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display bears little resemblance to some parts of society. Outside the middle class habitat occupied by our media and politics the reality is starkly different. The medical establishment rarely sullies itself with the murky details of real life practice, but doctors who provide care for the ‘underclass’ (the untouchables in the British caste system) can see the picture on the ground is not nearly the same as from the ivory tower. Our health system provides one of the best opportunities to peer into the welfare state, across the social strata and see the differing value systems, cultures and subcultures that do not make acceptable conversation in polite society. Each week in the surgery can bring shock, delight and surprise in equal measure. Recently, a 17-yearold patient attended describing some vague feelings of low mood – not depression but boredom, in her PHQ-9 questionnaire. Having left school at 14 she has no qualifications. She has gained a police record for punching a nightclub doorman – an event which happened while wearing an electronic tag for shoplifting. For this, she earned time in remand and now is virtually unemployable. Doubtless many people in this situation will find our healthcare system poised to ‘engage’, ‘support’ and medicalise them. Another patient, a single mother of two children in her late teens, freely complains about the meagre level of ‘her’ benefits with no apparent thought given to the right by which she derives them or how she might escape them. This was foreseen in 1942 when Beveridge, the great architect of
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the welfare state commented, ‘the danger of providing benefits which are both adequate in amount and indefinite in duration, is that men as creatures who adapt themselves to circumstances, may settle down to them’. Some, and I suspect many of us collude with the logic of this aimless entitlement culture. A General Practitioner (GP) tells me of his unhappiness with the handling of a patient’s application for a disability badge (the clue here is in the relationship i.e. doctor and patient). He had correctly decided that the patient, who was recovering from a knee operation, did not have a permanent disability and forwarded this assessment to the local council. So the council duly rejected the application and relayed the decision and its basis to the patient. The patient then took issue with the GP’s judgment. In the GP’s analysis, a clerk with a low salary has failed to defend his appraisal and so following the Following the recent riots, our collective illusions of social conformity are now shattered among the shards of broken shop windows. Protests over the shooting of a man in Tottenham led quickly to disquiet in other parts of London before spreading to inner city areas of the country. Pictures of looters, muggers and criminals of all ages, colours and backgrounds have, unexpectedly, shown how there is more people have in common than separates them in our postracial and multicultural society. PERSPECT IVE
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Dantrolene sodium and fatigue of long duration A long‐lasting imparment of muscular force generation follows fatiguing exercise (fatigue of long duration), the physiological basis of which is not well understood. To investigate the role of reduced calcium release in longlasting fatigue, we examined the effects of dantrolene sodium, which selectively decreases calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. The drug impaired muscle function in a pattern identical to that of long‐lasting fatigue. The results are consistent with either indeependent effects of dantrolene and exercise at the same site in the excitation–contraction coupling chain, or independent actions at separate serial sites.
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Ja n 20 03 Measurements of diffractive processes at HERA One of the main objectives of ep scattering is to study the structure of the proton. This is done by performing a deep inelastic scattering (DIS) process in which the virtual photon probes the partonic structure of the proton. All events are studied, like in a total cross section experiment. If, however, the final state consists of events in which the proton remains intact, or there is a large rapidity gap (LRG), we have diffractive events, mediated by a color singlet exchange. These can be further classified as inclusive diffractive events, as depicted in Fig. 1, or as exclusive ones, shown in Fig. 2. In this talk, these two classes of processes will be studied.
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On Analytical Evaluation of Retarded-Time Potentials for SWG Bases The Radon transform interpretation of impulsively excited time-domain integrals is recently shown to provide the time samples of these integrals in closed analytical form. Here, the derivation of such formulas for the time samples of the retarded-time scalar and vector potentials due to an impulsively excited Schaubert-Wilton-Glisson (SWG) basis function is accomplished. It was proven conceptually before that the aforementioned potentials are related to the geometrical quantities of the surface of intersection between the tetrahedral supports of the SWG basis and the hyper-cone centered at the observation point with radius ct where c is the speed of light. Analytical evaluation of these quantities involves proper introduction of the corresponding solid-angle and its gradient. Rigorously obtained formulas and numerical results are presented for them.
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CO2 and mechanical factors reduce blood flow in a collapsed lung lobe. Left lower lobe-to-total blood flow ratio (Ql/QT) was measured with electromagnetic flow probes in anesthetized open-chest dogs. There was a 66% reduction in Ql/QT during lobar collapse, a 53% reduction during lobar ventilation hypoxia with pulmonary venous PO2 and PCO2 equal to mixed venous tensions, and a 45% reduction during a similar degree of ventilation hypoxia but with normal end-tidal PCO2. We concluded that the reduction in blood flow during lobar collapse is due predominantly to hypoxic vasoconstriction, but that this mechanism is augmented by the raised PCO2 and mechanical factors present during collapse.
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Safety and Feasibility of Repeated and Transient Blood–Brain Barrier Disruption by Pulsed Ultrasound in Patients with Recurrent Glioblastoma Purpose: The blood–brain barrier (BBB) limits the efficacy of drug therapies for glioblastoma (GBM). Preclinical data indicate that low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPU) can transiently disrupt the BBB and increase intracerebral drug concentrations. Patients and Methods: A first-in-man, single-arm, single-center trial (NCT02253212) was initiated to investigate the transient disruption of the BBB in patients with recurrent GBM. Patients were implanted with a 1-MHz, 11.5-mm diameter cranial ultrasound device (SonoCloud-1, CarThera). The device was activated monthly to transiently disrupt the BBB before intravenous carboplatin chemotherapy. Results: Between 2014 and 2016, 21 patients were registered for the study and implanted with the SonoCloud-1; 19 patients received at least one sonication. In 65 ultrasound sessions, BBB disruption was visible on T1w MRI for 52 sonications. Treatment-related adverse events observed were transient and manageable: a transient edema at H1 and at D15. No carboplatin-related neurotoxicity was observed. Patients with no or poor BBB disruption (n = 8) visible on MRI had a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 2.73 months, and a median overall survival (OS) of 8.64 months. Patients with clear BBB disruption (n = 11) had a median PFS of 4.11 months, and a median OS of 12.94 months. Conclusions: SonoCloud-1 treatments were well tolerated and may increase the effectiveness of systemic drug therapies, such as carboplatin, in the brain without inducing neurotoxicity. See related commentary by Sonabend and Stupp, p. 3750
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Environmental Monitoring Using Wireless Vehicular Sensor Networks In this paper, the use of wireless vehicular sensor networks (VSN) were explored for the purpose of environmental monitoring. A prototype for the mobile sensor node that can be mounted onto vehicles, such as public buses, was introduced and from the experiments performed, it was demonstrated that the use of mobile vehicular sensors instead of static sensors allowed for higher spatial coverage at the expense of lower temporal resolution.
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Endovascular treatment of posterior circulation aneurysms. The objective of this paper was to analyse the technical and clinical outcome in patients receiving endovascular treatment for posterior circulation intracranial aneurysms at Royal Perth Hospital. The case notes and angiograms of 35 patients with ruptured and unruptured posterior circulation aneurysms treated by endovascular coil occlusion between 1992 and 1998 were included in the study. The degree of angiographic occlusion achieved, and periprocedural, short and long-term clinical outcome were retrospectively analysed. Total aneurysm occlusion was achieved at initial treatment in 46% of cases, with 90% or greater occlusion achieved in 97% of cases. For aneurysms 12 mm or less in diameter, 100% of patients treated electively, and 100% of patients with grade I or II subarachnoid haemorrhage treated in the acute postictal phase had a good clinical outcome (Rankin Disability Score 1 and 2), with no serious morbidity or associated mortality. Excluding patients with grade V subarachnoid haemorrhage, the treatment-related serious morbidity rate was 3.4% and procedure-related mortality rate was 0%. We conclude that endovascular management provides an effective means of treatment for selected cases of posterior circulation aneurysms.
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Complete Uterine Inversion Complete uterine inversion is an uncommon yet potentially fatal postpartum complication. Maternal mortality has been reported as high as 15%. 1 Sonographic diagnosis can be elusive or even confusing. We present and describe a case in which an accurate sonographic diagnosis of complete uterine inversion resulted in prompt potentially life-saving treatment.
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Synthesis of cyanides in N2–CH4 discharge afterglow A microwave discharge (2.45 GHz) is used to study the conversion of methane in a nitrogen afterglow. Investigations are performed both by means of emission spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. We show that methane is injected in the ‘early afterglow’ of the nitrogen discharge where the energy transfer between and is the dominant process producing . Comparing experimental to theoretical results obtained for different vibrational levels v′ of the state at different pressures, we determined the reaction rate constant values corresponding to the energy transfer between and , assuming a Treanor distribution (Tr = 400 K, Tv0–1 = 2500 K) for the vibrational levels of . The reaction rate constant values range from 1.63 × 10−18 m3 s−1 for v′ = 0 to 3.62 × 10−11 cm3 s−1 for v′ = 8. The mean value is equal to 1.93 × 10−17 m3 s−1 when v′ ranges from 0 to 10. The emission intensity decay of the first positive system is studied for bands corresponding to Δv = 3 versus methane concentration. The reaction rate constant value measured for the quenching of by CH4 is close to values proposed in literature in the case of collisions between and CH4. We studied the formation of CN, HCN and C2N2 species in the afterglow, comparing experimental to theoretical results and we measured the reaction rate constant value corresponding to: (1) The production of HCN, by reaction of CH3 with N, k9 = 8.7 × 10−18 m3 s−1. (2) The production of CN, by
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reaction of CHx<4 with N, γk10 = 1.2 × 10−17 m3 s−1, with γ = . (3) The production of C2N2, we show that it is probably due to the reaction between gaseous and adsorbed cyanogen radicals on the reactor wall. The product of the reaction rate constant by the surface density of CN adsorbed is equal to k14(CNs) = 55 ms−1. (4) The global destruction of CN and C2N2 when CH4 in injected in the afterglow, k11 < 1 × 10−19 m3 s−1 and k15 = 9 × 10−20 m3 s−1, respectively.
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Autoregulation Is Essential for Precise Temporal and Steady-State Regulation by the Bordetella BvgAS Phosphorelay ABSTRACT The Bordetella BvgAS virulence control system is prototypical of phosphorelays that use a polydomain sensor and a response regulator to control gene expression in response to environmental cues. BvgAS controls the expression of at least three distinct phenotypic phases (Bvg−, Bvgi, and Bvg+) by differentially regulating the expression of at least four classes of genes. Among the loci regulated by BvgAS is bvgAS itself. We investigated the role of autoregulation in the ability of BvgAS to control multiple gene expression patterns in a temporal and steady-state manner by constructing Bordetella bronchiseptica strains in which the bvgAS promoter was replaced with constitutively active promoters. Our results show that positive autoregulation of bvgAS transcription is required for the temporal expression of multiple phenotypic phases that occurs in response to a shift from Bvg−-phase conditions to Bvg+-phase conditions. Autoregulation was also shown to contribute to steady-state regulation; it influences the sensitivity of the system in response to subtle differences in signal intensity. In addition, considered in relation to BvgA and BvgS activities demonstrated in vitro, our results provide insight into how BvgA and BvgS function mechanistically.
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Measurement of Diffusion Profile of Boron in α Iron by Secondary-ion Mass Spectrometry and Determination of Its Diffusion Coefficient Copyright © 2020 The Iron and Steel Institute of Japan Abstract: We report an attempt to determine the diffusion coefficient of B in α Iron by measuring the penetration profile by means of secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Pure iron plates of grain-size of 1 to 3 mm were prepared, and thin films of Fe-B alloy (200 nm) and alumina (50 nm) were deposited on the surface as a B source and a capping layer, respectively. The samples were subjected to diffusion annealing at 700oC, 800oC, and 900oC for certain periods of time, and the intensity of secondary ions of B was measured as a function of depth by SIMS. The mesa method was employed, in which a groove is prepared first around the target area by sputtering, and then the depth profile of B through the inner pillar was obtained. The concentration profiles thus obtained were analysed with the thin-film solution, the error-function solution, and also using Hall’s method, depending on the form of the profile. The diffusion coefficient was of the order of 10–18 m2 s–1 in all the cases, which is seven to eight orders of magnitude smaller than those evaluated from deboronising experiments in the 1950 s, but is close to recent theoretical prediction for substitutional diffusion.
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Using auto‐regressive logit models to forecast the exceedance probability for financial risk management We present new auto‐regressive logit models for forecasting the probability of a time series of financial asset returns exceeding a threshold. The models can be estimated by maximizing a Bernoulli likelihood. Alternatively, to account for the extent to which an observation does or does not exceed the threshold, we propose that the likelihood is based on the asymmetric Laplace distribution, which has been found to be useful for quantile estimation. We incorporate the exceedance probability forecasts within a new time varying extreme value approach to value at risk and expected shortfall estimation. We provide an empirical illustration using daily stock index data.
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Influence of Personality Introvert and Extrovert to Formation of Emotional Intelligence This study aims to prove the influence of introvert and extrovert personality on the formation of emotional intelligence (in class x in Darul Lughah Wal Madrasah Ali Karomah Sidomukti Kraksaan Probolinggo). The design used is cross sectional , use simple random sampling with a sample of 95 students from a total population of 130 students. In this study there were 29 introverted students, 66 extroverted students, 38 students with moderate emotional intelligence, 57 students had a high level of emotional intelligence. The Kolmogorov Smirnov test results obtained P-Value 0,000 and that value 0,000 <0.05 with a correlation value of 1 in the direction of a positive correlation (+) . Thus it can be concluded that Introverted and Extroverted Personality has an effect on the Formation of Class X Emotional Intelligence in Darul Lughah Wal Madrasah Ali Karomah Sidomukti Kraksaan Probolinggo.
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A Comparative Study to Evaluate a Text-Independent Speaker Identification Engine for Arabic Speakers Using a CHMM-Based Approach This paper reports a comparative study between two identification engines to identify speakers automatically from their voices when speaking spontaneously in Arabic. The first engine is based on the continuous hidden Markov models (CHMMs) while the second one is based on the artificial neural networks (ANNs). The Mel frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs) were selected to describe the speech signal. The general Gaussian density distribution HMM was developed for the CHMM-based engine. Elman network was developed for the ANN-based engine. A series of experiments to evaluate both engines have been carried out using a subset of an Arabic database. The identification rate was found to be 100% for both engines during text dependent experiments. However, for text-in-dependent experiments, the performance for the CHMM-based engine outperformed that of the ANN-based engine. The identification rates for the CHMMand the ANN-based engines were found to be 80% and 50%, respectively.
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Mediating Structures and the Military Very few armed forces consciously relate to the religious component of soldiers' identities. Like religions, the military system demands individuals to conform to rules and schedules. Should military and religious obligations clash, soldiers are forced to choose. When modern armed forces relate to religious elements in their members' identities, how do they do so? What are the conditions most conducive to a military relating to the religious component of its soldiers' identities? This article posits a framework for the analysis of both questions, employing the concept of mediating structures to illustrate the mechanisms whereby militaries and religions accommodate each other and Luckham's typology of boundaries (integral, permeable, fragmented) to identify the conditions that are most—and least—hospitable to mediation. This framework is illustrated by references to institutional and individual relations between religion and armed forces in Iran, Israel, Turkey, the United States, and India.
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Effect of Various Coupling Agents on Properties of Alumina-filled PP Composites The effect of coupling agents on the properties of alumina-filled polypropylene (PP) has been studied. Several types of coupling agents such as silane Z-6020 ((Aminoethylaminopropyl) trimethoxysilane), 3-GPS (3-(Glycidyloxypropyl) trimethoxysilane), and titanium dioxide powder (TiO2) were employed either during compounding or before compounding i.e., at pre-treatment stage. The silane coupling agent was first diluted into ethanol in appropriate ratio and subsequently dried before compounding. In the case of titanate, the powder was directly mixed with alumina-PP compound during mixing using Brabender internal mixer. Series of mechanical tests such as tensile and flexural testing were carried out using Instron model 3366 machine in accordance to ASTM D368 and D790-92 respectively. It has been found that the tensile strength of alumina-filled PP composite has increased considerably when both types of coupling agents are added. PP filled alumina composite with titanium as coupling agent showed a greater value of tensile strength as compared to silane-treated and untreated alumina-filled PP composites. Similarly, the flexural strength recorded was higher as compared to the untreated system with silane-treated alumina-filled composites showing the most positive results of all the systems. Consequently, study on the impact properties showed that titanium has notably improved the impact resistance of alumina-filled PP composite as compared to silane-treated composite. Study on the scanning electron micrograph revealed that improved texture on the treated composite has allowed greater plastic deformation to occur with improved adhesion and interaction between filler and matrix.
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Role stressors and customer-oriented boundary-spanning behaviors in service organizations The authors investigate three types of customer-oriented boundary-spanning behaviors (COBSBs) a frontline service employee may perform that are associated with linking a service organization to its potential or actual customers: external representation, internal influence, and service delivery. The authors propose and test a withdrawal model to explain the negative effects of role conflict and role ambiguity on COBSBs across a sample of 220 lower-level, nonprofessional service providers of a major retail bank and a sample of 90 higher-level, professional service providers from the business credit division of an international financial services corporation. The results demonstrate that (1) indirect paths through job satisfaction and organizational commitment entirely account for the negative effects of the role stressors on COBSBs, (2) the indirect negative effects of the role stressors are stronger on external representation and internal influence behaviors, and (3) role conflict also has a significant positive direct relationship with internal influence behaviors.
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[Typological characteristics of manifest states of schizo-dominant form of schizoaffective psychosis]. On the basis of a clinical and psychopathological analysis of 77 patients with schizodominant form of schizoaffective psychosis their typological division is suggested according to predominant mechanism of delusion formation. Two types are described: 1) with formation of an acute sensitive delusion; 2) with predominance of acute interpretative delusion. It was established the interrelationship of a psychopathologic structure of the delusional disturbances with the special features of affective disorders in their formation and development in the structure of manifest schizodominant states. Clinical heterogeneity of these disturbances and their differentiation accounting for different characteristics of delusion formation is discussed. The conclusion is also made about the necessity of a further comparison of the described types with both the course and prognosis of the disease.
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Applying Dynamic Buffer Tuning to Help Pervasive Medical Consultation Succeed In this paper we propose to apply dynamic buffer tuning to make pervasive medical consultation successful. In pervasive consultation the physician can answer patient requests anytime, anywhere. The physician carries a SFF (small form factor) mobile device such as a mobile phone, which provides the interface to interact with the rest of the distributed Pervasive Digital HealthCare System (PDHD) on the mobile Internet. The PDHD in this paper caters to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and therefore called TCM-PDHD or simply T-PDHD. The T- PDHD usability relies on various factors such as: a) correct information transfer, and b) fast system response. This paper focuses on the second factor and explores how the dynamic buffer tuning technique can be exploited to quicken system response.
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A survey on software product line testing Software product line (SPL) testing consists of two separate but closely related test engineering activities: domain testing and application testing. Various software product line testing approaches have been developed over the last decade, and surveys have been conducted on them. However, thus far none of them deeply addressed the questions of what researches have been conducted in order to overcome the challenges posed by the two separate testing activities and their relationships. Thus, this paper surveys the current software product line testing approaches by defining a reference SPL testing processes and identifying, based on them, key research perspectives that are important in SPL testing. Through this survey, we identify the researches that addressed the challenges and also derive open research opportunities from each perspective.
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FCMDS: a knowledge-based system's impact on logistics The authors review the flight Control Maintenance Diagnostics System (FCMDS) and discuss how it will be used in the USAF maintenance environment. They cover the interaction of FCMDS with both the air force flight-time technician and his computerized logistics support tools, such as the Core Automated Maintenance System. They also examine how FCMDS can impact each level of current USAF maintenance practices. These effects include possible elimination of the fault isolation guide, stronger commonality of diagnostic systems between points in the logistics chain, and the ability to effectively navigate through wiring diagrams.<<ETX>>
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Envelope-specific T-helper and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses associated with protective immunity to equine infectious anemia virus. Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) infection of horses provides a valuable model for examining the natural immunological control of lentivirus infection and disease and the mechanisms of protective and enhancing vaccine immunity. We have previously hypothesized that the EIAV envelope (Env) proteins gp90 and gp45 are major determinants of vaccine efficacy, and that the development of protective immunity by attenuated viral vaccines may be associated with the progressive redirection of immune responses from immunodominant, variable Env segments to immunorecessive, conserved Env sequences. Whilst the antibody-neutralization determinants of Env have been defined, there are to date no comprehensive analyses of the lymphoproliferative (T-helper, Th) and cytotoxic T-cell (CTL) epitopes of the EIAV Env proteins. Thus, in the current study, synthetic-peptide methodologies were used to define regions of EIAV Env associated with protective vaccine immunity in a panel of 12 horses inoculated with the attenuated EIAV(D9) vaccine and two asymptomatic carrier horses infected experimentally with the virulent EIAV(PV) strain expressing the same Env protein as the vaccine strain. The results of these studies identified 17 broadly reactive Th peptides and six broadly reactive CTL peptides in the Env proteins of EIAV that were associated with protective immunity. Thus, these data provide for the first time a comprehensive mapping of EIAV Env-specific cellular regions that can be used to examine the development of protective immunity and to evaluate potential cellular immune determinants of protective immunity.
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Sorghum extract lowers blood and hepatic lipids in rats fed a high fat diet Recently, we have shown that sorghum extract (SE) lowers the intestinal absorption of lipids and also increases their biliary secretion in rats. Further study was conducted to examine if SE would affect blood and hepatic lipids in rats fed a high fat diet for 6 wk. One group of five rats (control) were fed an AIN‐93G diet mixed with 3% (w/v) lard and 0.2% cholesterol (C) and the other with the same control diet but containing SE at 7.5 g/kg diet. Rats had free access to their respective diets over 6 wk. At 0, 3, and 6 wk, serum triglycerides, total C, HDL‐C, and non‐HDL‐C were determined. No difference in bodyweight changes was noted between the groups throughout 6 wk. However, the concentrations of serum triglycerides, total C, HDL‐C, and non‐HDL‐C were significantly lowered in rats given SE. Also, total lipids in the liver of SE rats were significantly lower than control rats. Taken together, these results indicate that SE has a profound inhibitory effect on serum and hepatic lipids by lowering the intestinal absorption of lipids and also enhancing their biliary secretion.
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Formation of Spherical Giant Molecules and Dynamic Behaviour of Supramolecular Assemblies Based on P n -Ligand Complexes We report herein on our concept of using En-ligand complexes (E = P, As) as linking units for the creation of novel supramolecular ensembles. The reaction of these complexes with Group 11 metal salts of coordinating anions leads to the formation of insoluble oligomers, 1D and 2D polymers as well as soluble spherical nanoscaled clusters. In contrast, the reaction of En-ligand complexes with Group 11 metal salts of weakly coordinating anions yields soluble oligomers and polymers, which display monomer-oligomer equilibria in solution.
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Nonmonotonic Front Propagation on Weighted Graphs With Applications in Image Processing and High-Dimensional Data Classification In this paper, we propose an adaptation of partial difference equations (PDEs) level set method for nonmonotonic front propagation on weighted graphs. This adaptation leads to a PDE, whose coefficients are data geometry dependent. Our motivation is to extend their applications to any discrete data that can be represented by a weighted graph. This paper follows several preliminaries of our works, and introduces several significant improvements: A simplified and explicit representation of a front on a weighted graph, a new formulation of the level set equation on weighted graphs considering both time-dependent and stationary versions of this equation in the case of signed velocities, and an efficient algorithm that generalized the fast marching to graphs with signed velocities. We propose to use this method for image processing and for high-dimensional data classification.
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Target Immunization Strategy Analysis of Incomplete Information in Complex Networks The formulation of scientific disease immunisation strategy is related to the safety and health of the people. However, in the real world, complete information about the target network is not always available. The immune strategy based on local information emerge in endlessly, but we still lack a general framework for immune strategy research under incomplete information. This paper studies the propagation characteristics of complex networks under target immunity with incomplete information. We make a theoretical analysis of the proposed model and method. At the same time, we simulate the target immunisation with incomplete information in scale-free networks. Studies have shown that immune information has a significant influence on the propagation characteristics of scale-free networks. Experiments based on the synthetic scale-free network indicate that when the proportion of nodes with explicit information is larger than the threshold of the immune density of random immunity, the target immune effect will be significantly enhanced.
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[Effect of electro-acupuncture on the spindle and oocytes quality in patients with PCOS]. OBJECTIVE To observe the effect of electro-acupuncture (EA) treatment on the oocyte quality in polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) patients undergoing in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET). METHODS Totally 217 PCOS patients undergoing IVF-ET were assigned to two groups by random digit table, the EA group (119 cases) and the control group (98 cases). All patients received long program ovarian hyperstimulation with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist. Patients in the EA group received EA treatment in the process of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation till the oocyte retrieval day. The position relation of the spindle to the polocyte, the number of retrieved oocytes, the fertilization rate,the cleavage rate,the high quality embryo rate, the ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) incidence rate, the clinical pregnancy rate, the early abortion rate, the gonadotropins (Gn) dose and time, levels of estradiol (E2), progesterone (P), and luteinizing hormone (LH) on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) were observed between the two groups. RESULTS The ratio of oocytes in which the meiotic spindle deviation angle was < 60 degrees to the all oocytes was obviously higher in the EA group than in the control group (P < 0.05). The oocytes in which the meiotic spindle deviation angle was < 60 degrees was positively related to level of E2 on the HCG day and the high quality embryo rate (r = 0.19,P < 0.01). Compared with the control group, the high quality embryo rate increased significantly (P < 0.05), the dose and days of Gn decreased
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significantly (P < 0.05) in the EA group. The clinical pregnancy rate was improved by 8.36%. CONCLUSIONS The spindle was positively correlated with the oocyte quality. EA could improve the quality of oocytes and the clinical pregnancy rate in PCOS patients undergoing IVF-ET.
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Anisotropic meta-substrate conical-beam leaky-wave antenna A broadband and low beam squint anisotropic magneto-dielectric 2D leaky-wave antenna excited by a vertical electric source is presented. A comparison of the TMz dispersion behavior of the structure for Drude/Lorentz dispersive anisotropic and an isotropic non-dispersive grounded slabs is performed. The isotropic slab is restricted to leaky-wave pointing angles near endfire with very low radiation performance due to the inherent endfire radiation null caused by the slab. As a result, its radiation is dominated by the space-wave, which leads to low directivity and beam scanning incapability. In contrast, the anisotropic meta-substrate provides a highly directive and efficient 2D leaky-wave radiation with great design flexibility. At its lower frequencies, it provides narrow-band full-space conical-beam scanning while at higher frequencies, it enables a designable angle fixed-beam with low-beam squint radiation. This antenna may find applications in broadband point-to-point communication and radar systems.
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Melanin-loaded biocompatible photosensitive nanoparticles for controlled drug release in combined photothermal-chemotherapy guided by photoacoustic/ultrasound dual-modality imaging. Combined photothermal-chemotherapy guided by multimodal imaging is a promising strategy for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Multifunctional nanoparticles, such as those comprising organic and inorganic compounds, have been extensively investigated for combined photothermal-chemotherapy; however, their application is still limited by their potential long-term toxicity and lack of contrast properties. To solve these problems, in this study, a new type of multifunctional nanoparticle for combined photothermal-chemotherapy guided by dual-modality imaging was prepared with endogenous melanin by multistep emulsification to enhance tumor ablation. The nanoparticles were coated with poly(lactide-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and loaded with paclitaxel (PTX), encapsulated melanin and perfluoropentane (PFP). The materials in the nanoparticles were endogenous, ensuring high stability, biocompatibility, and biosafety. Nanoparticles irradiated with a laser, which induced their phase transformation into microbubbles, exhibited high photothermal conversion efficiency, thereby achieving photoacoustic (PA)/ultrasound (US) dual-modality imaging to determine tumor location, boundary, and size and to monitor drug distribution. Furthermore, optical droplet vaporization (ODV) of the nanoparticles could trigger the release of PTX; thus, these nanoparticles are a useful drug carrier. In vivo and in vitro experiments revealed that a strong synergistic antitumor effect was achieved by combining the photothermal properties of the nanoparticles with a chemotherapy drug. Importantly, the cavitation, thermoelastic expansion, and sonoporation caused by the phase transformation of the nanoparticles could directly damage the tumors. These processes also promoted the release, penetration and absorption of the drug, further enhancing the effect of combined photothermal-chemotherapy on tumor suppression. Therefore, the
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multifunctional nanoparticles prepared in this study provide a new strategy of using endogenous materials for controlled near-infrared (NIR)-responsive drug release and combined photothermal-chemotherapy guided by multimodal imaging.
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How do they, indeed? A reply to Biegler et al. We trained Clark’s nutcrackers, Nucifraga columbiana, to search halfway between two landmarks while varying the distance between the landmarks (Kamil & Jones 1997). We found that the birds learned the problem readily and generalized to novel interlandmark distances within the range of distances used during training. Unlike some other studies in which responses to proportional distance were obtained (e.g. O’Keefe & Burgess 1996; Tommasi et al. 1997), the nutcrackers showed very precise search and maintained this precision during the transfer test. The distributions of digging locations around the central position were concentrated within &1–2 cm of the central location for both training and test interlandmark distances (see Figure 2 in Kamil & Jones 1997). We reached two conclusions based on this rather precise transfer: (1) the birds used the relationship between the landmarks (rather than goal–landmark relationships) to solve the problem; and (2) the birds had learned a general principle which they could then apply to new interlandmark distances. Biegler et al. (1999) propose a model that agrees with our first conclusion but suggests that we were premature in the second. According to their model the nutcrackers learned specific vectors for each interlandmark distance used during training. Then, when faced with a novel interlandmark distance, the birds retrieved the vectors associated with the two interlandmark training distances closest to the novel test distance and averaged the vectors. This would produce search at the halfway point. This process would require use of interlandmark distance, part of the
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geometric relationship between the landmarks. It would also account for the data we reported without appeal to any general principle of halfway. However, we think there are at least two features of our original data that argue against this model. First, the Biegler et al. model postulates an additional process during test trials that does not occur during trials with training distances, namely averaging vectors. It seems likely that this additional process would introduce additional error into search behaviour on test trials. However, there is no indication of such additional error (see Figure 2 in Kamil & Jones 1997). Second, we found that the nutcrackers were more accurate locating the line connecting the landmarks than in locating the correct position along that line. This suggests that the nutcrackers were making two separate decisions: one, involving bearings or directional information, to find the line connecting the landmarks and the other, involving distance, to find the correct position along that line. This is inconsistent with the use of vectors (see also Cheng 1994). However, these inconsistencies do not comprise a crucial test of the model, which should be tested directly. Biegler et al. (1999) suggest two tests. One would be to test nutcrackers with distances outside the range of interlandmark distances with which they were trained, especially at shorter distances. Their model predicts greater error at such short test distances than at the shortest training distance. As part of a larger study exploring geometric rule learning, we have collected data on this point and preliminary (unpublished) analyses do
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not support the prediction. Biegler et al. (1999) also suggest that we test the birds with rotated landmarks, varying the distance between the landmarks during the tests. While the results of such a test would be of interest, they might well be inconclusive. If the birds searched further from landmarks with longer interlandmark distances, this would be strong evidence against the model as Biegler et al. point out. However, if the birds show no such effect, it would provide only weak evidence in favour of the model. Large alterations in the arrangement of the landmarks may cause the birds to respond differently during test trials than during training trials. Correspondence: A. C. Kamil, School of Biological Sciences, Manter Hall, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, U.S.A. (email: [email protected]). J. E. Jones is at the Neuroscience and Behavior Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, U.S.A.
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Design studies and effect of various rotor pole number of field excitation flux switching motor for hybrid electric vehicle applications A new structure of field excitation flux switching motor (FEFSM) as an alternative candidate of non-Permanent Magnet (PM) machine for HEV drives is presented in this paper. Design principles and initial performances of the proposed motor at various rotor pole numbers with 12 stator slots are demonstrated. Initially, the coil arrangement tests are examined to validate the operating principle of the motor and to certify the zero rotor position. Furthermore, the profile of flux linkage, induced voltage, cogging torque, torque and power characteristics are observed based on 2D-finite element analysis (FEA). The results obtained show that the appropriate combination of stator slotrotor pole configurations are 12S-10P and 12S-14P which initially provide lowest cogging torque, highest power and torque with sinusoidal back-emf waveforms. Therefore, by further design modification and optimization it is expected that the low cost motor will successfully achieved the target performances.
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The impact of the locally measured Hubble parameter on the mass of sterile neutrino We present a precise analysis to test hypothetical models involving sterile neutrinos beyond the standard flat-ΛCDM cosmology with the CMB observations from the Planck mission and BAO measurements. This analysis shows that adding the locally measured Hubble parameter H0 = 73.00 ± 1.75 km s−1 Mpc−1 to the data removes the need for the informative physical $m_{\mathrm{ sterile}}^{\mathrm{ thermal}}$ prior in CMB constraints of $m_{\nu ,\mathrm{ sterile}}^{\mathrm{ eff}}$. Under the constraints from the data containing the locally measured H0 we obtain an upper limit $m_{\nu ,\mathrm{ sterile}}^{\mathrm{ eff}} \lt 0.306$ eV scale mass for the massive sterile neutrino, and an upper limit Σmν < 0.214 eV scale mass for the three degenerate massive neutrino (95 per cent confidence level). We also obtain the value σ8 = $0.81^{+0.05}_{-0.06}$ (95 per cent confidence level), which is in compatibility with the constraints from Planck 2015 CMB data at the 1σ level. We find that introducing parameter $m_{\nu ,\mathrm{ sterile}}^{\mathrm{ eff}}$ to the model of cosmology reduces the σ8 value and moves it closer to the obtained value for this parameter from the KiDS-450 analysis. Our results show that the locally measured Hubble parameter can increase constraints on σ8 values.
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Research on Closed-Loop Supply Chain Decision Making and Recycling Channel Selection under Carbon Allowance and Carbon Trading The massive emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases has begun to threaten the survival of human beings and the balance of the Earth’s ecology. If carbon emission is left unchecked, we will face terrible consequences. Closed-loop supply chain operation is an effective way to improve economic and environmental benefits at the same time. This paper attempts to study the decision-making and recycling channel selection of CLSC under carbon allowance and carbon trading policies. This paper constructs a closed-loop supply chain consisting of a manufacturer, a retailer and a third-party recycler, and uses the Stackelberg game-theoretic method to decide variables such as the product price and recycling rate of CLSC under three recycling models. Through the analysis and comparison of the manufacturer’s profit of and the carbon emissions in different models, the following conclusions are drawn. (1) When the manufacturer recycles WEEE, the supply chain obtains the most profit. (2) When the retailer recycles WEEE, the carbon emissions of the supply chain are lowest. (3) The manufacturer tends to choose the M model, which is the manufacturer recycling model. The T model and the R model have little difference in carbon emissions. For easier management, the government prefers to choose the T model, which is the third-party recycler recycling model.
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[Spontaneous restoration of cardiac rhythm in patients with a persistent form of atrial fibrillation]. A total of 15 patients with spontaneously arrested sustained atrial fibrillation (its duration 7.0 +/- 1.6 years) were followed up. After termination of atrial fibrillation, all the patients had signs of the sick sinus syndrome (profound sinus bradycardia, pacemaker migration, inferior atrial and atrioventricular rhythms). Thirteen of 15 patients suffered from rheumatic heart disease, nine of them had severe heart failure. Four patients immediately died. An atrial fibrillation relapse occurred in the immediate period in most cases, and rhythm recovery was unaccompanied by the improvement of the patients' condition.
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RADIOLOGICAL MANIFESTATION OF BONE INVOLVEMENT IN PRIMARY HYPERPARATHYROIDISM: PREVALENCE AND CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE IN A SOUTHERN EUROPEAN SERIES. Background. Clinically overt symptomatic bone disease in primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is rarely seen nowadays, and osteoporosis is the dominant finding. Subperiosteal bone resorption in the fingers and skull mottling are typical bone PHPT findings, whose contemporary prevalence is unknown. We evaluated these mild lesions and investigated the impact of their occurrence on the PHPT clinical management. Methods. We evaluated retrospectively a monocentric series of 363 PHPT patients classified in Group 1 (n=100) and Group 2 (n=263), according to the presence or absence of bone involvement, respectively. Patients belonging to Group 1, in turn, were subdivided in Group 1A, with severe and symptomatic lesions (n=48), and Group 1B, with milder sign of osteitis fibrosa cystica (OFC) without brown tumors or fractures (n=52). Results. Serum total and ionized calcium, PTH, osteocalcin, alkaline phosphatase, and its bone fraction levels were higher in Group 1 than in Group 2, while no gender or age differences were observed between the groups. Osteoporosis prevalence was similar in group 1B and group 2 patients, but lower than in group 1A. Mild OFC findings did not modify the surgical indication in any patient of group 1B. Conclusion. Minor radiological signs of OFC are not uncommon in the modern PHPT phenotype and occur in patients with more active disease. These signs could identify PHPT patients in an earlier stage of typical bone involvement. Anyway, these features do not seem to upgrade either the clinical classification of asymptomatic PHPT
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patients or the propensity to surgical choice.
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Test Granular Materials Failure Using Bi-Directional Simple Shear Apparatus: A Review As widely used natural granular materials, sand and clay have been extensively studied. However, its physical and mechanical behavior, such as the shear behavior and deformation under loading, are still not clear. This is due to the limitation of the testing facility, in which most of the testing apparatus can only add one directional shear stress. The in situ stress condition of soils is usually more complex and has multi-directional shear stress during consolidation and shearing. A bi-directional simple shear apparatus can better replicate the in situ stress condition and has been used by a few researchers. This review summarized the testing facilities and recent advances in bi-directional simple shear testing.
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Roll-to-Roll Fabrication of Residual-Layer-Free Micro/Nanoscale Membranes with Precise Pore Architectures and Tunable Surface Textures Many technologies are increasingly dependent on the development of membranes with highly precise pore size and spatial order. While mold-based lithographic techniques are adopted for the fabrication of such ordered porous membranes, their transition toward large-scale fabrication remains challenging because of manual and laborious process requirements. To facilitate the transition from batch to continuous membrane production, a novel roll-to-roll (R2R) process was designed based on an established capillary-driven molding technique. Establishing conformal contact between patterned mold and web support and the capillary filling of the UV-curable resin forms the basis of the molding process, which is automated by the R2R platform with precise positioning and reproducible contact force. This results in the in situ formation of residual-layer-free membranes without additional complex, expensive etching steps and, more importantly, with high throughput up to 3000 mm2/min. The versatile process allows the combin...
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Electric shock during pregnancy. QUESTION A 24-year-old patient of mine, who was 23 weeks pregnant at the time, suffered a minor electric shock while using her hair dryer. She said she felt the current in her right hand and she was wearing shoes. She was observed in an emergency room for several hours and then discharged home. Is her pregnancy or fetus at risk now or later in the pregnancy? ANSWER There are conflicting reports on how harmful electric shock is to a fetus. The clinical spectrum of electrical injury ranges from a transient unpleasant sensation felt by a mother and no effect on her fetus to fetal death either immediately or few days later. Several factors, such as the magnitude of the current and the duration of contact, are thought to affect outcome. In this case, it appears the current did not travel through her abdomen. Recommendations for fetal monitoring after electrocution have been published.
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Displacement Interferometer with High Resolution and Low Sensitivity to Temperature The continuing trend toward smaller geometries in IC lithography is placing increased demands on the displacement transducers used in wafer steppers and inspection machines. Among the needs are improved accuracy, repeatability and resolution. This paper describes a new displacement measuring interferometer which has resolution twice that of conventional plane mirror interferometers as well as improved accuracy and repeatability. These improvements are achieved by double passing the measurement arm and optically compensating the thermal drift error inherent in other plane mirror interferometer designs. This drift arises from small changes in ambient temperature and if not eliminated can be significant even in a temperature controlled environment. The origin of thermal drift error in plane mirror interferometers is analyzed and comparative test results are discussed.
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Reconstructing human early embryogenesis in vitro with pluripotent stem cells Understanding human development is of fundamental biological and clinical importance. Yet despite its significance, insights into early developmental events in humans still remain largely unknown. While recent advances show that stem cells can mimic embryogenesis1–9 to unravel hidden developmental mechanisms, a stem cell-based model of early human embryogenesis is lacking. Here, we use human extended pluripotent stem cells10to reconstitute early human development in 3-dimensions and recapitulate early embryo-like events. We first perform a systematic characterisation to reveal unique signalling requirements for building the human pre-implantation blastocyst. Further, we show that these in vitro stem cell-derived blastocyst-like structures are able to undertake spatiotemporal self-organisation to mimic peri-implantation remodelling in which a polarised rosette opens up the amniotic cavity within a developing disc. The hallmarks of human early development displayed by this stem cell-based in vitro model mimics features of embryonic day 3 to day 9/10 of natural development. Thus, this platform represents a tractable model system to contribute to the basic understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms governing early embryonic events in humans and to provide valuable insights into the design of differentiation protocols for human stem cells in clinical applications.
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Urinary spermine level as novel additional diagnostic marker of prostate cancer Abstract Background prostate cancer (PC) is one of the most common male cancer in the world, and it is one of the leading causes of mortality and momentous public health impact in many developed countries. Nowadays, PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test is used as a famous serum test for screening of prostate cancer. However, PSA test isnt sensitive and specific enough, because its high levels do not always indicate the presence of a malignant process in the prostate, and low - about its absence. Some studies suggest to use concentration of spermine in the urine as a novel noninvasive marker for PC diagnostics. Methods Male patients age 51-79 with prostate cancer (I-IV stage) were enrolled. Diagnoses of all patients were established at the National Cancer Institute (Kyiv, Ukraine). Spermine concentration was determined in the morning urine samples of 38 patients with malignant tumors (I stage - 16%, II - 45%, III - 24%, IV - 15%) before treatment, 12 patients with prostate hyperplasia and 12 healthy men by ELISA kit. Results It was found that concentration of spermine in the urine in patients with prostate cancer was lower by 7-34 times in comparison with healthy men and lower by 5-13 times than in patients with prostate hyperplasia. The same results were obtained previously in peripheral blood of PC patients by the high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Conclusion concentration of spermine in the urine shows potential to serve as a novel PC diagnostic non-invasive marker, which in
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turn can help to address the limited sensitivity and specificity problem of serum PSA test.
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Letter by Misra et al regarding article, "anticoagulants for cerebral venous thrombosis: harmful to patients?". We read with interest the article by Dr Cundiff1 in which he has highlighted the harmful effect of heparin and oral anticoagulant in cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT). CVT is more common in the developing countries because of high incidence of infection, pregnancy, puerperal complications, dehydration, and hot climate. We have concerns regarding grouping of the patients in the above study. The patients in the study by Nagaraja et al2 received low-dose heparin (2500 thrice daily) have been grouped with those who did not receive heparin. In this study on 150 patients with CVT, 73 received heparin and 77 did not. Even the low-dose heparin was effective in reducing death (8 versus 18; P <0.001) and resulting in complete recovery (34 versus 14; P <0.001) compared with no heparin …
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Improvement of sub-20nm pattern quality with dose modulation technique for NIL template production Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) technology is in the spotlight as a next-generation semiconductor manufacturing technique for integrated circuits at 22 nm and beyond. NIL is the unmagnified lithography technique using template which is replicated from master templates. On the other hand, master templates are currently fabricated by electron-beam (EB) lithography[1]. In near future, finer patterns less than 15nm will be required on master template and EB data volume increases exponentially. So, we confront with a difficult challenge. A higher resolution EB mask writer and a high performance fabrication process will be required. In our previous study, we investigated a potential of photomask fabrication process for finer patterning and achieved 15.5nm line and space (L/S) pattern on template by using VSB (Variable Shaped Beam) type EB mask writer and chemically amplified resist. In contrast, we found that a contrast loss by backscattering decreases the performance of finer patterning. For semiconductor devices manufacturing, we must fabricate complicated patterns which includes high and low density simultaneously except for consecutive L/S pattern. Then it’s quite important to develop a technique to make various size or coverage patterns all at once. In this study, a small feature pattern was experimentally formed on master template with dose modulation technique. This technique makes it possible to apply the appropriate exposure dose for each pattern size. As a result, we succeed to improve the performance of finer patterning in bright field area. These results show that the performance of current EB lithography
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process have a potential to fabricate NIL template.
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Doing and undoing gender in policing This article assesses the utility of ‘doing gender’ as a framework for examining gender issues in policing. Drawing on a longitudinal study in an Australian police force, the article seeks to explain the persistence of barriers to the integration of female officers after decades of equal employment laws and policies. The interviews make transparent the agency of male and female actors in sustaining or resisting the status quo. While there are real benefits in opening up the ‘doing gender’ framework to draw attention to contestations and challenges to gender hierarchy as suggested by the notion of ‘undoing gender’, the article demonstrates the complexity of gender practices in policing and rejects the posing of equality and difference as mutually exclusive alternatives.
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Using Model-Centered Instruction to Introduce GIS in Teacher Preparation Programs The University of Toledo offered an introductory course in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for teachers, the first of its kind taught in the College of Education. The course objectives sought to increase teachers' GIS skills, knowledge of geographic inquiry, application of the inquiry process to solving problems related to K-12 curricula, and ability to locate useful GIS resources. The course that met for four hours a day for two weeks, included seven graduate-level teachers in the areas of art, physical education, science, and math. Model-centered instruction focused on a geographic inquiry model served as a framework for course instruction, class activities, homework, and project designs. Final projects demonstrated that teachers learned to see relationships between geography and their respective disciplines, apply an inquiry model to solving problems, and think critically about geographic information when provided with steps from an established model. Course outcomes lend some evidence that even a very short course can be a very effective means of introducing GIS in a teacher education program.
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Stock returns explained - using a volume filter, interest rates, and the oil price Using a volume filter on daily index and stock price data the daily return has been researched. The explanatory variables used in the study are the 1 M T-Bill, the term spread - 10 Y Treasury bond versus a 3 M T-Bill -, and the oil price. The results revealed that accounting for trade volume is an important part in explaining the return of a stock or index. The volume activity provides additional insights of when a relation between the explanatory variables and the stock return are valid. It also reveals that the relation varies significantly across different volume activity. The most reliable and consistent variables was the oil price and the term spread, both demonstrating a positive relation. The results also revealed that there are differences between high and low turnover stocks.
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Application of salutogenic concept in social work with diabetic patients ABSTRACT In the context of salutogenesis, coping with diabetes is perceived as a dynamic process of changes in all aspects of biopsychosocial model of health/disease. Understanding of salutoprotective factors allows for estimation of client’s extent of vulnerability and ability to cope with the disease. The objective of the study is to assess selected salutoprotective factors in diabetic clients (SOC-type hardiness, well-being—subjective feelings and states scale [SUPOS], perceived social support scale [PSSS]). Low values of SOC, PSSS, and SUPOS suggest an increased need in psychosocial care. The possibility to strengthen an individual’s hardiness and to influence perceived social support adverts to the irreplaceable role of social workers at counseling and educational levels as well as that of a form of social support.
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Cloning and characterization of a novel adaptor protein, CIN85, that interacts with c-Cbl. The c-Cbl protooncogene product is a prominent substrate of protein tyrosine kinases and is rapidly tyrosine-phosphorylated upon stimulation of a wide variety of cell-surface receptors. We have identified a novel c-Cbl-interacting protein termed CIN85 with a molecular mass of 85 kDa which shows similarity to adaptor proteins, CMS and CD2AP. CIN85 mRNA is expressed ubiquitously in normal human tissues and cancer cell lines analyzed. CIN85 was basally associated with c-Cbl. For interaction of CIN85 with c-Cbl, the second SH3 domain of CIN85 was shown to serve as a central player. The CIN85-c-Cbl association was enhanced shortly after stimulation of 293 cells with epidermal growth factor (EGF) and gradually diminished to a basal level, which correlated with a tyrosine phosphorylation level of c-Cbl. Our results suggest that CIN85 may play a specific role in the EGF receptor-mediated signaling cascade via its interaction with c-Cbl.
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Repeated sodium depletion affects gustatory neural responses in the nucleus of the solitary tract of rats. Furosemide sodium depletions were induced repeatedly to determine the effects on gustatory neural responses in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NST) of chronically prepared, but lightly anesthetized, rats. Sodium-replete and sodium-deplete conditions were alternated four times in each rat. When rats were under depleted conditions, the responses to NaCl were significantly greater than in sodium-replete conditions. This effect was attributable primarily to an increase in the magnitude of response of those neurons that responded better to NaCl than to the other standard stimuli (sucrose, citric acid, and quinine hydrochloride). In addition, the largest change in responsiveness of the NaCl-best neurons occurred during the third and fourth sodium depletions. These results are essentially opposite to those reported for NST neurons when sodium appetite is induced by dietary sodium restriction. This suggests that the coding of intensity in the gustatory system is dependent not only on the animal's deprivation condition, but also the method through which the deprivation is produced.
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Modulation of ERK and breast cancer cell growth by estrogen receptors (613.3) Estrogen Receptors participate in both genomic and non‐genomic signaling pathways that affect breast cancer cell growth and proliferation. The growth‐enhancing actions of estrogen (E2) in MCF‐7 breast cancer cells are mediated through Estrogen Receptor alpha (ERα), activating a kinase pathway involving CaM KK, CaM KI, and ERK. Conversely, overexpression of Estrogen Receptor beta (ERβ) has been shown to restrict the transcriptional activity of ERα and inhibit breast cancer cell growth. Our goal was to explore the roles of ERα and ERβ in ERK activation and cell growth in MCF‐7 and MDA‐MB‐231 breast cancer cells. E2 treatment of MCF‐7 cells led to a significant rise in phosphorylation of CaM KI and its downstream target, ERK, and this effect was blocked by pretreatment with the ERα antagonist MPP and siRNA directed against ERα. Inhibition of ERβ with its antagonist PHTPP did not reduce ERK activity following stimulation with E2. Interestingly, pretreatment of MCF‐7 cells with the ERβ agonist, FERb, prevented the activation of ERK by E2. Treatment of MCF‐7 cells with E2 stimulated an increase in cell growth that was blocked by pretreatment with MPP, but not by pretreatment with PHTPP. In both MCF‐7 and MDA‐MB‐231 cells, stimulation with FERb reduced cell growth slightly below control levels. Treatment of MDA‐MB‐231 cells with FERb rapidly increased ERK phosphorylation and this effect was blocked by pretreatment with PHTPP. Our data suggest ERβ differentially regulates ERK in MCF‐7 and MDA‐MB‐231 cells. While activation of ERβ inhibits the growth of
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both cell lines, ERβ prevents ERK phosphorylation in MCF‐7 cells, but enhances ERK phosphorylation in MDA‐MB‐231 cells.
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Quantitative Real-Time PCR Assays for Sensitive Detection of Canada Goose-Specific Fecal Pollution in Water Sources ABSTRACT Canada geese (Branta canadensis) are prevalent in North America and may contribute to fecal pollution of water systems where they congregate. This work provides two novel real-time PCR assays (CGOF1-Bac and CGOF2-Bac) allowing for the specific and sensitive detection of Bacteroides 16S rRNA gene markers present within Canada goose feces.
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Application of π Equivalent Circuit in Mathematic Modeling and Simulation of Gas Pipeline To simplify the analytic process of the conventional modeling method, an equivalent circuit is constructed to simulate the dynamic analysis of pressurized gas pipeline system. The several π equivalent circuit models are built for a section of gas pressurized pipeline. The transfer function and scheme for the realization of the simulation model are given in detail. Based on the simulation of frequency responses for the π equivalent circuit models and the exact model, it is shown that the π equivalent circuit model is of high simulating accuracy.
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Restless legs syndrome among women: prevalence, co-morbidity and possible relationship to menopause Objectives Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common neurological movement disorder with a female preponderance and an increasing prevalence with age. During the menopausal transition, sleep is affected. Prior studies suggest that female hormones are associated with the clinical manifestation of RLS. Methods A random sample of 5000 women aged 18–64 years was selected from the general Swedish population. They were sent questions on RLS, general health, sleep problems, reproductive health and menopausal state. Results The response rate was 70.3%; 15.7% of the women were diagnosed with RLS. Prevalence increased with age. RLS subjects more often had symptoms of affected sleep and depressed mood. Co-morbidity with heart disease was more common among RLS subjects, whereas hypertension and diabetes mellitus were not. There was a strong association between vasomotor symptoms and RLS but no statistical relationship between use of hormone replacement therapy, postmenopausal state and RLS. Conclusion The prevalence of RLS among Swedish women is high. RLS sufferers more often suffered from depression and heart disease, whereas no such associations were noted for diabetes or hypertension. We found an increased prevalence of RLS among women with vasomotor symptoms (night sweats) during the menopausal transition but not among women using hormone replacement therapy.
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Antibacterial and haemolytic peptides containing D‐alloisoleucine from the skin of Bombina variegata. A family of bombinin‐related peptides is present in the skin of Bombina variegata. These peptides contain 27 residues with Gly as N‐terminus and display antimicrobial activity. From sequence analysis of the cDNAs encoding for the corresponding peptide precursors, the presence of a novel 20‐residue peptide with Ile as N‐terminus was predicted. We have now purified a family of hydrophobic peptides named H1‐H5, whose sequences correspond to the predicted peptide with some variability in positions 1, 2 and 8. In particular, H3‐H5 contain a D‐alloisoleucine residue in the second position. All these peptides display antibacterial and haemolytic activity.
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EndoVAE: Generating Endoscopic Images with a Variational Autoencoder The generalization performance of deep learning models is closely associated with the number and diversity of data available upon training. While in many applications there is a large number of data available in public, in domains such as medical image analysis, the data availability is limited. This can be largely attributed to data privacy legislations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the cost of data annotation by experts. Aiming to address this issue, data augmentation approaches employing deep generative models have emerged. Existing augmentation techniques are primarily based on Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). However, ill-posed training issues of GANs such as nonconvergence, mode collapse and instability in conjunction with their demand for large scale training datasets, complicate their use in medical imaging modalities. Motivated by these issues, this paper investigates the performance of alternative generative models i.e., Variational Autoencoders (VAEs) in endoscopic image synthesis tasks. Contrary to the conventional GAN-based approaches that aiming at augmenting the existing endoscopic datasets the proposed methodology constitutes feasible the complete substitution of medical imaging datasets from real individuals with artificially generated ones. The experimental results obtained validate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology over the state-of-art.
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Identification of the cysteine residue responsible for oxidative inactivation of mouse galectin-2. Galectins are a group of animal lectins characterized by their specificity for β-galactosides. Mouse galectin-2 (mGal-2) is predominantly expressed in the gastrointestinal tract and has been identified as one of the main gastric mucosal proteins that are uniquely sensitive to S-nitrosylation. We have previously reported that oxidation of mGal-2 by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) resulted in the loss of sugar-binding ability, whereas pre-treatment of mGal-2 with S-nitrosocysteine prevented H2O2-induced inactivation. In this study, we used point-mutated recombinant mGal-2 proteins to study which of the two highly conserved Cys residues in mGal-2 must be S-nitrosylated for protection against oxidative inactivation. Mutation of Cys57 to a Met residue (C57M) did not result in lectin inactivation following H2O2 treatment, whereas Cys75 mutation to Ser (C75S) led to significantly reduced lectin activity, as is the case for wild-type mGal-2. However, pre-treatment of the C75S mutant with S-nitrosocysteine protected the protein from H2O2-induced inactivation. Therefore, Cys57 is suggested to be responsible for oxidative inactivation of the mGal-2 protein, and protection of the sulfhydryl group of the Cys57 in mGal-2 by S-nitrosylation is likely important for maintaining mGal-2 protein function in an oxidative environment such as the gastrointestinal tract.
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Orbital bleeding in rats while under diethylether anaesthesia does not influence telemetrically determined heart rate, body temperature, locomotor and eating activity when compared with anaesthesia alone The question addressed was whether orbital bleeding in rats, while under diethylether anaesthesia, affects their locomotor activity, body core temperature, heart rate rhythm and eating pattern. Roman High Avoidance (RHA) and Roman Low Avoidance (RLA) rats were used to enhance generalization of the results. Orbital bleeding when the rats were under diethylether anaesthesia was compared with diethylether anaesthesia alone. To take into account any effects of handling, the rats were also subjected to sham anaesthesia. The RHA rats urinated more during anaesthesia, needed more time to recover from the anaesthesia and showed a greater endocrine stress response to diethylether anaesthesia when compared with the RLA rats. During anaesthesia, the RHA rats showed a greater fall of body temperature and bradycardia than did the RLA rats. Diethylether anaesthesia reduced locomotor activity in the RHA rats, but had no effect in the RLA rats. In neither RHA nor RLA rats did anaesthesia plus orbital puncture, versus anaesthesia alone, influence body temperature, heart rate rhythm, locomotor and eating activity. The lack of effect of orbital puncture occurred both in the short term (within 2 h) and long term (within 48 hours) and thus this study indicates that orbital puncture had, at least with respect to variables measured in the present study, no effect superimposed on that of diethylether anaesthesia.
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Explorations in parallel distributed processing: a handbook of models, programs, and exercises This book presents the official, formal definition of the programming language ML including the rules for grammar and static and dynamic semantics. ML is the most well-developed and prominent of a new group of functional programming languages. On the cutting edge of theoretical computer science, ML embodies the ideas of static typing and polymorphism and has also contributed a number of novel ideas to the design of programming languages.Contents: Syntax of the Core. Syntax of Modules. Static Semantics for the Core. Static Semantics for Modules. Dynamic Semantics for Modules. Programs.Appendixes: Derived Forms. Full Grammar. The Initial Static Basis. The Initial Dynamic Basis. The Development of ML.
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Scope and design of the GUSI international research program. During the 1980s a large new simulated underwater saturation diving system was constructed at GKSS, Geesthacht, Germany. This German Underwater Simulator (GUSI) has performed over 18 trimix (helium, 5% nitrogen, oxygen) dives with 115 divers at depths to 600 m, including 9 to 450 m or deeper for a total of 2672 man-days of saturation and 994 days of welding and other work. From October 1989, an international research program was initiated to permit scientists from other countries to carry out physiologic and medical research during these working dives. The results of the first year's program from 3 dives, GUSI 14, 16, and 17, all to 450 m, are described in this special edition of Undersea Biomedical Research. This brief paper gives the scope, design, and objectives of the program, the dive profiles, and the scientists and projects involved.
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Continuous system simulation languages: Design principles and implementation techniques Continuous system simulation languages are very high level programming languages which facilitate modelling and simulation of systems characterized by ordinary and partial differential equations. This paper discusses design principles and implementation techniques for continuous system simulation languages. Following a brief introduction to very high level languages, design principles for continuous system simulation languages are presented. These principles are illustrated by examples from the Continuous System Modelling Program (CSMP) and the Partial Differential Equation Language (PDEL). A typical program in each language is included. Batch and interactive implementation techniques for continuous system simulation languages are discussed. The classical batch implementation technique is to provide a preprocessor which translates the simulation language into an algorithmic language such as FORTRAN or PL/1. The PL/1 preprocessor is described as a useful language for the implementation of very high level language translators. The final section of the paper presents an interactive implementation technique which interfaces a batch program processor to interactive graphics display and updating routines. In this manner, efficient simulation code is interfaced to flexible interaction routines. In addition, the batch processor is preserved intact, thus requiring only one implementation of the language for both batch and interactive applications.
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Multilevel Ge-Se Film Based Resist Systems Multilevel resist systems based on Ge-Se films make possible the use of optical projection printers for printing 0.5-1.0μm features. The four multilevel resist systems considered employ either a photosensitive or a photopassive polymer layer for planarization. In bilevel schemes the surface of the Ge-Se film is reacted in a Ag(CN)i- containing solution to form a Ag2Se imaging layer. No reacted Ge-Se is used as a sacrificial layer in trilevel schemes. Ge-Se films are resistant to attack by oxygen plasma and therefore make good masks for pattern transfer by dry (reactive ion) etching, to a thick underlying photopassive polymer layer. Because of their high absorbance (a 105cm-1) in the ultraviolet and violet, Ge-Se patterns can also be used as exposure masks for transferring images to a thick underlying photosensitive polymer layer. The latter is "flood" exposed through the Ge-Se mask and wet developed. Both dry and wet processes provide steep wall-profile patterns in the polymer layer. The dry process provides superior feature size control while the wet process offers reduced processing cost. The exceptional lithographic performance exhibited by Ge-Se resist systems is attributed to a unique edge-sharpening effect; diffraction is compensated for by lateral silver diffusion in the Ag2Se layer. Patterns having 0.6μm lines and spaces are obtained over lcmXlcm fields with a defocus tolerance of 2.5μm using a standard Zeiss 10:1 reduction lens (N.A.=0.28, λ=436nm). Results indicate that optical lithography can practically print features in the size regime previously reserved for a-beam or x-ray based lithographic technologies.
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The Act/Belief Doctrine and the Limits of Lockean Religious Liberty The U.S. Supreme Court's religious liberty jurisprudence has come under widespread criticism following the Court's seemingly ungenerous interpretation of the Free Exercise clause in Employment Division v. Smith (1990). One important result of the ensuing controversy has been a wide-ranging critique of the "act/belief doctrine" at the heart of the Court's religious freedom thinking. Restricting religion to a realm of private opinion is held to enshrine an emaciated view of freedom. Consideration of John Locke's Letter Concerning Toleration (the source, by way of Thomas Jefferson, of the doctrine) clarifies the meaning of these criticisms. Locke's account makes clear the necessity of something like the act/belief doctrine in any nonreligious drawing of the boundary between religious and political authority.
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Perioperative Intravenous Fluid in Children Undergoing Brain Tumor Resection: Balancing the Threats to Homeostasis. W using intravenous fluids around the time of neurosurgery in children, we want to maintain normalcy because of the potential threats to extracellular fluid (ECF) volume, blood volume, and acid-base-electrolyte homeostasis. We make 2 decisions: (i) what type of fluid to use, and (ii) what metabolic or electrolyte derangements to follow during the chosen infusion solution. To date, the focus of clinical research has been the choice between hypotonic and isotonic fluids, and the potential risk for developing hyponatremia. Recent synopses of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) in children, many including perioperative neurosurgical cases, show that maintenance volume of hypotonic fluid with half-normal (0.45%) saline increases the risk of hyponatremia when compared with isotonic (0.9%) saline solution.1,2 Now, the discussion about perioperative fluid has shifted from the hypotonic versus isotonic debate to the use of balanced crystalloid (BC) solution, and the need to avoid hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis caused by 0.9% saline. For example, the 2017 consensus-based guideline on pediatric perioperative intravenous fluid from the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany recommends BC solutions with sodium ([Na]) and chloride ([Cl]) concentrations similar to that of ECF.3 In this issue of the Journal, Lima et al4 report the results of an RCT that provides more evidence for using BC during the perioperative period in children undergoing brain tumor resection. The authors compared the effects of a BC solution ([Na] and [Cl] 140 and 98 mmol/L, respectively, similar to ECF ([Na] and [Cl] 142
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and 108mmol/L, respectively) with 0.9% saline ([Na] and [Cl] both 154mmol/L) at standard intraoperative and postoperative infusion rates.3 Over the first 24 hours, starting from induction of anesthesia, 0.9% saline resulted in significant increases in serum [Cl] ([Cl]S) and base deficit of 6 mmol/L and 4mmol/L, respectively, whereas no change in these values occurred with BC administration. Together, the derangements in the 0.9% saline group translate into a higher rate of hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis (ie, [Cl]> 110mmol/L associated with 50% increase in base deficit), leading the authors to conclude that BC solution should be used in children undergoing brain tumor resection. There are, however, 2 issues that arise from this work, which warrant further discussion. First, the readers may wonder about the rationale for reporting serial change in [Cl]S as “post-preopΔCl” (ie, the difference in value for [Cl]S from baseline to the 24-hour measurement in mmol/L), rather than a presentation of absolute serum values, as described in other RCTs.1,2 The reasoning here comes down to the problem of biological variation in laboratory analytes and the within-individual coefficient (CVI) and between-individual coefficient (CVG) of variation for [Cl ]s. The index of
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“A Glorious Opportunity to Destroy Faction” Americans commonly leveraged music to circulate narratives of partisan dominance in the early republic, and this chapter examines how Federalists in particular used music to articulate a powerful narrative of legitimacy based on the incessant presentation of Federalist heroes and Republican villains during the intensely partisan atmosphere of John Adams’s presidency. Following French attempts to bribe US diplomats, songwriters expressed a surge of federalism, nationalism, and militarism in support of Federalist projects through both ephemeral songs and “patriotic” hits like “Hail Columbia” and “Adams and Liberty.” Despite Federalists’ efforts to destroy domestic political “faction,” Republicans refused to be silenced. They used many of the same symbols, strategies, and tunes to promote different causes and inspire oppositional political action through music.
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Acute Leukemia Presenting as Acute Hepatitis Without Liver Failure ABSTRACT A diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic or myeloblastic leukemia was made in 6 children ages 4 to 14 years who presented with a clinicobiochemical picture of acute hepatitis without liver failure. Standard chemotherapy, including 1 week pretreatment with steroids in children with lymphoblastic leukemia, allowed complete remission of the leukemia and normalization of serum liver tests.
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Impact of C-Peptide Status on the Response of Glucagon and Endogenous Glucose Production to Induced Hypoglycemia in T1DM Context Complete loss of β-cell function in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) may lead to an increased risk of severe hypoglycemia. Objective We aimed to determine the impact of C-peptide status on glucagon response and endogenous glucose production (EGP) during hypoglycemia in patients with T1DM. Design and Setting We conducted an open, comparative trial. Patients Ten C-peptide positive (C-pos) and 11 matched C-peptide negative (C-neg) patients with T1DM were enrolled. Intervention Plasma glucose was normalized over the night fast, and after a steady-state (baseline) plateau all patients underwent a hyperinsulinemic, stepwise hypoglycemic clamp with glucose plateaus of 5.5, 3.5, and 2.5 mmol/L and a recovery phase of 4.0 mmol/L. Blood glucagon was measured with a specific and highly sensitive glucagon assay. EGP was determined with a stable isotope tracer technique. Main Outcome Measure Impact of C-peptide status on glucagon response and EGP during hypoglycemia. Results Glucagon concentrations were significantly lower in C-pos and C-neg patients than previously reported. At baseline, C-pos patients had higher glucagon concentrations than C-neg patients (8.39 ± 4.6 vs 4.19 ± 2.4 pmol/L, P = 0.016, mean ± standard deviation) but comparable EGP rates (2.13 ± 0.2 vs 2.04 ± 0.3 mg/kg/min, P < 0.391). In both groups, insulin suppressed glucagon levels, but hypoglycemia revealed significantly higher glucagon concentrations in C-pos than in C-neg patients. EGP was significantly higher in C-pos patients at hypoglycemia (2.5 mmol/L) compared with C-neg patients. Conclusions Glucagon
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concentrations and EGP during hypoglycemia were more pronounced in C-pos than in C-neg patients, which indicates that preserved β-cell function may contribute to counterregulation during hypoglycemia in patients with T1DM.
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[Respiratory responses to CO2 stimulation in hypercapnic patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome]. UNLABELLED Obstructive sleep apnea can be associated with daytime chronic hypercapnia in some patients, but the prevalence of the phenomenon is highly variable in the published literature. The most often it is found in patients with coexisting COPD. There is also an evidence of persisting hypercapnia in OSA patients without other respiratory disease. In previous studies lung function impairment, obesity, gender, severity of OSAS have been considered to contribute to daytime hypercapnia. Several studies demonstrated that the defect in control of breathing can play a role in the development of chronic hypercapnia in patients with OSAS. The aim of the study was to estimate respiratory responses to hypercapnic stimulation in patients with OSAS and chronic daytime hypercapnia. Material consisted of 38 patients with OSAS and chronic hypercapnia (COPD was present in 24-group B, "pure" OSA in 14-group A) and 40 normocapnic OSA patients (group C). Lung function testing, blood gases and chemical control of breathing tests were performed in all of them before initiating therapy with nCPAP. Diagnosis of OSAS was stated with standard polisomnography and AHI was similar in mentioned groups. RESULTS Respiratory responses to hypercapnic stimulation were significantly lower in hypercapnic patients (A 10.6+/-4.6; B 9.5+/-5.6) in opposition to normocapnics (C 23.3+/-14.0 l/min/kPa). In all studied patients PaCO2 level significantly correlated with respiratory responses to hypercapnic stimulation (r=-.61), lung function indices (VC r=-.69 and FEV1 r=-.71), mean SaO2 during sleep (r=-.68), and BMI (r=.49), but not with the factors like age,
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AHI or minimal SaO2 during sleep. Analysis with multiple regression revealed that hypercapnic drive, mean SaO2 during sleep, FEV1 and BMI were the best predictors of hypercapnia in studied group, being responsible for 72% of the total variance in PaCO2 in our OSA patients (R2=0.72; p<0.0001). CONCLUSION predisposition to daytime hypercapnia in our OSA patients was related to dimished chemosensitivity to CO2, mean desaturation during sleep, the severity of obesity and impairment of lung function mainly due to coexisting COPD.
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The Middle Subunit of Replication Protein A Contacts Growing RNA-DNA Primers in Replicating Simian Virus 40 Chromosomes ABSTRACT The eukaryotic single-stranded DNA binding protein replication protein A (RPA) participates in major DNA transactions. RPA also interacts through its middle subunit (Rpa2) with regulators of the cell division cycle and of the response to DNA damage. A specific contact between Rpa2 and nascent simian virus 40 DNA was revealed by in situ UV cross-linking. The dynamic attributes of the cross-linked DNA, namely, its size distribution, RNA primer content, and replication fork polarity, were determined. These data suggest that Rpa2 contacts the early DNA chain intermediates synthesized by DNA polymerase α-primase (RNA-DNA primers) but not more advanced products. Possible signaling functions of Rpa2 are discussed, and current models of eukaryotic lagging-strand DNA synthesis are evaluated in view of our results.
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Long-Distance Romantic Relationships among International Students: “My First Qualitative Research” The purpose of this study was to seek depth information how international students maintain their relationship to stay feeling close with their romantic partners although separated by distance or live in a different country, the difficulties and the reasons they choose to remain in the long-distance relationship. Semi-structured interviewed were conducted to four international students. Five themes emerged, they are “keep in touch”, “this is my look”, “trustworthiness as foundation”, “family’s support”, and “relationship’s goal is get married”. The participants utilize many ways of communication to keep in touch well because it also becomes a difficulty for the relationship if it is not done seriously. Since many of the participants have got support from their family, it makes them more believed that this relationship would be no matter even in a long-distance relationship. Admittedly, the distance has both beneficial and negative aspects, but how the couples handle it through the communication, always trust each other and share the relationship’s goal, determined the maintenance and help to feel close in the long-distance relationship.
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A Personal View of EVA London: Past, Present, Future I first encountered EVA London in 1995 through my establishment of the Virtual Library museums pages (VLmp), part of the World Wide Web Virtual Library. In 2003, I was invited back as a keynote speaker on the subject of website accessibility for cultural heritage resources. Since then I have been involved with every EVA London conference either as an author or since 2007 as a proceedings editor. This paper summarises the developments of the EVA London conference over the past 25 years from a personal viewpoint and celebrates the 30th anniversary of EVA London and the whole family of international EVA conferences. The development of the community around EVA (Electronic Visualisation and the Arts) is evaluated in the context of a Community of Practice. The paper also considers possible future directions for EVA.
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Errors, Intentions, and Explanations: Feedback Generation for Language Tutoring Systems This paper tries to adopt intentions as an additional dynamic source of knowledge, which can be used to bias the feedback generation components of a tutoring system for foreign language learning. By doing so, it departs from the common similarity-based approach, which derives the plausibility of an error diagnosis from the eort needed to transform the student’s solution into the next best interpretation which can be established by the system. Given the limited knowledge of a tutoring system, this popular approach might lead to misguiding or even confusing explanations, especially in cases where alternative explanations would have been possible, but the system was not able to identify them properly or even needed to resort to arbitrary selections. The paper investigates two dieren t options for integrating dynamically changing contextual expectations into the diagnostic analysis of erroneous utterances.
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Experiential teaching strategies for ethical reasoning skills relevant to sustainability Introduction of the principles of sustainable development into the canons of engineering professional societies has presented several serious challenges to science and engineering educators. There are few pedagogical guideposts for current educators teaching sustainability as an ethical concept. Moreover, traditional approaches to ethics education in science and engineering courses is unlikely to be successful for sustainability. This paper describes the challenge of sustainability ethics education and discusses a new initiative in the Rochester Institute of Technology regarding ethics education in the Sustainability Ph.D. program.
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Raw goat's milk fermented Anbaris from Lebanon: insights into the microbial dynamics and chemical changes occurring during artisanal production, with a focus on yeasts. Anbaris is a raw goat milk product naturally fermented in terracotta jars. The aim of this research paper was to follow the dynamics underlying an artisanal production to understand the concomitant evolution of the microbial populations in relation to the chemical changes occurring within the product, make sure of the sanitary conditions prevailing during the production and uncover for the first time its culturable yeast populations. Throughout the fermentation process, Anbaris was endowed with high acidity and included high microbial populations counts of LAB and yeasts that were rapidly installed within the product and maintained as regular new milk additions were made, contributing to lipolytic and proteolytic activities. Salt content varied according to the arbitrary salt additions made during the process but was high in the end product while protein and fat contents varied inversely to moisture. Frequent additions of Enterobacteriaceae and Coliforms contaminated milk samples seemingly fueled a contamination of the product during its manufacturing and in the final fresh Anbaris. Seven species of culturable yeasts, Pichia kudriavzevii, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Debaryomyces hansenii, Candida parapsilosis and Kazachstania exigua were found during the production. The first two dominated the process in terms of frequency of occurrence and abundance at the different stages and might be signature species of the product. The same lineage of K. marxianus isolates was maintained throughout the fermentation and sample specific patterns were observed. Strains
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of this species exhibited low diversity within our product, and more globally in the Lebanese dairy products we studied.
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Harmonic identification based on RBF neural network As one of the important equipment for vibration test, hydraulic shaking table can produce great vibration force and displacement of vibration, , widely applied in engineering field. In the test system of hydraulic shaking table, because of the existence of non-linearities, there exists higher harmonic in system response signal when the shaking table is excited by a sinusoidal signal, making the harmonic distortion of the system response. In view of harmonic distortion of response signal in the sine-vibration test, the paper adopts RBF neural network to study how to identify the amplitude and phase, which provides reliable data for harmonic suppression and elimination.
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Bartonella quintana Variably Expressed Outer Membrane Proteins Mediate Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Secretion but Not Host Cell Adherence ABSTRACT Bartonella quintana causes trench fever, endocarditis, and the vasculoproliferative disorders bacillary angiomatosis and peliosis hepatis in humans. Little is known about the interaction of this pathogen with host cells. We attempted to elucidate the interaction of B. quintana with human macrophages (THP-1) and epithelial cells (HeLa 229). Remarkably, only B. quintana strain JK-31 induced secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) from THP-1 and HeLa 229 cells upon infection similar to the secretion induced by B. henselae Marseille, whereas other strains (B. quintana 2-D70, B. quintana Toulouse, and B. quintana Munich) did not induce such secretion. Immunofluorescence testing and electron microscopy revealed that the B. quintana strains unable to induce VEGF secretion did not express the variable outer membrane proteins (Vomps) on their surfaces. Surprisingly, the increase in VEGF secretion mediated by B. quintana JK-31 was not paralleled by elevated host cell adherence rates compared with the rates for Vomp-negative B. quintana strains. Our results suggest that the Vomps play a leading role in the angiogenic reprogramming of host cells by B. quintana but not in the adherence to host cells.
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Removal of the submandibular gland by a retroauricular approach. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the benefit of a retroauricular approach by comparing it with a conventional transcervical approach for removal of the submandibular gland. DESIGN Prospective clinical study. SETTING Academic center. PATIENTS Thirty patients with benign submandibular gland disorders. INTERVENTIONS Patients were divided into 2 surgical groups to undergo retroauricular (n = 15) and conventional (n = 15) procedures matched by age, sex, marital status, and pathologic condition. The retroauricular approach used an incision along the postauricular sulcus and hairline and subcutaneous tunneling to the gland; the conventional approach used an incision along a natural skin crease overlying the gland. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The operation time, complications, hospital stay, and subjective satisfaction of incision scar checked by visual analog scale were compared between groups. RESULTS The submandibular gland disorders were comparable between groups: pleomorphic adenoma (n = 15), chronic sialadenitis with sialolithiasis in the gland (n = 5) or hilum (n = 8), and Küttner (n = 1) or Kimura (n = 1) disease. Mean +/- SD operation times were 49 +/- 17 minutes in the retroauricular group and 38 +/- 15 minutes in the controls (P = .08). Mean +/- SD hospital stay and complication rates were comparable between groups. The mean +/- SD score of patient satisfaction was 8.9 +/- 0.9 in the retroauricular group and 4.2 +/- 2.9 in the conventional group (P<.001). The incision scar was commonly less visible in the retroauricular group because of hiding by the auricle and natural hair when comparing
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with the control group. CONCLUSION The retroauricular approach can provide better cosmetic outcome than the conventional transcervical approach and without significant complications.
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The Politics of Forestland Use in a Cunning Government: Lessons for Contemporary Forest Governance Reforms SUMMARY The stakes are high for tropical forestlands in multi-actor power relations because of their interdependence (climate change mitigation), their above- and below-ground resources (wood, mines) and their arable lands. In tropical countries, where the State owns most of the forestlands, many governments feel that any external initiative to change their forestland use policies infringes on their sovereignty. The governments' reactions to pressure for forestland governance reforms advocated by the international community may reflect the level of their national strength, international credibility and the attractiveness of offsets for forestland use conversion. Governments either use a tactic based on strength or on cunning, in the Machiavellian sense of the term, to impose their domestic agenda. Referring to the two last decades of forestland use policy reforms in Cameroon, this article seeks to understand why and how some governments of developing countries like Cameroon use cunning strategies to circumvent the implementation of undesired forest policy reforms while avoiding blame from the international community.
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Getting the message? ‘New’ Labour and the criminalization of ‘hate’ Hate crimes, it has been said, are ‘message’ crimes to which society needs to respond using the most powerful and unambiguous means of communication at its disposal, the criminal law. Using empirical data collected in the course of research conducted by the authors on racially motivated violence and harassment in North Staffordshire, this article sets out to interpret the messages about hate crime sent to perpetrators, and people from their local communities, by the creation, in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, of a new category of racially aggravated offences. To this end two possible anti-hate crime messages and three potential audiences are identified and evaluated in the light of data generated from biographical interviews with perpetrators and focus group discussions with other local people in and around the city of Stokeon-Trent. Our conclusion is that the supposedly clear deterrent and denunciatory or declaratory messages contained in the 1998 Act are either drowned out or distorted by other signals coming from successive ‘New’ Labour governments about crime, immigration, nationality and ‘community cohesion’, and by the highly idiosyncratic and unpredictable ways in which they are mediated and interpreted by their intended recipients.
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Motility cues in the tumor microenvironment. It is now increasingly recognized that the microenvironment plays a critical role in the progression of tumors. Perhaps less obvious is the concept that the microenvironment may share responsibility in determining the "malignant" traits of tumor cells, i.e. invasiveness and metastasis. If tumors are tissues, however unbalanced, rather than a collection of "malignant" cells recruiting local resources for the purpose of growth, then it is inevitable that tumor cells will respond to local stimuli. These stimuli include cues for motility and migration, which normally appear in tissues undergoing formation, remodeling or healing. Carcinoma cells are likely to be sensitive to the motility cues that normally regulate epithelial morphogenetic movements such as ingression, delamination, invagination, and tube or sheet migration. "Malignant" tumors, then, can be redefined as those in which these cues arise more frequently or act more effectively. Here, we expand on this view and propose that invasion and metastasis may be the outcome of tumor cell responses to microenvironmental motility cues. Understanding how such motility cues arise and act, both in normal and tumor tissue, should be a high priority in cancer research.
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Response to “Comment on: Vitiligo Treatment in Childhood: A State of the Art Review” To the Editor: We certainly agree that the best and, we might add, easiest type of medicine to practice is when there are multiple randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that clearly demonstrate that one treatment modality is far superior to and safer than others. Then any new treatments should be tested in a RCT not only to vehicle, but to the accepted standard of care. Unfortunately, for many conditions seen in pediatric dermatology, this is rarely the case. Therefore, we set out to thoroughly review the entire literature on childhood vitiligo, knowing full well that rigorous study was limited.What you have read was not our initial submission.Our initial submission included all of the articles on the treatment of vitiligo in childhood that we could find. The editors asked us to decrease the size of our initial submission by more than 50% and to spend more time discussing what we felt was a rational approach to the treatment of vitiligo in childhood. That is why you see the article in its final form.
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An open-ended approach to evaluating Android faces Expectation and intention understanding through nonverbal behavior is a key topic of interest in socially embedded robots. This study presents the results of an open-ended evaluation method pertaining to the interpretation of Android facial expressions by adult subjects through an online survey with video stimuli. An open-ended question yields more spontaneous answers regarding the situation that can be associated with the synthetic emotional displays of an Android face. The robot used was the Geminoid-DK, while communicating the six basic emotions. The filtered results revealed situations highly relevant to the portrayed facial expressions for the emotions of Surprise, Fear, Anger, and Happiness, and less relevant for the emotions of Disgust, and Sadness. Statistical analysis indicated the existence of a moderate degree of correlation between the emotions of Fear-Surprise, and a high degree of correlation between the pair Disgust-Sadness. With a set of validated facial expressions prior to nonverbal emotional communication, androids and other humanoids can convey more accurate messages to their interaction partners, and overcome the limitations of their current limited affective interface.
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Role of tumor necrosis factor alpha in pathogenesis of pneumococcal pneumonia in mice The production and role of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) in pneumococcal pneumonia were investigated in a mouse pneumonia model. When approximately 10(6) CFU of Streptococcus pneumoniae TUM19 were used to inoculate CBA/J mice intranasally, TNF-alpha levels in the lungs and serum began to increase from 1 and 3 days after infection, respectively, concomitantly with the increase in bacterial counts in the lungs. Anti-TNF-alpha antibody accelerated bacterial proliferation in the blood and the death of the mice. Although serum levels of immunoglobulin G antibody against the infecting bacteria were not affected by the anti-TNF-alpha antibody treatment, neutrophil counts in the blood were decreased by the treatment. These results suggest that TNF-alpha produced in the course of pneumococcal pneumonia prevents bacteremia by increasing the number of neutrophils in the blood.
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A Flexible and Transparent Graphene-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator This paper presents a new high-output, flexible and transparent nanogenerator using chemical vapor deposition grown graphene as one of the friction layer. Graphene on copper is transferred onto polyethylene terephthalate by wet transfer method makes graphene-based triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) have electrical conductivity and high optical transmittance. We have fabricated plasma treated thin layer of polydimethylsiloxane structure as another layer to improve the output performance of nanogenerator. Using this graphene-based TENG, maximum output voltage 650 V and current 12 μA is achieved at 4.3 Hz frequency. As a power source, LCD and 50 commercial blue light-emitting diodes are lighted up. It is low cost, simple, and robust approach for harvesting ambient vibration energy.
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Cytokine and lipid inflammatory mediator profile of human tears during contact lens associated inflammatory diseases. Contact lens induced acute red eye (CLARE) and contact lens induced peripheral ulcer (CLPU) are among the most common contact lens induced inflammatory reactions. Both CLARE and CLPU are characterized by corneal infiltration which indicates the presence of chemoattractants and other inflammatory mediators. The aim of this study was to characterize the cytokine and chemotactic lipid inflammatory mediator profile in the tears of people experiencing CLARE or CLPU. Cytokines IL-1 beta, IL-6, IL-8, GM-CSF and LTB4 in tears were measured by antibody sandwich and competition inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Platelet activating factor-like activity was measured by a degranulation assay by measuring the release of labelled serotonin from platelets. The functional role GM-CSF and chemoattractants were determined by flow cytometry and chemotaxis. Increased levels of cytokines and chemoattractants were detected in both CLARE and CLPU tears. CLPU tears showed increased levels of LTB4 (P = 0.002) and PAF-like activity (P = 0.047) whereas CLARE tears showed increased levels of GM-CSF (P = 0.002). IL-8 (P < 0.05). LTB4 (P = 0.002) and PAF-like activity (P = 0.047) compared to control tears. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that incubation of PMN with CLARE tears increased the number of IgA receptors indicating that the GM-CSF in CLARE tears was active. Combinations of suboptimal concentrations (which were found in CLARE and CLPU tears) of IL-8 with either LTB4 or PAF significantly (P < 0.0001) enhanced the chemotactic activity for PMN compared to their individual effects.
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