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BACKGROUND: Brugada syndrome is associated with loss-of-function SCN5A variants, yet these account for only ≈20% of cases. A recent genome-wide association study identified a novel locus within MAPRE2, which encodes EB2 (microtubule end-binding protein 2), implicating microtubule involvement in Brugada syndrome. METHODS: A mapre2 knockout zebrafish model was generated using CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat–associated protein 9) and validated by Western blot. Larval hearts at 5 days post-fertilization were isolated for voltage mapping and immunocytochemistry. Adult fish hearts were used for ECG, patch clamping, and immunocytochemistry. Morpholinos were injected into embryos at 1-cell stage for knockdown experiments. A transgenic zebrafish line with cdh2 tandem fluorescent timer was used to study adherens junctions. Microtubule plus-end tracking and patch clamping were performed in human induced pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) with MAPRE2 knockdown and knockout, respectively. RESULTS: Voltage mapping of mapre2 knockout hearts showed a decrease in ventricular maximum upstroke velocity of the action potential and conduction velocity, suggesting loss of cardiac voltage-gated sodium channel function. ECG showed QRS prolongation in adult knockout fish, and patch clamping showed decreased sodium current density in knockout ventricular myocytes and arrhythmias in knockout iPSC-CMs. Confocal imaging showed disorganized adherens junctions and mislocalization of mature Ncad (N-cadherin) with mapre2 loss of function, associated with a decrease of detyrosinated tubulin. MAPRE2 knockdown in iPSC-CMs led to an increase in microtubule growth velocity and distance, indicating changes in microtubule dynamics. Finally, knockdown of ttl encoding tubulin tyrosine ligase in mapre2 knockout larvae rescued tubulin detyrosination and ventricular

This paper explores the role of international partnerships to facilitate low-energy building design, construction, and operations. We present the strategic approach, joint research and development outcomes, and implementation activities of a unique U.S.-India program on buildings energy efficiency, the Center for Building Energy Research and Development. We discuss the collaboration successes in both countries despite their dissimilar building contexts, implementation challenges and opportunities. We highlight a range of R&D outcomes, such as novel tools and technologies developed and tested by the joint teams, with their technical energy savings potential, as well as results of capacity building and technology demonstrations. A deep-dive into key new scientific methods around building energy monitoring and benchmarking that could have a significant impact on high-performanceof buildings in both countries is also provided. Finally, in addition to joint R&D successes, pathways to deployment, and lessons learned are discussed as key takeaways.

This extended abstract gives a construction for lifting a Gr\"obner basis algorithm for an ideal in a polynomial ring over a commutative ring R under the condition that R also admits a Gr\"obner basis for every ideal in R.

Now-a-days, women safety is a prime issue in our society. The count of victims is increasing day by day. In this paper, we are proposing a model to ensure the safety of women all over the world. This idea uses Internet of things (IoT) for Women Safety with alarm. This women's security caution framework with Arduino has the capacity of sending SMS alerts to the relatives of the victim, so that women can go out and do things without hesitation. Thus, the proposed system is reliable, low cost, user-friendly and helps women to overcome their fear in critical situations. This paper proposes a Fleet tracking system to prevent the misuse of these vehicles and to make sure the passengers are safe. This IoT device placed in the vehicle is designed using Arduino that is acquainted with sensors to monitor the vehicle and detect any unauthorized access immediately. It contains a GPS system, which will allow the system to keep track of the vehicle throughout the journey. An Ultrasonic sensor is attached to the vehicle to detect any unapproved access. The result of this system is promising in terms of efficiently monitoring the vehicle and preventing thefts.

INTRODUCTION: To assess if in adults with COVID-19, whether those with diabetes and complications (DM+C) present with a more severe clinical profile and if that relates to increased mortality, compared to those with diabetes with no complications (DM-NC) and those without diabetes. METHODS: Service-level data was used from 996 adults with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 who presented to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, UK, from March to June 2020. All individuals were categorized into DM+C, DM-NC, and non-diabetes groups. Physiological and laboratory measurements in the first 5 days after admission were collated and compared among groups. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to evaluate associations between diabetes status and the risk of mortality. RESULTS: Among the 996 individuals, 104 (10.4%) were DM+C, 295 (29.6%) DM-NC and 597 (59.9%) non-diabetes. There were 309 (31.0%) in-hospital deaths documented, 40 (4.0% of total cohort) were DM+C, 99 (9.9%) DM-NC and 170 (17.0%) non-diabetes. Individuals with DM+C were more likely to present with high anion gap/metabolic acidosis, features of renal impairment, and low albumin/lymphocyte count than those with DM-NC or those without diabetes. There was no significant difference in mortality rates among the groups: compared to individuals without diabetes, the adjusted HRs were 1.39 (95% CI 0.95-2.03, p = 0.093) and 1.18 (95% CI 0.90-1.54, p = 0.226) in DM+C and DM-C, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Those with COVID-19 and DM+C presented with a more severe clinical and biochemical profile, but this did not associate with increased mortality in this study.

Recently, interest has been emerging in the application of symbolic techniques to the specification and analysis of cryptosystems. These techniques, when accompanied by suitable proofs of soundness/completeness, can be used both to identify insecure cryptosystems and prove sound ones secure. But although a number of such symbolic algorithms have been developed and implemented, they remain scattered throughout the literature. In this paper, we present a tool, CryptoSolve, which provides a common basis for specification and implementation of these algorithms, CryptoSolve includes libraries that provide the term algebras used to express symbolic cryptographic systems, as well as implementations of useful algorithms, such as unification and variant generation. In its current initial iteration, it features several algorithms for the generation and analysis of cryptographic modes of operation, which allow one to use block ciphers to encrypt messages more than one block long. The goal of our work is to continue expanding the tool in order to consider additional cryptosystems and security questions, as well as extend the symbolic libraries to increase their applicability., Comment: In Proceedings GandALF 2022, arXiv:2209.09333

This paper explores the role of international partnerships to facilitate low-energy building design, construction, and operations. We present the strategic approach, joint research and development outcomes, and implementation activities of a unique U.S.-India program on buildings energy efficiency, the Center for Building Energy Research and Development. We discuss the collaboration successes in both countries despite their dissimilar building contexts, implementation challenges and opportunities. We highlight a range of R&D outcomes, such as novel tools and technologies developed and tested by the joint teams, with their technical energy savings potential, as well as results of capacity building and technology demonstrations. A deep-dive into key new scientific methods around building energy monitoring and benchmarking that could have a significant impact on high-performanceof buildings in both countries is also provided. Finally, in addition to joint R&D successes, pathways to deployment, and lessons learned are discussed as key takeaways.

Gesture recognition is an emerging topic in today’s technologies. The main focus of this is to recognize the human gestures using mathematical algorithms for human computer interaction. Only a few modes of Human-Computer Interaction exist, they are: through keyboard, mouse, touch screens etc. Each of these devices has their own limitations when it comes to adapting more versatile hardware in computers. Gesture recognition is one of the essential techniques to build user-friendly interfaces. Usually gestures can be originated from any bodily motion or state, but commonly originate from the face or hand. Gesture recognition enables users to interact with the devices without physically touching them. This project describes how hand gestures are trained to perform certain actions like switching pages scrolling or down in a page.

Introduction: COVID-19 infection in people with diabetes is associated with a disproportionately increased risk of complications and mortality.1 Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is an acute complication of diabetes.2,3 Little is known about DKA in the presence of COVID-19 infection. This study aimed to explore the effects of COVID-19 infection on presentation, clinical course and outcome in patients presenting with DKA. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included all patients treated for DKA between 1 March and 30 May 2020 at University Hospitals Birmingham. Patients were categorised as COVID-positive or negative based on PCR swab test. A pre-COVID group was established as external control. Data regarding demographics, diabetes type, admission pH, bicarbonate, lactate, glucose, serum electrolytes, urea, creatinine, time to resolution of acidosis and ketosis, complications and outcome were collected. DKA onset was defined as the presence of hyperglycaemia (serum glucose >11 mmol/L), ketosis (serum ketones >3 mmol/L or urine ketone >+++) and metabolic acidosis (pH <7.3 or bicarbonate <15 mmol/L) and DKA resolution as (ketone <0.6 mmol/L or urinary ketones ≤++ and pH >7.3 or bicarbonate >15 mmol/L) as per national guidelines in the UK.4 Results: A total of 88 episodes were included in the final analysis (20 COVID-positive, 31 COVID-negative, 37 pre-COVID). These were further sub-classified into type 1 (five COVID-positive, two COVID-negative, 29 pre-COVID) and type 2 diabetes (15 COVID-positive, two COVID-negative, eight pre-COVID). There was no significant difference in the severity of DKA at presentation (median for COVID positive, COVID negative and pre-COVID groups): pH (7.15 vs 7.2 vs 7.2), bicarbonate (11.4 mmol/L vs 11 mmol/L vs 13.3 mmol/L), glucose (25.85 mmol/L vs 30.9 mmol/L vs 29.1 mmol/L), lactate (2.7 mmol/L vs 3.2 mmol/L vs 2.8 mmol/L), serum osmolality (314.6 mmol/L vs 323.1 mmol/L vs 316.2 mmol/L). There was also no significant difference between the

Objective COVID-19 in people with diabetes is associated with a disproportionately worse prognosis. DKA is an acute complication of diabetes with a mortality rate of approximately 0.67%. Little is known about the natural history of DKA in the presence of COVID-19. This study aimed to explore the effects of COVID-19 on presentation, clinical course and outcome in patients presenting with DKA. Design Retrospective cohort study. Methods All patients treated for DKA between 1 March 2020 and 30 May 2020 were included. Patients were categorised as COVID-positive or COVID-negative based on the swab test. A pre-COVID group was established using data from 01 March 2019 to 30 May 2019 as external control. Data regarding demographics, diabetes type, pH, bicarbonate, lactate, glucose, DKA duration, complications and outcome were collected. Results A total of 88 DKA episodes were included in this study. There was no significant difference in the severity or duration of DKA between the three groups. COVID-positive T1DM were more hyperglycaemic on admission compared to COVID-negative and pre-COVID patients. There was an over representation of T2DM in COVID-positive patients with DKA than in pre-COVID or COVID-negative groups. Conclusion COVID-19 appears to influence the natural history of DKA differently in T1DM and T2DM. Patients with T1DM and COVID-19 presented with more hyperglycaemia (60 mmol/L (35.9–60.0) vs 31.4 mmol/L (28.0–39.1) vs 24 mmol/L (20.2–33.75), respectively). Patients with T2DM were unusually presenting in DKA when infected with COVID-19 with greater ICU need and higher mortality rates. A collaborative, multi-centre study is needed to provide more definitive results.

Background: People with diabetes and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have a significantly greater risk of death and/or intensive care unit (ICU) admission. The Association of British Clinical Diabetologists (ABCD) recently audited outcomes for people hospitalised in the UK with diabetes and COVID-19. Methods: The ABCD COVID-19 and diabetes audit was a retrospective audit of patients admitted to UK hospitals with diabetes and COVID-19 between March and December 2020. Data related to patients admitted in Wales were compared with patients admitted in England and Scotland. Results: In Wales, 40/82 (48.7%) patients with diabetes had COVID-19-related mortality compared with 1,149/2,916 (39.1%) in the UK group (p=0.08). The Welsh cohort were more likely to be Caucasian, have a higher body mass index and HbA1c, be diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy and prescribed a sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor or insulin than those in England and Scotland. Patients admitted to the ICU in Wales were more likely to be male and have type 2 diabetes. Conclusions: Patients admitted to hospital with diabetes and COVID-19 in Wales had a poorer outcome compared with England and Scotland. This disparity may reflect social inequality, differences in cardiovascular risk factors and/or differences in diabetes medications between hospitalised patients in Wales and the UK.

We describe the rationale, aims and objectives and the methodology of data collection for the ABCD nationwide audit of individuals admitted to hospital with coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19) and diabetes. The audit was inspired and undertaken by the urgent need to understand the clinical course of COVID-19 in patients with diabetes admitted to hospital in the UK during the pandemic. We wished to understand the clinical behaviour of diabetes per se, post hospital admission and the factors with may be associated with admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and death due to COVID-19. This was a clinically-led audit. We used existing infrastructure and expertise to collect data using an electronic tool specifically designed and piloted by the steering group members. The clinical variables were chosen to fulfil the main aim of this audit as stated above, and factors influencing the clinical course of COVID-19 in individuals with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes at the time of admission to hospital and during the whole length of stay, until discharge or death from COVID-19. The data collected so far represent a large, multicentre audit with more than 3,500 admissions during the pandemic. We plan to continue collecting additional data and publish ongoing reports of interest to diabetes clinicians with the aim of enhancing knowledge and understanding and thereby improving clinical care of, and outcomes for, people with diabetes who are admitted to hospital with COVID-19 in the UK.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: The aim of this work was to describe the clinical characteristics of adults with type 1 diabetes admitted to hospital and the risk factors associated with severe coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) in the UK. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed using data collected through a nationwide audit of people admitted to hospital with diabetes and COVID-19, conducted by the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists from March to October 2020. Prespecified demographic, clinical, medication and laboratory data were collected from the electronic and paper medical record systems of the participating hospitals by local clinicians. The primary outcome of the study, severe COVID-19, was defined as death in hospital and/or admission to the adult intensive care unit (AICU). Logistic regression models were used to generate age-adjusted ORs. RESULTS: Forty UK centres submitted data. The final dataset included 196 adults who were admitted to hospital and had both type 1 diabetes and COVID-19 on admission (male sex 55%, white 70%, with mean [SD] age 62 [19] years, BMI 28.3 [7.3] kg/m2 and last recorded HbA1c 76 [31] mmol/mol [9.1 (5.0)%]). The prevalence of pre-existing microvascular disease and macrovascular disease was 56% and 39%, respectively. The prevalence of diabetic ketoacidosis on admission was 29%. A total of 68 patients (35%) died or were admitted to AICU. The proportions of people that died were 7%, 38% and 38% of those aged <55, 55-74 and ≥75 years, respectively. BMI, serum creatinine levels and having one or more microvascular complications were positively associated with the primary outcome after adjusting for age. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: In people with type 1 diabetes and COVID-19 who were admitted to hospital in the UK, higher BMI, poorer renal function and presence of microvascular complications were associated with greater risk of death and/or admission to AICU. Risk of severe COVID-19 is reassuringly very low in people with t

OBJECTIVE: Diabetes has emerged as an important risk factor for mortality from COVID-19. Metformin, the most commonly prescribed glucose-lowering agent, has been proposed to influence susceptibility to and outcomes of COVID-19 via multiple mechanisms. We investigated whether, in patients with diabetes, metformin is associated with susceptibility to COVID-19 and its outcomes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We performed a propensity score-matched cohort study with active comparators using a large UK primary care dataset. Adults with type 2 diabetes patients and a current prescription for metformin and other glucose-lowering agents (MF+) were compared to those with a current prescription for glucose-lowering agents that did not include metformin (MF-). Outcomes were confirmed COVID-19, suspected/confirmed COVID-19, and associated mortality. A negative control outcome analysis (back pain) was also performed. RESULTS: There were 29 558 and 10 271 patients in the MF+ and MF- groups, respectively, who met the inclusion criteria. In the propensity score-matched analysis, the adjusted hazard ratios for suspected/confirmed COVID-19, confirmed COVID-19, and COVID-19-related mortality were 0.85 (95% CI 0.67, 1.08), 0.80 (95% CI 0.49, 1.30), and 0.87 (95% CI 0.34, 2.20) respectively. The negative outcome control analysis did not suggest unobserved confounding. CONCLUSION: Current prescription of metformin was not associated with the risk of COVID-19 or COVID-19-related mortality. It is safe to continue prescribing metformin to improve glycemic control in patients with.

In this paper, we investigate problems which are dual to the unification problem, namely the Fixed Point (FP) problem, Common Term (CT) problem and the Common Equation (CE) problem for string rewriting systems. Our main motivation is computing fixed points in systems, such as loop invariants in programming languages. We show that the fixed point (FP) problem is reducible to the common term problem. Our new results are: (i) the fixed point problem is undecidable for finite convergent string rewriting systems whereas it is decidable in polynomial time for finite, convergent and dwindling string rewriting systems, (ii) the common term problem is undecidable for the class of dwindling string rewriting systems, and (iii) for the class of finite, monadic and convergent systems, the common equation problem is decidable in polynomial time but for the class of dwindling string rewriting systems, common equation problem is undecidable., Comment: 28 pages, 6 figures, will be submitted for LMCS journal. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1706.05607

Alu retroelements propagate via retrotransposition by hijacking long interspersed nuclear element-1 (L1) reverse transcriptase (RT) and endonuclease activities. Reverse transcription of Alu RNA into complementary DNA (cDNA) is presumed to occur exclusively in the nucleus at the genomic integration site. Whether Alu cDNA is synthesized independently of genomic integration is unknown. Alu RNA promotes retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) death in geographic atrophy, an untreatable type of age-related macular degeneration. We report that Alu RNA-induced RPE degeneration is mediated via cytoplasmic L1-reverse-transcribed Alu cDNA independently of retrotransposition. Alu RNA did not induce cDNA production or RPE degeneration in L1-inhibited animals or human cells. Alu reverse transcription can be initiated in the cytoplasm via self-priming of Alu RNA. In four health insurance databases, use of nucleoside RT inhibitors was associated with reduced risk of developing atrophic macular degeneration (pooled adjusted hazard ratio, 0.616; 95% confidence interval, 0.493-0.770), thus identifying inhibitors of this Alu replication cycle shunt as potential therapies for a major cause of blindness.

The inherent weakness of masonry in tension has been repeatedly demonstrated in seismic events. The need to overcome seismic deficiency of unreinforced masonry (URM) panels has led to the development of structural walls with different reinforcement patterns. Confined masonry (CM), which consists of an URM masonry panel bordered with slender columns and beams, is one such alternative. Confining elements, tie columns and bond beams, are cast after the construction of the wall. These elements are usually constructed of reinforced concrete, although timber, reinforced masonry, and other materials have been used occasionally. RC frames with unreinforced masonry infill walls are common in developing countries with regions of high seismicity. Masonry is a complex material it is well known that masonry has a good performance when resisting and transmittingcompressive loads and a poor performance to resist tensile demands so the wire mesh is infilled in the wall in order to study the behavior of Infill masonry walls under cyclic loading by strengthening with wire mesh , Optimize the size and diameter of the mesh for maximum increase in shear strength and ductility , Anchorage of mesh to the columns , Study behaviour with openings and analyse the result of load bearing capacity and strength attain by the normal masonry wall and the wall infilled with the wire mesh.

Media convergence has led to the integration of different technology and given birth to various OTT services. Audiences have continued to watch more video content online, simultaneously watching less broadcast television. The audiences have embraced OTT services especially because they can watch video content according to their convenience. With the help of flow theory, we are able to understand certain factors that lead to the user's acceptance of a new OTT service. The decrease in broadcast viewership has resulted in a decrease in profits earned from broadcast advertising which has led to many brands advertising digitally. But the increase of advertising clutter is leading to the audience feeling intruded. This results in the audience avoiding the advertising by using ad blocks or opting to not to use streaming platforms with advertisements. In the current changing digital landscape the advertisers need to innovate to find alternative ways to reach targeted audiences with innovative methods., Mediekonvergens har möjliggjort integration av olika tekniker och gett upphov till olika OTT-tjänster. Publiken har fortsatt att titta på mer videoinnehåll online, samtidigt titta på mindre tv-sändningar. Den största anledningen till att publiken har börjat använda OTT-tjänster är att de kan titta på videoinnehåll enligt deras bekvämlighet. Med hjälp av flow teori kan vi förstå vissa faktorer som leder till publikens acceptans av en ny OTT-tjänst. Minskningen av TV-tittarnas tittande har resulterat i en minskning av vinsterna från TV-reklam. På grund av detta annonserar många märken digitalt. Men ökningen av advertising clutter leder till att publiken känner sig intrång.Detta leder till att publiken undviker reklam genom att använda ad-block eller välja att inte använda streamingtjänster med annonser. I detta nya digitala landskap måste annonsörerna innovera för att hitta alternativa sätt att nå målgrupper med innovativa metoder.

AIM: We aimed to explore the association between South Asian ethnicity and complications of type 1 diabetes, and whether this is affected by migration. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, data on diabetes control and complications were obtained for South Asians in India (South AsiansIndia , n = 2592) and the UK (South AsiansUK , n = 221) and white Europeans in the UK (n = 1431). Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify associations between ethnicity and diabetic kidney disease, retinopathy and neuropathy adjusting for age, sex, BMI, disease duration, HbA1c , blood pressure (BP) and cholesterol. RESULTS: South AsiansIndia had significantly greater adjusted odds of diabetic kidney disease [odds ratio (OR) 5.0, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 3.6-7.1] and retinopathy (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.2-2.5), but lower odds of neuropathy (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.4-0.6) than white Europeans. South AsiansIndia had significantly greater adjusted odds of diabetic kidney disease (OR 3.0, 95% 1.8-5.3) than South AsiansUK , but there was no significant difference in the odds of other complications. CONCLUSIONS: In this hypothesis-generating study, we report that South Asian ethnicity is associated with greater risk of diabetic kidney disease and retinopathy, and lower risk of neuropathy than white European ethnicity. Part of the excess diabetic kidney disease risk is reduced in South AsiansUK . These associations cannot be accounted for by differences in vascular risk factors. Our findings in South Asians with type 1 diabetes mirror previous findings in type 2 diabetes and now need to be validated in a study of the effect of ethnicity on type 1 diabetes complications where healthcare is provided in the same setting.

Building user trust in dialogue agents requires smooth and consistent dialogue exchanges. However, agents can easily lose conversational context and generate irrelevant utterances. These situations are called dialogue breakdown, where agent utterances prevent users from continuing the conversation. Building systems to detect dialogue breakdown allows agents to recover appropriately or avoid breakdown entirely. In this paper we investigate the use of semi-supervised learning methods to improve dialogue breakdown detection, including continued pre-training on the Reddit dataset and a manifold-based data augmentation method. We demonstrate the effectiveness of these methods on the Dialogue Breakdown Detection Challenge (DBDC) English shared task. Our submissions to the 2020 DBDC5 shared task place first, beating baselines and other submissions by over 12\% accuracy. In ablations on DBDC4 data from 2019, our semi-supervised learning methods improve the performance of a baseline BERT model by 2\% accuracy. These methods are applicable generally to any dialogue task and provide a simple way to improve model performance., Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, accepted at the NeurIPS Workshop on Human in the Loop Dialogue Systems

Unification in description logics (DLs) has been introduced as a novel inference service that can be used to detect redundancies in ontologies, by finding different concepts that may potentially stand for the same intuitive notion. Together with the special case of matching, they were first investigated in detail for the DL FL0, where these problems can be reduced to solving certain language equations. In this thesis, we extend this service in two directions. In order to increase the recall of this method for finding redundancies, we introduce and investigate the notion of approximate unification, which basically finds pairs of concepts that “almost” unify, in order to account for potential small modelling errors. The meaning of “almost” is formalized using distance measures between concepts. We show that approximate unification in FL0 can be reduced to approximately solving language equations, and devise algorithms for solving the latter problem for particular distance measures. Furthermore, we make a first step towards integrating background knowledge, formulated in so-called TBoxes, by investigating the special case of matching in the presence of TBoxes of different forms. We acquire a tight complexity bound for the general case, while we prove that the problem becomes easier in a restricted setting. To achieve these bounds, we take advantage of an equivalence characterization of FL0 concepts that is based on formal languages. In addition, we incorporate TBoxes in computing concept distances. Even though our results on the approximate setting cannot deal with TBoxes yet, we prepare the framework that future research can build on. Before we journey to the technical details of the above investigations, we showcase our program in the simpler setting of the equational theory ACUI, where we are able to also combine the two extensions. In the course of studying the above problems, we make heavy use of automata theory, where we also derive novel results that could be of

Asymmetric unification, or unification with irreducibility constraints, is a newly developed paradigm that arose out of the automated analysis of cryptographic protocols. However, there are still relatively few asymmetric unification algorithms. In this paper we address this lack by exploring the application of automata-based unification methods. We examine the theory of xor with a homomorphism, ACUNh, from the point of view of asymmetric unification, and develop a new automata-based decision procedure. Then, we adapt a recently developed asymmetric combination procedure to produce a general asymmetric- ACUNh decision procedure. Finally, we present a new approach for obtaining a solution-generating asymmetric-ACUNh unification automaton. We also compare our approach to the most commonly used form of asymmetric unification available today, variant unification.

Lucy Swift,1 Chunfen Zhang,1 Tanya Trippett,2 Aru Narendran1 1POETIC Laboratory for Preclinical and Drug Discovery Studies, Division of Pediatric Oncology, Alberta Children’s Hospital, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; 2Department of Pediatrics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA Purpose: Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial cancer in children. Although the prognosis for low-risk neuroblastoma patients is good, the 5-year survival rates for high-risk and relapsed patients are low. The poor survival rates for these patients demonstrate the need for novel therapeutic approaches to treat this disease. PV-10 is a sterile 10% solution of Rose Bengal that has previously been shown to induce cell death in a range of adult cancers, providing the rationale for studying the activity of PV-10 against neuroblastoma in preclinical studies. Methods: The effects of PV-10 on neuroblastoma were investigated in vitro. Cytotoxicity assays were performed using the alamar blue assay on the following cell lines: SK-N-AS, SK-N-BE(2), IMR5, LAN1, SHEP, and SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells, SK-N-MC neuroepithelioma cells, and normal primary, BJ, and WI38 fibroblasts. Phase-contrast, fluorescence, and time-lapse video microscopy; flow cytometry; and Western blotting were used to investigate the effects of PV-10 on SK-N-AS and IMR5 cells. Synergy with commonly used anticancer drugs was determined by calculation of combination indices in SK-N-AS and IMR5 cells. Mouse xenograft models of SK-N-AS and IMR5 tumors were also used to evaluate the efficacy of PV-10 in vivo. Results: In vitro preclinical data demonstrate that pharmacologically relevant concentrations of PV-10 are cytotoxic to neuroblastoma cell lines. Studies to investigate target modulation in neuroblastoma cell lines show that PV-10 disrupts lysosomes, decreases the percentage of cells in S phase, and induces apoptosis in a concentration-, time-, and cell-line

Barrett’s esophagus (BE) is a pre-malignant state that can proceed to the cancerous condition known as esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA). The molecular pathogenesis from the normal esophagus to BE and its progression from BE to EA is poorly understood making the diagnoses and treatment suboptimal. It is known that chronic gastro-esophageal reflux of bile acids is a trigger of BE and what initiates the epithelial metaplastic change. There has been increasing evidence in regards to the abnormal signaling seen during the development of BE that resembles to signaling pathways present during the embryological development of the esophagus. The signaling pathways seen during development of the esophagus are as follows: Bone morphogenetic protein signaling (BMP), Hedgehog signaling (HH), Wingless-Type MMTV Integration Site Family (WNT), Retinoic acid signaling pathway (RA) and Notch signaling. Importantly, in vivo and in vitro models have demonstrated that, in the presence of bile acids, these abnormal signaling pathways are induced. Although the signaling pathways mentioned are involved during the development of the esophagus from simple columnar to stratified squamous epithelium, then these same signaling pathways but in reverse should help better understand the molecular pathogenesis involved in the development of BE from stratified squamous to simple columnar.

BackgroundIsoniazid-resistant, rifampicin-susceptible (INH-R) tuberculosis is the most common form of drug resistance, and is associated with failure, relapse, and acquired rifampicin resistance if treated with first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs. The aim of the study was to compare success, mortality, and acquired rifampicin resistance in patients with INH-R pulmonary tuberculosis given different durations of rifampicin, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide (REZ); a fluoroquinolone plus 6 months or more of REZ; and streptomycin plus a core regimen of REZ.MethodsStudies with regimens and outcomes known for individual patients with INH-R tuberculosis were eligible, irrespective of the number of patients if randomised trials, or with at least 20 participants if a cohort study. Studies were identified from two relevant systematic reviews, an updated search of one of the systematic reviews (for papers published between April 1, 2015, and Feb 10, 2016), and personal communications. Individual patient data were obtained from authors of eligible studies. The individual patient data meta-analysis was performed with propensity score matched logistic regression to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and risk differences of treatment success (cure or treatment completion), death during treatment, and acquired rifampicin resistance. Outcomes were measured across different treatment regimens to assess the effects of: different durations of REZ (≤6 months vs >6 months); addition of a fluoroquinolone to REZ (fluoroquinolone plus 6 months or more of REZ vs 6 months or more of REZ); and addition of streptomycin to REZ (streptomycin plus 6 months of rifampicin and ethambutol and 1-3 months of pyrazinamide vs 6 months or more of REZ). The overall quality of the evidence was assessed using GRADE methodology.FindingsIndividual patient data were requested for 57 cohort studies and 17 randomised trials including 8089 patients with INH-R tuberculosis. We received 33 datasets with 6424 patients

Segregation is an important phenomenon in bulk grain handling and the distribution of Fines, Foreign materials and Dockage (FFD) in stored grain has been studied in the literature. In the reported studies, FFD was characterized only by its size which has resulted in an inability to make meaningful comparisons as FFD of the same size may have different physical properties. In this study, kidney bean, soybean and canola were used to represent FFD in bulk wheat and these grains were referred to as “other grains”. A test bin of 2 m diameter was loaded with wheat grain with 0, 3 and 6% other grains. Trials were conducted at three drop heights of 80, 160 and 240 cm. After the bin was loaded, samples were collected at the following six locations along a radius: 0, 18.8, 37.6, 56.4, 75.2 and 94 cm from the centre. The bulk density was measure for each sample and the samples were then sieved to determine the amount of other at each location. Also, the orientation of grains was studied by pouring melted wax at three locations along another radius. The orientation of the major axes of wheat, kidney bean and soybean was along the radius of the bin. The canola seeds were found more at the periphery of the bin and this could be due to impact segregation. The kidney beans and soybeans were found more near the mid locations and centre of the bin. The effects of avalanches, rolling, sliding and embedding were observed. The percentage of other grains inside the grain mixture before loading into the test bin did not have a significant effect on the distribution of other grains after loading. The drop height significantly affected the amount of canola at different locations inside the test bin.

This study examines the influence of adopting a student-centered active learning approach based on self-determination theory (SDT) to develop independent and motivated first-year Australian business undergraduates. Existing literature demonstrates how active learningapproaches can help to improve student motivation. However, there are no empirical studies to assess the influence of active learningclassroom activities on student academic performance during their first year of tertiary studies. The aim of our study is to contribute to knowledge by integrating self-determination theory, and ‘at-home ethnographic’ research approach to reflect on how active learning-classroom strategies can help tertiary business students become independent learners and improve their academic performance. The active learning-classroom approach included a scaffolded assessment structure; timely and ongoing tutor feedback on assessment criteria and learning outcomes of the scaffolded assessments; and social/peer-based learning activities within and outside of the classroom to support student performance. The authors draw on an ‘at-home ethnographic’ research approach, which allowed the teaching team to use their observations during the 13 weeks of teaching, and team reflections, to describe not only what they witnessed, but also their experiences of how students interacted, and what they did within the classroom environment. The study shows that students became autonomous and positively benefited from the scaffolded assessment structure while evolving to become competent, independent learners due to the continuous feedback they received on their assessments, and to the active peer learning within and outside of the classroom. Moreover, the group assessments provided a platform to engage with academic literature, which, in turn, helped students to challenge their understanding of the concepts by engaging in critical analysis with their peers. The findings can help future tertiary learning d

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma is a heterogeneous group of lymphomas characterized by the accumulation of malignant T cells in the skin. The molecular and cellular etiology of this malignancy remains enigmatic, and what role antigenic stimulation plays in the initiation and/or progression of the disease remains to be elucidated. Deep sequencing of the tumor genome showed a highly heterogeneous landscape of genetic perturbations, and transcriptome analysis of transformed T cells further highlighted the heterogeneity of this disease. Nonetheless, using data harvested from high-throughput transcriptional profiling allowed us to develop a reliable signature of this malignancy. Focusing on a key cytokine signaling pathway previously implicated in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma pathogenesis, JAK/STAT signaling, we used conditional gene targeting to develop a fully penetrant small animal model of this disease that recapitulates many key features of mycosis fungoides, a common variant of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Using this mouse model, we show that T-cell receptor engagement is critical for malignant transformation of the T lymphocytes and that progression of the disease is dependent on microbiota.

Exfoliation syndrome (XFS) is the most common known risk factor for secondary glaucoma and a major cause of blindness worldwide. Variants in two genes, LOXL1 and CACNA1A, have previously been associated with XFS. To further elucidate the genetic basis of XFS, we collected a global sample of XFS cases to refine the association at LOXL1, which previously showed inconsistent results across populations, and to identify new variants associated with XFS. We identified a rare protective allele at LOXL1 (p.Phe407, odds ratio (OR) = 25, P = 2.9 × 10-14) through deep resequencing of XFS cases and controls from nine countries. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) of XFS cases and controls from 24 countries followed by replication in 18 countries identified seven genome-wide significant loci (P < 5 × 10-8). We identified association signals at 13q12 (POMP), 11q23.3 (TMEM136), 6p21 (AGPAT1), 3p24 (RBMS3) and 5q23 (near SEMA6A). These findings provide biological insights into the pathology of XFS and highlight a potential role for naturally occurring rare LOXL1 variants in disease biology.

We compare two kinds of unification problems: Asymmetric Unification and Disunification, which are variants of Equational Unification. Asymmetric Unification is a type of Equational Unification where the right-hand sides of the equations are in normal form with respect to the given term rewriting system. In Disunification we solve equations and disequations with respect to an equational theory for the case with free constants. We contrast the time complexities of both and show that the two problems are incomparable: there are theories where one can be solved in Polynomial time while the other is NP-hard. This goes both ways. The time complexity also varies based on the termination ordering used in the term rewriting system.

In this paper, we investigate a problem dual to the unification problem, namely the Common Term (CT) problem for string rewriting systems. Our main motivation was in computing fixed points in systems, such as loop invariants in programming languages. We show that the fixed point problem is reducible to the common term problem. We also prove that the common term problem is undecidable for dwindling string rewriting systems.

Vanessa Meier-Stephenson,1,2 Justin Riemer,1,2 Aru Narendran1–3 1Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 2Department of Pediatrics, Alberta Children’s Hospital, 3Pediatric Oncology Experimental Therapeutics Investigators Consortium (POETIC) Laboratory, Calgary, AB, Canada Purpose: Refractory pediatric leukemia remains one of the leading causes of death in children. Intensification of current chemotherapy regimens to improve the outcome in these children is often limited by the effects of drug resistance and cumulative toxicity. Hence, the search for newer agents and novel therapeutic approaches are urgently needed to formulate the next-generation early-phase clinical trials for these patients.Materials and methods: A comprehensive library of antimicrobials, including eight HIV protease inhibitors (nelfinavir [NFV], saquinavir, indinavir, ritonavir, amprenavir, atazanavir, lopinavir, and darunavir), was tested against a panel of pediatric leukemia cells by in vitro growth inhibition studies. Detailed target modulation studies were carried out by Western blot analyses. In addition, drug synergy experiments with conventional and novel antitumor agents were completed to identify effective treatment regimens for future clinical trials.Results: Several of the HIV protease inhibitors showed cytotoxicity at physiologically relevant concentrations (half-maximal inhibitory concentration values ranging from 1–24 µM). In particular, NFV was found to exhibit the most potent antileukemic properties across all cell lines tested. Mechanistic studies show that NFV leads to the induction of autophagy and apoptosis possibly through the induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress. Furthermore, interference with cell signaling pathways, including Akt and mTOR, was also noted. Finally, drug combination studies have identified agents with potential for synergy with NFV in its antileukemic activity. These include JQ1

Aim: To investigate the qualitative aspects in patient selection and the quantitative impact of disease burden in real world treatment of vitreomacular traction (VMT) and implementation of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance (TA297). Methods: A monocentric, retrospective review of consecutive patients undergoing optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging over a 3 month period. Patients with VMT in at least one eye were identified for further data collection on laterality, visual acuity, symptoms, presence of epiretinal membrane, macular hole and treatment selection. Results: A total of 3472 patients underwent OCT imaging with a total of 6878 eyes scanned. Out of 87 patients, 74 patients had unilateral VMT (38 right, 36 left) and 13 patients had bilateral VMT. Eighteen patients with unilateral VMT satisfied NICE criteria of severe sight problems in the affected eye. Eight were managed for a coexisting pathology, one refused treatment, one patient did not attend, two closed spontaneously, and one received ocriplasmin prior to the study start date. Only two patients with unilateral VMT received ocriplasmin and three underwent vitrectomy. Those failing to meet NICE criteria for unilateral VMT were predominantly asymptomatic (n=49) or had coexisting ERM (n=5) or both (n=2). Conclusion: Ocriplasmin provides an alternative treatment for patients with symptomatic VMT. Our data shows that the majority of patients with VMT do not meet NICE TA297 primarily due to lack of symptoms. Those meeting NICE criteria, but not treated, tended to have coexisting macular pathology. Variation in patient selection due to subjective factors not outlined in NICE guidance suggests that real world outcomes of ocriplasmin therapy should be interpreted with caution.

Item does not contain fulltext, Fusarium species are reported frequently as the most common causative agents of fungal keratitis in tropical countries such as India. Sixty-five fusaria isolated from patients were subjected to multilocus DNA sequencing to characterize the spectrum of the species associated with keratitis infections in India. Susceptibilities of these fusaria to ten antifungals were determined in vitro by the broth microdilution method. An impressive phylogenetic diversity of fusaria was reflected in susceptibilities differing at species level. Typing results revealed that the isolates were distributed among species in the species complexes (SCs) of F. solani (FSSC; n = 54), F. oxysporum (FOSC; n = 1), F. fujikuroi (FFSC; n = 3), and F. dimerum (FDSC; n = 7). Amphotericin B, voriconazole, and clotrimazole proved to be the most effective drugs, followed by econazole.

A total of 16 genera and 68 species of Chalcididae of Vietnam are taxonomically treated. Thirteen new species are described; the remaining 55 species are keyed, redescribed or provided with a diagnosis. Among these 37 species and eleven genera are recorded for the first time from Vietnam. The thirteen new species are: Antrocephalus neogalleriae Narendran & van Achterberg, sp. n.; Brachymeria neowiebesina Narendran & van Achterberg, sp. n., B. semirusula Narendran & van Achterberg, sp. n., Dirhinus neoclaviger Narendran & van Achterberg, sp. n., Epitranus narendrani van Achterberg, sp. n., E. neonigriceps Narendran & van Achterberg, sp. n., Heydoniella vietnamensis Narendran & van Achterberg, sp. n., Megachalcis vietnamicus Narendran & van Achterberg, sp. n., Notaspidium vietnamicum Narendran & van Achterberg, sp. n., Oxycoryphe neotenax Narendran & van Achterberg, sp. n., Sthulapada neopadata Narendran & van Achterberg, sp. n., S. vietnamensis Narendran & van Achterberg, sp. n., and Tanycoryphus masii Narendran & van Achterberg, sp. n. The newly recorded genera are: Antrocephalus Kirby, 1883; Haltichella Spinola, 1811; Heydoniella Narendran, 2003; Hockeria Walker, 1834; Kriechbaumerella Dalla Torre, 1894; Notaspidium Dalla Torre, 1897; Oxycoryphe Kriechbaumer, 1894; Psilochalcis Kieffer, 1904; Sthulapada Narendran, 1989; Tanycorphus Cameron, 1905, and

Basic investigations link a Val158Met polymorphism (rs4680) in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene to not only its enzymatic activity, but also to its dopaminergic tone in the prefrontal cortex. Previous PET studies have documented the relationship between COMT Val158Met polymorphism and D1 and D2/3 receptor binding potential (BP), and interpreted them in terms of dopaminergic tone. The use of baseline dopamine D1 and D2/3 receptor binding potential (BPND) as a proxy for dopaminergic tone is problematic because they reflect both endogenous dopamine levels (a change in radiotracer's apparent affinity) and receptor density. In this analysis of 31 healthy controls genotyped for the Val158Met polymorphism (Val/Val, Val/Met, and Met/Met), we used amphetamine-induced displacement of [11C]FLB 457 as a direct measure of dopamine release. Our analysis failed to show a relationship between COMT genotype status and prefrontal cortical dopamine release. COMT genotype was also not predictive of baseline dopamine D2/3 receptor BPND.

We investigate properties of convergent and forward-closed string rewriting systems in the context of the syntactic criteria introduced in \cite{LynchMorawska} by Christopher Lynch and Barbara Morawska (we call these $LM$-Systems). Since a string rewriting system can be viewed as a term-rewriting system over a signature of purely monadic function symbols, we adapt their definition to the string rewriting case. We prove that the subterm-collapse problem for convergent and forward-closed string rewriting systems is effectively solvable. Therefore, there exists a decision procedure that verifies if such a system is an $LM$-System. We use the same construction to prove that the \emph{cap problem} from the field of cryptographic protocol analysis, which is undecidable for general $LM$-systems, is decidable when restricted to the string rewriting case., Comment: Revised based on reviewers' feedback

In this paper we investigate convergent term rewriting systems that conform to the criteria set out by Christopher Lynch and Barbara Morawska in their seminal paper "Basic Syntactic Mutation." The equational unification problem modulo such a rewrite system is solvable in polynomial-time. In this paper, we derive properties of such a system which we call an $LM$-system. We show, in particular, that the rewrite rules in an $LM$-system have no left- or right-overlaps. We also show that despite the restricted nature of an $LM$-system, there are important undecidable problems, such as the deduction problem in cryptographic protocol analysis (also called the the cap problem) that remain undecidable for $LM$-systems.

The main objective of this project is to build a robotic platform to recreate microgravity environment on Earth. Different methods have already been implemented for this purpose but they present some limitations. For example, zero gravity flight is a very expensive procedure that has a very short duration per test. On the other hand, the robotic platform proposed on this project will allow for extensive testing at low operational cost. The first step of the proposed research is to developed a two dimensional platform with two linear axis and one rotational axis. A force sensor will be mounted on the third axis to maintain zero force at the interface between the robotic platform and the space robot recreating free floating conditions. Afterwards, a second robotics platform will be developed to test satellite tracking and docking operations. This system will allow for testing projects developed by other teams where a micro gravity environment simulation is required. Poster Presentation IGNITE GRANT AWARD

Edward William James Pritchard,1 Shams-Ulislam Ilyas,1 Soha Khaled Amar,2 Yit Chuin Yang,3 Nirodhini Narendran1 1Ophthalmology Department, Wolverhampton Eye Infirmary, New Cross Hospital, Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust, Wolverhampton, 2College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, 3Optometry Department, Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, UK Aim: To investigate the qualitative aspects in patient selection and the quantitative impact of disease burden in real world treatment of vitreomacular traction (VMT) and implementation of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance (TA297). Methods: A monocentric, retrospective review of consecutive patients undergoing optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging over a 3 month period. Patients with VMT in at least one eye were identified for further data collection on laterality, visual acuity, symptoms, presence of epiretinal membrane, macular hole and treatment selection. Results: A total of 3472 patients underwent OCT imaging with a total of 6878 eyes scanned. Out of 87 patients, 74 patients had unilateral VMT (38 right, 36 left) and 13 patients had bilateral VMT. Eighteen patients with unilateral VMT satisfied NICE criteria of severe sight problems in the affected eye. Eight were managed for a coexisting pathology, one refused treatment, one patient did not attend, two closed spontaneously, and one received ocriplasmin prior to the study start date. Only two patients with unilateral VMT received ocriplasmin and three underwent vitrectomy. Those failing to meet NICE criteria for unilateral VMT were predominantly asymptomatic (n=49) or had coexisting ERM (n=5) or both (n=2). Conclusion: Ocriplasmin provides an alternative treatment for patients with symptomatic VMT. Our data shows that the majority of patients with VMT do not meet NICE TA297 primarily due to lack of symptoms. Those meeting NICE criteria, but not treated, tended to have coexis

Changes in endogenous dopamine levels can be detected in humans using positron emission tomography scans by measuring the amount by which a specific D2/3 radioligand is displaced. In some cases, a challenge drug such as amphetamine is introduced to increase the amount of dopamine released into the synaptic cleft. Although intravenous amphetamine is often utilized, oral amphetamine has been shown to be just as effective in increasing endogenous dopamine levels. Based on our own use of oral amphetamine as a challenge drug, we have retroactively reviewed our study charts to determine the cardiovascular safety of 0.5 mg kg-1 oral d-amphetamine. Of 172 amphetamine administrations in 144 individuals, only 2.8% of subjects experienced any transient adverse effects. In addition, we found no clinically relevant differences in increases of vital signs between healthy controls and patients. We therefore reaffirm the safety of 0.5 mg kg-1 oral amphetamine in subjects previously screened for cardiovascular risk factors.

Exfoliation syndrome (XFS) is the most common recognizable cause of open-angle glaucoma worldwide. To better understand the etiology of XFS, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 1,484 cases and 1,188 controls from Japan and followed up the most significant findings in a further 6,901 cases and 20,727 controls from 17 countries across 6 continents. We discovered a genome-wide significant association between a new locus (CACNA1A rs4926244) and increased susceptibility to XFS (odds ratio (OR) = 1.16, P = 3.36 × 10(-11)). Although we also confirmed overwhelming association at the LOXL1 locus, the key SNP marker (LOXL1 rs4886776) demonstrated allelic reversal depending on the ancestry group (Japanese: OR(A allele) = 9.87, P = 2.13 × 10(-217); non-Japanese: OR(A allele) = 0.49, P = 2.35 × 10(-31)). Our findings represent the first genetic locus outside of LOXL1 surpassing genome-wide significance for XFS and provide insight into the biology and pathogenesis of the disease.

Type 1 diabetes is characterised by immune-mediated destruction of insulin-producing beta cells. Significant beta cell function is usually present at the time of diagnosis with type 1 diabetes, and preservation of this function has important clinical benefits. The last 30 years have seen a number of largely unsuccessful trials for beta cell preservation, some of which have been of therapies that have potential for significant harm. There is a need to explore new, more tolerable approaches to preserving beta cell function that can be implemented on a large clinical scale. Here we review the evidence for physical exercise as a therapy for the preservation of beta cell function in patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes. We highlight possible mechanisms by which exercise could preserve beta cell function and then present evidence from other models of diabetes that demonstrate that exercise preserves beta cell function. We conclude by proposing that there is now a need for studies to explore whether exercise can preserve beta cell in patients newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

Ever since Stephen Pagets 1889 hypothesis, metastatic organotropism has remained one of cancers greatest mysteries. Here we demonstrate that exosomes from mouse and human lung-, liver-and brain-tropic tumour cells fuse preferentially with resident cells at their predicted destination, namely lung fibroblasts and epithelial cells, liver Kupffer cells and brain endothelial cells. We show that tumour-derived exosomes uptaken by organ-specific cells prepare the pre-metastatic niche. Treatment with exosomes from lung-tropic models redirected the metastasis of bone-tropic tumour cells. Exosome proteomics revealed distinct integrin expression patterns, in which the exosomal integrins alpha(6)beta(4) and alpha(6)beta(1) were associated with lung metastasis, while exosomal integrin alpha(v)beta(5) was linked to liver metastasis. Targeting the integrins alpha(6)beta(4) and alpha(v)beta(5) decreased exosome uptake, as well as lung and liver metastasis, respectively. We demonstrate that exosome integrin uptake by resident cells activates Src phosphorylation and pro-inflammatory S100 gene expression. Finally, our clinical data indicate that exosomal integrins could be used to predict organ-specific metastasis., Funding Agencies|MSK Cancer Center Support Grant/Core Grant [P30 CA008748]; National Cancer Institute [U01-CA169538]; National Institutes of Health [R01-CA169416]; United States Department of Defense [W81XWH-13-10249, W81XWH-13-1-0425]; Melanoma Research Alliance; Sohn Conference Foundation; Childrens Cancer and Blood Foundation; Manning Foundation; Hartwell Foundation; Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia; Nancy C. and Daniel P. Paduano Foundation; Feldstein Foundation; Starr Cancer Consortium; Mary Kay Foundation; Pediatric Oncology Experimental Therapeutic Investigator Consortium (POETIC); James Paduano Foundation; Beth Tortolani Foundation; Malcolm Hewitt Weiner Foundation; Theodore A. Rapp Foundation; American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association 5th District Cancer Research Foundation; Charles and Marjorie Holloway Foundation; Sussman Family Fund; Lerner Foundation; Breast Cancer Alliance; Manhasset Womens Coalition Against Breast Cancer; Ministry of Science and Technology Taiwan [101-2918-I-002-016]; JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowships; Susan G. Komen Postdoctoral Fellowship

An algorithm for unification modulo one-sided distributivity is an early result by Tid\'en and Arnborg. More recently this theory has been of interest in cryptographic protocol analysis due to the fact that many cryptographic operators satisfy this property. Unfortunately the algorithm presented in the paper, although correct, has recently been shown not to be polynomial time bounded as claimed. In addition, for some instances, there exist most general unifiers that are exponentially large with respect to the input size. In this paper we first present a new polynomial time algorithm that solves the decision problem for a non-trivial subcase, based on a typed theory, of unification modulo one-sided distributivity. Next we present a new polynomial algorithm that solves the decision problem for unification modulo one-sided distributivity. A construction, employing string compression, is used to achieve the polynomial bound. Lastly, we examine the one-sided distributivity problem in the new asymmetric unification paradigm. We give the first asymmetric unification algorithm for one-sided distributivity.

Programs that process data that reside in files are widely used in varied domains, such as banking, healthcare, and web-traffic analysis. Precise static analysis of these programs in the context of software verification and transformation tasks is a challenging problem. Our key insight is that static analysis of file-processing programs can be made more useful if knowledge of the input file formats of these programs is made available to the analysis. We propose a generic framework that is able to perform any given underlying abstract interpretation on the program, while restricting the attention of the analysis to program paths that are potentially feasible when the program's input conforms to the given file format specification. We describe an implementation of our approach, and present empirical results using real and realistic programs that show how our approach enables novel verification and transformation tasks, and also improves the precision of standard analysis problems.

This research is mainly conducted to study the relationship between turbocharger, fuel economy and environmental issues The turbocharger itself is designed for the performance of the engine in term of its torque and acceleration.Turbocharger regulates the optimum level of air and gasoline into the intake manifold of the engine.But many of consumers do not know that turbocharger's main function is to increase fuel economy.Besides that, turbocharger is also playing an important role in reducing emissions made by both petrol and diesel engine. Somehow, consumers are hesitating to buy turbocharged vehicles because there are some automotive industries that selling vehicles that does not meet fuel economy and emissions standard as tested in the laboratory.Therefore, automotive industries should take step to replace these vehicles and must meet fuel economy and emission standard.This study will be able to investigate about the usage of turbocharger for fuel economy and emissions.The perception of consumer also will be obtained from study.The questionnaire will be given to users of petrol and diesel engine to study the relationship between turbocharger, fuel economy and environmental issues. The respondents are petrol and diesel engine vehicle users.