Purpose: Effective menstrual hygiene management is vital to the health, well-being, dignity, empowerment, mobility and productivity of girls and women.  This study was conducted to ascertain menstrual hygiene management challenges and coping strategies of adolescents with disabilities in the Kumasi Metro of Ghana. Method: An exploratory study design with qualitative approach was employed to select 18 participants. Data was collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, and then transcribed and categorised into specific themes. Results: Females with visual impairment had difficulty in maintaining good menstrual hygiene because of problems in detecting menstrual blood, inability to fix sanitary pads appropriately and wash underwear properly, and anxiety and stress from not knowing whether their period has started. The problems of those with physical impairment were related to inaccessible washrooms, long hours of being seated on the part of wheelchair-users, and difficulty in fixing sanitary pads for those with upper limb impairment. For those with hearing impairment, the main challenge was the communication barrier between them and their significant others whenever they needed help. Conclusion: There are common challenges faced by all girls across the globe with regard to menstrual hygiene management. Adolescent females with disability however face additional challenges with regard to MHM. Those with physical disability encounter accessibility challenges, while the main challenge for the deaf and those with speech problems is communication. The visually impaired live in anxiety due to fear of staining their clothes.


Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique widely used in the scientific community to determine chemical composition of sample compounds. Typically, mass spectrometers perform their analysis under vacuum conditions, though atmospheric pressure mass spectrometers are becoming more prevalent. With the development of atmospheric pressure mass spectrometers, techniques such as FAIMS (Field Asymmetric Ion Mobility Spectrometry) have emerged; which achieve higher transfer efficiency into the mass spectrometer and thus improve the instrument's sensitivity. Ion behavior in higher pressure conditions, such as in ambient ionization sources, is less understood, thus making it more difficult to predict ion trajectories and concentrations. Modeling of this ion behavior becomes challenging, due to concurrent effects of fluid flow and diffusion in addition to dynamically changing electric fields. These non-linear parameters are however, more easily employed in current software iterations. Ion behavior for Cesium is modeled using two simulation programs, COMSOL Multiphysics and SIMION®. Specific compound parameters, including ion mobility coefficient in low fields and alpha parameters, are obtained experimentally. These serve as inputs to define ion behavior in both software packages. Ion trajectory is dependent on several factors, consisting of convection forces due to air flow, migration forces due to high voltage oscillating fields and diffusion forces due to particle-to-particle interaction in atmospheric pressure. Specifically during COMSOL modeling, three dependent modules including electric current, laminar flow, and transport of diluted species are incorporated. Numerical solutions are calculated across a 2D model using a fine mesh that encompasses three domains. The first domain represents the DMS plates, in which a bisinusoidal AC waveform is applied. The second domain is an air gap, where no electric potential is employed. The third domain is defined as the MS capillary inlet, where a DC potential exists. COMSOL alternatively offers a Particle Tracing Module which solves particle motion through Lagrangian mechanics. This newly introduced COMSOL module allows for faster computing while also permitting individual ion tracking. Unlike the transport of diluted species module, the Particle Tracing Module does not incorporate diffusion effects. Both COMSOL Multiphysics and SIMION present several features, and a head-to-head assessment of both packages will be performed and compared to experimental results. Experiments will entail the collection of data for inorganic radionuclide analogs such as Cesium. Optimization of the DC compensation voltage for filtering of each ionic species will be performed through the simulation software, and the total ionic current for each species from the models will be validated with the experimental tests. It is expected to obtain sensitivity and resolution information due to varying parameters such as electric field frequency and amplitude and ion inlet velocity. This modeling is being used towards potential forensic analysis of radiological dispersion devices (RDDs) also known as dirty bombs. Additionally, parameter optimization through simulations can be used as a guide for the design of a field deployable mass spectrometer.


Purpose: This project was anticipated to demonstrate an increase in the number of those diagnosed with BED according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) 5 criteria, diagnosed with ICD-10 code F50.8 or R63.2 and treated according to best practice guidelines. Background: Binge eating disorder (BED) is the most common eating disorder in the United States, more than both anorexia and bulimia combined. It affects 3.5 percent of women, 2 percent of men and 30 percent of those seeking weight management. Design: This evidenced-based project consisted of a retrospective analysis of 150 patients seen in a weight management clinic setting since implementing the ICD-10 coding system 02/09/16. Findings: Results demonstrated the prevalence of BED in this weight management center was 27.5%, 44% were diagnosed with an ICD 10 code, and approximately 20% were provided with evidence based treatments. Clinical Implications: Understanding the prevalence of BED demonstrates the need for increased screening methods to optimize the likelihood patients obtain empirically supported treatment.


Image smoothing is widely used for enhancing the quality of single images or videos. There is a large amount of application areas such as machine vision, entertainment industry with smart TVs or consumer cameras, or surveillance and reconnaissance with different imaging sensors. In many cases it is not easy to find the trade-off between high smoothing quality and fast processing time. However, this is necessary for the mentioned applications as they are dependent on real-time computing. In this paper, we aim to find a good trade-off. Local texture is analyzed with Local Binary Patterns (LBPs) which are used to adapt the size of a Gaussian smoothing kernel for each pixel. Real-time requirements are met by the implementation on a Graphical Processing Unit (GPU). An image of 512 × 512 pixels is processed in 2.6 ms.


STANOJEVIC, D., L. COMIC, O. STEFANOVIC and Sl. SOLUJIC-SUKDOLAK, 2009. Antimicrobial effects of sodium benzoate, sodium nitrite andpotassium sorbate and their synergistic action in vitro. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 15: 307-311 The aim of present work was to investigate the antimicrobial effects of sodium benzoate, sodium nitrite and potassium sorbate and their synergistic action (sodium nitrite + sodium benzoate, sodium nitrite + potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate + potassium sorbate) on selected food- spoiling bacteria and fungi, for a potential use in food industry. The following species of microorganisms were tested: Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus mycoides, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium oxysporum, Candida albicans, Trichoderma harsianum and Penicillium italicum. The strongest antimicrobial effect was exerted by sodium nitrite (MIC 0.5 mg/ml) in relation to the species Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Synergistic action was noticed against 40% of the tested species (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus mucoides and Candida albicans) in the case of the sodium nitrite + sodium benzoate combination; and against 30% of them (Bacillus mucoides, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli) in that of the sodium nitrite + potassium sorbate combination. Escherichia coli manifested the greatest sensitivity to the combined action of preservatives, Aspergillus flavus the greatest resistance.


Knowledge on the formation of mixed transition metal layers on lithium and sodium transition metal oxides, Li/Na(Co,Ni,Mn,)O2, determines the ability to control their electrochemical properties as electrode materials in alkaline ion batteries. Taking this into account, herein we combine the EPR and 23Na MAS NMR spectroscopic techniques to gain insights into the structural peculiarities of the mixed cobalt-nickel-manganese layers of NayCo1-2xNixMnxO2 with a three-layer stacking (P3-type) structure. Two types of compositions are examined where diamagnetic Co3+ and paramagnetic Ni3+ and Mn4+ are stabilized: Na2/3Co1/3Ni1/3Mn1/3O2 and Na1/2Ni1/2Mn1/2O2. EPR spectroscopy operating in the X- and Q-band region is applied with an aim to improve the spectra resolution and, on the other hand, to provide straightforward information on the coordination of the transition metal ions inside the layers. The analysis of EPR spectra is based on the reference for the Mn4+ and Ni2+ ions occurring simultaneously in oxides with two layer stacking, P2-Na2/3Ni1/3Mn2/3O2. Complementary to EPR, 23Na MAS NMR spectroscopy at high spinning rates is undertaken to assess the local structure of the Na nucleus in the layered P3-NayCo1-2xNixMnxO2 oxides. All results are discussed taking into account the EPR and NMR data for the well-known lithium analogues O3-LiCo1/3Ni1/3Mn1/3O2 and O3-LiNi1/2Mn1/2O2. Finally, the structure peculiarities of the transition metal layers extracted from the EPR and NMR methods are demonstrated by electrochemical intercalation of Li+ ions into P3-NayCo1-2xNixMnxO2.


In this paper, analysis of coaxial cable is used to reveal how an electromagnetic wave propagates in an electrical conductor, and a new modeling language, MODELICA is introduced. Some transmission line properties, such as propagation delay, reflection coefficient, attenuation, are all verified by comparing the results from MATLAB and MODELICA. The models we simulated are different types of coaxial cables, including lossless cables and lossy cables. It can be shown that MODELICA, a very powerful and convenient tool, can process complex physical systems.


During development, many signaling molecules function as morphogens, long-range
signals, to provide positional information that directs the pattern of cellular
differentiation. One such signal, Sonic Hedgehog (Shh), patterns the dorso-ventral (D/V)
axis of the neural tube by controlling the expression of transcription factors in
progenitor cells. One such factor is Nkx2.2, which is expressed in response to high levels
and prolonged periods of Shh signaling. Analysis of the regulatory elements controlling
Nkx2.2 has revealed a 250bp evolutionary conserved region (ECR), sufficient to drive
Nkx2.2 expression. Among other transcription factor binding sites, this element contains
a Gli‐binding site (GBS), necessary for Nkx2.2 expression. Mutational analysis suggests
that the affinity and/or number of GBSs determine the level but not the spatial domain
of Nkx2.2 expression pattern. Instead, correct Nkx2.2 expression requires both positive
and negative inputs from other transcription factors. These factors are part of a
transcriptional network that restricts Nkx2.2 expression in the p3 domain. One part of
this network consisting of Pax6 and Olig2 determines the dorsal limit of Nkx2.2
expression, while a second part consisting of FoxA2, FoxP2 and FoxP4 determines the
ventral limit of expression of Nkx2.2 domain. These transcription factors also appear to
determine the temporal features of Nkx2.2 expression in the neural tube. Furthermore,
sequence analysis identified a potential Fox binding motif within a 10bp region of the
ECR that appears to control the ventral limit of Nkx2.2 expression. Together these data
are consistent with a model in which the combination of Shh signaling and downstream
transcriptional network generates the spatiotemporal profile of Nkx2.2 expression.


Asking 'What is lesbian Sydney?' and 'Where is it?', this article traces the shifting spaces and places of lesbian Sydney in the first decades after the Second World War. In the 1940s and 1950s, when camp bars were overwhelmingly male, lesbians enjoyed a very limited public presence in the city. Many women created lesbian spaces in isolation from a wider community, discreetly setting up house with a female partner and gradually building up a small network of lesbian friends. Groups of women met in each other's homes or visited the parks and beaches around Sydney and the Central Coast for social excursions. By the 1960s, lesbians were beginning to carve out a more visible public space for themselves at wine bars and cabaret clubs in inner suburbs such as Kings Cross, Oxford Street and the city, and the commercial bar scene grew steadily through the 1970s. However, the influence of feminist and lesbian and gay politics in the 1970s also prompted a rethinking of lesbian spaces in Sydney, with well-known lesbian collective houses challenging older notions of private space and political venues such as Women's House and CAMP NSW headquarters constituting new bases for lesbian community.


A primary electron beam of a transmission electron microscope is scattered into secondary beams by the planes of atoms of a single crystal. These secondary beams are focused to form a diffraction pattern on the final screen. This experiment is similar to the Thompson one which, independently by Davisson and Germer, demonstrated the de Broglie hypothesis of the existence of electron waves. Without changing the experimental apparatus, it is possible to realize an interference experiment with electrons coming from two spatially separated sources in analogy with the optical Young set-up. Both experiments are clear evidence of the electron wave-like behaviour. By varying the conditions of illumination, changes of the fringe visibility which reveal the spatial coherence properties of the electron beam, are displayed.


The presence of free charges and numerous discontinuities separating liquid, gas, and solid phases in partially-saturated soils give rise to a relatively understudied phenomenon of interfacial polarization that could impact bulk dielectric permittivity measurements using TDR and similar soil-embedded sensors. Evidence suggests a complex interplay between the response of complex dielectric permittivity spectrum to changes in ambient temperature and amount of ionic charges present in the wet soil. Model calculations based on Hanai's theory are supported by direct measurements using Network Analyzer showing that at low frequency (<10 MHz), the bulk dielectric permittivity increases with increasing temperature with a magnitude determined by the bulk electrical conductivity (amount of free ionic charges). Beyond a certain critical frequency, the decrease in free water permittivity dominates and the bulk dielectric permittivity decreases with increasing temperature. The dielectric permittivity inferred from TDR waveform travel time analyses is not significantly influenced by changes in the low frequency range (<10 MHz). In contrast, soil dielectric permittivity sensors operating at frequencies in the range of 10 MHz are likely to exhibit significant sensitivity to ambient conditions (temperature and electrical conductivity) affecting interfacial polarization, hence require special care in measurement interpretation.


Background The double blind, non-penetrating placebo needle is effective in masking patients who are not informed that they may receive a placebo needle. In this study, we aimed to examine whether such needles are effective in masking subjects who have been so informed. Methods One hundred and fourteen informed, consenting, healthy volunteers were recruited. An experienced acupuncturist applied one of the following needle pairs – penetrating/non-penetrating, non-penetrating/non-penetrating, penetrating/penetrating – randomly at bilateral TE5 points in subjects who were informed that they would receive either a non-penetrating or a penetrating needle. After the application of a pair of needles, the subjects reported for each arm on whether they identified the needle as non-penetrating or penetrating. The patients also rated skin penetration/penetration-like pain and the deep dull pain (de qi) associated with the needle application on a visual analogue scale (VAS). The chi squared goodness of fit test was used to determine the probability of the number of correctly and incorrectly identified needles. Statistical comparisons for VAS scores for skin penetration pain and de qi were made using Mann-Whitney's U test. Results Of the 114 non-penetrating needle applications, the subjects identified 64 incorrectly and 50 correctly, fitting a probability of 0.5 (χ2=1.72, P=0.19). Most interestingly, the subjects identified 36 (32%) of 114 penetrating needle applications incorrectly. Skin penetration/penetration-like pain and de qi scores did not differ significantly (P=0.87 and P=0.17, respectively) between the 114 non-penetrating and 114 penetrating needles. Conclusions The non-penetrating placebo needle was effective in masking fully informed subjects. When used together with the matched penetrating needle, it has potential for use in double blind (patient and practitioner blind) studies.


A one-stop resource for an exciting new Web-based, slide-free presentation tool! People who have been seeking a flashier version of PowerPoint have found itand it's Prezi. A Web-based, slide-free presentation tool, Prezi allows users to create and give rich, Web-based presentations complete with dynamic content, contextual layouts, and eye-catching visuals. Prezi For Dummies gets you rapidly up to speed, including how to think outside the traditional slide, create your project, insert Flash and other graphic files, and publish your presentation to a public domain. Youll also learn valuable tips on what makes a good Prezi. Introduces Prezi, a Web-based, Flash-friendly, dynamic presentation tool Explains how to use online and offline editors and insert images, video, sound, Flash files, and other complex graphics Covers presenting a Prezi, publishing it to a public domain, and collaborating with others Offers tips and insights on what makes a good Preziand how to think visually to create content that benefits your business or organization Move beyond slides, put your visual thinking cap on, and get the very most of Prezi with this timely, practical guide.


This article juxtaposes shifts in prevailing frames on domestic violence in the Netherlands, Hungary and the EU. Domestic violence, first brought on the political agenda by women's rights proponents as a problem related to gender inequalities, has been framed and re-framed under the influence of mainstream policy makers. The analysis of these frames shows how shifts in the gender of governance, particularly the marginalization of feminist NGO voices, have led to shifts in the governance of gender. These shifts caused a weakening or even disappearance of gender-equality considerations in domestic violence policies, or an integration of it in a broader framework thereby going beyond gender specific interests. The authors argue that strengthening government engagement on the issue of domestic violence goes hand in hand with a de-gendering in the articulation of the problem. This shift has taken away the privileged position of women's rights proponents to speak out on the issue, and established the interests of other members of society to speak on it by affirming its cross-societal nature.


Industrial adoption of whole-field optical metrology has been hindered by the
interpretation of the resulting wrapped phase data using traditional spatial unwrapping
algorithms. These algorithms typically require long computation times and are often
unable to provide unique solutions. An alternative approach described by Huntley and
Saldnert simplifies the data analysis by using a time-series of wrapped phase maps to
unwrap the data temporally, and has the advantage that errors due to noise and
specimen boundaries do not propagate spatially. However, viability of the algorithm
is restricted by the need to store and subsequently analyse very large datasets. This
thesis describes the development and application of an instrument that implements the
temporal phase unwrapping algorithm (TPUA) in real-time to overcome these
problems and allows whole-field optical techniques to become more intuitive by
enabling quasi-live results to be displayed.
Tradeoffs across the multiple domains of algorithm, hardware and software are
discussed, including decomposition of the algorithm onto particular architectures and
implementation using a commercial pipeline image processing system.
In the first application, the surface profile of discontinuous objects is measured using
a Digital Mirror Device spatial light modulator (SLM) to project an optimised
sequence of sinusoidal white light fringes onto the object surface at 60 frames s-'.
Less than 0.5 s is required to measure and display approximately 250,000 co-ordinates
with a precision of better than one part in 5,000 of the field of view.
Issues affecting the performance of white light projected fringe profilometers
implemented using SLMs are investigated. Defocusing of the projector is shown to be
a critical limiting factor, with a precision of better than one part in 20,000 of the field
of view being achieved when optimised. A speckle interferometer is used in the second application to measure object
displacement. Quasi-live unwrapped speckle interferograms are displayed at
15 frames s-' using either a piezoelectric transducer-mounted prism or a Pockels cell
as the phase-stepping device. The reference speckle interferogram is automatically
updated at regular intervals allowing arbitrarily large deformations to be measured.
The signal-to-noise ratio of the calculated displacement fields can be improved by
performing real-time temporal least-squares fitting.


In developing countries, it is difficult to rally a radiologist to conduct field studies. Here, we report how a radiologist taught a clinician to carry out the ultrasound examination as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) record sheet for Schistosoma haematobium related lesions. In a population infected with S. haematobium, the learner and teacher performed two ultrasound exams and the results were compared. One hundred thirty-two children were prospectively included, during 8 ultrasonography sessions split over 23 days. After 51 examinations the learner's sensitivity was above 90%. After the fifth session the specificity reached 100% (results remained stable until the end of the study period). This study shows that a clinician can quickly learn how to carry out a simple ultrasound examination to gather the items needed for the follow-up of S. haematobium related lesions, suggesting that clinicians could implement networks of ultrasound-based surveillance on the field.


Multi-robot applications frequently seek to employ human operators to direct robot actions online because fully automated planners struggle to encode human expertise or handle the extenuating circumstances that occur during real world operations. However, it is extremely challenging for a human to direct multi-robot teams, especially online, i.e., in real-time. From entertainment to defense, applications can require detailed inter-robot coordination direction which can be difficult for an operator to specify. Finding motion plans that then meet user intent is complicated by the need to operate in cluttered environments while absolving the human operator from having to consider physical constraints of the system such as dynamic feasibility or safety. Existing multi-robot policy specification and planning methods have difficulty providing all the required capabilities to enable high-speed, online, human-directed multiagent motion generation in cluttered environments. While reaction based or local control methods have been widely used for multi-robot applications due to their fast computation times, these methods can fail to produce coordinated responses or safety guarantees. In contrast, optimization methods and search approaches are frequently used to coordinate actions across robots and generate high quality motion plans. Unfortunately, the large number of inherent decision variables, especially as frequently incurred when considering numerous obstacles, often means these methods require computation times in excess of online operation limits. In this thesis, we enable a search based methodology to find safe and feasible multirobot trajectories at fast time scales even in highly cluttered environments by leveraging a group-based representation of multi-robot actions and offline acquired data. Our approach generalizes across environments and enables an operator to coordinate multirobot motions online for applications requiring high-frequency plan generation such as required by joystick control. We show results for two human-commanded multi-robot applications: theatrical performance and urban reconnaissance. Both applications require a multi-robot planner to resolve differences between operator input and feasibility requirements given the current state of the system, and generate dynamically feasible and safe trajectories for all agents within time and computation constraints. This thesis establishes an online multi-robot planning and control system for the specification of multi-robot behaviors, and we demonstrate the feasibility of the approach using a multi-quadrotor system, controlling up to 30 physical robots online in the context of the theatric application. We then address assumptions made under the theatric context to meet the high-frequency planning and cluttered environment context of the urban reconnaissance application, and present a generalized formulation of multi-robot behaviors and leverage examples of multi-agent actions from real world data sets to inform an online search policy. We demonstrate that the generalized representation coupled with the proposed data-based search heuristic enables high-speed multi-robot coordination in cluttered environments, providing needed capabilities to enable multi-robot solutions for complex real world applications.


Neural networks (NN) have achieved state-of-the-art performance in various applications. Unfortunately in applications where training data is insufficient, they are often prone to overfitting. One effective way to alleviate this problem is to exploit the Bayesian approach by using Bayesian neural networks (BNN). Another shortcoming of NN is the lack of flexibility to customize different distributions for the weights and neurons according to the data, as is often done in probabilistic graphical models. To address these problems, we propose a class of probabilistic neural networks, dubbed natural-parameter networks (NPN), as a novel and lightweight Bayesian treatment of NN. NPN allows the usage of arbitrary exponential-family distributions to model the weights and neurons. Different from traditional NN and BNN, NPN takes distributions as input and goes through layers of transformation before producing distributions to match the target output distributions. As a Bayesian treatment, efficient backpropagation (BP) is performed to learn the natural parameters for the distributions over both the weights and neurons. The output distributions of each layer, as byproducts, may be used as second-order representations for the associated tasks such as link prediction. Experiments on real-world datasets show that NPN can achieve state-of-the-art performance.


Image noise reduction, or denoising, is an active area of research, although many of the techniques cited in the literature mainly target additive white noise. With an emphasis on signal-dependent noise, this thesis presents the General Adaptive Monte Carlo Bayesian Image Denoising (GAMBID) algorithm, a model-free approach based on random sampling. Testing is conducted on synthetic images with two different signal-dependent noise types as well as on real synthetic aperture radar and ultrasound images. Results show that GAMBID can achieve state-of-the-art performance, but suffers from some limitations in dealing with textures and fine low-contrast features. These aspects can by addressed in future iterations when GAMBID is expanded to become a versatile denoising framework.


The inclusion of AI in an interactive system brings many potential benefits, but there are also potential side effects for the usability of the systems that ought to be taken into account from the very start. This article offers a systematic method for analyzing such usability side effects, the goal being to provide a solid basis for decisions about how to avoid or mitigate them. The analysis schema is applied in turn to nine classes of side effect. Many ideas that have been discussed in earlier literature are synthesized within this framework, which also brings into focus some concepts and issues that have received little attention so far.


It is becoming common to archive research datasets that are not only large but also numerous. In addition, their corresponding metadata and the software required to analyse or display them need to be archived. Yet the manual curation of research data can be difficult and expensive, particularly in very large digital repositories, hence the importance of models and tools for automating digital curation tasks. The automation of these tasks faces three major challenges: (1) research data and data sources are highly heterogeneous, (2) future research needs are difficult to anticipate, (3) data is hard to index. To address these problems, we propose the Extract, Transform and Archive (ETA) model for managing and mechanizing the curation of research data. Specifically, we propose a scalable strategy for addressing the research-data problem, ranging from the extraction of legacy data to its long-term storage. We review some existing solutions and propose novel avenues of research.


Two routes to overeating are discussed; they are both premised on people's strong motivation to avoid eating excessively and thereby avoid negative ascriptions associated with the overeatingloverweight stereotype. The first route to overeating involves infractions of restrictive intake norms: people who attempt to restrict their intake by implementing dietary rules often run afoul of disinhibitory circumstances that undermine the self-control upon which successful dieting depends. The second route to overeating involves adherence to restrictive intake norms in situations where it is unclear how much eating is permitted. People search the environment for indicants of what constitutes permissible intake and end up relying on such arbitrary criteria as portion size and the intake of other people. Using such criteria derived from the eating situation often leads to overeating even while individuals believe that they are successfully restricting their intake.


The current day flight deck operational environment consists of a two-person Captain/First Officer crew. A concept of operations (ConOps) to reduce the commercial cockpit to a single pilot from the current two pilot crew is termed Single Pilot Operations (SPO). This concept has been under study by researchers in the Flight Deck Display Research Laboratory (FDDRL) at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Ames (Johnson, Comerford, Lachter, Battiste, Feary, and Mogford, 2012) and researchers from Langley Research Centers (Schutte et al., 2007). Transitioning from a two pilot crew to a single pilot crew will undoubtedly require changes in operational procedures, crew coordination, use of automation, and in how the roles and responsibilities of the flight deck and ATC are conceptualized in order to maintain the high levels of safety expected of the US National Airspace System. These modifications will affect the roles and the subsequent tasks that are required of the various operators in the NextGen environment. The current report outlines the process taken to identify and document the tasks required by the crew according to a number of operational scenarios studied by the FDDRL between the years 2012-2014. A baseline task decomposition has been refined to represent the tasks consistent with a new set of entities, tasks, roles, and responsibilities being explored by the FDDRL as the move is made towards SPO. Information from Subject Matter Expert interviews, participation in FDDRL experimental design meetings, and study observation was used to populate and refine task sets that were developed as part of the SPO task analyses. The task analysis is based upon the proposed ConOps for the third FDDRL SPO study. This experiment possessed nine different entities operating in six scenarios using a variety of SPO-related automation and procedural activities required to guide safe and efficient aircraft operations. The task analysis presents the roles and responsibilities in a manner that can facilitate testing future scenarios. Measures of task count and workload were defined and analyzed to assess the impact of transitioning to a SPO environment.


The collaboratively edited online encyclopedia Wikipedia is among the most popular websites in the world. Subsequently, it poses a great challenge to traditional encyclopedias, which for centuries have set the standards of society's knowledge with their printed editions. It is, therefore, important to study the impact of social media on the standards of our knowledge. This longitudinal panel study analyzed the framing of content in encyclopedia entries of top Fortune companies in Wikipedia and the online version of Encyclopedia Britannica in 2006, 2008, and 2010. Content analyses of the length, tonality, and topics of 3,985 sentences showed that Wikipedia entries were significantly longer, were more positively and negatively framed, and focused more on corporate social responsibilities and legal and ethical issues than the online entries of the traditional encyclopedia, which were predominantly neutral. The findings stress that the knowledge-generation processes in society appear to be fundamentally shifting because of the use of social media collaboration. These changes significantly impact which information becomes available to society and how it is framed.


Salamandra algira is one of the few species of vertebrates that displays intraspecific variation in reproductive strategies, making it a valuable study model in reproductive mode evolution. How pueriparity (viviparity) in S. algira arose remains unclear mainly due to insufficient information on the distribution of both reproductive modes in the species. This note summarizes what is known about pueriparous reproduction in S. algira and adds new data on the distribution and geographic limits of both reproductive strategies and mitochondrial lineages within S. a. tingitana across the Western Rif in Morocco, with possible implications for our understanding of the ecological context of pueriparity. The occurrence of pueriparity in two mitochondrial sublineages suggests multiple events of pueriparity evolution in S. algira , or a model of mitochondrial capture through hybridization and introgression across the contact zone.


The new mineral dravertite, ideally CuMg(SO4)2, was found in sublimates of two active fumaroles at the Second scoria cone of the Northern Breakthrough of the Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption, Tolbachik volcano, Kamchatka, Russia. In the Arsenatnaya fumarole, dravertite (holotype) is closely associated with dolerophanite, euchlorine, tenorite, hematite, langbeinite, steklite, fedotovite, wulffite, anhydrite and anglesite. In the Yadovitaya fumarole, it is associated with euchlorine, chalcocyanite, steklite, alumoklyuchevskite, piypite, parawulffite, cryptochalcite, dolerophanite, hematite, tenorite, vergasovaite, cupromolybdite, yaroshevskite and ziesite. Dravertite occurs as crude equant crystals up to 0.08 mm across forming compact clusters or spherulitic crusts up to 5 × 5 cm2 in area and up to 1-cm thick on basalt scoria. Dravertite is transparent in small grains and translucent in aggregates, with a vitreous lustre. It is light blue to colourless (Arsenatnaya) or light brown (Yadovitaya). The mineral is brittle, with Mohs' hardness ca . 3½. Cleavage is imperfect, the fracture is uneven. D calc = 3.508 g cm−3 (based on the empirical formula). Dravertite is optically biaxial (−), α = 1.624(3), β = 1.661(3), γ = 1.663(3) and 2 V meas = 35(10)°. The infrared spectrum is reported. The chemical composition (holotype, average of 7 analyses) is: MgO 11.00, MnO 0.16, CuO 31.16, ZnO 2.62, SO3 54.76, total 99.72 wt.%. The empirical formula based on 8 O apfu is: Mg0.79Mn0.01Cu1.14Zn0.09S1.99O8. Dravertite is monoclinic, P 21/ n , a = 4.8141(3), b = 8.4443(5), c = 6.7731(4) A, β = 94.598(5)°, V = 274.45(3) A3 and Z = 2. The strongest reflections of the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern [ d , A( I )( h k l )] are: 4.175(68)(1 1 0), 3.666(64)(−1 1 1), 3.579(63)(0 2 1), 3.443(59)(1 1 1), 2.719(41) (−1 1 2), 2.637(100)(0 2 2), 2.430(68)(1 3 0) and 1.791(24)(0 4 2). The crystal structure, solved from single-crystal XRD data ( R = 0.0591), contains chains of alternating edge-sharing octahedra centred by Cu2+ and Mg. The CuO6 octahedra show significant Jahn–Teller distortion while MgO6 octahedra are much more regular. The octahedral chains are connected via isolated SO4 tetrahedra to form a pseudo-framework. In terms of structure, dravertite can be considered as a monoclinically distorted, cation-ordered derivative of orthorhombic ( Pnma ) chalcocyanite CuSO4. The mineral is named in honour of the Russian mineralogist and geologist Petr Lyudovikovich Dravert (1879–1945).


A new academic field, neuroeconomics, has emerged at the border of the social and natural sciences. In Foundations of Neuroeconomic Analysis, Paul Glimcher argues that a meaningful interdisciplinary synthesis of the study of human and animal choice is not only desirable, but also well underway, and so it is time to formally develop a foundational approach for the field. He does so by laying the philosophical and empirical groundwork and integrating the theory of choice and valuation with the relevant physical constraints and mechanisms. While there has been an intense debate about the value and prospects of neuroeconomics, Glimcher argues that existing data from neuroeconomics' three parent fields, neuroscience, psychology and economics, already specify the basic features of the primate choice mechanism at all three levels of analysis. His central argument is that combining these three disciplines gives us enough insight to define many of the fundamental features of decision making that have previously eluded scholars working within each individual field. With this in mind, Glimcher provides a comprehensive overview of the neuroscience, psychology, and economics of choice behavior, which will help readers from many disciplines to grasp the rich interconnections between these fields and see how their data and theory can interact to produce new insights, constraints, and questions. The book is divided into four main sections that address key barriers to interdisciplinary cohesion. The first section defines the central philosophical issues that neuroeconomics must engage. The theory of knowledge already tells us much about how different disciplines interact, and in this section, Glimcher reviews those constraints and lays a philosophical foundation for future neuroeconomic discourse. This section concludes with both a defense of neoclassical economics and a spirited attack on Milton Friedman's insistence that economics must not be constrained by the study of mechanism. Glimcher argues instead for the development of "hard-economic theories", which postulate that choosers behave the way they do because of the underlying representations that occur in their brains. The second section describes what is known about the primate choice mechanism-the physical structures in our brains that actively select among the options available to the chooser. By reviewing and integrating economic theory of choice, neurobiological studies of the frontal and parietal cortices, and psychological models of selection, Glimcher creates an interdisciplinary structure for understanding how we choose. This interdisciplinary synthesis leads to several novel insights into the causes of human irrational behavior and recasts many of these so-called irrationalities as neurobiological optimizations in the face of physical constraints. The third section describes the neural circuits for valuation-the physical mechanisms by which we learn, store, and represent the values of the many options from which we choose. In this section, Glimcher combines studies from computer science and neuroscience with representational frameworks from economics to provide novel assessments of both the strengths and weaknesses of modern economic theory. The section ends with a discussion of behavioral neuroeconomics and the ultimate limits of the neoclassical economic program. The book concludes with a description of a new model for human choice behavior that harvests constraints from each of neuroeconomics' parent disciplines and encapsulates the key insights from current research, as well as a review of the major accomplishments and opportunities that await the new field of neuroeconomics.


BACKGROUND: Simple methods have been developed to warn of pre-epidemics and epidemics in small areas using data of infectious diseases surveillance. Epidemic warnings are made if the index of cases per week per sentinel medical institution is greater than a defined value. A pre-epidemic warning means that an epidemic warning will be given in the following four weeks. While the methods are used routinely for surveillance in Japan, they remain to be validated. METHODS: Infectious diseases surveillance data of influenza-like illness and 12 pediatric diseases in the fiscal year between 1999 and 2001 were used in the analysis. We examined the frequency of warnings, temporal changes in the index before and after the onset of a warning, and the sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of pre-epidemic warnings. RESULTS: For the majority of the diseases investigated, the proportion of weeks in which a warning was issued ranged between 0% and 10%. In several diseases including influenza-like illness, we observed a rapid increase and gradual decrease in the index before and after a warning. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of a pre-epidemic warning were 90.4%, 93.7% and 23.9% for influenza-like illness, and ranged between 25.1-54.2%, 86.1-99.2%, and 2.5-20.8% for the pediatric diseases (chickenpox, rubella, measles, and mumps), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed that the methods used for determining whether or not to issue an epidemic warning were satisfactory in some diseases, including influenza-like illness, and may need to be improved in several other diseases.


Objective. To compare the risk of cardiovascular (CV) events between use of tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors (TNFi) and nonbiologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods. A nested case-control study was conducted using data from Truven's MarketScan commercial and Medicare claims database for patients with early RA who started treatment with either a TNFi or a nonbiologic DMARD between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2010. Date of CV event diagnosis for cases was defined as the event date, and 12 age-matched and sex-matched controls were sampled using incidence density sampling. Drug exposure was defined into the following mutually exclusive categories hierarchically: (1) current use of TNFi (with or without nonbiologics), (2) past use of TNFi (with or without nonbiologics), (3) current use of nonbiologics only, and (4) past use of nonbiologics only. Current use was defined as any use in the period 90 days prior to the event date. Conditional logistic regression models were used to derive incidence rate ratios (IRR). Results. From the cohort of patients with early RA, 279 cases of incident CV events and 3348 matched controls were identified. The adjusted risk of CV events was not significantly different between current TNFi users and current nonbiologic users (IRR 0.92, 95% CI 0.59–1.44). However, past users of nonbiologics showed significantly higher risk compared to current nonbiologic users (IRR 1.47, 95% CI 1.04–2.08). Conclusion. No differences in the CV risk were found between current TNFi and current nonbiologic DMARD treatment in patients with early RA.


A particular family of crystalline microporous solids, the so-called sodalite family, is presented in various chemical, topological, geometrical, and crystallographic aspects. It is shown that the sodalite structure can be decomposed into three partial structures, namely i) the sodalite framework of all-corner connected TO4 tetrahedra, ii) a virtual lattice of cage cations, and iii) isolated cage anions. Important properties and features can be explained by interactions of the partial structures. In some cases the interactions are frustrated, resulting in the formation of modulated structures. Substitution effects occur on all three partial structures and occasionally have dramatic effects on phase transitions and phase diagrams.


In recent years, many commentators have called for the "depoliticization" of the judicial appointments process, arguing that politics and ideology have wrongly displaced objective merit in the selection of federal judges. In their book, Advice and Consent: The Politics of Judicial Appointments, Lee Epstein and Jeffrey Segal demonstrate why such prescriptions are misguided. Epstein and Segal are political scientists, not law professors, and thus have no normative stake in protecting constitutional law from politics, the preoccupation of many constitutional theorists. Instead, their aim is purely positive: to explain how the appointments process has actually functioned over the course of the nation's history. And their conclusions are straightforward: presidents pursue political objectives in making judicial nominations, especially nominations to the Supreme Court; senators pursue political objectives in providing their advice and consent, especially for nominations to the Supreme Court; and judges pursue political objectives in deciding cases, especially at the Supreme Court, thus giving presidents and senators good reason to focus on a nominee's ideology during the appointments process. And it has always been this way. After describing Epstein and Segal's analysis, this book review briefly discusses some of its implications. Because the objective sources of constitutional law are too indeterminate to dictate objectively correct results, the personal values of judges will always influence their decisions, and elected officials will thus have a strong incentive to vindicate their policy goals through judicial selection. Calls to minimize the influence of politics are futile, and perhaps even incoherent. More fundamentally, it is unclear why reducing the political accountability of the process would be desirable. An important justification for the Court's exercise of political power is that the justices are appointed by officials who are themselves democratically accountable. But there is a significant problem with the present system: one presidential election (or set of senatorial elections) can count much more heavily than others. It might therefore be sensible to eliminate some of this serendipity, so that the Court's ideology better reflected the electorate's periodic judgments.


Aspiration pneumonitis is a neutrophil mediated inflammatory pneumonitis following the aspiration of regurgitated gastric contents. This syndrome occurs most commonly in patients with depressed levels of consciousness such as drug overdose, seizures, and during anesthesia. Aspiration pneumonitis is the most common cause of anesthesia-related deaths. Aspiration pneumonitis may be clinically silent or present . as severe acute lung injury (ARDS) progressing to death. The treatment of acid aspiration pneumonitis is largely supportive. We present two cases of severe life threatening ARDS due to acid aspiration who were treated with the combination of hydrocortisone, ascorbic acid, and thiamine (HAT) and made a dramatic recovery. This treatment strategy should be considered in the management of patients with aspiration pneumonitis.


Decision theory offers a formal approach to decision making, which is often viewed and taught as the rational way to approach managerial decisions. Half a century ago it generated high hopes of capturing and perhaps replacing intuition, and providing the "right" answer in practically all managerial situations. Today it seems fair to say that decision theory has not lived up to these expectations. Behavioral science provides ample evidence that managers fail to follow the dicta of decision theory, even when these are explained to them. As a result, executives often find decision theory frustrating and useless and prefer to rely on their intuition. This paper suggests that this extreme conclusion is unwarranted and calls for a re-appraisal of decision theory. We propose that it should not always be regarded as a mathematical tool that produces the answer; rather, it can be viewed as a framework for a dialog between the decision maker and the decision theorist. In one extreme, the decision theorist studies the problem and provides the "correct'' answer. But in another, the decision theorist only challenges the decision maker's intuition and logic. In between, a whole gamut of possible dialogs exists, in which decision theory doesn't replace intuition, but supports and refines it.


In natural language processing and information retrieval, the bag of words representation is used to implicitly represent the meaning of the text. Implicit semantics, however, are insufficient in supporting text or natural language based interfaces, which are adopted by an increasing number of applications. Indeed, in applications ranging from automatic ontology construction to question answering, explicit representation of semantics is starting to play a more prominent role. In this paper, we introduce the task of conceptual labeling (CL), which aims at generating a minimum set of conceptual labels that best summarize a bag of words. We draw the labels from a data driven semantic network that contains millions of highly connected concepts. The semantic network provides meaning to the concepts, and in turn, it provides meaning to the bag of words through the conceptual labels we generate. To achieve our goal, we use an information theoretic approach to trade-off the semantic coverage of a bag of words against the minimality of the output labels. Specifically, we use Minimum Description Length (MDL) as the criteria in selecting the best concepts. Our extensive experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in representing the explicit semantics of a bag of words.


Drug-induced gingival enlargement is an iatrogenic condition which is usually not preventable. Certain factors like thorough tooth brushing, proper oral hygiene measures, regular dental flossing and professional care of oral cavity are helpful. Surgical excision of the gingival overgrowth is a treatment of choice but non-surgical methods should be adopted first. More research is needed to investigate measures that can prevent or reduce gingival overgrowth or prevent recurrence. A thorough review of literature reveals that inadequate data exist pertaining to prevalence and treatment options available for iatrogenic gingival hyperplasia. Studies with large number of samples, with statistical analysis, are required to make the data more scientific. Preventive measures have limited value and require regular assessment of patients. Hyperplasia does occur after surgical intervention but percentage of recurrence is not available. Hyperplasia can be managed to a certain extent by withdrawing or changing the medication. However, surgical intervention remains the mainstay of treatment. This paper reviews various aspects of prevalence, pathogenesis and treatment options available to manage drug-induced gingival hyperplasia.


Depth profiling of 304L stainless steel surfaces exposed to rare earth nitrate solutions over varying time lengths has been undertaken using the recently commercialized "PP-TOFMS Plasma Profiling Spectrometer" by Horiba. This combines a pulsed glow discharge source with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOFMS) which allows elemental depth profiling with nanometric resolution of almost all elements of the periodic table. In this work special attention is paid first to the optimization of the new PP-TOFMS for depth profile analysis of low concentrations of rare earth elements (REE) in the samples. Sensitivity given in [(cps X × sputtering rate in μg s−1)/(μgX g−1)], being the concentration of the element X (μgX g−1) corrected by the abundance of the measured isotope, was in the order of 20 for all REEs under investigation. Moreover, a quantification strategy for these samples resembling the relative sensitive factors concept has been developed. Validation was done using a homogeneous reference material containing certified concentration values for La (6 ± 1 μg g−1), Ce (14 ± 1 μg g−1) and Nd (6 ± 1 μg g−1). Concentrations of 4 ± 1 μg g−1, 13 ± 1 μg g−1 and 5 ± 1 μg g−1 were calculated for La, Ce and Nd respectively with the proposed strategy. Quantitative depth profiles of the investigated samples have shown that the contaminants did not penetrate the substrate deeper than 80 nm even after a month of exposure to 12 M HNO3.


Lysibia nana is a solitary, secondary idiobiont hyperparasitoid that attacks newly cocooned pre-pupae and pupae of several closely related gregarious endoparasitoids in the genus Cotesia, including C. glomerata. Prior to oviposition, the female wasp injects paralysing venom into the host, thus preventing further development. Here, host fate, emerging hyperparasitoid mass, and egg-to-adult development time was compared in hosts parasitized at different ages over 24-h intervals. Cocoons of C. glomerata were parasitized by L. nana at 12, 36, 60, 84, and 108 h post-egression from the secondary host, Pieris brassicae. Hyperparasitoid survival exceeded 80% in hosts parasitized within the first 60 h after pupation, but dropped thereafter, with no hyperparasitoids emerging in hosts aged 108 h. The mass of hyperparasitoids was positively correlated with the mass of the host cocoon, and this relationship remained consistent in hosts up to 60 h old. Within each host age cohort, the mass of male and female wasps was not significantly different. Development time in L. nana was uniform in hosts up to 60 h old, but increased significantly in 84-h-old hosts, and male wasps completed their development earlier than female wasps. Regulation of host growth varied with the age of the host at parasitism, with the early growth of older hosts reduced much more dramatically than young hosts. Unlike most parasitoids, pupal hyperparasitoids do not make cocoons but instead pupate within the already prepared cocoon of the host parasitoid. Consequently, for a given mass of cocoon, newly emerged L. nana adults were remarkably similar in size with male and female adults of C. glomerata. This reveals that L. nana is extremely efficient at exploiting its primary parasitoid host.


This article discusses, from the local professional perspective, access to justice for person-specific interventions to prevent or counter (violent) extremism in Europe. Using a Dutch case study it focusses on legal protection for hand-tailored interferences that are part of a wider-ranging counter-terrorism policy. While the so-called person-specific interventions, carried out by professionals, target designated high-risk individuals and groups, it is primarily the municipal authority that coordinates these criminal –, administrative – or social based measures. Furthermore, although researchers and human rights advocates have repeatedly sounded the alarm over access to justice for those affected, little research has been done into how those responsible for implementation perceive the necessity of legal protection. Also, the potential side-effects such as executive arbitrariness are modestly reflected in the literature. Henceforth, by reviewing policy documents and conducting semi-structured interviews, this exploratory study concludes that as far as legal protection for hand-tailored interferences are concerned, local professionals have faith in the checks and balances of the criminal justice system. Yet from their perspective this was less self-evident in cases of administrative – or social measures. Therefore, one may wonder if legal protections for person-specific interventions that deal with (potential) extremists are sufficient in practice.


As artificially intelligent systems grow in intelligence and capability, some of their available options may allow them to resist intervention by their programmers. We call an AI system "corrigible" if it cooperates with what its creators regard as a corrective intervention, despite default incentives for rational agents to resist attempts to shut them down or modify their preferences. We introduce the notion of corrigibility and analyze utility functions that attempt to make an agent shut down safely if a shutdown button is pressed, while avoiding incentives to prevent the button from being pressed or cause the button to be pressed, and while ensuring propagation of the shutdown behavior as it creates new subsystems or selfmodifies. While some proposals are interesting, none have yet been demonstrated to satisfy all of our intuitive desiderata, leaving this simple problem in corrigibility wide-open.


The persistence of religion in the twenty-first century has renewed the importance of scholarships devoted to it. At the same time, the digital age has re-positioned and recentered the affordances of mediated circulations around "the religious." This increasing presence and significance of media and religion suggests that substantive scholarships of religion must necessarily articulate media as well. Religious controversies therefore present a special challenge and a special opportunity to scholarships of media and religion. New ways of doing scholarship, and doing so publicly, present themselves. All scholarships of mediated religion must necessarily be public, so scholarship is articulated into these circulations, and at the same time can build on and benefit from knowledge-building that occurs outside the formal boundaries of the academy. This paper explores emerging theories of digital mediation and proposes a circulation-focused understanding of the role, place, and potentials of scholarships today.


Children with low working memory typically make poor educational progress, and it has been speculated that difficulties in meeting the heavy working memory demands of the classroom may be a contributory factor. Intensive working memory training has been shown to boost performance on untrained memory tasks in a variety of populations. This first randomized controlled trial with low working memory children investigated whether the benefits of training extend beyond standard working memory tasks to other more complex activities typical of the classroom in which working memory plays a role, as well as to other cognitive skills and developing academic abilities. Children aged 7–9 years received either adaptive working memory training, non-adaptive working memory training with low memory loads, or no training. Adaptive training was associated with selective improvements in multiple untrained tests of working memory, with no evidence of changes in classroom analogues of activities that tax working memory, or any other cognitive assessments. Gains in verbal working memory were sustained one year after training. Thus the benefits of working memory training delivered in this way may not extend beyond structured working memory tasks.


Bastnaesite is one of the important mineral resources for the production of rare earth materials, and it is typically associated with calcite and quartz as gangue minerals. Fatty acid or hydroxamic acid are recommended collectors for bastnaesite flotation. In this research, potassium lauryl phosphate was expected to provide a stronger flotation response for bastnaesite than for the calcite and quartz gangue minerals. Using potassium lauryl phosphate as collector, the results of captive bubble contact angle measurements, zeta potential determinations and microflotation experiments for bastnaesite, calcite and quartz are reported. Greater selectivity for bastnaesite was achieved using potassium lauryl phosphate than using octyl hydroxamate as collector. These results indicate that potassium lauryl phosphate might be a promising collector in the flotation of bastnaesite ores. The computation results of universal force feld (UFF) interaction energies for the mineral-reagent interactions are also reported and were found to correlate well with the experimental microflotation results.


The paper analyzes how actual monetary policy changed following the official adoption of inflation targeting in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland and how it affected the volatilities of important macroeconomic variables in the years thereafter. To disentangle the effects of the policy shift from exogenous changes in the volatilities of these variables, a Markov-switching dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model is estimated that allows for regime switches in the policy parameters and the volatilities of shocks hitting the economies. Whereas estimation results reveal periods of high and low volatility for all three economies, the presence of different policy regimes is supported by the underlying data for the Czech Republic and Poland, only. In both economies, monetary policy switched from weak and unsystematic to strong and systematic responses to inflation dynamics. Simulation results suggest that the policy shifts of both central banks successfully reduced inflation volatility in the following years. The observed reduction in output volatility, on the other hand, is attributed more to a reduction in the size of external shocks.


Argumentation is today a topical area of artificial intelligence (AI) research. Abstract argumentation, with argumentation frameworks (AFs) as the underlying knowledge representation formalism, is a central viewpoint to argumentation in AI. Indeed, from the perspective of AI and computer science, understanding computational and representational aspects of AFs is key in the study of argumentation.
Realizability of AFs has been recently proposed as a central notion for analyzing the expressive power of AFs under different semantics. In this work, we propose and study the AF synthesis problem as a natural extension of realizability, addressing some of the shortcomings arising from the relatively stringent definition of realizability. In particular, realizability gives means of establishing exact conditions on when a given collection of subsets of arguments has an AF with exactly the given collection as its set of extensions under a specific argumentation semantics. However, in various settings within the study of dynamics of argumentation---including revision and aggregation of AFs---non-realizability can naturally occur. To accommodate such settings, our notion of AF synthesis seeks to construct, or synthesize, AFs that are semantically closest to the knowledge at hand even when no AFs exactly representing the knowledge exist. Going beyond defining the AF synthesis problem, we study both theoretical and practical aspects of the problem. In particular, we (i) prove NP-completeness of AF synthesis under several semantics, (ii) study basic properties of the problem in relation to realizability, (iii) develop algorithmic solutions to NP-hard AF synthesis using the constraint optimization paradigms of maximum satisfiability and answer set programming, (iv) empirically evaluate our algorithms on different forms of AF synthesis instances, as well as (v) discuss variants and generalizations of AF synthesis.


History and Objective: Obesity is one of the health risks factors, and aerobic exercise is one of the means to prevent and control obesity. The research was designed to compare methods of resistance, aerobic, and concurrent exercises on resistin and C-reactive protein (CRP) serum level of overweight and obese women. Research Methodology: In this semi-experimental research, 36 voluntary overweight or obese women were randomly assigned into three groups (n = 12) of aerobic, resistance, and concurrent exercise programs. The training included 8 weeks of exercise performed with 55%–75% of 1-repetition maximum weight lifting. The aerobic exercise was performed at 55%–75% of maximum oxygen consumption and concurrent training included both programs for 3 days/week. The resistin and CRP serum level of the participant was measured 48 h before the start and again 48 h after the termination of the exercise protocol. The statistical analysis was performed on data using SPSS 22.0 (Chicago, USA). One-way analysis of variance and paired t-test was employed to test the hypothesis at significance level set to 0.05. Results: The result indicated that exercise program significantly decreased CRP level of blood serum (P < 0.05) in all exercise groups. Such effect was present in aerobic and concurrent exercise group but not on the resistance group for resistin level (P > 0.05). Discussion: Aerobic exercise regardless of types has a beneficiary effect on CPR, but resistin level needs different types of exercise to change in overweight and obese women. Conclusion: Some aerobic exercises are beneficiary for overweight and obese women health.


A method and a device are proposed that allow measurement of the polarization mode dispersion (PMD) in a transmission line without data traffic interruption. The PMD vector information is extracted from the optical data signal spectrum. The method is experimentally verified by measuring of first-order PMD.


The Social Robots in Therapy workshop series aims at advancing research topics related to the use of robots in the contexts of Social Care and Robot-Assisted Therapy (RAT). Robots in social care and therapy have been a long time promise in HRI as they have the opportunity to improve patients life significantly. Multiple challenges have to be addressed for this, such as building platforms that work in proximity with patients, therapists and health-care professionals; understanding user needs; developing adaptive and autonomous robot interactions; and addressing ethical questions regarding the use of robots with a vulnerable population. The full-day workshop follows last year's edition which centered on how social robots can improve health-care interventions, how increasing the degree of autonomy of the robots might affect therapies, and how to overcome the ethical challenges inherent to the use of robot assisted technologies. This 2nd edition of the workshop will be focused on the importance of equipping social robots with socio-emotional intelligence and the ability to perform meaningful and personalized interactions. This workshop aims to bring together researchers and industry experts in the fields of Human-Robot Interaction, Machine Learning and Robots in Health and Social Care. It will be an opportunity for all to share and discuss ideas, strategies and findings to guide the design and development of robot-assisted systems for therapy and social care implementations that can provide personalize, natural, engaging and autonomous interactions with patients (and health-care providers).


In coeliac disease, dietary gluten from wheat, barley and rye induces an autoimmune reaction in genetically susceptible individuals. This involves the formation of coeliac disease-specific antibodies targeting mainly transglutaminase 2 (TG2). TG2 autoantibodies are present both in the circulation and as deposits in the small-intestinal mucosa already in very early phases of the disease. Usually these autoantibodies belong to immunoglobulin (Ig) class A, but IgA deficient coeliac patients have IgG class antibodies in their circulation, and IgM antibodies have been found in the small-intestinal mucosa. Typically patients also evince small-bowel mucosal damage which develops gradually from normal villous morphology to inflammation and finally to crypt hyperplasia and villous atrophy. Furthermore, it has been shown that coeliac patients evince abnormalities in small-intestinal vasculature, which supplies an essential mechanical support for the villous structure. The clinical presentation of the disease is variable, ranging from asymptomatic to classical intestinal manifestations such as diarrhoea and abdominal pain, and even to extraintestinal symptoms in different organs involving for instance liver, skin, muscles and brain. Interestingly, many of these have been reported to occur while the smallintestinal morphology is still normal. Many studies have shown that TG2 autoantibodies have biological effects in vitro, but there is controversy as to their contribution to the disease pathogenesis. The present work aimed to demonstrate in vivo effects of coeliac disease patient antibodies and especially TG2-targeted autoantibodies relevant to the pathogenesis of the disease. Studies I and II were conducted using a passive transfer method, where either sera or serum total IgG fraction from IgA deficient coeliac disease patients (I) or patient-derived recombinantly produced TG2 autoantibodes (II) were injected into mice lacking T cells. In study III, in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo matrigel assays were utilized to investigate the effects of TG2 autoantibodies on vascular formation and functionality. In studies I and II, mice receiving coeliac patient-derived sera, total IgG or monoclonal TG2 autoantibodies evinced a slight, albeit significant, deterioration of the mucosal morphology in the small intestine. In addition, an increased density of infiltrative cells in the lamina propria was observed. Autoantibody deposits targeted to TG2 were also found in the small-intestinal mucosa of the mice. None of these features was observed in control mice. Interestingly, an increased occurrence of mild diarrhoea and delayed weight gain was observed in a subset of the mice injected with coeliac patient sera or total IgG in study I. In contrast, in study II, injections of TG2 autoantibodies led to no such difference in the occurrence of mild diarrhoea between groups and the weights of the mice were fairly stable throughout the study period. The results from study III clearly showed that coeliac patient-derived antibodies inhibited angiogenesis in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo. In in vitro studies the cells were less mobile in the presence of coeliac antibodies compared to controls and ex vivo results further revealed that, in the presence of coeliac patient TG2-targeted autoantibodies, cells outgrowing from mouse aortas were round and did not exhibit cellular processes characteristic for the leading edge during migration as in controls. Thus it might be assumed that inhibited angiogenesis is accounted for defective cell migration. In addition, the in vivo study revealed impaired functionality of vessels in the presence of coeliac antibodies. For the first time, TG2 targeted autoantibody deposits were shown in the small-intestinal mucosa of mice. Importantly, autoantibody deposits occur in conjunction with mild enteropathy in mice. The condition of mice receiving coeliac patient-derived sera, total IgG or TG2 autoantibodies resembled earlyphase disease in coeliac patients. Based on the data from the present study, it seems conceivable that an increased density of inflammatory cells in the lamina propria, together with the slightly increased levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-27 seen in study II, may contribute to small-intestinal mucosal deterioration and thus play a role in the pathogenesis of coeliac disease. In addition, study III revealed the anti-angiogenic effects of coeliac TG2 autoantibodies and thus it may be assumed that small-intestinal deposits may contribute to the development of villous atrophy by impairing the intestinal vascularity and leaving the villi without proper mechanical support. The results from the present study would also imply that the development of clinical features requires, in addition to the TG2 autoantibodies used in the present study, also TG2 autoantibodies targeting other epitopes in TG2, entirely other antibody populations and/or longer exposure to the antibodies. Altogether, this study provided new evidence on the biological effects of coeliac disease-specific autoantibodies in vivo.


We studied the effects of within-lake variation of subfossil chironomid assemblages on chironomidinferred temperatures in five lakes in southern Norway. In each lake six replicate surface-sediment samples in the deepest part of the lake basin and two transects of seven samples each towards the littoral were analysed for subfossil chironomid assemblages. A quantitative chironomid–July air temperature inference model applied to the subfossil assemblages inferred temperatures with a standard deviation of 0.35–0.54°C for the six mid-lake samples and of 0.38–0.59°C for all 20 sediment samples. This variation seems high when compared with the cross-validated root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of the model of 1.04°C. However, we show that the variability of the replicate mid-lake samples can only account for a maximum of 15% of the model prediction error if the RMSEP is decomposed into a component due to uncertainties associated with sampling the chironomid assemblage of a lake and into a residual error component. Thus, according to our results analysing multiple samples in the model lakes to obtain better estimates of their subfossil assemblage composition may only slightly reduce the model prediction error. It was difficult to detect a clear pattern of chironomid-inferred temperatures with respect to water depth in any single lake due to the high variability of inferred values. However, a comparison of all five study lakes revealed that, relative to the mid-lake samples, cooler temperatures were inferred at intermediate depths and warmer temperatures in the shallowest parts of the lakes, although two shallowwater samples with very low inferred temperatures were exceptions in this respect. This depth-related bias of inferred temperatures in our relatively shallow study lakes indicates that chironomid–temperature models calibrated on mid-lake samples should only be applied with caution to near-shore sediments and that a systematic offset in the inferred temperatures may occur. Author


Signaling through calcineurin and NFATc controls Schwann cell differentiation. The myelin sheaths that surround some vertebrate neurons and facilitate the transmission of fast action potentials are formed by neural crest–derived Schwann cells. In the mouse, neuregulin signaling through its receptor ErbB is required for Schwann cell development, as is the transcription factor Krox20, which coordinates expression of a subset of myelin proteins. Kao et al. observed that nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) was active in the neural crest during Schwann cell development and investigated the role of the phosphatase calcineurin in this process. Calcineurin dephosphorylates NFATc molecules, which are sequestered in the cytoplasm until dephosphorylation allows them to enter the nucleus to act as transcription factors. Abrogating calcineurin activity by deleting the gene encoding the calcineurin B1 subunit specifically from neural crest cells caused defects in Schwann cell development and myelination. In cultured dorsal root ganglia explants, neuregulin signaling through ErbB activated calcineurin, which, in turn, dephosphorylated NFATc3 and NFATc4. In the nucleus, NFATc4 and Sox10 formed stable complexes and bound to the promoter of Krox20. Calcineurin and NFAT therefore mediate neuregulin signaling to promote differentiation of Schwann cells. S.-C. Kao, H. Wu, J. Xie, C.-P. Chang, J. A. Ranish, I. A. Graef, G. R. Crabtree, Calcineurin/NFAT signaling is required for neuregulin-regulated Schwann cell differentiation. Science 323, 651–654 (2009). [Abstract] [Full Text]


OBJECTIVES: To determine whether residents living in areas with a high proportion of fast-food restaurants (FFR) relative to all restaurants are more likely to develop diabetes and whether the risk varies according to the volume of FFR. METHODS: The study cohort consisted of adult respondents (20–84 years) to the Canadian Community Health Survey (cycles 2005, 2007/2008, 2009/2010) who resided within walking distance (720 m) of at least one restaurant in Toronto, Brampton, Mississauga or Hamilton, ON. The development of diabetes was established by linking participants to the Ontario Diabetes Database. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) of incident diabetes associated with relative and absolute measures of restaurant availability. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 5 years, 347 of 7,079 participants (4.6%) developed diabetes. Among younger adults (20–65 years, n = 5,806), a greater proportion of fast-food relative to all restaurants was significantly associated with incident diabetes after adjustment for a range of individual and area-level covariates, but only in areas with high volumes of fast-food retailers (3+ outlets) (HR = 1.79, 95% confidence interval: 1.03–3.12, across the interquartile range). Adjusting for body mass index rendered this association non-significant. No significant associations were observed in areas with low volumes of FFR or among older adults (65–84 years, n = 1,273). Absolute availability (number) of fast-food and other restaurants was generally unrelated to incident diabetes. CONCLUSION: Areas with the double burden of a high volume of FFR and few dining alternatives may represent an adverse environment for the development of diabetes.


The code SHARM-3D, developed for fast and accurate simulations of the monochromatic radiance at the top of the atmosphere over spatially variable surfaces with Lambertian or anisotropic reflectance, is described. The atmosphere is assumed to be laterally uniform across the image and to consist of two layers with aerosols contained in the bottom layer. The SHARM-3D code performs simultaneous calculations for all specified incidence-view geometries and multiple wavelengths in one run. The numerical efficiency of the current version of code is close to its potential limit and is achieved by means of two innovations. The first is the development of a comprehensive precomputed lookup table of the three-dimensional atmospheric optical transfer function for various atmospheric conditions. The second is the use of a linear kernel model of the land surface bidirectional reflectance factor (BRF) in our algorithm that has led to a fully parameterized solution in terms of the surface BRF parameters. The code is also able to model inland lakes and rivers. The water pixels are described with the Nakajima-Tanaka BRF model of wind-roughened water surface with a Lambertian offset, which is designed to model approximately the reflectance of suspended matter and of a shallow lake or river bottom.


BACKGROUND
Intermittent claudication (IC) is pain caused by chronic occlusive arterial disease that develops in a limb during exercise and is relieved with rest. Most drug treatments of IC have a limited effect in improving walking distance. Padma 28, a Tibetan herbal preparation, has been used to treat IC, but there is debate as to whether Padma 28 produces a clinical benefit beyond the placebo effect. This is an update of a review first published in 2013.

OBJECTIVES
To determine whether Padma 28 is effective, compared with placebo or other medications, in increasing pain-free and maximum walking distance for patients with intermittent claudication.

SEARCH METHODS
For this update the Cochrane Vascular Trials Search Co-ordinator searched the Specialised Register (September 2015), the Cochrane Register of Studies ((CENTRAL) (2015, Issue 8)) and clinical trials databases.

SELECTION CRITERIA
Randomised controlled trials of Padma 28 compared with placebo or other pharmacological treatments in people suffering from IC.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
All review authors independently assessed the selected studies and extracted the data. Risk of bias was evaluated independently by two review authors. Depending on the data provided in the individual trials, we extracted mean or median walking distance at the end of the trial, or change in walking distance over the course of the trial, or both. Where not provided, and whenever possible, the statistical significance of differences in these parameters between treatment and placebo groups in individual trials was calculated. Where possible, data were combined by meta-analysis.

MAIN RESULTS
No new trials were identified in the search for this review update. In total five trials involving 365 participants were included in this review. All trials compared Padma 28 with placebo for at least 16 weeks of follow-up. Pain-free and maximum walking distances both increased significantly in the groups treated with Padma 28, with no significant change in the placebo group. In general, the studies presented results comparing the treatment arms before and after treatment but made no comparisons between the Padma 28 and placebo groups. Pooled data of maximum walking distance after treatment with Padma 28 and placebo from two studies (193 participants) indicated a higher maximum walking distance (mean difference (MD) 95.97 m, 95% confidence interval (CI) 79.07 m to 112.88 m, P < 0.00001, very low quality evidence) in the Padma 28 group compared with placebo. The clinical importance of these observed changes in walking distance is unclear as no quality of life data were reported. There was no effect on ankle brachial index (ABI): change in ABI values between baseline and six months follow up MD -0.01, 95% CI -0.07 to 0.05, 1 study, 56 participants, P = 0.72, very low quality evidence). Mild side effects, especially gastrointestinal discomfort, tiredness and skin eruption, were reported but this outcome was not different between the Padma 28 and placebo groups (odds ratio 1.09, 95% CI 0.42 to 2.83, four studies, 231 participants, P = 0.86, very low quality evidence).

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
Some evidence exists from individual trials to suggest that Padma 28 may be effective in increasing walking distances, at least in the short term (four months), in people with IC. Side effects do not appear to be a problem. However, the longer term effects of treatment are unknown and the clinical significance of the improvements in walking distance are questionable. Moreover, the quality of the evidence is limited by the small sample size of the available trials, limited reporting of statistical analyses that compared treatment groups, and relatively high withdrawal rates that were linked to the outcome. That is, patients were withdrawn if they failed to improve walking distance. There was also evidence of publication bias. We therefore feel there is currently insufficient evidence to draw conclusions regards the effectiveness of Padma 28 in the routine management of IC. Further well-designed research would be required to determine the true effects of this herbal preparation.


Al and Ce films have been deposited on TA6V alloy by physical vapor deposition of Al and cathodic electrode position process from a Ce(NO3)3, 6H2O and mixed water-ethyl alcohol solution at 0.01 M, respectively. The experimental conditions for the achievement of a uniform deposit, adherent and non-cracking were identified and determined by electrochemical methods. The transformation of the deposited layers into CeO2 and Al2O3 oxides obtained by heat treatment of the coated alloy, is expected to increase the resistance to high temperature oxidation. The coating films were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).


We report on the first measurement of flux-integrated single differential cross sections for charged-current (CC) muon neutrino (ν_{μ}) scattering on argon with a muon and a proton in the final state, ^{40}Ar (ν_{μ},μp)X. The measurement was carried out using the Booster Neutrino Beam at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber detector with an exposure of 4.59×10^{19} protons on target. Events are selected to enhance the contribution of CC quasielastic (CCQE) interactions. The data are reported in terms of a total cross section as well as single differential cross sections in final state muon and proton kinematics. We measure the integrated per-nucleus CCQE-like cross section (i.e., for interactions leading to a muon, one proton, and no pions above detection threshold) of (4.93±0.76_{stat}±1.29_{sys})×10^{-38}  cm^{2}, in good agreement with theoretical calculations. The single differential cross sections are also in overall good agreement with theoretical predictions, except at very forward muon scattering angles that correspond to low-momentum-transfer events.


This paper presents a single phase seven level photovoltaic (PV) inverter topology for grid connected PV systems with a novel Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) control scheme. Three reference signals identical to each other with an offset equivalent to the amplitude of the triangular carrier signal were used to generate PWM signals for the switches. A digital Proportional-Integral derivative (PID) current control algorithm is implemented in MICROCONTROLLER PIC16C7F88 to keep the current injected into the grid sinusoidal and to have high dynamic performance with rapidly changing atmospheric conditions. The inverter offers much less total harmonic distortion and can operate at near-unit power factor. The proposed system is verified through simulation and is implemented in a prototype. Experimental results are compared with the conventional single phase five level grid connected PWM inverter.


This paper investigates the most common difficulties, the different types of strategies used by the BA and MA students when translating collocations in political texts into Arabic. A questionnaire of 20 collocations taken from BBC political texts was designed and distributed to a sample of 80 students from two Jordanian universities: the University of Jordan and Yarmouk University. The participants were asked to translate English collocations into Arabic. The findings reveal that many participants used synonymy and literal translation as primary strategies to render collocations followed by paraphrasing and transposition respectively. However, approximation, elaboration and explication, and omission occupied the lowest rank in terms of frequency of use. The findings also indicate that many MA students have a good knowledge of collocations, whereas most BA students show a lack of knowledge of collocations in both universities. More importantly, the findings show that there is a significant difference among the means of all the students' responses in the strategies they used in translating the collocations. The study concludes with some recommendations that can help students develop their competence of collocations.


In agriculture, there is need for a deeper analysis of management of climate risks, because the farmers appear to have a paradoxical position: they perceived that they are strongly exposed to climate risks but, they do not want to pay for adapted tools, arguing that this is too expensive or complex. However, under risk, it is well-known that the decision-makers could be subject to paradox (Allais for example). Our assumption is that to know better the behaviours of farmers in general risky situations will help to understand their reluctance to use the weather market. We conducted a study over the wine growers in the Maine-et-Loire department. 60 wine growers have responded to the questionnaire about climate risk management, and 29 amongst them have completed the second questionnaire about risky behaviours. Results will be presented at the EAAE congress.


The HumBox is an online space for managing and sharing teaching and learning materials related to the humanities. Membership of the site is open to all and is entirely voluntary. It was created, as part of the HumBox project, with funding from phase one of the JISC OER programme and was kick-started by a collaboration of ten different UK HE institutions and 4 Higher Education Academy Subject Centres. Within the space of the project year (2009-2010), HumBox caught the imagination of many UK academics and by the end of the funding period it had a healthy 1100+ resources and 200+ users. It had become the hub of an active community of humanities professionals who were engaged in re-using and reviewing each other's resources and making connections with each other through the HumBox system: it had become a teaching and learning repository that people actually used. Once project activities and funding had ceased, HumBox was driven almost entirely by the activities of its registered and unregistered users, and it continued to grow steadily. The number of registered users has more than trebled since the launch of the site in February 2010 and resources continue to be contributed at a slow but steady rate (currently 1514). The site is viewed by an ever-increasing number of visitors from around the world and the community activities of depositing, re-using and reviewing others' resources continues. HumBox remains persistently popular. This presentation will report the findings from a range of monitoring activities which sought to understand how the HumBox and its resources were being used, and whether such usage could indicate changes in teaching practice. Monitoring activities included web tracking, a survey and follow-up interviews conducted with HumBox users exploring motivations for using the site, the different ways that users were engaging with the site and for what purposes. It will summarise the answers given to illustrate why people have responded positively to HumBox and the notion of publishing their work openly, and describe the areas of community activity which have not been adopted as broadly as the original project team hoped (e.g. reviewing/commenting) and reflect on why this might be. It will give a selection of case study examples of both resource usage and user experience to illustrate the range and variety of approaches to OER which can be facilitated by one repository. The presentation will conclude by analysing how responses in user feedback indicate changes in teaching and academic practice and by reflecting on how these responses relate to aspects of the repository design and the process inherent in managing the original HumBox project to lead to HumBox's continued success as an academic community repository


In the world today, the need for sustainable processes is increasing. The work of the present thesis has been focused on conversion of the cellulosic part of waste textiles into biogas and ethanol, and its challenges. In 2009, the global annual fiber consumption exceeded 70 Mt, of which around 40% consisted of cellulosic material. This huge amount of fibers is processed into apparel, home textiles, and industrial products, ending up as waste after a certain time delay. Regretfully, current management of waste textiles mainly comprises incineration and landfilling, in spite of the potential of cellulosic material being used in the production of different biofuels. The volume of cellulose mentioned above would be sufficient for producing around 20 billion liters of ethanol or 11.6 billion Nm3 of methane per year. Nevertheless, waste textiles are not yet accepted as a suitable substrate for biofuel production, since their processing to biofuel presents certain difficulties and challenges, e.g. high crystallinity of cotton cellulose, presence of dyes, reagents and other materials, and being textiles as a mixture of natural and synthetic fibers. High crystallinity of cotton cellulose curbs high efficient conversion by enzymatic or bacterial hydrolysis, and the presence of non-cellulosic fibers may create several processing problems. The work of the present thesis centered on these challenges.
Cotton linter and blue jeans waste textiles, all practically pure cellulose, were converted to ethanol by SSSF, using S. cerevisiae, with a yield of about 0.14 g ethanol/g textile, only 25% of the theoretical yield. To improve the yield, a pretreatment process was required and thus, several methods were examined. Alkaline pretreatments significantly improved the yield of hydrolysis and subsequent ethanol production, the most effective condition being treatment with a 12% NaOH-solution at 0 °C, increasing the yield to 0.48 g ethanol/g textile (85% of the theoretical yield).
Waste textile streams, however, are mixtures of different fibers, and a separation of the cellulosic fibers from synthetic fibers is thus necessary. The separation was not achieved using an alkaline pretreatment, and hence another approach was investigated; pretreatment with N-methyl-morpholine-N-oxide (NMMO), an industrially available and environment friendly cellulose solvent. The dissolution process was performed under different conditions in terms of solvent concentration, temperature, and duration. Pretreatment with 85% NMMO at 120 °C under atmospheric pressure for 2.5 hours, improved the ethanol yield by 150%, compared to the yield of untreated cellulose. This pretreatment proved to be of major advantage, as it provided a method for dissolving and then recovering the cellulose. Using this method as a foundation, a novel process was developed, refined and verified, by testing polyester/cellulose-blended textiles, which predominate waste textiles. The polyesters were purified as fibers after the NMMO treatments, and up to 95% of the cellulose content was regenerated. The solvent was then recovered, recycled, and reused. Furthermore, investigating the effect of this treatment on anaerobic digestion of cellulose disclosed a remarkable enhancement of the microbial solubilization; the rate in pretreated textiles was twice the rate in untreated material. The process developed in the present thesis is promising for transformation of waste textiles into a suitable substrate, to subsequently be used for biological conversion to ethanol and biogas.


We provide the proof that the space of time series data is a Kolmogorov space with T0‐separation axiom using the loop space of time series data. In our approach, we define a cyclic coordinate of intrinsic time scale of time series data after empirical mode decomposition. A spinor field of time series data comes from the rotation of data around price and time axis by defining a new extradimension to time series data. We show that there exist hidden eight dimensions in Kolmogorov space for time series data. Our concept is realized as the algorithm of empirical mode decomposition and intrinsic time scale decomposition, and it is subsequently used for preliminary analysis on the real time series data. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Parkinson's disease (PD) patients experience loss of normal motor function (hypokinesia), but can develop uncontrollable movements known as dyskinesia upon treatment with L-DOPA. Poverty or excess of movement in PD has been attributed to overactivity of striatal projection neurons forming either the indirect (iSPNs) or the direct (dSPNs) pathway, respectively. Here, we investigated the two pathways' contribution to different motor features using SPN type–specific chemogenetic stimulation in rodent models of PD (PD mice) and L-DOPA–induced dyskinesia (LID mice). Using the activatory Gq-coupled human M3 muscarinic receptor (hM3Dq), we found that chemogenetic stimulation of dSPNs mimicked, while stimulation of iSPNs abolished the therapeutic action of L-DOPA in PD mice. In LID mice, hM3Dq stimulation of dSPNs exacerbated dyskinetic responses to L-DOPA, while stimulation of iSPNs inhibited these responses. In the absence of L-DOPA, only chemogenetic stimulation of dSPNs mediated through the Gs-coupled modified rat muscarinic M3 receptor (rM3Ds) induced appreciable dyskinesia in PD mice. Combining D2 receptor agonist treatment with rM3Ds-dSPN stimulation reproduced all symptoms of LID. These results demonstrate that dSPNs and iSPNs oppositely modulate both therapeutic and dyskinetic responses to dopamine replacement therapy in PD. We also show that chemogenetic stimulation of different signaling pathways in dSPNs leads to markedly different motor outcomes. Our findings have important implications for the design of effective antiparkinsonian and antidyskinetic drug therapies.


Introduction: Anemia is a public health problem, more serious during pregnancy, and information in this sense regarding women of short stature is not available. Objective: To compare the proportion of anemia in pregnant women with and without short stature. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in which were used 1 555 847 records of pregnant women from the System of Information on Nutrition Status of the Food and Nutrition Center of the National Health Institute from 2009 and 2013. These women had been evaluated in health facilities of the Peruvian Ministry of Health. Pregnant women with short stature (1.40 cm) and anemia (Hb< 11 g/dL) were evaluated, with hemoglobin corrected for altitude. Results: 2.2 % presented short stature. 89.6 % were from 15 to 35 years old. 30.1 to 33.7 % of the pregnant women with short stature presented anemia, and 25.1 to 27.5 % of pregnant women without short stature. In this study were enrolled pregnant women with short stature and anemia, age from 11 to 14 years (PR: 2.2 CI 95% 1.9-2.6), being in the third trimester of pregnancy (PR: 1.2 CI 95% 1.1-1.2), whom were attended at a health post (PR: 1.3 IC95% 1.3-1.4), living in the mountains (RP: 2.4 IC95% 2.3-2.5), in rural areas (RP: 1.9 IC95% 1.8-2.0), quintile 1 (RP: 2,3 IC95% 2,2-2,4) and with an altitude from 3 001 to 4 000 meters above the sea level (RP: 2,5 IC95 % 2.5-2.7). Conclusions: Pregnant women with short stature have a higher proportion of anemia than those without short stature, which is mainly associated with adolescence, living in rural areas of the highlands and with quintile 1 of poverty.