To meet the requirements of various treatments, the acquisition of high-quality MSC is indispensable. Taking acute myocardial infarction, for example, Jin and colleagues found that the first generation of MSCs had better therapeutic efficacy in mouse model compared to the fifth passage ones [7] . Although researchers can expand enough MSCs at a good manufacturing practice (GMP) grade, the inconsistent stem cell potency, poor cell engraftment, and age/disease-related host tissue impairment are inevitably encountered in MSC therapy [8] . It is therefore necessary to develop an appropriate culture system in vitro that allows for the stable expansion of stem cells for clinical application.

Taking acute myocardial infarction, for example, Jin and colleagues found that the first generation of MSCs had better therapeutic efficacy in mouse model compared to the fifth passage ones.

Although researchers can expand enough MSCs at a good manufacturing practice (GMP) grade, the inconsistent stem cell potency, poor cell engraftment, and age/disease-related host tissue impairment are inevitably encountered in MSC therapy.


There were no differences among the CEP grades with respect to removal capacity, although the diamond bur proved to be more invasive to the adjacent tooth surface than the other two instruments after the removal of grade III enamel projections. We assumed that a thin, tapered SF104R diamond bur is bigger than the width of the furcation entrance, which has an average diameter of 1 mm or less; in one report, the diameter of the furcation entrance was 0.75 mm or less in 58% of cases [27] . The ultrasonic scaler caused relatively little damage to the tooth surface because it had a specifically designed tip. Although the periodontal bur left remnant enamel in some specimens, it was able to produce a smooth root surface, meaning it would allow stable attachment of gingival tissue. Because the cementum around the enamel projections was minimally damaged and only superficially removed by the periodontal bur, as opposed to the diamond bur, the periodontal bur appears to be a safer choice for removing class III CEPs in the clinical setting.

We assumed that a thin, tapered SF104R diamond bur is bigger than the width of the furcation entrance, which has an average diameter of 1 mm or less; in one report, the diameter of the furcation entrance was 0.75 mm or less in 58% of cases.


Photodiodes (PDs) are widely applied in many fields including automation, remote sensing and image processing. They consist mainly of PDs with a predominant inorganic semiconducting material [1] - [4] . The extension of coherent and incoherent light sources into the far-infrared region on one hand and the ultraviolet region on the other has increased the need for high-speed and sensitive PDs [5] . Furthermore, PDs are seriously considered in mechatronics applications including robotics [6] - [8] . PDs involve three fundamental processes: 1) carrier generation by incident light or photons, 2) carrier transport and/or multiplication by whatever current-gain mechanism, and 3) interaction of current with the external circuit to provide the output signal. However, through the development of organic semiconducting materials, organic photodiodes (OPD) have made rapid emergence [1] , [2] , [9] .

They consist mainly of PDs with a predominant inorganic semiconducting material.

The extension of coherent and incoherent light sources into the far-infrared region on one hand and the ultraviolet region on the other has increased the need for high-speed and sensitive PDs.

Furthermore, PDs are seriously considered in mechatronics applications including robotics.

However, through the development of organic semiconducting materials, organic photodiodes (OPD) have made rapid emergence.


Organic materials are believed to be the substance of preferability for alternative PDs due to their low cost, low temperature fabrication process, and compatibility with bio-chemical sensing [1] , [2] , [10] . In this context, research of OPDs with high light sensitivity is considerably important. These low-cost, potentially bio-chemical compatible visible range PDs are useful in numerous commercial applications including image sensing, position determination, and chemical and biological detecting [11] . Polymer-based OPDs consists of bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) layer with mixtures of organic polymer and fullerene [12] . The early fabrication of organic image sensors (OISs) was achieved by using these semiconducting polymers as photosensitive materials [13] . With this foundation, it is possible to imagine a completely low-cost polymer:fullerene optical system for local-area communications, such as Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) for vehicle area networks or home multimedia appliances, to a receiver (photodiode) with a plastic optical fiber (POF) as transmission line, resulting in a cost-effective LAN for smallarea low working-frequency networks [14] . In this study, we focused on the organic photodiode (OPD) realization and characterization based on polymer:fullerene BHJs including the analysis of dark current density (I d in A/cm 2 ), external quantum efficiency (EQE in %), responsivity (R in A/W), noise-equivalent power (NEP in W/Hz 1=2 ) and specific detectivity (Jones in cmHz 1=2 =W).

Organic materials are believed to be the substance of preferability for alternative PDs due to their low cost, low temperature fabrication process, and compatibility with bio-chemical sensing.

These low-cost, potentially bio-chemical compatible visible range PDs are useful in numerous commercial applications including image sensing, position determination, and chemical and biological detecting.

Polymer-based OPDs consists of bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) layer with mixtures of organic polymer and fullerene.

The early fabrication of organic image sensors (OISs) was achieved by using these semiconducting polymers as photosensitive materials.

With this foundation, it is possible to imagine a completely low-cost polymer:fullerene optical system for local-area communications, such as Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) for vehicle area networks or home multimedia appliances, to a receiver (photodiode) with a plastic optical fiber (POF) as transmission line, resulting in a cost-effective LAN for smallarea low working-frequency networks.


The experimental design was a split-plot in time with an incorporated randomized complete-block design. There were 2 blocks with 4 treatments on which successive measurements were made at 6 times through the study year. Data analysis was conducted using the statistical package Rummage (Bryce et al. 1980) . Least squares analysis was performed and orthogonal contrasts were used used to separate means. Orthogonal contrasts were (1) cleared and 25% cover and 55% cover vs. control; (2) cleared vs. 25% cover and 55% cover; (3) 25% cover vs. 55% cover. Because of the inherently high degree of variability within the caatinga vegetation type, the 0.1 significance level was considered appropriate for testing differences.

Data analysis was conducted using the statistical package Rummage.


Wheat (Triticum aestivum (L.)) is the second most important food grain crop in India ranking next to rice (Oryza sativa L.) contributing about 35% of the food grain production. India occupies second position next to China in the world with regard to area (27.7 million hectares) and production (77.6 million tonnes) of wheat. Rajasthan state has an area of 2.10 million hectares under wheat cultivation which is 7.95 per cent of the total cultivated area. The average productivity of wheat in the state is 31.75 q ha −1 [1] . This clearly indicates that in spite of considerable improvement in genetic potential of the crop, productivity is still very poor in the country (28.06 q ha −1 ) as well as in the state of Rajasthan. One of the reasons of low productivity is poor efficiency and low availability of phosphorus in soil due to high fixation. The high productivity of wheat can only be achieved by the adoption of suitable variety and improved agronomic practices with balanced and judicious use of chemical fertilizers in an integrated way.

The average productivity of wheat in the state is 31.75 q ha −1.


In SLT, two grafts are harvested by segmenting one liver from a cadaveric donor. The prognosis of SLT has been inferior to that of whole organ transplants on account of a high incidence of primary nonfunctioning (PNF) and technical problems (Houssin et al., 1993) . Reformative SLT, where the liver is divided into two parts in situ when the donor's heart is still beating, has better survival rates, primarily as the result of reduced ischemic injury. SLT is limited by the fact that the number of children candidates is lower than that of adult candidates for liver transplantation. The concept of using a split liver technique to obtain grafts for two adults has been extremely restricted for the last ten years, largely since the size of the left lobe is insufficient for most adult recipients (Yamaoka et al., 1994; Colledan et al., 1999) .

The prognosis of SLT has been inferior to that of whole organ transplants on account of a high incidence of primary nonfunctioning (PNF) and technical problems.

The concept of using a split liver technique to obtain grafts for two adults has been extremely restricted for the last ten years, largely since the size of the left lobe is insufficient for most adult recipients.


Our study indicates that in the case of lowland heathland, trade-offs can occur between different ecosystem services, and between ecosystem services and biodiversity. Specifically, a trade-off was identified between carbon storage, timber and aesthetic value, on the one hand, vs. biodiversity and recreational value on the other. The higher biodiversity value associated with heath vegetation and the lower value associated with woodland supports the current approach to conservation management of lowland heathland sites, which is primarily aimed at reducing encroachment of woody plants (Newton et al. 2009; Diaz et al. 2013) . However, according our results, the provision of carbon storage, timber and aesthetic value would be reduced by such a management approach compared to alternative approaches.

The higher biodiversity value associated with heath vegetation and the lower value associated with woodland supports the current approach to conservation management of lowland heathland sites, which is primarily aimed at reducing encroachment of woody plants.


In order to reduce lateral deviation, it is clear that a resultant force is required perpendicular to the original intended path. This force is to be controlled by brake actuation at each wheel, and derives from both longitudinal and lateral forces at the tyres. Tyre forces available at any instant depend on normal loads and tyre-road friction, as well as slip angles at the individual wheels, and in turn these depend on steer angles and vehicle kinematics, especially yaw rate and body side slip angle. Part of the control problem is therefore in cascading a desired resultant vehicle force down to the level of the individual brake actuators. Such problems of brake torque apportionment has been extensively studied in the area of Direct Yaw Control (DYC), where different tyre longitudinal forces between the left and right are properly generated to control vehicle motion via a yaw moment reference signal [24, 25] . Apportionment concepts are to be used here for vehicle path control, relating available resultant global forces to vehicle kinematics in a variety of PI scenarios.

Such problems of brake torque apportionment has been extensively studied in the area of Direct Yaw Control (DYC), where different tyre longitudinal forces between the left and right are properly generated to control vehicle motion via a yaw moment reference signal.


River basins are among the most endangered ecosystems worldwide (Li et al., 2010) . A number of natural and synthetic compounds (xenobiotics) enter rivers and spread through different routes of dispersion in aquatic ecosystems. Being the largest river in Serbia, the Velika Morava suffers the same endangerment.

River basins are among the most endangered ecosystems worldwide.


As with other mutation-specific assays, SNaPshot testing is most suitable for genotyping oncogenes, which are usually affected at a very limited number of loci. Tumor suppressor genotyping is more challenging. While the SNaPshot panel was designed to capture the most commonly mutated sites in TP53, these represent only a fraction of the many variants reported to occur in this tumor suppressor. Thus, the 5% incidence of TP53 mutants detected in our cohort is far lower than the reported frequency expected in NSCLC [31, 32] .

Thus, the 5% incidence of TP53 mutants detected in our cohort is far lower than the reported frequency expected in NSCLC.


Genotyping for 'driver mutations' is becoming increasingly central to oncology care. Over the course of 15 months, we tested 552 NSCLC tumors for genotype abnormalities using a multiplexed PCR-based SNaPshot assay plus FISH for ALK translocations as part of routine clinical practice. To our knowledge, our center was the first in the United States to offer this type of broad screening for NSCLC patients as part of standard care [19] . We found genotype testing to be feasible within the clinical workflow, with a median TAT of 2.8 weeks, which includes the time necessary to acquire FFPE samples from outside hospitals. A full 51% of cancers tested were positive for a driver mutation, most commonly mutations in KRAS (24%) and EGFR (13%) and translocations involving ALK (5%). While widely agreed that it is important to identify patients with EGFR and ALK given the availability of effective therapeutics, it is also noteworthy that in a short time frame at a single institution, we identified over 30 patients with less common mutations like BRAF, PIK3CA and HER2, which also have relevant candidate targeted therapies [20] . Among the patients with advanced or recurrent NSCLC seen within these 15 months, 22% began a genotype-specific therapy in response to SNaPshot results. We anticipate that this proportion should increase further in the future, as the scope of genotype-specific clinical trial efforts is rapidly broadening. Furthermore, SNaPshot provided strong evidence of multiple primary cancers in half of patients who had more than one tumor sample screened. This type of testing could significantly affect treatment decisions, especially when considering whether to pursue surgery or other therapy with curative intent versus treatment of metastatic disease. Other groups have similarly described the power of genotyping multiple lesions from the same patient [21] . Overall, we have demonstrated that broad clinical genotyping with SNaPshot can be tightly integrated into clinical practice and we believe it can make a real difference for patients.

To our knowledge, our center was the first in the United States to offer this type of broad screening for NSCLC patients as part of standard care.

While widely agreed that it is important to identify patients with EGFR and ALK given the availability of effective therapeutics, it is also noteworthy that in a short time frame at a single institution, we identified over 30 patients with less common mutations like BRAF, PIK3CA and HER2, which also have relevant candidate targeted therapies.

Other groups have similarly described the power of genotyping multiple lesions from the same patient.


Safe Ambients, TyCO, and the Join calculus each have a formally described AM. If TyCO and the JAM follow a communications-oriented approach using asynchronous π-calculus channels, on concurrent objects and definitions respectively, PAN investigates a migration-oriented approach to express all computations in terms of pure migration [4] . In the C-VM design, DiTyCO provided a starting-point for the bytecode structure to directly reflect the organization of the source program. The JAM was another direct source inspiration for our work on the CLAM. The M-calculus and the Join calculus are significantly different, however. As a result, the CLAM is very close to the JAM but differs in important aspects. In particular the migration primitives are different (remote migration versus passivation and remote communication). If the underlying calculi may differ in the structure of distributed system partitions (flat/hierarchical), in the implementation, we always find a separation between physical distribution (C-VM machines) and logical distribution (C-VM locations). Another important difference concerns whether locations are single-threaded (PAN, C-VM) or allow multiple threads to run (DiTyCO, JAM).

If TyCO and the JAM follow a communications-oriented approach using asynchronous π-calculus channels, on concurrent objects and definitions respectively, PAN investigates a migration-oriented approach to express all computations in terms of pure migration.


The α particle has an energy of E kin <1.78 MeV when it enters the active gas volume. At this kinetic energy the average range amounts to about 8 mm in Ar/CO 2 (70%/30%) at atmospheric pressure. A reconstruction of the position of the impinging neutron based on the centroid of the track results in an error of 50% of the projected track length. The µTPC concept has been developed by the ATLAS collaboration and is used in particle physics [20, 21] . Its application leads to a clear improvement in the reconstruction of the positions of muons detected with Micromegas. A position resolution of 100 µm independent of the angle of incidence is reached. By applying this type of analysis for the first time to neutron detectors, it is possible to reliably identify the beginning of all α and 7 Li ion tracks and thus to reconstruct the position of the incident neutron at the required resolution for the NMX instrument. This work consists of a description of the setup, the measurement and the data analysis that was performed in order to retrieve the full information on the position of the neutron conversion.

The µTPC concept has been developed by the ATLAS collaboration and is used in particle physics.


Plant height was relatively higher at the wide spacings and lower at the narrow spacings during the period of study. Differences in plant height due to spacing treatments were significantly different in the 1 st , 3 rd and 4 th years. In the present study, leucaena height was significantly affected by competition which has been due to the extremely high planting densities [14] . The higher densities resulted in reduced plant height which was caused by the failure of sprouts to grow after emergence due to the lack of solar radiation. However, growth height of leucaena is more less affected by spacing than stem diameter.

In the present study, leucaena height was significantly affected by competition which has been due to the extremely high planting densities.


Spacing had an enormous impact on stem diameter. Leucaena responded to wider spacing and lower competition by producing greater stem diameters with the widest spacing (2 × 1 m) produced the largest trees in every years, while the narrow spacing decreased stem diameter. At narrow spacing (≤1 × 0.5 m), diameter growth was suppressed at an early age. The stems were relatively bigger at the widest spacing, presumably because of the higher availability of soil, moisture and light resources [10] . The small-scale power plant of wood biomass in Thailand is mainly accomplished by using both log wood and wood chip.

The stems were relatively bigger at the widest spacing, presumably because of the higher availability of soil, moisture and light resources.


The geometry of the negative-permittivity particle has a strong effect on its surface-plasmonic properties. In the literature, studies can be found where the spectra of normal modes have been analyzed for cubes and other rectangular and polyhedral particles [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] . These studies have shown that the simple behavior of a spherical case is suddenly lost and the resulting resonance spectrum becomes very complicated.

In the literature, studies can be found where the spectra of normal modes have been analyzed for cubes and other rectangular and polyhedral particles.


It is certainly counterintuitive to attach arbitrarily large polarizability values to small scatterers. Small particles are Rayleigh (in other words, very inefficient) scatterers. But a large polarizability means a large dipole moment, and consequently this would also entail a scattering cross section much larger than the geometric cross section. However, the condition that is necessary for such resonating behavior is also quite strange: negative permittivity. But again, today when very much interest is focused into the study of metamaterials which often not only possess negative permittivity but also negative permeability, we may perhaps be psychologically more open than before to broaden the allowed ranges for the various quantities and parameters in the materials characterization [1] .

But again, today when very much interest is focused into the study of metamaterials which often not only possess negative permittivity but also negative permeability, we may perhaps be psychologically more open than before to broaden the allowed ranges for the various quantities and parameters in the materials characterization.


ICM is a type of intelligent material that adheres to the surface of a structure [20] . It can directly indicate the damage in a structure based on the attached feature of coating and has no effect on the integrity of the structure. One of the major advantages for ICM is that it can detect damage in locations with poor accessibility (e.g., inside the fuel tank of an aircraft). Numerous applications in difficult-to-access locations on commercial and military aircraft have validated the effectiveness and reliability of ICM for structural health monitoring [21] . Nevertheless, there are also some limitations for ICM-based damage detection; it can only be applied on the condition that the damage location has been evaluated beforehand. Moreover, it can only offer an approximation of crack size due to its sensor configuration. The problems of missing detection and false alarms also widely restrict its application [21] .

ICM is a type of intelligent material that adheres to the surface of a structure.

Numerous applications in difficult-to-access locations on commercial and military aircraft have validated the effectiveness and reliability of ICM for structural health monitoring.

The problems of missing detection and false alarms also widely restrict its application.


In SHM systems, a single sensor or one indicator is usually applied to diagnose the damage in structures. Different sensors offer different features in damage detection. For example, the use of Lamb waves with PZT sensors has drawn extensive attention from the SHM community. Many studies have dealt with the practical applications of PZT wafers in specific target systems, for example, plates and beam structures [11, 12] .

Many studies have dealt with the practical applications of PZT wafers in specific target systems, for example, plates and beam structures.


In this work, we have implemented the multi-phase level set framework first proposed by Chan and Vese [4] . This framework simultaneously deforms coupled level set functions without any prior models or geometric constraints. A global partition of the image data is performed into 2 N homogenous areas for N level set curves, solely based on average gray values measures.

In this work, we have implemented the multi-phase level set framework first proposed by Chan and Vese.


Mobile agent technology has attracted a lot of interest in recent years. It has been proposed by researchers as a useful technology for developing mobile agent-based e-marketplaces since 1994. Mobile agent provides a number of advantages such as autonomy, flexibility, efficiency and effective usage of bandwidth. All such features apply to the variety of e-marketplace models (Yang, 2005) . However, the development of mobile agent-based e-marketplaces have a slow uptake due to the lack of advanced applications, technologies, safe operating platforms and supporting environments and the confidence to go with it. One of the most valuable characteristics of mobile agents is their mobility that enables them to travel autonomously through the network. This property is precisely the reason that mobile agents are exposed to different types of threats. Strong mobility causes high security risks and threats, while weak mobility causes low security risks and threats (Zhang and Lin, 2005) . Therefore, mobile agents raise a number of security issues such as the protection of platform/host that runs the mobile agent against attacks which can harm or use its resources without permission. Also, the issue of protection of mobile agents and their supporting systems against malicious attacks from a variety of intervening sources that might alter information they carry and process it when they visit the hosts in its transactions' itineraries or schedules. For this reason, safety measures should be embedded to ensure buyers and sellers confidence against attacks in the mobile agent-based e-marketplace applications.

All such features apply to the variety of e-marketplace models.

Strong mobility causes high security risks and threats, while weak mobility causes low security risks and threats.


In this paper we will fulfill the supergravity construction of the orthogonally intersecting null scissors and its U-duals. One of its U-duals is the orthogonally intersecting fluxed D-strings, which is named as the "super-cross" for the sake of its shape. The key point of the construction is the realization of the boosted D-string as the double T-dual of the (p, q)-string. From this fact we can relate the orthogonally intersecting null scissors to the S-dual of the well-known D1⊥F1 configuration [10] .

From this fact we can relate the orthogonally intersecting null scissors to the S-dual of the well-known D1⊥F1 configuration.


Electromechanical instability significantly influences the dielectric elastomer actuation and can lead to failures of the whole system. When a piece of dielectric elastomer membrane is sandwiched between two compliant electrodes with a high electric field, due to the electrostatic force between the two electrodes, the membrane expands in plane and contracts out-of-plane with its thickness being reduced. The reduced thickness in turn results in a stronger electric field which squeezes the membrane to a greater extent. When the electric field exceeds a critical value, the dielectric elastomer breaks down and the actuator ceases to function. We call this process the electromechanical instability [9, 32] .

We call this process the electromechanical instability.


In order for the teachers, with an important share in the development within communities, to be in modern and self-renewing educational systems, life satisfaction, self-efficacy, and self-esteem are considered influential on educational activities, work performance, and job satisfaction. The variables influential on teachers' job satisfaction are considered to affect both the teacher-student and the teacher-parent communication as well as the collaboration. Adiyaman is a city in Turkey, a membership candidate for the European Union (EU). Thus, education has been reported to be a stimulator of development in economics, politics, social, and cultural spheres in Turkey. However, it was seen that sources were not adequately allocated for education expenses among EU countries. As all other public institutions, education is also based on a central management in Turkey. In European Union countries, education management is local: cities, local administrations, and schools are largely authorized to make decisions. In Turkey, both education budget and the rate of schooling are on lower levels than those in EU countries and the class sizes in schools are larger than those in EU schools. Teacher work days in a week are around the same amount compared with EU countries [90] . Thus, it is thought that the current research on the factors impacting job satisfaction of teachers employed in high schools in a city in Turkey may facilitate comparison with those in other countries.

Teacher work days in a week are around the same amount compared with EU countries.


Pantoea agglomerans is another gram negative aerobic bacillus which caused peritonitis in our patient in 2009. It can be isolated from plants, soil and feculent material. Pantoea species are rare causes of clinically significant infection similar to A. Faecalis. However in recent years, an increased rate of Pantoea peritonitis in PD patients has been reported ( Table 1) [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] . Plant associated injury is the most commonly attributed aetiology. However it has been linked to contaminated blood products, intravenous fluids, total parenteral nutrition and anesthetic agents. Furthermore oral contamination or bacterial translocation from gastrointestinal system may also be responsible for Pantoea infections. Peritoneal dialysis catheters are not known to be a risk factor of infection by Pantoea [5] . Regarding the previous Alcaligenes faecalis peritonitis in our patient we believe that plant associated injury or bacterial translocation may be responsible factors for the peritonitis episodes.

However in recent years, an increased rate of Pantoea peritonitis in PD patients has been reported ( Table 1).

Peritoneal dialysis catheters are not known to be a risk factor of infection by Pantoea.


All multiprocessor scheduling algorithms follow either a partitioning or globally-scheduling approach (or some combination of the two). Under partitioning, tasks are statically mapped to processors, while under global scheduling, they may migrate. Under partitioning schemes, constraints on overall utilization are required to ensure timeliness even for SRT systems due to bin-packing-related loss. On the other hand, a variety of global schedulers including the widely studied global earliest-deadline-first (GEDF) scheduling algorithm are capable of ensuring bounded response times for sporadic task systems on a homogeneous multiprocessor, as long as the system is not over-utilized [9] . Motivated by this optimal result, we investigate whether GEDF remains optimal in a uniform heterogeneous multiprocessor SRT system.

On the other hand, a variety of global schedulers including the widely studied global earliest-deadline-first (GEDF) scheduling algorithm are capable of ensuring bounded response times for sporadic task systems on a homogeneous multiprocessor, as long as the system is not over-utilized.


The first issue to discuss is related to the absolute number of papers that have been published on judo (383 articles). To analyse properly the data obtained in the present study, it is necessary to reflect on previous articles. During the past 50 years, the importance and presence of sport has increased exponentially in many areas of everyday life. Nevertheless, until recently, there was not much interest from the scientific community in developing the field of sports science [17] .

Nevertheless, until recently, there was not much interest from the scientific community in developing the field of sports science.


In judo, the cultural aspects that surround the practice of the sport are important, mainly owing to its traditional origin, in Japan. Knowledge about the discipline of judo has been transmitted mainly through practice, from judo master to practitioners. This fact is confirmed by the small number of scientific or technical documents about judo until approximately 20 years ago. The scientific aspects of judo did not appear until the 1960s, with the emergence of the former Iron Curtain countries, which applied new training methodologies [10] . In these methods, the physical components of judo became relevant, being a revulsive for the beginning of research in judo. Nevertheless, the sport of judo has been characterised by its resistance to changes, whether these changes are due to developments in society or to the application of scientific principles. Until recently, there were practically no scientific congresses that brought together knowledge of this sport.

The scientific aspects of judo did not appear until the 1960s, with the emergence of the former Iron Curtain countries, which applied new training methodologies.


With regard to the authors who were most productive, it should be emphasized that they fulfil almost exactly the Price law [34] . The most successful authors were responsible for 50% of the publications. To test the Price law, it is necessary to determine the square root of the number of authors identified in the study, i.e. the square root of 1066 (=32) and the number of papers that correspond to 50% of those analysed, i.e. 50% of 383 (=192). If the Price law is fulfilled, 192 publications should be produced by only 32 authors. In the present study, 32 authors actually generated 202 articles; or just over half the publications retrieved.

With regard to the authors who were most productive, it should be emphasized that they fulfil almost exactly the Price law.


It seems clear that there are difficulties in understanding the general state of research on judo. However, it might be useful to apply bibliometric methods, which refers to the mathematical and statistical analyses of scientific publications [18] . Such methods enable the identification of papers that deal with a specific topic and the social and logical relationships among the main actors that are involved in a particular science.

However, it might be useful to apply bibliometric methods, which refers to the mathematical and statistical analyses of scientific publications.


Despite this boom in sport in general, not all sports have developed to the same extent. For example, they do not all have equal media coverage and financial support. This inequality is also obvious when any scientific database is consulted. For example, the terms basketball and soccer retrieve >3000 articles in the WoS in the first case and double that number in the second case. Thus, it appears that research in sports science is linked closely to the economic importance of the particular sport and its promotion. The higher number of scientific publications about sports that are popular in the media has been highlighted previously and should be confirmed in future studies [29] . However, the present study was limited to one sport; therefore, we cannot prove this hypothesis empirically now.

The higher number of scientific publications about sports that are popular in the media has been highlighted previously and should be confirmed in future studies.


Despite these limitations, a search in the main scientific databases (e.g. Web of Science ® , Scopus) has revealed that judo studies have been published in high ranked peer-reviewed journals. However, a closer look shows that the number of original contributions is reduced and there are only a few reviews concerning particular and concrete aspects of judo [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] . This situation also affects research on other sports leading to low quality papers in sports science [17] .

However, a closer look shows that the number of original contributions is reduced and there are only a few reviews concerning particular and concrete aspects of judo.

This situation also affects research on other sports leading to low quality papers in sports science.


Dietary diversity is defined as the number of the individual food items or groups consumed over a given period of time [3] . It can be measured at a household or an individual level through the use of questionnaire. More often, it is measured by counting the number of food groups [4] . Feeding practice during infancy is critical for growth, development, and health of the child and of importance for the early prevention of chronic degenerative disease [5] . Inappropriate complementary feeding increases the risk of undernutrition, illness, and mortality in infants and children [6] .

Dietary diversity is defined as the number of the individual food items or groups consumed over a given period of time.

More often, it is measured by counting the number of food groups.

Feeding practice during infancy is critical for growth, development, and health of the child and of importance for the early prevention of chronic degenerative disease.

Inappropriate complementary feeding increases the risk of undernutrition, illness, and mortality in infants and children.


Inadequate recruitment into clinical research studies is a major cause of failure to meet study goals, and leads to a considerable drain on institutional resources. It delays medical progress, limits data for publications and grants, and diverts resources from more productive pursuits. In a recent analysis of 374 studies at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), 31% of clinical research studies requiring full Institutional Review Board (IRB) review enrolled 0-1 subject before being terminated. Over $1 million per year was wasted on these studies [1] . The underlying causes of under-enrollment are multifactorial, but include inadequate time, experience, and resources to recruit subjects effectively [2, 3] .

Over $1 million per year was wasted on these studies.

The underlying causes of under-enrollment are multifactorial, but include inadequate time, experience, and resources to recruit subjects effectively.


Without indiscrimination, public policies give rise to substantial transaction costs. Therefore, a comparative approach is required to assess the cost efficiency of a specific program. The assessment of the same cost categories sets off a common criticism that the analysis is incomplete or that different definitions make any comparison virtually impossible [13] .

The assessment of the same cost categories sets off a common criticism that the analysis is incomplete or that different definitions make any comparison virtually impossible.


In the present study, we included only PORT and not neoadjuvant patients. We studied not only the OS but also the LR and DM and noted significant roles of CEA in all of the end points. The preoperative CEA level may serve as a marker of occult metastasis and radioresistance to PORT in rectal cancer. This study also confirmed the results of our previous study that investigated the role of pretreatment CEA levels in the LRs, DMs, and OSs of patients undergoing definitive radiotherapy for cervical cancer [2, 24] . We also found that LR usually preceded DM, and a higher DM rate was noted in patients with LR than in those without LR. We observed an early separation of the Kaplan-Meier curves for LR (at approximately < 6 months; Fig. 3 ) between the patients with high and low CEA levels but did not observe this early separation for OS (the separation occurred at approximately 2 years; Fig. 1) or DM (the separation occurred at approximately 1 year; Fig. 2 ). CEA first involves LR, which increases the DM and thus affects survival. Therefore, the reviewed Fig. 6 Hierarchical clustering of the up-and down-regulated genes (5-fold) after CEA (2 μg/mL) stimulation of M0 macrophages Table 6 Genes of up and down regulation (5-fold) after CEA stimulation in M0 macrophage This record has been withdrawn by NCBI because the model on which it was based was not predicted in a later annotation literature and our results support the role of CEA in LR. In other words, CEA may be a marker of radioresistance. For this reason, we attempted to investigate the mechanism by which CEA affects radioresistance in an in vitro study. Macrophages are the major immune cells in cancer microenvironments [25] . Monocytes in cancer tissues can differentiate into M0 macrophages. If M0 cells are stimulated with IFN-γ, LPS, and TNF-α, they differentiate into M1 macrophages that exhibit proinflammatory functions. If M0 cells are stimulated with IL-4, IL-10, and the Toll-like receptor, they differentiate into M2 macrophages that exhibit antiinflammatory functions that improve wound-healing, angiogenesis, and remodeling. However, cancer cells can co-operate with M2 macrophages to promote proliferation, migration, invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis. For example, M2 macrophages secrete EGF, which promotes cancer cell progression [26] .

This study also confirmed the results of our previous study that investigated the role of pretreatment CEA levels in the LRs, DMs, and OSs of patients undergoing definitive radiotherapy for cervical cancer.

Macrophages are the major immune cells in cancer microenvironments.

For example, M2 macrophages secrete EGF, which promotes cancer cell progression.


Between 740 and 1000 K, the increase of the grain size and the softer c-austenite fraction has a softening effect, while a further reduction in the mobile dislocation density hardened the material. These effects compensate each other, leading to a practically unchanged yield strength. In addition, the increase of the grain size and the fraction of the ductile fcc phase led to a significant improvement of the elongation to failure from $2.6 to $43%. Fig. 3 shows the yield strength versus the elongation to failure for the four 316L steel samples studied in this work compared with data available in the literature [1, [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] . The datum points in Fig. 3 follow a general trend which is represented by the dotted line. Thus, the higher the yield strength of the sample so the lower the elongation to failure. The sample processed by HPT and annealed to 1000 K shows a deviation from the general trend as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3 . Therefore, this study demonstrates that 20 turns of HPT followed by annealing to 1000 K is capable of producing a UFG c-austenite microstructure in 316L steel with exceptionally high strength and elongation to failure. It should be noted that the measured elongation to failure increases with decreasing ratio of gauge length to width and increasing specimen thickness [12] . However, the two effects nearly compensate each other by comparing the data obtained on these miniature specimens with a standard sample with dimensions of 5 Â 1 Â 1 mm 3 .

Fig. 3 shows the yield strength versus the elongation to failure for the four 316L steel samples studied in this work compared with data available in the literature.

It should be noted that the measured elongation to failure increases with decreasing ratio of gauge length to width and increasing specimen thickness.


After annealing to 740 K, both the yield strength and the ductility decreased. This annealing also led to a considerable reduction in the dislocation density; however, other microstructural features, such as the grain size and the fraction of a 0 -martensite, remained practically unchanged. Therefore, the decrease in strength and ductility can be attributed to the reduction of the mobile dislocation density as suggested in earlier work [6] .

Therefore, the decrease in strength and ductility can be attributed to the reduction of the mobile dislocation density as suggested in earlier work.


The 316L stainless is a frequently used material in both medicine and industry due to its excellent properties, such as a good corrosion resistance and the low susceptibility to neutron absorption [1] . The main crystalline phases in 316L steel are the facecentered cubic (fcc) c-austenite and the body-centred cubic (bcc) a 0 -martensite. The good ductility of c-austenite is usually accompanied by a relatively low strength which can limit its applications under high loads. At the same time, the high strength a 0 -martensite with bcc structure exhibits low ductility. Therefore, the ability to process 316L steel with high strength and good ductility is a challenging task.

The 316L stainless is a frequently used material in both medicine and industry due to its excellent properties, such as a good corrosion resistance and the low susceptibility to neutron absorption.


As a newly emerging cutting technology, turn-milling makes use of the advantages of turning and milling, in which both workpiece and cutting tool are given rotary motion simultaneously. The machining accuracy and processing efficiency are obtained by the advanced machining method. So it enjoys the advantages of turning and milling and excels at machining revolving workpieces, like crankshafts or camshafts. Actually, its strengths are far more than this. Owing to the intermittent cuts and simultaneous rotations of tools and workpieces, it keeps low thermal stresses, lowers cutting forces, and has good removal rates. With the rapid development of processing technology, the new machining techniques are well used to demand the requirements of product complexity and production of high-efficiency [1] [2] [3] .

With the rapid development of processing technology, the new machining techniques are well used to demand the requirements of product complexity and production of high-efficiency.


In this work, experimental results for SFE extraction of L. sidoides essential oil using near critical CO 2 are presented. The thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of the SFE process were studied using an SFE unit containing a fixed bed cell at temperatures of 283.15, 288.15, 293.15, 295.15, and 298 .15 K and pressures of 66.7 and 78.5 bar. Solubility data for the pseudo-ternary system, CO 2 + essential oil (multi-component mixture) + cellulosic structure, was measured using the dynamic method (McHugh and Krukonis, 1986) .

Solubility data for the pseudo-ternary system, CO 2 + essential oil (multi-component mixture) + cellulosic structure, was measured using the dynamic method.


At T1, the adopted manipulations determined a different impact on colony nutritional status: hives from the BI group showed significantly higher TP concentration, VG concentration and percentage than the other groups. The consistency among the above-mentioned biomarkers is not surprising since vitellogenin is the most abundant protein in honeybee haemolymph (Amdam et al. 2003) . In insects, this protein plays an important role in lipid transport, immune function, longevity and production of royal jelly (Blacklock and Ryan 1994; Amdam et al. 2004a; Havukainen et al. 2013) . Therefore, the accumulation of vitellogenin in haemolymph of workers subjected to gradual reduction of brood caring is predictable. In fact, colonies of BI and BR-n groups, where oviposition was interrupted, showed significantly higher concentration and percentage of vitellogenin than colonies of BR-oc group where oviposition continued throughout summer.

The consistency among the above-mentioned biomarkers is not surprising since vitellogenin is the most abundant protein in honeybee haemolymph.

In insects, this protein plays an important role in lipid transport, immune function, longevity and production of royal jelly.


Taking into account that a luminescence activity extremely sensitive to temperature influence, in quality gel-forming agent is chosen poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA). The crioPVA gel formation proceeds at negative temperatures. This carrier on structural, physical and chemical properties possess a number of advantages in comparison with other carriers. PVA gels have very high micro-and macro-porosities which provide favored conditions for the non hindered mass transfer of substrates and toxicants. Thermo-stability of cryoPVA gels exceeds that of other commonly employed thermo-reversible gel carriers, such as agar, agarose, ets. PVAGs are highly resistant to biological degradation and practically insensitive to media composition, -solutes, buffers, pH. PVA itself is a biologically compatible, nontoxic, readily available low-cost polymer. Rheological parameters of cryoPVAGs are quite stable and allow for this carrier to by used under variety biomonitoring conditions [6, 7] .

Rheological parameters of cryoPVAGs are quite stable and allow for this carrier to by used under variety biomonitoring conditions.


As an individual ages, significant immunological changes occur, which contribute to the enhanced morbidity and mortality associated with infectious diseases in the elderly. After puberty, thymic atrophy leads to a progressive decrease in the output of naïve T cells and decreased diversity in the T-cell repertoire [11] . CD8 + T cells play an important role in innate response to pathogen such as M. tuberculosis in the aged mouse [12, 13] . In this study, the efficacy of vaccination with BCG in aged mice was investigated.

After puberty, thymic atrophy leads to a progressive decrease in the output of naïve T cells and decreased diversity in the T-cell repertoire.

CD8 + T cells play an important role in innate response to pathogen such as M. tuberculosis in the aged mouse.


Second, by facilitating role-taking from both sides, Global Conflicts intends to provide a unique opportunity to inform people of the issues in the conflict and influence their attitudes toward the other side. In games such as Global Conflicts, we can differentiate between basic learning in the game, aiming at acquiring knowledge and collecting data, and deeper learning beyond the game aiming at changing the players' perspectives regarding the situation (Mitgutsch, 2011) . In fact, previous studies have indicated that playing a game that elicits role-taking resulted in greater knowledge acquisition and greater attitude change than reading a text conveying the same information (Bogost, 2007; Peng, Lee, & Heeter, 2010) .

In games such as Global Conflicts, we can differentiate between basic learning in the game, aiming at acquiring knowledge and collecting data, and deeper learning beyond the game aiming at changing the players' perspectives regarding the situation.

In fact, previous studies have indicated that playing a game that elicits role-taking resulted in greater knowledge acquisition and greater attitude change than reading a text conveying the same information.


On the basis of our findings, we can say that computer games such as Global Conflicts can serve as an effective tool for peace education for two key considerations, which require another study in the future. First, peace games are uniquely suited to illustrate complex issues, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the Guatemalan civil war, in a very engaging and interactive way compared to other more passive and linear media (Gee, 2008) . In this sense, they facilitate the participants' gaining of a conceptually complex view of the conflict as opposed to the simplistic and polarized view of the conflict often presented in collective narratives and mainstream socialization agents in a conflict environment. Achieving this, computer games can thus be a tool for legitimating the other's narrative in a way that events are seen from both perspectives. This is an important step toward increasing learning about the outgroup and the conflict dynamics, as indicated by social and political psychologists working on intergroup conflict, which is a necessary step toward attitude change and reducing intergroup tensions.

First, peace games are uniquely suited to illustrate complex issues, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the Guatemalan civil war, in a very engaging and interactive way compared to other more passive and linear media.


Time delays are an important aspect of many biological and physical models. In models for population growth, delays typically arise due to age structure, e.g. due to the time spent in a larval stage before becoming an adult or due to the gestation period [14] . In epidemic models, delays arise as a result of the time spent in each stage of the disease, e.g. when someone becomes infected with a disease they do not recover instantaneously but only after some period of time [8, 3] . In models for neural systems, there is a delay (the propagation delay) due to the time it takes for the signal (action potential) of one neuron to travel from the soma of the sending neuron to the soma of the receiving neuron. There is also a delay (the processing delay) due to the time it takes for the signal to cross a chemical synapse between the neurons [21, 27] .

In models for population growth, delays typically arise due to age structure, e.g. due to the time spent in a larval stage before becoming an adult or due to the gestation period.

In epidemic models, delays arise as a result of the time spent in each stage of the disease, e.g. when someone becomes infected with a disease they do not recover instantaneously but only after some period of time.

There is also a delay (the processing delay) due to the time it takes for the signal to cross a chemical synapse between the neurons.


There are two radically different arguments concerning how social order is created and maintained in markets. The liberal view of markets (Smart, 2003: 89-96 ) is that they are arenas in which monads, or hominis oeconomici, sign contracts with each other and order emerges spontaneously. The other argument is that order emerges and is maintained largely as a consequence of the state and state-implemented policies (Fligstein, 2001) .

The other argument is that order emerges and is maintained largely as a consequence of the state and state-implemented policies.


Survival analysis is a class of statistical methods for studying occurrence and timing of events. An event can be dened as development of a disease, response to a treatment, relapse, or death. Therefore, the time from start of a treatment to response, length of remission, and time to death may be taken as a survival time. The most common approach to model covariate eects on survival times is the Cox's semi-parametric regression model, which takes into account the eect of censored observations [5] . In the Cox model, no particular form of probability distribution is assumed for survival times. However, if it is known, parametric models, such as exponential, Weibull, or Gompertz can be applied.

The most common approach to model covariate eects on survival times is the Cox's semi-parametric regression model, which takes into account the eect of censored observations.


Extra-solar neutrino astronomy is an infant science, born in 2013, with the first detection of astrophysical neutrinos of energies up to ∼PeV at the IceCube experiment in Antarctica [1] [2] [3] . The origin of these neutrinos has not been established yet and represents an important goal to learn about the fundamental physics at play in astrophysical accelerators. The inherent properties of neutrinos -neutral, weakly interacting -offer unique probes into relatively unknown high energy mechanisms such as stellar core collapse and jet formation, particle acceleration in magnetic fields, shockwave propagation, etc.

Extra-solar neutrino astronomy is an infant science, born in 2013, with the first detection of astrophysical neutrinos of energies up to ∼PeV at the IceCube experiment in Antarctica.


There are many reasons for studying F B with more general test sets B. Firstly, in practice, digital image analysers do not estimate the spherical contact function but rather a discrete approximation to it, in which the disc B is replaced by a polygon. Secondly, the linear contact function is degenerate or unde ned for point processes. To i n vestigate isotropy o f a p o i n t process one might estimate F B for (say) ellipses B of di erent orientations and eccentricities this can be computed by applying linear transformations to the pattern and estimating the spherical contact function. Other sets B are also of interest. Thirdly, the spherical and linear contact distributions do not completely characterise the random set X. The distribution of X is, however, determined by t h e v alues of T(K) = PfX \ K 6 = g for all compact subsets K of R k (Matheron, 1975) . The contact distributions F B (r) = T(rB) evaluate T on certain subclasses of compact sets. Enlarging the class of sets K for which T(K) i s known should provide better information about X.

Other sets B are also of interest.

Thirdly, the spherical and linear contact distributions do not completely characterise the random set X. The distribution of X is, however, determined by t h e v alues of T(K) = PfX \ K 6 = g for all compact subsets K of R k.


We utilized a questionnaire and face to face interviews to collect the data in this study (Mukminin & McMahon, 2013) . The participants or respondents are not required to write their answer, but they just choose one of the options provided (Dornyei, 2008) . We utilized Likertscale which consisted of a series of statements, all of which were related to a particular target which ranged from Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Not Sure (NS), Disagree (D), and Strongly Disagree (SD) (Dornyei, 2008) . The questionnaires utilized were taken from Oxford's SILL (the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning) (Oxford, 1990) . We consulted with the two experts who had doctoral degrees in language teaching regarding the questionnaires before we distributed them. The SILL provides 50 items to access the language learning strategies but we only utilized five items in each strategy, it meant only 30 items as a whole part because it might be impossible to take all items since the participants were Junior high school so they were not really interested in filling a long questionnaire, and the last was the limited time that was given to the researcher in order not to bother their routine activity in teaching and learning process in the classroom.

We utilized a questionnaire and face to face interviews to collect the data in this study.

The participants or respondents are not required to write their answer, but they just choose one of the options provided.

We utilized Likertscale which consisted of a series of statements, all of which were related to a particular target which ranged from Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Not Sure (NS), Disagree (D), and Strongly Disagree (SD).

The questionnaires utilized were taken from Oxford's SILL (the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning).


The most commonly used materials in contemporary restorative dental practice are resin-based composites [3] . Dental composites are tooth-coloured materials that consist of organic resin matrix (dimethacrylate or silorane resins), inorganic fillers (zirconium-dioxide, silicium-dioxide and other glass particles), organo-silane coupling agent, and photo-initiators and accelerators [4] . These materials are based on photo-cured resin monomers, which harden by exposing to visible light energy source.

The most commonly used materials in contemporary restorative dental practice are resin-based composites.

Dental composites are tooth-coloured materials that consist of organic resin matrix (dimethacrylate or silorane resins), inorganic fillers (zirconium-dioxide, silicium-dioxide and other glass particles), organo-silane coupling agent, and photo-initiators and accelerators.


Satellite networks are characterized by global coverage, cost-effective broadcast and multipoint capabilities, flexible network configuration and capacity allocation, bandwidth-on-demand flexibility, etc. There is no doubt that satellite networks will be an integral part of the newly emerging Next Generation Networks (NGN) and the evolution of Future Networks (FN), and also play an increasing critical role in providing broadband Internet access, personal communications, broadcast and multi--cast of digital content to geographically diverse user groups, and so on. Although satellite networks offer great potential, they also present significant security challenges that need to be addressed. These securityrelated challenges can be summarized as follows [1] .

These securityrelated challenges can be summarized as follows.


Since last 1960s, researchers have considerable interest in the area of digital protection of power apparatus [1] . The main features which have attracted researchers to investigate the feasibility of designing digital relays for power system protection are its speed of operation, dependability, stability, economy, flexibility, and possibility of integrating a digital relay into the hierarchical computer system within the substation and with the grid. Further the digital relay not only provides protection, but also is used for status monitoring of power apparatus. Moreover, with the application of artificial intelligence in protective devices, the decisionmaking capability of the relays is enhanced.

Since last 1960s, researchers have considerable interest in the area of digital protection of power apparatus.


Changes in the fishing opportunities due to the rebuilding policy, modify the fleet size and the break-even productivity (the distribution of individual profits). Although, both statistics are equilibrium objects (that are simultaneously determined), changes in the individual distributions (generated by changes in the break-even productivity) can be associated to changes in intra-marginal rents while changes in aggregate statistics (i.e. fleet size, consumer surplus) to changes in resource rents [33] . However, the model (as it is) is not free of limitations. As explained in Section 3.1, households are the owners (producers) of the all the production factors and the buy directly all the production. The former implies that variable costs are not considered explicitly which limits the analysis of changes in, for example, fuel prices, important in the fisheries context. The later will imply to model a retail sector that also considers the difference between the ex-vessel prices and the final price paid by the consumer. However, this will also require to model an external market that considers that the retailer is selling internal (within the fishery) and external goods (imports). This is necessary given that the two economies studied are net importers of fish [? ] .

Although, both statistics are equilibrium objects (that are simultaneously determined), changes in the individual distributions (generated by changes in the break-even productivity) can be associated to changes in intra-marginal rents while changes in aggregate statistics (i.e. fleet size, consumer surplus) to changes in resource rents.


Some of the studies present probabilistic models dependent on variables such as history, rights and profitability [28] . Some other approaches simply do not use models but are scenariobased [29] . Such scenarios can be extreme. If a fishing mortality reduction is required, it will affect the average landings/catches of the vessels (if the number of vessels -plants-are kept constant) and the other way around a constant average landing/catch with a reduction in the number of vessels that accommodate (depending on the production function) this fishing mortality reduction. These two extreme scenarios are created with the expectation that the final result will be somewhere in-between. If aggregated agents are considered, this conclusion holds; however, this is not necessarily true if fishing plants are considered heterogeneous agents.

Some of the studies present probabilistic models dependent on variables such as history, rights and profitability.

Some other approaches simply do not use models but are scenariobased.

Such scenarios can be extreme.


Several processes have been reported on the recovery of alumina from black dross by alkaline leaching followed by the precipitation of aluminum hydroxide [14] [15] [16] . In most of the reported works on the employment of NaOH, the leaching percentage of alumina from the dross is less than 50% at atmospheric pressure. Moreover, some of the other oxides are dissolved. In one study, from an alkaline leaching solution, aluminum hydroxide was recovered by precipitation with NH 4 HCO 3 and carbonation with CO 2 gas [14] .

Several processes have been reported on the recovery of alumina from black dross by alkaline leaching followed by the precipitation of aluminum hydroxide.

In one study, from an alkaline leaching solution, aluminum hydroxide was recovered by precipitation with NH 4 HCO 3 and carbonation with CO 2 gas.


Understanding the perceived emotions of individuals using non-verbal cues is a challenging problem. The nonverbal cues humans use to perceive emotions include both facial expressions and body movements. With a more extensive availability of data, considerable research has focused on using facial expressions to understand emotion [2] . However, recent studies in psychology question the communicative purpose of facial expressions and doubt the quick, automatic process of perceiving emotions from these We present a novel algorithm to identify the perceived emotions of individuals based on their walking styles. Given an RGB video of an individual walking (top), we extract his/her walking gait as a series of 3D poses (bottom). We use a combination of deep features learned via an LSTM and affective features computed using posture and movement cues to then classify into basic emotions (e.g., happy, sad, etc.) using a Random Forest Classifier.

With a more extensive availability of data, considerable research has focused on using facial expressions to understand emotion.


Oral candidiasis is an important and frequent nosologic entity of the buccal cavity; in most cases it is caused by the pathogenic action of C. albicans. Treatment of C. albicans infections has been greatly facilitated since the introduction of azole antifungal agents. However, recently the isolation of a considerable percentage of azole-resistant strains has become a significant clinical problem, particularly in immunocompromised or debilitated patients [1] [2] . Currently very few publications have described the azole resistance pattern for clinical oral isolates of C. albicans, particularly for patients arbitrarily recruited in dental care units [3] .

However, recently the isolation of a considerable percentage of azole-resistant strains has become a significant clinical problem, particularly in immunocompromised or debilitated patients.

Currently very few publications have described the azole resistance pattern for clinical oral isolates of C. albicans, particularly for patients arbitrarily recruited in dental care units.


A collection of clinical C. albicans isolates was examined for drug susceptibility testing, and by a real time sequencing method (Pyrosequencing). Table 1 shows that of the 52 strains evaluated, 12 were resistant, 5 SDD and 35 susceptible to FLC. Among the FLC resistant strains, 10 were also cross-resistant to VRC and 8 to KTC. The point mutation GGT464AGT, leading to the aminoacid substitution Glycine with Serine was detected in four of the five strains demonstrating fluconazole MICs of 16-32 μg/ml (the exception was CA 74). Among these, CA 75 and CA 64 strains were also resistant/SDD to VRC and CA64 to KTC; on the contrary, CA 27 and CA 53 strains were susceptible to the other triazole agents. A wild type profile was present in all remaining strains (48/52 strains). Fig. (1) shows representative pyrograms identifying the wild type (a) and the mutated codon 464 (b) in the ERG11 gene section under analysis. During the cyclic nucleotide dispensation strategy, nucleotides were repeatedly added in the order A, C, G, T. With the use of Pyrosequencing we were able to distinguish between strains that were hetero-or homozygous for the presence of the mutation [15] . Profile b was identical in all four mutated strains and the peak height, indicating the G/A polymorphism, shows a homozygous point mutation.

During the cyclic nucleotide dispensation strategy, nucleotides were repeatedly added in the order A, C, G, T. With the use of Pyrosequencing we were able to distinguish between strains that were hetero-or homozygous for the presence of the mutation.


PBI-4050 is a potential drug candidate for the treatment of inflammatory and fibrosis-related diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, chronic kidney disease and T2DM with metabolic syndrome. PBI-4050 is a 3-pentylbenzeneacetic acid sodium salt with a molecular weight of 228.3. It is a new molecular entity with demonstrated anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic activities in both in vitro and in vivo models. In vitro models have shown that PBI-4050 regulates macrophages, T cells, fibrocytes, fibroblasts, myofibroblasts, and epithelial cells and modulates the over-expression of many pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic cytokines and growth factors in different cell types [8] [9] [10] . Moreover, when tested against normal human dermal fibroblasts stimulated with transforming growth factor-β, PBI-4050 markedly reduced the production of pro-fibrotic cytokines, including connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and epidermal growth factor, while restoring the production of anti-fibrotic cytokines such as hepatocyte growth factor [11] [12] [13] [14] . PBI-4050 also reduced the production of α-smooth muscle actin, a marker of myofibroblast activity [15] . Pre-clinical testing has shown PBI-4050 to be effective in preventing or reversing fibrosis in all animal models studied, including models of fibrosis in the heart, kidney, lung and liver [12, 13, [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] . Furthermore, PBI-4050 has been shown in a spontaneous model of T2DM (the db/db mouse) to be effective in preventing the loss of insulin production that characterizes the natural history in these animals and leads to death from hyperglycaemia at 24 to 26 weeks of age [22, 23] . Late treatment (from 16 weeks of age) with PBI-4050 restores insulin production and preserves the islet architecture by reducing macrophage and T-cell infiltration [9, 16] .

In vitro models have shown that PBI-4050 regulates macrophages, T cells, fibrocytes, fibroblasts, myofibroblasts, and epithelial cells and modulates the over-expression of many pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic cytokines and growth factors in different cell types.

Moreover, when tested against normal human dermal fibroblasts stimulated with transforming growth factor-β, PBI-4050 markedly reduced the production of pro-fibrotic cytokines, including connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and epidermal growth factor, while restoring the production of anti-fibrotic cytokines such as hepatocyte growth factor.

PBI-4050 also reduced the production of α-smooth muscle actin, a marker of myofibroblast activity.

Pre-clinical testing has shown PBI-4050 to be effective in preventing or reversing fibrosis in all animal models studied, including models of fibrosis in the heart, kidney, lung and liver.

Furthermore, PBI-4050 has been shown in a spontaneous model of T2DM (the db/db mouse) to be effective in preventing the loss of insulin production that characterizes the natural history in these animals and leads to death from hyperglycaemia at 24 to 26 weeks of age.

Late treatment (from 16 weeks of age) with PBI-4050 restores insulin production and preserves the islet architecture by reducing macrophage and T-cell infiltration.


Though many asthmatics suffer from exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB), they might specifically benefit from adequate physical activity (PA) [2] . In addition, EIB can be well controlled by medication in most of them [3] . The vast majority of asthma patients should therefore try to achieve the recommended levels of at least 30 minutes, 5 days per week, or 20 minutes, 3 days per week, of moderate or vigorous aerobic physical activity, respectively [4] .

Though many asthmatics suffer from exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB), they might specifically benefit from adequate physical activity (PA).

In addition, EIB can be well controlled by medication in most of them.

The vast majority of asthma patients should therefore try to achieve the recommended levels of at least 30 minutes, 5 days per week, or 20 minutes, 3 days per week, of moderate or vigorous aerobic physical activity, respectively.


Given the fact that each method relies upon different physical concepts, applied to different sensors and measurements, the high value of the correlation obtained for the AOT retrievals is a remarkable result that highlights the coherence between active and passive methods for aerosols above clouds. Nonetheless, more efforts have to be done to increase the accuracy of the methods in order to better understand aerosols above clouds and their related effects. Airborne measurements are extremely useful in providing information on aerosols' above-cloud properties. Several ongoing and planned airborne field campaigns will attempt to characterize the properties of biomass-burning aerosols over the South Atlantic Ocean (Zuidema et al., 2016) . Planned measurements from the French Falcon 20 aircraft, equipped with a high-resolution lidar, an airborne sun photometer and a POLDER-like sensor, will notably be considered for a future validation of CALIOP DRM and POLDER abovecloud aerosol products. Another perspective is to improve the POLDER algorithm by introducing additional dust or mixture models with larger or smaller effective radii values in the LUT. This would definitely improve the AOT and AE retrievals in more complex situations (such as East Asia region). Also, our results suggest that a combination of POLDER and DRM methods has the potential to detect aerosols within clouds. It is very relevant to study these situations, since they can affect the retrievals and provide important information regarding the cloud processes. A further perspective would be to exploit the synergy between CALIOP and POLDER to infer the direct aerosol radiative forcing, aerosol heating rates and the semi-direct effect of absorbing aerosols located above clouds.

Several ongoing and planned airborne field campaigns will attempt to characterize the properties of biomass-burning aerosols over the South Atlantic Ocean.


The DRM methods might also be impacted by the presence of aerosols within the clouds. Aerosols as a solution within the cloud droplets (i.e. internal mixture) might impact the chemical composition of the droplets and modify their ability to backscatter light. Figure 9 shows lidar ratio computed for absorbing cloud droplets. We used an imaginary part of 0.0001 for the complex refractive index of the droplets. This might simulate, for instance, the properties of brown clouds contaminated by absorbing aerosols. The chosen value is in agreement with the refractive indices given for water containing soot inclusions with volume fractions ranging between 10 −4 and 10 −2 (Erlick, 2006) . We observe a drastic increase of S c with r eff (from 21.7 sr at 5 µm to 50 sr at 40 µm) when the water droplet is weakly absorbing. In the case of an external mixture, we assume that the presence of aerosols at the top of cloud might also modify the value of S c . Any deviation from the 19 sr value assumed for the droplets lidar ratio in Eq. (9) will necessarily impact the retrieved AOT and the differences observed between the AOT estimates provided by the POLDER and DRM methods.

The chosen value is in agreement with the refractive indices given for water containing soot inclusions with volume fractions ranging between 10 −4 and 10 −2.


There was no difference in hemodynamic changes after application of the patch in either group. Blood pressure values were at 110 ± 8 systolic and 84 ± 6 diastolic. These findings are in accordance with previously studies which evaluated parenteral Diclofenac and Ketoprofen [7, [15] [16] [17] . Respiratory rate ranged from 14 to 18 cycles per minute, and pulse ranged from 60 to 80 beats per minute when compared to baseline.

These findings are in accordance with previously studies which evaluated parenteral Diclofenac and Ketoprofen.


The influence of different heat treatments on the quality parameters of various types of honey is well investigated, and it is known that it significantly impairs its quality (Hebbar et al. 2003; Subramanian et al. 2007; Bartáková et al. 2011) . Microwave heating, infrared heating, ultrasound processing, membrane processing, etc. have been investigated in order to find a rapid method for achieving the desired level of reduction of microorganisms and quality parameters with reduced thermal damage, while the antioxidant capacity of honey after certain heat treatments has remained unknown. The influence of thermal treatment at various temperatures (50, 60, and 70°C) during a prolonged period of time on the antioxidant activity and colour of honey was investigated by Turkish scientists. They came to a conclusion that the biggest changes occurred at 70°C, while at lower temperatures these changes were less pronounced -the higher the temperature, the bigger the increase in the antioxidant activity (Turkmen et al. 2006) . In a similar study, researchers thermally treated the samples at 60°C for 12 to 16 hours. The conclusion was that processing did not have any significant impact on the antioxidant capacity as determined by ORAC assay (Wang et al. 2004) .

The influence of different heat treatments on the quality parameters of various types of honey is well investigated, and it is known that it significantly impairs its quality.

They came to a conclusion that the biggest changes occurred at 70°C, while at lower temperatures these changes were less pronounced -the higher the temperature, the bigger the increase in the antioxidant activity.

The conclusion was that processing did not have any significant impact on the antioxidant capacity as determined by ORAC assay.


The gravitino should not be very heavy if supersymmetry is to solve the hierarchy problem. On the other hand, it is well known that small gravitino mass is typically incompatible with the primordial nucleosynthesis or leads to the overclosure of the Universe (if it is stable). This is the famous gravitino problem [16, 17] . Investigation of that problem is beyond the scope of this paper. We assume that it can be solved by another sector of the theory.

This is the famous gravitino problem.


Before detailing the design of this TL-VMI, it is worth noting that many-electrode spectrometers have been applied in "cold target recoil ion momentum spectroscopy" (COLTRIMS) -often referred to as "reaction microscopy" (REMI) [24, 25] . Specifically, a non-uniform electric field was incorporated in a COLTRIMS spectrometer, which is made of many equally spaced electrodes, to focus ions originating from different locations within the interaction volume onto the detectorthis focusing was done both in space and in time [24, 26] . In VMI, however, the charged particles are focused in momentum, resulting in a direct relation between the initial velocity and the position on the detector.

Before detailing the design of this TL-VMI, it is worth noting that many-electrode spectrometers have been applied in "cold target recoil ion momentum spectroscopy" (COLTRIMS) -often referred to as "reaction microscopy" (REMI).

Specifically, a non-uniform electric field was incorporated in a COLTRIMS spectrometer, which is made of many equally spaced electrodes, to focus ions originating from different locations within the interaction volume onto the detectorthis focusing was done both in space and in time.


In this paper we focus on the particular problem of sub-sampling; a problem that often occurs in Database Marketing (DBM). DBM involves building, organizing, supplementing and mining customer transaction databases to increase the accuracy *m.wedel@eco.rug.nl of marketing efforts (GOODMAN, 1992) . Many companies nowadays record their transactions with each individual customer and store those in customer transaction databases. Such practice is quite common among firms in the financial, leisure and telecommunications sectors, and in particular among online (Internet) companies. A properly compiled, cleaned and maintained transaction database can be used as a list for targeted marketing efforts. For those purposes, transaction data are enriched with supplementary data. ZIP-level geo-demographic and life-style data are often used for that purpose. Customer transaction records, often consisting of purchase indicators or counts, are linked to the additional data at the individual customer level based on ZIP-codes. In many cases data on the use of products and services from competitors, and ''soft data'' such as customer satisfaction, provide important additional insights to the company, but are lacking in the transaction database and need to be collected in separate surveys. Due to the survey costs, such data are usually only collected from a sample of customers in the database. The required set of supplementary variables is measured on a sample from the database, frequently using metric or rank-order measurement scales. Such sub-sampling for soft data collection is applied regularly in direct marketing, and a similar situation occurs when test-mailings are conducted for a sub-sample of the house-list. The information from these surveys or test mailings, however, is needed for all customers and the list needs to be augmented with the auxiliary data.

DBM involves building, organizing, supplementing and mining customer transaction databases to increase the accuracy *m.wedel@eco.rug.nl of marketing efforts.


The hospital screening programme for asymptomatic cryptococcal antigenemia, which began in September 2012, was provided to all HIV-infected adults (!18 years) initiating ART who had CD4 þ T-cell counts (CD4 þ cell counts) less than 200 cells/ml. Patients were first screened for signs/symptoms of meningitis, and those who screened positive were referred for further workup. The remaining patients were tested for asymptomatic cryptococcal antigenemia using the serum CrAg using the lateral flow assay (Immuno-Mycologics, Inc., Norman, Oklahoma, USA), as previously described [10] . After CrAg-positive patients had been confirmed to have no signs or symptoms of meningitis, the programme provided them with 800 mg fluconazole orally for 2 weeks, followed by 400 mg orally for 2 weeks, given at the same time that ART was initiated. This intense, short-course regimen was in accordance with the WHO's conditional recommendation that CrAg-positive patients should be treated, as well as with hospital policy and feasibility based on fluconazole supply.

The remaining patients were tested for asymptomatic cryptococcal antigenemia using the serum CrAg using the lateral flow assay (Immuno-Mycologics, Inc., Norman, Oklahoma, USA), as previously described.


The "surface molecular imprinting technique" was proposed to overcome the inapplicability to water-soluble substances, which are important in the biological or biomedical field [17] [18] [19] [20] . In this technique, the solid polymer, which is molecularly imprinted at the internal cavity surface, is prepared by polymerizing water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions consisting of a water-soluble imprint molecule, a functional host molecule, an emulsion stabilizer, and a crosslinking agent. The organic-aqueous interface in W/O emulsions is utilized as the recognition field for a target molecule. The target molecule forms a complex with the functional host molecule, while the orientation of the functional host molecule itself is fixed at the oil-water interface. After polymerization, preparation provides the recognition sites at the inner cavity surface of the imprinted bulk polymer. The complex between the functional host molecule and the target material should not be too hydrophobic or hydrophilic, because otherwise the complex would not be located at the oil-water interface. Thus, a functional host molecule should be amphiphilic, just like a surfactant molecule, in order to yield a high template effect for the target molecule. The crosslinking agent crosslinks the organic phase and stabilizes the water pool or the imprinted water cavity after polymerization. The bulk polymer that is obtained is ground to small particles in order to interact with the target molecules in the solution. In this study, we tried to have a host molecule with a crosslinker participate in the polymerization. So dioleoyl phosphoric acid was selected as a host molecule, and the polymerization was conducted with a large amount of benzoyl peroxide at a high temperature to polymerize both the host molecule and divinylbenzene.

The "surface molecular imprinting technique" was proposed to overcome the inapplicability to water-soluble substances, which are important in the biological or biomedical field.


Contours are used extensively in image processing applications. Active contours can be classified according to several different criteria. One of the classifications is based on the flexibility of the active contour and is proposed in a slightly modified form by Jain [1] . The active contour models can be accordingly partitioned in two classes: free form of active contour models and limited form of active contour models.

One of the classifications is based on the flexibility of the active contour and is proposed in a slightly modified form by Jain.


However, the most important task during a foodborne outbreak is to identify the source of the food contamination and its entry sources [33] . Thus, the aim of this paper is to provide the following information for risk managers on the chosen scenario: Firstly, which entry sources would be chosen by a hypothetical attacker, if data on the commodity flows became publicly available? Secondly, how many entry sources would the attacker have to choose to reach all consumers with contaminated milk in Germany? Thirdly, in which sequence would an attacker choose potential entry sources? Fourthly, are there milk producers who can be selected independent of the flow of milk to induce maximum damage? Fifthly, in the context of ERM, what strategies can be derived to prevent or mitigate the consequences of deliberate contamination with scant resources? These questions were answered by proposing a contingency plan.

However, the most important task during a foodborne outbreak is to identify the source of the food contamination and its entry sources.


Learning semantic representations for words is a fundamental task in NLP that is required in numerous higher-level NLP applications (Collobert et al., 2011) . Distributed word representations have gained much popularity lately because of their accuracy as semantic representations for words (Mikolov et al., 2013a; Pennington et al., 2014) . However, the meaning of a word often varies from one domain to another. For example, the phrase lightweight is often used in a positive sentiment in the portable electronics domain because a lightweight device is easier to carry around, which is a positive attribute for a portable electronic device. However, the same phrase has a negative sentiment assocition in the movie domain because movies that do not invoke deep thoughts in viewers are considered to be lightweight (Bollegala et al., 2014) . However, existing word representation learning methods are agnostic to such domain-specific semantic variations of words, and capture semantics of words only within a single domain. To overcome this problem and capture domain-specific semantic orientations of words, we propose a method that learns separate distributed representations for each domain in which a word occurs.

Learning semantic representations for words is a fundamental task in NLP that is required in numerous higher-level NLP applications.

Distributed word representations have gained much popularity lately because of their accuracy as semantic representations for words.

However, the same phrase has a negative sentiment assocition in the movie domain because movies that do not invoke deep thoughts in viewers are considered to be lightweight.


Participants and procedure. A total of 117 undergraduates were recruited from a large West Coast university to participate in an in-lab study in exchange for monetary payment. When they arrived at the lab, all participants watched a message promoting the consumption of nuts. In particular, they watched 80 seconds of an actual NBC News report describing the results of a scientific study that found the consumption of nuts yielded substantial health benefits (Costello and Williams 2013) . The NBC report contained several strong arguments in favor of nuts. For example, the segment noted that Harvard researchers found that the consumption of one ounce of nuts seven times a week reduced the likelihood of dying from heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

Participants and procedure.

In particular, they watched 80 seconds of an actual NBC News report describing the results of a scientific study that found the consumption of nuts yielded substantial health benefits.


The CERES-maize model is a predictive, deterministic model designed to simulate maize growth, soil water, and temperature and soil nitrogen dynamics at a field scale for one growing season (Jones & Kiniry, 1986) . A deterministic model is one that makes definite predictions for quantities without any associated probability distribution, variance, or random element. The CERES-Maize model has been extensively used worldwide to simulate maize growth and grain yield and as a tool for planning and decision making by farmers in several countries. While crop growth models such as CERES-Maize provide the ability to evaluate numerous management scenarios without the costs associated with multiyear field experiments, recent studies undertaken by have shown that CERES-Maize performs well under full irrigation. The CERES-Maize model simulates grain yield under water limiting conditions by calculating potential evaporation; potential soil water evaporation and potential plant water transpiration which are derived from potential evaporation and leaf area index. Consequently, based on the soil water supply and crop water demand, a water stress factor is estimated to decrease daily crop growth and grain yield.

The CERES-maize model is a predictive, deterministic model designed to simulate maize growth, soil water, and temperature and soil nitrogen dynamics at a field scale for one growing season.


In patients with HMG-CoA lyase deficiency the main mechanism that produces fasting hypoglycemia is an excess of glucose use by the peripheral tissues, since these cannot have ketones nor free fatty acids for oxidation, due to the shortfall of secondary carnitine. This deficit is the result of the excess of acyl-CoA, which after esterification to acyl-carnitine, is lost in the urine [2, 4, 6] . For these reasons, these patients should maintain dietary supplementation with L-carnitine (75-100 mg/kg/day) [9] . Our patient did not follow this recommendation at the age of 14, probably because the patient remained asymptomatic for several years and the family lost consciousness of the chronic nature of this illness. It is possible that this deficit facilitates the development of Reye's syndrome, as has been described Fig. 1 Axial section MRI T 2 -weighted sequences at 72 h. Image a indicates an increased intensity in white matter of diffuse bilateral distribution. Image b taken after 8 months; indicates resolution of the previous diffuse affectation, however the appearance of specific areas with increased signal in the periventricular brain parenchyma predominantly of the left side, indicative of definitive residual injury in other enzymatic defects of fatty acid oxidation. In addition, in this episode the consumption of alcohol could aggravate the metabolic crisis by blocking the neoglucogenesis from pyruvate.

This deficit is the result of the excess of acyl-CoA, which after esterification to acyl-carnitine, is lost in the urine.

For these reasons, these patients should maintain dietary supplementation with L-carnitine (75-100 mg/kg/day).


The purpose of this study was to obtain a desired perception-action coupling manifold that can be used to explain differences in golf swing performance. We have demonstrated that perception-action coupling manifold, which was generated in terms of two screw axes surfaces during the downswing, is based on natural lawrather than on mental constructs-in agreement with the ecological psychology literature. In other words, said perception-action coupling manifold is a purely geometric representation of the player-club interaction. Each player has his or her own characteristic interaction traces during the golf swing. This perception-action coupling manifold, which utilizes correlating alignments of both the generating lines of ISA and e 3, can be used to investigate how a novice can perceive available affordances of making an effective swing (Gibson, 1979) .

This perception-action coupling manifold, which utilizes correlating alignments of both the generating lines of ISA and e 3, can be used to investigate how a novice can perceive available affordances of making an effective swing.


There are 2 feature extraction method to be used: model based and free model approach [2] [20] . We used free modelbased for spatial data extraction and model-based for temporal data extraction. Model-based approaches obtain a set of static or dynamic skeleton parameters via modeling or tracking body components such as limbs, legs, arms and thighs. Gait signatures derived from these model parameters employed for identification and recognition of an individual. It is obvious that model-based approaches are view-invariant and scaleindependent. These advantages are significant for practical applications, because it is unlikely that reference sequences and test sequences taken from the same viewpoint. Model-free approaches focus on shapes of silhouettes or the entire movement of physical bodies. Model-free approaches are insensitive to the quality of silhouettes. Its advantage is a low computational costs comparing to model-based approaches. However, they are usually not robust to viewpoints and scale [3] .

There are 2 feature extraction method to be used: model based and free model approach.

However, they are usually not robust to viewpoints and scale.


QuantiFERON has become a worldwide standard for diagnosis of latent tuberculosis. The assay is widely available in Asian countries where severe NTM infections due to neutralizing IFN-γ antibodies are most prevalent. We have shown that the mitogen control test tube of QuantiFERON can be easily repurposed for detection of IFN-γ neutralizing serum activity. Our method is based on abrogation of the mitogen response in samples containing neutralizing antibodies. Negative mitogen controls in adults are frequent and several causes have been identified. Predominant among these are immunosuppression caused by HIV infection with low CD4-positive T-cell counts and corticosteroid therapy [10] . Another major cause for low values in mitogen controls can be improper handling of blood samples. Once inhibitory factors can be ruled out, a repeatedly negative mitogen control in a patient with adult-onset immunosuppression is suspicious for impaired IFN-γ signaling due to neutralizing IFN-γ antibodies. Two other case reports of NTM patients suffering from neutralizing IFN-γ autoantibodies also described negative mitogen controls [11, 12] . Though it was not mentioned whether these patients were receiving immunosuppressive treatment at the time the assay was performed, our findings together with published reports indicate that extremely low values in QuantiFERON mitogen controls are a universal feature of the disease. Importantly, our confirmatory assay based on NTM-patient serum driven mitogen control inhibition of healthy donor blood is fully independent of confounding factors such as long-term corticosteroid therapy. In conclusion, our findings may provide an excellent and widely available diagnostic tool that allows screening for neutralizing IFN-γ antibodies, eventually leading to rapid and adequate care. Once tested positive in the QuantiFERON-based assays described here, patient samples should be forwarded to immunology reference laboratories for in-depth analysis of IFN-γ signaling if available. Of note, retrospective analysis of QuantiFERON mitogen test tube results may identify additional cases of neutralizing IFN-γ antibodies. Before broad application of the novel QuantiFERON-based IFN-γ inhibition assay, larger prospective studies should be performed to answer important questions regarding sensitivity and specificity, as well as false-positive results due to nonneutralizing low-titer anti-IFN-γ autoantibodies, which frequently occur in healthy patients. Clinical trials are therefore warranted.

Predominant among these are immunosuppression caused by HIV infection with low CD4-positive T-cell counts and corticosteroid therapy.

Two other case reports of NTM patients suffering from neutralizing IFN-γ autoantibodies also described negative mitogen controls.


Currently, there is not a single standard treatment for the recurrence of this tumor, although additional surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are used in specific clinical circumstances. The types of salvage therapy are tailored to each patient's clinical situation. For example, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and novel chemotherapy agents are increasingly used to treat the recurrent tumors. Because of these treatment advances, outcomes have changed dramatically for appropriately selected patients. Previous studies have revealed that pretreatment prognostic factors play a role in clinical outcomes [2, 3] . Several small studies have identified clinical, tumor and treatment related prognostic factors that influence outcomes [4, 5] . The clinical factors of age, Karnofsky performance status (KPS), extent of surgical resection, post-operative radiation treatment, degree of necrosis within the resection pathology, and the degree of enhancement on preoperative and postoperative MR imaging studies have been shown to influence survival [6, 7] . Identifying different prognostic subgroups of patients may help tailor specific treatment regimens to improve outcomes. The purpose of this study is to better analyze important pretreatment and treatment factors in the United States population associated with improvements in overall survival for patients with glioblastoma.

Previous studies have revealed that pretreatment prognostic factors play a role in clinical outcomes.

Several small studies have identified clinical, tumor and treatment related prognostic factors that influence outcomes.

The clinical factors of age, Karnofsky performance status (KPS), extent of surgical resection, post-operative radiation treatment, degree of necrosis within the resection pathology, and the degree of enhancement on preoperative and postoperative MR imaging studies have been shown to influence survival.