The effects of equipotent glucose-lowering doses of insulinlike growth factor I (IGF-I) and insulin on tracer-determined glucose kinetics and several metabolites were compared in 14 experiments (7 in each group) in fasted, totally depancreatized dogs. This model prevented variations in insulin secretion induced by IGF-I and permitted evaluation of the effects of IGF-I on extrapancreatic glucagon. Steady-state moderate hyperglycemia (9.9 ± 0.2 mM) was maintained by a subbasal intraportal infusion of insulin (1.29 ± 0.17 pmol · kg−1 · min−1). This was continued throughout the experiment, allowing evaluation of IGF-I effects on insulin clearance. Human recombinant IGF-I or insulin was given intravenously as a primed infusion for 90 min, followed by a 50-min recovery period. The dose of IGF-I was a 2.6-nmol/kg bolus plus 57.4 pmol · kg−1 · min−1. The insulin dose required to induce the same plasma glucose decline as IGF-I (44 ± 6 vs. 43 ± 5%, NS) was 9–12 times lower (0.06-nmol/kg bolus + 6.4 ± 0.6 pmol · kg−1 · min−1). However, the mechanism of this decline differed with IGF-I and insulin; glucose production was much less suppressed (25 ± 9 vs. 42 ± 11%, P < 0.001) and glucose utilization was more stimulated (68 ± 18 vs. 38 ± 19%, P < 0.05) with IGF-I. Lactate and pyruvate increased significantly with IGF-I (by 85 ± 28 and 123 ± 83%, respectively) but not with insulin. Glycerol and free-fatty acid levels decreased much less with IGF-I than insulin (29 ± 16 vs. 52 ± 5%, P < 0.05, and 36 ± 10 vs. 56 ± 8%, P < 0.01). β-Hydroxybutyrate, alanine, and glucagon decreased similarly with IGF-I or insulin by 60, 20, and 20%, respectively. Plasma insulin was not affected by IGF-I administration (92.6 ± 8.5 vs. 92.6 ± 10.1 pM). In conclusion, in insulin-infused depancreatized dogs, 1) IGF-I is 8–11% as potent as insulin as a glucose-lowering agent on a molar basis, 2) IGF-I does not affect insulin clearance at doses effective in lowering plasma glucose, and 3) equipotent glucose-lowering doses of IGF-I and insulin have very different effects on both glucose kinetics and lipolysis. This suggests that the IGF-I-insulin potency ratio in vivo is higher in muscle than liver or adipose tissue. Therefore, insulinlike effects of supraphysiological doses of IGF-I can be mediated not only through the insulin but also the IGF-I receptor.


The ability to measure, monitor and control the service quality experienced by network traffic is becoming increasingly important as multiple traffic types are aggregated onto IP networks. Assessing the real-time performance of the application flows is an essential requirement for network operations and service management, as well as for identifying how the different traffic types and transports interact and behave, when they are carried over the end-to-end Internet infrastructure. This paper introduces a novel measurement technique for assessing the performance of IPv6 network flows. By exploiting IPv6 extension headers, measurement triggers and the instantaneous measurement indications are carried in the same packets as the payload data itself. providing a high level of probability that the behaviour of the real user traffic flows is being observed. The measurement mechanism is applied at the network layer and provides for a generic technique able to measure any type of traffic without depending on particular transports or on specific measurement architectures. A prototype implementation of this technique is also described and evaluated by measuring performance properties of application flows over different-capacity IPv6 environments. End-to-end delay and jitter of video streams have been measured, as well as the goodput for services operating on top of reliable transport. This measurement technique can be the basis for low-overhead, scalable, transparent and reliable measurement of individual and aggregate network flows, and can be dynamically deployed where and when required in a multi-service IP environment.


In-Memory analytics has brought a paradigm shift in storage and data management in facilitating instant reporting for decision making. Revolution in advanced memory technology, drastic decline in price of memory, and evolution of multi-core processors have changed the orientation of business intelligence query and fetching of data along with the way data is stored and transferred. This article discusses the adoption of in-memory technology, its architecture, and few enabling software of in-memory computing. It also discusses the scope and benefits of In-Memory approach.


We study the determinants of the extent of in-house vertical integration and of outsourcing in foreign countries. Potential suppliers must make a relationship-specific investment in order to serve each prospective customer. Such investments are governed by imperfect contracts. A final-good producer can manufacture components for it, but the per-unit cost is higher than for specialized suppliers. We consider how the size of the cost differential, the trade costs of components, the relative costs of searching in south country for final producers, the relative cost of customizing inputs affect the organization of industry protection.


The possibility to study the structure of polyatomic gas-phase molecules by photoelectron diffraction is investigated with the goal of developing a method capable of imaging ultrafast photochemical reactions with femtosecond temporal and sub-Angstrom spatial resolution. The fluorine 1s-level of adiabatically laser-aligned 1-ethynyl-4-fluorobenzene (C8H5F) molecules was ionized by X-ray pulses from the Linac Coherent Light Source Free-Electron Laser, and the angular distributions of photoelectrons with kinetic energies between 30 and 60 eV were recorded by velocity map imaging. Comparison with density functional theory calculations allows relating the measured distributions to the molecular structure. The results of an IR-pump, X-ray-probe experiment on aligned 1,4-dibromobenzene (C6H4Br2)molecules are presented to explore the potential of photoelectron diffraction for
time-resolved imaging. The influence of the alignment laser pulse on the pumping and probing step is discussed. Laser-alignment is contrasted with determination of the molecular orientation by photoelectron-photoion coincidences for an exemplary data set on 1-ethynyl-4-fluorobenzene molecules recorded at the PETRA III synchrotron. Both methods are evaluated with respect to their applicability to record
time-dependent snapshots of molecular structure. The results obtained in this work indicate possible future avenues for investigating ultrafast molecular dynamics using
X-ray Free-Electron Lasers.


In many regions, governments are motivating increased bicycle ridership by designing new and improving existing bicycle infrastructure. Cycle highways are an effective and cost-efficient type of bicycle-specific infrastructure that are designed to provide a functional connection between places where people work, go to school and live. One important element of developing high quality cycle highways is the development of an effective wayfinding system which allows current, potential, and new users to clearly identify and navigate a bicycle network. The wayfinding design standards used for conventional bicycle infrastructure may not be compatible for cycle highways, which encourage cyclists to travel at relatively higher speeds. This may warrant introducing specific wayfinding signage compatible for this new type of bicycle infrastructure. This study uses qualitative analysis including field observations, ride-along videos, and semi-structured interviews, to assess electrically assisted pedal bicycle (e-bike) users' opinions and experiences with wayfinding signage along a pilot cycle highway route located between Tilburg and Waalwijk in the Netherlands. In the summer of 2018, base-line observations and interviews were administered with twelve e-bike users who were unfamiliar with the route to assess their experiences with conventional signage for cyclists before changes were made to the wayfinding system. Follow-up observations were held in the fall, after the installation of two new pilot wayfinding systems that were specifically designed to accommodate cycle highway users. Initial findings suggest that the changes made to the location, size and clarity of the signage improve cyclists' overall experiences, and that cyclists' perceptions of the built environment are important. Specifically, it became easier for users to navigate the route, their overall travel related stress decreased, and several participants perceived shorter travel times. Policy makers and transportation planners are likely to be interested in the results of this study as they reveal how specific improvements to wayfinding along cycle highways not only help improve navigation, but also positively influence cyclists' overall comfort and stress.


Mineral dust measured in ice cores from Antarctica provides unique information about climate variability in the past more than 800 000 years. Higher dust load in the atmosphere during glacial times is attributed to higher aridity in the source and higher storminess during colder climate. Changes in dust concentration in ice cores emerge from changes in the source and changes of the transport. Dust size distribution data provide the possibility to separate concentration changes in ice cores in those attributed to the source and those attributed to the transport. The low accumulation in almost all ice cores from the Antarctic plateau complicates the measurements of dust concentration and size in seasonal resolution. The EPICA ice core drilled in Dronning Maud Land, an area of relatively high accumulation (recent accumulation rate: 64 kg/(m²year)), provides the unique possibility to obtain dust concentration and size distribution data in subannual resolution even during the last Glacial, when the accumulation was lower by a factor of two. Here we present data from two depth intervals, one during the Glacial and one during the Antarctic cold reversal (ACR). We found dust maxima during winter with dust concentration higher by a factor of 7.5 in winter than in summer during the last Glacial, and by a factor of 3.5 during the ACR. Dust concentration changes on Glacial-Interglacial time scales are in the order of 50-100. Dust size changes are on annual scale in the same order of magnitude as on glacial-interglacial time scales. With a simple one dimensional transport model we attributed subannual changes in the dust concentration during glacial times to 40-70% to the source and the remaining 30-60% to the transport. During the ACR almost all subannual dust concentration changes in DML can be explained by transport.


Ferrofluids are colloidal suspensions, in which the solid phase material is composed of magnetic nanoparticles, while the base fluid can potentially be any fluid. The solid particles are held in suspension by weak intermolecular forces and may be made of materials with different magnetic properties. Magnetite is one of the materials used for its natural ferromagnetic properties. They have vital applications in the field of microfluidics such as microscale flow control in microfluidic circuits, actuation of fluids in microscale, and drug delivery mechanisms. Heat transfer performance of such ferrofluids is also one of the crucial properties among many potential coolants that should be analyzed and considered for their wide range of applications. In the first study, different families of devices actuating ferrofluids were designed and developed to reveal this potential. A family of these devices actuates discrete plugs, whereas a second family of devices generates continuous flows in tubes of inner diameter ranging from 254μm to 1.56mm. The devices were first tested with minitubes to prove the effectiveness of the proposed actuation method. The setups were then adjusted to conduct experiments on microtubes. Promising results were obtained from the experiments. Flow rates up to 120μl/s and 0.135μl/s were achieved in minitubes and microtubes with modest maximum magnetic field magnitudes of 300mT for discontinuous and continuous actuation, respectively. The proposed magnetic actuation method was proven to work as intended and is expected to be a strong alternative to the existing micropumping methods such as electromechanical, electrokinetic, and piezoelectric actuation. The results suggest that ferrofluids with magnetic nanoparticles merit more research efforts in micro pumping. In the second study, convective heat transfer experiments were conducted in order to characterize convective heat transfer enhancements with Lauric acid coated ironoxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticle based ferrofluids, which have volumetric fractions between 0%- ~5% and average particle diameter of 25 nm, in a 2.5 cm long hypodermic stainless steel microtube with an inner diameter of 514 μm and an outer diameter of 819 μm. Heat fluxes up to 184 W/cm2 were applied to the system at three different flow rates (1ml/s, 0.62ml/s and 0.36 ml/s). A decrease of around 100% in the maximum surface temperature (measured at the exit of the microtube) with the ferrofluid compared to the pure base fluid at significant heat fluxes (>100 W/cm2) was observed. Moreover, the enhancement in heat transfer increased with nanoparticle concentration, and there was no clue for saturation in heat transfer coefficient profiles with increasing volume fraction over the volume fraction range in this study (0%-5%). The promising results obtained from the experiments suggest that the use of ferrofluids for heat transfer, drug delivery, and biological applications can be advantageous and a viable alternative as new generation coolants and futuristic drug carriers.


This short article (for a symposium on joint ventures) provides practitioners and law professor with a 20 question checklist to guide the competitive effects analysis of the formation of a joint venture and the specific restraints and conduct of the venture. The questions mainly focus on ventures among actual or potential competitors, though some of the questions also are relevant for ventures involving complementary product firms. The questions concern potential competitive harms, potential competitive benefits, and the determination of net competitive effects. While this sequencing follows the standard burden-shifting formulation of the rule of reason decision process, the article notes that this sequencing should not be approached rigidly. A finding of a lack of efficiency benefits might suggest that the motivation of the JV is to achieve and exercise market power to the detriment of consumers, thereby supporting an inference of harm. Moreover, under a quick look to condemn standard, efficiency benefits are examined first, albeit with a possibly lower burden of proof placed on the venture to justify its formation and restraints.


We describe a novel wave-front sensor comprising a distorted diffraction grating, simple optics, and a single camera. A noniterative phase-diversity algorithm is used for wave-front reconstruction. The sensor concept and practical implementation are described in detail, and performance is validated against different Zernike modes and a representative atmospheric phase map.


This study uses a unique dataset to investigate university access, throughput, and dropout for the 2008 national matric cohort. The findings show that university access in South Africa is limited, even among learners who perform relatively well in matric. In addition, those who do gain access to university often take a long time to complete their studies, with many never completing at all. As a result, only a select minority of matric learners manage to obtain university qualifications. Significant inequalities in university outcomes between race groups and across geographical space also remain evident. However, the results from the analysis suggests that observed patterns of university access and university success are strongly influenced by school results. The weak school system has a major influence on who reaches matric, and how they perform in matric. This, and particularly the achievement of Bachelor passes, explains much of the differences in university outcomes by race, gender and province.


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I. PURPOSE This Note will present an analysis of peer-to-peer litigation and it will discuss the United States Supreme Court's holding in MGM v. Grokster.1 Through this analysis, the Note will give the reader a comprehensive understanding of peer-to-peer file-sharing software technology and the importance of its related litigation. Also, by examining legal and business model solutions, this Note will suggest approaches that may help alleviate problems between digital technology developers and copyright owners. II. THE BACKDROP Tales of file-sharing and its accompanying litigation can be heard in the news, on college campuses, and even at the dinner table. New digital technologies have enabled anyone with a compact disc, a computer, a broadband internet connection, and a few minutes of time to share copyrighted songs. The entertainment industry has taken notice of this practice that has been embraced by consumers on a wide scale. File-sharing technology has been available and popular for about a decade, and in 2004, approximately "13 billion songs were available for unauthorized free trading on online swap networks . . . according to Internet measurement service Big Champagne."2 In short, the programs enable the non-technically savvy to easily download and upload copyrighted content. In December 2004, about 7.6 million people were logged on to these networks at any given time, and every month, more than a billion files are traded.3 Most of the songs traded are chart-toppers of the day that, if sold legally on compact disc, would fetch a premium price.4 Even when the number of units of music products rose two percent in 2004, the entertainment industry's overall sales decreased.5 The entertainment industry believes that the illegal downloading of music is to blame for this decrease in revenue. As a result, music and movie copyright owners have launched a full-scale attack on the services that allow people to engage in copyright infringement. After the public relations nightmare of the industry targeting individual infringers, the industry changed its legal strategy to target the software developers and distributors. In addition to litigation, copyright holders have used guerilla tactics such as spreading viruses and disseminating truncated or corrupt files over peer-to-peer (P2P) networks.6 The industry and copyright holders employed such covert tactics to reduce transaction costs, go to the source of the problem, and rebuild the industry's image with the public. A. Who is Involved in the Latest P2P Fight? In Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd.,7 almost the entire film and audio entertainment world sued two peerto-peer firms. All the major record labels and movie studios, and some smaller entertainment production houses hoped pursuing the Grokster litigation would result in an injunction and final Supreme Court ruling holding the StreamCast and Sharman Networks ultimately liable for the users' copyright infringement.8 Besides the main players in Grokster, the case attracted the involvement of other parties with an interest in the Court's decision. These secondary players' involvement included filing amicus curiae briefs and speaking out to try and garner support in the court of public opinion. On the copyright holders' side, the Christian Coalition, musicians, attorneys general, Napster, and some professional sports leagues raised their voices. The religious right believed Grokster was a key battle in the war against pornography.9 Jim Backlin, Vice President of Legislative Affairs for the Christian Coalition admitted that Hollywood was a strange bedfellow, but stood by the industry nonetheless because they sought the same result.10 Attorneys general for thirty-nine states and Guam were concerned about pornography being readily available to children.11 Popular musicians Don Henley and the Eagles, the Dixie Chicks, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Nicks, Brian Wilson, and Avril Lavigne were some of the musicians who filed amicus curiae briefs claiming P2P networks have harmed their income streams. …


Hydrology has played an important role in the birth of science. Yet practical hydrological knowledge, related to human needs for water storage, transfer and management, existed before the development of natural philosophy and science. In contemporary times, hydrology has had strong links with engineering as its development has been related to the needs of the design and management of water infrastructures. In the 1980s these links were questioned and it was suggested that separating hydrology from engineering would be beneficial for both. It is argued that, thereafter, hydrology, instead of becoming an autonomous science, developed new dependencies, particularly on politically driven agendas. This change of direction in effect demoted the role of hydrology, for example in studying hypothetical or projected climate-related threats. Revisiting past experiences suggests that re-establishing the relationship of hydrology with engineering could be beneficial. The study of change and the implied uncertainty and risk could constitute a field of mutual integration of hydrology and engineering. Engineering experience may help hydrology to appreciate that change is essential for progress and evolution, rather than only having adverse impacts. While the uncertainty and risk cannot be eliminated they can be dealt with in a quantitative and rigorous manner. doi: 10.2166/nh.2013.092 om https://iwaponline.com/hr/article-pdf/45/1/2/370627/2.pdf 020 Demetris Koutsoyiannis Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece E-mail: email@example.com


The effects of shot peening on fatigue crack growth in 7075-T735 single-edged notch bend (SENB) and three point bend (TPB) specimens are discussed. Fifty-one total fatigue tests were conducted with SENB and TPB specimens, which were machined from an 8.1 mm thick 7075-T7351 aluminum stock plate. All specimens were tested in the as-received or shot peened conditions, with crack perpendicular to the rolling direction, i.e., in the L-T direction. Fatigue tests of SENB specimens were conducted at a constant maximum load, stress ratios of R = 0.1 or 0.8, and to a pre-determined fatigue cycle or to failure. Crack growth rate was determined from the tunneling crack profile or by fractography. Peened surface roughness, subsurface microstructure, and micro-hardness profiles were also examined to evaluate their effect on crack growth rate. The TPB specimens were fatigued to failure at stress ratios of R = 0.1 or 0.8 and a S-N diagram constructed. Both the SENB and the TPB test results showed that severe shot peening (0.016A) slightly increased the fatigue life at low stress ratio of R = 0.1 but was found to be negligible at a high load ratio of R = 0.8. The stress concentration factor due to dimples generated by severe shot peening was estimated to be 1.14 and had negligible effect on the fatigue life. Grain distortion was observed to a depth range of 130–410 µm indicating the depth of the residual compressive stress layer developed for peening intensities of 0.004–0.016A, respectively.


To effectively allocate mental health services, agencies must be able to predict what proportion of youth will have a mental disorder. Prevalence estimates are available for juvenile offenders at intake, detained youth, and incarcerated youth, but there is limited research on prevalence of mental disorders for juvenile offenders who are low-risk to reoffend, many of whom are first time offenders (i.e., low-risk youth). To complicate matters, ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented in the justice system, and specifically, little is known about culturally sensitive clinical interviewing. To aid service providers and administrators in allocating mental health resources for low-risk offenders and to contribute to knowledge on culturally sensitive clinical assessment techniques, the present study reports the prevalence of mental disorders for a mostly Mexican American sample of 503 low-risk youth in diversion programming. We found that approximately 1 of every 6 (17.1%) low-risk juvenile offenders had a current affective, anxiety, or psychotic disorder, and 24.9% of low-risk juvenile offenders met criteria for a current substance/alcohol abuse disorder. These results suggest that allocating a portion of specialty mental health services and substance abuse treatment for low-risk juvenile offenders may help agencies combat the issue of repeat offending by offering public health interventions proactively to indirectly prevent recidivism rather than reacting afterward. Lastly, recommendations are given to help service providers incorporate culturally sensitive techniques into clinical assessment in order to better identify Mexican American juvenile offenders with mental health needs.


Hydroxyl defect concentrations of quartz phenocryst fragments from various rhyolitic pyroclastic density current deposits from the Bukk Foreland Volcanic Area, Hungary, were determined by using micro-FTIR spectrometry. In addition trace-element analysis and SEM cathodoluminescence imaging were performed on the same crystals. Hydroxyl defect-content (expressed in water equivalent) of volcanic quartz ranges from 0.9±0.1 to 2.8±0.4 wt. ppm, which is lower than those in quartz of plutonic (granitic), metamorphic and hydrothermal origin. The incorporation of hydroxyl defect is mainly due to H+ + Al3+ substitutions into Si-tetrahedral vacancies of quartz. Furthermore, the presence of molecular water probably in (nano-)inclusions was proven. The post-eruptive diffusive loss of hydroxyl defects during cooling seems to be the main factor causing the very low concentration of hydroxyl defects. This may be also manifested in the almost homogeneous distribution of hydroxyl defects regardless of the considerable zonation in Al-content, although complete diffusive loss of hydroxyl defects was possibly hindered by the cooling effect of phreatomagmatism (interaction of excess water with magma during eruption) and deposition in a shallow submarine environment.

Moreover, a reasonable linear correlation is observed between the integrated area of Si–O bands (between 2110 and 1440 cm−1) and sample thickness up to ~300 μm by studying unoriented quartz phenocryst fragments. This may enable the quantitative analysis of hydroxyl defects in separated quartz crystals without the need for preparing oriented thin sections.


This chapter gives a detailed review of the composition, structure and biomechanics of articular cartilage in the joint. W have looked at the most common types of cartilage lesions and at the existing methods of articular cartilage repair techniques in the hip joint. Articular cartilage is specialized hyaline cartilage which makes a firm, smooth and slippery surface that resists plastic deformation. It has a unique structure and mechanical properties that provide joints with a surface that combines low friction, shock absorption and wear resistance, while bearing large repetitive loads throughout an individual's life- time. Cartilage lesions in the hip are most common on the acetabular side and typically present as focal area of delamination or chondral flap. Joint preserving techniques are becoming increasingly common. The spectrum of options includes palliative procedures such as joint lavage and chondral debridement, reparative procedures such as micro- fracture and direct chondral repair, and restorative procedures such as mosaicoplasty. Preservation of the host tissue is most attractive solution to cartilage damage, particularly in young active individuals. Tissue engineering offers one solution but many problems have to be overcome before these techniques become a reality.


Metric benchmarking has been widely quoted as a powerful management tool. However, as useful as metric benchmarking can prove, its actual application may present several inconveniences. These include internal resistance to the project, difficulties in finding a suitable partner, finding an appropriate set of indicators, actual data management and results analysis. This paper will present general guidelines to carry out a metric benchmarking project within the water industry, as well as some tools that may be used to overcome some of these difficulties.


Examining data from two national surveys of matched pairs of union and management lead negotiators, the authors evaluate the current state of practice in labor relations and test several propositions related to the transformation of American industrial relations. They find that 30–40% of the parties reported that they had introduced negotiated, workplace-level innovations or engaged in strategic-level interactions—both important aspects of transformation. Also, nearly half of the parties reported experience with use of interest-based bargaining practices. At the same time, relatively few parties reported relationships that were improving, and views on the extent of change differed between labor and management. Thus, there is an identifiable path supporting the transformation process, but only a minority of bargaining relationships are moving down that path.


Literacy skills are fundamental to all areas of learning in the school curriculum but also have a profound impact on an individual's chances of finding satisfying work in the years beyond school. Reading and Writing Difficulties draws on the latest research from around the world to explain some of the causes of literacy problems and gives practical advice on methods to support students with their own difficulties. Details of additional resources and online links are provided to assist teachers who wish to pursue some of the issues in greater depth.


The main purpose of the present study is to know the reading habits of school going children in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. Survey method of research is used in the present study. The population of this study consists of children studying from 7 th class to 10 th class in the high schools of Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. In total 1008 children were selected from 42 schools using stratified random sampling method. 63.6% of children have library facilities 51.5% of the children visit the library without significant differences between boys and girls and English medium and Telugu medium. The rural children visit the library less than the urban children. Generally library periods is not provided in the time-table of the children. Teachers play the major role in the selection of books for the children. Most of the children depend upon class room notes given by their teachers. Usually the library-going habit among children is less.


We study the properties of an array of QED cavities coupled by nonlinear elements in the presence of photon leakage and driven by a coherent source. The main effect of the nonlinear couplings is to provide an effective cross-Kerr interaction between nearest-neighbor cavities. Additionally, correlated photon hopping between neighboring cavities arises. We provide a detailed mean-field analysis of the steady-state phase diagram as a function of the system parameters, the leakage, and the external driving and show the emergence of a number ofdifferentquantumphases.Aphotoncrystalassociatedwithaspatialmodulationofthephotonblockadeappears. The steady state can also display oscillating behavior and bistability. In some regions the crystalline ordering may coexist with the oscillating behavior. Furthermore, we study the effect of short-range quantum fluctuations by employing a cluster mean-field analysis. Focusing on the corrections to the photon crystal boundaries, we show that, apart for some quantitative differences, the cluster mean field supports the findings of the simple single-site analysis. In the last part of the paper we concentrate on the possibility of building up the class of arrays introduced here, by means of superconducting circuits of existing technology. We consider a realistic choice of the parameters for this specific implementation and discuss some properties of the steady-state phase diagram.


Purpose We have previously shown that non-psychotropic cannabidiol (CBD) protects retinal neurons in diabetic rats by inhibiting reactive oxygen species and blocking tyrosine nitration. Tyrosine nitration may inhibit glutamine synthetase (GS), causing glutamate accumulation and leading to further neuronal cell death. We propose to test the hypothesis that diabetes-induced glutamate accumulation in the retina is associated with tyrosine nitration of GS and that CBD treatment inhibits this process. Methods Sprague Dawley rats were made diabetic by streptozotocin injection and received either vehicle or CBD (10 mg/kg/2 days). After eight weeks, retinal cell death, Müller cell activation, GS tyrosine nitration, and GS activity were determined. Results Diabetes causes significant increases in retinal oxidative and nitrative stress compared with controls. These effects were associated with Müller cell activation and dysfunction as well as with impaired GS activity and tyrosine nitration of GS. Cannabidiol treatment reversed these effects. Retinal neuronal death was indicated by numerous terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL)-labeled cells in diabetic rats compared with untreated controls or CBD-treated rats. Conclusions These results suggest that diabetes-induced tyrosine nitration impairs GS activity and that CBD preserves GS activity and retinal neurons by blocking tyrosine nitration.


Transmission power control (TPC) is a key technique to save the energy of a sensor node in a resource-constrained wireless sensor network (WSN). A variety of algorithms have been proposed to enhance the lifetime of the network. Nevertheless, Power-level regulation of a sensor node in time-varying propagation environment still needs deep investigation due to the uncertain behavior of the wireless fading channel. In order to address this issue, an energy efficient and reliable power control algorithm that works according to the variations in the propagation environment is presented in this paper. We propose an adaptive version of a well known algorithm, On Demand Transmission Power Control (ODTPC), named as Adaptive ODTPC or AODTPC. The proposed algorithm is based on Kalman Filter, which is used to predict the future received radio signal strength indicator (RSSI) values by incorporating the time-varying fading channel conditions. These values are then used to regulate the transmission power level with the help of ODTPC strategy prior to data transmission. Thus, the main objective of this work is to capture the time-varying variations of uncertain environment and adjust the power levels according to realistic environment behavior. Simulation results demonstrate that AODTPC performs better in terms of energy efficiency and increases node lifetime than its predecessor.


ABSTRACT The transformation of American society into a more inclusive, tolerant, civil, and participatory democracy depends in part on the ability of the multicultural movement and its allies to articulate a vision of American citizenship capable of inspiring loyalty and commitment to ideals and principles that are able to unify Americans even while acknowledging and honoring their deepest differences. It is the judgment of the author that multiculturalism has not yet met this challenge. This article describes an effort by educators and citizens to cultivate a commitment to shared ideals and principle within the context of our diverse and democratic society. In a previously published article, we agreed with advocates of multiculturalism that the traditional "socialization" approach to citizenship education in K-12 public schools had typically been too uncritical in its presentation and appraisal of American history, society, and culture (Grelle and Metzger, 1996). With its overriding emphasis on the transmission of society's prevailing values and the preservation of society's dominant institutional arrangements, the standard socialization approach is often guilty of downplaying historical conflicts and social controversies and of ignoring injustices and inadequacies of our economic and political institutions. Such an approach is inadequate insofar as it is grounded in and perpetuates 1) an overly narrow and Eurocentric definition of the curriculum, 2) an overly instrumental view of teachers as technicians (along with the corresponding view of students as passive recipients of pre-determined knowledge), and 3) an overly narrow and uncritical conception of what it means to be a citizen in America's pluralistic democracy. In response to the curricular inadequacies of the socialization approach, advocates of multiculturalism have proposed rethinking the canon upon which the school curriculum is based. It is not that critics of Eurocentrism deny the importance of European texts, experiences, and perspectives in shaping American history and society. What the critics do deny is that these European contributions are identical with and definitive of what it means to be an American. Essentially, critics of the standard socialization approach to citizenship education argue that America is not now and never has been a nation with a homogeneous people,culture, or religion. Rather, the United States has always been a pluralistic nation consisting of many different religious, racial, ethnic, and cultural groups. Instead of continuing to legitimate the values and privileges of the dominant social groups in America by giving pride of place in the curriculum to European (and more specifically, white Anglo-Saxon Protestant male) constructions of identity, the curriculum of public schools should be restructured to more adequately reflect the diverse experiences, perspectives, and identities of all of America's religious, racial, ethnic, and cultural groups. Advocates of multiculturalism insist that every level of the school curriculum should reflect this pluralistic reality. Insofar as the traditional curriculum fails to adequately encompass or address the histories, experiences, and contributions of the diverse communities to which our students themselves belong, it fails in its task of providing them with the intellectual and cultural resources that empower them to claim and exercise full citizenship. In addition to the problem of a narrowly interpreted curriculum, the standard socialization approach has also had a tendency to encourage an overly instrumental conception of the role of teachers, and a passive rather than active conception of student learning. In the words of Henry Giroux (1988), the citizenship transmission approach encourages teachers to adopt the view of "teachers-as-- technicians" whose task is to impose a predetermined body of knowledge upon passive and unsuspecting students. As we discussed in our earlier article, the classroom practice of teacher-technicians is typically characterized by a never-ending race to cover content, by a capitulation to (admittedly massive) pressures to allow externally developed tests to dictate curriculum, and by the imposition upon students of singular and over simplified perspectives on what are often complex theories, concepts, and historical events. …


Abstract. Formaldehyde was measured in the area of Milano, Italy, during the 2002 and 2003 FORMAT campaigns at three ground field sites and from an ultralight aircraft. The horizontal distributions show a strong impact of local emissions at a site in the centre of Milano and more photochemically driven diurnal patterns in the remote locations north and south of the city. The mixing ratios in the agricultural areas upwind of Milano were comparable to those downwind indicating the importance of biogenic emissions and anthropogenic agricultural activities. The vertical distributions were dominated by transport processes with advection of CH 2 O above the planetary boundary layer by cloud venting. Comparison to previously published model calculations, based on part of the data set, show discrepancies both, in the diurnal patterns and in the regional distribution which allude to uncertainties in emission inventories.


Momentum-space derivatives of matrix elements can be related to their coordinate-space moments through the Fourier transform. We derive these expressions as a function of momentum transfer $Q^2$ for asymptotic in/out states consisting of a single hadron. We calculate corrections to the finite volume moments by studying the spatial dependence of the lattice correlation functions. This method permits the computation of not only the values of matrix elements at momenta accessible on the lattice, but also the momentum-space derivatives, providing {\it a priori} information about the $Q^2$ dependence of form factors. As a specific application we use the method, at a single lattice spacing and with unphysically heavy quarks, to directly obtain the slope of the isovector form factor at various $Q^2$, whence the isovector charge radius. The method has potential application in the calculation of any hadronic matrix element with momentum transfer, including those relevant to hadronic weak decays.


Introduction: The use of artificial urinary sphincters can improve urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomies; however, complications can arise. We hypothesized that dynamic graciloplasty improves urethral sphincter reconstruction. Materials and Methods: Models of urethral sphincter muscle reconstruction were developed in 5 adult rabbits by wrapping the gracilis muscle flap around the urethra. Intra-urethral pressure was measured in each of the models before reconstruction (control), after reconstruction, and after electrical stimulation of the flap in reconstructed models (stimulated models). Results: The mean maximum urethral closure pressure was significantly greater in the reconstruction model (69.7 (66.5-115.8) mm Hg) than in the control model (39.2 (33.7-49.6) mm Hg). The mean integral of the urethral pressure and urethral length was also significantly greater in the reconstruction model than in the control model. Furthermore, sphincter tightening was enhanced by the electrical stimulation of the flap. Conclusions: Our results support our hypothesis that the functional reconstruction of urethral sphincters using muscle flaps is promising for the treatment of urinary incontinence.


Although metaphors are common in computing, particularly in human-computer interfaces, opinion is divided on their usefulness to users and little evidence is available to help the designer in choosing or implementing them. Effective use of metaphors depends on understanding their role in the computer interface, which in tum means building a model of the metaphor process. This thesis examines some of the approaches which might be taken in constructing such a model before choosing one and testing its applicability to interface design. Earlier research into interface metaphors used experimental psychology techniques. which proved useful in showing the benefits or drawbacks of specific metaphors, but did not give a general model of the metaphor process. A cognitive approach based on mental models has proved more successful in offering an overall model of the process, although this thesis questions whether the researchers tested it adequately. Other approaches which have examined the metaphor process (though not in the context of human-computer interaction) have come from linguistic fields, most notably semiotics, which extends linguistics to non-verbal communication and thus could cover graphical user interfaces (GUls). The main work described in this thesis was the construction of a semiotic model of human-computer interaction. The basic principle of this is that even the simplest element of the user interface will signify many simultaneous meanings to the user. Before building the model, a set of assertions and questions was developed to check the validity of the principles on which the model was based. Each of these was then tested by a technique appropriate to the type of issue raised. Rhetorical analysis was used to establish that metaphor is commonplace in command-line languages, in addition to its more obvious use in GUIs. A simple semiotic analysis, or deconstruction, of the Macintosh user interface was then used to establish the validity of viewing user interfaces as semiotic systems. Finally, an experiment was carried out to test a mental model approach proposed by previous researchers. By extending their original experiment to more realistically complex interfaces and tasks and using a more typical user population, it was shown that users do not always develop mental models of the type proposed in the original research. The experiment also provided evidence to support the existence of multiple layers of signification. Based on the results of the preliminary studies, a simple means of testing the semiotic model's relevance to interface design was developed, using an interview technique. The proposed interview technique was then used to question two groups of users about a simple interface element. Two independent researchers then carried out a content analysis of the responses. The mean number of significations in each interview, as categorised by the researchers, was 15. The levels of signification were rapidly revealed, with the mean time for each interview being under two minutes, providing effective evidence that interfaces signify many meanings to users, a substantial number of which are easily retrievable. It is proposed that the interview technique could provide a practical and valuable tool for systems analysis and interface designers. Finally, areas for further research are proposed, in particular to ascertain how the model and the interview technique could be integrated with other design methods.


Invertible neural networks (INNs) have been used to design generative models, implement memory-saving gradient computation, and solve inverse problems. In this work, we show that commonly-used INN architectures suffer from exploding inverses and are thus prone to becoming numerically non-invertible. Across a wide range of INN use-cases, we reveal failures including the non-applicability of the change-of-variables formula on in- and out-of-distribution (OOD) data, incorrect gradients for memory-saving backprop, and the inability to sample from normalizing flow models. We further derive bi-Lipschitz properties of atomic building blocks of common architectures. These insights into the stability of INNs then provide ways forward to remedy these failures. For tasks where local invertibility is sufficient, like memory-saving backprop, we propose a flexible and efficient regularizer. For problems where global invertibility is necessary, such as applying normalizing flows on OOD data, we show the importance of designing stable INN building blocks.


Problem statement: It is important to compare the effect of extremely different rainfall conditions on soil carbon storage of lowland tropical peat swamp forest. Therefore, under these natural rainfall gradient, the objectives of this study were to determine whether rainfall affects soil carbon storage of a tropical peat swamp forest and to determine what correlations between variables occurs which stimulate soil carbon storage changes of a tropical peat swamp forest. Approach: Soil sampling was conducted in two different plots (0.3 ha each plot) to a depth of 15 cm under two extremely different mean rainfall at Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia. The soil samples were analyzed for acidity, organic matter content, total carbon, total nitrogen and total phosphorus. The humic acid extraction was also done and soil carbon storage values were obtained by calculation. The calculation of carbon storage was by the bulk density method. Comparison between paired means of soil carbon storage under two different rainfall gradients were tested using paired t-test and correlation analysis was used to correlate variables (pH, soil organic matter, total carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, C/N ratio, C/P ratio, humic acid yield, unstable carbon and stable carbon). Results: The percentage of stable carbon count of unstable carbon was 42.93% under lower rainfall, while that of higher rainfall was 62.69 %. It suggests that this natural tropical peat swamp forest plays an important role as a sink rather than a source of carbon under higher rainfall but inversely under lower rainfall. It also suggests that soil organic matter tends to decompose and releases CO2 by oxidation under lower rainfall. Stable carbon positively correlated with humic acid yield for the two areas with different rainfall (p<0.01, r = 1.00). However, under higher rainfall, stable carbon also positively correlated with soil organic matter (p<0.05, r = 0.42) and total carbon (p<0.05, r = 0.42). It was found that stable carbon negatively correlated with soil acidity on both higher (p<0.05, r = -0.51) and lower rainfall areas (p<0.01, r = -0.54). However, that association appeared prominent under lower rainfall. Conclusion: Anaerobic environment is more prominent under higher rainfall and may facilitate high value of soil carbon storage in the soil profile of tropical peat swamp forest and allow this ecosystem to function as a carbon sink. During lower rainfall, water availability in tropical peat swamp forest may stimulate this ecosystem to maintain its soil acidity by releasing more CO2 in soil air and becomes a source rather than a sink of carbon.


Preface PART 1: ELEMENTS OF TECHNICAL COMMUNCATION Chapter 1 Communicating in the Workplace How Important is Technical Communication? What is Technical Communication? Technical Communication: Actions, Words, Images Technical Communication is Interactive and Adaptable Technical Communication is Reader Centered Technical Communication Relies on Teamwork Technical Communication is Visual Technical Communication Has Ethical, Legal, and Political Dimensions Technical Communication Is International and Cross Cultural Your Career and Technical Communication Help: How to Learn New Software Quickly Exercises and Projects Chapter 2 Readers and Context of Use Profiling Your Readers Identifying Your Readers Profiling Your Readers' Needs, Values, and Attitudes Help: Profiling Readers with Search Engines Profiling Contexts of Use Identifying the Context of Use International and Cross-Cultural Communication Differences in Context Difference in Organization Differences in Style Differences in Design Listen and Learn: The Key to International and Cross-Cultural Communication Exercises and Projects Chapter 3 Working in Teams The Stages of Teaming Forming: Strategic Planning Step 1: Define the Project Mission and Objectives Step 2: Identify Project Outcomes Step 3: Define Team Member Responsibilities Step 4: Create a Project Calendar Step 5: Write Out a Work Plan Step 6: Agree on How Conflicts will be Resolved Storming: Managing Conflict Running Effective Meetings Mediating Conflicts Firing a Team Member Norming: Determining Team Roles Revising Objectives and Outcomes Help: Virtual Teaming Identifying Team Roles Using Groupware to Facilitate Work Performing: Improving Quality The Keys to Teaming Exercises and Projects Chapter 4 Ethics in the Technical Workplace What are Ethics? Where do Ethics Come From? Personal Ethics Social Ethics Conservation Ethics Help: Stopping Cyberbullying and Computer Harassment Resolving Ethical Dilemmas Confronting an Ethical Dilemma Resolving an Ethical Dilemma When You Disagree with the Company Copyright Law in Technical Communication Asking Permission Copyrighting Your Work Plagiarism Exercises and Projects Chapter 5 Starting Your Career Setting Goals, Making a Plan Setting Goals Using a Variety of Job-Seeking Paths Preparing a Resume Types of Resumes Chronological Resume Functional Resume Designing the Resume Help: Designing a Scannable/Searchable Resume Writing Effective Application Letters Content and Organization Style Revising and Proofreading the Resume and Letter Creating a Professional Portfolio Collecting Materials Organizing Your Portfolio Assembling the Portfolio in a Binder Creating and Electronic Portfolio Interviewing Strategies Preparing for the Interview At the Interview Writing Thank You Letters and/or E-mails Exercises and Projects PART 2: COMMUNICATING IN THE TECHNICAL WORKPLACE Chapter 6 Researching and Managing Information Beginning Your Research Defining Your Research Subject Narrowing Your Research Question Formulating a Research Question or Hypothesis Developing a Research Methodology Mapping Out a Methodology Describing Your Methodology Using and Revising Your Methodology Triangulating Materials Using Electronic Sources Using Print Sources Using Empirical Sources Managing Information and Taking Notes Managing Information Careful Note Taking Documenting Sources Help: Avoiding Junk Science on the Internet Appraising Your Information Is the Source Reliable? How Biased is the Source? Am I Biased? Is the Source Up to Date? Can the Information Be Verified? Avoiding Plagiarism Exercises and Projects Chapter 7 Designing Documents and Interfaces Five Principles of Design Design Principle 1: Balance Weighting a Page or Screen Using Grids to Balance a Page Layout Using Other Balance Techniques Design Principle 2: Alignment Design Principle 3: Grouping Using Headings Using Borders and Rules Design Principle 4: Consistency Choosing Typefaces Labeling Graphics Creating Sequential and Nonsequential Lists Inserting Headers and Footers Help: Using Styles and Templates Design Principle 5: Contrast Adding Shading and Background Color Highlighting Text Using Font Size and Line Length Cross-Cultural Design Exercises and Projects Chapter 8 Creating and Using Graphics Guidelines for Using Graphics Guideline One: A Graphic Should Tell a Simple Story Guideline Two: A Graphic Should Reinforce the Written Text, Not Replace It Guideline Three: A Graphic Should be Ethical Guideline Four: A Graphic Should be Labeled and Placed Properly Displaying Data with Graphs, Tables, and Charts Line Graphs Bar Charts Tables Pie Charts Gantt Charts Using Pictures, Drawings, and Screen Shots Photographs Help: Making Visuals with a Spreadsheet Program Inserting Photographs and Other Images Illustrations Screen Shots Using Cross-Cultural Symbols Exercises and Projects Chapter 9 Websites and Social Networking (Web 2.0) Creating a Website Planning and Researching a Website Organizing and Drafting the Website Using Style in a Website Designing the Website Help: Using Web-Authoring Software A Warning about Copyright and Plagiarism Websites for International and Cross-Cultural Readers Using Social Networking (Web 2.0) Starting a Social Networking Site Blogging and Microblogging Updating Videos and Podcasts Contributing to a Wiki Exercises and Projects Chapter 10 Preparing and Giving Presentations Choosing the Right Presentation Technology Organizing the Content of Your Presentation Building the Presentation The Introduction: Tell Them What You're Going to Tell Them Help: Giving Presentations with Your iPod, MP3, PDA, or Smartphone The Body: Tell Them The Conclusion: Tell Them What You Told Them Preparing to Answer Questions Choosing Your Presentation Style Creating Visuals Designing Visual Aids Using Graphics Slides to Avoid Delivering the Presentation Body Language Voice, Rhythm, and Tone Using Your Notes Practicing and Rehearsing Practice, Practice, Practice Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse Working Cross-Culturally with Translators Exercises and Projects PART 3: GENRES OF TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION Chapter 11 Letters, Memos, and E-Mail Basic Features of Letters and Memos Basic Features of E-Mail Planning and Researching a Correspondence Determining the Rhetorical Situation Organizing and Drafting Letters, Memos, and E-Mails Introduction with a Purpose and a Main Point Body that Provides Need-to-Know Information Conclusion that Restates the Main Point Types of Letters, Memos, and E-Mails Inquiries Responses Transmittal Letters and Memos Claims or Complaints Adjustments Refusals Using Style in Letters, Memos, and E-Mails Strategies for Developing an Appropriate Style Designing and Formatting Letters and Memos Formatting Letters Formatting Envelopes Formatting Memos Help: Using E-Mail Internationally Revising, Editing, and Proofreading Exercises and Projects Chapter 12 Technical Descriptions Basic Features of Technical Descriptions Planning and Researching Technical Descriptions Planning Addressing ISO 9000/ISO 14000 Issues Researching Partitioning the Subject Organizing and Drafting Technical Descriptions Specific and Precise Title Introduction with an Overall Description Description by Features, Functions, or Stages in a Process Description by Senses, Similes, Analogies, and Metaphors Conclusion Using Style in Technical Descriptions Designing Technical Descriptions Designing a Page Layout Using Graphics Revising, Editing, and Proofreading Revising for Conciseness Help: Using Digital Photography in Descriptions Editing and Proofreading for Accuracy Exercises and Projects


Precipitation is expected to respond differently to various drivers of anthropogenic climate change. We present the first results from the Precipitation Driver and Response Model Intercomparison Project (PDRMIP), where nine global climate models have perturbed CO2, CH4, black carbon, sulfate, and solar insolation. We divide the resulting changes to global mean and regional precipitation into fast responses that scale with changes in atmospheric absorption and slow responses scaling with surface temperature change. While the overall features are broadly similar between models, we find significant regional intermodel variability, especially over land. Black carbon stands out as a component that may cause significant model diversity in predicted precipitation change. Processes linked to atmospheric absorption are less consistently modeled than those linked to top-of-atmosphere radiative forcing. We identify a number of land regions where the model ensemble consistently predicts that fast precipitation responses to climate perturbations dominate over the slow, temperature-driven responses.


The fossil elephant remains recently discovered in S. Celebes by Mr. H. R. van Heekeren, and entrusted to me by Prof. Dr. A. J. Bernet Kempers, Head of the Archaeological Survey of the Dutch East Indies, belong to a small form of the genus Archidiskodon. These specimens, described and figured in the present paper, give the first evidence of the existence of Proboscidea in the island of Celebes. As stated already in earlier notes on the fossils in Mr. Van Heekeren's collection (Hooijer, 1948a, 1948b, 1948c) this elephant is associated with a fauna containing a peculiar suid (Celebochoerus heekereni Hooijer), a babirusa (Babyrousa babyrussa beruensis Hooijer), an anoa (Anoa depressicornis (Smith) subsp.), and a gigantic land-tortoise (Testudo margae Hooijer). None of the fossils has been found in situ, but one of the elephant molars was still embedded in the matrix, a note on which is given below because it may help to determine the exact stratigraphical position of the specimen when the geology of the site will have been studied. The matrix of the unworn right M2 or M3 from Sompoh near Tjabenge (Sopeng district), about 100 km N.E. of Macassar was kindly studied by Mr. L. J. Fick and is a river-laid sediment with volcanic material. The rock consists of detrital grains of lateritic sandstone, the interstices partly filled with amorphous limonitic silica and opaque components. There are some pieces of quartz and veins of rhombohedral calcite. The volcanic components consist for the greater part of diopside and a few crystals of alkaline felspar. Archidiskodon celebensis nov. spec. Diagnosis: Size small; about one-half as large as Archidiskodon plani-


The diurnal activity patterns of Greylag Geese were studied at a Danish moulting site. Before moulting, Greylag Geese foraged throughout the 24 hour period, but changed to nocturnal feeding behaviour exclusively and roosted on offshore islets during the day, as they became flightless. As the moult progressed, geese preferred to feed in coastal habitats and responded more strongly to predator-like stimuli, such as overflying herons and helicopters, even though real predators were absent. This increased susceptability to commonplace events may be a response to their restricted mobility and ability to escape potential predators during moult. Since the frequency of the predator-like stimuli was lowest at night, we suggest that moulting Greylag Geese compensate for their lowered tolerance threshold to predator-like stimuli by feeding at night when the probability of being disturbed is less. Alternative nutrition-related hypotheses of nocturnal feeding are discussed, however these could not explain the observed changes in feeding behaviour, when Greylag Geese became flightless.


The generation of diradylglycerol (DRG) and phosphatidic acid (PdtOH) was investigated in neutrophils primed with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Mass accumulation of DRG and PdtOH was measured using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography and thin layer chromatography, respectively. GM-CSF had no direct effect on the levels of PdtOH and DRG, but it increased PdtOH generation and the late phase of DRG accumulation in human neutrophils stimulated with FMLP. The elevation of the mass of PdtOH peaked approximately 100 s and clearly preceded that of DRG, which peaked at 150 s. The diacylglycerol kinase inhibitor R59022 enhanced the sustained increase in DRG but did not produce a parallel inhibition in PdtOH production. GM-CSF was without effect on the level of inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate [Ins(1,4,5)P3] and did not affect the liberation of Ins(1,4,5)P3 induced by FMLP. These findings exclude the involvement of the PtdIns(4,5)P2-specific phospholipase C/diacylglycerol pathway in the sustained phase of DRG accumulation. The early (30-s) appearance of PdtOH clearly suggests that GM-CSF enhanced FMLP receptor-linked phospholipase D (PLD) generation of PdtOH. PLD was assessed more directly by formation of labeled phosphatidylethanol (PEt) through PLD capacity of catalyzing a trans-phosphatidylation in presence of ethanol. The formation of PEt associated with a concomitant decrease in PdtOH directly demonstrated that the mechanism by which GM-CSF enhances PdtOH production is activation of a PLD active on phosphatidylcholine. This study provides evidence that the mechanism of action of GM-CSF involves upregulation of PLD activity leading to enhanced generation of PdtOH and DRG in FMLP-stimulated neutrophils. These findings may provide the basis for several of the priming effects of GM-CSF.


In this article, we present the results of our study on archaeological slags found near the village of Krushevets, Southeast Bulgaria. Chemical analyses of the slags show a high Fe2O3 (40.11–54.57%) and SiO2 (29.32–42.28%) content, increased CaO content (3.01–6.51%), as well as very low quantity of SO3 (from 0.20% to 0.52%) and P2O5 (between 0.23% and 0.30%). The unbound residual copper in the samples is in an amount of 0.41% to 1.07%. The main phases composition of the slags are as follows: fayalite-type silicate phases with impurities, kirschsteinite and laihunite; pyroxenes of the augite-type and amorphous hosted glass; iron-oxide phases (magnetite and maghemite); and copper-containing phases (drops of unbound copper, relicts of ore minerals such as bornite, chalcopyrite), as well as newly formed phases, such as chalcocite, and copper-containing spherical aggregates. The studied samples are a by-product of copper extraction metallurgical activity. The raw material used was of copper-sulfide type with impurities of manganese-, calcium-, magnesiumand aluminium-containing minerals. Tzankova, N., Stavrakieva, D. 2020. Mineralogical study of archaeological copper slags found in the area of Krushevets Village, SE Bulgaria. Geologica Balcanica 49 (2), 3–23.


This session focused on emerging areas in biomedical research that are of key relevance to toxicology and, therefore, may influence EFSA's work. The impact on the way risk assessment is conducted in the area of food may be through the identification of novel ways through which chemicals affect human health or through the provision of novel tools that could support regulatory assessment methods. Four topics were presented in this session. These covered areas such as epigenetics, proteomics, metabolomics and microbiomics, which are currently the subject of major research and development in systems biology and are beginning to impact on regulatory assessment approaches and methodologies. One emerging concept common to all four presentations was the importance of epigenetic changes, irrespective of whether development, neurodegeneration, ageing or cancer is considered. The epigenetic modulation of gene expression has profound effects on health and lifespan. Indeed, disruptions caused by environmental, dietary, pharmaceutical, microbial or lifestyle agents during pregnancy are key determinants responsible for major quantitative and qualitative changes in the epigenetic control of health and disease, either directly or indirectly through modulation of our gut microbiota. Although gut microbes provide energy to the body by helping in the breakdown of dietary components that are not degraded by our own digestive system, the intestinal microorganisms also produce important signalling molecules that regulate our systemic immune and metabolic responses and hence the microbiome can profoundly affect human physiology and health. A better knowledge of the different layers of information (genome, transcriptome, epigenome, proteome, metabolome and microbiome) will be paramount for our understanding of how environmental factors can impact on health and disease and will contribute to the regulatory assessment approaches and methodologies of the 21st century.


The aim of this article is to provide an understanding of social networks as a useful addition to the standard toolbox of techniques used by system designers. To this end, we give examples of how data about social links have been collected and used in different application contexts. We develop a broad taxonomy-based overview of common properties of social networks, review how they might be used in different applications, and point out potential pitfalls where appropriate. We propose a framework, distinguishing between two main types of social network-based user selection—personalised user selection, which identifies target users who may be relevant for a given source node, using the social network around the source as a context, and generic user selection or group delimitation, which filters for a set of users who satisfy a set of application requirements based on their social properties. Using this framework, we survey applications of social networks in three typical kinds of application scenarios: recommender systems, content-sharing systems (e.g., P2P or video streaming), and systems that defend against users who abuse the system (e.g., spam or sybil attacks). In each case, we discuss potential directions for future research that involve using social network properties.


Today, concepts such as place attachment, sense of place, meaning of place, place identity, has devoted many studies In literature of architecture and urban design particularly in the field of environmental psychology. It is obvious that in all these concepts, various aspects of interaction between human and place and the impact that places have on people has been presented. This paper defines the concepts of sense of place and place attachment and explains the factors that affect them. Sense of place is a comprehensive concept which in it men feels places, percept them and attached meaning to them. Understanding the fundamental aspects of sense of place, can be effective in assess the level of public attachment to place sand tendency of people to places. Place attachment refer to emotional and functional bonds between place and people which Interpreted in different scale from a district to a country in Environmental psychology. In this regard different studies point to varied of spatial and human factors. Review the literature, this paper achieves a comprehensive definition of these concepts and then it try to compare them to find their relationship. What will come eventually is that place attachment is one of the sense of place subsets. Thus in encounter of people and place if assume people sense of place a general feeling to that place, place attachment is a positive emotion which people have about the place.


Data from human clinical trials have shown that the hepatitis B virus (HBV) follows complex profiles, such as bi-phasic, tri-phasic, stepwise decay and rebound. We utilized a deterministic model of HBV kinetics following antiviral therapy to uncover the mechanistic interactions behind HBV dynamics. Analytical investigation of the model was used to separate the parameter space describing virus decay and rebound. Monte Carlo sampling of the parameter space was used to determine the virological, pharmacological and immunological factors that separate the bi-phasic and tri-phasic virus profiles. We found that the level of liver infection at the start of therapy best separates the decay patterns. Moreover, drug efficacy, ratio between division of uninfected and infected cells, and the strength of cytotoxic immune response are important in assessing the amount of liver damage experienced over time and in quantifying the duration of therapy leading to virus resolution in each of the observed profiles.


The origin of the diaphragm remains a poorly understood yet crucial step in the evolution of terrestrial vertebrates, as this unique structure serves as the main respiratory motor for mammals. Here, we analyze the paleobiology and the respiratory apparatus of one of the oldest lineages of mammal‐like reptiles: the Caseidae. Combining quantitative bone histology and functional morphological and physiological modeling approaches, we deduce a scenario in which an auxiliary ventilatory structure was present in these early synapsids. Crucial to this hypothesis are indications that at least the phylogenetically advanced caseids might not have been primarily terrestrial but rather were bound to a predominantly aquatic life. Such a lifestyle would have resulted in severe constraints on their ventilatory system, which consequently would have had to cope with diving‐related problems. Our modeling of breathing parameters revealed that these caseids were capable of only limited costal breathing and, if aquatic, must have employed some auxiliary ventilatory mechanism to quickly meet their oxygen demand upon surfacing. Given caseids' phylogenetic position at the base of Synapsida and under this aquatic scenario, it would be most parsimonious to assume that a homologue of the mammalian diaphragm had already evolved about 50 Ma earlier than previously assumed.


Shifts in the phenology of plant and animal species or in the migratory arrival of birds are seen as 'fingerprints' of global warming. However, even if such responses have been documented in large continent‐wide datasets of the northern hemisphere, all studies to date correlate the phenological pattern of various taxa with gradual climatic trends. Here, we report a previously unobserved phenomenon: severe drought and heavy rain events caused phenological shifts in plants of the same magnitude as one decade of gradual warming. We present data from two vegetation periods in an experimental setting containing the first evidence of shifted phenological response of 10 grassland and heath species to simulated 100‐year extreme weather events in Central Europe. Averaged over all species, 32 days of drought significantly advanced the mid‐flowering date by 4 days. The flowering length was significantly extended by 4 days. Heavy rainfall (170 mm over 14 days) had no significant effect on the mid‐flowering date. However, heavy rainfall reduced the flowering length by several days. Observed shifts were species‐specific, (e.g. drought advanced the mid‐flowering date for Holcus lanatus by 1.5 days and delayed the mid‐flowering date for Calluna vulgaris by 5.7 days, heavy rain advanced mid‐flowering date of Lotus corniculatus by 26.6 days and shortened the flowering length of the same species by 36.9 days). Interestingly, the phenological response of individual species was modified by community composition. For example, the mid‐flowering date of C. vulgaris was delayed after drought by 9.3 days in communities composed of grasses and dwarf shrubs compared with communities composed of dwarf shrubs only. This indicates that responses to extreme events are context specific. Additionally, the phenological response of experimental communities to extreme weather events can be modified by the functional diversity of a stand. Future studies on phenological response patterns related to climate change would profit from explicitly addressing the role of extreme weather events.


Abstract Background The incidence of breast cancer increases with age with approximately 1800 cases per year in the UK occuring in over 90-year olds. We sought to determine the incidence of new breast cancer diagnoses in this subgroup and examine our practice in the management of these women. Methods A retrospective case-note review was performed on 32 patients aged 90 years and over, diagnosed with non-metastatic invasive breast cancer between 2007 and 2017. Clinicopathological data was collected on patients' cancers, co-morbidities, treatment, recurrence and survival. Results Median age at diagnosis was 90 years (range 90-99). Median number of comorbidities was 2 (range 0-6). Mean tumour size was 35mm (range 5-85). 11 cancers (34%) were ER negative and 2 (6%) HER2 positive. 12 cancers (38%) were grade 3 at presentation and 12 had positive axillary lymph node metastases. Twenty-seven (84%) patients underwent a mastectomy, including one bilateral, and five (16%) patients had wide local excision. No patients suffered significant complications in the immediate post-operative period. Twenty-one patients (66%) had adjuvant radiotherapy. No patients underwent adjuvant chemotherapy. Eight patients (25%) developed local or distant recurrence and twenty-one patients (66%) died by the end of the study collection period. Mean disease free survival was 46.4 months (95% CI 31.1-61.7 months) and mean overall survival was 45 months (95% CI 31.7-59.7 months). Conclusions Optimal management for older patients is achieved by the co-evaluation of the life expectancy, co-morbidities, and the treatment benefit/risk ratio. Our data suggests that treating older patients with focused surgical and adjuvant treatment is appropriate, however further age-adjusted data is required to standardise care in this subgroup. Legal entity responsible for the study Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. Funding Has not received any funding. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.


With increasing trends toward global aging and accompanying tendencies of (older) individuals to feel younger than they actually are, an important research question to ask is whether factors influencing IT acceptance are the same across individuals who perceive themselves to be as old as they actually are (i.e., cognitive age = chronological age) and those that perceive themselves to be younger than they actually are (i.e., cognitive age < chronological age). We conduct an empirical analysis comparing these two groups in the context of mobile data services (MDS). Our results show that for the ―young at heart‖, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment play significant roles in their IT acceptance decisions, whereas for those who perceive themselves to be as old as they actually are, perceived ease of use and subjective norms were significant. Implications for research and practice are discussed.


The importance of innovation as an instrument in service delivery and building greater trust towards public service and the government, is undeniable. Prior studies in the literature on the public sector domain revealed that innovation in the public sector may result in a positive impact on the government, the public, organizations as well as the nation as a whole. Although there is point of similarity and convergence between public and private sector innovation, it is arguable that complexity in the public sector suggests that the general assumption that practices from the private sector are the best references for improving public sector innovation. A review of the body of literature on various concepts of innovation from both public and private sector perspectives has found significant demarcation between innovations in both sectors in terms of objectives, governance model for innovation, dimensions and diffusion of innovation. The findings suggest a need for a dedicated concept in understanding public sector innovation, rather than implementing a 'one-size-fits-all' approach of innovation by adopting from the private sector. The correct conceptualization of public sector innovation will lead to the formulation of the right policy to support innovation, appropriate business models, implementation of crucial initiatives, innovation process improvements, and measurements to gauge the performance of public sector innovation.


Connected healthcare is a form of health delivery that connects patients and providers through connected health devices, allowing providers to monitor patient behavior and proactively intervene before an adverse event occurs. Unlike the costs, the benefits of connected healthcare in improving patient behavior and health outcomes are usually difficult to determine. In this study, we examine the efficacy of a connected health system that aimed to reduce readmissions through improved medication adherence. Specifically, we study 975 patients with heart disease who received electronic pill bottles that tracked medication adherence. Patients who were nonadherent received active social support that involved different types of feedback, such as text messages and calls. By integrating data on adherence, intervention, and readmission, we aim to (1) investigate the efficacy of connected healthcare in promoting medication adherence, (2) examine the relationship between medication adherence and readmission, and (3) develop a dynamic readmission risk-scoring model that considers medication adherence and use the model to better target nonadherent patients. Our findings suggest that patients are more likely to become adherent when they or their partners receive high levels of intervention that involve personalized feedback and when the intervention is escalated quickly and consistently. We also find that long-term adherence to three common heart medications is strongly associated with reduced readmission risk. Lastly, using counterfactual simulation, we apply the dynamic readmission risk-scoring model to our setting and find that, when using an intervention strategy that prioritizes high-risk patients, we obtain 10% fewer readmissions while using the same effort level from the patient support team. This paper was accepted by Jayashankar Swaminathan, operations management. Funding: The randomized, controlled trial was funded by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation [Healthcare Innovation Award 1C1CMS331009]. Supplemental Material: The data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4865 .


Fruits are important sources of nutrients in human diet, and Barbados Cherry (Malpighia glabra L.) is of particular interest due to its high content of antioxidants. Diets rich in fruits and vegetables protect individuals against diseases and cancer, but excessive intake of vitamins may act as pro-oxidant and generate changes in DNA. To evaluate the effect of different in natura (BAN) and frozen (BAF) Barbados Cherry pulp concentrations and synthetic vitamin C in liquid form (VC) on the chromosome level and the cell cycle division, root meristeme cells of Allium cepa L. and bone marrow cells of Wistar rats Rattus norvegicus, were used as test system. In Allium cepa L., BAN, at the highest concentration (0.4 mg.mL-1) and BAF, at the lowest concentration (0.2 mg.mL-1), inhibited cell division, and there was recovery of cell division after the recovery period in water only for BAN. In the Wistar rats, all treatments with Barbados Cherry, either acute or subchronic, were not cytotoxic or mutagenic; only the highest concentration of VC increased significantly the rate of chromosomal abnormalities. The data obtained are important to reinforce the use of Barbados Cherry fruit in the diet.


Several real-world problems in engineering and applied science require the selection of sequences that maximize a given reward function. Optimizing over sequences as opposed to sets requires exploring an exponentially larger search space and can become prohibitive in most cases of practical interest. However, if the objective function is submodular (intuitively, it exhibits a diminishing return property), the optimization problem becomes more manageable. Recently, there has been increasing interest in sequence submodularity in connection with applications such as recommender systems and online ad allocation. However, mostly ad hoc models and solutions have emerged within these applicative contexts. In consequence, the field appears fragmented and lacks coherence. In this paper, we offer a unified view of sequence submodularity and provide a generalized greedy algorithm that enjoys strong theoretical guarantees. We show how our approach naturally captures several application domains, and our algorithm encompasses existing methods, improving over them.


Marcus, James, ed. Second Read: Writers Look Back at Classic Works of Reportage. New York: Columbia University Press, 2012. 208 pp. $24.50. In 2004, the Columbia Journalism Review began a regular series under the standing head "Second Read" for which accomplished writers were asked to discuss works of journalism that motivated and influenced dieir writings. James Marcus, a former contributing editor of CJR and currently deputy editor ?? Harper's, along with the staff of CJR have selected twenty-three of these essays for inclusion in Second Read: Writers Look Back at Chssic Works of Reportage, beginning with the first in the series: Village Voice journalist Rick Perlstein's praise of Paul Cowan's 1979 The Tribes of America. In his introduction, Marcus notes it was Perlstein's contribution to "Second Reading" that led the New Press to reprint Cowan's forgotten but memorable classic. Marcus hopes this collection of twentytwo other "works that have fallen victim to shifts in literary taste or ideological fashion" will lead to similar reprints. Actually, of the twenty-three essays on long-fot m journalism in Second Read, all but three are available currently in paperback editions, which is what makes this collection so valuable to media historians and journalism educators. The three are: Ben Yagoda's description of soldier-journalist Walter Bernstein's Keep Your Head Down and the reporting of World War II from the enlisted man's perspective; John Maxwell Hamilton's essay on Vincent Sheean's Personal History about events in his life as a foreign correspondent following World War I as Europe rushed toward another world war; and Thomas Malones analysis of William Manchester's detailed reporting in The Death of a President about the minutiae surrounding the assassination and the burial of President John F. Kennedy. What Marcus and the CJR staff provide in Second Read justifies inclusion of far more journalistic content in journalism curricula, far broader education in reporting approaches, far more readings from the extensive history and literature of journalism in programs too focused on vocational howto skills and hands-on technology, and far greater emphasis on the reformist role that journalism of fact and opinion have played in oui civic life. The essays in this collection offer journalism educators a checklist of materialibr a course in the text-based history of long-fofrn reporting that has mattered to our twentieth-century national life, a course every bit as valuable to aspiring journalists and the survival of quality journalism as another course in writing for multiple platforms. Second Read, with the exception of the odd inclusion of Nicholson Baker's essay on Daniel Defoe's 1 772 A Journal of the PUgue Year, reminds us of important journalists and their diverse approaches to reporting major events, cataclysms, and trends of the twentieth century. The essay by Dale Maharidge on James Agee's 1941 Let Us Now Praise Famous Men and his immersion into homes of Alabama sharecroppers and Claire Dederer s essay on Betty MacDonald's 1950 Anybody Can Do Anything and its account of ordinary life and survival in Seattle during the 1930s offer contrasting views of life during the depression. …


The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN), a NASA spacecraft to be launched to Mars later this month, will try to decipher billions of years of planetary history from careful study of the martian atmosphere. Eons ago, planetary scientists believe, Mars had a thick atmosphere that sheltered a surface awash with water—conditions in which life could have emerged and thrived. Today, that atmosphere is thin and depleted, and Mars is a cold, barren desert. What caused this remarkable transformation? Until now, planetary scientists have attempted to answer such questions mainly from the planet's surface. MAVEN will take a new course: flying through the outer fringes of Mars's atmosphere, measuring gases and monitoring conditions with eight instruments. The measurements should help researchers figure out how the solar wind, asteroid impacts, and chemical reactions gradually depleted the Red Planet's atmosphere.


Wave propagation in granular chains is subject to dispersive effects as well as nonlinear effects arising from the Hertzian contact law. This enables the formation of wideband pulses, which is a desirable feature in the context of diagnostic and therapeutic ultrasound applications. However, coupling of the ultrasonic energy from a chain of spheres into biological tissue is a big challenge. In order to improve the energy transfer efficiency into biological materials, a matching layer is required. A prototype device is designed to address this by using six aluminum spheres and a vitreous carbon matching layer. The matching layer and the precompression force are selected specifically to maximize the acoustic pressure in water and its bandwidth. The designed device generates a train of wideband ultrasonic pulses from a narrow-band input with a center frequency of 73 kHz. An analytical model is created to simulate the behavior of a matching layer as a flexible thin plate clamped from the edges. This model is then verified using free-field hydrophone measurements in water, which successfully predict the increased bandwidth by generation of harmonics. The shapes of the measured and predicted waveforms are compared by calculating the normalized cross-correlation, which shows 83% similarity between both. Since the generation of harmonics is of interest in this study, the total harmonic distortion (THD) and the
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-dB bandwidth of the signals are used to analyze signal fidelity between the hydrophone measurements and the model predictions. The acoustic signals in water have a root-mean-square THD of 73%, and the model predicts a root-mean-square THD of 78%. The
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-dB bandwidths of individual pulses measured by a hydrophone and predicted with the model are 280 and 252 kHz, respectively. At these high ultrasonic frequencies, it is an experimental demonstration of resonant chains operating in water with a matching layer.


Growth parameters of Cormorant hatchlings are described in relation to brood size and age ranking of each chick within individual broods. Growth rates, expressed as body mass increment per day over the period of linear, growth (5-30 days), ranged from 56.4-102.8 g . d(-1) and were found to be independent of brood size and age ranking. Asymptotic fledging mass, logistic growth rate coefficient and age at point of inflection were estimated for 14 chicks measured up to ages of over 30 days. Estimated body mass and age at hedging (twice the age at point of inflection) were further used to estimate the energetic needs. The fastest growing chicks would require peak energy needs of 3022 kJ . d(-1), the slowest growing of about 2050 kJ . d(-1). Total energy needs throughout the nestling period ranged from 46 000 to 69 000 kJ, implying average daily requirements of 1300-1800 kJ. Individual energy needs were on average 40% higher and at the peak 47% higher in fast growing chicks than in slow growing ones. However, slower growth, as a means of energy saving, does not seem to be chosen for voluntarily by younger chicks in larger broods. Parental fishing effort (expressed as total amount of time spent on fishing trips) increased with brood size. Maintaining a foraging uptake of 3 g . min(-1) of fresh fish, found in the field, and a flying distance of 20 km, a bottleneck is expected to occur at the period of maximum energy needs. In order to cover maximum needs a chick should be fed with an average of 632 g of fish per day. Such a food provisioning level can be achieved for three chicks at an uptake level of 3 g . min(-1) of fresh fish. A range of other flying distances and uptake levels is also presented to indicate the margins.


A 61-year-old woman diagnosed with multifocal, poorly differentiated epithelial mesothelioma in September 2002 went into sustained spontaneous remission within months. She was completely disease-free within 6 months, and remained so 5 years later. This case demonstrates that this tumour may, very rarely, regress spontaneously, with no recurrence for many years. A greater knowledge of the underlying immune mechanisms would aid future management of this and other tumours.


The global steel industry is transforming from using iron ore to recycling scrap. Global arisings of steel scrap are likely to treble in the next thirty years and we will never need more blast furnaces than we have today. The extent and speed of this global transformation depends on two competing forces: on the one hand, today's recycling technology cannot currently produce the highest qualities of high-volume steel econonically; on the other, recycling has the critical advantage that it reduces the greenhouse gas emissions released in producing steel to around a third of those from primary production. As the steel industry turns from ore to scrap and action on climate change accelerates, what opportunities does this create for steel in the UK?


How do humans navigate to target objects in novel scenes? Do we use the semantic/functional priors we have built over years to efficiently search and navigate? For example, to search for mugs, we search cabinets near the coffee machine and for fruits we try the fridge. In this work, we focus on incorporating semantic priors in the task of semantic navigation. We propose to use Graph Convolutional Networks for incorporating the prior knowledge into a deep reinforcement learning framework. The agent uses the features from the knowledge graph to predict the actions. For evaluation, we use the AI2-THOR framework. Our experiments show how semantic knowledge improves performance significantly. More importantly, we show improvement in generalization to unseen scenes and/or objects. The supplementary video can be accessed at the following link: this https URL .


Abstract Physicochemical properties of representative samples from talc deposits discovered at Pout-Kelle and Memel in Cameroon have been investigated using a variety of techniques. The data allow the study of the mineral crystal-chemistry, chemical and modal compositions, grain size distribution, textures and surface heterogeneity, and morphometric characteristics. As a result, we found that talc (platy or round, Fe-rich) prevails (65−90%) over Cr-chlorite (7−26%), halloysite, chromite, rutile, brucite and magnesite. Chemically, talc ores are made up of SiO2, MgO, Fe2O3 and minor Al2O3. Mode values range from 50 to 55 μm at Memel and from 30 to 90 μm at Pout-Kelle. Specific surface areas measured by BET and t-plot methods range from 1.3 to 2.5 m2/g. The large values of morphometric characteristics are indicative of high crystallinity and platiness. Potential uses of these talc ores in the rubber, plastics and paper industries require beneficiation processes. Interestingly, the Memel deposit and most zones of the Pout-Kelle deposit are free of needle-shaped crystals, an advantage for environmental safety.


Low molecular weight, low symmetric complexes simulating blue copper protein have been prepared by a reaction between salicylidene-4-aminoantipyrinyl-2-imino pyridine and metal salts. The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductivity, magnetic susceptibility data, IR, H NMR, UV-Vis, FAB-Mass and EPR spectral studies. The physicochemical studies and spectral data indicate that the ligand acts as a monovalent tridentate chelating agent. All the complexes have the general composition MLX (M= Cu(II), Ni(II), Co(II) and Zn(II); L = Schiff base and X = Cl/Br/OAc). The UV-Vis., cyclic voltammetry and EPR spectral data of the complexes suggested that [CuLCl] complex is mimic the blue copper model type 1 proteins. But other two copper complexes are square planar geometry around the central metal ion and they were non-model complexes.


Use of the calcium phosphate precipitation (CPP) method makes possible the occlusion of dentinal tubules to approximately 10 to 15 pn from the dentinal surface, and thus shows good potential for the treatment of dentin hypersensitivity. The precipitate formed in the dentinal tubules by the CPP method is, however, not apatite [HAP; Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2], a component of tooth and bone, but dicaldum phosphate dihydrate (DCPD; CaHPO 4·2H2O). Since fluoride enhances the conversion of DCPD to HAP, we evaluated the effects of fluoride on the texture of the precipitate formed by the CPP method and on its capacity to occlude dentinal tubules in this in vitro study. CPP solution (1.0 mol/L CaHPO4·2H 2O dissolved in 2.0 mol/L H3PO4) was applied to a dentin disk and was subsequently neutralized with a post-treatment solution (1 mol/L NaOH, from 0 to 0.1 mol/L NaF). Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the precipitate occluded dentinal tubules to a depth of approximately 10 to 15 μm from the dentinal surface, regardless of the NaF concentration (from 0 to 0.1 mol/L) in the post-treatment solution. Also, dentin permeability was reduced to 15% by the CPP treatment regardless of the NaF concentration. The Ca/P molar ratio of the precipitate, measured by x-ray micro-analysis, was higher (1.25 ± 0.04) in the presence of NaF than in its absence (1.03 ± 0.01). For further identification of the precipitate formed in the dentinal tubules, the same procedure was used in glass tubes (diameter, 1 mm), so that a larger amount of precipitate would be obtained. Powder x-ray diffraction analysis and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) measurement revealed that the precipitate formed by the CPP method gradually changed from DCPD to apatitic as the NaF concentration increased. We concluded that the addition of NaF to the post-treatment solution with the CPP method was desirable, since it led to more apatitic precipitate formation and did not lessen the occluding capacity of the precipitate.


Several diatoms in the family Achnanthaceae (Bacillariophyta), mainly from marine environments, have species with strongly apiculate, lemon-shaped valves. Some of them originally described under the genus Cocconeis ( i . e ., C . trachyderma or C . citronella ), while others were first described as Stauroneis species [ i . e . Stauroneis apiculata or S .(?) obesa ]. Afterwards, Cocconeis citronella has been recombined within Achnanthes by Hustedt. The type material of C . citronella from Albert Mann's collection, housed in the Smithsonian Institution (US), has been examined with light microscope; some ambiguities are pointed out and new details added to the original description. The intricate history of the latter taxon is redrawn and comparison with allied taxa are tentatively addressed. Cocconeis trachyderma is lectotypified and recombined as Achnanthes trachyderma comb . nov . Stauroneis apiculata and S .(?) obesa are recombined as Achnanthes apiculata comb . nov . and Achnanthes obesa comb . nov . respectively. The examination with light and scanning electron microscope of several marine samples from the Society Archipelago details the unique morphology of Achnanthes trachyderma which, until recently, has been often misidentified as Achnanthes citronella due to certain similarities between both taxa.