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A Manufacturing Processes Curriculum Embedded with Continuous Improvement In manufacturing processes curriculums, the injecting molding process has been an integral part since their practical adaption in industry. It is beneficial to combine continuous improvement scenarios with hands-on experience through innovative approaches to engage students to develop critical thinking during the learning and training process. As an alternative to the traditional pedagogical development on machines, a learning and training module is proposed, using an affordable bench-top injection molding equipment to demonstrate 1) workflow analysis, 2) reverse engineering, and 3) throughput efficiency assessment. As a result, tomake and to-buy apparatuses to the above mentioned module were integrated into a relatively lower cost package, compared to ones with exchangeable jigs and fixtures. The developed learning module not only enables the student to gain hands-on experience, but also drives the instructor to prepare for continuous improvement focused educational objectives and outcomes. At the same time the student, through relevant labs, can produce tangible results that are ideal for the instructor’s assessment. This paper demonstrates the affordability and effectiveness of the proposed module. Extension of the continuous improvement aspect is discussed.
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Cultural influences on medical disclosure. Personal freedom and individualism are highly valued in Anglo-American culture and consequently in healthcare. However, not all cultures recognize the value of these principles. Healthcare can be compromised when the patient's cultural context differs from that of the clinician. Culture and its influences on the disclosure of health-related information are described. Self-determination from an historical perspective, the role of the family, and a deeper understanding of paternalism as they relate to cultural issues are illustrated through a case study. Suggestions for creating a culturally relevant healthcare practice is presented.
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A.M.A. EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING subsequently aborted, had an abnormally low level of cestrogen excretion in the urine. How the results from these three lines of llipproacb should be integrated is not clear. Carr found a normal chromosome constitution in 50% of "blighted ova" examined by him. While the other 50% were chromosomally abnormal, this figure is no higher than that found by some investigators in first trimester abortions generally. On the other hand, it seems likely that such "blighted ova" might be associated with low levels of maternal hormone excretion, the stimulus of a healthy embryo being lacking. There is still much to be learned about the pathogenesis of spontaneous abortion.
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Measuring the social value of local public goods: an empirical analysis within Paris metropolitan area A non-linear hedonic model is used to estimate the implicit marginal prices of 17 local public goods in a Paris suburban area on an original data set of some 8200 housing units. The results reveal a robust effect of local public school quality (measured both by the fraction of junior high school students that are at least two years behind grade level and the student/teacher ratio) on house prices. It is observed that housing owners’ marginal willingness to pay for reducing commuting time is roughly similar for public transportation than for car transportation. Another noticeable result is the complete capitalization of local taxes at a discount rate of 3.5%. An illustration of the potential usefulness of the results for Cost–Benefit analysis is also provided.
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A single-stage electronic ballast with emergency lighting features This paper presents a single-stage electronic ballast with emergency lighting features. The ballast can function as a regular ballast, emergency ballast, battery charger or discharger and power failure detector, achieving regular and emergency lighting features. The single-stage converter used in the ballast is an integration of a bidirectional flyback converter and two half-bridge series-resonant parallel-loaded inverters. Derivation and operating principle of the proposed converter is first presented and an application to regular and emergency lighting is then developed. With the proposed converter and a single-chip microcontroller (EM78P458), a low cost, multifeature electronic ballast can be readily implemented and installed. Simulation results and hardware measurements have verified its feasibility and the desired features.
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[Peculiarities of hormonal metabolic changes in adult male rats under effect of emotional stress induced at a time of newborn suckling]. The peculiarities of protein, lipid metabolism and sexual hormones concentration in adult male rats due to the impact of emotional stress in period of milk feeding have been studied. It has been revealed that stress in this period functions according to imprinting type that result in feminization of the parameters of sexual hormones contents and metabolic processes, which shows gender features in normal animals and their parameters similar to intact females. The concentrations of testosterone (6,78±0,44 nmol/l), triglycerides (2,0±0,04 mmol/l), total protein (150,30±3,8 mg/ml) in serum of stressed males were similar to intact females--5,6±0,30 nmol/l; 2,1±0,1 mmol/l; 160,91±5,1 mg/ml respectively. The liver concentration of testosterone (1,06±0,01 nmol/l), total protein (261,30±6,33 mg/ml), activity of alanineaminotransferase (1,08±0,05 μmol/hour per mg protein) of stressed male also did not differ from those of females indicators--1,09±0,05 nmol/l; 253,73±5,15 mg/ml; 1,05±0,03 μmol/hour per mg protein, respectively. The changes of arginine amino acid distribution in blood and liver as well as significant increase of nitric oxide level. Thus, in intact males concentration of nitric oxide in the serum was 0,14±0,01 μmol/l, in stressed males--0,61±0,01 μmol/l. Thus, in adult male rats, due to the action of stress in the during dairy feeding, shifting the concent of the sex hormones, substantial violation of protein and lipid metabolism. Also different from physiological content of arginine amino acid, which are antioxidation, and increase in the concentration of nitric oxide (free radical), which in turn is a
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sign of chronic oxidative stress and damage to the foundation of vascular tone, which may be the initiating step in the the pathogenesis of male infertility.
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Conditions Associated with On‐State Freezing of Gait We previously described on -state freezing of gait ( on -FOG) as a rare gait phenotype in Parkinson ’ s disease (PD). 1 In on -FOG cases, levodopa dosage increases were associated with corres-ponding increases of freezing of gait (FOG), whereas FOG dis-appeared in the off state. Two of 4 cases we described in 2012 1 were subsequently diagnosed as the predominant parkinsonian subtype of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP-P). Based on these we hypothesized on -FOG might be a red fl atypical in the earlier detection of we searched patient databases at to identify with observed on -FOG. We identi fi ed a total of 8 on -FOG cases from approximately 8200 clinical records and referrals within a 7-year period.
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ILLOCUTIONARY FORCE OF SLANG WORDS IN "RAMPAGE" 2018 MOVIE Slang words can contain particular meanings that cannot be interpreted directly. To know and understand the meaning behind the utterances, EFL learners can employ illocutionary force by analyzing the native speakers' daily communication of slang words. Therefore, this qualitative research aimed to explore the types of slang words and the illocutionary force behind the utterances in the Rampage movie. The data were collected from the movie transcript and analyzed using document analysis to explore the types of slang words and the illocutionary force. The analysis results revealed that all types of slang words were discovered in the movie, and the most used type was imitative, which occurred 14 times. The illocutionary force that underlined the characters implementing the slang words was to show that the speakers have higher status than the interlocutor, understand what they need to do in certain situations, ask other people to do something, want to show their psychological state, and they want to give a promise. The results of this study would enrich EFL learners' knowledge of slang words in particular and their vocabulary items in general.
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Glucose Transport in Brucella abortus Brucella abortus British strain 19 transported glucose with an apparent Km of 0.16 mM and an apparent Vmax of 250 nmol per min per mg of N. The only common glucose analogue transported was 2-deoxyglucose (2-DOG), with an apparent Ki of 0.73 mM. Alpha- or beta-methyl glucosides and 3-O-methylglucose were not transported. Transport was linear for 70 to 90 s, depending on the concentration of substrate used. 2-Deoxyglucose was transported as the free sugar and was not further metabolized once inside the cell. There was no glucose phosphoenolpyruvate phosphotransferase system (PEP-PTS) present, and there were no inhibitors present in Brucella cell-free extract that inhibited the Escherichia coli glucose PEP-PTS. N-Ethylmaleimide (NEM) and p-chloromercuribenzoate (pCMB) completely inhibited transport of glucose and 2-DOG. Glutathione, dithiothreitol, and β-mercaptoethanol reversed the effects of pCMB but not of NEM. A pH optimum of 7.2 and a temperature optimum of 37 to 45 C were observed for both Km and Vmax. The glucose transport system appeared to be constitutive for glucose transport in cells grown on fructose, galactose, erythritol, or glucose. The electron transfer inhibitors carbonyl cyanide, m-chlorophenylhydrazone, NaN3, 2,4-dinitrophenol, and KCN inhibited 2-DOG transport to a greater extent than did the metabolic energy inhibitors NaAsO4, iodoacetate, KF, and 2-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline-N-oxide. Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, an inhibitor of membrane-bound adenosine triphosphatases, inhibited transport by 100%.
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Dipolarization front and current disruption The modification of current density on the dawn‐dusk cross section of the magnetotail with the earthward approach of a dipolarization front (DF) is examined through the recently published results of a three‐dimensional (3‐D) particle‐in‐cell (PIC) simulation. It is found that the current density intensifies by ~37% abruptly within ~1.5 ion gyrotime as the DF approaches and shows localized regions with north‐south extrusions. After reaching its peak value, it undergoes a drastic current reduction (DCR) by ~65% within ~2 ion gyrotime. Breakdown of the frozen‐in condition occurs in the neutral sheet region in association with DCR, demonstrating the non‐MHD behavior of the phenomenon. The evolution of current density from this 3‐D PIC simulation bears several similarities to those observed for the current disruption (CD) phenomenon, such as explosive growth and disruption of the current density leading to a breakdown of the frozen‐in condition. The evolution is also similar to those from a previous two‐dimensional (2‐D) PIC simulation specially designed to investigate the nonlinear evolution of the cross‐field current instability for CD. One interpretation of these findings is that CD and substorm triggering can be associated with earthward intrusion of a DF into the near‐Earth plasma sheet as indicated by previous Cluster and Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms observations. An alternative interpretation is that both DF and CD are consequences of a global evolution from an ion‐tearing‐like instability of the magnetotail.
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Human osteoclast-like cells selectively recognize laminin isoforms, an event that induces migration and activates Ca2+ mediated signals. Osteoclast precursors are chemotactically attracted to sites of bone resorption via migration pathways that include transendothelial crossing in blood capillaries. Transendothelial migration involves poorly understood interactions with basal lamina molecules, including laminins. To investigate osteoclast-laminin interactions, we used human osteoclast-like cell lines obtained from giant cell tumors of bone (GCT 23 and GCT 24). These cell lines are a well-characterized model for osteoclast functions, such as bone resorption and the behaviour of osteoclast precursors. Both GCT cell lines adhered to laminin-2 (merosin) coated wells in standard adhesion assays, but failed to adhere to laminin-1 (EHS-laminin). By light microscopy, GCT cells on laminin-2 were partially spread, with a motile morphology. None of the anti-integrin antibodies tested inhibited GCT cells adhesion to laminin-2. Peptides containing the integrin adhesion site RGD or the laminin adhesion sequence IKVAV did not inhibit GCT cell adhesion to laminin-2. By immunofluorescence, beta 1 integrins were organized in focal adhesions. However, in the presence of monensin this reorganization of beta 1 integrins was abolished, indicating that it was probably due to secretion of fibronectin by GCT cells subsequent to adhesion to laminin-2. GCT cells transmigrated through membranes coated with laminin-2, much more efficiently than through membranes coated with collagen. Migration was induced by osteocalcin, as a chemoattractant, in a dose-dependent manner. At low osteocalcin concentrations, transmigration was detectable on laminin-2 but not collagen. In cells loaded with fura-2, a sharp increase in intracellular Ca2+ was detected upon
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addition of soluble laminin-2, but not laminin-1, due to release from thapsigargin-dependent intracellular stores. In summary, osteoclasts may recognize laminin isoforms differentially. Initial adhesion to laminin-2 appears to be due to integrin-independent mechanisms. Such adhesion, though, may trigger secretion of fibronectin that could then support spreading and efficient chemotactic migration. These mechanisms may play an important role in facilitating chemotactic migration of osteoclast precursors toward the bone surface.
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Current treatment of vocal fold scarring. PURPOSE OF REVIEW Vocal fold scarring still remains a therapeutic challenge, with the most problematic issue being the histologic changes that are primarily responsible for altering the viscoelasticity of the vocal fold mucosa. Optimal treatment for vocal fold scarring has not yet been established. To restore or regenerate damaged vocal folds, it is important to investigate the changes to the layer structure of the lamina propria. Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine may provide new strategies for the prevention and treatment of vocal fold scarring. Recent developments in this field are reviewed in the present article. RECENT FINDINGS Histologic studies have revealed that hyaluronic acid, fibronectin, decorin, and various other extracellular matrix components, as well as collagen, may contribute to determining the vibratory properties of the vocal fold mucosa. Changes of these molecules are thought to affect the viscoelasticity of the scarred vocal folds. Based on such histologic findings, innovative approaches have been developed, including administration of hyaluronic acid into injured or scarred vocal folds. Other strategies that have recently shown advances include growth factor therapy and cell therapy using stem cells or mature fibroblasts. The effects of these new treatments have not fully been confirmed clinically, but there seems to be great therapeutic potential in such regenerative medical strategies. SUMMARY Recent research has revealed the detailed histologic and rheologic changes related to vocal fold scarring. Based on these findings, various new therapeutic strategies have been developed in animal models using tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. However, no clinical trials have
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been performed, and more studies are necessary to establish the optimum modality.
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Unfortunate Strangers: Lascars in the British Maritime World c. 1849-1912 In 1903, there were 36,893 lascar sailors out of the 247,448 seamen working on British merchant ships. Lascars were non-white workers mostly recruited from Asia. As a result of changes to the British maritime industry in the second half of the nineteenth century, notably the shift from sail to steam, lascar numbers increased. Lascars became critical to the success of the British shipping fleet. They filled the gap that had formed because of the lack of British sailors to crew ships. Lascars were characterised as cheap, lazy, and dirty, as well as being regarded as poor sailors. Lascars were essentially perceived as everything the British sailor was not. Although lascars were British subjects, they were paid less than British sailors, ate inferior food, and slept in substandard accommodation. Once in British ports, after their voyages had ended lascars enjoyed fewer settlement rights, access to welfare and resources than their counterparts. As a result, lascars struggled to survive in Britain. Strategies that created a racial division of labour and hierarchy entrenched a low social status for lascars compared to that of their British counterparts. This thesis discusses how and why some groups of non-white sailors were given the label lascar. It analyses how the label lascar became a term to represent and enforce difference. Being cheap labour, and non-white was the basis for lascar difference, but the strict regulation and control of their conditions put these men in a much more subordinate position than their British counterparts.
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The strict conditions and tight regulation that lascars experienced became characteristics of the label they were tagged with. Many lascars were abandoned or chose to stay in Britain where the strategies they employed to survive further enforced their difference. This thesis highlights the period 1849-1912 because of the significant increase in lascar numbers during this period. Chapter one discusses who a lascar was and the interchangeable nature of the term lascar with other labels that describe non-white maritime workers. Chapter two draws on newspaper evidence, plus the works of Gopalan Balachandran and Michael Fisher to examine the effects on lascar recruitment and employment practices that reinforced difference. Chapter 3 focuses on lascars in Britain and what strategies they employed to survive and how they reinforced difference. The majority of the discussion will focus on examples from port cities of London, Glasgow, and Dundee because lascars were a visible part of the social diversity of these cities. Between 1849 and 1912 lascars contributed significantly to the economic success of Britain’s maritime industry.
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Deep UV photochemistry of chemisorbed monolayers: patterned coplanar molecular assemblies. Deep ultraviolet (UV) irradiation is shown to modify organosilane self-assembled monolayer (SAM) films by a photocleavage mechanism, which renders the surface amenable to further SAM modification. Patterned UV exposure creates alternating regions of intact SAM film and hydrophilic, reactive sites. The exposed regions can undergo a second chemisorption reaction to produce an assembly of SAMs in the same molecular plane with similar substrate attachment chemistry. The UV-patterned films are used as a template for selective buildup of fluorophores, metals, and biological cells.
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An integrated Scheme to Distribute Segmented Streaming Media over Hierarchical Caches In this paper, we therefore propose an integrated delivery and caching system for streaming media, where each stream is divided into segments and these segments are distributed among hierarchically distributed cache servers. Abstract—The emergence of the Internet as a pervasive communication medium has led to the rise of many applications of streaming media. However, because of their distinct statistical properties and user viewing patterns, traditional delivery and caching schemes for web objects such as HTML files or images can not be efficiently applied to streaming media such as audio and video. In this paper, we therefore propose an integrated caching scheme for streaming media with segment-based caching and with hierarchically distributed proxies. Firstly, each stream is divided into segments and their caching algorithms are considered to determine how to distribute the segments into different level proxies efficiently. Then, by introducing two kinds of segment priorities, segments replacing algorithms are proposed to determine which stream and which segments should be replaced when the cache is full. Finally, a web friendly caching scheme is proposed to integrate the streaming caching with the conventional caching of normal web objects. Performance of the proposed algorithms is verified by carrying out simulations. Firstly, because storing the entire stream in a single proxy cache is inefficient or even impossible due to its large size, different segment-based caching algorithms are proposed and compared. A part of the requested stream is cached in a local cache, and the remainder of the stream will
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be cached in an upper proxy cache. Secondly, by convention, the same popularity was assigned to the whole stream when the classical replacing algorithm was carried out, however, each different stream has a different popularity and each segment has different access patterns. Therefore, in this paper, two priorities for each segment are introduced: one reflects its access property, and the other represents its position information in the stream. Two kinds of replacing algorithms are compared to decide which segments of which streams should be removed when the cache exceeds its limit. One of the two algorithms keeps the same relative length of each stream in the cache, while the other keeps the most accessed segments in the cache.
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Functional analysis of genome-wide dataset from 17000 individuals identifies multiple candidate malaria resistance genes enriched in malaria pathogenic pathways Recent genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of severe malaria have identified several association variants. However, much about the underlying biological functions are yet to be discovered. Here, we systematically predicted plausible candidate genes and pathways from functional analysis of severe malaria resistance GWAS summary statistics(N=17,000) meta-analyzed across eleven populations in malaria endemic regions. We applied positional mapping, expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL), chromatin interaction mapping and gene-based association analyses to identify candidate severe malaria resistance genes. We performed network and pathway analyses to investigate their shared biological functions. We further applied rare variant analysis to raw GWAS datasets (N=11,000) of three malaria endemic populations including Kenya, Malawi and Gambia and performed various population genetic structures of the identified genes in the three populations and global populations. Our functional mapping analysis identified 57 genes located in the known malaria genomic loci while our gene-based GWAS analysis identified additional 125 genes across the genome. The identified genes were significantly enriched in malaria pathogenic pathways including multiple overlapping pathways in erythrocyte-related functions, blood coagulations, ion channels, adhesion molecules, membrane signaling elements and neuronal systems. Our population genetic analysis revealed that the minor allele frequencies (MAF) of the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) residing in the identified genes are generally higher in the three malaria endemic populations compared to global populations. Overall, our results suggest that severe malaria resistance trait is attributed to multiple genes; highlighting the possibility of harnessing new malaria therapeutics
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that can simultaneously target multiple malaria protective host molecular pathways.
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Interest Limitation under the Adopted Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive and Proportionality This article scrutinizes the compatibility of the interest limitation rule the European Union (EU) legislature included in its anti-tax avoidance directive adopted on 12 July 2016 with the proportionality principle. Under its settled case law concerning domestic interest limitation rules restricting a fundamental freedom for purposes of combating tax avoidance practices, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) holds that such measures do not comply with the principle of proportionality if they, amongst others, either do not provide the taxpayer with an opportunity to substantiate the commercial reasons for not entering into an arm’s length loan arrangement, or restrict the deductibility of more interest than an arm’s length interest. As the rule does neither adhere to the counterevidence rule nor to the arm’s length principle, it is questionable whether its status as secondary EU law suffices for purposes of disregarding the aforementioned limitations set by the ECJ. Amongst others, the author takes the view that on the basis of ECJ case law, the interest limitation rule may be considered incompatible with the proportionality principle.
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Yeast-Derived Particulate β-Glucan Treatment Subverts the Suppression of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells (MDSC) by Inducing Polymorphonuclear MDSC Apoptosis and Monocytic MDSC Differentiation to APC in Cancer Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are a heterogeneous population of immature myeloid cells that promote tumor progression. In this study, we demonstrated that activation of a C-type lectin receptor, dectin-1, in MDSC differentially modulates the function of different MDSC subsets. Yeast-derived whole β-glucan particles (WGP; a ligand to engage and activate dectin-1, oral treatment in vivo) significantly decreased tumor weight and splenomegaly in tumor-bearing mice with reduced accumulation of polymorphonuclear MDSC but not monocytic MDSC (M-MDSC), and decreased polymorphonuclear MDSC suppression in vitro through the induction of respiratory burst and apoptosis. On a different axis, WGP-treated M-MDSC differentiated into F4/80+CD11c+ cells in vitro that served as potent APC to induce Ag-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses in a dectin-1–dependent manner. Additionally, Erk1/2 phosphorylation was required for the acquisition of APC properties in M-MDSC. Moreover, WGP-treated M-MDSC differentiated into CD11c+ cells in vivo with high MHC class II expression and induced decreased tumor burden when inoculated s.c. with Lewis lung carcinoma cells. This effect was dependent on the dectin-1 receptor. Strikingly, patients with non–small cell lung carcinoma that had received WGP treatment for 10–14 d prior to any other treatment had a decreased frequency of CD14−HLA-DR−CD11b+CD33+ MDSC in the peripheral blood. Overall, these data indicate that WGP may be a potent immune modulator of MDSC suppressive function and differentiation in cancer.
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Emerging trends in regenerative medicine: a scientometric analysis in CiteSpace Introduction: Regenerative medicine involves research in a number of fields and disciplines such as stem cell research, tissue engineering and biological therapy in general. As research in these areas advances rapidly, it is critical to keep abreast of emerging trends and critical turns of the development of the collective knowledge. Areas covered: A progressively synthesized network is derived from 35,963 original research and review articles that cite 3875 articles obtained from an initial topic search on regenerative medicine between 2000 and 2011. CiteSpace is used to facilitate the analysis of the intellectual structure and emerging trends. Expert opinion: A major ongoing research trend is concerned with finding alternative reprogramming techniques as well as refining existing ones for induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). A more recent emerging trend focuses on the structural and functional equivalence between iPSCs and human embryonic stem cells and potential clinical and therapeutic implications on regenerative medicine in a long run. The two trends overlap in terms of what they cite, but they are distinct and have different implications on future research. Visual analytics of the literature provides a valuable, timely, repeatable and flexible approach in addition to traditional systematic reviews so as to track the development of new emerging trends and identify critical evidence.
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[Biomechanical analysis of the medial arch of the foot based on a rigid body spring model]. A system (program) using a rigid body spring model was employed, in which computer simulation would be able to analyze the stress distributions of the midtarsal joint, the cuneionavicular joint and the tarsometatarsal joint which form the medial arch of the foot. Measurements were taken using Yokokura's method, with Hibbs' angle measured from an X-ray image of the foot. A correlation between the results of the stress analysis and the radiographical measurements was then investigated. A total of 127 feet were studied involving 85 females with a mean age of 42.1 years. Cy, Ny and Ly using Yokokura's method were 30.9 +/- 3.7 mm%, 26.5 +/- 3.6 mm%, and 20.7 +/- 2.8 mm%, respectively, and the Hibbs' angle was 143.8 +/- 6.7 degrees. The stress distributions of the midtarsal joint, the cuneionavicular joint and the tarsometatarsal joint were 28.0 +/- 1.3 kg, 30.8 +/- 2.0 kg, and 26.6 +/- 1.6 kg, respectively. The greatest stress of the three joints was found at the cuneionvicular joint, followed by the midtarsal joint, and with the least stress found at the tarsometatarsal joint. There appeared to be a direct correlation between a flattening in the foot (a decrease in the arch) and an increase in stress distributed on the medial arch.
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gCLUPS: Graph clustering based on pairwise similarity The development of bioinformatics has depended on the contributions of many experts in the various disciplines, such as biologists, chemist, computer scientists, and mathematicians. One of the most widely discussed cases in bioinformatics is the protein grouping. Proteins work together each other to regulate a biological process. From computer science point of view, the interactions that occur between proteins will form a graph, and a mechanism of grouping is done by a unique process, namely clustering. Clustering will be done based on graph of protein interactions. Therefore, this study discusses about a new method that includes in graph clustering. The mechanism is made based on the similarity of protein pairs. If a pair of proteins has high similarity then they will be in the same cluster, and vice versa. As evaluation, this method is implemented on a network of protein domain and compared with grPartition, a well known method for graph clustering. The results show that gCLUPS has a better performance than grPartition in connectivity and separation but not homogeneity.
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Sociodemographic Profile and Pattern of Psychiatric Presentation of Patients coming to the Emergency Unit of General Hospital Psychiatry Department of a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in West Bengal Background: Psychiatric emergencies are characterized by acute conditions of disturbances of affect or mood, behaviour, and thoughts, if not managed with immediate therapeutic intervention can cause great harm to the patient and surroundings. In most of the institutions due to lack of emergency psychiatric units, these are managed by general hospital emergency units which is the reason for underreporting of psychiatric cases in developing countries like India. Aim: To study sociodemographic profile and pattern of psychiatric presentation of patients coming to the Psychiatric Emergency Unit of a tertiary care teaching hospital in West Bengal. Methods: This prospective, longitudinal, hospital-based study was conducted for a period of 6 months on patients attending the Psychiatric Emergency Unit of tertiary care teaching hospital in West Bengal. Sociodemographic and clinical details of the patient, source, and reason for referral, presenting complaints were recorded and analysed. Results: Out of 200 patients attending the Psychiatric Emergency Unit, most were female between the age of 21-40 years. The three most prevalent presenting complaints among subjects were abnormal behaviour with somatic complaints, excitement, and violent behaviour followed by substance use. The foremost reason for a referral from other departments were either due to absence of any physical illness or no abnormalities detected in the investigations conducted. Conclusions: The results from the study could help in gaining knowledge regarding emergency psychiatric conditions, increase preparedness for their rapid
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management, and improvement of emergency psychiatry services to meet the mental healthcare demands in our country.
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Troubled Families in Greater Manchester This chapter reports on ‘Troubled Families’ in Greater Manchester, a sub-regional implementation of a controversial national programme in England intended to offer joined-up services targeted at families representing the highest costs to the public purse. Its underpinning principles include early intervention with children and sustained employment for parents. Troubled Families is innovative in the funding mechanism known as Payment by Results (PbR), under which local authorities are paid partly through submitting data to demonstrate that they have met outcomes. The evidence shows that, to some extent, the programme supported a shift towards service integration in Greater Manchester as intended. A particular success factor was co-produced family plans, taking the families’ perspectives into account. Payment-by-results was welcomed by some senior managers but did not prove very supportive of the desired new and positive relationship between public services, communities, individuals and enterprises.
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[Construction of VEGF recombinant plasmid pcDNA/V and its expression in model rats with acute myocardial ischemia]. The cDNA encoding human Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor 165 (VEGF165) was amplified using RT-PCR from human tonsil tissue and cloned into eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1 (+). The recombinant plasmid pcDNA/V was transferred into 293 cells mediated by liposome and the cells stably expressing VEGF were selected under the pressure of G418. ELISA and Western blotting demonstrated that the eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA/V was successfully constructed and its corresponding protein could be expressed efficiently in vitro. Chick Charioallantoic Membrane (CAM) bioassay showed that recombinant protein has biological activity of hVEGF. Model rats with acute myocardial ischemia were used to further study the expression of VEGFin vivo. The model rats were divided randomly into three groups: control group, pcDNA3.1 (+) group and pcDNA/V group. 50microL naked plasmid DNA or saline was intramyocardially injected at three sites into the border zone of infarction. The hearts of rats were excised and fixed histologically, then the infarction sizes were studied by immunohistochemical staining and electron microscope after four weeks. Immunohistochemical staining for VEGF appeared to be negative in control and pcDNA3.1 (+) groups. In pcDNA/V group, myocardial cells in infarction border zone showed positive staining for VEGF in cytoplasm. Ultrastructural anaylsis showed that there were visible hyperplasia of vascular endothilium in pcDNA/V group. The control and pcDNA3.1 (+) groups showed less capillary hyperplasia. In this study, VEGF165 gene was successfully cloned and its protein expressed in vitro and in vivo was of bioactivity, which provides
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a basis for the further study of biological functions of human VEGF.
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Challenging the Russian Mafia Mystique This issue of the NIJ Journal discusses three diverse topics— Russian organized crime, the Federal role in Indian Country justice, and pathological gambling. In the cover story, Distinguished Professor James O. Finckenauer and Elin Waring report the findings of a 4-year investigation into the operations of the Russian mafia in the United States. The investigation was conducted by a consortium of law enforcement organizations in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Their research describes the historical context and the types of crime in which Russian criminals in the United States have been implicated. It also compares Russian organized crime to the Sicilian mafia. Unlike other population groups living in the United States, American Indians are experiencing increases in serious crime and victimization rates. Kim Baca explains how the Federal Government is rethinking its approach to crime and justice in Indian Country and discusses the impact of programs already in place. One key aspect of the Justice Department's efforts to improve conditions has been the combined funding of Federal agencies, but the article explores a more significant component—the encouragement of a government-to-government relationship that better appreciates tribal leaders' decisionmaking roles. In this issue's third article, Charles Wellford points out that between one-half and two-thirds of the 1.8 million pathological gamblers in the United States today have committed some type of crime, such as theft, embezzlement, domestic violence, or child abuse and neglect, to feed their money-dependent habit. Because the last major study of gambling was conducted almost 25 years ago, Congress mandated
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a new study to look at the current state of gambling in the United States, emerging trends, and any relationships to crime trends. Wellford's article discusses this study and its findings, which were published by the National Research Council in the book-length report, Pathological Gambling: A Critical Review. The three features this month have little in common with one another. Instead, they illustrate the breadth of the issues and the variety of challenges that face criminal justice professionals. The articles also demonstrate the NIJ Journal's commitment to publish stories that explore the changing face of crime and justice. results and initiatives. The Attorney General has determined that publication of this periodical is necessary in the transaction of the public business required by law of the Department of Justice. Opinions or points of view expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official …
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Freezing of Lennard-Jones fluid on a patterned substrate. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we study freezing of Lennard-Jones particles at commensurate substrate with triangular pattern. Throughout the box particles freeze onto the substrate and form close-packed layers. For the moderately attractive substrates, an intermediate hexatic phase between liquid and crystal is detected in the first two layers where the hexatic-solid freezing process is continuous while, counterintuitively, the liquid-hexatic process is of first order. Moreover, we observe that liquid-hexatic and hexatic-solid transitions shift towards higher temperatures with the attraction strength increasing. By contrast, the liquid-hexatic transition shifts faster than the hexatic-solid process, significantly widening the temperature range of the hexatic phase. When this phenomenon appears, freezing in the bulk always proceeds through a first-order transition at the same temperature. In addition, changes in the average structural order (three-dimensional) of the layers indicate that freezing processes in layers near substrates seem to cost the structural order of the bulk particles in their vicinity, and an intermediate prestructural cloud of medium-ordered particles is always observed before the layering freezing.
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964000
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1,735
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Automated Trust Analysis of Copland Specifications for Layered Attestations✱ In distributed systems, trust decisions are often based on remote attestations in which evidence is gathered about the integrity of subcomponents. Layered attestations leverage hierarchical dependencies among the subcomponents to bolster the trustworthiness of evidence. Copland is a declarative, domain-specific language for specifying complex layered attestations. How phrases are composed bears directly on the trustworthiness of the evidence they produce, and complex phrases become quite difficult to analyze by hand. We introduce an automated method for analyzing executions of attestations specified by Copland phrases in an adversarial setting. We develop a general theory of executions with adversarial corruption and repair events. Our approach is to enrich the Copland semantics according to this theory. Using the model finder Chase, we characterize all executions consistent with a set of initial assumptions. From this set of models, an analyst can discover all ways an active adversary can corrupt subcomponents without being detected by the attestation. These efforts afford trust policymakers the ability to compare attestations expressed as Copland phrases against trust policy in a way that encompasses both static and runtime concerns.
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238423750
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1,736
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Modeling Learner's Emotions with PAD Emotions have a direct influence on an individual's physical and cognitive behaviour, as well as their performance, a student with a positive emotional state will learn and perform better. This paper presents an agent framework that addresses the relationship between user's state of emotion during learning and the modification of learning pace and feedback-type in a virtual environment for learning effectiveness. The technique exploits the structure of emotion-evaluation from user's current interaction to dynamically regulate learning pace within a Virtual Learning Enviornment (VLE) via a proposed Emotion Regulation Agent (ERA) system to derive meaningful emotion information from user's interactions based on a simplified version of the Pleasure, Arousal and Dominance (PAD) emotion model. This information then regulates learning by adjusting the type of task and learning information to promote a beneficial and sustainable learning experience by optimizing learning emotion.
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698050
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1,737
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Instrumentation techniques of the Aachen shock tunnel TH2 High enthalpy short-duration facilities are mainly used to simulate the hypersonic flow during a reentry into an atmosphere. The special operational features of these facilities put somewhat different requirements on the instrumentation compared to usual supersonic or hypersonic blow down tunnels. The short running times of the order of some milliseconds require sensors with a very fast response and rise time. To avoid time lags by tubings, usually the sensors are installed flush into the model wall or a very short distance behind it. This implies that they have to withstand the impact of small particles of high energy, which are transported by the flow. This is the most important reason why for heat flux measurement at severe flow conditions very robust coaxial thermocouples are used. To allow also for a pressure measurement almost at the same location a pressure tap is drilled through the thermocouple. From the measurement of the stagnation point heat flux and the Pitot pressure some information can be found about the free stream. More detailed free stream measurements are possible with a mass flux gauge an a static pressure probe. Due to their complexity the development of these gauges require intensive testing and the support of numerical calculations. The same holds for the development of a force balance which meets the requirement of a shock tunnel application.
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108423800
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Salvage Lymphadenectomy as a Treatment of Prostate Cancer Recurrence Biochemical recurrence (BCR) occurs up to 40% of men who had radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer. Regional nodes are usually involved in these cases. Salvage lymphadenectomy (sLND) has been advocated in patients with 'node-only' metastasis with biochemical recurrence, following a definitive treatment of primary prostate cancer. In general, limited case number was reported for each previous study. Four relatively larger reports so far with the highest case number of 189. One randomized controlled study has been completed so far at Phase II level. Salvage LND seems to be safe with relatively low incidence of complications without perioperative mortality. It may postpone adjuvant therapy in selected cases, avoiding systemic side effects and possibly reducing the cost. However, long-term outcome is not very encouraging. © 2021 Guohua Zeng. Hosting by Science Repository. All rights reserved
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THE USE OF MODERN TECHNOLOGIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SIMULATION SOFTWARE For modelling purposes, complex technical processes are frequently broken down into elementary sub-processes, which are subsequently simulated with different programs and methods. This can only be done effectively if the individual programs are linked in terms of their contents. In order to create programs and program systems in such a way as to meet these requirements, processes are being analyzed and formalized at the IKV using the very latest computer science methods. The data models developed in this project will permit a program to be structured on a modular basis. Existing simulations are being seamlessly integrated into the structures being developed at the analyses stage. The structure of MOREX, the newly designed simulation program for the design of twin-screw extruders, was developed from these data models and is described here by way of an example. The program can easily be extended, and any missing functions can be integrated from existing modules.
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112828250
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Extracting named entity translingual equivalence with limited resources In this article we present an automatic approach to extracting Hindi-English (H-E) Named Entity (NE) translingual equivalences from bilingual parallel corpora. In the absence of a Hindi NE tagger or H-E translation dictionary, this approach adapts a Chinese-English (C-E) surface string transliteration model for H-E NE extraction. The model is initially trained using automatically extracted C-E NE pairs, then iteratively updated based on newly extracted H-E NE pairs. For each English person and location NE in each sentence pair, this approach searches for its Hindi correspondence with minimum transliteration cost and constructs an H-E NE list from the bilingual corpus. Experiments show that this approach extracted 1000 H-E NE pairs with a precision of 91.8%.
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Preparing the U.S. health community for climate change. In society's effort to address and prepare for climate change, the health community itself must ensure that it is prepared. Health personnel will require flexible and iterative action plans to address climate change at the individual, hospital, local health department, state, and national levels. This requires that health workers analyze the impact of climate change with a view to human health, and then formulate robust policy and demonstrate authentic leadership. In this review, we summarize the status of the health community's preparation for climate change and provide specific recommendations for action at each level. Although preparation status and recommendations vary, our observation is that it is not enough for public health and medical care agencies and departments to develop policies and advocate change. They have a direct responsibility to demonstrate substantive leadership.
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207702750
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[A practical approach to guideline-directed pharmacological treatment for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction]. The 2021 guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology for the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure recommend the early implementation of all four mortality-lowering drug classes for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), i. e. angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi) or angiotensin receptor II blocker-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI), betablocker (BB), mineralocorticoid receptor-antagonists (MRA), and sodium-glucose linked transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i). This article aims to give a practical compendium supporting physicians to enable safe and efficacious treatment for patients with HFrEF.
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Application of signal processing techniques for preliminary detection of adventitious lung sounds in paediatric population using electronic stethoscope Early detection of adventitious lung sounds in pediatric population is of prime importance as untreated respiratory disorders can become chronic and non-curable in adulthood. This study deals with application of signal processing methods to preliminary classify normal and adventitious lung sounds of children using electronic stethoscope. Short time Fourier transform based features were extracted and consequently singular value decomposition for feature reduction has been utilized. Performance of k-NN and SVM has been compared for classification. Classifier based on SVM turns out to provide maximum classification accuracy. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the proposed method is 92.20%.
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1,744
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An excitation function for LPC synthesis which retains the human Glottal phase characteristics An excitation function for LPC synthesis is constructed from a best estimate of the glottal volume velocity waveform. By proper smoothing, inverse filtering, and truncation, the phase characteristics of the glottal wave are preserved, while the basic requirement of an essentially flat spectrum is also satisfied. The new function is suggested as an excitation for reducing the buzzy quality often perceived in the synthesis of low F 0 speech.
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206724950
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Business Reference Model of the Local Self-government that Uses Process Management The objective of this paper is a brief introduction in the doctoral thesis of the author. The content of the thesis is the design of the structure for efficient management of the public administration. The author explores the options, how to combine the Enterprise Architecture elements with the business process management methodology MMABP. The output is the design of the optimal structure of the public administration office at the business level – Business reference model.
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7491100
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Teaching COBOL in computer information systems programs The COBOL component in four-year computer information systems programs is crucial to the rest of the program, and should be handled with special care. Particularly in CIS programs modeled after ACM's recommendations for computer information systems, students who have become reasonably proficient in a high level programming language find a course on introductory COBOL rather unmotivating. Furthermore, experience has shown that COBOL is not an ideal language as the first procedural language in CIS programs.It is our conviction that COBOL should be taught in CIS programs as a file processing language, using a data structures approach, as suggested by the ACM's IS2 component. In this paper, we propose a course description and topics sequence, and describe an implementation experiment based on the proposal. Following a brief survey of the elementary features of the language, the proposed course has aimed to teach advanced COBOL features, data and file structures, and fundamental concepts of software engineering in an integrated fashion. The experiment has been highly successful, and the course has been incorporated in our CIS curriculum at Miami University, Systems Analysis Department.
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The safety and efficacy of B‐domain deleted recombinant factor VIII concentrates in patients with severe haemophilia A: an update BACKGROUND B-domain-deleted recombinant factor VIII (BDDrFVIII) was developed when the B-domain was found to be redundant for maintaining haemostasis. This allows formulation of the final product without albumin added as a stabilizer. METHODS Three multicentre clinical studies and one pharmacokinetic study were conducted in 218 patients to evaluate the safety and haemostatic efficacy of BDDrFVIII. RESULTS Previously treated patients (n = 113; median duration, 1711 days; median exposure days, 385; total 98,096,287 IU infused) rated 97-99% of all infusions as good or excellent efficacy. FVIII inhibitor was noted in one patient in the previously treated patient cohort after 113 exposure days. Among 101 previously untreated patients, responses to BDDrFVIII were rated as excellent or good in 92-95% of infusions (median duration, 1413 days; median exposure days, 148; total 12,636,458 IU infused). Thirty-two previously untreated patients developed inhibitors after a median duration of 12 exposure days (range, 3-49). Sixteen of 32 (50%) patients had low levels (< or = 5 Bethesda units) and 16 had high levels of inhibitors. Inhibitors disappeared in six of 14 (43%) of the high-level and six of eight (75%) of the low-level patients who underwent immune tolerance induction therapy. A total of 42 patients underwent surgery and the overall efficacy of BDDrFVIII was rated as excellent or good for 99.6% of infusions. CONCLUSIONS The results of these clinical studies indicate that BBDrFVIII is safe and effective and has haemostatic activity similar to that
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20203850
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of full-length FVIII concentrates.
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20203850
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Short communication: effectiveness of sample duplication to control error in ruminant digestion studies. Eight ruminally cannulated lactating dairy cows from a study on the effect of dietary rumen-degraded protein on production and digestion of nutrients were used to assess using sample duplication to control day-to-day variation within animals and errors associated with sampling and laboratory analyses. Two consecutive pooled omasal samples, each representing a feeding cycle, were obtained from each cow in each period. The effectiveness of sample duplication in error control was tested by comparing the variance of the difference in treatment means when taking 2 samples from each cow in each period to the variance when taking only one sample. Compared with no duplication, sample duplication improved precision by reducing variance by 50, 40, 31, 23, 23, and 9% for, respectively, rumen-undegraded protein flows, ruminal neutral detergent fiber digestibility, microbial nonammonia N flow, microbial efficiency, organic matter flow, and organic matter truly digested in the rumen. For these same variables, reductions in the standard errors of the difference between treatment means due to sample duplication represented 100, 87, 73, 59, 58, and 27% of the predicted reductions resulting from doubling the number of experimental units without sample duplication. Sample duplication can substantially reduce experimental error originating from day-to-day variation within cows, sample collection, and laboratory analyses, thus improving statistical power in ruminant digestion studies.
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8434350
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Copper-Catalyzed Cyanoalkylation of Amines via C-C Bond Cleavage: An Approach for C(sp3)-N Bond Formations. The efficient copper-catalyzed cyanoalkylation of amines via C-C bond cleavage has been demonstrated. Distinctive features of this procedure involves mild conditions, broad range of nitrogen nucleophiles, high selectivity, and good functional group tolerance, thus providing a useful approach for the C(sp3)-N bond formations. Most importantly, this protocol is applicable to the late-stage functionalization of natural products, amino acid esters, and drugs. Mechanistic studies suggest that a radical intermediate was involved in this transformation.
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Single vibronic level emission spectroscopic studies of the ground state energy levels and molecular structures of jet-cooled HGeBr, DGeBr, HGeI, and DGeI. Single vibronic level dispersed fluorescence spectra of jet-cooled HGeBr, DGeBr, HGeI, and DGeI have been obtained by laser excitation of selected bands of the A (1)A(")-X (1)A(') electronic transition. The measured ground state vibrational intervals were assigned and fitted to anharmonicity expressions, which allowed the harmonic frequencies to be determined for both isotopomers. In some cases, lack of a suitable range of emission data necessitated that some of the anharmonicity constants and vibrational frequencies be estimated from those of HGeClDGeCl and the corresponding silylenes (HSiX). Harmonic force fields were obtained for both molecules, although only four of the six force constants could be determined. The ground state effective rotational constants and force field data were combined to calculate average (r(z)) and approximate equilibrium (r(e) (z)) structures. For HGeBr r(e) (z)(GeH)=1.593(9) A, r(e) (z)(GeBr)=2.325(21) A, and the bond angle was fixed at our CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ ab initio value of 93.6 degrees . For HGeI we obtained r(e) (z)(GeH)=1.589(1) A, r(e) (z)(GeI)=2.525(5) A, and bond angle=93.2 degrees . Franck-Condon simulations of the emission spectra using ab initio Cartesian displacement coordinates reproduce the observed intensity distributions satisfactorily. The trends in structural parameters in the halogermylenes and halosilylenes can be readily understood based on the electronegativity of the halogen substituent.
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Design and Development of Turn Insulation Automatic Wrapping System for CRAFT TF A principal part of the Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology (CRAFT) is the toroidal field (TF) coil project, which aims at fabricating a prototype TF coil for China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR). The TF coil is composed of 3-D-shaped subwinding packs (sub-WPs) enclosed in a stainless coil case, and the conductor core of medium and high field sub-WPs is Nb3Sn, following the “Winding & Reaction” manufacturing process. After heat treatment of the conductor, turn insulation will be automatically wrapped. Strictly restricted by the brittleness of the heat-treated Nb3Sn, the strain must be controlled during the wrapping process. Presented in this article is a description of the CRAFT TF coil and its turn insulation structure, followed by descriptions of the structural design of the wrapping unit and mathematical models about wrapping control of the wrapping machine. Turn insulation wrapping trials are performed with one-fourth part of the wrapping unit, and tapes with a fixed width and a uniform steel tube are used as specimens, verifying the correctness of the structure and models. The one-fourth part of the wrapping unit has been fabricated in March 2022 and it is foreseen that the fabrication will be finished in June 2022.
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A Theoretical Investigation of Banana Drying Using Diffusion Model This work presents a drying theoretical study of banana fruit using diffusion model (Fick ́s law). The governing equation was solved by using the separation of variables technique. For validation, whole banana were peeled manually and dried in an oven at temperatures 40 and 70°C. Predicted results were obtained by fitting to experimental data using the least square error technique. Results revealed which air temperature affect significantly drying of banana. The fitted results presented good concordance with the experimental data.
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1,754
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Composite spiral growth kinetics of calcite revealed by AFM In situ growth of CaCO3 on a cleaved (1014) calcite surface from aqueous solution is observed with an atomic force microscope. Growth layers form by the nucleation of steps at spiral sources centered on screw dislocations. The kinetics of simple (isolated) and composite (clustered) spiral sources and the development of spiral plateaus, growth-induced domain walls, and interdomain budding sites are described. Single and double-armed spirals, counterclockwise and clockwise spirals, and hollow-cored and uncored spirals are exhibited. Spiral arms rotate faster along the long rhomb diagonal, thereby pairing the steps emitted from double-armed spirals. Clustered spirals interact in ways which can increase their step nucleation rates above those of isolated spirals.
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137631400
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1,755
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The Lesson of COVID-19 Pandemic for Democracy within Cultural Context Our paper intends to bring some explanations for the high level of spread of the COVID-19 disease, related to the democracy and culture nexus of nations. Our sample consists of worldwide countries affected by the spread of the new coronavirus disease and the paper uses data available to the date of our research for all the considered variables (on April 3rd, 2020). We find clear evidence that highly democratic countries have had a rather poor management of the COVID-19 proxies so far, migration being a favouring factor of the disease. Our estimations also prove that cultural dimensions impact the performance management of COVID-19: the individualistic cultural trait puts countries at risk, as opposed to the power distance cultural trait. Elder age groups weights of countries are directly related to nations’ confirmed cases and deaths. This study’s addressability is wide, from regular people to top policymakers, through their common goal of limiting this pandemic and all the negative effects it brings along.
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Synthesis and photovoltaic properties of polymeric metal complexes containing 8-hydroxyquinoline as dye sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells Four new donor–acceptor type polymeric metal complexes (P1, P2, P3, and P4) with the same Cd(II) complex in side chain and different conjugated backbone structures were synthesized by Yamamoto coupling and applied in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) as photosensitizers. The photophysical, electrochemical, and thermal properties were investigated in detail, showing that conjugated backbone containing fluorene improved intramolecular charge transfer and increased generation of photocurrent. The highest power conversion efficiency of 0.56% (J sc = 1.63 mA cm−2, V oc = 0.69 V, FF = 0.50) was obtained with a DSSC based on P3 under simulated air mass 1.5 G solar irradiation, which shows a new strategy to design photosensitizers for DSSCs.
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93702600
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Comparison of Ulex europaeus I lectin and factor VIII-related antigen in vascular lesions. Factor VIII-related antigen (FVIIIR:Ag) has been widely used as a marker for endothelial cells. Recent studies have shown that Ulex europaeus agglutinin I lectin (UEAI) also binds specific endothelial cells. To determine the relative utility of the two endothelial cell markers, a group of vascular and nonvascular tumors were studied with both markers, using an immunoperoxidase method. Our results indicate that UEAI is a more sensitive marker for endothelial cells than FVIIIR:Ag, and that it should be used as an additional diagnostic marker for endothelial cell-derivated tumors.
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40699750
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1,758
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Compensation by pulsatile GnRH infusions for incompetence for oestradiol-induced LH surges in long-term ovariectomized gilts and castrated male pigs. The aim of this study was to investigate incompetence for oestradiol-induced LH surges in long-term ovariectomized gilts and male pigs. Gilts (250 days old; n = 36), which had been ovariectomized 30 (OVX 30) or 100 days (OVX 100) before the start of treatment, were challenged i.m. with oestradiol benzoate and were either given no further treatment, fed methallibure to inhibit endogenous GnRH release or fed methallibure and given i.v. pulses of 100 or 200 ng GnRH agonist at 1 h intervals during the LH surge (48-96 h after oestradiol benzoate). The same treatments were applied to long-term orchidectomized male pigs (ORC, n = 23). In addition, one ORC group was not injected with oestradiol benzoate but was fed methallibure and given pulses of 200 ng GnRH agonist. Oestradiol benzoate alone induced an LH surge in the OVX 30 group only (5/6 gilts), methallibure suppressed (P < 0.05) oestradiol benzoate-induced LH secretion, while pulses of 100 ng GnRH agonist in animals fed methallibure produced LH surges in four of six OVX 30 and four of six OVX 100 gilts. The induced LH surges were similar to those produced by oestradiol benzoate alone in OVX 30 gilts. Pulses of 200 ng GnRH agonist produced LH surges in OVX 30 (6/6) and OVX 100 (6/6) gilts and increased the magnitude of the induced LH surge in OVX 100 gilts (P < 0.05 compared with 100 ng GnRH agonist or
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OVX 30 control). Pulses of 200 ng GnRH agonist also induced LH surge release in ORC male pigs (5/6), but were unable to increase LH concentrations in a surge-like manner in ORC animals that had not been given oestradiol benzoate, indicating that oestradiol increases pituitary responsiveness to GnRH. These results support the hypothesis that oestradiol must inhibit secretion of LH before an LH surge can occur. It is concluded that incompetence for oestradiol-induced LH surges in long-term ovarian secretion-deprived gilts and in male pigs is due to the failure of oestradiol to promote a sufficient increase in the release of GnRH.
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Spherical Aromaticity of Tetrahedral Pnictogens through Off-Nucleus Isotropic Magnetic Shielding. This work revealed the spherical aromaticity of some inorganic E4 cages and their protonated E4 H+ ions (E=N, P, As, Sb, and Bi). For this purpose, we employed several evaluations like (0D-1D) nucleus independent chemical shift (NICS), multidimensional (2D-3D) off-nucleus isotropic shielding σiso (r), and natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis. The magnetic calculations involved gauge-including atomic orbitals (GIAO) with two density functionals B3LYP and WB97XD, and basis sets of Jorge-ATZP, 6-311+G(d,p), and Lanl2DZp. The Jorge-ATZP basis set showed the best consistency. Our findings disclosed non-classical aromatic characters in the above molecules, which decreased from N to Bi cages. Also, the results showed more aromaticity in E4 than E4 H+ . The NBO analysis attributed the aromaticity in the above molecules to the residual density of the overlapping σ-bonding orbitals. So, the aromaticity in these molecules is unlike the classical aromaticity that is associated with electron delocalization. Scanning 1D σiso (r) variation along E-E bonds indicated a lowering in the shielding trend from N to Bi cages. The 3D results showed a similar decrease in the relative volumetric diffusion of the magnetic activity, whereas the volumetric ratio of V1ppm /V2ppm is almost constant for all the E4 cages.
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1,761
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Non-equilibrium Microwave Plasma for Efficient High Temperature Chemistry. A flowing microwave plasma based methodology for converting electric energy into internal and/or translational modes of stable molecules with the purpose of efficiently driving non-equilibrium chemistry is discussed. The advantage of a flowing plasma reactor is that continuous chemical processes can be driven with the flexibility of startup times in the seconds timescale. The plasma approach is generically suitable for conversion/activation of stable molecules such as CO2, N2 and CH4. Here the reduction of CO2 to CO is used as a model system: the complementary diagnostics illustrate how a baseline thermodynamic equilibrium conversion can be exceeded by the intrinsic non-equilibrium from high vibrational excitation. Laser (Rayleigh) scattering is used to measure the reactor temperature and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) to characterize in situ internal (vibrational) excitation as well as the effluent composition to monitor conversion and selectivity.
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26073310
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1,762
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Symptoms of cobalamin activation disorders in relation to ethnicity and Native American tribal affiliation: An exploratory study The Cobalamin activation disorders (CblA‐CblG) are deleterious inborn errors of Vitamin B12 activation, resulting in severe intellectual disability, vision impairment, and seizures. Although cobalamin activation disorders are exceedingly rare, typically occurring 1 in every 200,000 births, Phoenix Children's Hospital has an unusually high number of patients (n=21). We conducted a retrospective, exploratory examination of medical records to identify symptom trends in individuals clinically diagnosed with CblC (n=16) in relation to race, ethnicity, and tribal affiliation. This study is unique due to our direct access to a large population of children with this condition, the majority of whom are Native American (n=6) or Hispanic (n=8), while the remaining 2 are of Caucasian descent. We also examined the symptoms of two Native American children believed to have a novel mutation related to cobalamin metabolism. Of the 16 individuals clinically diagnosed with CblC, those with the most severe eye abnormalities tended to be of Athabascan descent. In addition, growth delays were present in 5 children, with no apparent connection to race or ethnicity. Finally, two children believed to exhibit a novel mutation related to cobalamin activation, who are both of the same Native American tribal (non‐Athabascan) descent, display no ophthalmological symptoms. Findings from this study will expand the clinical understanding of this disease and will shed light on the impact of these conditions in minority populations. In addition, these results lay the foundation for future research examining associations between symptoms, symptom severity,
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and genetic analysis data. The ultimate goal of this research is to contribute to the Cobalamin activation section of a gene chip that addresses genetic disorders in Native Americans.
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249788810
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1,764
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Change and Stability in Park Visitation Constraints Revisited Abstract Despite considerable advances in our understanding of constraint composition, antecedent conditions, outcomes, and negotiation behaviors, few studies have tracked how constraints have changed or remained stable over time. This investigation sought to examine the change and stability in park visitation constraints and preferred constraint negotiation strategies across a 10-year period. A 2001 telephone survey of residents from Northeast Ohio was compared with an identical survey administered in 1991. Data from the two surveys were weighted and compared. Perceived constraints and desired constraint negotiation strategies remained relatively stable across time. Relationships between these trends and park agency efforts over the 10-year period are discussed. Future constraint trend analyses should utilize longitudinal designs to examine park visitation constraints, particularly among underserved populations.
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15029160
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1,765
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Spiral Waves and Euclidean Symmetries Spiral waves can be found in various chemical systems, for example in the Belousov–Zhabotinsky-reaction and in the catalysis on platinum surfaces. Such systems can be modelled by reaction-diffusion equations on the plane and have the symmetry of the Euclidean group of the plane. We present a center-manifold reduction ("slaving principle") near spiral waves which enables us to reduce the spiral wave dynamics to a small system of ordinary differential equations. Then we discuss the structure of the ordinary differential equations in detail. Our approach holds for any symmetry group G. As applications of our result we discuss the meandering transition of rotating spiral waves, periodic forcing of meandering spiral waves in the plane and dynamics of twisted scroll rings and helices in three-space.
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17945110
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Activation and desensitization of neuronal nicotinic receptors modulate glutamatergic transmission on neonatal rat hypoglossal motoneurons In the neonate the muscles of the tongue, which are exclusively innervated by the XII cranial nerves originating from the brainstem nucleus hypoglossus, must contract rhythmically in coincidence with breathing, suckling and swallowing. These motor commands are generated by hypoglossal motoneurons excited by glutamatergic inputs. Because in forebrain areas the efficiency of glutamatergic transmission is modulated by neuronal nicotinic receptors (nAChRs), the role and identity of nAChRs within the nucleus hypoglossus of the neonatal rat were explored using an in vitro brainstem slice preparation. This area expressed immunoreactivity for α4, α7 and β2 nAChR subunits. Whole‐cell patch‐clamp recording from hypoglossal motoneurons showed lack of spontaneous cholinergic events mediated by nAChRs even in the presence of a cholinesterase inhibitor. However, pharmacological antagonism of α7‐ or β2‐containing receptors depressed glutamatergic currents arising either spontaneously or by electrical stimulation of the reticular formation. Hypoglossal motoneurons expressed functional nAChRs with characteristics of α4β2 and α7 receptor subunits. Such receptors underwent fast desensitization (time constant of 200 ms) with full recovery within 1 min. Low (0.5 µm) concentration of nicotine first facilitated glutamatergic transmission on motoneurons and later depressed it through receptor desensitization. When 0.1 µm nicotine was used, only depression of synaptic transmission occurred, in keeping with the suggestion that nAChRs can be desensitized without prior activation. These results highlight the role of tonic nAChR activity in shaping excitatory inputs to hypoglossal motoneurons, and suggest that nAChR desensitization by ambient nicotine could contribute to disorders
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of tongue muscle movements.
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[Incidence of sudden cardiac death in patients with 2-vessel coronary disease in relation to anatomy and rhythm profile]. 102 patients with angiographically documented double vessel coronary artery disease were followed for 1-83 months (mean: 42 months). Incidence of sudden death was studied in relation to location and severity of coronary artery lesions, left ventricular wall motion and ventricular arrhythmias found during long-term ECG monitoring. The incidence of sudden death was 30.5% (18/59 cases) in patients with lesions of the left anterior descending branch (LAD) and the right coronary artery (RCA) (Group GI), 26.1% (6/23 cases) in patients with lesions of the LAD and the left circumflex coronary artery (LCX) (Group G II) and 10.0% (2/20 cases) in patients with lesions of the RCA and the LCX (Group G III) (p less than 0.05). The incidence of isolated ventricular beats and complex arrhythmias was significantly higher in patients who died suddenly in both Group I and Group II compared to Group III (p less than 0.05). Our data show that in patients with double vessel coronary artery disease there is an increased risk of sudden death if the LAD is involved, particularly in the presence of complex arrhythmias.
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Growth Characteristics of Pulse Electrodeposition Fe-Si Layer Fe-Si layer was prepared on silicon steel substrate from KCl-NaCl-NaF-SiO2 molten salts by pulse current at different time. The quantitative Si concentration depth profile, surface morphology and phase structure of the layer were studied by glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The layer growing process was analyzed from nucleation process, growth pattern and microstructure. It was observed that the Fe-Si alloy nucleated in the way of three dimensional conical shape and initially grew in the orientation of matrix, then gradually adjusted to the lowest energy state. With deposition time going on, the phase structure of the layer changed in the order of -Fe (Si) →α-Fe (Si) ＋Fe3Si →Fe3Si
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136070060
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1,770
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Genotoxicity and Estrogenic Activity of 3,3′-Dinitrobisphenol A in Goldfish 3,3′-Dinitrobisphenol A (dinitro-BPA) is formed in a mixture of bisphenol A (BPA) and nitrite under acidic conditions. It shows genotoxicity in male ICR mice on a micronucleus test, but its estrogenic activity has not been examined in vivo. We examined its estrogenic activity using goldfish (Carassius auratus) by measuring plasma levels of vitellogenin (VTG) by the ELISA method. Expression of VTG didn’t increase in the plasma of goldfish intraperitoneal injected with dinitro-BPA at a dose of 10 mg/kg of body weight. We also examined the genotoxicity of dinitro-BPA by single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay) and a micronucleus test using goldfish. The DNA tail moment of blood cells increased after intraperitoneal injection of dinitro-BPA. Dinitro-BPA at the same dose significantly increased micronucleus frequency in gills of goldfish. On the other hand, BPA did not significantly increase the frequency of micronucleated cells. In conclusion, we found that dinitro-BPA did not show estrogenic activity, but had genotoxic potency stronger than that of BPA.
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19372010
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1,771
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Differential privacy under dependent tuples - the case of genomic privacy MOTIVATION The rapid progress in genome sequencing has led to high availability of genomic data. However, due to growing privacy concerns about the participant's sensitive information, accessing results and data of genomic studies is restricted to only trusted individuals. On the other hand, paving the way to biomedical discoveries requires granting open access to genomic databases. Privacy-preserving mechanisms can be a solution for granting wider access to such data while protecting their owners. In particular, there has been growing interest in applying the concept of differential privacy (DP) while sharing summary statistics about genomic data. DP provides a mathematically rigorous approach but it does not consider the dependence between tuples in a database, which may degrade the privacy guarantees offered by the DP. RESULTS In this work, focusing on genomic databases, we show this drawback of DP and we propose techniques to mitigate it. First, using a real-world genomic dataset, we demonstrate the feasibility of an inference attack on differentially private query results by utilizing the correlations between the tuples in the dataset. The results show that the adversary can infer sensitive genomic data about a user from the differentially private query results by exploiting correlations between genomes of family members. Second, we propose a mechanism for privacy-preserving sharing of statistics from genomic datasets to attain privacy guarantees while taking into consideration the dependence between tuples. By evaluating our mechanism on different genomic datasets, we empirically demonstrate that our proposed mechanism can achieve up to
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50% better privacy than traditional DP-based solutions. AVAILABILITY https://github.com/nourmadhoun/Differential-privacy-genomic-inference-attack. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
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207947160
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1,773
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Client Report on the Society for Financial Service Professionals’ Survey of Needs The purpose of this survey was to identify what financial service professionals in the target population indicated they need to build their business and what the Society of Financial Service Professionals can do to help meet those needs.Key findings from the survey include:•The objectives of the SFSP should be to both provide support for continuing education and to help members develop innovative products in service of their clients’ needs.•A substantial number of current members responded, providing a strong basis for strategic planning for SFSP services and benefits offers.•There is strong and significant interest in Star Speakers, perhaps the serving as the basis for a Speakers Series to drive attendance and membership initiatives.•A contact database for providing members with access to allied service professionals should be established.•One-day programs on all areas of financial planning are of interest to the respondents.•One-day programs on selected areas of sales support are of interest to the respondents.
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166559910
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1,774
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Research on Optimising the Insulation of Footwear Materials Using Statistical Methods In this paper, the results of research on the thermal insulation properties of textile and leather materials are presented. These materials were used in order to develop innovative footwear upper combinations with higher hygienic properties. Outer leather materials (L1, L2) and textile (T1, T2, T3, T4) were joined around the edges by stitching with leather lining materials (LG1a, LG1b, LG1c) and textiles. Moreover, the textile linings were divided into the following groups: spacer fabrics (TG2a, TG2b, TG2c), flat textiles (TG3a, TG3b, TG3c) and flat textiles based on bamboo fibres (TG4a, TG4b, TG4c, TG4d). In the next step of these investigations, the materials were joined in a two – layered composition, where for the outer layer was upper material, and for the inner – lining material. For these compositions, the thermal insulation properties were measured with the use of an Alambeta device. The following material characteristics were determined: thermal conductivity, resistance and absorptivity, which were the most important parameters from a hygienic point of view. The classification mentioned above was important from the manufacturer’s point of view because it gave a set of information about optimal upper material configurations. With respect to the results obtained, the best packages from the thermal insulation point of view were as follows: L2 – TG4b, L1 – TG4b, T1 – LG1a, T2 – TG4a, T3 – TG4a & T4 – LG1a.
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199175010
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1,775
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“At Noon of Night”: Intimism in Robert Herrick's Hesperides . In.Hesperides, poetic imagination seems to take two apparently opposed directions: on the one hand, Robert Herrick skilfully rearranges classical materials drawn from the Anacreontics, the Renaissance translators of Greek and Latin light p~etI» or t~e contemporary yeo-classic It~ia? or English poets-harmoniously mingling WIth these borrowings many Christian features coming from his own religious background. Owing to this fundamental orientation, the poems may appear as a highly socialized work of art, belonging to an intellectual community as well as to Herrick, the individual. The most representative pieces written in this mode are the numerous epigraphs-familiar or otherwise-and all the circumstancial pieces from "A Nuptial Song, or Epithalamie..." to such laudatory verse as "To the King Upon his Coming with his Army into the West". On the other hand, one finds the poet's strong bias towards interiorization resulting in a peculiar, intimist vein, which seems to correspond as far as he is concerned to a spontaneous quest for some kind of gratification of the most private demands of the self. This inspiration is to be observed in the poems on the ideal home, in a number of short pieces on popular beliefs-especially hags-and above all in the Oberon poems.' Of course, one may note such a tendency in many other pieces in which it mingles with the formal, more traditional mode. These pieces will be mentioned in due course. What I find very striking, as regards this more private orientation of the imagination, is its correspondence to what
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a well-known French philosopher, Gilbert Durand, who spent much time studying poetic imagination in various contexts, has called "the nocturnal mode", that is, a system including well-defined schemes, symbols or archetypes corresponding to a "bio-psychological dominant characteristic", the major function of which is to provide moral security and psychological balance to the subject.i It will be highly interesting, I think, to analyse the intimist trend of Robert Herrick's poetry so as to show how the deeper individual tendencies contribute to the building up of the general pattern and specific features of this group of poems. Robert Herrick himself seems to be conscious of the duality of his inspiration. In a short, unassuming gnomic couplet, "Dreames", he opposes two fundamental modes of man's sensibility which are strikingly reminiscent of the two orientations defined by Gilbert Durand: Here we are all by day; by night we're hurledl By dreams, each one, into a sev'ral world.t Of course, one may object that the modem concept of two opposed systems is quite alien to Herrick's sensibility,
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194044360
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1,777
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A Fast Collision Detection Algorithm in Virtual NC Machine Tool Efficient and exact collision detection is important to improve reality and enhance immersion of virtual environment of NC(numerical control) lathe system. We introduce two techniques to improve efficiency and speed up the collision detection process. First, we adopt a spatial partitioning system and bounding volumes hierarchies to reduce the number of potential colliding polygons. Octree structure has been adopted to describe the partitioned object. Second, according to the feature of NC lathe system ,we exploit cylinders to simulate the workpieces. The experiments testify that the algorithm accelerates the velocity of collision detection and ensures the real_time requirement of collision detection in virtual dynamic processing environment.
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62760460
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1,778
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Extraction of gastric slow waves from multichannel electrogastrograms using blind signal separation The electrogastrogram (EGG), a cutaneous measurement of gastric electrical activity, is a mixture of gastric slow waves and noise, which makes analysis of multichannel EGGs difficult. A novel blind signal separation method with a flexible non-linearity is introduced and applied to extract gastric slow waves from multichannel EGGs. The results from both simulations and real EGGs obtained from humans show that the proposed method is able to extract gastric slow waves from multichannel EGGs. As a result, cleaned multichannel EGGs can be recovered to facilitate the analysis.
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57597010
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1,779
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Renal tubular reabsorption of phosphate is positively related to the extent of bone metastatic load in patients with prostate cancer. Osteolytic metastases are often associated with decreased renal tubular reabsorption of phosphate. There is, however, no specific data on phosphate metabolism in metastases from prostatic cancer, which are generally osteoblastic. The aim of the present study was to investigate renal handling of inorganic phosphate (Pi) in prostatic cancer, in patients without or with skeletal metastases of various extents. Forty-eight patients were the subjects of this study. There were 39 with malignant disease, of whom 27 had bony metastases. Nine other patients had benign prostate hyperplasia. Biochemical indexes of prostatic tumor, renal tubular reabsorption of calcium and Pi, biochemical markers of bone remodeling, and relevant calciotropic hormones were measured and analyzed in relation to the extent of skeletal metastases, as assessed by bone scintigraphy. A higher bone metastatic load was associated with significantly greater prostate-specific antigen and prostatic acid phosphatase levels (P < 0.05), increased levels of biochemical markers of bone formation (P < 0.05) and resorption (P < 0.001), higher maximal renal tubular reabsorption of Pi (TmPi/GFR; P < 0.05), and higher urinary cAMP excretion (P < 0.05). Nine patients among those with bone metastases (n = 27) had higher TmPi/GFR than metastasis-free patients. These had a greater value of osteocalcin (P < 0.001). Also, 8 of these had relatively more extensive skeletal metastatic load. In patients with prostatic cancer, high skeletal metastatic load was accompanied by increased TmPi/GFR despite higher urinary cAMP excretion, which is
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21761460
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1,780
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supposed to reduce the TmPi/GFR. These results support the hypothesis that renal tubular reabsorption of Pi is capable of adaptation to meet demands for minerals in the face of enhanced bone formation.
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21761460
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1,781
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G.R.G. Mure as Hegelian Scholar Geoffrey Mure, who died on 24 May 1979 at the age of 86, owed his original interest in Hegel, and indeed the greater part of his philosophical education, to his Merton tutor H.H. Joachim, later Wykeham Professor of Logic at Oxford. Joachim was an accomplished philosophical scholar who did distinguished work on Aristotle and Spinoza, approaching both from a point of view which was broadly Hegelian; he was also the author of a short but powerful book on the Coherence theory of truth. The book was welcomed by some critics of the current idealism, including Russell, because it said that the Coherence theory ended in shipwreck. But it was certainly never Joachim's intention to suggest that, because of his criticisms, idealism should be abandoned. What he wanted, and what Mure wanted after him, was to strengthen that philosophy by eliminating residual elements of false doctrine which (they thought) survived in the versions of it put out by F.H. Bradley and Bernard Bosanquet; to do that it was necessary to make explicit appeal to Hegel. It must be emphasised that, for Joachim and Mure alike, idealism was the only serious possibility in philosophy; realism, empiricism and naturalism, its various antitheses, were hardly worth serious consideration. One third that weakened Mure's thought, and made his defence of his own doctrine less impressive than it might have been, was that he knew so little about his opponents. True, when he wrote Retreat from Truth in the 1950s he made a serious if not wholly
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successful attempt to grasp and grapple with certain theories of Russell, for whom he had always had an admiration. But though he pontificated a good deal on the subject of modern philosophy in that book and elsewhere, he never managed to study it very closely. Joachim had convinced him in advance that views of a certain sort could never be true, which meant of course that they could be dismissed without a hearing.
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1,783
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Constructing a GIS geodatabase to assess and analyze the factors enabling proliferation of a noxious seaweed along the south-facing coast of Harwich, Cape Cod, Massachusetts Presently, there is a paucity of knowledge about Pilayella littoralis and the factors influencing its proliferation on the southern facing coast of Cape Cod, MA. Over the past 20 years, the seaweed has moved along the coast from Falmouth to Chatham, and there is concern for the effects on onshore and nearshore habitats. The goal of this research project is to provide a science-based mapping methodology for analyzing spatially referenced coastal phenomena, specifically, coastal distributions of Pilayella littoralis and associated seaweed assemblages, to identify areas of proliferation and accumulation of these seaweeds, and to obtain a detailed timeline of anthropogenic construction along the coast necessary for the analysis of possible causes of the phenomena. This project uses Geographic Information System (GIS) to produce a temporal and spatial framework for quantifying the accumulation and proliferation of distributions of Pilayella littoralis and associated seaweeds along the coast, with respect to natural and human constructed rocky features. The GIS database framework consists of: 1) Bathymetry (accomplished from raster application); and 2) Data layers, including aerial photos, maps, charts, and other existing GIS data layers. GIS database construction and data integration are accomplished using ESRI ArcGIS 9.3.1. ArcSDE and SQL. The database implements data layers based on: 1) historical aerial photographs; 2) bathymetry; 3) and digital maps documenting the construction and timeline of human constructed defenses along the study site. GIS modeling and analysis is
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27598660
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1,784
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performed using the geodatabase to construct models of compartments formed by natural and human rocky structures along the coast where the algae flourish. In addition, GPS data collection and remote sensing field survey (via Hyper-spectroradiometry) is applied to obtain spatial event information and to estimate biomass and to estimate biomass and productivity in aquatic vegetation.
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27598660
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1,785
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Inhibitory effects of Diospyros kaki in a model of allergic inflammation: role of cAMP, calcium and nuclear factor-κB. Diospyros kaki (D. kaki) has been cultivated throughout Eastern Asia for hundreds of years. D. kaki contains various biological active compounds, such as amino acids, carotenoids, flavonoids, tannins, catechins and vitamin A. Previous studies have shown that D. kaki has beneficial effects on homeostasis, constipation, hypertension, atherosclerosis and allergic dermatitis and is a good source of antioxidants, polyphenols and dietary fiber. However, the anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory effects of D. kaki have not yet been elucidated. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of the aqueous extract of Diospyros kaki (AEDK) on mast cell-mediated allergic inflammation and to determine its possible mechanisms of action by using in vitro and in vivo mast cell-based models. The cAMP and intracellular calcium levels were measured to clarify the mechanisms by which AEDK inhibits the release of histamine from mast cells. AEDK inhibited the release of histamine and β-hexosaminidase from mast cells by modulating cAMP and intracellular calcium levels. We also measured the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-1β. AEDK decreased gene expression and the secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNF-α and IL-1β by inhibiting nuclear factor-κB. In addition, AEDK inhibited systemic and cutaneous allergic reaction. The inhibitory effects of AEDK on allergic reaction and the release of histamine were found to be similar to those of disodium cromoglycate, a known anti-allergic drug. To isolate the active component of AEDK, activity-guided fractionation was performed, based
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5322310
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1,786
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on the inhibitory effects on systemic anaphylaxis. Catechin was identified as an active compound. The present findings provide evidence that AEDK inhibits allergic inflammation and suggest the therapeutic application of AEDK in allergic inflammatory disorders.
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5322310
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1,787
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Empirical evidence for latitude dependence and asymmetry of geomagnetic spatial variation in mainland China Spatiotemporal geomagnetic variation is a significant research topic of geomagnetism and space physics. Generated by convection and flows within the fluid outer core, latitude dependence and asymmetry, as the inherent spatiotemporal properties of geomagnetic field, have been extensively studied. We apply and modify an extension of existing method, Hidden Markov Model (HMM), which is an efficient tool for modeling the statistical properties of time series. Based on ground magnetic measurement data set in mainland China, first, we find the parameters of HMM can be used as the geomagnetic statistical signature to represent the spatiotemporal geomagnetic variations for each site. The results also support the existence of the geomagnetic latitude dependence more apparently. Furthermore, we provide solid empirical evidence for geomagnetic asymmetry relying on such ground magnetic measurement data set.
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131254660
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1,788
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[Increased expression of IGF-2 in tumor tissue of nephroblastoma]. The incidence of nephroblastoma is increased in a number of syndromes with abnormal growth pattern. Elevated IGF 2-expression has been documented in various Wilms' tumors and a defect in the IGF 2 gene has been noted in 1 case. Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA of nephroblastomas in 5 additional patients after restriction enzyme digest with EcoRI, Pvu II, Pst I and Taq I did not reveal any defect in the IGF 2 gene. Slot blot analysis however showed marked overexpression of IGF 2-mRNA reaching up to more than 25 times the level expressed in unaffected kidney tissue adjacent to the tumor and in normal kidney tissue used as controls.
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20716810
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1,789
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Performance Evaluation of MIMO Architectures with Moving Relays in High-Speed Railways In this paper, performance evaluation and system level simulation results for a communication architecture based on LTE base stations and Moving Relay Nodes (MRNs) with multiuser Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) capacity, deployed on high speed railways (HSR), are presented. In the proposed architecture, each MRN and base station (DeNB) performs ordinary diversity MIMOtransmission and reception. It will be shown that a communication system with MRNs and DeNBs with $\mathbf{2x2},\mathbf{2x4}$ and $\mathbf{4x4}$ MIMO capacity provide significant improvements to the throughput achievable by passengers. In addition to this, results on the throughput of other users (macro-cell users) located in cells through which the train moves are also presented. It will be confirmed that the use of MIMO techniques has substantial benefits for the capacity of the MRN regardless of the number of macro and on-board users.
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Laparoscopic tubal reanastomosis using robotics: experience from a teaching institution. PURPOSE Tubal reanastomosis typically requires a laparotomy and in the past few years has been performed much less frequently due to the development and success of in vitro fertilization. Laparoscopic tubal anastomosis eliminates the need for laparotomy and can be performed in an out-patient setting. MATERIALS AND METHODS From October 2003 to September 2004, five patients who had previous tubal sterilization and requested tubal reanastomosis underwent laparoscopic tubal reanastomosis with the use of the da Vinci surgical system (Intuitive Surgical, Mountain View, CA). RESULTS Ten fallopian tubes were successfully reconstructed, as confirmed by chromopertubation at the end of the procedure. Patency was confirmed by hysterosalpingogram in seven out of eight tubes. The mean (+/- standard deviation) time of the procedure was 172 +/- 53 min. The mean time for docking the robotic arms to the patient was 62 +/- 16.8 min and the mean robotic time was 97 +/- 36 min. There were two live births, one ectopic pregnancy, and one biochemical pregnancy. The mean time to conception was 5.5 +/- 2 months. CONCLUSION Laparoscopic microsurgical tubal reanastomosis after tubal sterilization can be performed using a remote-controlled robotic system. Systematization of the operative steps allowed for operative times that compare favorably with the time needed for open microsurgical techniques. Larger series are needed to standardize the procedure and confirm postoperative fecundity rates.
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1,791
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Assessment of coronary vasomotor function: old and new tools. Atherosclerosis has an impact on the vasomotor reaction of coronary segments to iodinated non-ionic contrast agents. Angiographically normal coronary segments show divergent vasomotor reactions to iodixanol or iopromide according to the presence of, and distance from, a coronary atherosclerotic lesion. The mechanism responsible for the above-mentioned vasomotor effect does not seem to involve flow-mediated vasodilation or endothelial nitric oxide synthesis. On the other hand, a cyclooxygenase product may be, at least in part, responsible for the vasodilating effect of non-ionic agents on epicardial coronary arteries. These findings have potential clinical implications that are herein discussed.
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8179460
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1,792
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Dopaminergic facilitation of GABAergic transmission in layer III of rat medial entorhinal cortex. The medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) receives a dense dopaminergic innervation and expresses dopamine receptors. However, little is known about the effect of dopamine on GABAergic transmission in this region of the brain. In this study, we recorded GABAA receptor-mediated spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs) and miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs) by using whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Application of dopamine at 10 μM and 100 μM significantly increased the frequency and amplitude of sIPSCs. This effect of dopamine is primarily mediated by acting at D1-like dopamine receptors, but not D2-like and α1 adrenergic receptors, since dopamine-induced increased in frequency and amplitude of the sIPSCs was completely blocked by D1-like, but not D2-like or α1 adrenergic, receptor antagonist. However, application of dopamine did not affect the frequency and amplitude of the mIPSCs, implying that the effect of dopamine on the GABAergic transmission is action potential-dependent. Together, these findings reveal an indirect mechanism by which activation of D1-like receptors could inhibit the excitability of layer III pyramidal neurons in the MEC.
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22170510
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Transglial transmission at the dorsal root ganglion sandwich synapse: glial cell to postsynaptic neuron communication The dorsal root ganglion (DRG) contains a subset of closely‐apposed neuronal somata (NS) separated solely by a thin satellite glial cell (SGC) membrane septum to form an NS–glial cell–NS trimer. We recently reported that stimulation of one NS with an impulse train triggers a delayed, noisy and long‐lasting response in its NS pair via a transglial signaling pathway that we term a ‘sandwich synapse’ (SS). Transmission could be unidirectional or bidirectional and facilitated in response to a second stimulus train. We have shown that in chick or rat SS the NS‐to‐SGC leg of the two‐synapse pathway is purinergic via P2Y2 receptors but the second SGC‐to‐NS synapse mechanism remained unknown. A noisy evoked current in the target neuron, a reversal potential close to 0 mV, and insensitivity to calcium scavengers or G protein block favored an ionotropic postsynaptic receptor. Selective block by D‐2‐amino‐5‐phosphonopentanoate (AP5) implicated glutamatergic transmission via N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptors. This agent also blocked NS responses evoked by puff of UTP, a P2Y2 agonist, directly onto the SGC cell, confirming its action at the second synapse of the SS transmission pathway. The N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptor NR2B subunit was implicated by block of transmission with ifenprodil and by its immunocytochemical localization to the NS membrane, abutting the glial septum P2Y2 receptor. Isolated DRG cell clusters exhibited daisy‐chain and branching NS–glial cell–NS contacts, suggestive of a network organization within the ganglion. The identification of the glial‐to‐neuron transmitter and receptor combination provides further support for transglial
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transmission and completes the DRG SS molecular transmission pathway.
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“Abuse of Executive Power” versus Simply Bad Policy (or Maladministration) and Why the Distinction Matters This chapter explores the distinction between “abuse of Executive and/or congressional power” versus “maladministration” and argues that in the democratic context the former cannot properly be collapsed as but a subset of the latter. It is contended that such abuse of power involves a violation of the public trust based on egregious violation(s) of the fundamental human rights of an individual or collective and is hence ultra vires. Selected US judicial rulings are examined that “call out” the executive under Donald Trump for abuse of power in the handling of undocumented minors in US immigration detention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also discussed is the US Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe, which placed the protection of the basic human rights of undocumented children within US jurisdiction as central to the analysis as to whether the Texas legislature had acted beyond its jurisdiction in denying the children’s right to access education.
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New Views on Haptic Graph Visualisation This paper proposes that current approaches to haptic graph visualisation (by simply presenting a simple haptic equivalent of a visual graph) are inadequate. We present a short background to graph theory perception and identify the problems of current graph haptic visualisation. We then propose ideas influenced by both information visualisation research and Lederman and Klatzky’s EPs in order to overcome the problems of graph perception described. We then identify the research questions that must be answered about our technique before concluding.
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Recruitment of MHC Class I Molecules by Tapasin into the Transporter Associated with Antigen Processing-Associated Complex Is Essential for Optimal Peptide Loading The ER protein tapasin (Tpn) forms a bridge between MHC class I H chain (HC)/β2-microglobulin and the TAP peptide transporter. The function of this TAP-associated complex was unclear because it was reported that soluble Tpn that has lost TAP interaction would be fully competent in terms of peptide loading and Ag presentation. We found, however, that only wild-type human Tpn (hTpn), but not three soluble hTpn variants, a transmembrane domain point mutant of hTpn (L410→F), wild-type mouse Tpn, nor a mouse-human Tpn hybrid, fully up-regulated peptide-dependent Bw4 epitopes when expressed in Tpn-deficient .220.B*4402 cells. Consistent with suboptimal peptide loading, the t1/2 of class I molecules was considerably reduced in the presence of soluble hTpn, hTpn-L410F, and murine Tpn. Furthermore, eluted peptide spectra and the class I-mediated inhibition of NK clones showed distinct differences to the hTpn transfectant. Only wild-type hTpn efficiently recruited HC and calreticulin (Crt) into complexes with TAP and endoplasmic reticulum p57 (ERp57). The L410F mutant was defective in TAP association, but bound to class I molecules, Crt, and ERp57. Mouse Tpn associated with human TAP and ERp57 on the one hand, and with HC and Crt on the other, but failed to recruit normal amounts of HLA class I molecules into the TAP complex. We conclude that the loading with peptides conferring high stability requires the Tpn-mediated introduction of HC into the TAP complex, whereas the mere interaction with Tpn is
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not sufficient.
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Bioaccumulation and dietary exposure of the Red-Crowned Cranes (Grus japonensis) to arsenic in Zhalong Wetland, northeastern China Arsenic concentrations in the habitat and the prey of the Red-Crowned Crane (i.e. reed rhizomes and three aquatic animal families [Perccottus glehni Dybowski, Cybister japonicus Sharp and Viviparidae]) were analyzed to examine the bioaccumulation of arsenic in Red-Crowned Cranes in northeastern China. The results indicated that arsenic concentrations in the prey of the Red-Crowned Cranes were elevated via food chain. Most of the detected arsenic contents in the sediments were below the natural background level (7.49 ppm) and ranged from 0.34 to 8.32 ppm (dry weight). The geo-accumulation indices at all sites were less than 0, which suggests the region had only background concentrations of arsenic. Three aquatic animal families were observed to contain some arsenic, with the following order of increasing concentrations: primary consumer < secondary consumers. The arsenic concentrations of sediments and water animals in the buffer zone were significantly higher than those in the core area, and increased in higher trophic level animals. The highest arsenic metal concentrations were found in the livers of the Red-Crowned Cranes (in a range of 145.46 ppb to 367.78 ppb) compared with the kidneys (116.44 ppb to 257.46 ppb) and muscles (63.45 ppb to 94.26 ppb). By contrast, the feathers had the lowest concentrations, with an average of 32.25 ppb. The dietary exposure level of arsenic to the Red-Crowned Crane population in Zhalong wetland of northeastern China appeared to be below arsenic toxicity threshold concentrations.
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