The need for designers who understand features of the interior environment that are important to persons with dementia (PwD) is increasing because of the growing number of diagnoses related to Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Research regarding the built environment and PwD often focuses on conditions that compensate for the declining cognitive abilities of occupants and users. Many populations have demonstrated improved cognitive performance after interactions with nature, however systematic studies with PwD using natural elements in the context of the built environment and measures of cognition are few. This study explores the environment's potential to stabilize or improve cognitive function. It investigates the effects of natural elements – operationalized by live plants – on the cognitive responses of persons who have moderate to moderately severe dementia.


Summary. The subject of this paper is the problem of the covariations of the index and its components, x and y, in a normal bivariate population. 1° The exact regression lines of x and y on the index are studied. 2° Then, the usual linear approximations of these regressions are geometrically analysed (with the two correspondant correlations).


A distributed radar network may be considered as a collection of nodes that can be combined into several "sub-apertures" such that each sub-aperture is optimized for a particular task the network must complete. This approach allows matching of radar node resources to tasks and thus maximization of the number of tasks that can be undertaken in parallel. If the sub-apertures are defined dynamically we might consider the radar network as being continuously reconfigured. This leads to the concept of reconfigurable resource managment which is a new form of resource management where the sensor can be reconfigured into multiple sub-sensors to maximize resource use. A general mathematical framework is presented for reconfigurable resource managment. A Monte Carlo simulation is presented, in which a network of two gimbaled dish radars must maintain custody of multiple target tracks. The reconfigurable resource managment approach is found to significantly outperform static resource managment: when there are twenty-five tasks static resource managment has a success rate of just 40% compared to reconfigurable resource managment's 100%.


Hydrogenated ZrO2 microspheres were directly prepared by cathode plasma electrolysis (CPE) in an aqueous solution of Zr(NO3)4•5H2O. Owing to the energy of plasma and the cathodic hydrogen evolution reactions, the CPE method combined the preparation of ZrO2 ceramic and the hydrogen treatment into only one step. The results showed regular microspheres consisting of tetragonal-ZrO2 and monoclinic-ZrO2 with 1–10 µm in diameter were formed at relatively high concentration of Zr(NO3)3•5H2O. These ZrO2 microspheres contained about 52.54 µg g−1 hydrogen which caused a narrow band gap (3.10 eV). Thus, the microspheres showed good photocatalytic activity under simulated sunlight, and the degradation of RhB dye reached nearly 58% for 3 h of irradiation, much better than the ZrO2 microspheres after dehydrogenation treatment.


There are few population‐based studies of the incidence and mortality of autoimmune hepatitis. The burden of the disease and how it has changed over time have not been fully explored. We conducted a population‐based cohort study on the incidence and mortality of autoimmune hepatitis in England, 1997‐2015.


Polystyrene granules (EPS) for lightweight aggregate and cement for cementing material, while adding a variety of additives, were used to prepare cement-based composite thermal insulation materials by the method of vibration molding. The effects of different waterproof agent on water absorption and strength of cement-based composite thermal insulation materials were studied contrastively by adding emulsified stearic acid and emulsified composite waterproofing agent, and the related mechanisms were analyzed. Results showed that the waterproofing effect and strengthen effect of emulsified composite waterproofing agent is superior to emulsified stearic acid, when the content of emulsified stearic acid and emulsified composite waterproofing agent are 5% and 5%, respectively, the 2h, 24h water absorption of samples are 20.59%, 47.64% and 15.53%, 34.53%, the flexural and compressive strength of samples are 0.32MPa, 0.42MPa and 0.35MPa, 0.47MPa.


The analysis of Breton agricultural and rural societies has often been organized according to a tradition-versus-modernity dichotomy. Now, it seems that the "modernity" of yesterday encounters difficulties to legitimize its practices and that the "traditions" of the past look less irrational. Are the experiments of alternative practices in rural contexts studied (aspaari and cedapa) the "new modernity" of the times? Or do we need to relinquish these axes and think of these realities in terms of struggle and cohabitation? ;;;;


In 1995, an international conference on Survey Measurement and Process Quality was held in Bristol, United Kingdom. In addition to a large number of contributed papers, there were thirty-four invited papers which have been collected in the present volume. The papers are divided into ®ve areas: Questionnaire Design, Data Collection, Post Survey Processing and Operations, Quality Assessment and Control, and Error Effects on Estimation, Analyses and Interpretation. The papers are mainly of two types. The ®rst type consists of articles that deal with a particular aspect of measurement error, from relatively general matters such as context effects (WaÈnke and Schwarz) or administration mode effects (Jobe et al.) to very speci®c topics, e.g., issues related to children as respondents (Scott) or differences in cognitive processing among various ethnic or racial groups (Johnson et al.). The second type are chapters which examine measurement and other nonsampling errors from the perspective of the survey as a production process. Both sets of chapters make useful contributions to the literature or provide excellent summaries of recent ®ndings and current practices. But the unique contribution of the volume is the papers that either treat the entire survey or some component of it as an integrated process. The framework for this approach to quality improvement in surveys is primarily presented in two chapters. The ®rst of these, is Dippo's Survey Measurement and Process Improvement: Concepts and Integration, the introduction to the section on Quality Assessment and Control. This chapter puts the process improvement approach in historical perspective, examines its basic concepts, and links the process to the goal of precise measurement in at least two important ways: ®rst, in producing the measurements and second, in estimating the error Survey Measurement and Process Quality Johnny Blair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Nonresponse in Household Surveys Paul J. Lavrakas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Statistical Reasoning and Methods Katherine Lind. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Dictionary of Statistics and Methodology Karl R. Landis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122


The absorption of CO2 in the DEA organic solution was studied in a Danckwerts stirred reactor. In this paper, split phase phenomenon was appeared in the solution. During the absorption, amine salt separated out from the solution. Under different temperature and solution compose, the absorption rate and capacity was compared. The desorption of the weighty section was carried out. The desorption rate rapidly accerlerated when the temperature raised. At present, the absorption of CO2 in the DEA organic solution has not been reported yet.


This research was done by comparing the texts of the three types of poems, then interpreting the meanings of nationalism according to them. Especially, the message of the language styles of the national song lyrics: Indonesia Raya, Bagimu Negeri, Bhineka Tunggal Ika, Pada Pahlawan, and Bangun Pemudi Pemuda, is analyzed symbolically or poetically in the context of nationalism. From this research, some conclusions or results can be drawn. First, colonialism produces nationalism. Second, the poem Tanah Air expresses romantic nationalism which only admires the natural beauty of Sumatra. Third, the poem Aku reveals realistic nationalism which is based on the real resistance of the Indonesian people to expel the colonialist from Indonesia and reach the Independence of the Indonesian people. Fourth, the song lyrics: Indonesia Raya, Bagimu Negeri, Bhineka Tunggal Ika, Pada Pahlawan, and Bangun Pemudi Pemuda communicate human nationalism which asks the whole Indonesian people to do the best for the welfare of the whole Indonesian people and country. All language styles of the song lyrics are stuck on and signify the meaning of the human nationalism.


Sustainable manufacturing is advancing amidst the changing context and emerging paradigms. Business success and longterm sustainability today depends upon trans‐ forming continuously, and maintaining competitiveness through building context spe‐ cific capabilities. To address these needs, this research presented a comprehensive overview of sustainable manufacturing, in first part, contributed by numerous aspects in the field. The second part proposes a conceptual framework comprising three inter‐ connected elements: 'Ideal', 'Strategy', 'Architecture'. The ideal is best depicted as an exploration and choice context. Synthesis of stakeholders' desires and systematic dis‐ covery of opportunities, in context of larger containing systems, manifestes into desired attributes and characteristics of products, technology and enterprise system that are to be approached continuously. The strategy element is a match and transformation con‐ text. Strategic planning, focussed on continuous identification and building of capabili‐ ties, evolves into a broader concept of the business which enhances the firm's capacity to adapt to changing contexts and meet its proposed ends. The architecture is a function and execution context at the operational level. It combines capabilities, organization and operational structure, and value creation processes to perfom desired function in context of an agreed upon business concept. A systemic and potentially viable approach, embedded with specific capabilities to integrate sustainability into the core of a manu‐ facturing business, is thus proposed which sets this research work apart. Contextual interrogation gives it a new way of constructing the big picture of the issue, i.e. sustain‐ able manufacturing. This simplistic scheme is supplemented and guided by multi‐aspect research in sustainable manufacturing, circular economy, capabilities, strategy and transformation, and systems thinking. The proposed framework is expected to fulfill the key needs of enterprises in sustainable manufacturing business, i.e. to transform and maintain competitiveness in a fast paced environment. © 2018 CPE, University of Maribor. All rights reserved.


Abstract Human communication is by default polysemiotic: it involves the spontaneous combination of two or more semiotic systems, the most important ones being language, gesture, and depiction. We formulate an original cognitive-semiotic framework for the analysis of polysemiosis, contrasting this with more familiar systems based on the ambiguous term "multimodality." To be fully explicit, we developed a coding system for the analysis of polysemiotic utterances containing speech, gesture, and drawing, and implemented this in the ELAN video annotation software. We used this to analyze 23 video-recordings of sand drawing performances on Paama, Vanuatu and 20 sand stories of the Pitjantjatjara culture in Central Australia. Methodologically we used the conceptual-empirical loop of cognitive semiotics: our theoretical framework guided general considerations, such as distinguishing between the "tiers" of gesture and depiction, and the three kinds of semiotic grounds (iconic, indexical, symbolic), but the precise decisions on how to operationalize these were made only after extensive work with the material. We describe the coding system in detail and provide illustrative examples from the Paamese and Pitjantjatjara data, remarking on both similarities and differences in the polysemiosis of the two cultural practices. We conclude by summarizing the contributions of the study and point to some directions for future research.


The occurrence of sweetpotato Rot with 43% of percent infection in Shawan County of Xinjiang in July 2003 to May 2005 was investigated.It was found that the sweetpotato rot greatly harmed the crops.The correlated feference materials were colected from field experiments.The sweetpotato rot is usually known as nematode of sweetpotato,which is identified as Ditylenchus destructor Thorne.


The Frobenius complement of a given Frobenius group acts on its kernel. The scheme which is arisen from the orbitals of this action is called Ferrero pair scheme. In this paper, we show that the fibers of a Ferrero pair scheme consist of exactly one singleton fiber and every two fibers with more than one point have the same cardinality. Moreover, it is shown that the restriction of a Ferrero pair scheme on each fiber is isomorphic to a regular scheme. Finally, we prove that for any prime p, there exists a Ferrero pair p-scheme, and if p > 2, then the Ferrero pair p-schemes of the same rank are all isomorphic.


This study aimed to verify the thermal performance of a building built with the construction system Light Steel Framing in Manaus-AM, by evaluating the thermal performance of buildings, with the application of the requirements and criteria of the seal and cover systems due to need for thermal comfort in hot and humid climates, as well as identify the bioclimatic zone of the city of Manaus, characterize the geometry of the building with the requirements and criteria for assessing air vents, external wall and roof, and then determine the transmittance and thermal capacity. Therefore, we used methodically to collect data literature search, the search and allocation of knowledge about the thermal performance of buildings, and addressing the simplified procedure of analysis that uses the requirements proposed by NBR 15,575 / 2013 for analysis thermal performance of buildings.


The current automation of steelmaking processes is capable of complete control through programmed hardware. However, many metallurgical and operating factors, such as heat transfer control, require further studies under industrial conditions. In this context, computer simulation has become a powerful tool for reproducing the effects of industrial constraints on heat transfer. This work reports a computational model to simulate heat removal from billets' strands in the continuous casting process. This model deals with the non-symmetric cooling conditions of a billet caster. These cooling conditions frequently occur due to plugged nozzles in the secondary cooling system (SCS). The model developed simulates the steel thermal behavior for casters with a non-symmetric distribution of the sprays in the SCS using different boundary conditions to show possible heat transfer variations. Finally, the results are compared with actual temperatures from different casters to demonstrate the predictive capacity of this algorithm's approach.


Thermo-responsive hydrogels undergo volume phase transition (VPT). The temperature responsive VPT can be utilized for preparation of 'smart' materials. An ideal smart responsive material (SRM) would be triggered by a slight chemical or environmental change and respond in a desirable and reproducible way. Cross-linked Poly(N-isopropyl)acrylamide (PNIPAM) has one of the largest and fastest VPT, exhibiting a volume difference up to 30 fold within 1µs when temperature increases past the lower critical solution temperature (LCST). As a result, PNIPAM is a great candidate for developing SRM. However, even though PNIPAM is the most widely studied thermal responsive polymer, a deep understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the VPT is still lacking.

Our previous study found the time constant for dehydration of the amide group during VPT to be ~360 ns. In this study, a visible temperature jump (T-jump) Raman spectroscopy was constructed to monitor vibrational frequency of the isopropyl group and methylene backbone within PNIPAM during VPT. We found the VPT molecular mechanism occurs as the following: As the temperature elevates, the dehydration of the isopropyl groups occurs very quickly with a time constant ~68 ns, shortly after it is the dehydration of the polymer chains with a time constant ~104 ns. Finally, the dehydration of the amide group with a time constant ~ 360 ns.


A kind of plasma display panel with a carbon nanotube (CNT) field-emission layer on the dielectric layer of the front panel was proposed and a prototype was prepared with the CNT layer fabricated by an electrophoretic deposition technique. The CNT layer was designed at the middle of an ITO electrode by a 2D fluid simulation, and the bus electrode with the same width was aligned with the CNT layer which can avoid obscuring the emanating visible light from phosphor. The effective CNT pretreatment, and uniform and thickness distribution of CNTs in the layer resulted in the excellent field-emission properties of the CNT layer. The minimum sustaining voltages were decreased by 30–40 V with the used CNT layer being underneath the MgO layer in a series of discharge testing.


The performance of the MPI's collective communications is critical in most MPI-based applications. A general algorithm for a given collective communication operation may not give good performance on all systems due to the differences in architectures, network parameters and the storage capacity of the underlying MPI implementation. Hence, collective communications have to be tuned for the system on which they will be executed. In order to determine the optimum parameters of collective communications on a given system in a time-efficient manner, the collective communications need to be modeled efficiently. In this paper, we discuss various techniques for modeling collective communications. We also discuss a dynamic topology method that uses the tuned static topology shape, but re-orders the logical addresses to compensate for changing run time variations.


This article portrays how a spirit of environmental awareness and an holistic approach to the urban environment can be encouraged amongst primary and secondary level learners, by means of a decentralised environmental education centre with associated urban trails linking interesting focal points (for example, museums, parks, hills, monuments, etc). The city of Pretoria is used as a case study although the underlying principles and concepts can be applied to any urban environment. The needs of local schools and what is available on the trails in terms of environmental education are integrated, in line with the latter's principles, to identify strengths and problem areas at the focal points. Recommendations are also made for appropriate activities that will enhance the learner's experiences on the trails. These should foster environmental awareness among learners, encourage sensitivity towards their surroundings and develop learner's abilities to view the environment in its totality. The suggested activities teach learners to be creative, to work cooperatively, and to consider environmental issues.


The authors deal with the Cauchy problem of a class of coupled nonlinear Schrdinger equations in three space dimensions. In terms of the result on the existence of standing wave with the ground state, derive out some sharp conditions for global existence of coupled nonlinear Schrdinger equations by using potential well argument and concavity method. And also show that how small the initial data are, the global solutions exist.


The present article shows the results obtained from applying pattern recognition of dynamic gestures of a hand to manipulate images in real time. Using a motion sensor (Leap Motion) a database was obtained of the threedimensional positions of the fingertips and the palm center at each instant of time, there were 8 dynamic gestures corresponding to 8 actions applied to an image. From these positions, three different sets of characteristics were generated and the dynamic time warping (DTW) algorithm was applied, to obtain a discriminant that allows classifying the hand gestures and with this, analyze the obtained results.


The main RF power coupler is one of the key elements of the accelerating module for the superconducting linac. It provides RF power to the cavity and interconnects different temperature layers in the module. Therefore statistical and dynamical thermal losses have to be optimised. Different operating modes as well as geometries were investigated. Coupler design optimisation studies are carried out for TESLA and for the XFEL case. Especially long pulse operation for the XFEL is being investigated.


One in ten Canadians suffer from a mood disorder some time in their life. Information on this page includes depression of all forms, including SAD, and bipolar disorders.


We discuss how the finiteness and universality of the speed of light arise in the theoretical framework introduced in [1], and derive generalized coordinate transformations, that allow to investigate physical systems in a non-classical regime.


Human Brain is the most important and valuable creation of God. Human Brain is processor of the body with storage but when the person is dead then the knowledge and intelligence of person also lost with that body, so solution for it to have the artificial brain that can hold the brain content then the knowledge can be preserve after the death of person.


Twenty active young males underwent combined reconstruction of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) using middle one third of bone patellar tendon graft unit for intra-articular reconstruction with extra-articular augmentation laterally by iliotibial band and medially by pesplasty. Due to severe degree of instability, medial and lateral augmentation was done in all cases to protect the intra-articularly reconstructed ligament during its critical early months of strengthening. The patients were followed up post-operatively for varying periods from 6 months to 32 months. There were 4 excellent, 10 good, 4 fair and 2 poor results.


The data on linear growth and the scale annuli forming are generalized for pacific herring in Peter the Great Bay. The growth zone on scales begins in April-May, whereas the annuli of slow growth are formed from October to January. The phenological season of active somatic growth also starts in April-May for herring in this area, the largest gains of the body length are detected in late summer — early autumn, and the active growth ends by NovemberDecember. Size diversity for young fish depends on starting conditions of growth in the first year of life and the timing of puberty. The diversity increases for adults because of the growth accelerating for the fish dwelling in local favorable environments with longer growing season.


Parallaxis is a programming language for massively parallel single instruction-multiple data (SIMD) systems, based on Modula-2. There are only a small number of additional constructs to handle parallel data (vectors) and data exchange among processors or between the front-end and back-end. Parallaxis helps to solve parallel problems in a natural way and does not require special skills. The major language constructs are described and a number of sample programs are given together with their simulated processor element PE-load and efficiency values. Parallaxis is available as a simulation system which is chiefly used in universities for instructional purposes. However, a compiler for the massively parallel MasPar computer system has been finished, and a compiler for the Connection Machine is being developed.<<ETX>>


This article studies the problem of high hydrogen consumption in the 2×600MW domestic unit of the third-phase project of a power plant.Through relevant experiments and analyses,it is found that the problem of oil blending between both the air-side and hydrogen-side oil exists in the double-ring sealing oil system.The air dissolved in the oil lowers the purity of hydrogen of the generator and causes high hydrogen consumption for the need of frequent hydrogen supplement.Lowing the temperature of the sealing oil can slow down the rate of descend of the purity of hydrogen in the generator,which is an effective solution.


Background : Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) levels predict the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) in European populations; however, little data are available for other ethnic groups. For instance, differences in isoform size and the concentration thereof have not been fully characterized between ethnic groups. Methods : We studied 6,086 cases of first MI and 6,857 ethnicity-matched controls from the INTERHEART study. A total of 775 Africans, 4,443 Chinese, 1,352 Arabs, 1,856 Europeans, 1,469 Latin Americans, 1,829 South Asians, and 1,221 Southeast Asians were included in the study. Lp(a) concentration was measured in each participant using an assay that was insensitive to isoform size, with isoform size being assessed by isoelectric focusing in a subset of 4,219 samples. Results : Variations in Lp(a) concentrations and isoform size were observed between populations, with Africans having the highest concentration (median=27.2 mg/dL) and shortest isoform size (median=24 KIV repeats). Chinese samples had the lowest concentration (median=7.8 mg/dL) and largest isoform sizes (median=28). High Lp(a) concentrations (>50 mg/dL) were associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction (OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.32-1.67; p <0.001) in the overall study. The association was consistent irrespective of other MI risk factors, including diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure, and ApoB/ApoA ratio. An inverse association was observed between isoform size and Lp(a) concentration, which was consistent across ethnic groups. Larger isoforms tended to be protective of MI. Consistent with variations in Lp(a) concentration across populations, the population attributable risk of high Lp(a) for MI varied from 0% in Africans


Michoacán is the leading avocado producing state in the world; however, root diseases decimate and damage the trees causing their death. The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the organic control of the in vitro growth of Phytophthora cinnamomi with essential oils of oregano (Lippia berlandieri) and clove (Syzygium aromaticum). In the months of October and November 2016, root samples were collected from trees with symptoms of the disease in avocado (Persea americana Mill. Var. Hass), in the INIFAP experimental garden located in San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro, Michoacán. The isolates were identified morphologically and molecularly. The control of P. cinnamomi with essential oils of oregano and clove was evaluated determining the mean inhibitory concentration and its fiducial limits to 95% by means of a Probit regression by the method of maximum likelihood. The analyzes were carried out using the statistical program R 3.4. According to the results obtained, in relation to the inhibition of growth there is a reduction in the growth of P. cinnamomi. The essential oils of clove (Syzygium aromaticum) and oregano (Lippia berlandieri) are a natural alternative for the control of the oomycete P. cinnamomi for their fungicidal activity at low concentrations so they can be included in integrated disease management programs.


With the deepening of college education and teaching reform, general education has received more and more attention in finance and economics academies. After years of curriculum practice, its reform is picking up great popularity. Thus, practicing general education reform for the time being conforms to the demands of the time and tide. Through categorizing and analyzing problems in present general education practice in finance and economics academies such as irregular general education management system, irrational course structure, limited course resources, rigid teaching method and unsatisfactory teaching quality, this essay casts light on effective ways to optimize general education courses, reform teaching strategy and practice workable management to ensure the success of general education reform. Keywords—higher education, finance and economics, general education, course reform


The long-range polarization potential does not play a significant role in the differential cross section (DCS) for electron-hydrogen excitation at velocities greater than 2 a.u. Thus, a first-order distorted-wave treatment yields good results for the DCS in this energy range. Alignment orientation parameters are more sensitive than the DCS and polarization is more important for these parameters. Although polarization is inherently a second-order effect, accurate first-order approximations for polarization are highly desirable due to the difficulties associated with a second-order calculation. The authors will assess the accuracy of various first-order approximations for polarization by comparing with an accurate second-order calculation for polarization and the available experimental data.


The existing communication schemes are often unusable in natural disasters and public emergencies. But requirements of information collection and data transmission in emergency scenario are very imperative. Thus, sensor networks ad hoc networks are required in the emergency communication systems. For example, rescue vehicles equipped with wireless communication devices, sensors, and cameras are regularly used to collect and transmit the real-time information for the rescue action. The paper focuses on security solutions for the vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) in the emergency communication cases, in which the communication infrastructures are not always available. An expedite privacy-preserving emergency communication (EPEC) scheme is presented for the vehicles to securely connect with the others in the neighbor area even when the trusted infrastructures are destroyed by the disaster. EPEC satisfies conditional privacy preservation requirements, in which both lightweight signature and batch verification are employed to provide efficiency. We also show the proof of the security, feasibility, and efficiency of our EPEC by the theoretical and experimental analyses.


The present study involves the use of hydrotropic solubilization technique to estimate the amount of acyclovir present in tablets by spectrophotometric method using 4M urea and 4M sodium acetate. It was observed that solubility of acyclovir in urea and sodium acetate solutions was increased by six folds as compared with distilled water. The method obeyed Beer's law with maximum absorbance at 255nm. The analysis of tablets indicated good correlation between estimated and label claim. The results of recovery study revealed that any small change in the drug concentration in the solution could be accurately determined by the proposed method. The low values of LOD and LOQ of acyclovir in 4M urea and 4M sodium acetate indicated good sensitivity of proposed method. As urea and sodium acetate were cheaper than most of the organic solvents, these can be used as a substitute for organic solvents. Hydrotropic solubilisation is an effective technique in enhancement of aqueous solubility of poorly water soluble drugs and the proposed method is new, simple, accurate, non-toxic and precise method that can be successfully employed for estimation of drugs in routine analysis of tablets.


We present the first complete multiband observations of a binary asteroid mutual event. We obtained high-cadence, high-signal-to-noise photometry of the UT 2018 April 9 inferior shadowing event in the Jupiter Trojan binary system Patroclus–Menoetius in four Sloan bands—g′, r′, i′, and z′. We use an eclipse light-curve model to fit for a precise mideclipse time and estimate the minimum separation of the two eclipsing components during the event. Our best-fit mideclipse time of is 19 minutes later than the prediction of Grundy et al. The minimum separation between the center of Menoetius's shadow and the center of Patroclus is 72.5 ± 0.7 km—slightly larger than the predicted 69.5 km. Using the derived light curves, we find no evidence for significant albedo variations or large-scale topographic features on the Earth-facing hemisphere and limb of Patroclus. We also apply the technique of eclipse mapping to place an upper bound of ∼0.15 mag on wide-scale surface color variability across Patroclus.


The interaction of estradiol (E) and testosterone (T) in the regulation of growth and function of the magnum from the immature chicken oviduct (11 weeks of age) was investigated following periodic injections of E and T singly, or combinations of the two hormones. T, in contrast to E, induced only limited increases in magnum weight, DNA, RNA and protein; it did not induce formation and differentiation of tubular gland cells and, consequently, no synthesis of egg white protein was observed. T, when administered with E, synergized magnum growth. A low or median level of T in combination with E stimulated both hyperplasia (increases in total DNA) and cellular hypertrophy (increases in dry matter/DNA, RNA/DNA and protein/DNA ratios). A high level of T in combination with E caused cellular hypertrophy only. Immunological and electrophoretic techniques revealed that T, in synergism with E, induced a marked increase in total ovalbumin and conalbumin in the magnum as well as in the content of these egg white prote...


Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis is a Gram-positive, pleomorphic, intracellular, non-motile, facultative anaerobic rod which grows on blood agar forming small, whitish, opaque colonies (Coyle and Lipsky 1990). Cpseudotuberculosis has two major components which have been implicated in the expression of its pathogenicity and virulence: the high content of lipid in its cell wall and its phospholipase D exotoxin (Hard 1975, Yozwiak and Songer 1993). The protective nature of the cell capsule enables the bacterium to persist in the environment for extended periods under favourable conditions; that is, damp, shady areas and low temperatures (Knight 1969, Augustine and Renshaw 1986, Brown and Olander 1987, Lloyd 1994). Cpseudotuberculosis causes several clinical forms of disease in cattle, for example, pyogranulomatous reactions, abscess formation, ulcerative lymphangitis, and mastitic and visceral forms (Purchase 1944, Kariuki and Poulton 1982, Shpigel and others 1993, Yeruham and others 1997, 2000, Steinman and others 1999). However, the source of natural infection and the means of entry into the host are not well documented in these animals. This short communication describes an atypical outbreak of Cpseudotuberculosis infection in heifers in a dairy cattle herd located in the Jordan Valley. Field observations were carried out in 2000 and 2001 in a dairy cattle herd located in the Jordan Valley. The herd comprised 300 lactating cows and 320 heifers, and was kept in a loose-housing system in large, completely covered open sheds. It was managed under a zero-grazing system, in which the cows were fed a total mixed ration brought to them, and


This study analyzed the factors influencing milk productivity of smallholder dairy buffalo farmers in South Luzon, Philippines. We used a cross-sectional data collected from 61 dairy buffalo farmers. This is the first local study to apply a Bayesian approach. The empirical results revealed that among the socio-economic, farm, and technology characteristics investigated, the household size have a positive effect, the number of lactating dairy buffalo negative effect, and the technology adoption of data recording a positive effect on milk productivity of dairy buffalo farmers rendering these factors significant in the analysis of productivity.


The purpose of this research is to revisit the bifurcation control problem in Hodgkin-Huxley neurons. As a difference from the classical membrane potential feedback to manipulate the external current injection, we will actuate the temperature of the neural environment to control the bifurcations. In order to achieve this a linear feedback from the membrane potential is established to generate a time varying temperature profile. The considered bifurcating parameter is the external current injection. Upon finishing the controllers, the bifurcation analysis against the changes in external current injection is repeated in order to see the possibility of relapse of any bifurcation phenomena at nearby points. In addition to that, simulations are also provided to show the performances of the controllers.


This paper goes in depth into the assistance to elderly people and the organisation of the availability of services in the Mediterranean welfare systems, the role of private offer and family offer, the latter as an informal institution that looks after the elderly. It also includes the results of an international survey about elderly and very old women who, especially in Mediterranean Europe, are within a band of elderly people in particularly disadvantageous conditions.


(22) Filed: Aug. 15, 1997 A System and method for heating cells Surrounding metallic 2. l, implants in living beings. The System includes a metallic (51) Int. Cl." ................................................... A01N 1/40 implant within the living being, Surrounded by the cells to be (52) U.S. Cl. .............................. 607/13, 607/96; 607/101; heated, an induction coil having an aperture Sufficiently 607/102 large to accommodate a portion of the living being contain ing the metallic implant, and an enerator COuled to the (58) Field of Search .............................. 607/96, 101, 102, ingth llic impl dan RF g pled to th 607/76; 600/13 coil to apply an electric RF signal thereto, the RF signal ranging in frequency from 10 kilohertz to 10 megahertz. The (56) References Cited metallic implant is inductively heatable by the application of the RF signal to the induction coil. U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS


Abstract
In the laboratory Anopheles stephensi and A. gambiae are efficient vectors of the chloroquine-resistant Man. strain of Plasmodium falciparum from Thailand.


1. Introduction: Conceptualising and Profiling Backpacker Tourism - Kevin Hannam (University of Sunderland, UK) and Irena Ateljevic (Wageningen University Landscape Centre, The Netherlands)CONCEPTUALISING BACKPACKER TOURISM 2. Suspending Reality: An exploration of enclaves and the backpacker Experience - Julie Wilson (University of the West of England, UK)and Greg Richards (Tourism Research and Marketing, Spain) 3. The Social Psychological Interface of Tourism and Independent Travel - Petri Hottola (University of Joensuu, Finland) 4. Sustainability Research and Backpacker Studies: Intersections and mutual insights - Phillip Pearce (James Cook University, Australia) 5. Are Backpackers Ethical Tourists? - Clare Speed (University of Strathclyde) and Annabel Hartnell (University of Strathclyde, UK) 6. The Lonely Planet Myth: Backpacker bible and travel survival kit - Peter Welk (Australia) 7. Challenging the Tourist-Other Dualism: Gender, backpackers and the embodiment of tourism research - Erica Wilson (Southern Cross University, Australia) and Irena Ateljevic (Wageningen University Landscape Centre, The Netherlands)PROFILING BACKPACKER TOURISM 8. Van tour and Doing a Contiki: Grand backpacker tours of Europe - Jude Wilson, David Fisher and Kevin Moore (Lincoln University, New Zealand) 9. Uncovering the International Backpackers to Malaysia - Lee Tze Ian and Ghazali Musa (University of Malaya, Malaysia) 10. Exploring the Motivations of Backpackers: The case of South Africa - Christine Niggel (Germany) and Angela Benson (University of Brighton, UK) 11. Study Backpackers: Australia's short-stay international student travellers - Jeff Jarvis and Victoria Peel (Monash University, Australia) 12. Women as Backpacker Tourists: A feminist analysis of destination choice and social identities from the UK - Linda Myers and Kevin Hannam (University of Sunderland, UK) 13. The Backpacking Journey of Israeli Women in Mid-Life - Darya Maoz (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel) 14. Intra-Community Tensions in Backpacker Enclaves: Sydney's Bondi Beach - Julie Wilson (University of the West of England, UK), Greg Richards (Tourism Research and Marketing, Spain) and Ian MacDonnell (University of Technology, Australia ) 15. Perceptions of Backpacker Accommodation Facilities: A comparative study of Scotland and New Zealand - Jenny Cave (The University of Waikato, New Zealand), Maree Thyne (The Robert Gordon University, UK) and Chris Ryan (The University of Waikato, New Zealand) 16. Conclusion: Towards a Critical Agenda for Backpacker Tourism - Irena Ateljevic and Kevin Hannam


Solvent-free Stobbe condensation of furfural 1 with dimethyl succinate 2 under anhydrous conditions at room temperature using dry-solid potassium tertiary butoxide gave 3-carbomethoxy, 4-furyl-3-butenoic acid 3, which upon methylation followed by Stobbe condensation reaction with different aldehydes and/or ketones under anhydrous conditions at room temperature afforded substituted carbomethoxy acids 5a–f. These acid ester products were saponified to the corresponding dicarboxylic acids 6a–f which are useful in the synthesis of photochromic fulgides.


Stroke extraction is a necessary part of the majority of semantic based off-line signature verification systems. This paper discusses some stroke extraction variants which can be efficiently used in such environments. First the different aspects and problems of signature verification are discussed in conjunction with off-line analysis methods. It is shown, that on-line analysis methods perform usually better than offline methods because they can make use of the temporal information (and thereby get a better perception of the semantics of the signature). To improve the accuracy of off-line signature verification methods the extraction of semantic information is necessary. Three different approaches are introduced to reconstruct the original strokes of a signature. One purely based on simple image processing algorithms, one with some more intelligent processing and one with a pen model. The methods are examined and compared with regard to their benefits and drawbacks on further signature processing.


ONTARIO'S population has come to know two important things about the recreational habits of Premier Mike Harris. First, he loves to golf. Second, he views taunting teachers as at least as much fun as hitting the links. Spring is in the air, and Harris is about to prove he is in fine form, ready to resume both of his favorite pastimes. One of Harris' more controversial 1999 campaign promises was to implement the competency testing of every practicing teacher in the province. Timed as it was in the midst of furious antigovernment campaigning by Ontario's four teacher unions, this announcement, however innocuously worded, came off sounding more like a threat than a promise. Consider this brief excerpt from a letter written by Janet Ecker, minister of education, to the Ontario College of Teachers, dated 10 November 1999. In a rapidly changing world, we have an obligation to ensure that students receive the highest quality education and that teachers maintain their certification by having current skills and knowledge. In order to accomplish this, the Ontario government has made a commitment to require teachers to participate in a teacher testing program. Curious journalists asked about the costs, content, and consequences of testing more than 100,000 teachers, but the premier refused ' or, more likely, was unable ' to elaborate. Harris' vague responses gave pundits and humorists license to imagine some inventive approaches to assessing teacher quality, Tory style. Linwood Barclay, whose career as a political satirist has benefited immensely from a recent abundance of raw material, devised a set of test questions to reflect the spirit of the times. Teachers of the arts, he suggested, should answer the following: Since Ontario needs to remain a leader in turning out composers of elevator music and imaginative writers to draft ministry press releases, prepare a lesson on one of the following that would demonstrate the close relationship between arts and the economy: a) tell the story of the Toronto Stock Exchange through interpretive dance, b) mount a musical version of the Common Sense Revolution [the Tory slogan], c) make the case for charter schools through finger-painting.1 A high school teacher told the Ottawa Citizen that he was also prepared to assist the government with the tough job ahead of it. One of his questions deals with communication skills for high school teachers: 'True or false: arguing with an adolescent is like mud wrestling with a pig. You both get dirty, but the pig loves it. Explain.'2 As the provincial election campaign heated up, it soon became apparent that teacher testing was no joke. Polling showed strong public support for testing teachers, especially when pollsters' questions emphasized the end rather than the means, as in 'Would you favor testing to ensure that every Ontario teacher is competent?' Once elected ' and holding its second majority government ' the Harris Administration began to move ahead with the education reforms that had caused chaos during its first go-round, including budget cuts, school board amalgamation, an end to local taxation, and new curricula for everybody and everything. Following the election, the government was peppered with increasingly pointed questions about exactly how teacher testing would be implemented. Faced with the very real complexities of carrying out the plan, not just selling it, the government suddenly announced that the Ontario College of Teachers would be the body responsible for devising the tests, and the College was instructed to implement them by June 2000. Created during the first Tory mandate to 'govern the profession in the public interest,' the Ontario College of Teachers made no secret of the fact that it was miffed that the government's teacher-testing proposal had not been vetted with the College before commitments were made. Eager to be perceived as the font of all intellectual rigor and political impartiality, the College did not want its name associated with a quick-fix project like teacher testing. …


Along with the popularization of computer and network in all aspects of people's social life and the combination of computer technology with communication technology, here comes a new information age and network times. People's need of information characterizes multiple levels and diversity. University library as the information center has to speed up the construction on the automation and digitization of network in order to offer high-quality and high-efficiency information service to meet the readers' demand of individual information.The principle purpose of information construction of university library is to mine, acquire and spread knowledge to the utmost extent, to provide a platform for readers to share information and to offer them the best service.


The results of the work demonstrate high efficiency of sliding mode applications for prevention of emergency situations in dangerous systems with the help of automatic control.


the new generation of Chinese leaders has to deal with new challenges and problems, distinct from those of the modernisation period led by Deng Xiaoping, to structure their foreign policy decisions. The complete work delivers a thorough understanding of the country's foreign policy by addressing specific issues and provides the reader with an excellent understanding of the macro level. It is a well-written book in which the author appears as part of the analysis. This feature does not detract from the merits of the book, which is essential reading for people new to the subject.


We retrospectively analysed CT findings of 47 cystic brain lesions of 44 patients, in which operation, biopsy 。 r follow-up study was needed for their final diagnosis The resul ts were as fo llows 1. The etio logic diseases of cystic brain lesions were 15 cases of brain abscess, 9 cases of astrocytoma, 5 cases of gliob lastoma multiforme, 3 cases of meningioma, 5 cases of craniopharyngioma, 1 case of hemangioblastoma, 2 cases of dermoid cyst and 4 cases of metastasis 2. We analyses the cystic les ions in view of their number, location, shape, perifocal edema, mass effect, wal l and its th ickness, evenness and characteristics of their inner and outer surfaces, mural nodule, ca lcification and contrast enhancement a. 13.3% of brain abscess and 75% of metastases were multiple in number, but the remainder showed single lesion b. The shape of cystic lesions were round or ovoid in 68%, lobulated in 8.5% and irregular in 23.5%, and no demonstrable difference of shape were noticed in different disease c. ln brain abscess, the wall of cystic les ions tend to be thin, even and smooth in inner surface, but the outer su rfaces were equally smooth or irregular d. Mural nodules were found in nearly half of the cases of astrocytoma, glioblastoma multiforme, metastasis and hemangioblastoma, but the brain abscess and dermoid cyst contained no mural nodule e. Meningiomas were found to be attached to dura mater and showed thickening of the inner table of adjacent skull or of the falx f. The presence of preceding infectious disease may be helpful in the diagnosis of brain abscess, but in 20% there were no demonstrable preceding infection g. Lung cancer was confirmed as primary site in two of the cystic metastatic disease, but other 2 cases show ed no demonstrable primary malignancy


【Objective】 To test for associations of feeding index with growth velocity in infants. 【Methods】 945 full-term infants aged 6~12 months were included in the study.The parents of the infants were interviewed with a uniformed questionnaire,which included caregiver,parents education,socioeconomic status feeding types,bottle-feeding,feeding behavior,diet diversity and texture,frequency and quantity of feeding complementary foods.Each baby accepted physical measurement on the current day and three months later respectively.The associations of feeding index with length increment and weight increment were studied,and how the variables of the index affect growth velocity was analyzed. 【Results】 Length increment and weight increment were distinctly higher among the group with high feeding index scores than those with low feeding index scores in all age groups(P0.05).Through the multiple linear regression analysis,the main factors of affecting the growth velocity were in order of importance: feeding behavior,quantity of feeding complementary foods,mother education,diet diversity and frequency. 【Conclusion】 Feeding index can improve the growth and of infants by affecting growth velocity.


Receptor activator of NF‐κB (RANK) is a receptor for RANK ligand (RANKL), and signals transduced by RANK–RANKL interaction are prerequisite for the differentiation and activation of osteoclasts. We cloned and characterized a 6‐kb fragment containing the 5′‐flanking region of the mouse RANK gene. A fragment of 1‐kb from the transcription start sites containing four Sp‐1 sites and putative binding sites for MITF, CRE/AP‐1, and PU.1 was ligated to the pGL3‐basic vector, and the promoter activity was confirmed by transfection studies. By electrophoretic gel motility shift assay, both PU.1 and proximal MITF binding site showed specific DNA‐protein binding. Co‐transfection studies with MITF‐ and PU.1‐expression vectors revealed that MITF and PU.1 increased RANK promoter activity three‐ and twofold, respectively, and sixfold synergistically. Taken together, these results show that RANK transcription is positively regulated by both PU.1 and MITF. The effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on RANK gene expression, analyzed by in situ hybridization using mouse bone tissue, showed that LPS decreased RANK transcripts of both precursor and mature osteoclasts. Furthermore, LPS treatment of RAW.264.7 cells decreased their RANK mRNA expression by 70%, mirroring the decrease of PU.1 and MITF mRNA. Short‐term treatment with LPS decreased the promoter activity of pGL3‐WT by 70%. Although LPS has been reported to promote osteoclastogenesis in chronic and local pyogenic inflammation, we speculate that LPS per se may directly suppress RANK expression in the osteoclastic cell lineage by down‐regulating the expression of PU.1 and MITF genes in acute and systemic severe endotoxemia, such as in septic shock. J. Cell. Biochem. 105: 896–904, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Typical fittings of solar cosmic ray variations registered by the neutron monitor (NM) network do not consider real values of proton fluxes observed by satellites. However, a sharp knee of the proton spectrum may exist in the energy range of high latitude NM's during ground level enhancements (GLE) and storm particle events. This may lead to great misinterpretation of NM data, when the CR anisotropy and absolute intensity during GLE's and Forbush decreases are studied. In a case of GLE's the knee energy, but not the geomagnetic (or atmospheric) cutoff, would determine a count rate of particular NM, i.e. an impact of lower energy part of solar proton spectrum typically is overestimated. Contrary, during Forbush effects storm particles may contribute considerably to count rate of high and middle latitudes NM's. The solar proton events July 14,


Commercial agriculture producing for international markets is increasingly important in driving tropical deforestation and global land‐use change. The geographic separation of consumption and produ ...


The first discusser of this paper comments on the author's overreliance on papers having limited geographic range, and to the limiting of the study to three principle clay minerals. The paper fails to recognize the microenvironment and the changes that environment undergoes during the life of the structure. The paper is a partial review of expansive soils. The data presented, although it may be valid, is not verified or evaluated. The second discusser questions the use of simple soil tests (shrinkage limit, linear shrinkage, free swell, plasticity, etc) to indicate the degree of expansion of a particular clay site. The discusser makes the observation that if 0.5 m of topsoil and possible silty clay exist above this clay and the climate of of the site is humid, then the degree of expansion or movement at this site would be considerably reduced. The depth of the seasonal movement also must be considered when deciding the significance of topsoil in reducing the movements of underying expansive soils. This argument is illustrated by the discusser's experience. The authors concept that a pier and beam foundation system is superior to a raft slab system in high movement soil is also disputed. Practical experience is quoted in support of this statement. A research program is currently in progress to study the design residential raft slabs on expansive clays. The failure of raft slabs may be possibly due to the fact that the British Research Advisory Board (BRAB) method used, does not consider the total differential movement at the particular site but rather arrives at a figure for the general region, based mainly on plasticity index and climatic factor.


This research investigates the effect of selection, replacement, and generational gap on the selective pressure, indicated by the greediness of the genetic algorithms. An a priori ordering of the greediness of genetic algorithms is constructed based on the nature of selection strategy that favors fitter candidate solutions. For the implementers of genetic algorithms, this ordering represents the design space of genetic algorithms involving selection, replacement, and generation gap on which design decision should be taken. These relative orderings of the greediness were examined by experimental runs on timetabling benchmark problems. The results suggest that for a fixed computational budget, a high greediness can be achieved by biased selection with a large generational gap and elitism.


The paper summarize the experimental results of carbon dioxide sorption process on selected coal samples from Polish mines having different texture and maceral composition, in the context of CO2 sequestration. In order to examine the temperature dependence of sorption process and heat effects accompanying interactions of the mine gases with coal matrix, the sorption experiments were made at several temperatures using volumetric method. Furthermore, the analysis of equilibrium isotherms allowed to estimate thermodynamic parameters, i.e., isosteric heat of sorption as a unction of coverage, for all coal-gas systems. From a technological point of view, the conditions in which heat exchange takes place during sorption phenomenon (under various coal reservoir conditions) become significant. This last factor also determines the intensity of gas emission (the diffusion rate) and, in consequence, the unexpected unseal of coalbed followed by the changes in the bed permeability.


The authors present an endoscopic endonasal transpterygoid approach for reduction of a lateral recess encephalocele with post-operative cerebrospinal fluid leak. A 43-year-old man presented with right-sided clear rhinorrhea for 2 years. He had no other sinus complaints. On examination, he had a body


Performing infrared imaging and analysis on buildings or structures is challenging on a good day. More often than not, scanning an entire multi-story building will take several days. It requires patience from the thermographer because he has to let the sun to do its job solar loading the building, or, he may have to wait for the building to radiate its solar load in the cool of the evening. Usually this takes a "whatever the study requires" state of mind and the days are long. An experienced eye is also required to understand the nuances of construction and subtle temperature variations as they appear in an infrared image. Even with optimal conditions and a good uniform solar load, a strong thermographic indication can trip you up when it travels around a corner or into shadows. This condition can frustrate the thermographer, and also make the job longer because he has to wait for the sun to load into the next area of interest to chase out the indication. How do you get around this? This paper presents thermographic techniques to help image indications that run from uniform solar load around corners or through shadows.


Abstract Rocks with a layered structure (bedding or foliation) usually exhibit different levels of anisotropy in terms of deformation, strength, and failure mode under multiaxial stress conditions....


Abstract Two experiments were carried out to examine the effects of high quality pasture and high‐concentrate diets on liveweight and carcass gain of beef cattle, carcass composition at equal carcass gain, and the fatty acid composition of beef. Heifers of late‐maturing breed type (406 kg initial liveweight; Experiment 1) and steers of late‐maturing breed type (460 kg initial liveweight; Experiment 2) were finished on a ryegrass pasture or a high‐concentrate diet at either (1) ad libitum, (2) 85% of ad libitum intake or (3) 70% of ad libitum intake. The high‐concentrate diet consisted of 95% barley‐based concentrate and 5% barley straw. Carcass gain of the animals finished at pasture (648 g day−1) was 0.78 in Experiment 1 (P < 0.001) and 0.88 in Experiment 2 (P > 0.1) of that of the animals given the high‐concentrate diet ad libitum. Gains in lean meat were similar for animals finished at pasture and those given concentrates ad libitum, whereas daily fat gains were 39% lower for the animals finished at pasture (P < 0.001). At an equal rate of carcass gain, animals finished at pasture produced carcasses with a higher lean content (P = 0.03) and a lower fat content (P = 0.03) than those produced from the high‐concentrate diet. Muscle from pasture‐finished cattle had higher concentrations of omega‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (141 versus 49 ± 8.2 mg 100 g−1 muscle) and long‐chain omega‐3 PUFA (58 versus 27 ± 3.8 mg 100 g−1 muscle) than muscle from concentrate‐fed cattle. These results highlight the potential of high quality ryegrass pasture for finishing cattle, and meat from pasture‐finished cattle as a source of omega‐3 PUFA.


This paper presents a brief overview of numerical modelling approaches from recent years to current soldering applications. Reflow soldering is the primary interconnecting method for surface mount technology (SMT) applications. The solder paste is deposited onto the pads of the printed circuit board (PCB) and the surface mounted components (SMC) are placed onto them. During the reflow process the assembly is heated to melt the solder paste to form solder joints. Successful implementation requires low defect rate, rooting in proper material properties, process parameters and PCB design. Identification and elimination of these causes can be greatly hastened by the aid of simulation based on numerical modelling that grants in depth understanding of many phenomena that are not even measurable directly by conventional methods. The main focus was on the following topics: description of reflow types; summarisation of related partial differential equations (PDE) and their numerical solution methods; heat transfer aspects, temperature distribution characteristics, and thermomechanical stresses during reflow from modelling point of view.


Auckland is the most populous city in New Zealand. To keep Auckland moving, Auckland Transport (AT) manages the local transportation network with 1260 bridges and major culverts. With the growth of the city, this number keeps increasing.Asset Management of these bridges at AT is facing various challenges from increasing transportation demands, fast changing environment and climate change et al. All those demands require us to review the strategies of how to maintain a sustainable transport network within a limited budget.This paper gives an overview of the bridges that support Auckland's transport network regarding the current asset management strategy and practice. Risk management is at the heart of AT's bridge asset management. The consequence-and-probability calculation supports the framework of the bridge asset strategy. It covers the prioritisation, decision making, short-term and long-term planning and environmental protection.As the good practice in bridge asset management, the adaption of new technology and safety-first principle are also discussed. However, bridge management and maintenance are always facing new challenges, this paper identifies some challenges AT may face in the future.


Why do some thin melanomas ulcerate while many thick melanomas do not? The authors of the present study inves- tigated the potential contribution of melanoma paracrine transforming growth factor (TGF)- b signalling to melanoma ulceration. The study builds on their previous BJD paper demonstrat-ing that combined loss of autophagy – regulatory protein AMBRA1 and the ter- minal differentiation marker loricrin in the peritumoral epidermis is associated with a significantly increased risk of metastasis. Using immunohistochemistry they show that increased tumoral TGF-b 2 is significantly associated with loss of peritumoral AMBRA1 ( P < 0.05), ulceration ( P < 0.001), AMBRA 1 and loricrin high-risk status ( P < 0.05), and metastasis ( P < 0.01). Loss of AMBRA1 in the peritumoral epidermis was asso- ciated with decreased claudin-1 expres-sion ( P < 0.05), parakeratosis ( P < 0.01) and cleft formation in the der- moepidermal junction ( P < 0.05). Col-lectively, these data suggest a paracrine mechanism whereby TGF- b 2 causes loss of AMBRA1 overlying early-stage mela- nomas with higher metastatic risk, reducing epidermal integrity and facili- tating erosion of the epidermis leading to tumour ulceration. care recommendations and interventions to optimize a positive pregnancy experience, including breastfeeding? The guide- line includes 46 recommendations covering all aspects relevant to these questions.


Abstract Complexes of 3-alkyl-2,4-pentanediones with nickel(II) ion and their adducts with 2,2′-bipyridine and 1,10-phenanthroline have been synthesized and characterized by magnetic, conductance and spectral measurements. The conductance data show that they are nonelectrolytes except for the Ni(iPr-acac)2·bipy2 adduct which is a 1:1 electrolyte in nitromethane. The electronic spectral bands of the ligands shifted upon chelation while various shifts were observed in the adducts. Their infra-red spectra indicate the presence of carbonyl groups in different environments and bathochromic shifts of the carbonyl stretching frequencies. Octahedral coordination about the nickel(II) ion and an outer-sphere anion in Ni(iPr-acac)2·bipy2 have been proposed for the compounds.


Jacobs (1987, Vision Research 27 1953 – 1966) obtained psychometric curves to investigate the relationship between target localisability and the latency of primary saccades. These psychometric curves show correct scores as a function of string length, target location, and target-background similarity. They were obtained with white text on a black background. We repeated this experiment, with a few extensions. First, we did not only use white text on a black background, but we used black text on a white background as well. The stimuli were also presented with the use of isoluminant colours. Second, we varied the refresh rate of the screen (from 60 Hz up to 150 Hz). Third, we used two different instructions for the subjects: in one the subject was instructed to indicate the position of the target relative to the beginning of the string; in the other the position of the target relative to the fixation point. When the string was presented to the right of the fixation point, the results of these two instructions were predicted to be similar; in the other case the results might be different. The results of our experiments show a clear effect of the amount of contrast between text and background, and an influence of the screen refresh rate. We also found that the results differ depending on the instruction used. Sadly, we were not able to replicate all of the results of the original experiment by Jacobs.


Cameroon is classified as a lower-middle-income country. Since it became a unified and independent country in 1961, Cameroon has received significant amounts of foreign aid, most of it from France and the European Economic Community. Since the 1960s, economic growth in the country has been quite significant. Between 1965 and 1980, the gross domestic product grew at an average annual rate of 5.1%, and at a rate of 2.3% between 1980 and 1990. Cameroon seems a good test case for determining the effects of foreign aid on economic growth in developing countries. An econometric model, based on the neoclassical production function, is developed and used to test the relationship between foreign aid and eonomic growth. The model is tested using time-series datd on the country from 1971 to 1990. The results show that domestic resources have a stronger impact on economic growth in Cameroon than foreign resources. These results, however, must be taken with the understanding that the data suffer from measurement probl...


ABSTRACT Morphological, physical, and chemical properties of grain and flour of 20 chalky rice mutants were compared with those of a translucent parental cultivar, Koshihikari. Compound starch granules were loosely packed and single starch granules were observed in chalky parts of mutant endosperm. Chalky mutant lines were classified into milky-white and white-core lines based on the degree of endosperm chalkiness. Physical and chemical characteristics also suggest a division of chalky mutant lines into two groups, consistent with the classification made based on morphological characteristics. Milky-white mutant lines showed significantly lower grain weight, decreased starch content, and lower grain hardness than white-core mutants and Koshihikari. Rice flour prepared from milky-white mutants by dry milling showed less starch damage and finer mean particle size than white-core mutants and the parent. These results indicated that a loosely packed structure in chalky endosperm was responsible for fragile gr...


The experimental investigation of the photoresist etching rate in the afterglow of Ar‐O2 microwave plasma has been performed. It was found that up to 50% Ar can be added to O2 without etching rate decrease. A high photoresist etching rate of 2.9 μm/min has been achieved. A mathematical model based on the one‐dimensional mass continuity equation for atomic oxygen, taken to be responsible for the etching process, has been proposed. Modeling of the Ar‐O2 afterglow microwave photoresist stripping process was performed. The simulated behavior of the atomic oxygen flux shows a similar dependence with Ar dilution and pressure as the experimentally observed photoresist etching rate. It indicates that the photoresist etching rate is determined by the atomic oxygen flux to the substrate. The proposed model explains the measured dependencies.


Six secretory cell types (prolactin-, ACTH-, somatotropin- (STH-), TSH-, and two presumptive gonadotropin- (GTH-) secreting cells) were identified in light or electron microscope preparations of goldfish pars distalis. A further two cell types of unknown function were demonstrated in the pars intermedia. Cellular identification was based on the position of cells within the adenohypophysis and on the staining properties or morphological characteristics of the cytoplasmic granules.The prolactin-, ACTH-, and STH-secreting cells and the pars intermedia cells appeared to release granules into the basement membrane whereas granule release from TSH- and GTH-secreting cells was not found.Many of the adenohypophysial cell types were innervated directly or across a basement membrane by B-type neurohypophysial fibers. A-type neurosecretory fibers were associated with blood vessels and pituicytes within the neurohypophysis. The possible role(s) of the two types of pituicytes is discussed.


In the area of technology enhanced learning reusability and interoperability issues essentially influence the productivity and efficiency of learning and authoring tools. This paper aims at addressing the issues of missing standards in the area of adaptivity and personalization, what causes interoperability problems that are usually solved by means of the Semantic Web. There are two basic approaches how to overcome the interoperability problems -- one attempts to do it via standards and the other by means of the Semantic Web. In practice these approaches meet and many existing solutions are based on ontologies that take into account the existing standards and try to integrate them. On the other hand, these ontologies can help us to achieve a certain kind of consensus and to contribute to the harmonization of the existing standards.


[Objective] To compare the diagnostic value of magnetic resonance cholan-giopancreatography (MRCP) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography(ERCP) in bile duct and pancreatic tract disease.[Methods] 47 patients were confirmed by operation or pathology received MRCP and ERCP.[Results] The accuracy rate of MRCP diagnosis was 85.1%,and that of ERCP was 93.6 %.The accuracy rates of MRCP and ERCP in the diagnosis of malignant biliary obstruction were 82.1%,89.2%.And the rates were 89.5%,100% in the diagnosis of cholelithiasis.[Conclustions] MRCP is safe,non-invasive examination method,so that it should be choice to diagnose the biliary obstruction disease,but can not to replace ERCP combined with the two methods can promote the diagnos-is rate.


Pelvic pain in females is a complicated medical problem. With a myriad of causes, it also produces complex medical and mental health challenges for millions of women. The collateral impact on families and society is immense, as these women struggle to maintain a quality of life while managing their conditions. This complexity of female pelvic pain delays and impedes diagnosis, with the time from initial complaint to correct diagnosis for women with pelvic pain and endometriosis averaging 6 to 8 years. Delays, dismissals, and misdiagnoses lead to significant patient frustration and distrust of the medical establishment. Unfortunately, these delays may also allow significant progression of the pelvic pain condition. Pelvic pain that is present for greater than 6 months is defined as chronic pelvic pain. At this point, it may become recalcitrant to treatment and, as a matter of course, a more difficult situation to manage. Chronic pain begins to develop its own neurologic complex. It becomes more resistant to simple treatments, and long-term nerve damage occurs. The effect on women and their families can be significant and lifelong. Prompt diagnosis begins with provider education and awareness to achieve accurate and timely evaluations of women presenting with pelvic pain symptoms. This edition of Seminars in Reproductive Medicine is intended to bring together experts in the field of female pelvic pain by providing contributions on the many varied topics that contribute to this complex and debilitating condition. We begin with the "Evaluation of Chronic Pelvic Pain" for providers. Patients benefit from a thorough evaluation by a provider versed in the complexities and subtleties associated with the pelvic pain complaint. Sensitivity to these factors helps guide the provider on how to best structure these initial patient encounters. Building on the theme of a thorough evaluation of a patient with female pelvic pain, the Seminar next presents the "Musculoskeletal Considerations in Female Patients with Chronic Pelvic Pain." Providers tend to focus on the visceral contributors to pelvic pain and, as such, often overlook musculoskeletal factors. This may lead to misdiagnosis, unnecessary testing, and surgical intervention. Unraveling the root cause of this particular presentation requires a physical examination to evaluate these musculoskeletal factors. This section serves as a guide for providers who may not be well versed in such an examination. "Pelvic Pain in Adolescents" addresses the special considerations of caring for adolescent patients with pelvic pain. Many times, the evaluation of adolescents involves both the patient and her parents. It involves consideration of her physical health, psychosocial health, and long-term implications for fertility, sexual function, and well-being. Adolescents with pelvic pain are at risk for depression and anxiety; so, special focus on helping this group of patients to identify and manage their pelvic pain symptoms has enduring implications. Patients with pelvic pain present with a complex and varied set of symptoms. One of the most difficult set of symptoms to address is covered in the article "Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome." This condition's presentation and etiology are variable and poorly understood. The authors summarize the two current classification systems and the theories behind the development of some of this condition's most devastating symptoms. Interstitial cystitis and bladder pain syndrome contribute to central sensitization and central neurologic changes that reinforce persistent pelvic pain and resistant pelvic pain syndromes. Research into the bladder's contribution to chronic pelvic pain is a key component to this multifactorial syndrome. Likewise, the next article "Fibromyalgia and Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Women with Chronic Pelvic Pain" is a thorough review of the two of the most prevalent and wellstudied functional somatic syndromes (FSSs). These disease Gerald J. Harkins, MD, MPT, FACOG


Free-space optics (FSO) have received increased attention recently for last-mile, line-of-sight wireless links. In this research, we investigate noncoherent detection, i.e. detection assuming the absence of channel state information at the receiver, of on-off keying (OOK) in an FSO system. To partially recover the performance loss associated with symbol-by-symbol noncoherent detection, we consider the application of multiple-symbol detection (MSD), in which block-wise decisions are made using an observation window of many bit intervals. Significantly, we develop a fast decoding algorithm for optimal MSD, which avoids the complexity of an exhaustive search over all candidate sequences. The conclusion is reached that the proposed MSD technique provides an attractive low complexity mechanism for performing optimal noncoherent detection of OOK in an FSO system.


Purpose:  To assess the effectiveness of consecutive intravitreal injections of recombined tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA), expansile gas and bevacizumab in eyes with acute subretinal haemorrhage (SRH).


The HER-2 gene (HER-2/neu or c-erbB-2) encodes an 185-kDa transmembrane glycoprotein that is a member of the type I family of growth factor receptors. HER-2 is constitutively activated by overexpression and contributes to cell growth, angiogenesis, survival, and metastasis (1). The assessment of HER-2 status in breast carcinomas provides valuable prognostic and predictive information. Immunohistochemistry, fluorescence in situ hybridization, chromosomal in situ hybridization, and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) may be used for this purpose. Other approaches have been proposed for the assessment of HER-2 status in peripheral blood, including evaluating either circulating HER-2 extracellular domain (ECD) or nucleated cell-associated HER-2 mRNA. Some studies have indicated that circulating ECD/HER-2 is frequently increased in metastatic disease (2)(3)(4). In addition, high concentrations of ECD/HER-2 are associated with cancer aggressiveness (5) and predict response to trastuzumab (6)(7)(8) and antiestrogen (4) therapies in advanced breast cancer. Recently, Martin et al. (9), using an array to assess circulating mRNA, pointed out that HER-2 mRNA was generally low in the blood of healthy individuals but was increased in 31% of patients with untreated invasive breast cancer. Almost all of these studies evaluated blood markers in patients with advanced or metastatic breast cancer using a single presurgical sample.

Our study included 40 consecutive patients (median age, 58 years; range, 29–80 years) undergoing surgery for early breast cancer. Patients did not receive any systemic therapy before surgery and provided informed consent for the study. According to tumor size, 28 patients were classified as T1, whereas the remaining 12 were T2 or T3. Twenty-two were node negative, and 35 were positive for estrogen receptors. From each patient, we collected 12 mL of venous blood in EDTA tubes and divided the blood into two 5-mL aliquots. The first was centrifuged, and the plasma …


Ceramic materials today allow the application of performance resources using different shaped tools. Thus each user is confronted with the fact that in most cases the final treatment of the functional surfaces is essential. Due to the difficult machinability of high-performance ceramics a special know-how is required. The various properties (for example hardness, abrasion resistance) which are of advantage for a relevent application can be of desadvantage for reachable abrasion rates during treatment. High-performance ceramics, which are gaining increasing importance for the sector of technical cutters and knives, are based on partially stabilised zirconia or a combination of zirconia with alumina. This paper deals with the aspects of mechanical precision machining of ceramic cutters. Some research results conducted by the INSTITUT FUR FUGETECHNIK UND WERKSTOFFPRUFUNG GMBH (IFW), Jena, Germany, are presented.


A cost-effective method for cloud removal and reconstruction of remote sensing images has been a long-standing research challenge in remote sensing data processing. In this article, we address this challenge by presenting a fast and simple method for cloud detection and cloud-free image reconstruction using Landsat-8 OLI and Sentinel-2 MSI series data. The proposed method utilizes the spectral difference between cloud pixels and transparent pixels to develop a fast and simple cloud detection algorithm for multispectral remote sensing sensors. Subsequently, the cloud-free data of the complementary image and the target image undergo histogram matching, and the cloud-free pixels of the complementary image are seamlessly integrated into the original image, leading to the generation of a cloud-free image reconstruction algorithm. Comparative analysis between the results obtained from our proposed method and the corresponding artificial results reveals an accuracy rate exceeding 90% and a high consistency in the reconstructed spatial spectrum. By addressing the need for cost-effective cloud removal and image reconstruction, our method contributes to the advancement of remote sensing data processing and applications.


A fibrinolytic enzyme-produing bacillus was screened in our experiment.The optimization of fermentation conditions for the high-yield strain indicated that the optimal conditions were:soluble starch 4%,peptone 2%,ammonium ferric citrate 0.1%,calcium phosphate 0.4%,the inoculum size 2%,pH 7.5,fermentation time 96 h,media amount 75/500(mL/mL),fermentation temperature 37 ℃,rotate speed 150 rpm.Under these conditions,the strain's fibrinolytic enzyme activity was 581.81 IU/mL.


ABSTRACT Flock House virus is a small icosahedral insect virus of the familyNodaviridae. Its genome consists of two positive-sense RNA molecules, which are believed to be encapsidated into a single viral particle. However, evidence to support this claim is circumstantial. Here we demonstrate that exposure of nodavirus particles to heat causes the two strands of viral RNA to form a stable complex, directly establishing that both RNAs are copackaged into one virion. The physical properties of the RNA complex, the effect of heat on the particles per se, and the possible relevance of these findings to the nodavirus life cycle are presented.


A cluster of piperacillin-tazobactam resistant/ceftriaxone susceptible Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonaie bacteremias were noted at our institution. A review of the literature suggested this resistance phenotype was mediated by a beta-lactamase. We sought to further corroborate this phenotypically.

 We adapted the "carbapenem inactivation method" utilizing piperacillin-tazobactam and ceftriaxone discs on all E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolated from blood and demonstrating piperacillin-tazobactam resistance but with ceftriaxone susceptibility. We utilized pan-susceptible and carbapenem resistance Enterobacteriaceae reference strains as well as third generation cephalosporin resistant, piperacillin-tazobactam susceptible isolates as controls.

 96% of the piperacillin-tazobactam resistant, ceftriaxone susceptible strains demonstrated the capacity to degrade the piperacillin-tazobactam discs while 100% spared the ceftriaxone discs. 75% of the piperacillin-tazobactam susceptible, ceftriaxone resistant control strains spared the piperacillin-tazobactam discs while degrading the ceftriaxone discs.

 The resistance phenotype observed is due to beta-lactamase production and the modified carbapenem inactivation method can be adapted to probe for other beta-lactamases. Further study is required to definitively identify which beta-lactamase is responsible.

 All Authors: No reported disclosures


Why do people form social groups that do not produce a kind of group goods (public goods for the members only) nor directly increase the productivities of the members as firms or interest groups do? This study rationalizes such behaviors in order to gain more precise signals of the potential partner types in a transaction. Indeed, signal improving groups are individually rational to join for those with signals above a threshold level. Also, the groups are socially desirable in that they increase the chances of more profitable transactions.


An economic evaluation has been performed to determine the expected returns on investment for a drilling program in the Giddings, Austin Chalk Gas Field. Using projected production schedules of selected well types from the encountered reserve distribution, computer based cashflow analyses were performed under six hypothesized future scenarios of varying hydrocarbon pricing, demand, taxation, and inflation. For the six future scenarios studied, the Giddings Gas Field drilling program was found to produce a positive, after tax net present value, using 15% as a discount factor. Furthermore, the returns on investment were higher for an independent than for a major producer. Results suggest a drilling program initiated in the near future will prove to be an attractive economic venture.


We present an occlusion-robust in-hand object scanning system using visual hull shield. Our system basically uses depth-based volumetric method for 3D object reconstruction. In in-hand object scanning, due to a small object size, most of previous depth-based volumetric methods are sensitive to outlier depths caused by occlusions, e.g. hand occlusion. To overcome this limitation, we generate visual hull shield using object silhouettes and remove outlier depths that cause the drift of the object pose estimation. Experimental results show that the proposed method is more robust to occlusions than previous 3D object scanning algorithms.


However, at present I don't think it can deliver on this promise as the methodology seems to have a flaw which I have outlined below in some detail. The method is predicated on the similarity of the donor natural catchment/target influenced catchment, but in the UK example at least, the catchments are not similar enough, very likely leading to over-estimation of the anthropogenic effect. I feel major revisions are needed to convincingly demonstrate the method, through modifying it to allow for some tolerance in the donor/target relationship, verifying the method using independent abstraction data, or benchmarking it against other methods.


The results of surveys of the diversity of plant communities on the banks of the Ileksa River along a water tourism route in Vodlozersky National Park are reported. The diversity of plant communities is demonstrated through 59 releves of forest, mire and meadow sites. The diversity includes typical boreal plant communities, unique highly productive forest stands and biotopes with high biodiversity. The ways of using this water tourism route for environmental education and awareness activities are considered.


Russia is very actively involved in the international economic relations (IER). Participation in the ERI brings both substantial benefits – through foreign currency earnings from the export of resources and extremely negative effects for the economy – the flight of capital, substitution of domestic products through goods manufactured abroad. This article discusses various aspects of Russia's participation in international economic relations. The problem of global imbalances and the balance of payments in Russia is analyzed. It is shown that Russia is one of the countries receiving as a result of foreign trade, the greatest benefit from global imbalances At the same time, this effect is being annihilated by the negative financial account balance. The sanctions of Western countries against the Russian economy are scrutinized. The impact of sanctions on the economy is analyzed based on the analysis of foreign economic relations of Russia. A list of the measures necessary to ensure the modernization of the Russian economy both under sanctions and, regardless of their retention or abolition, as a whole, in the coming years is presented. Factors influencing the modernization of the industry, are development of the financial system, the control of tariffs of natural monopolies, development of infrastructure. The extremely important measures is increase of resource and energy efficiency ( targeted), including industry standards; updating of funds; productivity growth. The indirect measure to support the industry present government expenditures on research and development. Along with the devaluation as the course of sanctions it is necessary to maintain the systemic industrial and agricultural policy. Here is the key to development and changes in economy structure.


EEG studies were made before and 24 and 48 hours after administration of diagnostic doses of I/sup 131/. In 5 patients, the EEG was worse, in 2 (pituitary adenoma, metastatic tumor of posterior fossa) there was marked improvement. It was concluded that I/sup 131/ does not affect the EEG. (P.C.H.)


This paper introduces micro inverters which are presently available in the industry, these micro inverters are looked into their properties which reveal certain characteristics when subjected to certain conditions, by this we are able to select a micro inverter as per our requirement.


OBJECTIVES
1. To describe the habits and conduct of school students (13-17 years old) around alcohol in the Cartagena Health Area. 2. To discover the factors underlying consumption. 3. To analyse beliefs and behaviour about consumption.

DESIGN
Cross-sectional descriptive study.

SETTING
Health area.

PARTICIPANTS
16,657 school students. Sample population (n = 1004). Large-group sampling (sampling unit: class-room), accuracy = 3%, CI = 95%, p = q = 50%, stratified by school and geographical area.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
Anonymous, self-filled questionnaire (33 open and closed questions).

SELECTION CRITERIA
attendance at class on the day of the questionnaire.

VARIABLES
social, economic and cultural data on parents and students, course, type of family, alcohol consumption (starting age, access, individual habits, friends and family), beliefs about consumption, study profile of consumer.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
description of variables, chi-squared test, t test, logistical regression. 99.2% filled in the questionnaire. Students' average age was 15.84 (SD, 1.21). 89.96% lived with their parents. 83.4% had consumed alcohol on some occasion, with no relationship to current consumption (p > 0.05). Starting age was 13.77 (SD, 1.78), 48.5% in discos/bars and 19% at home (p > 0.05). 47.5% had got drunk on some occasion (p > 0.05). 88.2% customarily drank alcohol mixed with other drinks (p > 0.05). 51.8% drank at week-ends (2.4% every day) (p > 0.05). 63.3% thought it easy to acquire drinks: 48.9% in supermarkets, 26.4% at petrol stations (p = 0.038). 71% of consumers agreed that "alcohol is a drug" (p = 0.005). 13% believed "it does not cause dependency" (p = 0.00001). 23.3% thought that it is not true to say "the person who does sport is healthier and does not take alcohol".

CONCLUSIONS
The pattern of consumption is similar to that found in other autonomous communities, although in greater quantity and without differences in kind. Mean age of consumer: 15 years old. They usually drink alcohol mixed with other soft drinks, normally at week-ends. They are very ignorant of the effects of consumption.


In order to show the transport conditions of goods on different roads and provide more real and three-dimensional transport information for situation inference users, this paper proposes a simple and PID controlled three-dimensional simulation method for truck formation based on Unreal Engine. Firstly, based on the basic theory of automatic control [1] , the longitudinal lollipop controller and the transverse PID controller are designed respectively based on the lollipop control and PID control ideas, and the perception-decision framework is combined to realize the automatic driving of the truck along the spline line on the road. On this basis, a truck controller is designed to realize the truck formation driving with high recovery degree based on the leader-follower strategy. The results show that the truck based on PID control can accurately drive along the road line. With the cooperation of truck formation controller, the whole process of formation, maintenance and driving of truck formation can be basically restored.


Ki67 is an immunohistochemical marker indicating the growth fraction of cycling cells from G1 to S-phase in tumor specimens. In breast cancer, Ki67 is a prognostic marker with high values indicating poor outcome. Over the last decades, obstacles for its wide-spread use in clinical practice included lack of methodological standardization and lack of specific cut-off values for clinical decision making, i.e. discrimination of luminal A vs. B early breast cancer (EBC), chemotherapy indication in HR+/HER2- EBC. However, recently, the International Ki67 working group has put forward consensus statements for a standardized methodology. In general, reproducibility of Ki67 values at extreme sides of the spectrum such as 10% or ≥ 35% is much higher than in the intermediate range and quality assurance programs substantially improve laboratory performance. Moreover, clinical utility has also become apparent in two specific settings of HR±/HER2- EBC.
 First, the monarchE trial evaluating adjuvant abemaciclib in node-positive high-risk disease used a Ki67 cut-off of 20% as a criterion for aggressive disease and as a sole inclusion criterion for patients with 1-3 lymph nodes (cohort2). While data for this cohort have not yet been reported, Ki67 was a strong prognostic factor in the overall trial population with patients with high Ki67 having worse outcome than those with Ki67 < 20%. Benefit from abemaciclib was independent of Ki67 index. Nevertheless, some health authorities included Ki67 in their abemaciclib label as the absolute benefit was greater in tumors with Ki67 ≥ 20%.
 Second, Ki67 response after a short (2-4 week) preoperative endocrine therapy allows endocrine response assessment by determining Ki67 in the surgical specimen. This information is widely used in drug development. Ki67post 10% has been defined as endocrine response. In the POETIC trial, endocrine response was associated with improved outcome compared to tumors with Ki67 ≥ 10% after 2-weeks of preoperative AI in postmenopausal patients. In the WSG ADAPT trial, patients with 0-3 lymph nodes, Recurrence Score 25 and endocrine response had excellent outcome with adjuvant endocrine therapy alone independent of menopausal status (5-year dDFS ≥ 95%). In postmenopausal women, probability of endocrine response with an AI is around 80% whereas in premenopausal patients with tamoxifen it is only around 40%. Yet, in premenopausal women addition of GnRH substantially improves endocrine response probability reaching about 80% with GnRH and AI as recently shown by interim analysis of the WSG ADAPTcycle trial (about 2500 patients). Endocrine response probabilities seen in the ADAPT trial (≥ 5000 patients) were validated in ADAPTcycle demonstrating clinical validity of this biomarker.
 In conclusion, Ki67 is a clinically relevant biomarker that can be used for clinical decision making, particularly in HR+/HER2- EBC. As there is no single generally accepted Ki67 cut-off value to discriminate prognostically favorable from aggressive EBC, Ki67 needs to be used in the context of tumor burden and tumor biology. Currently, next to its use in allocating patients to adjuvant abemaciclib in countries where Ki67 index is included in the label, it provides clinically important information after short-term preoperative endocrine therapy regarding endocrine response in HR+/HER2 EBC. Given its easy and inexpensive determination method, its analytical validity within quality assurance programs, and its clinical usefulness, Ki67 needs to be integrated in our biomarker portfolio in EBC.
 Citation Format: Nadia Harbeck, Torsten Nielson. Ki 67 Ki67 – a clinically relevant biomarker or just nice to have information? [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2022 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(5 Suppl):Abstract nr TC1-3-1.


Investigations of the adsorption of acid dyes (l–phenyl–3–methylpyrazolone derivatives) by polyamide fibres have been carried out. It has been found that the adsorption levels are unexpectedly different for various dyes. Some of the dyes, despite high concentration in the dyebath, show adsorption within the limits of what would be predicted by consideration of the amino group content in the amorphous region of the fibre. Other dyes, despite high pH, are characterised by considerably higher adsorption than would be predicted. The results obtained suggest that the increased adsorption of the dyes is brought about by the aggregation of molecules in the fibre into dimers or their multiples.


In the field of military and law enforcement, detection and visualization of concealed weapons is a common practice. The infrared and visible cameras providing the information i.e., the characteristic visual features of the image and the thermal radiations are able to provide the complementary information like information about concealed objects or weapons. In this manuscript, we have proposed the integration of visible and infrared images of a scene using curvelet, wavelet and Dual Tree Complex Wavelet transform (DTCWT) with their brief introduction and background. The quantitative and visual results obtained from three techniques are compared and they reveal that DTCWT can be efficiently employed as an efficient image fusion tool in the context of concealed weapon detection.