On September 13, 1862, in a field near Frederick, Maryland, four Union soldiers hit the jack-pot. There they found, wrapped carelessly around three cigars, a copy of General Robert E. Lee's most recent orders detailing Southern objectives and letting Union officers know that Lee had split his Army into four vulnerable groups. General George B. McClellan realized his opportunity to destroy the Army of Northern Virginia one piece at a time. "If I cannot whip Bobbie Lee," exulted McClellan, "I will be willing to go home." But the notoriously prudent Union general allowed precious hours to pass, and, by the time he moved, Lee's army had begun to regroup and prepare for battle near Antietam Creek. The ensuing fight would prove to be not only the bloodiest single day of the entire Civil War, but the bloodiest in the history of the U.S. Army. Countless historians have analysed Antietam (known as Sharpsburg in the South) and its aftermath, some concluding that McClellan's failure to vanquish Lee constituted a Southern victory, others that the Confederate retreat into Virginia was a strategic win for the North. But in Antietam: The Soldiers' Battle, historian John Michael Priest tells this brutal tale of slaughter from an entirely new point of view: that of the common enlisted man. Concentrating on the days of actual battle--September 16, 17, and 18, 1862--Priest vividly brings to life the fear, the horror, and the profound courage that soldiers displayed, from the first Federal cavalry probe of the Confederate lines to the last skirmish on the streets of Sharpsburg. Antietam is not a book about generals and their grand strategies, but rather concerns men such as the Pennsylvanian corporal who lied to receive the Medal of Honor; the Virginian who lay unattended on the battlefield through most of the second day of fighting, his arm shattered from a Union artillery shell; the Confederate surgeon who wrote to the sweetheart he left behind enemy lines in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that he had seen so much death and suffering that his "head had whitened and my very soul turned to stone." Besides being a gripping tale charged with the immediacy of firsthand accounts of the fighting, Antietam also dispels many misconceptions long held by historians and Civil War buffs alike. Seventy-two detailed maps--which describe the battle in the hourly and quarter-hourly formats established by the Cope Maps of 1904--together with rarely-seen photographs and his own intimate knowledge of the Antietam terrain, allow Priest to offer a substantially new interpretation of what actually happened. When the last cannon fell silent and the Antietam Creek no longer ran red with Union and Confederate blood, twice as many Americans had been killed in just one day as lost their lives in the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Spanish-American war combined. This is a book about battle, but more particularly, about the human dimension in battle. It asks "What was it like?" and while the answers to this simple question by turns horrify and fascinate, they more importantly add a whole new dimension to the study of the American Civil War.


After the annexation of Crimea, Moscow's relationship to the western world deteriorated dramatically. This was also true for the bilateral relationship between Russia and Norway. In this article, Norwegian perceptions of its eastern neighbor are discussed. Though clearly biased against Moscow, Norwegian politicians were simultaneously adamant in their emphasis on good neighborly relations with Russia and a will to protect areas of collaboration from spillover effects. This duality, it is argued, reflects a long-standing tradition in Norwegian Russia policies of balancing opposing elements. Though Norwegian media and policy makers were predominantly willing to perform this balancing act, the article also points to examples of unsubstantiated allegations made against "Russia" or "Russian actors". Originating from marginal outlets, such stories were accommodated by Norwegian mainstream media, which thereby contributed to creating a skewed – or at the very least uncorroborated – image of Russian intentions. From January 2017 onwards, the Russian embassy in Oslo engaged in the public debate. The embassy's contributions were unusual, more by virtue of their undiplomatic tone than by their political content. Despite current tensions, the author argues that the Norwegian-Russian bilateral relationship is now closer to a historical norm than at any point since the collapse of the Soviet Union.


Probabilistic logics, especially those based on logic programming (LP), are gaining popularity as modelling and reasoning tools, since they combine the power of logic to represent knowledge with the ability of probability theory to deal with uncertainty. In this paper, we propose a hybrid extension for probabilistic logic programming, which allows for exact inference for a much wider class of continuous distributions than existing extensions. At the same time, our extension allows one to compute approximations with bounded and arbitrarily small error. We propose a novel anytime algorithm exploiting the logical and continuous structure of distributions and experimentally show that our algorithm is, for typical relational problems, competitive with state-of-the-art sampling algorithms and outperforms them by far if rare events with deterministic structure are provided as evidence, despite the fact that it provides much stronger guarantees.


This paper presents a method to estimate the yield and analyze the performance of a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) power plant including a rooftop PV system and a solar farm. The yield model was developed based on a commercial PV model in a MATLAB/Simulink environment. A simulation model is built to connect with the PV rooftop system and the solar farm in which their total installed capacities are 0.986 and 30.7 MW, respectively. The simulated and measured final yield results of a rooftop PV system in Vietnam are compared. Additionally, this paper provides a function of reducing the final yield corresponding to different PV operation temperature values. Furthermore, the performance of both a rooftop PV system and a solar farm, in Vietnam, are evaluated as the rated power of 0.986 and 30.7 MWp, respectively. The results also show that their performance is satisfactory, in which the value of the performance ratio (PR) average reaches 70% for the rooftop PV system and 80.45% for the solar farm within a six-month period, in 2019. The PR is also compared with a global PR average from 70% to 80% for a sufficiently well-performed solar system.


This article outlines changes in the character of Australian federal public service unions, from in-house staff associations to constituents of the broader union movement. The extent to which the strategies adopted by the union that covers most Australian federal public servants, the CPSU, are part of the agenda for change in the broader union movement or a reaction to changes in public sector administration is investigated. We conclude that although the changes have been in step with the broader union movement, the constant trigger has been government policy. Most significantly, New Public Management policies have imposed particular pressures to the point that the CPSU is now struggling for survival. The impact of the union renewal strategy, and the adoption of the organising model to underpin this strategy, remains uncertain.


Assessing physical exposures in occupational health studies proves challenging regardless of the industry. In transportation, however, the problem is exacerbated by the fact that subjects are literally on the move. To improve the understanding of the link between chronic whole-body vibration exposure and adverse health outcomes, this study evaluated epidemiologic trends, comparing injury events among employees in a large metropolitan transit agency. The epidemiology results indicate that bus drivers are at increased risk for injury compared to a referent group of administrative workers. This study also presents the technological advancements in field-based, whole-body vibration (WBV) exposure assessment by comparing three generations of WBV data collection equipment. This study presents the ISO 2631 Part 1 and Part 5 results for field-based WBV exposure studies among professional truck drivers, bus drivers, and heavy equipment operators. Finally, this study applied field-collected vibration signal data to research on a vibration simulation hexapod. The final phase of this study evaluated vibration attenuation, comparing the current industry standard (an air-ride suspension seat) to a newly developed technology (an electromagnetically active seat) across city streets, freeways, and rough roads. This comparison of seat suspension technologies was conducted for evaluation between professional truck drivers and bus drivers, and it included a measure of vibration transmission through the spines of subjects. The results indicate that the electromagnetically active seat is a promising engineering control that may prevent injuries over the long term. This study combined several research approaches that are important to the field of occupational health. The goal of this research was to improve the understanding of injury risk and intervention options, with the ultimate goal of improving the lives of professional bus drivers.


SINTEF Energy (hereafter called SINTEF) develops complex compu- tational models for energy production in Norway. These models are controlled by command line interfaces when used for testing, in meetings, or in other contexts. They may, to some extent, be visualized with Python or MATLAB scripts, but lacks a good graphical user interface, as well as including the users in an interactive manner. SINTEF desires to look at the capabilities of moving some of today's CLI-based workflow to a mobile environment, with an interactive user interface. They want to expand their view, exploring new ways of working. They also want to know if their current information models are able to handle these new environments. We will develop a front-end application for an Android tablet. With an agile prototyping methodology, we identify requirements to make such an application both user-friendly and useful to the end users. The application is primarily a proof-of-concept to illustrate the potential of making a new interface to SINTEFs existing computational models. The development process is also used to see if SINTEFs existing information models are extensive enough to match with the new mobile environments. The application will first and foremost be evaluated by its potential to present a prototype GUI, but also by a set of design principles regarding mobile design, and its strengths and weaknesses. Our concept illustrates the potential of visualizing parts of SINTEFs existing applications to a mobile device in an interactive manner. The users saw a potential in saving time by using such an application. The application is also used to suggest an extension to SINTEFs existing information model. This proposed CIM extension has been implemented in our application, and is generally viable for other software applications utilizing information model.


For the next generation of multi-core processors, the on-chip interconnection networks must be efficient to achieve high data throughput and performance. Moreover, these interconnections must be flexible and scalable in order to provide parallel on-demand computing. For this reason, the goal of this paper is to present design decisions of a multi-cluster NoC (MCNoC) architecture in order to support collective communication patterns through topology reconfiguration on an FPGA-based multi-cluster chip. The MCNoCpsilas results show a small area occupation, low power consumption and high performance.


The practice of communion without baptism has become more prevalent within the Episcopal Church. Proponents of this practice use scripture extensively in their argument for a change in the traditional Ordo, which maintains an indissoluble bond between baptism and the eucharist. They claim that the narratives of Jesus' table fellowship support the practice of communion without baptism. In this essay, I will critique the use of scriptural references to Jesus' table fellowship in support of communion without baptism by considering their canonical context. First, I will explain how the canonical context of those scriptural passages actually argues in favor of the traditional Ordo rather than for a change to it. Then, I will provide an example of how canonical context intensifies the radical hospitality called for by proponents of communion without baptism by means of the traditional Ordo rather than a change to it.


: Compared to 30 years ago, the field of development economics today is more coherent, more grounded in empirical reality, and more relevant to practical policymaking. It is also shaped by richer conceptions of well-being, people, and socioeconomic systems. This paper offers a review of current development economics, highlighting the analytical framework that now ties the field together and the significance within the framework of eight themes, related to transfer costs, mobility costs, liquidity constraints, insurance constraints, present bias, learning and persuasion, cooperation and private institutions, and governance problems in public sector institutions. The paper then briefly discusses the usefulness of the framework for policymaking by governments and NGOs, and the possible implications, more specifically, for Christian development work. JEL Codes: O10, L31


The fundamental components of any meteoroid/orbital debris risk assessment calculation are environment models, damage response predictor equations, and failure criteria. Response predictor equations typically take the form of ballistic limit equations (or BLEs) that define the threshold particle sizes that would cause the failure of a spacecraft component. When performing a spacecraft MOD risk assessment, the need for a BLE often arises for components where one doesn't exist. In such cases, it is common to use an existing BLE after first equivalencing actual materials to the materials of the existing BLE. The question naturally arises regarding how close the predictions are of such an 'adapted BLE' to the response characteristics of the actual materials/wall configurations. A study was conducted to compare the predictions of a commonly used BLE when applied to a Soyuz wall configuration against those of a new BLE that was developed specifically for that wall configuration. It was found that the critical projectile diameters predicted by the new Soyuz BLE can exceed those predicted by the existing BLE by as much as 50 percent of the existing BLE values. Thus, using the adapted version of the existing BLE in this particular case would contribute to a more conservative value of assessed risk. This finding could have significant implications on the validity of other MOD risk values that were obtained using a similar process.


Nucleation and crystallization studies of CaSO 4 .2H 2 O were carried out under simulated conditions of scale formation in the reverse osmosis desalination technique. Equal molar ratios of CaCl 2 and NaSO 4 aqueous solutions were mixed with saline solution of NaCl (40 g/L). Turbidity measurements were carried out for the mixed solutions at different time intervals to determine induction period for the crystal formation of gypsum at ambient temperature (25 °C). Induction period was measured under different high supersaturation ratios ranging from 4.47 to 6.71. Induction period decreases exponentially with increasing supersaturation ratios. Free energy barrier values, critical nucleus radius and nucleation rates were calculated with and without addition of antiscalant {(scale inhibitor) [sodium hexametaphosphate (NaPO 3 ) 6 , SHMP]} using crystallization equations that relate induction period with supersaturation ratios. The radius of critical nucleus increased by about 30% with SHMP addition compared with the baseline at all the studied supersaturation ratios. Most importantly, scanning electron microscope (SEM) photomicrographs show that, the shapes of crystals of the uninhibited solutions are needle-like and plate-like crystals at supersaturation ratios of 4.47 and 6.71, respectively. Addition of 4.0 mg/L SHMP antiscalant modify the shape of crystals to be similar to that at low supersaturation ratio.


Following triggered corporate bankruptcies, an increasing number of prediction models have emerged since 1960s. This study provides a critical analysis of methodologies and empirical findings of applications of these models across 10 different countries. The study's empirical exercise finds that predictive accuracies of different corporate bankruptcy prediction models are, generally, comparable. Artificially Intelligent Expert System (AIES) models perform marginally better than statistical and theoretical models. Overall, use of Multiple Discriminant Analysis (MDA) dominates the research followed by logit models. Study deduces useful observations and recommendations for future research in this field. JEL classification: G33; C49; C88


Antibiotic-resistant bacteria present a serious public health threat and studies investigating the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the genes encoding for antibiotic resistance (GEAR) are essential. Such studies help us to understand how antibiotic-resistant bacteria and GEAR are obtained, transferred and maintained within a population. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence and maintenance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the oral microbiota of children aged 4-6 years who had not previously taken antibiotics. Bacteria resistant to penicillin, ampicillin, tetracycline and erythromycin were widespread among the children studied. Tetracycline-resistant bacteria were found in 98% of the children sampled and the tetracycline resistance determinants most responsible for this resistance were tet(M) and tet(W). The tetracycline-resistant bacteria were maintained within 15 children over a period of twelve months. In three of these children the tet(M) gene was found to persist in a variety of genera and this was found to be contained within a Tn9/6-like element by Southern blot analysis. The tetracycline resistance determinant tet(S) was found for the first time in Streptococcus intermedius . It was found to be transferable to Enterococcus faecalis and other Streptococcus spp. by filter matings. The tet(S) gene was shown to be present on a novel Tn9/f5-like element designated Tn97r5S. The similarities between Tn916 and Tn976S included the presence of conjugative and excision and integration modules. However the tet(M) in Tn976 had been completely replaced by tet(S) in Tn9/f5S. The gene tet(32) was also found for the first time in Streptococcus parasanguinis and Eubacterium saburreum, previously it had been found in a human colonic bacterium K10. The upstream region of the oral tet(32) gene in E. saburreum 41.2T.2 was found to be more closely related to upstream sequences of tet(W) in Roseburia sp. A2-123, upstream sequences of tet(W) within TnB1230 (originally isolated from Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens ) and orf!4, orf25 and orf26 from Tn5397. This work provides further evidence that antibiotic-resistant bacteria are prevalent in the oral microbiota of children and that the genes responsible, especially those encoding resistance to tetracycline, can be maintained in the oral microbiota even when the children have not been directly exposed to antibiotics. These findings show that tetracycline resistance determinants can be mosaic in structure and can be easily transferred due to their containment within conjugative transposons. Such elements then undergo evolutionary changes, whereby recombination of the conjugative transposon modules result in new genetic elements.


This paper proposes a sliding-mode controller design with adaptable pole-clustering capability for linear multiple-input multiple-output systems, in which the influences of parameter uncertainties and external disturbances on the system performance can be arbitrarily lessened to cluster all closed-loop poles within the desired regions in a complex plane. Due to parameter uncertainties or variations in a physical system, the closed-loop poles through linear state feedback might be perturbed away from the required ones and could not be constrained within the specified regions in a complex plane. In established sliding-mode control, system responses during sliding motions are completely invariant to system perturbations satisfying the so-called matching condition. However, this invariance property usually accompanies undesirable chatter phenomenon. In this paper, the proposed sliding-mode controller is designed to decrease the effects of system perturbations to an extent that is acceptable according to performance specifications, instead of being completely insensitive. One advantage of this design over the conventional one is the reduction of chatter level. To be precise, chatter alleviation can be achieved while the sliding mode is guaranteed during an entire response in this design. To verify the scheme, we performed experiments on its implementation in a two-degree-of-freedom magnetic levitation system. The results show that the proposed scheme not only satisfies the requirements for performance robustness but also achieves chatter alleviation.


Episodically, the Earth erupts large quantities of basaltic magma in geologically short periods of time. This results in the formation of large igneous provinces, which include continental flood basalt provinces, volcanic rifted margins, and giant oceanic plateaus. These fluctuations in the Earth's system are still poorly understood. Do they owe their origin to mantle plumes, meteorite impacts, or lithosphere-controlled processes? Whatever their origin they correlate closely with major changes in oceanic and atmospheric chemistry and may trigger global mass extinctions.


Microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs), such as tau, modulate neuronal shape and process outgrowth by influencing the stability and organization of microtubules. The dynamic nature of MAP-microtubule interactions in vivo, however, is poorly understood. Here, we have assessed the stability of these interactions by investigating the synthesis and axoplasmic transport of tau in relation to that of tubulin and other MAPs within retinal ganglion cells of normal adult mice in vivo. Using immunoprecipitation and Western blot analysis with anti-tau monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies, we unequivocally identified in optic axons a family of 50–60 kDa tau isoforms and a second 90–95 KDa tau family, the members of which were shown to contain the domain of tau encoded by exon 4A. To measure the rates of translocation of tau proteins in vivo, we injected mice with 35S- methionine intravitreously and, after 6–30 d, quantitated the radiolabeled tau isoforms immunoprecipitated from eight consecutive 1.1 mm segments of the nerve and optic tract and separated by electrophoresis. Linear regression analysis of protein transport along optic axons showed that the tau isoforms advanced at a rate of 0.2–0.4 mm/d, and other radiolabeled MAPs, identified by their association with taxol-stabilized microtubules, moved three- to fivefold more rapidly. By contrast, tubulins advanced at 0.1–0.2 mm/d, significantly more slowly than tau or other MAPs. These studies establish that tau is not cotransported with tubulin or microtubules, indicating that associations of tau with microtubules within axons are not as stable as previously believed. Our findings also reveal differences among various MAPs in their interactions with microtubules and provide evidence that assembly and reorganization of the microtubule network is an active process even after axons establish connections and fully mature.


Multi-species biofilm communities are environments in which complex but ill understood exchanges between bacteria occur. Although monospecies cultures are still widely used in the laboratory, new approaches have been undertaken to study interspecies interactions within mixed communities. This review describes our current understanding of competitive relationships involving nonbiocidal biosurfactants, enzymes, and metabolites produced by bacteria and other microorganisms. These molecules target all steps of biofilm formation, ranging from inhibition of initial adhesion to matrix degradation, jamming of cell-cell communications, and induction of biofilm dispersion. This review presents available data on nonbiocidal molecules and provides a new perspective on competitive interactions within biofilms that could lead to antibiofilm strategies of potential biomedical interest.


The rise of the radical right is open to multiple interpretations. The question addressed in this study is whether many of these parties have fostered an enduring social base among core voters and, if so, which social sectors are most likely to support them. Part I discusses the alternative theoretical frameworks provided by the classic accounts of the 1950s and 1960s, the 'new social cleavage' thesis common during the last decade, and the theory of partisan dealignment. The paper then compares evidence to analyze rival hypotheses about the social basis of the radical right vote across fifteen nations, using data drawn from the European Social Survey, 2002 and the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems, 1996-2001. Part II focuses upon the role of socioeconomic indicators, while Part III considers the enduring gender gap and patterns of generational support. The conclusion considers the implications of these results for understanding the basis of radical right popularity, and for the stability and longevity of these parties.


Minsky's ideas have recently gained prominence in the mainstream as well as in the heterodox literature. However, there exists no agreement upon the formal presentation of Minsky's insights. The aim of this paper is to survey the literature and identify differences and similarities in the ways through which Minskyan ideas have been formalised. We distinguish between the models that focus on the dynamics of debt or interest, with no or a secondary role for asset prices, and the models in which asset prices play a key role in the dynamic behaviour of the economy. Within the first category of models we make a classification between (i) the Kalecki-Minsky models, (ii) the Kaldor-Minsky models, (iii) the Goodwin-Minsky models, (iv) the credit rationing Minsky models, (v) the endogenous target debt ratio models and (vi) the Minsky-Veblen models. Within the second category of models, we distinguish between (i) the equity price Minsky models and (ii) the real estate price Minsky models. Key limitations of the models and directions for future research are outlined.


Wireless sensor networks are composed of small nodes that might be used for a variety of purposes. Nodes communicate together through a wireless connection that might be subject to different attacks when the network is placed in hostile environments. Furthermore, the nodes are usually equipped with very small batteries providing limited battery life, therefore limited power consumption is of utmost importance for nodes. This is in clear opposition with the requirement of providing security to communications as security might be very expensive from the power consumption stand point. Energy harvesting methods can be used to recharge batteries, but, in most of the cases the recharge profile cannot be known in advance. Therefore, nodes might face periods of time in which no recharge is available and the battery level is low. In this paper we introduce an optimization mechanism that allows the system to change the communication security settings at runtime with the goal of improving node lifetime, yet providing a suitable security level. The optimization mechanism further improves energy consumption by putting in place a quality of service mechanism: when energy is scarce, the system tends to send only essential packets. As shown by the simulations presented in this paper, this mechanism optimizes the energy consumption among different recharges.


BACKGROUND
No new agent has improved overall survival in patients with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma when added to first-line cisplatin-based chemotherapy.

METHODS
In this phase 3, multinational, open-label trial, we randomly assigned patients with previously untreated unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma either to receive intravenous nivolumab (at a dose of 360 mg) plus gemcitabine-cisplatin (nivolumab combination) every 3 weeks for up to six cycles, followed by nivolumab (at a dose of 480 mg) every 4 weeks for a maximum of 2 years, or to receive gemcitabine-cisplatin alone every 3 weeks for up to six cycles. The primary outcomes were overall and progression-free survival. The objective response and safety were exploratory outcomes.

RESULTS
A total of 608 patients underwent randomization (304 to each group). At a median follow-up of 33.6 months, overall survival was longer with nivolumab-combination therapy than with gemcitabine-cisplatin alone (hazard ratio for death, 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.63 to 0.96; P = 0.02); the median survival was 21.7 months (95% CI, 18.6 to 26.4) as compared with 18.9 months (95% CI, 14.7 to 22.4), respectively. Progression-free survival was also longer with nivolumab-combination therapy than with gemcitabine-cisplatin alone (hazard ratio for progression or death, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.59 to 0.88; P = 0.001). The median progression-free survival was 7.9 months and 7.6 months, respectively. At 12 months, progression-free survival was 34.2% and 21.8%, respectively. The overall objective response was 57.6% (complete response, 21.7%) with nivolumab-combination therapy and 43.1% (complete response, 11.8%) with gemcitabine-cisplatin alone. The median duration of complete response was 37.1 months with nivolumab-combination therapy and 13.2 months with gemcitabine-cisplatin alone. Grade 3 or higher adverse events occurred in 61.8% and 51.7% of the patients, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
Combination therapy with nivolumab plus gemcitabine-cisplatin resulted in significantly better outcomes in patients with previously untreated advanced urothelial carcinoma than gemcitabine-cisplatin alone. (Funded by Bristol Myers Squibb and Ono Pharmaceutical; CheckMate 901 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03036098.).


Valuation of morbidity associated with childhood asthma is signi…cant both to policy and to non-market valuation methodologies. Our results show that household perceptions and beliefs, such as belief in one's ability to predict and control asthma attacks, and relative perceptions of the overall burden asthma places on a family, have a larger impact on valuation than traditional measures of asthma severity. More generally, our approach can be applied to other chronic illnesses as well, such as diabetes or chronic pain.


Submerged breakwaters formed by natural rocks dissipate the incident wave energy. Continuous quarrying of rocks has resulted in its depletion, leading researchers to look for alternate materials for the formation of such barriers. Thus, the concept of artificial reef units has evolved which has been gaining importance owing to the flexibility in molding to any desired shapes and sizes, workability and also due to the fact that it creates a habitable environment to marine flora and fauna. From the hydrodynamic performance perspective, artificial reef units are proven to be more efficient in reducing wave transmission on the lee side (e.g., Southern Caribbean shore of Dominican Republic and Vaan Island, Tuticorin, India). A comprehensive experimental investigation to examine the effect of trench width on hydrodynamic characteristics of the submerged reef system was carried out. The trench width was varied by incorporating single, double, and multiple perforated submerged trapezoidal artificial reef units. The focus of the present study is mainly on the influence of the number of reef units, relative crest width, and relative trench width of the submerged reef system on its transmission and reflection characteristics. The relative trench width was found to be an influential factor on wave transmission past the structure, and the least wave transmission was achieved for the reef configuration with eight units. The details of the experimental investigation, results and discussion are reported in this paper.


Excerpt] In recent years, tuition has similarly continued to increase by more than inflation. However, during the 1980s real income growth stagnated in the United States. As a result, tuition as a share of family income increased. Data for Cornell University illustrate this point but the story is the same for the average selective private institution in the nation. Between 1966-67 and 1979-80 Cornell tuition remained roughly 26 to 28 percent of median family income. By 1992-93 it had risen to 49 percent. During the mid-1990s, median family income again began to increase in real terms and the ratio stabilized. However, the damage had been done. The public's concern that college costs were taking a greater share of the typical family's income was magnified by the rapid run up in endowments that accompanied the booming stock market of the 1990s. Families wondered why the selective institutions had to raise tuition at all? In Tuition Rising: Why College Costs So Much, I argue that there are a number of forces, in addition to the ones Bowen discussed, that continue to put upward pressure on tuition at selective private institutions. These include their aspirations, our "winner take all" society, their shared system of governance, recent federal government policies, the role of external actors such as alumni, local government, the environmental movement and historic preservationists, periodicals that rank them, and how they are organized for budgetary purposes and select and reward their deans. Today I will focus on shared governance and the key role that trustees play.


Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) represents a significant component of both the terrestrial and oceanic carbon cycles. An instrument for the continuous and automated analysis of dissolved inorganic carbon in the field is described. The analyzer is designed to allow collection of high‐resolution (sub hourly) DIC data over prolonged field deployments without the need for labor‐intensive maintenance and monitoring. The instrument sequentially acidifies an aliquot of water in gas permeable tubing through which CO2 diffuses into a gas tight chamber and is quantified by an infrared gas analyzer. The instrument is accurate to ± 0.04 mM with a detection limit of 0.01 mM. Comparisons with conventional head space equilibration techniques using mass spectrometry yielded a good correlation differing by 0.016 ± 0.014 mM. Deployment in a tropical estuary and freshwater rainforest catchment revealed the dynamic nature of inorganic carbon cycling in these aquatic systems. DIC concentration was found to track the mixing of fresh and salt water well in the tropical estuary (as indicated by conductivity measurements), and comprised a significant component of dissolved carbon export from the estuary catchment. DIC totalled 24 ± 6% of the total carbon export from the rainforest catchment and varied between 0.04 and 0.13 mM over a 4‐d period. The dynamic nature of DIC in the two environments illustrates the pressing need for the continuous and high‐resolution data our instrument provides.


We present a natural language realization component, called YAG, that is suitable for intelligent tutoring systems that use dialog. Dialog imposes unique requirements on a generation component, namely: dialog systems must interact in real-time; they must be capable of producing fragmentary output; and they may be re-deployed in a number of different domains. Our approach to real-time natural language realization combines a declarative, template-based approach for the representation of text structure with knowledge-based methods for representing semantic content. Possible text structures are defined in a declarative language that is easy to understand, maintain, and reuse. A dialog system can use YAG to realize text structures by specifying a template and content from its knowledge base. Content can be specified in one of two ways: (1) as a sequence of propositions along with some control features; or (2) a set of feature-value pairs. YAG's template realization algorithm realizes text without any search (in contrast to systems that must find rules that unify with a feature structure).


During the past 15 years there has been increasing acceptance of a volcanic exhalative origin for the giant 300-Mt Broken Hill Pb-Zn orebody. Supposedly, silicic pyroclastic rock types have been identified in the host-rock succession, and because of an association with basic volcanics (amphibolites), comparison is made with Phanerozoic continental rifts. The orebody has also been described as distal and deep water. We report that the so-called silicic volcanic rocks are all normal clastic sediments. The metasedimentary succession (more than 5 km thick) is interpreted as a series of major continental, fluvio-deltaic, progradational wedges interfingering with marine transgressive cycles, deposited in a gradually deepening basin. Pb-Zn mineralization is hosted by shallow-marine sands that later became reservoirs for the metal-bearing brines. Basin formation, stratigraphic architecture, and Pb-Zn mineralization can all be interpreted in terms of concepts understood from studies of the development of younger sedimentary basins. The inference is that Pb-Zn mineralization was generated by compactive expulsion of metal-bearing brines during accumulation of the sedimentary pile.


A dismissal is automatically unfair if the employer unfairly discriminates against an employee on the basis of any of the grounds listed in s 187(1)(f) of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (LRA). In other words, the employer cannot raise a defence for such a dismissal. This is a form of dismissal that cannot be categorised as misconduct, incapacity or a dismissal based on operational requirements of a business. But s 187(2)(b) provides an 'escape clause' stating that :'(2) Despite subsection (1)(f)-
...
(b) a dismissal based on age is fair if the employee has reached the normal or agreed retirement age for persons employed in that capacity.'
This exception has proved problematic, for it does not apply in all circumstances. This was illustrated in Datt v Gunnebo Industries (Pty) Ltd ([2009] 5 BLLR 449 (LC) (Datt)), where, after an employee reached the normal or agreed retirement age, his contract was extended to an unspecified date but later terminated unilaterally by the employer because of the employee's age. The employee then challenged his dismissal on the ground that it was an automatically unfair dismissal.
Here I will interpret s 187(2)(b) and evaluate the Court's decision.


Due to its harsh natural conditions, there had not been any intensive radiosonde observations over the Ti- betan Plateau (TP) before the year 2008, when a regional radiosonde observation network was implemented through a Sino-Japan joint cooperation project. This paper reports, on the basis of these observations, on an analysis of the structure of upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) and pro- vides observations of stratosphere and troposphere exchange (STE) over the TP. Due to sparseness of high resolution radiosonde data, many previous studies assumed that there was only one ther- mal tropopause over the TP. Actually, the radiosonde temper- ature profiles in winter time over the TP often exhibit a mul- tiple tropopause (MT). The MT occurs in winter with a high frequency over the Plateau. MT events during this time are associated with tropopause folds near the subtropical west- erly jet. The MT consistently varied with the movement of the jet. The MT becomes a single tropopause with the devel- opment of the monsoon. The detailed analyses of MT char- acteristics are reported in this paper. Earlier analyses of global MT events (with data based on GPS radio occultation, ERA-40 data and Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive database) resulted in a climatic fre- quency of MT occurrences in the winter season over the Plateau is not more than 40 %. Based on high resolution data of intensive radiosonde observations, our estimations of MT occurrence over the Plateau can be as high as 80 % during certain winters. This reminds us to pay more attention to the MT events above the Plateau. The influence of the coarse vertical resolution and other effects on the estimation of MT occurrence frequency are also discussed. The stratospheric intruding episodes are generally asso- ciated with the presence of subtropical jet stream over the Plateau. The complex structure of dynamic tropopause fold- ing over the Plateau have been reflected by the thermal MT events observed by radiosondes. The intrusion of air masses from the stratosphere may contribute to a higher upper tropo- spheric ozone concentration in winter than in summer above the plateau.


This revisionist account of a controversial figure provides a reappraisal of James' career prior to 1685, examining his roles as soldier, administrator, imperialist and entrepreneur. It shows how he held many of the most important positions in the kingdom, including Governor and Proprietor of New York, Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company and Viceroy of Scotland, and exercised a degree of power and patronage second only to that of the King. However, James' failure to harness political support, or to present an acceptable public image to his brother's subjects, both examined here, effectively destabilized English politics for a generation. John Callow shows how James' obstinacy and authoritarianism truly rendered him, as one contemporary pamphleteer had it, "an impolitick prince". Based on archive material, this study dissolves the traditional contrast which has been seen between James as Duke and James as King, demonstrating that the weaknesses of the latter were already manifest in the former.


During the last couple of decades, several attempts have been made to come up with a theory that can handle the various semantic, logical and philosophical problems raised by the vagueness of natural languages. One of the most influential ideas that have come into fashion in recent years is the idea that vagueness should be analysed as a form of context sensitivity. Such contextualist theories of vagueness have gained some popularity, but many philosophers have remained sceptical of the prospects of finding a tenable contextualist solution to the problems of vagueness. This paper provides an introduction to the most popular contextualist accounts, and a discussion of some of the most important arguments for and against them.


Urban models are key to navigation, architecture and entertainment. Apart from visualizing facades, a number of tedious tasks remain largely manual (e.g. compression, generating new facade designs and structurally comparing facades for classification, retrieval and clustering). We propose a novel procedural modelling method to automatically learn a grammar from a set of facades, generate new facade instances and compare facades. To deal with the difficulty of grammatical inference, we reformulate the problem. Instead of inferring a compromising, one-size-fits-all, single grammar for all tasks, we infer a model whose successive refinements are production rules tailored for each task. We demonstrate our automatic rule inference on datasets of two different architectural styles. Our method supercedes manual expert work and cuts the time required to build a procedural model of a facade from several days to a few milliseconds.


This thesis sets out to demonstrate the significant contribution to the field of podiatric dermatology, through the use of various forms of published documentary evidence, made by the author. In addition to the published papers submitted, a content analysis of British podiatric literature over a period of 21 years has mapped the emergence and development of the specialism of podiatric dermatology within the United Kingdom. This work demonstrates a significant increase in professional interest within this area during this period. This is evidenced through increased reporting of dermatological topics within podiatry journals in terms of related news items, advertisements and editorials. This is accompanied by an increasing number of case studies, peerreviewed papers and continuing professional development articles evident within the literature. The author has presented within this thesis a suite of fifty published articles along with verifiable evidence of professional activities related to the promotion and development of podiatric dermatology. Collectively this evidence represents a significant contribution to the development and evolution of dermatology as a specialist area within podiatry in the United Kingdom over the last fifteen years.


In this study, a new cationic monomer 2-(3-indol-yl)ethylmethacrylamide (IEMA) derived from tryptamine was synthesized in a single step and characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR. Then, one-step preparation of novel poly(2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate-c-2-(3-indol-yl)ethylmethacrylamide), or p(HEMA-c-IEMA), copolymeric hydrogels has been performed successfully with IEMA and 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA) as monomers using free radical aqueous polymerization. The hydrogels were characterized with scanning electron microscopy, FTIR, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and texture profile analysis instruments. p(HEMA-c-IEMA) hydrogels were used for swelling, diffusion, drug release, and antibacterial activity studies. The drug-release behavior of the hydrogels was determined as a function of time at 37 °C in pH 1.2 and 7.2. The swelling and drug-release studies showed that an increased IEMA amount caused a higher increase in swelling and drug-release values. Additionally, zero-order, first-order, and Higuchi equation kinetic models were applied to the drug-release data, and the data fit well in the Higuchi model, and the Peppas power-law model was applied to the release mechanism. Finally, the antibacterial activities of the hydrogels were screened against Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium). © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 45550.


Tumor angiogenesis is essential for malignant growth and metastasis. Bone marrow (BM)-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) contribute to angiogenesis-mediated tumor growth. EPC ablation can reduce tumor growth; however, the lack of a marker that can track EPCs from the BM to tumor neovasculature has impeded progress in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying EPC biology. Here, we report the use of transgenic mouse and lentiviral models to monitor the BM-derived compartment of the tumor stroma; this approach exploits the selectivity of the transcription factor inhibitor of DNA binding 1 (Id1) for EPCs to track EPCs in the BM, blood, and tumor stroma, as well as mature EPCs. Acute ablation of BM-derived EPCs using Id1-directed delivery of a suicide gene reduced circulating EPCs and yielded significant defects in angiogenesis-mediated tumor growth. Additionally, use of the Id1 proximal promoter to express microRNA-30-based short hairpin RNA inhibited the expression of critical EPC-intrinsic factors, confirming that signaling through vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 is required for EPC-mediated tumor biology. By exploiting the selectivity of Id1 gene expression in EPCs, our results establish a strategy to track and target EPCs in vivo, clarifying the significant role that EPCs play in BM-mediated tumor angiogenesis.


Aim. People released from prison are at higher risk of mortality from potentially preventable causes than their peers in the general population. Because most studies of this phenomenon are reliant on registry data, there is little health and behavioural information available on those at risk, hampering the development of targeted, evidence-based preventive responses. Our aim was to identify modifiable risk and protective factors for external cause and cause-specific mortality after release from prison. Methods. We undertook a nested case–control study using data from a larger retrospective cohort study of mortality after release from prison in Queensland, Australia between 1994 and 2007. Cases were 286 individuals who had died from external causes (drug overdose, suicide, transport accidents, or violence) matched with 286 controls on sex, Indigenous status, and release date. We extracted data from detention, case-management, and prison medical records. Results. Factors associated with increased risk of external cause mortality included use of heroin and other opioids in the community [odds ratio (OR) = 2.20, 95% CI 1.41–3.43, p < 0.001], a prescription for antidepressants during the current prison sentence (OR = 1.94, 95% CI 1.02–3.67, p = 0.042), a history of problematic alcohol use in the community (OR = 1.54, 95% CI 1.05–2.26, p = 0.028), and having ever served two or more custodial sentences (OR = 1.51, 95% CI 1.01–2.25, p = 0.045). Being married (OR = 0.45, 95% CI 0.29–0.70, p < 0.001) was protective. Fewer predictors were associated with cause-specific mortality. Conclusions. We identified several behavioural, psychosocial, and clinical markers associated with mortality from preventable causes in people released from prison. Emerging evidence points to interventions that could be targeted at those at increased risk of external cause mortality. These include treatment and harm reduction programmes (for substance use), improving transitional support programmes and continuity of care (for mental health), diversion and drug reform (for repeat incarceration) and nurturing stable relationships during incarceration. The period of imprisonment and shortly after release provides a unique opportunity to improve the long-term health of ex-prisoners and overcome the disadvantage associated with imprisonment.


The UK Government is presently conducting a consultation process focused on the introduction of a new legal form of company, that of the Community Interest Company (CIC). Organisations choosing this form of incorporation would be subject to a legal requirement to involve their stakeholders in the governance of the company. This development is just the latest example of an increased interest generally in making companies more responsive to their stakeholders. The statutory duty placed on companies taking the CIC form raises the possibility of further legislation being introduced to compel all companies to involve their stakeholders more formally in their governance. This paper examines the participation model of stakeholder involvement proposed in the CIC legislation. This model is already widely employed in the not-for-profit company sector. A comparison is made with the engagement model of stakeholder management which is the most popular form found within the corporate sector. Conclusions are subsequently drawn about the appropriateness of a participation model for corporations in the for-profit sector by examining the challenges that emerge from giving stakeholders such a prominent role in the strategic management of the organisation.


The HYC Zn-Pb-Ag deposit at McArthur River is the largest known and least deformed Australian sedimenthosted
stratiform base metal deposit. A study of mineralogical, geochemical, and isotopic zonation through the
deposit reveals concentric distribution patterns in (1) the occurrence of nodular carbonate, (2) the δ34S composition
of sphalerite, and (3) microscopic ore textures. The correlation of previously documented lateral metal
zonation with these other zonation patterns precludes exclusive postsedimentation mineralization and provides
some insight into the mechanisms and controls on synsedimentary to early diagenetic mineralization. This mineralization
timing is also supported by new carbon and oxygen isotope analyses, recognition of two stages of texturally
and isotopically distinct sphalerite, and reinterpretation of complex sulfide textures.
Dolomitic carbonate nodules occur in the south, southwest, northwest, and northern fringes of the deposit
and are interpreted to have surrounded the high-grade ore lenses prior to structural and erosive truncation.
The carbon and oxygen isotope composition of these carbonate nodules is similar to the sedimentary dolomite
within the ore lenses. There is no evidence for incorporation of light carbon derived from oxidation of organic
material under closed-system conditions and the nodular carbonate probably formed under open-system conditions
in communication with seawater. These nodules displace siltstone laminae and, therefore, likely formed
in the very shallow subsea-floor environment.
In ore lens 3, the δ34S of laminated early sphalerite (sp1) changes from a mean value of 5 per mil in the deposit
center to a mean of 1.7 per mil in the extreme fringes. We interpret this to be the result of sulfide precipitation
in a restricted marine basin. Later sphalerite (sp2) associated with nodular carbonate has a mean δ34S
value of 9.8 per mil, whereas laminated early sphalerite (sp1) has a mean δ34S value of 3.8 per mil. This isotopic
separation of the two paragenetic stages of sphalerite is found in immediately adjacent aggregates. Concentration
of 34S in late sphalerite (sp2) is likely the result of closed-system conditions in the sediment pore fluid.
Textures of laminated sphalerite change from strongly anastomosing in the central part of the deposit to
plane laminar and patchy in the deposit fringes. Mass-balance calculations preclude substantial carbonate dissolution
and a stylolitic origin for these textures. Instead we propose that rapidly precipitated sphalerite coagulated
and trapped pelagic silt and early pyrite (py1) as it was deposited on the sea floor. In contrast, paragenetically
late sphalerite (sp2) and pyrite (py2) must be diagenetic as they overprint and are pseudomorphous
after the carbonate nodules. We propose a repeating paragenetic sequence of galena/sphalerite (sp1) → pyrite
(py1) → nodular carbonate → sphalerite (sp2) → pyrite (py2), which accounts for all the textural complexity and
isotopic disequilibrium between sulfide phases.
The data presented in this paper suggest that base metal sulfides formed both in the water column and in
the uppermost sediment pile. Biological and thermochemical sulfate reduction probably occurred simultaneously
in different parts of a complex physicochemical system in which stratification of the marine environment
is seen as the primary control on the lateral distribution of the mineralized facies. We propose a stratified water
body in which sharp internal chemical gradients separate a surficial oxic layer, an anoxic layer, and a basal hypersaline
brine pool. Asymmetric metal zonation across the deposit reflects individual pulses of metalliferous
fluid that were introduced into the basin as a bottom-hugging dense current.


Human activity recognition is one of the popular research fields. The results of this study can be applied to many other fields such as the military, commercialism, and health. With the advent of the wearable head mounted display device mainly like google glass raises the possibility of this research. In this study tries to identify everyday activities are often called the ambient activity. Development of the system is done online using a smartphone and a head mounted display. The system produces an accuracy above 90%, which can be concluded that the system was able to recognize the activities with great accuracy.


In the area of embedded systems exists a continuous need for more computing power while still fulfilling a large set of constraints in - for instance - timing, safety, cost and energy consumption. Since single-core technologies seem to reach their limits, multi-core systems became the trend in this area. This paper describes a synthesis approach of application-specific homogeneous multi-core architectures, which are optimized towards timing, number of cores and energy consumption. Our method finds the optimal number of cores of the multi-processor system, along with the mapping of tasks onto these cores with the corresponding schedules and the frequency for each core. Since the optimization criteria are concurrent, the results are presented as a Pareto front. The approach is integrated in the model-based tooling framework, called Auto FOCUS3. As input our approach uses the information from the logical architecture of AF3, which represents a component based structure view of the system under development. The approach is based on the Branch & Bound algorithm, which was adapted for our three-dimensional optimization problem.


Purpose: We evaluated differences in the meibographic findings and immunohistochemical structures of mice, rats, and rabbits (commonly used in animal experiments). Methods: Meibomian gland images were taken using an animal meibograph in mice, rats, and black and white rabbits (five of each animal).The size ratios of the upper and lower Meibomian glands were calculated. Afterm meibographic imaging, the eyes were cut sagittally or transversely and the histological structures were compared using hematoxylin-and-eosin (H&E) and immunohistochemical staining. In addition, the diameters of the central ducts and the areas of ducted glands and the acini were compared using image analysis software. Results: The meibographic findings were clearer in black rabbits than in the other animals. The upper to lower length ratio of the gland did not differ significantly among the three species. Histologically, no central duct epithelial cells were apparent in mice. The diameters of the central ducts and the areas of ducted glands and acini increased in the following order: mouse, rat, and rabbit. However, the Meibomian gland areas did not differ significantly between mice and rats. On immunohistochemical staining, the central ductal epithelium and the Meibomian gland acini were stained for cytokeratin 5 (CK 5) but only the central ductal epithelium was stained for cytokeratin 6 (CK 6). Conclusions: The larger the experimental animal, the greater the sizes of the Meibomian gland ducts and acini. In addition, black rabbits yielded better gland images because contrast was enhanced. Compared with sagittal sections of Meibomian glands, transverse sections facilitated a better understanding of the structures of the central ducts and surrounding Meibomian gland acini. J Korean Ophthalmol Soc 2018;59(1):9-16


Green bonds and fossil divestment has emerged as a bottom-up approach to climate action within the business community. Recent pledges by large banks and institutional investors have reached levels that have the potential to contribute markedly to a low carbon transition. This paper traces the impact of green finance in a multiregional global general equilibrium model with non-fossil and non-coal segments of financial flows in addition to the usual unconstrained market for funding. Our high green finance scenario reflects a reasonable upscaling of current level of pledges towards 2030. The study shows that green finance shifts the investments towards industries generating more value added and increasing GDP, future savings and investments. The green finance leads to a lower return on investments and a transfer of income from investors to wage income. Russia and China see the largest cost increase in coal investments due to constraints on finance for fossil industries. The green finance reduces coal consumption by 2.5 per cent below BAU in 2030 and raises the share of non-fossil electricity from 42 to 46 per cent at the global level. Over the whole period towards 2030, the green finance avoids global CO2 emissions corresponding to the total emissions of European Union and Japan in a recent year.


Abstract. Roots are key components of C cycling in terrestrial ecosystems and play an important role in the regulation of response of terrestrial ecosystems to global climate warming, which is predicted to occur with greater warming magnitudes at night than during daytime across different regions on the Earth. However, there has been no detailed study to investigate the effect of asymmetrical warming on root dynamics at the level of terrestrial ecosystems. To understand the effects of day and night warming on root lifespan in the semiarid temperate steppe in northern China, a field study with a full factorial design including control, day warming, night warming and continuous warming was conducted using modified rhizotron technique during three growing seasons in 2007–2009. Our results show that day, night and continuous warming had different effects on longevity of roots born in spring, summer and autumn, and that day warming significantly prolonged overall lifespan for the roots born in the three growing seasons, while night warning had no effect on overall lifespan. Day and night warming had different effects on root non-structural carbohydrate content, suggesting that allocation of photoassimilate may account for the differential responses of root lifespan to day and night warming. These results differ from other processes associated with ecosystems C cycle such as total ecosystem productivity, net ecosystem productivity and soil respiration. Our findings highlight that it is essential to incorporate the differential effects of day and night warming on root dynamics into simulating and predicting the responses and feedbacks of terrestrial ecosystems C cycling to global warming.


Organic printed electronics is attracting an ever-growing interest in the last decades because of its impressive breakthroughs concerning the chemical design of π-conjugated materials and their processing. This has an impact on novel applications, such as flexible-large-area displays, low- cost printable circuits, plastic solar cells and lab-on-a-chip devices.
The organic field-effect transistor (OFET) relies on a thin film of organic semiconductor that bridges source and drain electrodes. Since its first discovery in the 80s, intensive research activities were deployed in order to control the chemico-physical properties of these electronic devices and consequently their charge. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are a versatile tool for tuning the properties of metallic, semi-conducting, and insulating surfaces. Within this context, OFETs represent reliable instruments for measuring the electrical properties of the SAMs in a Metal/SAM/OS junction.
Our experimental approach, named Charge Injection Organic-Gauge (CIOG), uses OTFT in a charge-injection controlled regime. The CIOG sensitivity has been extensively demonstrated on different homologous self-assembling molecules that differ in either chain length or in anchor/terminal group.
One of the latest applications of organic electronics is the so-called "bio-electronics" that makes use of electronic devices to encompass interests of the medical science, such as biosensors, biotransducers etc…
As a result, thee second part of this thesis deals with the realization of an electronic transducer based on an Organic Field-Effect Transistor operating in aqueous media. Here, the conventional bottom gate/bottom contact configuration is replaced by top gate architecture with the electrolyte that ensures electrical contact between the top gold electrode and the semiconductor layer. This configuration is named Electrolyte-Gated Field-Effect Transistor (EGOFET).
The functionalization of the top electrode is the sensing core of the device allowing the detection of dopamine as well as of protein biomarkers with ultra-low sensitivity.


An individual's attire sends messages to those who view them (Damhorst, 1990), and the clothing choices made by teachers may influence students' perceptions of the school (Workman & Freeburg, 2010). A majority of teacher dress codes require formal clothing (Workman & Freeburg, 2010); however, agricultural education teachers often work in educational environments which are more work-oriented than the traditional classroom (Shoulders & Myers, 2012). This qualitative study explored students' perceptions of agriculture teachers based on their attire. Participants were shown an image of a teacher in attire ranging from casual to formal and asked questions about the teacher's knowledge, discipline, respect, and ability to relate to students. Participants' perceptions were similar regarding the formally and informally dressed general education teacher, but differed based on their involvement with the school's agriculture program when viewing formally and informally dressed agriculture teachers. These findings suggest that while agriculture teachers' attire may influence students' perceptions of the teacher, the manner in which the attire shapes those perceptions may differ based on students' experiences in agricultural education.


A technique for acquiring spectral line data using a multi-aperture telescope is described. The multi-aperture principle and the criteria which led to the selection of a dispersive spectrometer are discussed. The problem of linking telescope and spectrometer has been solved by incorporating low loss optical fibres and this is also discussed.
The problems of automatic data collection, its manipulation, display and storage presented a major research effort which were largely overcome by the use of cheap, digital micro-computers. To achieve rapid and flexible data handling the i.E.E.E. bus was used as the communication medium between control and data collecting micro-computers.
In particular a non-standard approach was adopted when implementing specialised interrupt handling routines to deal with data communication, an aspect which forms the central theme of this thesis and is described in chapters three to five inclusive.
A discussion relating to data obtained using the system in single fibre mode and to RPCS data obtained at intermediate resolution is presented in chapters six and seven respectively. The former permitted a preliminary determination to be made of both system resolution and the approximate integration times required to undertake a program of stellar emission line work. This is complimentary to that described in the final chapter which discusses the spectra of emission line stars, some of which are accompanied by circumstellar 'shells'. For pre-main sequence stars these shells may ultimately provide conditions favourable for the formation of planetary systems. There are examples of these types of stars to be found in the Northern hemisphere and which are within the detection limit of the system described in this thesis.


The Cellulo robots are small tangible robots that are designed to represent virtual interactive point-like objects that reside on a plane within carefully designed learning activities. In the context of these activities, our robots not only display autonomous motion and act as tangible interfaces, but are also usable as haptic devices in order to exploit, for instance, kinesthetic learning. In this article, we present the design and analysis of the haptic interaction module of the Cellulo robots. We first detail our hardware and controller design that is low-cost and versatile. Then, we describe the task-based experimental procedure to evaluate the robot's haptic abilities. We show that our robot is usable in most of the tested tasks and extract perceptive and manipulative guidelines for the design of haptic elements to be integrated in future learning activities. We conclude with limitations of the system and future work.


Parafollicular (PF) cells of the thyroid gland are neural crest derivatives. These cells remain plastic even in adult animals and can be induced to exhibit neural properties when exposed to NGF in vitro. A human cell line derived from PF cells, medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), has previously been shown to synthesize and store 5-HT, a serotonin-binding protein (SBP), and several neuropeptides; moreover, when grown in impoverished media, MTC cells display neural properties. The purpose of the current study was to utilize MTC cells as a neurally relevant model system to investigate factors involved in mediating 5-HT secretion. Electron microscopic immunocytochemistry revealed that secretory vesicles of MTC cells costore immunoreactive 5-HT with SBP and calcitonin. The cAMP derivative, N6-2′-O-dibutyryl-adenosine 3′,5′- cyclic monophosphate (dibutyryl-cAMP; 1.0 mM) increased the concentration of 5-HT in MTC cells and almost doubled the rate of synthesis of 5-HT from L-tryptophan. Dibutyryl-cAMP also significantly increased the secretion of 5-HT. Cycloheximide (20 micrograms/ml) and anisomycin (20 microM) inhibited the dibutyryl-cAMP-induced increase of 5-HT release, suggesting that this action of dibutyryl-cAMP requires protein synthesis. Cholera toxin (1.0 microgram/ml) and forskolin (0.05 mM) in the presence of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1- methylxanthine (1.0 mM) both increased 5-HT biosynthesis and secretion. Attempts were made to identify a ligand that stimulates cAMP-mediated secretion of 5-HT. Both thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH: 50 mU/ml) and elevated [Ca2+]e (7.0 mM), each of which acts as a secretogogue for PF cells, stimulated the secretion of 5-HT. The effect of TSH was Ca2(+)- dependent. Immunocytochemistry with monoclonal antibodies to the TSH receptor confirmed that these receptors are present on MTC cells. Neither TSH nor elevated [Ca2+]e elevated cAMP levels. Measurements of Fura-2 fluorescence, however, indicated that both TSH and elevated [Ca2+]e increased cytosolic calcium ([Ca2+]i), as did elevation of [K+]e. It is concluded that exocytosis can be triggered in MTC cells by multiple signal transduction mechanisms. Either cAMP or elevated [Ca2+]i can stimulate secretion; however, a secretogogue that increases cAMP has yet to be identified.


Cloud computing in mobile platforms has invoked a new wave of evolution in the rapidly developing mobile world. Although several striking research work has been conducted in the high computing counterparts of mobile technology, the field of cloud computing for mobile world is vastly unexplored. In this paper, we introduce the concept of Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC), it's inner workings and the various implementable architectures related to MCC.


Abstract. The overflow of deep water from the Nordic seas into the North Atlantic plays a critical role in global ocean circulation and climate. Approximately half of this overflow occurs via the Iceland–Scotland (I–S) overflow, yet the history of its strength throughout the Holocene (~ 0–11 700 yr ago, ka) is poorly constrained, with previous studies presenting apparently contradictory evidence regarding its long-term variability. Here, we provide a comprehensive reconstruction of I–S overflow strength throughout the Holocene using sediment grain size data from a depth transect of 13 cores from the Iceland Basin. Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that the main axis of the I–S overflow on the Iceland slope was shallower during the early Holocene, deepening to its present depth by ~ 7 ka. Our results also reveal weaker I–S overflow during the early and late Holocene, with maximum overflow strength occurring at ~ 7 ka, the time of a regional climate thermal maximum. Climate model simulations suggest a shoaling of deep convection in the Nordic seas during the early and late Holocene, consistent with our evidence for weaker I–S overflow during these intervals. Whereas the reduction in I–S overflow strength during the early Holocene likely resulted from melting remnant glacial ice sheets, the decline throughout the last 7000 yr was caused by an orbitally induced increase in the amount of Arctic sea ice entering the Nordic seas. Although the flux of Arctic sea ice to the Nordic seas is expected to decrease throughout the next century, model simulations predict that under high emissions scenarios, competing effects, such as warmer sea surface temperatures in the Nordic seas, will result in reduced deep convection, likely driving a weaker I–S overflow.


Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a malignant brain tumour for which there is currently no effective treatment regime. It is thought to develop due to the overexpression of a number of genes, including the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which is found in over 40% of GBM. Novel forms of treatment such as antisense therapy may allow for the specific inhibition of aberrant genes and thus they are optimistic therapies for future treatment of GBM. Oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) are small pieces of DNA that are often modified to increase their stability to nucleases and can be targeted to the aberrant gene in order to inhibit it and thus prevent its transcription into protein. By specifically binding to mRNA in an antisense manner, they can bring about its degradation by a variety of mechanisms including the activation of RNase H and thus have great potential as therapeutic agents. One of the main drawbacks to the utilisation of this therapy so far is the lack of techniques that can successfully predict accessible regions on the target mRNA that the ODNs can bind to. DNA chip technology has been utilised here to predict target sequences on the EGFR mRNA and these ODNs (AS 1 and AS2) have been tested in vitro for their stability, uptake into cells and their efficacy on cellular growth, EGFR protein and mRNA. Studies showed that phosphorothioate and 2'O-methyl ODNs were significantly more stable than phosphodiester ODNs both in serum and serum-free conditions and that the mechanism of uptake into A431 cells was temperature dependent and more efficient with the use of optimised lipofectin. Efficacy results show that AS 1 and AS2 phosphorothioate antisense ODNs were capable of inhibiting cell proliferation by 69% ±4% and 65% ±4.5% respectively at 500nM in conjunction with a non-toxic dose of lipofectinTM used to enhance cellular delivery. Furthermore, control ODN sequences, 2' O-methyl derivatives and a third ODN sequence, that was found not to be capable of binding efficiently to the EGFR mRNA by DNA chip technology, showed no significant effect on cell proliferation. AS 1 almost completely inhibited EGFR protein levels within 48 hours with two doses of 500nM AS 1 with no effect on other EGFR family member proteins or by control sequences. RNA analysis showed a decrease in mRNA levels of 32.4% ±0.8% but techniques require further optimisation to confirm this. As there are variations found between human glioblastoma in situ and those developed as xenografts, analysis of effect of AS 1 and AS2 was performed on primary tumour cell lines derived from glioma patients. ODN treatment showed a specific knockdown of cell growth compared to any of the controls used. Furthermore, combination therapies were tested on A431 cell growth to determine the advantage of combining different antisense approaches and that of conventional drugs. Results varied between the combination treatments but indicated that with optimisation of treatment regimes and delivery techniques that combination therapies utilising antisense therapies would be plausible.


B7‐H5 and its cognate receptor CD28H are T lymphocyte second signaling transduction molecules. Here we aimed to explore the function of this pathway in pancreatic cancer in vitro and in vivo, and evaluated the clinical significance in 136 patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma enrolled from January 2012 to February 2017 in our hospital. Surgical tumor specimens were collected for immunohistochemical staining to evaluate B7‐H5 expression. Patients' baseline characteristics, including gender, age, tumor size, tumor location, tumor grading, clinical TNM staging, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, CA19‐9 and chemotherapy treatment, along with the subsequent follow‐up data, were documented and analyzed. When co‐cultured with T cells, pancreatic cancer PC cells with high B7‐H5 expression induced a more potent immune reaction, indicated by elevated cytokine release and increased proliferation of T lymphocytes compared with cells exhibiting low B7‐H5 expression. Xenograft pancreatic tumors derived from high B7‐H5 expression PC cells exhibited attenuated growth compared to tumors from low B7‐H5 expression cells after transfusion with T lymphocytes in immune‐deficient mice. Of the 136 PDAC tumor tissues, 93 (68.38%) were strong and 43 (31.62%) were weak B7‐H5 expression. Patients with strong B7‐H5 expression had significantly longer overall survival than those with weak expression (median: 16.5 vs 11.5 months, P = .017). TNM staging, tumor location and subsequent chemotherapy were also prognostic factors in these patients. Collectively, B7‐H5/CD28H is a co‐stimulatory signal pathway, and expression of B7‐H5 is associated with improved disease prognosis in patients with pancreatic cancer.


An Investigation of Academic Integrity in Jordanian Universities Ala' Alahmad University of the Incarnate Word, 2011 Chair: Noah Kasraie, Ph.D. This study aimed to describe current practices employed by public and private four-year universities in Jordan in promoting academic integrity and addressing academic dishonesty. This quantitative research provided a framework for the current practices that promote academic integrity in higher education in the Middle Eastern country of Jordan. The survey questionnaire developed by Kibler (1992) was utilized to collect data to answer the research questions. This instrument was tested for reliability and validity by Kibler (See Appendix C). In addition, the Cronbach's Alpha was utilized later to check for reliability. The Cronbach's Alpha for the data collected was 0.85. The items included in the questionnaire were constructed to ensure that each item could be measured by using specific criteria. The survey was distributed to 242 (N) participants. Sixty (60) participants completed the survey, which represented a response rate of 25%. In order to analyze the descriptive profile of the 60 participants, all deans and associate deans, a frequency distribution was determined for types of institution, public, and private. Of the participants, 21 were serving in four-year private colleges, while 39 were serving in fouryear public colleges. The data collected from the deans and associate deans indicated that not all of their institutions have policies that promote academic integrity and address academic dishonesty. In addition, the data received indicated that the mean number of cases of academic dishonesty of the universities that offered educational programs and


With an ongoing division of labor and concentration on core competencies in logistics, the flexibility and quality in logistics services can be increased in terms of contracting specialists for each step in a supply chain. In order to participate in such an environment and act successfully on the market, it is essential for logistics service providers to follow a service oriented paradigm and modularize their service portfolio from static end-to-end solutions to a flexible set of modular services. One of the main challenges is to find a 'suitable' level of granularity for the modularization of existing logistics services. In this paper a conceptual framework of service granularity levels is developed. A systematic literature review is conducted in order to find existing concepts of service granularity. Findings are analyzed and finally synthesized towards their suitability for logistics services. Domain specific composition is supported by the logistics service map concept that contains catalog and construction kit for modular services. The paper's contribution is a Service Granularity Framework dedicated to specialized scholars of service science and practitioners of logistics.


Objectives: Anastomotic ulcers are a known cause of anemia in children with a history of intestinal resection. Upper endoscopy and colonoscopy can be used to diagnose these ulcers; however, the area of involvement may be difficult to visualize with standard endoscopic techniques. Capsule endoscopy (CE) offers an alternative method for visualizing the small bowel in these patients. We describe a cohort of patients with short bowel syndrome (SBS) and anemia who had anastomotic ulcers detected by CE. Methods: Retrospective chart review of patients with SBS at our institution who underwent CE for chronic gastrointestinal (GI) blood loss. Results: Four patients who underwent a total of 6 CE procedures were identified. The underlying diagnoses included necrotizing enterocolitis (n = 2), gastroschisis (n = 1), and jejunal atresia (n = 1). All of the patients had their ileocecal valves resected during previous surgeries and had received blood transfusions within the previous several months. The median age at the time of CE was 5.5 years (range 4–14 years). Enterocolonic anastomotic ulcers were noted in the studies as wide, flat circumferential lesions with a white base. The CE results guided a change in medical management in all of the 4 patients, including surgical revision of their anastomosis. Conclusions: CE may be a helpful adjunctive tool for detecting anastomotic ulcers in patients with SBS and chronic GI blood loss.


Background: Biofilm producing bacteria which are inherently resistant to antibiotics and disinfectants are widely associated with implant associated infections. Staphylococcus is the most commonly associated pathogens with bloodstream infection. Aims: The current study was conducted to detect biofilm production in Staphylococci isolated from blood culture specimens.
Materials and Methods: 70 clinically significant staphylococcal isolates from blood culture were screened for biofilm production by Tissue culture plate (TCP) method, Tube method (TM) and Congo red agar (CRA) method and their antibiotic susceptibility profile was studied.
Results: 59 out of 70 staphylococcal isolates were positive by TCP, out of these 21.4% staphylococci were high biofilm producers, 62.8% staphylococci were moderate biofilm producers and 15.8% were non-biofilm producers. Maximum resistance was observed in biofilm producers to cotrimoxazole (74.5%) and erythromycin (62.7%) and none were resistant to vancomycin and linezolid. Out of total 59 biofilm producers, 20.3 % (12) were methicillin resistant and all these were S. aureus isolates. 19% (1) out of total 11 biofilm non-producers were methicillin resistant.
Conclusion: Biofilm production was seen to be a major virulence factor in most of the staphylococcal isolates obtained from patients with signs and symptoms of septicaemia. S. aureus was found to be the major pathogen and timely detection of biofilm producing phenotype should be carried out using a simple and reproducible method, TCP which is both qualitative and quantitative.


This research aims to determine the marketing strategy that must be taken from the results of the SWOT analysis at the b Hotel Bali & Spa Denpasar. This study uses primary data sources and secondary data sources with data collection methods through interviews, observation and questionnaires. The analysis technique used is a qualitative descriptive analysis technique, namely the SWOT analysis technique which explains, first, the data collection stage at the Bali Hotel & Spa Denpasar regarding the identification of internal and external factors in the form of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, the second is the analysis stage, and third namely the stage of decision making to determine the strategy to be taken by the company. The research results from the SWOT analysis show that the company is in quadrant I, where it shows a problem regarding for the strength to see opportunities where the strategy taken is the SO strategy used to be applied in developing strategies that can be suggested at management b Hotel Bali & Spa Denpasar, to can improve the progress of the hotel going forward.


Proteins are the "building blocks of life", the most abundant organic molecules, and the central focus of most areas of biomedicine. Protein structure is strongly related to protein function, thus structure prediction is a crucial task on the way to solve many biological questions. A contact map is a compact representation of the three-dimensional structure of a protein via the pairwise contacts between the amino acid constituting the protein. We use a convolutional network to calculate protein contact maps from inferred statistical coupling between positions in the protein sequence. The input to the network has an image-like structure amenable to convolutions, but every "pixel" instead of color channels contains a bipartite undirected edge-weighted graph. We propose several methods for treating such "graph-valued images" in a convolutional network. The proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art methods by a large margin. It also allows for a great flexibility with regard to the input data, which makes it useful for studying a wide range of problems.


OBJECTIVE
Although a previous study reported that recombinant human growth/differentiation factor-5 (rhGDF-5) coated onto a β-tricalciumphosphate (β-TCP) significantly enhanced periodontal regeneration, the long-term stability/maturation of the regenerated tissues has not been demonstrated. The objective of this study was to evaluate periodontal regeneration/maturation following application of rhGDF-5/β-TCP using an established periodontal defect model and a 24-week healing interval.

MATERIAL & METHODS
Unilateral, surgically created, 4 × 4 × 5 mm (length × width × height), one-wall, critical-size, intra-bony periodontal defects at the mandibular second and fourth premolar teeth in five young adult Beagle dogs received rhGDF-5/β-TCP. Bilateral sites at the fourth premolar in the other four dogs served as pristine controls receiving mucogingival flap surgery without defect induction. The animals were euthanized at 24 weeks for histological analysis. Unpublished data from the previous 8-week study were used to compare tissue maturation between 8 and 24 weeks.

RESULTS
Linear histometric observations of cementum and alveolar regeneration showed no significant differences between the 8- and 24-week observation intervals. However, parameters of periodontal tissue maturation showed significant differences between the observation intervals including increased fraction mineralized tissue and lamellar bone (p < 0.05) and decreased osteocyte counts (p < 0.05) at 24 weeks compared with 8 weeks. Although the count inserting Sharpey's fibre did not significantly change, regenerated cementum remote from the intact periodontal ligament appeared more highly mineralized and thicker at 24 weeks compared with 8 weeks, and compared with the pristine cementum. Minimal β-TCP remained.

CONCLUSIONS
These 24-week observations suggest that regenerated periodontal tissues in sites receiving rhGDF-5/β-TCP undergo progressive maturation without debilitating aberrant tissue reactions.


Physiological response to thermal stimuli in mammals is mediated by a structurally diverse class of ion channels, many of which exhibit polymodal behavior. To probe the diversity of biophysical mechanisms of temperature-sensitivity, we characterized the temperature-dependent activation of MthK, a two transmembrane calcium-activated potassium channel from thermophilic archaebacteria. Our functional complementation studies show that these channels are more efficient at rescuing K+ transport at 37°C than at 24°C. Electrophysiological activity of the purified MthK is extremely sensitive (Q10 >100) to heating particularly at low-calcium concentrations whereas channels lacking the calcium-sensing RCK domain are practically insensitive. By analyzing single-channel activities at limiting calcium concentrations, we find that temperature alters the coupling between the cytoplasmic RCK domains and the pore domain. These findings reveal a hitherto unexplored mechanism of temperature-dependent regulation of ion channel gating and shed light on ancient origins of temperature-sensitivity.


Plants used in traditional systems such as Siddha, Ayurveda, Unani have flourished as systems of medicines for thousands of years. The Indian Traditional plants have been used to heal and cure diseases and to improve the health and wellbeing. In current pandemic SARS-CoV-2, the combination of 15 herbal plants which is a siddha formulation possess a strong pharmacological effect may prevent the coronavirus. Plant based food possess macronutrients (carbohydrate, proteins and lipids), micronutrients (minerals and vitamins), and phytochemicals (polyphenols, carotenoids, etc,). The literature survey of herbal plants and its health benefits status that there are involved in food combinations as natural medicines such as Curcumin, Black pepper, Ginger, etc. The herbal plants and its compounds showed greater biological properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antitumor activity, anti-diarrheal, antispasmodic, antidiabetic and immunomodulatory. In this present pandemic period many Indian traditional plants and herbal based food materials were used as key source for increase human immunity power against new SARS-CoV-2. However, the demands of producing good quality, pathogen free food the herbal plant source may be involved to prevent the food by foodborne pathogen and toxins. Recommendation is to develop the medicinal Garden with well-known medicinal plants to obtain natural foods which contain all the nutritional values, and make our future generation healthy.


Genetic studies suggest that the immune system is the greatest genetic contributor to multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility. Yet, these immune-related genes do not explain why inflammation is limited to the CNS in MS. We hypothesize that there is an underlying dysregulation in the CNS of MS patients that makes them more vulnerable to CNS inflammation. The sparsity of CNS-related genes associated with MS suggests that epigenetic changes in the CNS may play a role. Thus, a miRNA profiling study was performed in NAWM of MS patients and control subjects to determine if specific CNS pathways can be identified that may be altered due to miRNA-mediated post-transcriptional dysregulation. There were 15 differentially expressed miRNAs found in the MS patients' NAWM. Pathway analysis indicated that the MAPK pathway and pathways associated with the blood-brain barrier were predicted to be significantly affected by these miRNAs. Using target predication and mRNA analysis, an inverse relationship was found between miR-191 and BDNF, SOX4, FZD5 and WSB1. The pathway and target analysis of the MS-associated miRNAs suggests that MS patients' CNS is more prone to inflammation and less capable of repair, yet enriched in neuroprotective mechanisms.


Among the SAARC countries, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had a share of 2.1 per cent, 1.4 per cent and 0.9 percent respectively, in the total exports of Pakistan. Therefore, it becomes imperative to study Pakistan's export potential in relation to SAARC countries. It was further recorded that all SAARC countries' trade including Pakistan is intense with one or two markets during the study period. Therefore, the present study aims at finding whether Pakistan has the potential to export to these nations by using gravity model. Pakistan's export potential to SAARC nations (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka) was calculated with the help of gravity model of exports using panel data methodology (pooled model, fixed effect model and random effect model) by employing the data over time period 1981-2005. To find out the convergence and divergence of Pakistan's exports to SAARC members, speed of convergence has been used. The study revealed that, there was presence of convergence in Pakistan's exports with SAARC countries; in other words, actual Pakistan's exports to SAARC countries converged towards the estimated export potential. The study also found that among SAARC countries, Pakistan's net export potential exists for Bhutan, India, Maldives and Nepal. Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal are not only far away from Pakistan but they do not have any common borders with Pakistan. Therefore, Pakistan needs facility for transit trade with Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan, through India to realized its export potential.


Abstract.
 Thalattosuchians are crocodylomorphs mainly known from marine strata of Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age. They represent the earliest crocodylomorph radiation to an aquatic habitat and their evolutionary history offers very few records from freshwater settings. Here, we report several exquisitely preserved thalattosuchian skulls attributed to a derived teleosaurid from a pedogenic horizon located at the base of a fluvial series of alternating silts and sandstones of the Phu Kradung Formation (Upper Jurassic) of northeastern Thailand. Using laser ablation multicollector inductively coupled mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) on tooth enamel and dentine, we measured isotopic ratios of strontium (87Sr/86Sr) to test the habitat of these teleosaurids. In addition, Sr concentrations of the dental tissues were estimated from the calibrated signal intensities of the Sr isotope measurements. The dataset includes bioapatite (teeth or scales) of eight terrestrial and five aquatic vertebrates. Theropods exhibit lower Sr concentrations both in enamel and dentine compared to others groups, a pattern in accordance with the calcium biopurification process, which predicts that Sr concentrations in the body of vertebrates decrease up the trophic chain. It also excludes the possibility that diagenesis has completely overprinted the Sr isotope compositions of the fossil assemblage, which exhibits a homogeneous 87Sr/86Sr signature above the Late Jurassic seawater value. Values for teleosaurid teeth are in the range of other values for vertebrates in the continental assemblage and imply that these crocodylomorphs did not migrate between freshwater and marine habitats at least in the time constraint of the mineralizing tooth. This result represents the first demonstration that a population of teleosaurids was established for a prolonged time in a freshwater environment.Whether the ability of teleosaurids to inhabit freshwater habitats is a secondary adaptation or whether it is plesiomorphic and inherited from freshwater ancestors is discussed.


The potential applications of N-hexyl-4-aminobutyl glycosides in the mass spectrometric investigation of glycan structure and in the investigation of glycan functions were studied. Under collision-induced dissociation (CID) conditions, sodiated glycosides carrying N-hexyl-4-aminobutyl groups effectively produced a hemiacetal species (C-ions), which is important in mass-spectrometry-based structural investigation. The usefulness of N-hexyl-4-aminobutyl glycosides in biological analysis was also confirmed by obtaining a binding constant for the binding of dipyrrometheneboron difluoride C3-labeled N-hexyl-4-aminobutyl beta-lactoside with an Erythrina cristagalli lectin, and by visualizing cellular organelles using a more hydrophobic BODIPY-labeled compound.


We presented two studies on VR selection and travel performances using eye-based interaction via FOVE head-mounted display (HMD). Our selection experiment was modelled after the ISO 9241-9 reciprocal selection task, with targets presented at varying depths in a custom virtual environment. We compared eye-based and head-based in isolation, and the combination of eye-tracking and head-tracking. Results indicate that eye-only offered the worst performance in terms of error rate, selection times, and throughput. Head-only offered significantly better performance. In our travel study, the task involved controlling movement direction while flying through target rings in the air by seven techniques. We found that the completion time and success rates of head+eye were very close to head-only, while eye-only did not perform better than head+eye due to learning effects and calibration issues, which also yield high cybersickness. Head+eye compensated for the eye-tracker issues and would be potentially an alternative to traditional traveling techniques.


Background. Lipoic acid (LA), which has significant antioxidant properties, may also function as a potent neuroprotectant. The synthetic compounds INV-155, INV-157, INV-159, and INV-161 are physiochemical combinations of lipoic acid and captopril. We sought to determine if these compounds have neuroprotective potential following middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in rats. Methods. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected intravenously with captopril (1–50 mg/kg) 30 minutes prior to MCAO. Blood pressure, heart rate, baroreceptor reflex sensitivity, and infarct size were measured. In addition, dose response effect on infarct size and cardiovascular parameters was determined using INV-155, INV-157, INV-159, and INV-161 and compared to captopril and LA. Results. Pretreatment with captopril and LA at all doses tested was neuroprotective. The compounds INV-159 (0.5–10 mg/kg) and INV-161 (1–10 mg/kg) produced a significant,dose-dependent decrease in infarct size. In contrast, INV-155 and INV-157 had no effect on infarct size. Conclusions. Combined pretreatment with captopril potentiated the neuroprotective benefit observed following LA alone. Both INV-159 and INV-161 were also neuroprotective. These results suggest that patients taking combinations of captopril and LA, either as combination therapy or in the form of INV-159 or INV-161, may also benefit from significant protection against cerebral infarction.