. Note: Supplementary data for this article are available at Molecular Cancer Research Online (http://mcr.aacrjournals.org/). Request for reprints: Naoya Fujita, Cancer Chemotherapy Center, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo 135-8550, Japan. Phone: 81-3-35700468; Fax: 81-3-3570-0484. E-mail: email@example.com Copyright © 2009 American Association for Cancer Research. doi:10.1158/1541-7786.MCR-08-0197 Mol Cancer Res 2009;7(4). April 2009 557 on June 30, 2017. © 2009 American Association for Cancer Research. mcr.aacrjournals.org Downloaded from Protein arginine methylation is a post-transcriptional covalent modification and is involved in a variety of cellular processes, including signal transduction, RNA processing, and transcriptional regulation (24, 25). Protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMT) transfer the methyl group from S-adenosylL-methionine to the guanidino nitrogen atoms of an arginine residue. PRMT5 is one of the evolutionarily conserved type II arginine methyltransferases that catalyze monomethylation and symmetric dimethylation (26, 27). Expression of PRMT5 is ubiquitous among various tissues and is elevated in gastric cancer and lymphoma (28, 29). In addition, overexpression of PRMT5 promoted transformation of NIH3T3 cells, suggesting its role in tumor progression (30). The most studied substrate of PRMT5 is nuclear histone, and histone methylation results in transcriptional repression. Because PRMT5 is distributed not only in the nucleus but also in the cytoplasm, cytoplasmic PRMT5 may play some role in tumorigenesis. In this study, we tried to identify DR4-interacting proteins to clarify new mechanisms of TRAIL-mediated signaling and TRAIL resistance. We found PRMT5 as a novel DR4and DR5-binding protein that conferred TRAIL resistance on cancer cells. Experiments using small interfering RNA (siRNA) revealed that PRMT5 was associated with NF-κB activation induced by TRAIL but not by TNF-α. Because expression of active IKKβ overcame TRAIL-induced apoptosis in PRMT5depleted cells, PRMT5 was identified as a new determinant of TRAIL resistance by activating the NF-κB pathway. Results Identification of PRMT5 as a Novel TRAIL ReceptorBinding Protein To screen proteins in the death receptor-containing complex, lysates of HeLa cells expressing DR4 proteins dually tagged with FLAG and His were applied to anti-FLAG agarose followed by nickel affinity resin. The bound proteins were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and silver staining. We then tried to identify the DR4-binding proteins by liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry after in-gel digestion. As expected, DR4 was detected in a major band (Fig. 1A). Mass spectrometry analysis of another prominent band revealed that it was PRMT5. We first examined the physical association between exogenous PRMT5 and DR4. As shown in Fig. 1B, FLAG-tagged DR4 proteins were present in precipitates when Myc-tagged PRMT5 was immunoprecipitated with anti-Myc agarose in HCT116 cells. DR5, another TRAIL receptor, was also coimmunoprecipitated with PRMT5 (Fig. 1C). In contrast, other members of the TNF receptor (TNFR) superfamily, TNFR1 and Fas, failed to form complexes with PRMT5 (Fig. 1B and C). HeLa cells used in the screening also showed interaction of PRMT5 with DR4 (Fig. 1D). The binding between PRMT5 and DR4 was confirmed at endogenous levels in HCT116 and HeLa cells (Fig. 1E; Supplementary Fig. S1A). Then, we examined the requirement of methyltransferase activity of PRMT5 for interaction with DR4 using a methyltransferase-dead mutant (MD-PRMT5; ref. 27). Wild-type (WT) and MD-PRMT5 bound identically to DR4 (Fig. 1F), indicating that the methyltransferase activity of PRMT5 is dispensable for its DR4binding ability. To determine a critical region in PRMT5 for DR4 association, we constructed several deletion mutants of PRMT5. Fulllength DR4 bound to COOH-terminally deleted ΔC380 (amino acids 1-379)-PRMT5, ΔC430 (amino acids 1-429)-PRMT5, and ΔC465 (amino acids 1-464)-PRMT5 but not to ΔC325 (amino acids 1-324)-PRMT5 (Fig. 1G). We found that DR4 formed complexes with NH2-terminally deleted ΔN100 (amino acids 101-637)-PRMT5 and ΔN200 (amino acids 201-637)PRMT5 but not with ΔN325 (amino acids 326-637)-PRMT5 (Fig. 1G). These results indicate that the region around amino acids 200 to 380 in PRMT5 is critical for binding to DR4. Furthermore, we used internal deletion mutants lacking parts of amino acids 200 to 380 for fine mapping of DR4-binding region (Fig. 1H-J). The Δ361-369 mutant lacking methyltransferase domain I (amino acids 361-369) could interact with DR4. Δ251-300 and Δ301-350, but not Δ201-380 or Δ351380, bound to DR4. These mutants showed consistent binding properties to exogenous and endogenous DR4. Because neither ΔC325 nor ΔN325 were shown to interact with DR4 in Fig. 1G, we c


Clinical governance is a structured organizational framework to improve the quality and safety of patients in the hospital which made by the NHS into seven pillars and adjusted to RI Law No. 44 of 2009. The evaluation results from the quality and patient safety team of Koja Public Regional Hospital in 2018, showed that there is Fall Patient incidents (6 events), KTD and KNC (13 events) which is not following the 0 % of the target from Patient Safety Goals by the Ministry of Health. The study was conducted to analyze patient safety governance for hospitalized patients at the Koja Public Regional Hospital in 2019 based on 4 of the Clinical Governance theories, which are clinical leadership, clinical audit, clinical effectiveness (guidelines); and education, training, and development of conservation profession. This study is using in-depth interview methods through the Purposive Sampling method and also reviewing documents conducted from May to June 2019. The results of the study found that the implementation of Clinical Leadership in Koja Public Hospital was running quite well but not yet optimal because the leadership system, which used the Line Organization to help to faster the decision-making process, is still weak in monitoring. From the Clinical Pathway (CP) evaluation, The medical audit was done well, but the monitoring and evaluation aspects are not yet optimal. The evaluation of clinical effectiveness showed that the compliance to fill the CP form was not optimal because of the lack of CP benefit socialization. Training and courses were done pretty well but have not been evaluated yet. The management team recommends monitoring, collaborating with the medical committee to evaluate the CP usage, providing training related to CP procurement to increase understanding, and also providing necessary training and its evaluation.


Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has increasingly come to dominate brain mapping research, as it provides a dynamic view of brain matter. Feature selection or extraction methods play an important role in the successful application of machine learning techniques to classifying fMRI data by appropriately reducing the dimensionality of the data. While whole-brain fMRI data contains large numbers of voxels, the curse of dimensionality problem may limit the feature selection/extraction and classification performance of traditional methods. In this paper, we propose a novel framework based on a tensor neural network (TensorNet) to extract the essential and discriminative features from the whole-brain fMRI data. The tensor train model was employed to construct a simple and shallow neural network and compress a large number of network weight parameters. The proposed framework can avoid the curse of dimensionality problem, and allow us to extract effective patterns from the whole-brain fMRI data. Furthermore, it reveals a new perspective for analyzing complex fMRI data with a large numbers of voxels, through compressing the number of parameters in a neural network. Experimental results confirmed that our proposed classification framework based on TensorNet outperforms traditional methods based on an SVM classifier for multi-class fMRI data.


The coupling between z valleys in the conduction band of a Si quantum well arises from phenomena occurring within several atoms from the interface, thus, ruling out a theoretical description based on pure effective mass theory. However, the complexity and size of a realistic device precludes an analytical atomistic description. Here, we develop a fully analytical multiscale theory of valley coupling by combining effective mass and tight binding approaches. The results are of particular interest for silicon qubits and quantum devices but also provide insight for GaAs quantum wells.


The paper highlights the scientific principles of the theoretical and applied problems related to the methodology and constructing statistical diagrams and their use under various statistical methods of processing and analysis of ecological and economic information. The examples of constructing and the analyzing pointwise, structural, barwise and integrated multi-bar diagrams are presented. The author offers suggestions related to the use of the given paper not only as a visual aid, but also as a guide which would be useful for those who use widely graphic images in their professional activities.


mediated-immune responses including graft-versus-host (GvH) 1 reactions (1), the development of cytotoxic T cells (2, 3), mixed lymphocyte reactions (4), responses to mitogens (5), generation of helper T cells (6, 7), and the development of delayed hypersensitivity (8). More recently, they have been discovered in the activation of suppressor T cells (T~) (9-11). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether T-T cell interactions were involved in the expression of suppressor T cells in contact sensitivity system. The results indicate that suppressor T cells, which block the efferent route of contact sensitivity (Ts-eff), require the presence of another population of auxiliary T suppressor cells (Ts-aux). The Ts-aux are present in populations of immune lymph node (LN) cells but not in populations of normal LN cells. Depletion of T,-aux, either by pretreatment with cyclophosphamide (Cy), anti-0 serum + C' treatment, or by adult thymectomy, rendered the immune LN cells (TDn) nonsuppressible by Ts-eff.


The optical limiting (OL) properties of single-layer graphene dispersions at 532 and 1064 nm wavelengths were investigated using a nanosecond laser. The experimental results show that the activating threshold of the single-layer graphene dispersed in chlorobenzene (CB) is lower than that of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) by a factor of 10. The nonlinear scattering experiments for the graphene dispersions indicate that the main mechanism of the OL properties is nonlinear scattering effect, whereas nonlinear absorption might contribute to the OL effect of graphene in CB. To enlarge the damage threshold of the limiter, we propose a cascaded optical limiter by combining the advantages of low activating threshold for the graphene and the high damage threshold for the SWNTs. The cascaded optical limiter shows a low activating threshold, a high damage threshold, and broadband OL properties.


Analysts can use several different methods to account for ESG factors in a company's valuation, but consensus about best practice remains elusive.


The article describes the most urgent problems of disciplinary responsibility of judges in their historical relationship with the previously accumulated historical experience of the management of this legal institution. The study identified major trends in Russian law regulating disciplinary responsibility of judges in the historical dynamics of the light enforcement. It is noted that the full realization of the principle of independence of the judges will contribute to the re-establishment of the judicial procedure of disciplinary proceedings and the removal of a number of gaps identified by the comparative analysis of legislation of XIX-XX centuries and current legislation


In a device-to-device (D2D) communication underlaying cellular network, user equipments are required to operate cooperatively and unselfishly to transmit data as relays. However, most users behave in a more or less selfish way, which makes user selfishness a key factor that affects the performance of the whole communication system. We focus on the impact of node selfishness on D2D communications. By separating the user selfishness into two types in accordance with two D2D transmission modes - connected D2D transmission and opportunistic D2D transmission, we propose a time-varying graph model that characterizes the impacts of both individual and social selfishness on D2D communications. Simulation results obtained under the realistic networking settings indicate that the interaction between connected and opportunistic selfishness worsens the impairment caused by individual selfishness, while the harmful interaction caused by social selfishness can be alleviated.


This work presents a robust real time algorithm for an eye tracking system employing the well-known bright-pupil technique that performs an effective detection of the pupil and glint positions in the image. The accuracy in the processing is essential if a good determination of the eye gaze is desired. This algorithm is competent for unconstrained images and presents an unmatchable behaviour for users using glasses. The algorithm employs mostly commands from Matrox Imaging Library (MIL) that present a wide sort of functions for image processing and pattern recognition.


This photograph of the night sky over Exmoor in Devon in the UK is the winning entry in the Physics World astronomy photography contest.


Dysmenorrhea is a common complaint among women of reproductive age, including adolescents, about 50% of women in the world experience dysmenorrhea. Many factors can cause dysmenorrhea, one of which is stress and body mass index (BMI). This study aims to determine the relationship between stress and body mass index with the incidence of dysmenorrhea. This study used a cross sectional design. The population in this study were all female students in grades X and XI who attended SMKS Keluarga Bunda, totaling 80 people with a sampling technique, namely a total sampling of 80 people by distributing questionnaires and then measuring height and weight. The results showed that there was a relationship between stress and body mass index with dysmenorrhoea, with p-value <0.05. Stress and BMI are closely related to the incidence of dysmenorrhea. It is hoped that adolescents will have more attention to BMI and factors that influence BMI such as food intake in order to prevent dysmenorrhea and are expected to avoid or control stress by having a positive attitude and mindset.


Fernique (1981, Theorem 3.2) proved an inequality similar to (1.1) forf E -l convex. However, in that case ( is only assumed to be symmetrically distributed, i.e. for all Ei = ?1, the random vectors (Ei l,)..., n) have the same distribution (of course, this assumption holds if the & are i.i.d. with a symmetric one-dimensional distribution). In contrast to Fernique's difficult proof, Theorem 1 can easily be obtained by induction. Theorem 1 also has the following consequence: Denote by Mn(a) the family of all the


comparable for expected response to SARS-CoV-2. Authors cite the work of Breccia et al. to claim that "there is no data suggesting that chronic phase CML patients are at higher risk of infection for SARS-CoV-2 compared to the general population". Breccia et al. studied CML patients in 2020 and had no experience with SARS-CoV-2. Even if we confirm that CML patients are equally likely with general population to develop COVID-19, we cannot claim similar outcomes and or drug-related responses in either group upon exposure to SARS-CoV-2. More importantly, TKI was not used in CML patients for COVID-19 but rather as an integrated agent of their ongoing therapy. Shortly, we would like to note that the study should be treated as case series of CML patients (using TKI) with confirmed COVID-19, as the title emphasizes. The study has neither an analytical observational nor experimental design to claim an effect of TKI in COVID-19, if any. Currently, COVID-19 has no licensed therapeutics; physicians should be able to critically appraise the emerging evidence on off-label drug use and the quality of evidence supporting it.


Abstract St. Catherines Island, located off the coast of Georgia (United States), has been inhabited by humans for close to 5000 years. The island's long-term habitation and varied history of land use has left a legacy of anthropogenic impacts that has strongly influenced the composition and function of the current vegetation communities and underlying soils. In this study, we examined the chemistry of surface soils collected from 32 sites representing five historical land uses (old cotton plantations, longleaf pine savanna, hickory forest, maritime forests, and shell middens) to determine how human activities have affected the island's surface soils. We found that shell deposition left a strong chemical signal, significantly increasing soil pH, cation exchange capacity, and concentrations of Ca, total nitrogen, and several micronutrients. Soils under the hickory-dominated forest had chemical characteristics that were intermediate between the middens and the other three cover types. Despite a wide range in pH, all sites had very high concentrations of extractable P, possibly because of retention by Ca and Fe. Shell deposition has altered soil chemistry in numerous areas across the island, and this has important implications for soils and the resultant vegetation patterns currently seen along St. Catherine's coastlines as well as other coastlines throughout the world.


The extreme far infrared absorption spectra of selenium-germanium glasses is reported at temperatures down to 2.2K. The absorption is quadratic in frequency down to the lowest measured frequency (8 cm-1) and is temperature independent. It is shown that recent measurements of a non-quadratic absorption in these materials imply physically unreasonable structural correlation ranges. Some speculations are presented on the effectiveness of low-frequency photon-phonon coupling in chemically diverse amorphous materials.


This study explores young children's strategies while transforming polygons, through the use of geometrical models. Data were collected from 291 children ranging from 4 to 8 years of age in Cyprus. Children were asked to draw a stairway of specific polygons, with each shape being bigger or smaller than its preceding one. Relationships between children's responses in the transformation tasks, their ability to recognize geometric shapes and their IQ level were investigated. Results showed that children used three alternative strategies in the transformation tasks. Children's IQ score was directly associated with their transformation strategies, while only a low recognition ability was associated with the use of a defective strategy.


This paper presents the basic characteristics of chaotic code,and puts forward proposal of applying the chaotic code for the TTC(Telemetry,Tracking and Command)system as a spread-spectrum code.The structure of spread-spectrum TTC system and key technologies are discussed to prove the feasibility of spread-spectrum TTC system based on chaotic code.The study shows that the chaotic code are more excellent than traditional spread-spectrum code in the encryption and anti-MAI(Multiple Access Interference).


Growth of Latino students in postsecondary education merits an examination of their resources/challenges. A community cultural wealth model provided a framework to examine unacknowledged student resources and challenges. A mixed method approach found that first- and second-generation college students report equal numbers of sources of support/challenges. Understanding student needs can assist with program development to increasing college completion rates.


The purpose of this research was to study the community
adjustment of schizophrenic patients in relation to their
demographic data, disease symptoms,self-concept and the social
support. This research adopted purposive sampling, and
obtained 101 cases from a psychiatric clinic of a district
hospital in Southern Taiwan. The main research tools included
the Positive Symptoms Scale?Negative Symptoms Scale and the
Community Life Scale, which were party adopted from the
Community Psychiatric Rating Scale,the Self-Concept Scale, and
the Social Support Appraisal Scale. The data was analysed by
factor analysis?independent-samples t test?one-way ANOVA?
Mann-Whitney U test ?Kruskal-Wallis H test?Pearson correlation
?Spearman correlation and stepwise multiple regression. The
findings were as follows:(1). The community adjustment for the
subjects were lower than the medium level.(2). Most of the
subjects have had various degrees of symptoms; 60.3% positive
symptoms, 89.1% negative symptoms.(3). The self-concept for the
subjects were tend to be positive. The factor analysis,
found the following three factors for the Self-Concept scale
namely;「personal characteristics 」?「images」and 「personal
value」. The personal value were most positively scored
among the subjects.(4). The factor analysis for social support
appraisal scale also found four factors namely;「sense of
belonging」?「social recognition」?「linkage with friends
」?and「confidence in support」. The subjects responded
most positively on the factor of the「sense of belonging」,
which could interpreted as the caring and the attendance
they received from the family.(5). Those patients who have
an occupation, a spouse, who were older, whose onset was at
an older age, whose symptoms were lighter, who had more
positive self-concept, and who felt more social support, have
had better community adjustment.(6). The significant
predictors for the community adjustment were, according to
the order of significance, negative symptoms?status of an
occupation ? social support?positive symptoms?and the
age. They could explain 80.6% of the total variance.(7). If
the disease factors being controled, the following important
factors could predict the status of community adjustment;
namely occupational status?social support?and the age.
They could explain 51.3% of the total variance.


This paper aims at presenting a new approach to the electro-sensing problem using wavelets. It provides an efficient algorithm for recognizing the shape of a target from micro-electrical impedance measurements. Stability and resolution capabilities of the proposed algorithm are quantified in numerical simulations. Mathematics Subject Classification (MSC2000): 35R30, 35B30


The current world is experiencing a revolution in Internet services and networking; a revolution that provided and continues to provide varying features and invaluable tools to computer networks. On the other hand, several problems are being faced by users and global organizations in networking including lack of bandwidth and packet loss during transmission which impacts Internet efficiency and the performance of network. These issues can be rectified through the measurement and analysis of the network's performance. Moreover, for network performance enhancement, it is imperative to study users' behaviour. Therefore, the main objectives of the present study are to identify UUM network performance through Internet traffic and to highlight users' behaviour. A total of three methodological steps are carried out to meet the objectives of the study; the first one is the data collection phase whereby the source for data collection is taken from the presently used main distributed switch in an hour for each working day in a duration of one week; the second one is the data analysis phase where Wireshark is used to provide the statistics of traffic and finally; the third phase is the data presentation where Microsoft Excel is utilized to present data. Study findings presents valuable information of network bandwidth, data loss rates and Ethernet traffic distribution, in addition to the fact that is social websites are the most websites used in UUM. These findings leads to facilitate the enhancement of UUM network performance and Internet bandwidth strategies.


The paper discusses the basic possibilities for enhancement of the output power of the self-frequency-doubling devices based on Nd-activated nonlinear crystals, by acting on the factors that determine the intracavity intensity at the fundamental frequency. It is inferred that a very important factor of improvement is the increase of the quantum defect ratio at the fundamental frequency by pumping directly into the emitting level. The relation between the conditions that enhance the intracavity intensity and the frequency-doubling performances is discussed and verified by the marked enhancement of emission at 530 nm in Nd:GdCa4O(BO3)3 with direct pumping at 887 nm.


Ribonucleic acid (RNA) fraction extracted from lymphoid tissues of immunized animals has been shown to transform normal, nonimmune lymphoid cells to immunocompetent Alexander and coworkers reported that primary rat sarcoma regressed after the injection of nucleic acid extracted from the lymphocytes of sheep and allogeneic rats which had been immunized with the tumor to be treated.6 Rigby observed the prolonged survival of mice bearing Ehrlich ascites tumor by administering syngeneic spleen cells incubated with RNA extracted from spleens of syngeneic mice which had been immunized with this tumor.'; Ramming and Pilch showed that the growth of isografts of a chemically induced murine sarcoma was inhibited by the injection of syngeneic spleen cells incubated with RNA extracted from guinea pigs immunized with the same mouse tumor.' The inhibitory effect was, at least partially, tumor-specific and did not cross-react with the other chemically induced


Chemiluminescent detection was applied to measure the continuous spontaneous Ca2+‐independent liberation of acetylcholine (ACh) from Torpedo electric organ synaptosomes. Differentiation between the release of ACh and choline was achieved by inhibiting cholinesterases with phospholine, and a way to quantify the continuous release was devised. The method permitted measurements during short time intervals from minute amounts of tissue and without an accumulation of ACh in the medium. Synaptosomes continuously liberated small amounts of ACh during incubations in the presence of 3 mM K+ and in the absence of Ca2+. The spontaneous liberation of ACh was similar both quantitatively and qualitatively at pH values of 8.6 and 7.8. It was unaltered by MgCl2 (10.4 mM), 2‐(4‐phenylpiperidino)cyclohexanol (10 μM), ouabain (104 μM), atropine (10μM), and valinomycin (102 nM). Carbamoylcholine brought about a decrease, which could be partially reversed by atropine. The Ca2+‐independent output of ACh was increased considerably when the concentration of K+ ions was raised (eightfold at 103 and 35‐fold at 203 mM K+). Carbamoylcholine (104 μM) blocked the increase in ACh release produced by high K+; this effect of carbamoylcholine was not reversed by atropine (10 μM). When Ca2+ was added to synaptosomes depolarized by a high concentration of K+, the amount of ACh released during the first 1–3 min after the addition of Ca2+ was at least 20 times higher than in the absence of Ca2+, but the release returned rapidly to predepolarization values. Similarly high values of ACh release could be achieved by adding Ca2+ plus the ionophore A23187 and even higher values by adding Ca2+ plus gramicidin. Under the conditions used. the Ca2+‐dependent K+‐evoked release of ACh was not changed by 104 μM carbamoylcholine. It is apparent that the spontaneous Ca2+‐independent liberation of ACh from Torpedo synaptosomes is not a simple diffusion and is mediated by a carrier. The carrier is inhibited by muscarinic activation; the molecular mechanism of the inhibition is unlikely to involve Ca2+ ions or hyperpolarization. During depolarization, muscarinic inhibition of ACh liberation is ineffective, but carbamoylcholine blocks the Ca2+‐independent depolarization‐stimulated ACh output, probably by a direct action on the carriers.


The invention discloses a bevel gear with combined arc tooth profile curves and involute tooth profile curves, wherein the tooth profile curves of the bevel gear comprise a top convex-arc segment, an involute segment and a root concave-arc segment, wherein the top convex-arc segment, the involute segment and the root concave-arc segment are sequentially connected from the top to the root; the top convex-arc segment and the root concave-arc segment are both tangential to the involute segment; and the radius of the root concave-arc segment is larger than that of the top convex-arc segment. The bevel gear of the invention has the advantages of separability of center distance of the involute gear; the bevel gear is simple in manufacturing, convenient in measuring, large in contact strength of the arc gear, excellent in running-in performance and the like; the contact stress of the gear surface can be largely reduced and the loading ability of the gear surface can be largely improved. In addition, the bevel gear does not have undercutting phenomenon, and the minimum number of teeth can be one, so that the bevel gear has remarkable meaning for realizing light weight of the gear and the transmission device thereof.


This lawyer explains how nurses are still getting into hot water from failing to document thoroughly-and offers some tips on how to avoid facing legal trouble.


Analytical transmission electron microscopy, especially electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), has the potential to extract similar glass structure and glass chemistry information as XAS due to the complementary processes of inelastic electron scattering and x-ray absorption. The main advantage is higher spatial resolution, while the higher irradiation sensitivity to electrons as compared to photons is a drawback. We have studied a series of ternary alkali borosilicate (ABS) glasses with A=Li, Na, K, Cs and constant ratios between R=[A 2 O]/[B 2 O 3 ] and K=[SiO 2 /[B 2 O 3 ], in order to follow the trend of tetrahedral versus planar borate fingerprints in the EELS fine structure of the boron-K-edge. We found that Cs glasses are stable under the electron beam, while all other alkali borosilicate glasses suffer from alkali removal which is however not instantaneously linked to BO 4 conversion.


ABSTRACT Many studies on the COVID-19 infodemic cover a fairly short period and focus on the West. This research aims at filling this knowledge gap by examining the infodemic on Facebook in the context of Thailand, covering a more extended period (19 months). The objectives are to gain insights into how COVID-19 information pollution is propagated and how well the counternarratives penetrate the users, as well as to spell out prevalent types of information pollution and trends. The network analysis result shows that both debunking/fact-checked and information pollution networks are similar in terms of structures and spread patterns, reflecting a disposition of echo chambers. The attempt to distribute counternarratives to empower the users largely could not penetrate those who usually interact with the information pollution or vice versa. Claims about herbal medicines form the largest proportion of the dataset, and this highlights the uniqueness of contextual influence over the infodemic. The lessons learned from this study could contribute to policymaking concerning pandemic communication and media and information literacy. An understanding of the problem in its context could lead to the development of appropriate and effective responses as well as means to tackle the current and future phenomena of the infodemic.


Abstract : Contents: Double Resonance Spectroscopy: CW Dye Laser Excitation Spectroscopy: CaF A2II - X2 sigma, Laser Induced Fluorescence and Optical-Optical Double Resonance of MgO, Optical-Optical Double Resonance Spectroscopy of BaO, Microwave Optical Double Resonance (MODR) of BaO, MODR and Laser Excitation Spectroscopy of NO2; Ultrasonic Imaging; Wake Collapse, and Visits by Hirschfelder.


What is the exact nature of the link between religion and social cohesion? This book describes how fluctuations in socioeconomic environment can create a process where ritual behavior works to alleviate uncertainties in social commitment. A case study of Finland's 19th-century Christian revivals illustrates this process. This volume is particularly relevant to those interested in the role of religion in human evolution and in organizing society.


In this column we review the following books. 1. Excellence Without a Soul: How a Great University Forgot Education by Harry Lewis. Review by William Gasarch. This book is about how Harvard had declined; however, it has lessons for us all. 2. The following three books are jointly reviewed by Ronald de Wolf. It is reprinted here with permission. The books are on Quantum computing. Cohen. This is a book on lattices that can be used by undergraduates-it has exercises, diagrams , and good exposition. 4. Computational Techniques for the Summation of Series by Anthony Sofo. Review by Vladik Kreinovich. This is about summing series. It uses complex math (literally-complex analysis) and is a research book, not a textbook. Books I want Reviewed If you want a FREE copy of one of these books in exchange for a review, then email me at gasarchcs.umd.edu Reviews need to be in LaTeX, LaTeX2e, or Plaintext.


THE importance of the proper siting of military camps in malarious districts has been ]long recognized and, in some parts of the world, camp-siting has been a major factor in military anti-malaria work. This is true of parts of the Middle East, where anopheline breeding places may be few and far apart, and it has often been easy to pitch major camps in dry -country outside the normal flight range of anophelines from these breeding places. In West Africa very few districts are completely free from malaria risk and the consequences of correct camp-siting are therefore less spectacular. In areas where there are no ,anopheline-free districts camp-~iting' is a difficult and complicated matter because, when one is forced to choose between several localities, all containing anophelines, the particular 'behaviour of these mosquitoes as well as their relative densities determines the relative malaria risk within each area. But the importance of camp-siting is not diminished by its difficulty for there are many localities where malari~ risk increases or decreases tenfold within 100 yards. Many of the conclusions now recorded are based upon experimental work in military areas, details of which cannot yet be published, and while these results apply to West Africa -it is likely that many of them will be applicable in some other malarious districts.


Inthis paper wepresent asimple andfast technique for correcting highamplitude artifacts that contaminate EEG signals. Examples ofsuchartifacts areocular movement, eyeblinks, headmovement, etc. Since themeasured EEG datacanbemodeled asa linear combination ofbrain sources andartifacts, theproposed technique isbased on multiplying theobserved data matrix byablocking matrix that hastheeffect ofblocking highamplitude artifacts, while linearly transforming theother sources without any distortion. Theadvantages ofusing this technique are1)it isrelatively fast, soitcanbeapplied inreal time, 2)itis completely automatic, and3)canbesuccessfully applied tosignals whichfail withICA-based algorithms. Indexing Terms:Electroencephalogram (EEG),artifact removal.


Theoretical analysis of the output performance of a transverse discharge pumped neon Penning laser (585.3 nm) using a mixture of Ne/H2 is described. The validity of the kinetic model is confirmed by comparing the results to the experimental discharge and laser performance. It is theoretically shown that the optimum mixing ratio of the Ne/H2 mixture is 1:2.5, and the optimum operating pressure is about 56 Torr. The model also predicts that the intrinsic efficiency reaches a peak of 8.5×10−6 at an excitation rate of 0.5 MW/cm3 under the optimum mixing ratio and operating pressure conditions. At excitation rates in excess of 0.5 MW/cm3 the laser output power is slowly increasing and then saturates due to electron collisional quenching of the upper laser level. The laser power extraction is increased by laser injection seeding in order to rapidly build up the lasing. The improved intrinsic efficiency is about two times higher than without the injection seeding. The improved specific laser output is 8 W/cm3, t...


One factor that frequently is not adequately emphasized in work with the blind is the family's role in the process. In many cases, the approach used is to deal directly with the individual without proper consideration of the family influence on his development or adjustment. The blind person, however, does not live in a vacuum. Whatever happens to him affects his family significantly. And the way the family reacts to him and to his blindness vitally affects his total outlook, his perception of himself, and his role as a family member. The parental reactions to a child born blind and the subsequent handling of the child will determine to a great extent how he will adapt to his condition and to what degree he will become a normal and integrated member of the community. The various reactions can range from acceptance to overprotection to outright rejection. Parental attitudes are strong determinants in the normal or abnormal development of the child, particularly because of the greater than usual dependence of the blind child upon his parents. Thus, the importanceof parentalmaturity and knowledge cannot be overemphasized. Similarly, the adult who loses his sight is greatly influenced by the attitudes and emotional reactions of the various family members. He must deal not only with his own feelings of loss, his fears and anxieties, but also with the feelings and anxieties of the family. In most cases, the shock of blindness comes to a family that is totally ignorant of the effects of the disability. It is a new and frightening experience, not only for the blinded person, but also for his family, who do not know how to cope with the special problems that attend blindness. o Members of the family, whether of a congenitally blind or an adventitiously blinded person, often react inappropriately to the handicap because of their own relative immaturity or instability. They may be so concerned with their feelings of guilt, their wish to be dependent, or with the satisfaction of other needs that they not only fail to contribute to the adaptation of the blind individual but in fact interfere with his own attempts toward adjustment. Where this is true, the basic problem can only be resolved by professional counselling or psychotherapy. However, there are many problem situations in which lack of information is the primary cause of inappropriate family reactions. For example, a child born blind has the same natural curiosity about the environment as a sighted child. However, because he cannot see, he is unaware of what is just beyond


We propose a distributed, light weight, scalable clustering algorithm for clustering in wireless sensor networks (WSN). The clustering algorithm is suitable in an environment where sensors are deployed randomly. The clusters are distributed over the deployment and are not necessarily of the same size in terms of the number of nodes in a cluster. The actual sizes are governed by the radius of the radio signal range. Cluster formation allows each node to join only one cluster. Each cluster head can either communicate with other cluster head directly or through an intermediate member node. Each cluster thus formed can communicate with the base station through an overlay network of cluster heads and intermediate nodes in between. We show that the clustering algorithm converges fast independent of the number of nodes deployed. We analyze the performance of clustering algorithm using simulation. Results show that very few nodes (less than 5%) are not able to join a cluster (or remain orphan); many are isolated due to random deployment and communication range limitation.


Winner-Take-All (WTA) structures are widely used in hardware implementations of neural networks and dedicated fuzzy processors where highly parallelized computations are involved. In this paper, a comparison of previously reported WTA structures is presented. Five structures are simulated and fabricated in a standard 2.0 /spl mu/m n-well double-poly double-metal CMOS process.


Abstract : Principles are presented for the design of single- and two-component systems for simulating human skin or other materials of interest in studies of steady and unsteady-state heat conduction. Such simulants must accept heat at a rate identical to the acceptance rate of the material simulated. Thus, the product rho and the quotient rho must be identical for the primary material and its simulant (k is thermal conductivity and rho is volumetric heat capacity). For heat transfer studies in which knowledge of the temperature-time-depth relation in thin material is desired it is advantageous to design the simulant with its depth dimension 'stretched' relative to depths in the material simulated. Detailed designs are presented for heterogeneous simulants employing copper and air, with kcrho and k/rho values equal to those of human skin and with a stretch factor of 28.4. Several such simulants have been constructed and instrumented with thermocouples at depths corresponding to 0.01 to 0.16 cm depth in skin. Performance of the various simulants has matched the theoretical for opaque semi-infinite solids for periods ranging from at least 4 seconds to more than 10 seconds. The skin simulants are to be used for studies of the temperature-time-depth relationship following exposure of both bare and cloth-covered simulants to radiant energy pulses. Attempts will be made to correlate both types of tests with University of Rochester tests on burning of the skin of Chester White pigs.


Because that magnetic inductive thermotherapy requires to implant magnetic inductive media in tumor area with heating under the stimulation of external alternating magnetic field and is a clinical interventional treatment, so it is very important and essential for a doctor to make a reasonable treatment plan in magnetic inductive clinical treatment diagnosis and preoperative plan. The intuitional three-dimensional virtual patient information plays a vital function in making a plan. The research takes advantage of computer graphics algorithm to study the drawing of three-dimensional visual surface of medical image, extracts and launches a study on contour surface through voxel model, contour surface model and MC (Marching Cubes) algorithm and achieves the visual process of three-dimensional surface drawing of medical CT (Computed Tomography) sequence images, which can clearly build well-defined and intuitive virtual focus model and improve the quality and accuracy of thermotherapy plan.


It has been assumed that the evangelical churches in Canada have supported liberal principles of government. If the political activities of the Baptists in Nova Scotia, the Methodists in Upper Canada, and the followers of William Aberhart in Alberta are examined, it will be found that, while a number of conditions favored their alignment with radical political forces, other circumstances favored their alignment with conservative forces. Opportunism determined their political affiliations. The explanation for this lies in the development of these churches from religious sects. The sect, forced into politics, lacked a political philosophy. The real contribution to liberal principles of government must be sought in the peculiar role of the religious sect itself.


On the southern coast of Taiwan, the majority of juveniles of the damselfish Dascyllus reticulatus (Richardson) live exclusively on table corals on reefs. Patterns of juvenile settlement were evaluated monthly on 5 coral heads from February 1997 to September 1998, to study the influence of recruitment on colonization. The population size, which was negatively linked to rainfall, ranged from 13 (minimal, in August 1997) to 187 individuals (maximal, in September 1998). New recruits occurred throughout the year. There was concordance among the monthly numbers of new recruits in different colonies. The main recruitment season occurred from late summer to early autumn and peaked in October 1997 and August 1998. The old residents had no effects on recruitment. Immigration to colonies was evident in certain colonies. Overall, results suggest that colonization was mainly governed by the influx of juveniles during peak recruitment. Apart from other post-settlement processes yet to be elucidated, migration and environmental factors such as typhoons and rainfall might also have contributed to temporal variations.


Summary form only given. In current lightwave communication system, non-return-to-zero (NRZ) formatted data is preferred because of its bandwidth efficiency and better error performance. Unlike RZ data, the NRZ data doesn't contain a clock component in its modulation spectrum. Thus a necessary step in all-optical clock recovery from NRZ data is to extract the clock component. Recently, all-optical clock recovery from NRZ data using SOA was demonstrated. When NRZ data pass through a SOA, an overshoot at each leading edge is generated due to gain saturation of SOA. These overshoots have rich clock component. In this paper, extraction of clock component using SOA is studied both experimentally and theoretically.


Objective:To explore the expression and diagnostic significance of P504S,p63 and 34βE12 in prostatic adenocarcinoma.Methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of P504S,p63 and 34βE12 in 30 cases of prostate carcinoma(PCa),49 cases of benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH),6 cases of atypical adenomatous hyperplasia(AAH) and 29 cases of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia(PIN).Results: P504S was positive in 28 of total 30 PCa cases and focally positive in 1 case,it was focally positive in 5 PIN cases.PCa group was significantly higher than BPH,AAH and PIN in positive of P504S(P0.01),and focally positive had no significantly difference between groups(P0.05).p63 and 34βE12 was negative in 29 of total 30 PCa cases and focally positive in 1 case,it was positive in 49 cases of BPH,4 cases of AAH and 26 cases of PIN.2 cases of AAH and 3 cases expressed focally positive for p63 and 34βE12.The positive expression in PCa group was significantly lower than in other groups(P0.01),and focally positive had no significantly difference between groups(P0.05).Conclusion: P504S is a sensitive and specific marker for prostate carcinoma.The reasonable use of P504S,p63 and 34βE12 detection helps to improve the diagnostic accuracy and detection rate of PCa.


Competing views of written texts, of the process of writing, and of the purposes of the scholarly investigation of written discourse appear inherently. at odds. Today composition ttiN6ry is often demeaned as being only. pedagogical.while literary study it granted the status of a self-fulfilling academic pursuit. What is needed is'a model of--matrix that cAuld establish scholarly interaction betlkeen the two fields.:Such a model would have to address (1) the nature of a^Written text--its capacity for.ernrsis Eks both'a:prodett of a prior activity and the reflection, of a h process; ,(2) the natuce of a writing event, whether defined as an t of recording mealng or as a unique, individual, indeterminate event; (3) the relationOf both individual texts and discrete writing events 1, 6


Statistical study on correlation of the regional geomagnetic K index can be used to know external disturbances effect indicating causal relation between sun and geomagnetic. Such study can use Maximum Likelihood method through Conditional Gaussian Distribution. Its disturbance, such as disturbance from solar magnetic cloud upstanding to earth surface that influence geomagnetic components and K index, so that there will be regional temporal pattern. The analysis of the correlation K index was done by direct and indirect correlation method. Direct correlation is determined from Biak K index data compared to Tangerang K index data. The result of correlation value is about 0.635 during maximum solar activity 1999. This value means that the effect of the external disturbances both in Biak and Tangerang is about 63.5percent. While indirect correlation was done by means of the annual K index data from both station according to solar poaition, that is from north to equator, equator to south vice versa especially result is that value of correlation between Biak K index and center point is 0.897 and then between Tangerang K index and center point is 0.883


In this paper I argue for a unified account of causative constructions in German. The approach rests on assumptions for case assignment and subcategorization which will be independently motivated by an analysis of passive constructions. It will be shown that the difference between standard causatives and what I call causative passives should be analyzed as a special case of optional subcategorization: causative lassen optionally subcategorizes for an external argument of the embedded verb, the non-realization of which leads to a causative passive. The adoption of a (synthetic) passive bare infinitive, as advocated for in the literature, can thus be dispensed with. Instead, causative passive can be shown to function like a combination of causative and passive, thereby creating a "passivelike" structural context.


Nowadays, telecardiology becomes an important tool in cardiac diagnosis from a remote location. During Electrocardiogram (ECG) acquisition, several artifacts strongly degrade the signal quality and mask the tiny features which are important for Clinical monitoring and diagnosis. In some emergency cases the ECG signal has to be transmitted to the clinic from the ambulance. During the transmission the tiny features of the ECG signal are masked due to channel noise. In practice, most of the signals are non-stationary and fixed coefficients filters will not work well. From the past history it was proven that among several filtering techniques, adaptive filters can efficiently adjust its coefficients in accordance to statistical nature of the input signal. The development of efficient adaptive noise cancellers to remove artifacts from ECG signals would therefore be very beneficial. The reduction of complexity in telecardioalogy system applications is important. In this paper we are going to present various less computational complexity adaptive filtering methods based on variable step-size algorithms. The main aim is to eliminate the affect of PLI artifact using these adaptive algorithms and performance of simulated result is compared with MATLAB and DSP processor kit. Simulation results shows that the proposed realization gives better performance in terms of signal to noise ratio.


Modigliani was perceived importance of the General Theory of Keynes even before begin to study economics. After becoming an economist by profession, thanks to his research, both theoretical and applied, its teaching, its recommendations to combat mass unemployment, Modigliani became known worldwide as one of the greatest Keynesian economists. Yet there are many essential elements of the General Theory of Keynes that in the works of Modigliani are not. In this lesson we show how his effort - to use his own expression - to "digest" the innovative ideas of Keynes in the more traditional Walrasian theory lead to the loss of more genuinely revolutionary ideas of Keynes. The author claims - referring to some personal memories - that the belief of Keynes to the need to build a new "monetary theory of production" remains as relevant today as it was at the time it was proposed. More than trying to "digest" the Keynesian revolution, we should try to bring it fully to fruition.


At present, the system described in this paper has not been approved by the Department of Defense for processing classified information. This paper does not represent DOD policy regarding industrial application of time- or resource-sharing of EDP equipment.


The optomotor reaction of juvenile Coregonus schinzipalea Val. et Cuv. and Salmo salar L. was utilized to develop a circular tube metabolism chamber to measure oxygen consumption and ammonia excretion as a function of swimming speed. The metabolism chamber with a constant water flow assured the maintenance of stable conditions. The unidirectional movement of fish was measured in a circular tube with a single narrowing. The relationships between the swimming speed and oxygen consumption or ammonia excretion described by exponential equations allowed the extrapolation towards the standard metabolism, i.e., zero swimming speed. For a juvenile coregonid (0.1–0.15 g individual weight, 2.6–2.8 cm total length) standard metabolism at 14° C was estimated as 0.65 mg02 g−1 h−1 and 17.3 μg N(NH3)g−1 h−1, whereas for juvenile salmon (136mg individual weight) respective values at 22° C were 0.047mg02g−1h−1 and 0.61 μg N(NH3)g−1 h−1. The feeding test with juvenile salmon was also performed in this circular chamber, and in both energy and nitrogen budgets after a meal the partitioning could be precisely attributed to standard metabolism, active metabolism and specific dynamic action (in the case of oxygen consumption) or postprandial nitrogen increase.

The new metabolism chamber allowed the relationship between metabolism and swimming velocity of juvenile fish with developed rheotactic response. It could be used with adult fish for similar purposes.


Telerobotics/EVA Joint Analysis Systems (TEJAS) computer program is hypermedia information software system using object-oriented programming to bridge gap between crew-EVA and telerobotics activities. TEJAS Version 1.0 contains 20 HyperCard stacks using visual, customizable interface of icon buttons, pop-up menus, and relational commands to store, link, and standardize related information about primitives, technologies, tasks, assumptions, and open issues involved in space-telerobot or crew-EVA tasks. Runs on any Apple MacIntosh personal computer.


In this paper,the performance of the n-ZnO /i-AlSb /p-AlSb solar cell is simulated by AMPS( Analysis of microelectronic and photonic structures). The effect of n / i interface state on the performance of the solar cell,such as fill factor FF and conversion efficiency η,was studied. It was shown that with the increase in interface state density,fill factor and conversion efficiency decreased rapidly,the mechanism of this change was investigated as well.


type="main"> In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, central banks in advanced economies adopted unconventional monetary policies such as quantitative easing, in addition to conventional policies like low interest rates. However, the increase in global liquidity in terms of key international currencies, driven by unconventional monetary policies, has led some emerging economies to move toward inflation and unstable capital markets. This means that there could be a global divergence of inflation between advanced and emerging economies. This inflation divergence also appears between emerging economies. The emerging economies, distinguished by capital flow control or current account surplus, have little inflation pressure. We suggest that the global divergence of inflation is related to both domestic and international liquidity circulation velocities. In particular, capital control or current account plays a role in determining the velocity of global liquidity circulation.


The incidence of melanoma has been on the rise for the last several decades, with a current US lifetime risk of developing melanoma estimated as 1 in every 60 individuals [1]. The key to preventing death from melanoma is the early detection of this cancer, at a stage where surgical excision is curative. However, in attempt to diagnose melanoma early, physicians are also removing many benign lesions, most of these being melanocytic nevi.

The pursuit to improve our clinical sensitivity for melanoma diagnosis, while minimizing unnecessary skin biopsies, has led to the development of skin imaging techniques. Among recent non-invasive imaging modalities, reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) stands out as particularly promising since it offers bedside imaging at cellular-level resolution. Stevenson and coauthors [2] have reported in Dermatology Practical & Conceptual on a systematic review of the diagnostic accuracy of RCM for melanoma diagnosis. They have identified five publications, including a total of about 900 lesions, a third of which were melanomas; most of these lesions were reportedly equivocal for diagnosis, clinically and dermatoscopically. Based on these studies, the pooled sensitivity for melanoma diagnosis using RCM is 93% (range 91%–97%) and specificity is 76% (range 68%–86%). While the study by Stevenson et al [2] did not address the exact contribution of RCM as an add-on test to dermatoscopy, the aforementioned data suggests that RCM can indeed increase diagnostic accuracy beyond clinical and dermatoscopic examination.

To simulate the added contribution of RCM to dermatoscopy, Stevenson et al [2] took a hypothetical case of 1000 dermatoscopically equivocal skin lesions, and based on the previously reported benign to malignant ratio of 4:1 for experts' diagnosis of melanoma [3], they assume a ratio of 800 benign lesions to 200 melanomas. They estimate that RCM will prevent the unnecessary excision of 608 benign lesions that would be diagnosed as benign based on RCM, reflecting the specificity of 76%. If we were to formulate the best indications for using RCM as an add-on test to dermatoscopy, we would need to better point-out which lesions are included in this group of 608 benign lesions that are dermatoscopically equivocal, but RCM negative. In this editorial, we can only attest to our own impression and experience, as well as some literature reports, that this group of lesions could encompass the following examples:

nevi with irregular pigment pattern (e.g., irregular network, complex pattern) on dermatoscopy showing a regular pattern (e.g., ringed or meshwork patterns) on RCM (Figures 1,,22);

Figure 1.

(A) Dermatoscopic image of a nevus showing an irregular network with thickened dark brown lines. (B) RCM mosaic (3.5 × 3.5 mm) acquired at dermo-epidermal junction level reveals a regular Ringed and Meshwork pattern. (C) Higher magnification RCM ...

Figure 2.

(A) Dermatoscopy image of a nevus typified by complex pattern with central bluish clods, structureless areas and peripheral network. (B) RCM overview image (5 × 6 mm mosaic) acquired at dermo-epidermal junction level reveals a regular Meshwork ...

nevi with a hyperpigmented structureless pattern on dermatoscopy that display on RCM a cobblestone pattern of the epidermis (reflecting pigmented keratinocytes at the basal and suprabasal epidermis) or a dense infiltrate of melanophages in the dermis;

a dermatoscopically-equivocal lesion on sun-damaged skin with a differential diagnosis between solar lentigo and melanoma on sun-damaged skin, that presents a straightforward pattern of solar lentigo on RCM, without any findings concerning for melanoma;

a pink macule revealing only a vascular pattern on dermatoscopy, while RCM demonstrates a straightforward pattern of nevus;

a macule or patch displaying granularity or blue-gray hue on dermatoscopy, while showing on RCM features of lichen planus-like keratosis with melanophages and remnants of solar lentigo, in the absence of suspicious findings for melanoma [4];

recurrent pigmentation in a scar, whereby RCM helps discriminate between a benign reactive pigmentation and an atypical melanocytic proliferation which would require a biopsy to exclude melanoma [5].

However, there is also a "price" associated with overriding dermatoscopic concern with RCM-based diagnosis. In the estimation by Stevenson et al [2] among the 200 melanomas that are deemed for excision based on the dermatoscopic impression, 14 melanomas may be misdiagnosed as benign based on the RCM findings, reflecting an imperfect sensitivity of 93%. If we were to improve in recognizing the pitfalls of RCM, we would need to identify recurring patterns among these 14 melanomas. Again, based on personal experience and literature reports, here are some potential examples of RCM-false negative melanomas: (1) nodular melanoma associated with hyperkeratosis or ulceration [6]; (2) fully ulcerated melanoma, a scenario where RCM should not be used, since secondary surface changes (e.g., blood, scale-crust) can obscure diagnostic findings; (3) nevoid type melanoma consisting cytologically of mostly of small-melanocytes [7]; and (4) melanoma in situ showing on RCM only focally suspicious findings for melanoma, while displaying equivocal reticular pattern on dermatoscopy (Figure 3). We also need to develop strategies to minimize the rate of RCM false-negative melanomas. As a general rule, good agreement between clinical, dermatoscopic and RCM findings should be reached to minimize the risk of missing melanomas. We need to remember that RCM is an adjunct test that should be integrated with other diagnostic data. In this regard, there is a difference between flat and nodular equivocal lesions. Flat lesions with significant clinical and dermatoscopic suspicion that are diagnosed as benign based on RCM imaging, should still be strongly considered for digital dermatoscopic monitoring. In contrast, for nodular lesions a dichotomous decision, biopsy or not, should always be obtained; nodular lesions that do not show clear-cut benign findings on RCM in a way that correlates well and accounts for the dermatoscopically-concerning findings, should be strongly considered for biopsy.

Figure 3.

(A) Clinical image of a 10 mm asymmetric brown patch on the right leg. The patient is a 64-year-old female with prior history of melanoma, and the lesion has been present for several years without notable change. (B) Dermatoscopic image showing an irregular ...

Finally, in the simulated scenario discussed by Stevenson et al [2], sensitivity for diagnosis was assumed to be set by dermatoscopy, as RCM examination is only performed on dermatoscopically-equivocal lesions that are otherwise deemed for excision. Indeed, a common point of view is that RCM cannot impact sensitivity for melanoma diagnosis beyond clinical and dermatoscopic examination. However, management decisions in the clinic are more complex and influenced by the physician's (A) interpretation of the lesion's morphology, (B) diagnostic confidence and (C) threshold for biopsy, to name a few factors. In real life, not all lesions referred for RCM imaging would have evoked a biopsy based on clinical and dermatoscopic findings alone (Figure 4). As RCM becomes more readily available at the bedside, in terms of cost, size of device, ease and speed of use, the clinical and dermatoscopic thresholds for referring lesions to RCM examination may be much lower than the thresholds, which prompt a biopsy. For example, in individuals with very fair skin where many skin lesions appear pink or non-pigmented, RCM can add diagnostic information and narrow the broad differential diagnosis between BCC, Bowen's disease, nevus, amelanotic melanoma and inflammatory lesions [8]; in this scenario, the handheld RCM device, which allows for more rapid screening of multiple lesions, can be particularly useful for guiding the clinician which of the pink lesions needs to be biopsied [9]. Another example is a small-diameter pigmented lesion with few and equivocal dermatoscopic findings, while RCM shows features that are highly suspicious for melanoma (Figure 5) [10].

Figure 4.

(A) Baseline back images of a 69-year-old male patient with a history of melanoma. (B) Repeat back image, at 3-year follow-up, reveals a new pigmented macule on the left upper back (red arrow). Of note, the arrows in (A) and (B) correspond to the same ...

Figure 5.

(A) Dermatoscopy image of a 3 mm pigmented lesion. Dermatoscopy reveals a structureless brown-gray pigmentation with few dots. (B) RCM mosaic (3.5 × 2.5 mm) acquired at the level of the spinous-granular layers of the epidermis displays a disarrayed ...

In conclusion, RCM is rapidly becoming an important addon tool in the armamentarium of dermatologists who screen patients for skin cancer. Incorporating RCM as a diagnostic adjunct can increase specificity of melanoma diagnosis. However, we need to study more extensively the indications for using RCM, and equally importantly, the limitations of RCM.


The invention relates to a portable computer (1), particularly a notebook, with a housing base part (2) and at least one with respect to the housing base part (2) movable housing cover part (3) for covering at least a functional element of the computer (1). Here, the housing cover part (3) in a shaping element (6) of the housing cover (3) integrated optical status display (5), which is configured to display a current operational status of a plurality of possible operating states of the computer when the functional element of the computer (1) is covered by the housing cover part (3).


The group of congruences and permutations of the two-colored N-dimensional Boolean cube is considered. The total number of orbits generated by these automorphisms are shown to scale as 22"/(2y+'N!) when N tends to infinity. The probability that a randomly chosen function will belong to an orbit containing the maximum possible number of elements, 2'v+' N!, approaches one as N goes to infinity. Simulations for N <6 are in agreement with the scaling predictions.


The hybrid nanofluids exhibit remarkable thermal performance as coolant in automobile radiators. Hybrid nanofluid predominantly improves the heat transfer performance as compared to conventional coolants. Therefore, the present research work is focused on the hybrid nanofluids as coolant for automobile radiator. Due to improved heat transfer rate of hybrid nanofluid, the overall size of automobile radiator can be reduced. The heat transfer characteristics of Multi Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT)-Copper Oxide (CuO)/deionized water and Graphene/deionized water nanofluids were analyzed experimentally compared with deionized water. The experimental work aimed to find thermo physical properties such as thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, and density of hybrid nanofluids. The concentrations of MWCNT-CuO and Graphene nanofluid were varied from 0.05 to 0.15wt%. Significant improvement in the stability was observed by magnetic stirring and ultra-sonication process with the Sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) surfactant. The effect of SDS surfactant on stability of MWCNT/CuO and Graphene nanofluid experimentally investigated. Effect of coolant flow rate on heat transfer rate is studied experimentally by varying coolant flow rate (3-7 lit/min) for different temperature (50°C to 80°C) conditions. Based on the experimental observations it was noticed that the Nusselt number of the hybrid nanofluid is linear relationship with the nanocoolant flow rate and a highest Nusselt number of 37.7 was observed at 0.1 %wt and 7 lit/min nanocoolant flow rate at 80°C inlet temperature. It was observed that aqueous based MWCNT-CuO hybrid nanofluid enhanced the convective heat transfer coefficient by 295% as compared to conventional base fluid at 80°C and 7 lit/min nanocoolant flow rate. It was also observed that the convective heat transfer coefficient for MWCNT-CuO/Deionized water hybrid nanofluid is 30% more than graphene based nanofluid at higher operating temperature (80°C) and higher coolant flow rate (7 lit/min). Further experiments were conducted at higher mass flow rates and temperature to investigate the maximum heat transfer ability of Graphene-CuO and MWCNT-CuO hybrid nanofluids as a feasible nanocoolant for automotive application.


The chronicles, reviews, and interviews included in this quintessential booklet were published in various contexts between 1964 and 1968. Except for the "Addendum" ("Dodatak"), enlarged with information dating from 1968 to 1971, all the articles are republished unchanged. Besides a preface, an introduction, and a bibliography the volume consists of fifteen largely independent topics from the whole range of current Marxism, as experienced by a leading Yugoslav philosopher surveying the highlights and problems of its recent development at home and abroad. These topics are grouped under three subtitles: "Yugoslav Philosophy and the Journal Praxis," "Marxism in the West and in the East," and "Chances of Disalienation." The concluding article deals with questions of Yugoslavia's multinational society, and the "Addendum" with the development of its philosophy since World War II (1945-71). According to Professor Petrovic, Praxis is meant to be a "philosophical journal in the sense in which philosophy is a thought of revolution: a merciless critique of everything existent, a humanistic vision of a truly humane world, and an inspiring force of revolutionary action." A well-known anti-Stalinist, opposed to repression and administrative interference, he defends the freedom of expression and categorically rejects every preconception about who has the right to be regarded as an "authentic" Marxist.


Immunotherapy has revolutionised medical oncology due to durable responses and favourable clinical trial outcomes seen in some patient populations treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.1 As a consequence, various immune checkpoint inhibitors have been approved by regulatory bodies and have quickly been adpoted as the standard treatment option in several cancer types, such as melanoma, lung cancer and renal cell cancer.2–8 Efficacy has been shown not only in metastatic stages including patients in highly advanced treatment phases but also in patients with lung cancer and melanoma treated in the adjuvant setting.9 Recent data from lung cancer, …


Abstract This paper presents observations of recent faulting activity in the karstic network of the Rochefort Cave (Namur Province, Belgium, Europe). The principal recent tectonic features are bedding planes reactivated as normal faults, neo-formatted normal faults in calcite flowstone, fresh scaling, extensional features, fallen blocks and displacement of karstic tube. The seismo-tectonic aspect is expanded by the presence of fallen blocks where normally the cavity must be very stable and in equilibrium. Three main N 070° fault planes and a minor one affect, at a decimetre scale, the karst features and morphology. The faults are still active because recent fresh scaling and fallen blocks are observable. The breaking of Holocene soda straw stalactites and displacements of artificial features observed since the beginning of the tourist activity, in the last century, also suggest very recent reactivation of these faults. This recent faulting can be correlated to present-day tectonic activity, already evidenced by earthquakes in the neighbouring area. Therefore, karstic caves are favourable sites for the observation and the quantification of recent tectonic activity because they constitute a 3-D framework, protected from erosion. Fault planes with this recent faulting present slickensides. Thus a quantitative analysis in term of stress inversion, with the help of striated faults, has permitted to reconstruct the stress tensor responsible for the brittle deformation. The principal NW-SE extension (σ3 horizontal) is nearly perpendicular to that of the present regional stress as illustrated by the analysis of the last strong regional earthquake (Roermond, The Netherlands) in 1992. During the Meso-Cenozoic, the main stress tectonics recorded in this part of the European platform is similar to the present one with a NE-SW direction of extension. The discrepancy between the regional stress field and the local stress in the Rochefort cave can be the result of the inversion of the σ2 and σ3 axes of the stress ellipsoid due to its symmetry or of a local modification at the ground surface of the crustal stress field as it has been already observed in active zones.


Editor: The interesting report by Al-Hwiesh et al. (1) on the feasibility of peritoneal dialysis (PD) in patients with an indwelling permanent suprapubic catheter (PSPC) prompted us to contribute our experience of a patient with PSPC needing renal replacement therapy. A 62-year-old woman with a history of chronic kidney disease due to a mitochondrial disorder, i.e., maternally inherited diabetes and deafness (MIDD-syndrome), presented with acute on chronic kidney injury and was found to be in acute urinary retention, with a bladder volume of more than 1,000 mL. A neuropathic origin was presumed, given her underlying condition. A transurethral catheter was placed, but when a trial without catheter failed, a PSPC was inserted. No malfunction was reported in the further course, and regular changes were undertaken without complications. Over the next year, the patient's renal function declined relentlessly. When she reached end-stage kidney disease, she opted for PD. To ascertain the extraperitoneal position of the PSPC, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the lower abdomen was employed, as intraperitoneal malposition could have caused leakage or infections and can manifest late with mechanical complications (2). As clearly demonstrated in Figure 1, the catheter was located outside the peritoneal cavity. The PD catheter was inserted as reported previously (3), and the patient remained on PD for 20 months without any complications (Figure 2). As a "proof of concept,"


This note presents a hybrid control scheme for a class of continuous-time LTI systems that cannot be stabilized by a single static output feedback (SOF) controller. The main idea here is to design multiple SOF gains and proper logic rules that orchestrate switching among these gains so as to achieve the global stability. One challenge, however, is that the switching logic should be in the output feedback form as well. This may seriously restrict the possible choices of switching surfaces, especially when the output is just a scalar. To overcome this difficulty, a multirate sampling control scheme is proposed. Under this framework, a hybrid output feedback stabilizing controller is designed, and sufficient controller synthesis conditions are proposed as linear matrix inequalities based on multiple Lyapunov function theorems. The note concludes with a discussion on possible extensions and future research topics.


This paper presents new position-sensitive matrices of photosensitive elements. The photosensitive elements of the proposed matrix can be manufactured, depending on the required spectral range, based on Si, A 3 B 5 solid solutions, etc. Depending on the required technical characteristics, PN photodiodes, PIN pho-todiodes, or avalanche photodetectors can be used as photosensitive elements. The main advantage of the proposed optical coordinator is a special topology of connection of sensitive elements. The interlaced connection of rows and columns allows to significantly reduce the number of information outputs, expand the dynamic range, and achieve greater manufacturability of the device without significant loss of the signal component. The periodicity of the topology makes it possible to find the position of a light spot, determine its center, and accurately track the movement of the spot along the coordinator without the use of micro-mechanical centering devices. The "checkerboard" topology of the sensitive elements and method of generating output signals are discussed. Such an arrangement makes it possible to simultaneously determine two coordinates at the same time. Methods for determining the center of a light spot are presented as well. The overlap of the area of the sensitive element by the light spot is proportional to the output current signal. Therefore, it is possible to determine the center of the light spot by solving a two-dimensional geometric problem. The distribution of errors in determining the center was calculated using the method of finding the barycenter in dynamic and statistical modes for different light spot configurations. Direction-finding characteristics were analyzed. A topology of connection that allows to expand the dynamic range of the measurement was submitted.


The invention discloses a flame-retardant adhesive tape. The flame-retardant adhesive tape comprises an upper layer, a middle layer, and a bottom layer; the upper layer is made of fiberglass-polyester paving mat; the middle layer is made of acrylic acid adhesive, and the bottom layer is made of epoxy resin; the content of the fiberglass-polyester paving mat accounts for 47 to 51% of the weight of the flame-retardant adhesive tape; the content of the acrylic acid adhesive accounts for 20 to 27% of the weight of the flame-retardant adhesive tape; and the content of epoxy resin accounts for 23 to 28% of the weight of the flame-retardant adhesive tape. The flame-retardant adhesive tape possesses excellent flame resistance, and heat resistance, and possesses no pungent smell.


Thirty year's experience in the Information Systems and Technology (IST) industry, including 20 years teaching IS subjects, such as database design, have convinced me that IST education is not done well. Whether this manifests itself as poor teaching, or by poor learning, is a moot point, but the outcome seems to be the same. Graduates venture out into the professional world apparently poorly equipped both technically and managerially. Pragmatic education, devoid of theory, principle or industry history, is common. This is demonstrated by the many horror stories that abound, especially about poor database design. Given that databases are the central focus and foundation of most business systems, and a major resource in both time and effort to develop and maintain, database education needs to be of the highest order of relevance, practicality and correctness. The problem seems to lie to a considerable extent in the textbooks that are available for college courses. These have problems of fact and process in abundance. This paper narrates some of the experience of the author in anecdotal fashion, but presents a significant analysis of a number of database textbooks, highlighting the pedagogical problems that abound in them.


This article is a response to Paul Foster's recent critiques of the attempts made by Christopher Beetham, Gordon D. Fee and myself (= BFB) to discern allusions and echoes in Colossians (Foster's first critique was published in this journal). Due to the differences he finds in our results, Foster argues that there is no conscious use of the OT within the book. He believes that the methodology used by us and our conclusions are unfalsifiable, since we have a subjective reader-response approach. After explaining the question of OT references in Colossians, this article lays some brief groundwork on the nature of allusions and echoes, especially as Beetham and I view them. The majority of the essay then provides a response to Foster, who, it is argued, appears to misrepresent the data of how allusions and echoes are recognized by different scholars. Furthermore, there are certain fundamental interpretive misconceptions in the manner he unfolds his argument for the lack of OT allusions and echoes in Colossians.


The scientific literature (mainly psycho-pedagogical) on the child's play is immense and epistemologically recognized, but the same cannot be said about the use of play in emergency situations (natural, humanitarian, social, political). Few researches exist on this subject, especially focused on children with disabilities. The paper analyses the situation of children (with and without disabilities) in natural and man-made disasters and of the attention given to this vulnerable population within academic researches and humanitarian programmes. Then, this article reflects on the pedagogical value of the role and the use of play in crisis situations for all the children. In particular, starting from a narrative review of the academic literature and research in area, it aims at proposing a preliminary overview of the different play-based interventions promoted worldwide in such emergencies.


In this chapter I develop a protocol for processing of and interaction about utterances in conversation. The protocol embodies the view of communication developed in chapter 7, that the comprehension task an utterance u made by a CP A poses for a CP B involves checking whether she in possession of a fact that resolves, relative to her mental state, the question content(u,A,(u))? (\what did A intend to convey with u whose meaning is ?"). I show how this view of interaction allows to solve a puzzle (the Turn Taking Puzzle) for existing formal semantic and psycholinguistic views of the common ground| this is a phenomenon concerning the resolution options in fact-operator ellipsis, which are crucially linked to the issue of who keeps or takes over the turn. The chapter provides a characterization of the range of possible clariications that can coherently follow up a utterance based on independently motivated dialogue coherence principles and a semantics for clariication acts developed in Ginzburg and Sag 199. The chapter also contains accounts for issues that include: how facts about utterances accumulate in the DGB, which facts about utterances are easily accessible to a CP, the potential for correction and repair.


The structure of a commercial highly birefringent PCF was locally tapered to create a polarizing section. A polarization-depended loss of at least 32.2 dB over a 1-cm length was induced in the 1550-nm region.


Abstract. In visible light communication systems, the inherent nonlinear characteristics of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are the primary source of signal distortion. To alleviate the nonlinear effect of the LED and improve the system reliability, the polynomial method is used to construct the postdistorter. With strong processing ability and high solution accuracy, radial basis function (RBF) interpolation can also be used to alleviate the nonlinear effect. In terms of the iterative implementations, recursive least squares (RLS) algorithm has been widely adopted, but performance loss exists with the solution since RLS is initially proposed for linear regressions. Aiming at the nonlinear characteristics of post distortions, Gauss–Newton (GN) method is investigated to accomplish the iterations in this paper, where Taylor series expansion is used to approximate the nonlinear regression model. Simulation results show that the RBF can obtain better bit error ratio performance than polynomial, and the proposed GN iterations have significantly better performance compared to RLS in mitigating the nonlinear effect of LED.


Limnetic microcrustacean communities of 5 flood control reservoirs in th~ Salt Valley Watershed of Southeastern Nebraska were studied from June 1968 to LlilUaI) 1970. The average community during summer was comprised of 3.2 c1adoceran d 0 4 cupcpod species. Cladoceran densities usually exceeded those of the copepods. cln -: Iii 'ulZ"irostris was found in the more productive reservoirs while Bosmina HOSIlIlI ' ~ .' . •• . • (Ol"(£olli inhabited the light-limIted, nonproductIve reservous. Congenenc occurrences of J)iil/;IOIIZUS species were common in three of the five reservoirs. Congeneric Daphn~a uccurrences were found on 61 percent of the samplIng dates, excludmg one reserVOlf m which only one species of Daphnia was found. The most abundant species of Daphnia seldom outnumbered the less abundant species by more than 10 times and it was not uncmnmun to find ratios lower than 5: l. 1 Financial support for this project was provided by the office of Water Resources Research, Department of Interior, under P.L. 88-379.


In power systems, damping controllers are widely used to improve the damping ratios of oscillation modes of systems and avoid loss of angular stability. Wide-Area Damping Controllers (WADCs) are controllers that use remote data from Phasor Measurement Systems (PMUs) to mitigate low frequency oscillation modes of power systems with low damping ratios and are mainly effective in inter-area modes. Power System Stabilizers (PSSs) are effective in improving the damping rates of local modes but have limited effects in inter-area modes. PSSs and WADCs are damping controllers that present distinct benefits and design challenges. A concern in the operation of the WADC is the susceptibility of communication channels to failures or cyberattacks that could affect the proper operation of the WADC in the power system. This work proposes a PSS and WADC coordinating design method to improve the damping rates of the oscillation modes of the system and be tolerant to permanent communication failures at the same time. The coordinated design method was evaluated in the IEEE 68 bus system by modal analysis techniques and dynamic simulations. The obtained results showed that the system with both types of damping controllers provided well-damped angular responses and there are guarantees of good dynamic performance even with communication failures and contingencies. Furthermore, the proposed method can be solved by different techniques and the application of the Gray Wolf Optimizer showed good results.


In order to provide a reference for the studies on cloning and analyzing β-ketoacyl-CoA synthase gene in Vernicia fordii, taking seeds in V. fordii as materials, primers were designed according to V. fordii transcription sequencing analysis results, KCS gene was cloned and analyzed by RT-PCR techniques. A full-length KCS cDNA was cloned and named by Vf_KCS. The CDS length of Vf_KCS gene is 1 338 bp, coding 446 amino acids. The protein has three active sites, six product binding sites, fi ve malonyl-CoA binding sites and several dimer interfaces. Vf_KCS has two obvious transmembrane helix topology structures and three suspected transmembrane helix topology. The protein is hydrophilic protein which is mainly composed of α-helix, β-folded and random coil structures in the secondary structure. The sequence of Vf_KCS has high similarity with other species, Vf_KCS has the highest similarity with Vitis vinifera, up to 89.69%, and more than 80% with other plants. The results of phylogenetic analysis show that Vf_KCS has the closest relatives with Arabidopsis thaliana. The results of prediction and analysis indicate that the enzyme has highly conserved catalytic region.


Gamification has become the latest buzzword in the learning community. It is the addition of game mechanics elements to learning content in order to motivate learners. But, most claims about the efficiency of gamification of learning are theoretical. Various studies have demonstrated gamification relies on extrinsic motivators, which may work in the short term but have negative impacts on the long term as it undermines students intrinsic motivation to learn. Gamification is nothing more than bells and whistles: It is fun at first, but it quickly becomes annoying. In the end, isn't the reliance of gamification to make content more interesting a sign that the content itself is boring?


The problem of road pavement deterioration due to the forces of frost heave on operating roads remains highly relevant for many regions of Russia.One of the effective methods for regulating the magnitude of frost heave in the roadbed of highways under unfavorable soil-climatic conditions is the installation of a capillary barrier. This method, using injection methods for soil transformation, has been previously justified by the authors based on field and laboratory research.However, for practical implementation of the proposed method, the key unresolved research tasks are the determination of the calculated depth of the capillary barrier within the roadbed and its optimal thickness.In this regard, the aim of the research is to provide a calculated justification for the boundaries of the capillary barrier made from injected solution to prevent frost heave in the roadbed.The methodological basis of the study includes theoretical research methods such as abstraction, analysis, and synthesis.The article formulates the condition for transitioning from an "open" freezing system to a "closed" system and proposes criteria for creating a capillary barrier. A solution is obtained to determine the maximum thickness of the capillary barrier, which depends on the properties of its material and the coefficient of moisture conductivity. The solution to the problem of locating the capillary barrier within the structure of the operating roadbed is presented, based on correlating the zone of intensive moisture transfer with the isotherms of temperatures in the freezing massif.


The Saint Mary's University and TRIUMF collaboration is currently seeking to fill a position for Post Doctoral Research Fellow in experimental nuclear physics in Canada. The research group's activities at TRIUMF are focused on direct nuclear reactions of rare isotopes using reaccelerated beams at the ISAC facility. The team is at present developing a new experimental facility, IRIS, having a thin solid hydrogen target, for studying transfer reactions and inelastic scattering of exotic nuclei. We are looking for excellent researchers with an interest aligned with our research activities. The successful candidate will be stationed at TRIUMF, Canada's National Laboratory for particle and nuclear physics located in Vancouver, Canada. The candidate is expected to take up major responsibility in the development and commissioning of the new IRIS facility. He/she is expected to perform and participate in experiments using the facility. In addition, the candidate will also be encouraged to pursue independent research initiatives in direct nuclear reactions. The eligible candidate must have obtained a Ph.D. degree in nuclear science. The position requires capability of extensive work with the operation of semiconductor detectors, gas detectors and the solid hydrogen target after initial exposure to the system. Experience with radiation detectors, especially gas detectors, and/or cryogenic targets will be considered as an added qualification. The work requires programming knowledge in FORTRAN and C++. The term of appointment is for two years with possibility of renewal based on continued funding. We invite excellent candidates to submit their application with a curriculum vitae, a brief statement on research experience and interests together with names of three references who will be willing to provide letters of recommendation. The complete application should be sent to :


A component based or module-based software system is considered in which the software reliability growth model (SRGM) follows a mixed distribution. We address the problem of determining the optimal testing time of software so that the total maintenance costs of the software could be minimized and a desired level of reliability could be achieved as well. The total maintenance costs of the software is obtained by assuming a warranty period in the operational phase of the software during which the cost incurred in the maintenance, is paid by the developer. The present value of the money is considered while calculating the total maintenance costs by including a discount rate. A technique for estimating the parameters of the SRGM is also suggested. Numerical illustrations are provided for testing the. validity of the analytical results.


In order to study the pharmacokinetics of vinorelbine and provide information necessary to determine the optimal therapy, a specific and reliable method to determine the levels of vinorelbine in biological fluids is required. We, therefore, established a highly sensitive and specific assay method for vinorelbine in biological fluids using reverse phase HPLC. The vinorelbine level was determined using HPLC with UV detection at 268 nm, combined with liquid-liquid extraction using diethyl ether for sample clean-up. The HPLC system used an ODS column and a mobile phase of 48 vol% methanol containing 0.05 vol% trifluoroacetic acid. The absence of endogenous interference and the excellent chromatographic behavior of vinorelbine provides accurate results even at low concentrations. The limit of determination is 2 ng/mL (100μL, sample), and the range of the assay is from 2 to 200 ng/mL. Consequently, this method is thus suggested to be highly sensitive and specific for determining the vinorelbine levels in biological fluids. Using this method, we measured the plasma concentrations of vinorelbine after a single intravenous administration of vinorelbine at 1.2 mg/kg in male rats. The plasma concentration ofvinorelbine disappeared triphasically after the intravenous administration of the drug.Based on these findings, this method is considered to be useful for drug monitoring of clinical specimens and also for basic studies, using small animals.


In Prehispanic Nahua way of thinking, decline of cities and empires was predicted not only by celestial but also by terrestrial signs which exceeded natural and everyday events of life, and due to the strangeness of such happenings caused a deep terror among people. These omens were engendered by divinities as a consequence of transgressions committed by rulers. Furthermore, terrestrial signs, awful apparitions of monsters, announced the imposition of a new political order. It is also noted that destruction and coming of empires in Central High Plateau, during the Postclassic period, follow the same model of events and can be interpreted in a similar way; thus reinforcing cyclic conception of history among ancient Nahuas. One of the main contributions of this paper is the approach of monsters from a Mesoamerican point of view, in which it is highlighted the symbolism of its particular physical characteristics and its meaning in Nahua worldview.