INTRODUCTION
The aim of the study was to retrospectively evaluate the efficiency of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) with ultrasound guidance and the results of treatment of children with urolithiasis, of different age groups depending on the stone location and size.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 135 children and adolescents, aged from 1 to 18 years treated by ESWL at IZMIRLIAN Medical Center from 2005 to 2016 were enrolled in this study. Number, size and location of stones were evaluated. A total of 153 ESWL sessions were performed, including two sessions in 9 cases, three sessions in 1 case, and four sessions in 2 cases. Intra- and posttreatment stone fragmentation rate, number of ESWL sessions, shock-wave pulses per session, stone-free rate, and number of ancillary procedures depending on the stone location and size as well as radiation exposure were evaluated. Follow-up observation was performed after 14, 30 and 90 days.

RESULTS
In most cases, there was a good stone fragmentation after ESWL. From 200 to 3000 low-energy pulses with a frequency 1-2 Hz and power of 30-50 units on Modulith SLK scale were delivered. Number of shock-wave pulses up to 1000, 2000 and 3000 was sufficient in 18.3%, 51.9% and 26.8% cases, respectively. SFR in children aged 1-5 years was 95.2%, compared to 100%, 100% and 83.7% in patients in the 6-10, 11-15 and 16-18 year age groups, respectively. Complete stone clearance was achieved in patients of 1-5 and 6-10 years after two weeks. In only one patient in the 11- to 15-year age group, all fragments passed after two weeks, while in 4 adolescents in the 16- 18-year age group SFR was achieved after more than 3 months. In addition, in other 3 patients in this age group ESWL was unsuccessful.

CONCLUSION
Our results suggest high efficiency of ESWL under ultrasound guidance in children and adolescents. Absence of X-ray exposure, minimal complication rate, non-invasiveness and high efficiency allow to consider ESWL as a method of choice for the treatment of urolithiasis in children and adolescents.


The influence of the differing magnetic field arrangements in both an unbalanced magnetron (UBM) and balanced magnetron (BM), both of which employ a dielectric substrate, on plasma characteristics has been numerically investigated under identical pressures and voltages. The UBM exhibits some interesting intrinsic characteristics with regard to the bulk plasma and the incident flux on the dielectric substrate. A property unique to the UBM is the appearance of negative plasma potential owing to the slightly excess amount of electrons when a magnetic field is arranged parallel to the axis of the bulk plasma in a cylindrical reactor and an electric field is arranged transversely to this axis. The dielectric substrate is negatively deep-biased, as compared with that in the BM, and is exposed to positive ion impact with a higher energy and flux, which will be controlled by changing the magnitude and direction of the external magnetic field.


The development of the agricultural sector and the improvement of the food security situation are seen as essential components to sustainable development in Africa. However, continuing population growth, impacts of climate change and environmental degradation add to an unprecedented combination of pressures that threaten existing efforts and solutions. This article discusses the challenges of meeting the food security needs in a sustainable way. Due to its involvement of all three dimensions of sustainable development, economic, social and ecological, we argue that organic farming could be one possible approach to create a more sustainable agricultural system.


The proclivity of alpha-branched N-2'-benzyl-3'-phenylpropionyl derivatives of (S)-4-benzyl-5,5-dimethyl-, (S)-4-phenyl-5,5-dimethyl-, (S)-4-isopropyl-5,5-dimethyl-, (S)-4-benzyl- and (S)-4-benzyl-5,5-diphenyl-oxazolidin-2-ones to generate directly 2-benzyl-3-phenylpropionaldehyde upon hydride reduction with DIBAL is investigated. The (S)-4-benzyl-5,5-dimethyl-derivative proved optimal for inhibition of endocyclic nucleophilic attack, giving 2-benzyl-3-phenylpropionaldehyde in good yield upon reduction. Application of this methodology for the asymmetric synthesis of chiral aldehydes via diastereoselective enolate alkylation of a range of (S)-N-acyl-4-benzyl-5,5-dimethyloxazolidin-2-ones to afford and array of alpha-substituted-N-acyl-5,5-dimethyloxazolidin- 2-ones (85-94% de) and subsequent reduction with DIBAL afforded directly non-racemic alpha-substituted aldehydes without loss of stereochemical integrity (87-94% ee). The extension of this protocol for the asymmetric synthesis of beta-substituted aldehydes is demonstrated, via the diastereoselective conjugate addition of a range of organocuprates to (S)-N-acyl-4-phenyl-5,5-dimethyloxazolidin-2-ones which proceeds with high diastereoselectivity (generally > 95% de). Reduction of the conjugate addition products with DIBAL gives non-racemic beta-substituted aldehydes in high yields and in high ee (generally > 95% ee). This methodology is exemplified by the asymmetric synthesis of (R)-3-isopropenylhept-6-enal, which has previously been used in the synthesis of (3Z,6R)-3-methyl-6-isopropenyl-3,9-decadien-1-yl acetate, a component of the sex pheromones of the California red scale.


In the Philippines, state policies for economic development focus on two things: attracting foreign investors to set up export-oriented manufacturing and business-process outsourcing industries or supporting the already well-established structures that encourage Filipino workers to find jobs abroad. These three industries have a great impact on Filipino women as it is mostly women who are employed in minimum-wage jobs at manufacturing firms or who are sent abroad as domestic helpers or "entertainers." With such policies – which rely on foreign investors and employers needing a cheap but trainable labor force – English becomes a necessary skill for Filipino women. Following Bourdieu's concept of the "structured systems of sociologically pertinent linguistic differences" corresponding to "an equally structured system of social difference," it is not surprising that Philippine English displays characteristics of this structured system of social difference. This is most evident in a study done in 1995 by Ma. Lourdes Bautista that described three sub-varieties of Philippine English as yaya (nanny) English, bargirl English, and colegiala (Catholic schoolgirl) English. What is immediately striking about this template is both the inscription of the labor-export economy into, and the feminization of, Philippine English. This study examines the relations between language, power, and the new, postmodern, global, economic order of which English is both a catalyst and an offshoot. It will attempt to determine how the relations between the linguistic standard and the sub-varieties correspond to the link between patriarchal state/global capital and the most marginalized groups within that order.


In addition to showcasing the significance of 3D concrete printing technology, this report seeks to analyze what factors would inhibit, allow for, or facilitate Contour Crafting's success in select countries. Saudi Arabia and China would be the optimal countries to introduce Contour Crafting based on our Excel-based model that controls for variables related to wealth, size, likelihood to consume, and concrete consumption per capita. Further research on country-specific regulation fosters the hypothesis that Contour Crafting is more likely to succeed in Saudi Arabia than in China. Contour Crafting's global investing strategy will likely be through a joint venture partnership with governments via sovereign funds. Since capital partnerships seek to utilize the technology to supply low-income housing units, end users would not be able to afford the technology and would theoretically be funded by nations seeking solutions to underlying social issues impacting citizens. Overall feasibility is contingent upon government regulated housing, infrastructure, and cheaper alternatives of construction that provide adequate enclosure systems. Though Contour Crafting is a novel construction technique, it's unlikely to be adopted as an economically feasible method for affordable housing construction.


Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) projects are a form of commons where individuals work collectively to produce software that is a public, rather than a private, good. The famous phrase "Tragedy of the Commons" describes a situation where a natural resource commons, such as a pasture, or a water supply, gets depleted because of overuse. The tragedy in FLOSS commons is distinctly different - it occurs when collective action ceases before a software product is produced or reaches its full potential. This paper builds on previous work about defining success in FLOSS projects by taking a collective action perspective. We first report the results of interviews with FLOSS developers regarding our ideas about success and failure in FLOSS projects. Building on those interviews and previous work, we then describe our criteria for defining success/tragedy in FLOSS commons. Finally, we discuss the results of a preliminary classification of nearly all projects hosted on Sourceforge.net as of August 2006.


This is like home, like England', proclaimed the Duchess of York in 1927 on her visit to Menangle. She and her husband the Duke of York visited Camden Park as part of their royal visit of Australia, which involved the opening of the provisional Parliament House in Canberra in May.[1] The Duke and Duchess of York had left England of their royal tour of dominions in January 1927 on board the Royal Navy battleship HMS Renown, travelled through New Zealand in February and arrived in Australia in March. The Royals departed from Australia in late May after visiting all states. The Duke and Duchess later came to the thrown as George VI and Queen Elizabeth on the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936.


Optimum stratification is the method of choosing the best boundaries that make strata internally homogeneous, given some sample allocation. In order to make the strata internally homogenous, the strata should be constructed in such a way that the strata variances for the characteristic under study be as small as possible. This could be achieved effectively by having the distribution of the main study variable known and create strata by cutting the range of the distribution at suitable points. If the frequency distribution of the study variable is unknown, it may be approximated from the past experience or some prior knowledge obtained at a recent study. In this paper the problem of finding Optimum Strata Boundaries (OSB) is considered as the problem of determining Optimum Strata Widths (OSW). The problem is formulated as a Mathematical Programming Problem (MPP), which minimizes the variance of the estimated population parameter under Neyman allocation subject to the restriction that sum of the widths of all the strata is equal to the total range of the distribution. The distributions of the study variable are considered as continuous with Triangular and Standard Normal density functions. The formulated MPPs, which turn out to be multistage decision problems, can then be solved using dynamic programming technique proposed by Buhler and Deutler (1975). Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the computational details. The results obtained are also compared with the method of Dalenius and Hodges (1959) with an example of normal distribution.


Abstract Patterns preserved in the fossil record are of the highest importance in addressing questions about long-term evolutionary processes, yet both the description of pattern and its translation into process can be difficult. With respect to gradual phyletic change, we know that randomly generated sequences may exhibit characteristics of a "trend"; apparent patterns, therefore, must be interpreted with caution. Furthermore, even when the claim of a gradual trend can be statistically justified, interpretation of the underlying mechanisms may be challenging. Given that we can observe populations changing rapidly over tens or hundreds of years, it is now more difficult to explain instances of geologically gradual (as opposed to punctuated) change. Here we describe morphologic change in two bivalve lineages from the late Miocene Lake Pannon. We evaluate change according to the model-based methods of Hunt. Both lineages exhibit size increases and shape changes over an interval of nearly 4 million years. Size and two shape variables in the conjungens lineage are best fit by a model of directional evolution; remaining shape variables mostly conform to unbiased random walks. Body-size evolution in the diprosopum lineage is also significantly directional but all shape variables are best fit by the unbiased random walk model; the small number of sampling intervals available for this lineage (n  =  6) makes determination of the actual pattern more difficult. Model-fitting results indicate that the parallel trajectories of increasing log shell height over time in the two lineages can be accounted for by an underlying trend shared by both lineages, suggesting that the size increases may be a shared response to the same cause. The pace of phenotypic change, measured as Lynch's Δ, is slower than the neutral expectation for all size and shape traits. Our examples illustrate well the paradox of gradualism; the sequences exhibit significant directional morphological evolution, but rates of change as measured over the long-term are apparently too slow for directional selection or even drift to be the cause. Viewing long-term phenotypic evolution in terms of populations tracking peaks on adaptive landscapes is useful in this context. Such a view allows for intervals of directional selection (during times of peak movement—resulting in the overall trends we can detect) interspersed with intervals of stasis (during times of peak stability—resulting in overall changes that appear to proceed more slowly than the neutral expectation). The paradox of gradualism thus reduces to (1) peak movements and their drivers, which are not restricted in rate as are population-genetic drivers, and (2) the maintenance of stasis, on which no consensus exists. We can identify no environmental parameter in the central European Neogene that exhibits consistent change across the interval of gradual morphologic change. It may be that in Lake Pannon the long-term persistence of generally ameliorating conditions (plentiful resources and habitat space, few predators or competitors) resulted in geologically slow but consistent peak shifts, which in turn facilitated size increase and shape change in these lineages.


As the need for reaching fuel reserves at greater depths increases, over the past 30 years scientists have been exploring and developing the technology required to efficiently drill rock at highly pressured environments; yet, there are still gaps in the understanding of the physical phenomena involved. One of the basic problems has to do with the cutter-to-rock interaction during the cutting process.

This study employs the Finite Element Method (FEM) to investigate the mechanics of rock cutting because of its flexibility in handling material heterogeneity, nonlinearity and boundary conditions. Using the FEM to model fracturing of a brittle material like rock –and consequently treating its discontinuous chips– is a challenging undertaking that requires the tackling of a sequence of complex problems: As the cutter advances and touches the rock material, a contact problem first arises. This is followed by nonlinear deformation and the determination as to when and whether the rock would fail. Subsequently, the question of how to initiate the fragmentation process has to be resolved if the rock fails. The cycle repeats starting with a new contact problem after new surfaces are generated due to fracture.

At present, few researchers have focused on crack initiation and subsequent crack propagation, but even fewer have accounted for actual chip formation, and none has considered the dynamic interaction amongst chips, newly formed surfaces, and the cutter. One important goal of this study is to advance the modeling such that it is possible to follow the cutter in a complete cutting process in a credible manner.

A framework of three-dimensional FEM modeling was developed so that the fragmentation process observed in laboratory rock scratching tests could be properly simulated. A thorough calibration of the rock material model was carried out, together with extensive sensitivity analyses of contact models, damage based failure and its associated fracture modeling using the commercial software LS-DYNA.

This study was able to obtain ductile failure mode for shallow cuts, and brittle failure for deep cuts as observed in the laboratory, all without a priori setting on the failure modes. Also, cutting force magnitudes and tendencies obtained from the study correlated well with published results of the physical experiments. Moreover, in a limited scope, this study also investigated the effects of applying external hydrostatic pressure on rock cutting. Preliminary numerical results indicate a good comparison with few published data. Lastly, theoretical models for obtaining cutting forces were assessed, providing a better understanding of their limitations and usability.


This study aims at understanding parental melt compositions and evolutionary history of mantle-derived kimberlitic magmas, using unaltered Udachnaya-East kimberlite as an example.
Recent advances in theoretical, experimental and melt inclusion research strongly suggest that the mantle is highly heterogeneous on a small scale, but this heterogeneity is effectively obscured by the blended nature of most erupted magmas. Thus, the original compositions of individual mantle-derived melt batches that supposedly reflect their respective mantle sources are in fact averaged, owing to mixing of melts en route to the surface. The exception may be occasional low degree partial melts that erupt with little or no mixing with subsequent melt fractions. However, such melts are particulary prone to reaction with country rocks along the pathways to ascent, and are also very rare among erupted rocks.
Among all known erupted mantle-derived magmas, kimberlites offer the deepest probes into the convecting subcontinental mantle, derived from the lowest degrees of melting. Such origins make kimberlites most suitable for characterising primitive (undepleted by previous melting) mantle assemblages with their likely enrichment in the volatile elements, and thus with the lowest solidus temperatures. On the other hand, the large amount of lithospheric and crustal xenoliths in kimberlites and their typically high degree of alteration, can significantly affect interpretations that can be drawn from bulk rock analyses.
This study attempts to overcome such problems related to alteration of kimberlites and presents detailed petrographic, mineralogical, chemical, and isotope data on exceptionally fresh kimberlite samples from the diamondiferous Udachnaya-East pipe (Daldyn-Alakit region, Siberia). I demonstrate that the Udachnaya-East rocks have radiogenic isotopic compositions, petrographic features and major and trace element geochemistry typical of group-I kimberlites. However, unlike common kimberlites, the studied samples show no primary or secondary serpentine, and thus are essentially anhydrous (< 0.5 wt% H2O), but CO2-rich (10-11 wt%). In contrast with other kimberlites worldwide, the Udachnaya-East samples are uniquely enriched in chlorine and alkalies (2.3-3.2 wt% Cl, 2.6-3.7 wt% Na, and 1.6-2.0 wt% K).
Enrichment in CO2, Cl and alkalies is expressed in the essentially alkali-carbonate (shortite, zemkorite) and alkali-chloride (halite, sylvite) composition of the kimberlite groundmass. These minerals cement olivine phenocrysts and form round segregations ("nodules"). Radiogenic isotope compositions (Nd, Sr, and Pb) of the chloride, chloride - alkali carbonate, carbonate and oxide-silicate constituents in the groundmass of the Udachnaya-East kimberlite effectively show the coexistence of these phases in the closed system since kimberlite emplacement ~ 347 Ma. Complementary to insights into radiogenic isotope composition of the parental mantle source of the Udachnaya-East kimberlite, my study explores stable isotope compositions of the kimberlite groundmass (O, C and S isotopes), chloride-carbonate nodules (O and C isotopes) and two populations of olivine (O isotopes).
Detailed study of zoning and composition of the groundmass olivine-II demonstrates very complex fractionation of the ultramafic primary kimberlite melt. Additional constraints are provided by olivine-hosted inclusions of cogenetic minerals, fluid and melt. The wide compositional interval shown by the cores of olivine-II (Fo86-93) reflects either crystallisation from different melt batches, or re-equilibration (in terms of Fe-Mg) with different mantle lithologies. I report the discovery of previously unknown inclusions of high-Ca pyroxene in the olivine-II cores. They formed in the diamond stability field (45-50 kb) at temperatures of 900-1100oC, from a melt with a trace element composition resembling that of the kimberlite groundmass. The inferred P-T conditions correspond to the lower part of lithosphere beneath the Siberian craton.
I consider that a prolonged evolution of the kimberlite magma by olivine crystallisation was responsible for a build-up of abundances of alkalies, chloride, carbonate, and sulphate components. As a result, the residual kimberlite magma acquires an essentially non-silicate composition, but high in CO2, Cl, and alkalies. This magma crystallises at low temperatures (<650-750oC), and undergoes chloride-carbonate liquid immiscibility at ~600oC.
I propose that significant amounts of alkali chlorides and carbonates in the Udachnaya-East kimberlite are pristine magmatic components inherited from the kimberlite parental/primary magma. This enrichment may be responsible for the kimberlite low liquidus temperatures, low viscosities, and rapid ascent.


For wave propagation at low frequencies in a porous medium, the Gassmann-Domenico relations are well-established for homogeneous partial saturation by a liquid. They provide the correct relations for seismic velocities in terms of constituent bulk and shear moduli, solid and fluid densities, porosity and saturation. It has not been possible, however, to invert these relations easily to determine porosity and saturation when the seismic velocities are known. Also, the state (or distribution) of saturation, i.e., whether or not liquid and gas are homogeneously mixed in the pore space, is another important variable for reservoir evaluation. A reliable ability to determine the state of saturation from velocity data continues to be problematic. It is shown how transforming compressional and shear wave velocity data to the (rho/lambda, mu/lambda)-plane (where lambda and mu are the Lame parameters and rho is the total density) results in a set of quasi-orthogonal coordinates for porosity and liquid saturation that greatly aids in the interpretation of seismic data for the physical parameters of most interest. A second transformation of the same data then permits isolation of the liquid saturation value, and also provides some direct information about the state of saturation. By thus replotting the data in the (lambda/mu, rho/mu)-plane, inferences can be made concerning the degree of patchy (inhomogeneous) versus homogeneous saturation that is present in the region of the medium sampled by the data. Our examples include igneous and sedimentary rocks, as well as man-made porous materials. These results have potential applications in various areas of interest, including petroleum exploration and reservoir characterization, geothermal resource evaluation, environmental restoration monitoring, and geotechnical site characterization.


With the steady development of online education and online learning environments, possibilities to support social interactions between students have advanced significantly. This study examined the relationship between indicators of social presence and academic performance. Social presence is defined as students' ability to engage socially with an online learning community. The results of a multiple regression analysis showed that certain indicators of social presence were significant predictors of final grades in a master's level computer science online course. Moreover, the study also revealed that teaching presence moderated the association between social presence and academic performance, indicating that a course design that increased the level of meaningful interactions between students had a significant impact on the development of social presence, and thus could positively affect students' academic performance. This is especially important in situations when discussions are introduced to promote the development of learning outcomes assessed in courses. Another implication of our results is that indicators of social presence can be used for early detection of students at risk of failing a course. Findings inform research and practice in the emerging field of learning analytics by prompting the opportunities to offer actionable insights into the reasons why certain students are lagging behind.


ABSTRACT The rise of financial technology means that it is easier than ever to raise funds from a large group of people, notably via peer-to-peer lending or crowdfunding platforms. This article seeks to discuss the law on illegal fundraising, which has existed for some time before the boom of the Internet, as a legal response to the increasing number of fundraising from the public. Regulation is necessary to ensure market order and investor protection. Virtually in all markets, there are restrictions on how entities can make a public offer of shares, bonds and/or other investment schemes. There are several laws, most notably criminal law, in China that are relevant to illegal fundraising. An individual/company can potentially breach one or more of these rules as long as they attempt to raise funds from a non-conventional (i.e. not stock markets or banks) route. The worst outcome of this used to be death penalty. There has been a degree of ambiguities in the application of these laws. The article will attempt to clarify these ambiguities. The regulation of illegal fundraising can have a far reaching consequence on the financial markets in China, considering that non-state entities, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, have limited access to conventional finance. The article will consider whether China is on the right track in terms of regulation to allow alternative fundraising channels to thrive. This article is the first ever to present a holistic account of the regulation of illegal fundraising in China.


Encoders are one of the critical parts in an electric drive system. In safety critical applications like an air plane a redundant and robust sensor-less controller with an approval in aviation is required. This paper presents a hysteresis current controller, which is implemented on a FPGA. We simulated the switching action and the controller dynamics and measured it on a test bench. We describe the transients excited by the switching action analytically. Although transients are excited at the switching moment, a stable operation of the machine is ensured. The results of simulation and measurement of the switching action show a maximal deviation of 6% in the stator current amplitude. The excited transients describe a sinusoidal shape for the rotor speed. The analytical solution of the oscillation amplitude deviates from the measured results by a maximum of 14%. The oscillation frequency is 24% up to 35% smaller, depending on the operating point. The differences are due to the assumption of phase currents with a constant amplitude. It is shown that the dq-current components follow the constant torque hyperbola, if the current reference amplitude changes. In case of a load torque change they will move on the constant stator current circle and turning clockwise for a load torque decrease and counter clockwise for an increase. Due to the working principle of the controller, the current distortion is significant and is measured to 29% in a defined operating point. The measurement results validate the simulation results. The implemented hysteresis current controller can be used to improve the redundancy of a control structure.


In this paper, we extend both the rolled-up and the polyhedral models for single-walled silicon nanotubes with equal bond lengths to models having distinct bond lengths. The silicon nanotubes considered here are assumed to be formed by sp3 hybridization with different bond lengths so that the nanotube lattice is assumed to comprise only skew rhombi. Beginning with the three postulates that (i) all bonds lying on the same helix are equal, (ii) all adjacent bond angles are equal, and (iii) all atoms are equidistant from a common axis of symmetry, we derive exact formulae for the polyhedral geometric parameters such as chiral angles, adjacent bond angles and radius. Finally, some molecular dynamics simulations are undertaken for comparison with the geometric model. These simulations start with equal bond lengths and then stabilize in such a way that two distinct bond lengths emerge.


The complexity of human thoughts is manifested in his words, actions, and other meaning-signalling devices. The use of language or graphical material like motion or motionless pictures/images as well as natural or electronic sound is imbued with information, ideology and properties capable of effectively conveying implicit and explicit meaning to the target audience. A multimodal discourse, hence, becomes a viable means of demonstrating all these qualities. Language-use, especially in politics, turns an individual or a state's instrument used to arouse sentiments, win sympathy and trigger the sense of submission and followership. Thus, an appreciable quantum of meaning of the speaker's utterances can be strongly enhanced by a multimodal discourse which makes use of multiple semiotic resources like language, visual images, sound, space, etc. However, language or other media through which we communicate do not convey the 'objective truth' as it is made to believe; there is always subjectivity in the so-called objectivity. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) warns against the assumption of objectivity notwithstanding the multimodal means of such discourse, and it further sensitises people on ways of politicking with language. CDA goes beyond the borders of text and other semiotic means employed in the process of encoding a campaign advert. to perceiving meaning as bi-directional and that the actual meaning is hidden but retrievable from many contending factors like social class, ideologies, ethnicity, religion and interests, etc. which are not even necessarily found in words, images, sound, music and other semiotic resources woven to construct such discourse. This paper investigates a political campaign television advert of Nigerian's President Goodluck Jonathan in his desperate move to return as the President of Nigeria using, essentially, CDA approach to explore the multimodality of this discourse construction. The paper further explores the perception of this campaign advert not only on the basis of audience's sophistication and individuality but also on what the speech seeks to achieve taking into account both linguistic and non-linguistic communicative facilities.


BACKGROUND
Prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES), an endocrine disrupting chemical, may be associated with depression in adulthood, but previous findings are inconsistent.

METHODS
Women (3,888 DES exposed, 1,729 unexposed) and men (1,021 DES exposed, 1,042 unexposed) participating in the National Cancer Institute (NCI) DES Combined Cohort Follow-up Study were queried in 2011 for any history of depression diagnosis or treatment. Hazard ratios (HR; 95% confidence intervals (CI)) estimated the associations between prenatal DES exposure and depression risk.

RESULTS
Depression was reported by 993 (26%) exposed and 405 (23%) unexposed women, and 177 (17%) exposed and 181 (17%) unexposed men. Compared with the unexposed, HRs for DES and depression were 1.1 (95% CI: 0.9, 1.2) in women and 1.0 (95% CI: 0.8, 1.2) in men. For medication-treated depression, the HRs (CIs) were 1.1 (0.9, 1.2) in women and 0.9 (0.7, 1.2) in men. In women, the HR (CI) for exposure to a low cumulative DES dose was 1.2 (1.0, 1.4), and for DES exposure before 8 weeks' gestation was 1.2 (1.0-1.4). In men, the HR for low dose was 1.2 (95% CI 0.9,1.6) and there was no association with timing. In women, associations were uninfluenced by the presence of DES-related vaginal epithelial changes or a prior diagnosis of DES-related adverse outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS
Prenatal DES exposure was not associated overall with risk of depression in women or men. In women, exposure in early gestation or to a low cumulative dose may be weakly associated with an increased depression risk.


Using the Planck 2015 data release (PR2) temperature maps, we separate Galactic thermal dust emission from cosmic infrared background (CIB) anisotropies. For this purpose, we implement a specifically tailored component-separation method, the so-called generalized needlet internal linear combination (GNILC) method, which uses spatial information (the angular power spectra) to disentangle the Galactic dust emission and CIB anisotropies. We produce significantly improved all-sky maps of Planck thermal dust emission, with reduced CIB contamination, at 353, 545, and 857 GHz. By reducing the CIB contamination of the thermal dust maps, we provide more accurate estimates of the local dust temperature and dust spectral index over the sky with reduced dispersion, especially at high Galactic latitudes above $b = \pm 20{\deg}$. We find that the dust temperature is $T = (19.4 \pm 1.3)$ K and the dust spectral index is $\beta = 1.6 \pm 0.1$ averaged over the whole sky, while $T = (19.4 \pm 1.5)$ K and $\beta = 1.6 \pm 0.2$ on 21 % of the sky at high latitudes. Moreover, subtracting the new CIB-removed thermal dust maps from the CMB-removed Planck maps gives access to the CIB anisotropies over 60 % of the sky at Galactic latitudes $|b| > 20{\deg}$. Because they are a significant improvement over previous Planck products, the GNILC maps are recommended for thermal dust science. The new CIB maps can be regarded as indirect tracers of the dark matter and they are recommended for exploring cross-correlations with lensing and large-scale structure optical surveys. The reconstructed GNILC thermal dust and CIB maps are delivered as Planck products.


Interactions between light and various cells in cultures, such as bacteria or mammalian cells, are widely applied for optical sensors and optofluidic systems. These microorganisms need to be kept in proper aqueous media, referred to as buffers or cell culture media, that are required, respectively, for stable storage or delivering biochemical nutrients for their growth. When experiments or numerical analyses on optical devices are performed, the properties of these media are usually considered to be similar to those of pure water, with negligible influence of biochemical compounds on the medium's optical properties. In this work, we investigated the transmission, material dispersion, and scattering properties of selected and widely used buffers and cell culture media. We show that the optical properties of these media may significantly vary from those of water. Well-defined properties of buffers and cell culture media are essential for proper design of various optical sensing or future optofluidic systems dealing with biological structures.


In control theory the problem of computing greatest common divisors of polynomial matrices arises when trying to compute coprime matr ix factorizations of a given transfer function (see Kailath [2]). Much work has been done on this topic in the numerical case, where the coefficients of the polynomials are floating point numbers. We are invest igating the extension of these algorithms to the symbolic


Syk- and MyD88-dependent signaling pathways converge to endow mouse neutrophils with regulatory properties. Neutrophils are among the first responders at sites of infection and are an essential arm of the innate immune system. They attack invading pathogens through a number of mechanisms, including phagocytosis and the release of lytic enzymes and reactive oxygen species, leading to an acute proinflammatory response (see commentary by Cassatella et al.). Zhang et al. investigated the responses of mouse neutrophils to bacteria and various agonists of pattern-recognition receptors, such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and C-type lectin receptors (CLRs). Whereas individual TLR agonists (particularly Pam3, which stimulates TLR2) activated neutrophils in vitro, they did not induce the production of proinflammatory cytokines; rather, they stimulated neutrophils to produce small quantities of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10). Exposure of neutrophils to bacteria resulted in the production of much greater amounts of IL-10, which led the authors to investigate which other signals might synergize with TLR agonists in IL-10 production. Coactivation of TLR2 and the CLR Dectin-1, which recognizes carbohydrate moieties on bacteria and fungi, stimulated neutrophils to produce large quantities of IL-10, an effect that depended on MyD88 (an adaptor protein that is part of the TLR2 pathway) and the tyrosine kinase Syk, which mediates CLR-dependent responses. Synergy between the CLR and TLR2 pathways depended on the activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and Akt. Neutrophils isolated from the lungs of mice 5 weeks after infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis produced large amounts of IL-10. When neutrophils were depleted from these mice, proinflammatory dendritic cells and cytokines became more abundant in the lung and the number of bacteria was substantially reduced. Together, these data suggest that neutrophils can respond to pathogens by producing IL-10 to modulate the inflammatory response. X. Zhang, L. Majlessi, E. Deriaud, C. Leclerc, R. Lo-Man, Coactivation of Syk kinase and MyD88 adaptor protein pathways by bacteria promotes regulatory properties of neutrophils. Immunity 31, 761–771 (2009). [PubMed] M. A. Cassatella, M. Locati, A. Mantovani, Never underestimate the power of a neutrophil. Immunity 31, 698–700 (2009). [Online Journal]


Our current understanding of structure formation in the Universe seems to be well described by a hierarchical scenario, in which small units assemble first to produce more massive systems. In recent years, much observational evidence has been accumulated, indicating that star formation proceeded instead in an antihierarchical fashion. Constraining the age and chemical composition of the stellar populations in galaxies should help shed light on this apparent dichotomy between mass assembly and star formation activity. The integrated spectra of galaxies contain valuable clues about the ages and metallicities of the stars producing the light. However, at first order, they are affected in a similar way by age and metallicity. Studies of more refined spectral diagnostics, such as individual stellar absorption features, are thus needed to provide more stringent constraints on these parameters. This method has been limited so far to small samples of elliptical galaxies, using population synthesis models with limited spectral resolution and restricted
coverage in stellar effective temperatures.
The objective of this thesis is the interpretation of the optical spectra of large samples of nearby galaxies in terms of the light-weighted metallicity, age and mass of their stellar populations. I have developed a new method to simultaneously derive median-likelihood estimates of each physical parameter and the associated confidence intervals. The method, based on a recent highresolution population synthesis code with full temperature coverage, consists
in comparing each observed spectrum with a comprehensive library of star formation histories. The constraints are set by the simultaneous fit of an optimally selected set of spectral absorption features. I have applied this method to a sample of 200,000 galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, including galaxies with any star formation history, from quiescent early-type to actively star forming galaxies. Thanks to the unprecedented statistics, I could give an accurate description of the galaxy distribution in the full physical parameters space. The relation between stellar metallicity, age and stellar mass shows a rapid transition from low-mass, young, metal-poor to high-mass, old, metal-rich galaxies at a stellar mass of 3×10^10 solar masses, the same characteristic scale of several observed bi-modalities in galaxy properties. The stellar metallicity-mass relation is interpreted as a manifestation of galactic winds, which are more efficient in removing metals from the shallow potential well of low-mass galaxies. I then explored the implications of the above relations to re-assess the physical origin of observed scaling relations of elliptical galaxies, linking their luminous and dynamical mass to the properties of their stellar populations. The relations are driven by an increase in metallicity, age and element abundance ratios with galaxy mass. The scatter is contributed by a similar amount by both age and metallicity. The increasing spread towards younger ages at low stellar masses indicates that low-mass ellipticals either formed their stars later or have a more extended star formation history. This hints at a shift in stellar growth towards less massive galaxies in recent epochs. The large ranges in observational and physical properties covered by SDSS galaxies make it a representative sample of the local Universe. I could thus
derive the total mass density of metals and baryons locked up in stars today. I have also studied how metals and stellar mass are distributed as a function of various galaxy properties. The galaxies containing the bulk of the total stellar mass (massive, bulge-dominated galaxies with old stellar populations) are also those that contribute the largest fraction of metals, as expected from the mass-metallicity relation. These quantities set the fundamental constraints at the present epoch of the cosmic star formation and chemical enrichment histories.
The more detailed knowledge of the relations between galaxy physical parameters allows a more direct comparison with predictions from semi-analytic models of galaxy formation and evolution. Moreover, the more robust constraints represent an important calibration at redshift zero for similar studies at higher redshifts.


The content and international evidence for the Incredible Years programmes for children and teachers are described. This is followed by a description of their introduction in Wales from initial pilot trials to a Welsh Government funded Wales wide training initiative. Building on earlier work to support parents in Wales, the paper describes how these evidence based programmes for teachers and children, developed in a different country, were introduced and evaluated in Wales and how the demonstration of effectiveness has resulted in subsequent roll out that has been supported by local Authorities and the Welsh Government.


An ROC study was performed to evaluate the effect of quadtree-based data compression on the diagnostic yield of CT images. Seventy images were selected from a series of consecutive abdominal/pelvic CT scans. Following the application of quadtree-based compression, all images were reviewed independently by three radiologists. The images were analyzed at six decreasing irreversible compression ratios (30.6:1 to 7.4:1), as well as after reversible compression (2.9:1). ROC curves reveal a gradual decrease in clinical accuracy with increasing compression ratios. At a compression ratio of 7.4:1, sensitivity for all major abnormalities was 99% with a specificity of 93%. As the compression ratio was increased to 30.6:1, sensitivity and specificity dropped to 75% and 83% respectively. Execution times for compression and decompression of the CT images with a PC-AT based digital radiography system varied from 24.7 to 18.5 seconds and from 16.2 to 5.1 seconds respectively, decreasing with higher levels of compression. We conclude that quadtree-based compression of abdominal CT images may have practical applications for a PC based digital radiography system.


We use Mordell's elliptic curves $E_k$ (see below) to illustrate our algorithm for computing all integral points on \textit{any} given elliptic curve over the rationals (see [5]) and apply it to determine the integral points on $E_k$ for $k$ within the range $\vert k\vert \leq 10, 000$. Actually, the calculations can be extended to $\vert k\vert\leq 100, 000$. In this larger range Hall's conjecture holds with $c_\epsilon = 5$.


The aim of this paper is to evaluate the influence of the interaction between the piles of a group fixed in a rigid head on both its bearing capacity and the stiffness of the group. For this purpose, a parametric three-dimensional nonlinear numerical analysis was carried out for different pile group arrangements. The responses of the pile groups are compared to that of a single pile established from pile test results in conjunction with numerical assessment. The bearing capacity efficiency factor is then evaluated, while the stiffness efficiency factor is determined as a function of the deformation level. The influence of the number of piles, the spacing and the deformation level to the group response is discussed. Furthermore, the contribution of the piles constituting the group to the total group resistance is examined and its variability with the settlement level is established. Finally, a relationship is proposed allowing a reasonable prediction of the response of fixed pile groups in similar soil profile conditions.


Hyperphosphatemia, calcitriol deficiency, and secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) are common complications of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23) is a novel phosphaturic hormone that also inhibits renal 1alpha-hydroxylase activity and thus may be involved in the pathogenesis of SHPT. Several hypotheses were tested: that FGF-23 increases as renal function declines; is linearly associated with serum phosphate levels; is associated with increased phosphaturia independent of parathyroid hormone (PTH); and is associated with decreased calcitriol levels independent of renal function, hyperphosphatemia, and vitamin D stores. FGF-23, PTH, 25(OH)D3, calcitriol, calcium, phosphate, and urinary fractional excretion of phosphate (Fe(PO4)) were measured in 80 CKD patients. Multiple linear regression was used to test the hypotheses. FGF-23 and PTH were inversely associated with estimated GFR (eGFR), whereas calcitriol levels were linearly associated with eGFR. Hyperphosphatemia and hypocalcemia were present in only 12 and 6% of patients, respectively, all of whose eGFR was <30. Increased Fe(PO4) was associated with decreased eGFR, and both increased FGF-23 and PTH were independently associated with increased Fe(PO4). Increased FGF-23 and decreased 25(OH)D3 were independent predictors of decreased calcitriol, but the effects on calcitriol levels of renal function itself and hyperphosphatemia were completely extinguished by adjusting for FGF-23. It is concluded that FGF-23 levels increase early in CKD before the development of serum mineral abnormalities and are independently associated with serum phosphate, Fe(PO4), and calcitriol deficiency. Increased FGF-23 may contribute to maintaining normal serum phosphate levels in the face of advancing CKD but may worsen calcitriol deficiency and thus may be a central factor in the early pathogenesis of SHPT.


Protic ionic liquids (PILs) were synthesized through a stoichiometric neutralization reaction between 2,2′ - (ethylenedioxy)-bis(ethylamine) { Edbea} and various acids (formic, acetic, boric, decanoic, and gentisic acid). The PILs were characterized by elemental analyses, FTIR, 1 H and 13 C NMR spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. All the PILs except PIL3 were liquid at room temperature. The viscosity of the PILs (PIL1, 2, 4, 5) was measured using a cone-and-plate viscometer at ambient temperature. Quantum chemical calculations were used to explain the cation/anion ratio in the PILs. Reaction energies in the gas phase calculated at M062X/6-311+G(d,p) level were used to determine the cation/anion ratio. A sliding wear test was conducted at room temperature using an AA7075 disc specimen against a stationary 100Cr6 steel ball. The wear protection of PILs and 15W40 engine oil was determined by considering the volume loss of AA7075.


Recently, it has been shown that targeted mutagenesis using zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) can be used to generate knockout zebrafish lines for analysis of their function and/or developing disease models. A number of different methods have been developed for the design and assembly of gene-specific ZFNs and TALENs, making them easily available to most zebrafish researchers. Regardless of the choice of targeting nuclease, the process of generating mutant fish is similar. It is a time-consuming and multi-step process that can benefit significantly from development of efficient high throughput methods. In this study, we used ZFNs assembled through either the CompoZr (Sigma-Aldrich) or the CoDA (context-dependent assembly) platforms to generate mutant zebrafish for nine genes. We report our improved high throughput methods for 1) evaluation of ZFNs activity by somatic lesion analysis using colony PCR, eliminating the need for plasmid DNA extractions from a large number of clones, and 2) a sensitive founder screening strategy using fluorescent PCR with PIG-tailed primers that eliminates the stutter bands and accurately identifies even single nucleotide insertions and deletions. Using these protocols, we have generated multiple mutant alleles for seven genes, five of which were targeted with CompoZr ZFNs and two with CoDA ZFNs. Our data also revealed that at least five-fold higher mRNA dose was required to achieve mutagenesis with CoDA ZFNs than with CompoZr ZFNs, and their somatic lesion frequency was lower (<5%) when compared to CopmoZr ZFNs (9–98%). This work provides high throughput protocols for efficient generation of zebrafish mutants using ZFNs and TALENs.


The synthesis of high molecular weight star-shaped polymers comprising poly(1,3-cyclohexadiene-block-isoprene) diblock arms coupled to a divinyl benzene (DVB) core is reported. The number average molecular weights of the diblock arms were varied from 30000 to 50000 and the ratio of DVB to n-butyllithium (nBuLi) was systematically varied from 3:1 to 12:1. Size exclusion chromatography coupled with light scattering detection was utilized to detect the formation of star-shaped polymers and the presence of star-star coupling. The molecular weight distribution ( / ) of the star polymers ranged from 1.25 to 1.50. The effect of poly(1,3-cyclohexadiene) content on the mechanical properties of these novel elastomers is reported. The elastic modulus, elongation at break, and tensile strength of these elastomers were all found to be a function of the percentage of poly(1,3-cyclohexadiene). The glass transition temperatures were determined using both differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Atomic force microscopy was performed in the tapping mode (TMAFM) to verify the presence of microphase separation.


We investigate guided modes in the asymmetric waveguide structure with a left-handed material (LHM) layer surrounded by air and metal. A graphical method is proposed to determine the guided modes. New properties of the oscillating and surface guided modes, such as absence of the fundamental mode, coexistence of the oscillating and surface guided modes, fast attenuation of the surface guided modes, and mode degeneracy, are analyzed in detail. We also investigate dispersive characteristics of the metal-LHM-air optical waveguide. The propagation constant increases with decreasing slab thickness for the first-order oscillating mode, which is different from that in traditional metal-cladding waveguides.


We investigate whether government subsidies to local input manufacturers encourage procurement from foreign firms. We use a comprehensive panel data of Irish firms from 1983 until 2002. Our data shows a spontaneity about linkages and relative insensitivity to grant aid, although it may be the quality rather than quantity of linkages that matters. The longevity of a foreign firm's stay is one consistent driver of linkages where foreign firms need time to find out about local suppliers. Our results hold even when controlling for the possible joint determination of grants and linkages and the boundedness of the linkage variable.


In this chapter, the authors will show different proposals of magnetic bio-derivatives and its applicability in biotechnology. The historical context of immobilized enzymes, as well as highlighting the main advantages and disadvantages of each, will be mentioned. Besides, iron oxides and composite materials will be presented as support for biomolecules immobilization. Composites are effortlessly prepared including many materials capable of providing advantages to the magnetic derivatives. Enzymes covalently linked to these magnetic particles combine their catalytic properties with reaction specificity, reusability, and possible reactor construction. In addition, proteins can also be purified by these magnetic composites containing specific ligands allowing reactors and reuses too. Some characterization techniques used to study the magnetic material and derivative immobilized will be described as well. Altogether, an engaging presentation about the interesting features of magnetic bio-derivatives will highlight their uses in biotechnology field as well as in others.


Author(s): Fedorov, Dmitry; Kvilekval, Kristian, G; Miller, Robert, J; Doheny, Brandon; Simpson, Sarah; Manjunath, BS | Abstract: Logistical and financial limitations of underwater operations are inherent in marine science, including biodiversity observation. Imagery is a promising way to address these challenges, but the diversity of organisms thwarts simple automated analysis. Recent developments in computer vision methods, such as convolutional neural networks (CNN), are promising for automated classification and detection tasks but are typically very computationally expensive and require extensive training on large datasets. Therefore, managing and connecting distributed computation, large storage and human annotations of diverse marine datasets is crucial for effective application of these methods. BisQue is a cloud-based system for management, annotation, visualization, analysis and data mining of underwater and remote sensing imagery and associated data. Designed to hide the complexity of distributed storage, large computational clusters, diversity of data formats and inhomogeneous computational environments behind a user friendly web-based interface, BisQue is built around an idea of flexible and hierarchical annotations defined by the user. Such textual and graphical annotations can describe captured attributes and the relationships between data elements. Annotations are powerful enough to describe cells in fluorescent 4D images, fish species in underwater videos and kelp beds in aerial imagery. Presently we are developing BisQue-based analysis modules for automated identification of benthic marine organisms. Recent experiments with drop-out and CNN based classification of several thousand annotated underwater images demonstrated an overall accuracy above 70% for the 15 best performing species and above 85% for the top 5 species. Based on these promising results, we have extended bisque with a CNN-based classification system allowing continuous training on user-provided data.


The overall goal of this work was to develop a prototype expert system assisting quality control and traceability of particleboard panels on the production floor. Four different types of particleboards manufactured at the laboratory scale and in industrial plants were evaluated. The material differed in terms of panel type, composition, and adhesive system. NIR spectroscopy was employed as a pioneer tool for the development of a two-level expert system suitable for classification and traceability of investigated samples. A portable, commercially available NIR spectrometer was used for nondestructive measurements of particleboard panels. Twenty-five batches of particleboards, each containing at least three independent replicas, was used for the original system development and assessment of its performance. Four alternative chemometric methods (PLS-DA, kNN, SIMCA, and SVM) were used for spectroscopic data classification. The models were developed for panel recognition at two levels differing in terms of their generality. In the first stage, four among twenty-four tested combinations resulted in 100% correct classification. Discrimination precision with PLS-DA and SVMC was high (>99%), even without any spectra preprocessing. SNV preprocessed spectra and SVMC algorithm were used at the second stage for panel batch classification. Panels manufactured by two producers were 100% correctly classified, industrial panels produced by different manufacturing plants were classified with 98.9% success, and the experimental panels manufactured in the laboratory were classified with 63.7% success. Implementation of NIR spectroscopy for wood-based product traceability and quality control may have a great impact due to the high versatility of the production and wide range of particleboards utilization.


The reliance of mankind on synthetic pesticide, particularly dichloro diphenyl-trichloro ethane (DDT) reached its zenith during 1950s-60s, since the first application during second world War. But very soon it faced a serious scientific opposition due to its bio-magnifying nature and was banned in 1970s in most part of world with certain exceptional usage in health control programmes. Although, the pesticidal activity range and economic viability of DDT has never been questioned and still there are several voices to bring back DDT. To answer this controversy is the search for new DDT like pesticide with similar pesticidal efficacy and lower ecological accumulative effects. Recent advances in computer aided molecular design has provided us very robust, economic and time and labour saving tool to design and develop new chemical entities with pesticidal activity similar to DDT and has good commercial prospects as well. The present paper reviews the brief history of DDT and the developments in computational and molecular design methods to rejuvenate the era of new pesticide research.


Although a quantum state requires exponentially many classical bits to describe, the laws of quantum mechanics impose severe restrictions on how that state can be accessed. This paper shows in three settings that quantum messages have only limited advantages over classical ones. First, we show that BQP/qpoly /spl sube/ PP/poly, where BQP/qpoly is the class of problems solvable in quantum polynomial time, given a polynomial-size "quantum advice state " that depends only on the input length. This resolves a question of Buhrman, and means that we should not hope for an unrelativized separation between quantum and classical advice. Underlying our complexity result is a general relation between deterministic and quantum one-way communication complexities, which applies to partial as well as total functions. Second, we construct an oracle relative to which NP /spl nsub/ BQP/qpoly. To do so, we use the polynomial method to give the first correct proof of a direct product theorem for quantum search. This theorem has many other applications; for example, it can be used to fix and even improve on a flawed result of Klauck about quantum time-space tradeoffs for sorting. Third, we introduce a trace distance method for proving lower bounds on quantum one-way communication complexity. Using this method, we obtain optimal quantum lower bounds for two problems of Ambainis, for which no nontrivial lower bounds were previously known even for classical randomized protocols.


China plays an increasing role in the wars and conflicts around the world with its expanding political and economic interests overseas and its diplomatic role in international affairs. More and more Chinese journalists go to the frontlines overseas to cover distant conflicts for domestic audiences. Based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with 16 Chinese correspondents who have covered conflicts outside China, this study examines Chinese journalists' perceptions and reflections on objectivity in the war zones. The author adopts a term of Chinese-style pragmatic objectivity to mean that objectivity is a convenient approach for Chinese journalists to do war journalism in the field. At the level of objectivity-as-a-value, objectivity is defined as a pragmatic value and a practical ritual for Chinese journalists to do news within the scope they can reach, to protect themselves from criticisms, and to justify their version of the truth. It promotes allegiance and patriotism. At the level of objectivity-as-a-practice, objectivity in war coverage is compromised by China's foreign policies, military constraints, the press's political orientations and editorial polices, and journalists' personal experiences and values. Chinese journalists use Chinese-style objectivity to negotiate their roles in the power struggle with the state, foreign militaries, the newsroom, and journalists.


This paper investigates the risk management practices in e-banking of major UK banks, using the framework of principles introduced by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS). The initial pilot study involves four interviews conducted with staff members of one of the leading UK banks on risk management for e-banking. The main research instrument is a questionnaire divided into three sections covering board management and oversight, security controls and legal and reputational risk management. The questionnaire is used across ten major UK banks to establish whether they are operating in line with these risk management principles. The interviewees suggest that the main risk to customers using e-banking is security risk and that the bank is focusing on mitigating that risk. Our findings from the questionnaire indicate that the UK banks have successful risk management systems that help to stop potential electronic risk and reduce the losses incurred from risks associated with e-banking. Our results also confirm that UK banks are complying with the 14 BCBS risk principles and are well managed in terms of their security controls for e-banking. With the continued phenomenal growth and investment into e-banking the authors recommend that UK banks must avoid a repetition of the recent complacencies seen with on-line payments, corporate governance issues and the rising tide of complaints, that are referred to the financial ombudsman. They must also ensure they keep up-to-date security systems to reduce the security risk to different parties and that staff members are fully trained on legal and reputational risk management practices.


The alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) is an important tool for solving complex optimization problems, but it involves minimization sub-steps that are often difficult to solve efficiently. The Primal-Dual Hybrid Gradient (PDHG) method is a powerful alternative that often has simpler sub-steps than ADMM, thus producing lower complexity solvers. Despite the flexibility of this method, PDHG is often impractical because it requires the careful choice of multiple stepsize parameters. There is often no intuitive way to choose these parameters to maximize efficiency, or even achieve convergence. We propose self-adaptive stepsize rules that automatically tune PDHG parameters for optimal convergence. We rigorously analyze our methods, and identify convergence rates. Numerical experiments show that adaptive PDHG has strong advantages over non-adaptive methods in terms of both efficiency and simplicity for the user.


We present an empirical comparison of eleven bare hand, mid-air mode-switching techniques suitable for virtual reality in two experiments. The first evaluates seven techniques spanning dominant and non-dominant hand actions. Techniques represent common classes of actions selected by a methodical examination of 56 examples of prior art. The standard "subtraction method" protocol is adapted for 3D interfaces, with two baseline selection methods, bare hand pinch and device controller button. A second experiment with four techniques explores more subtle dominant-hand techniques and the effect of using a dominant hand device for selection. Results provide guidance to practitioners when choosing bare hand, mid-air mode-switching techniques, and for researchers when designing new mode-switching methods in VR.


Recycling of rail is practised in the railway industry to promote sustainability and economic efficiency. The functional reliability of recycled rail has to be addressed to ensure safe application. Studies on the reliability of railway rails place great emphasis on fatigue failure. However, scarcity of public domain data on recycled rails and limitation of experimental hardware capability has constrained the study on the fatigue of recycled rails. The aim of the investigation is to propose a novel integrated approach for exploring the fatigue performance of recycled rail effectively and efficiently. A high cycle fatigue test was conducted on a recycled rail specimen to obtain data for the validation of the finite element (FE) numerical model. Following this, the FE numerical model was incorporated with the stepwise load increase test (LIT) method. The integrated method gave a more conservative prediction of the fatigue performance than the analytical method. The shot blasting process induced compressive residual stress which affected the specimen's fatigue performance. This result was demonstrated by the integrated method. Furthermore, this integrated method also successfully reduced the overall required test time. The predicted endurance limit of the specimen was 130.37MPa, accomplishing the BS EN 13674-1:2011 standard.


Abstract A book cover encloses the manuscript inside. If it is elaborate, it distinguishes the manuscript as a precious and valuable object (as a frame does for a painting), all the more so when an old manuscript is clothed in a new and costly cover. In conjunction with added texts and other traces of use, one can grasp from this 'reframing' a shift of a text's meaning. This is especially true of Gospel Books, which were handled as symbols of God in liturgical contexts. From the High Middle Ages on, treasure inventories and oath formulae were added to Gospel Books. They indicate the importance of an old Gospel Book for the religious community as a material proof of the age and rank of their church. Gospel Book covers from the High and Late Middle Ages demonstrate this by using spolia, old-fashioned forms and material, or invoking venerated founders. Often shaped as pendants, they seem to be arranged for display.


Heart disease is the first leading cause of death and disability for women worldwide, yet the condition is largely preventable and few women perceive themselves at risk. Evidence in the literature supports diminished awareness of heart disease among women and limited data as to provider knowledge of the current guidelines for the prevention of heart disease in women. The purpose of this study was to examine the current knowledge levels, personal risk factors related to heart disease among selected university female employees, and to identify variables that best predict health-promoting behaviors among university female employees. A descriptive cross-sectional research design was utilized. A stratified sample of 320 Palestinian university females aged 20-58 years completed a questionnaire developed by the researcher to assess their knowledge of heart disease and to assess the heart disease risk factors. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Results: The sample had an average knowledge score of 45.9% out of a maximum correct score of 100%. Results from data analysis revealed general knowledge of heart disease was relatively low. The risk factors prevalent among them included: hypertension (14.6%), diabetes (11.8%), dyslipidemia (11.1%), overweight (21.8%), smoking (19.6%), and physically inactive (55.4%). Conclusion: Heart disease is the leading cause of death among Palestinians. In this study, Palestinian university women had poor knowledge of heart disease, and many reported having risk factors. Evaluation of baseline knowledge of heart disease and specific risk factors is helpful and can guide tailoring of health prevention strategies to be more effective. Early screening targeting the younger generation is also important to help detect the risk factors in their earliest stages. The screening results may also induce individuals to take action. Keywords: Heart disease, Palestinian, Knowledge, University women, Risk factors


In order to understand and communicate a PFA strategy during an analysis, a two-dimensional diagram of the layout of a suspect net has been developed. Net connections are extracted from the layout and drawn in a two-dimensional stitch diagram. The result is a simplified diagram providing a stack view of the layout layers for the net(s) of interest. Key analysis decisions are made and communicated using the stitch diagram. Using this diagram, selective nanoprobe measurements are made. Software implementation that extracts and draws the diagram allows for faster creation as well as making larger nets practical. As examples show, nanoprobe curve trace analysis using a simplified diagram has proven to be a successful evidence based approach to physical failure analysis of complex nets.


Young persons go through diverse transitions between the ages of 15 and 29. In this paper, the authors explore patterns of reproductive, educational and school to work transitions using data from the ILO School-to-work transitions surveys mainly from low and middle income countries. They find that these transitions are highly interrelated and have important consequences for future pathways or trajectories. The paper also explores specific transitions with conclusions as follows: First, the reproductive transitions (having children) affects more women than men. Second, 86% of those that stopped studying, either because they dropped out or they have completed their educational transition, have only basic education. Third, the age of starting a first job seem to have significant impact on future labor market prospects as those who started working before 18 are more likely to stay in informal and low-skilled jobs. Youth employment policy design can incorporate these findings with interventions that target the multiple transitions in an integrated manner while promoting youth participation with the understanding that the relative weight of each transition depends on contextual and personal characteristics.


The changes to ecosystems and ecosystem functioning induced by anthropogenic reactive nitrogen deposition continue to be studied in a range of habitats. In semi-natural habitats, these effects can be pronounced, often with negative impacts on the native flora. An experimental site established on an ombrotrophic bog provides a unique opportunity for the study of the effect of long-term simulated N deposition. The response of enchytraeid worms to different forms of nitrogen deposition (as ammonia, ammonium or nitrate) was assessed at this site, which has been receiving N treatments since 2002: previous studies on the site have shown that high N deposition (64 kg N ha-1 yr-1) has changed the aboveground vegetation. In this study, the below-ground response of enchytraeids to N treatment was shown to be dependent on site wetness. Under favourable site conditions, i.e. when the peat moisture content was high, enchytraeid abundance was negatively affected by N deposition in the form of ammonia or nitrate, whereas addition of ammonium, ammonium plus PK (=K2HPO4), and to a lesser extent, nitrate plus PK, appeared to increase enchytraeid abundance. However, when the bog was drier, enchytraeid numbers were similar across all treatments and appeared to be insensitive to N.


Today's development of Programmable Electronic Systems (PES) is characterized by controversial goals. The risen complexity in real time embedded-systems has been identified as a barrier for a fast time-to-market product development and at the same time, more flexibility, scalability and distributed intelligence is required for new PES. For being able to align diverging goals, an integrated basis for decision making is required, which gives an overview of possible architectural designs of a distributed PES. The evaluation of the development effort behind architectural approaches and additionally, the effort for maintaining changes during a PES lifecycle need to be considered. Besides effort, possible design options need to be evaluated for their ability to support and achieve market-driven objectives (performance, scalability etc.). Based on the effort estimation method COCOMOdist (Constructive Cost Model for distributed PES), this paper describes a comparison of possible architectures for a distributed PES with respect to efforts in development, maintenance and benefits of different design options. The examination is based on the sample of a safety-related development project (distributed burner control FMS600).


Lithostratigraphy and depositional and epeirogenic history of the upper Placentian Series (Cuslett-Fosters Point Formations of the Bonavista Group) and Branchian Series (Brigus Formation) are identical in the northern Antigonish Highlands; Cape Breton Island; and eastern Placentia Bay, southeastern Newfoundland. Preliminary evidence suggests that the lower Middle Cambrian is present in the field area. A unified, uppermost Precambrian–Lower Cambrian, formation- and member-level nomenclature is appropriate to Avalonian North America, and the stratigraphic nomenclature of southeastern Newfoundland is applied in northern mainland Nova Scotia. Latest Placentian shoaling and deposition of a peritidal carbonate lithosome and unconformable onlap of the trilobite-bearing Branchian Series occurred in shallow Avalonian shale basins from eastern Massachusetts to central England. Uppermost Placentian Series faunas are very diverse in the Fosters Point Formation. Limited similarities with the South Australian Lower Cambrian are indicated by the presence of Camenella sp. cf. C. reticulosa, Conotheca australiensis, and Hyptiotheca sp., but these forms do not contribute to highly resolved correlation. Twenty-eight taxa are illustrated from the upper Placentian and Branchian Series. Caveacus rectus n. gen. and sp., a phosphatic problematicum, is limited to the upper Placentian Series. The oldest, skeletalized, macrophagous predators are the Pseudoconodontida and the later appearing Protoconodontida (n. orders). The Pseudoconodontida includes the Protohertzinacea n. superfamily and Strictocorniculacea n. superfamily (with the Rhombocorniculidae and Strictocorniculidae n. families). Strictocorniculum vanallerum n. gen. and sp. is described. The tommotiid family Sunnaginiidae emend. includes Eccentrotheca, Sunnaginia, Kulparina, and Jayceia deltiformis n. gen. and sp.


ABSTRACT To better understand the role of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) duringTrypanosoma cruzi infection in BALB/c mice, we have investigated the kinetics of circulating tumor necrosis factor (TNF), soluble TNF receptor 1 (sTNR1), and sTNFR2 levels, as well as the interactions between such factors, in relation to parasitemia, cachexia, and mortality of acutely infected animals. Our data show that the parasitemic phase of T. cruzi infection in mice is associated with high levels of circulating TNF and sTNFR2, resulting in the formation of cytokine-receptor complexes and some degree of neutralization of TNF bioactivity. Although sTNR2 levels always exceeded TNF levels, low sTNFR/TNF circulating ratios were associated with cachexia in all infected mice, whereas the lowest ratios were observed in dying animals harboring the highest parasitemia. We also studied the modulation of sTNFR/TNF ratios induced by anti-TNF antibodies administered to infected animals and their consequences on the outcome of the infection. The injection of anti-TNF monoclonal antibody (MAb) TN3 into infected mice resulted in a paradoxical overproduction of TNF (associated with a higher parasitemia), lowered the sTNFR/TNF circulating ratios, and considerably worsened cachexia and mortality of animals. Another anti-TNF MAb (1F3F3) decreased the in vivo availability of TNF as well as parasite levels and reduced cachexia. Altogether, such results highlight that, besides playing a beneficial role early in infection, TNF also triggers harmful effects in the parasitemic phase, which are limited by the in vivo simultaneous endogenous production of soluble receptors.


Determining whether the number of vehicles reporting an event is above a threshold is an important mechanism for VANETs, because many applications rely on a threshold number of notifications to reach agreement among vehicles, to determine the validity of an event, or to prevent the abuse of emergency alarms. We present the first efficient and secure threshold-based event validation protocol for VANETs. Quite counter-intuitively, we found that the z-smallest approach [3] offers the best tradeoff between security and efficiency since other approaches perform better for probabilistic counting. Analysis and simulation shows that our protocol provides > 99% accuracy despite the presence of attackers, collection and distribution of alerts in less than 1 second, and negligible impact on network performance.


For four novels, Clive Cussler has charted the exploits of the Oregon, a clandestine spy ship completely dilapidated on the outside, but on the inside packed with sophisticated weaponry and intelligence-gathering equipment. Captained by the rakish, one-legged Juan Cabrillo and manned by a crew of former military and spy personnel, it is a private enterprise, available for any government agency that can afford it - and now Cussler sends the Oregon on its most extraordinary mission yet. The crew has just completed a top-secret mission against Iran in the Persian Gulf, when they come across a cruise ship adrift in the sea. Hundreds of bodies litter its deck, and as Cabrillo tries to determine what happened, explosions rack the length of the ship. Barely able to escape with his own life and that of the liner's sole survivor, Cabrillo finds himself plunged into a mystery as intricate and as perilous as any he has ever known, and pitted against a cult with monstrously lethal plans for the human race - plans he may already be too late to stop.


Two experiments were conducted to determine digestibility of total and phytate phosphorus (P) in young calves. In the 1st experiment 14 male calves received a commercial milk replacer (6 l of milk per day) and had free access to a starter concentrate. In the 2nd experiment 21 male calves were divided into 3 groups and fed ad libitum a milk replacer (Group I), milk replacer and starter concentrate (Group II), and milk replacer and silaged maize cobs (Group III). Digestibility measurements were carried out at the age of 10 weeks (1st experiment), and 12 and 16 weeks (2nd experiment). In the 1st experiment phytate P accounted for 27.0% of the total P intake. Phytate P was assayed by capillary isotachophoresis. On average, 27.9% of ingested P, but only 3.0% of phytate P were recovered from the faeces. The proportion of phytate P in total faecal P was 5.8%. In the 2nd experiment phytate P accounted for 8.9, 13.8 and 8.6% of total P in diets of calves of Group I, II and III, respectively. On average, 6.6% of ingested P and 3.6% of phytate P were recovered from the faeces. Dry ma�er of faeces contained total P, phytate P and phosphate P at 9.74, 0.65 and 4.69 mg/g, respectively. Faecal concentrations of total P significantly correlated with those of calcium (r = 0.71). It can be concluded that young calves utilised phytate P very efficiently as no more than a few % of phytate escaped degradation in the digestive tract.


In recent decades, German unions have rested on their institutional laurels even as the ground has slipped away. This article analyzes two recent innovative campaigns based on grassroots mobilization that, the author argues, offer possibilities for renewed union strength. A breakthrough campaign against a militantly anti-union firm in the retail industry demonstrates the potential for a German brand of social movement unionism. The story line and institution-building strategy of this campaign fall entirely outside the framework of traditional German industrial relations. A second, very different campaign, from deep inside that traditional framework, has mobilized union members in Nordrhein-Westfalen (IG Metall's largest district) for active engagement in contract negotiations and membership growth. Together, these two stories challenge existing perspectives on once stable German industrial relations, point toward inadequacies of prominent contemporary theories of institutional stability and change, and suggest constraints and opportunities for a German labor movement in need of strategic reorientation.


Chimpanzee, as the closest relative of human, has long been a focus of molecular evolution. In this article, we review recent findings of five major categories of human–chimpanzee genomic divergence, namely nucleotide substitution, insertion/deletion, duplication, pseudogenization and rearrangement. It is demonstrated that nonsubstitution variations greatly increase the complexity and play a critical role in human–chimpanzee genome evolution. These genetic changes may provide some clues to the evolutionary origins of human-specific traits.

Keywords:

evolutionary genomics;
nucleotide substitution;
insertion/deletion;
duplication;
pseudogene;
genome rearrangement


Abstract There has been growing interest for alternative fuels in aviation in the past three years. An alternative fuel can be defined by the triplet 'feedstock-process-fuel'. Presently, the triplet with one of the highest technology readiness levels for gas turbine (GT) applications involves using natural gas in a Fischer-Tropsch thermo-chemical process to derive synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK). Generic Fischer-Tropsch fuels were approved in September 2009 for use as 50% blends with Jet A-1. Gas-to-Liquid (GTL), as a final product of the aforementioned triplet meets those specifications and is in a deployment stage, with one plant currently under construction in Qatar. The product of a Fischer-Tropsch process, such as GTL, is feedstock agnostic. As such, its composition can be tailored to meet or exceed some of the current specifications for jet fuel. Investigating the potential benefits of composition changes in GTL-like jet fuel defines the general scope of our research program. This article presents the results of tests conducted on the Rolls-Royce plc TRL3 sub-atmospheric altitude ignition facility in Derby, UK. The test campaign aimed at investigating the impact of the carbon number distribution (narrow/wide cut), the iso- to normal-paraffin ratio and the total cyclic paraffin content characterizing the surrogate GTL-like fuel composition on the ignition and combustion performance of a single sector advanced GT combustor and fuel injector under simulated altitude conditions. The detailed diagnostics consisted of simultaneous high-speed imaging of hydroxyl (OH*) and methylidyne (CH*) chemiluminescence and broadband luminescence measurements of the ignition process. By observing the processes in the visible and the UV simultaneously, it was possible to distinguish between radiation (originating from e.g. soot) and the chemiluminescent emissions from the OH* and CH* radicals. These are markers for chemical activity in the different regions of the combustor and therefore provide information concerning the temporal and spatial development of the flame kernel.


We propose a methodological framework aimed at obtaining projections of the Human Development Index (HDI) that can be used to assess the degree of vulnerability of future societies to extreme climatic events. By combining recent developments in the modeling and projection of population by age, sex, and educational attainment, our modeling set-up ensures that the different components of the HDI are projected using a self-contained, consistent modeling effort. We develop scenarios that correspond to the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) developed in the context of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and thus present a projection framework that can be used to expand the evaluation of the potential mitigation and adaptation challenges associated with climate change in general, and with vulnerability to natural disasters in particular.


This study examines the impact of the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) on the farmers in the rural areas of Ondo state, Nigeria, West Africa. It examines the impact of the ADP on the farming operations of its target farmers and the adoption of the ADP's agricultural innovation, the farmer-related factors and the organizational factors that are associated with the impact of the ADP. A structured interview schedule was used to elicit responses from 144 contact farmers and 144 non-contact farmers using random sampling to select the non-contact farmers, and systematic sampling with a random start to select the contact farmers from the 24 cells that had been purposively selected from the zones. Correlation analysis was used to test the hypotheses formulated. The results show that the majority of the farmers (51.39 per cent) fell within the 'medium' impact level score on the impact table constructed. About 32 per cent fell within the 'high' impact level score, while 16.67 per cent fell within the 'low' impact level score. Four indicators of impact were used for this study, namely, farm yield, size of land cultivated, adoption of innovation and articles of convenience. The results revealed that there was a significant difference in mean yields of the farmers before and five years after the inception of the ADP in all the four crops examined. There was also a significant difference between the mean score of hectarage of land cultivated by the farmers before and since the inception of the ADP. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in the mean score of articles of convenience possessed by the farmers before and 10 years after the inception of the ADP. The level of adoption of 10 innovations taught by the ADP to the farmers was 'medium'. That is, more than 60 per cent of the farmers adopted between four and six innovations. Five farmer-related factors positively and significantly correlated with the impact of the ADP, namely, age of the farmers (r = 0.58612), number of children (r = 0.35114), years of formal education (r = 0.46571), size of family labour (r = 0.2967) and size of hired labour (r = 0.46167). The number of wives of the farmers did not have a significant association with the impact of the ADP. The critical value of r at 0.05 = 0.194.


The newly hatched Noisy Scrub-bird chick has 60 to 81 natal downs distributed in three paired and two single dorsal pterylae. The downs are most numerous and longest on the capital and spinal tracts. The age of the chicks when the contour feather sheaths emerge and burst on the various regions of the body is described. Males and females show no differences in the natal downs or juvenal plumage. The first moult begins when the chick is 41 to 46 days old. The first basic plumage is like the adult female plumage except that the male has a faint grey pectoral band on the upper chest. The second moult takes place during the bird's second summer, through which it attains the second basic (definitive) plumage. The males differ mainly in having a black upper pectoral band. All plumages are described. The distribution of the 840 natal downs in five paired and four single pterylae (both dorsal and ventral) in one specimen of the Superb Lyrebird is described. The differences in the natal downs and subsequent plumages between the scrub-birds and lyrebirds are discussed.


We have achieved highly stable amplification of femtosecond pulses to the millijoule level with pulse-to-pulse energy fluctuations below those of the pump source. Our Ti:Al2O3 amplifier produces pulses with a root-mean-square fluctuation in pulse energy of 0.42%, which is the lowest value to our knowledge for any optical pulse amplifier reported to date. Pump-noise suppression by a factor of 40 is demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge. We discuss this high-stability behavior through model simulations.


STANKOVIC, M., Z. MARKOVIC, Z. DULIC, B. RASKOVIC, I. ZIVIC and N. LAKIC, 2010. Effect of feeding frequencies on carp growth rate – preliminary results. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 16: 317-321 The success of production in aquaculture depends on the water quality, the fish fry but also on the skillfulness of the producers in achieving a profitable production while applying the most optimal technology. One of the producer's dilemmas, when applying feed, is the dynamics of supplemental feeding of fish. This was the reason for carrying out an experiment at the laboratory for fish nutrition at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade (Serbia). In three experimental groups, during 60 days, carp weight in correlation to the dynamics of feeding was studied. For the first group, feed was available to fish once a day, during 60 min, the second group had feed available twice a day, during 60 min, and the third group had feed available during 12 hours continuously. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the weight between the three experimental groups. The weight of fish from the first group was 41.47%, for the second group was 50.42%, and for the third 87.79%, respectfully, in relation to the stocking ichthyomass. According to the t-test the average weight of the first and second group was not statistically different but they were very significantly lower from the average weight of fish that had feed available 12 hours daily.


The Murchison Widefield Array 21cm Epoch of Reionization Experiment: Design, Construction, and First Season Results Adam Beardsley Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Miguel F. Morales Physics The Cosmic Dark Ages and the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) remain largely unexplored chapters in the history and evolution of the Universe. These periods hold the potential to inform our picture of the cosmos similar to what the Cosmic Microwave Background has done over the past several decades. A promising method to probe the neutral hydrogen gas between early galaxies is known as 21cm tomography, which utilizes the ubiquitous hyper-fine transition of HI to create 3D maps of the intergalactic medium. The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is an instrument built with a primary science driver to detect and characterize the EoR through 21cm tomography. In this thesis we explore the challenges faced by the MWA from the layout of antennas, to a custom analysis pipeline, to bridging the gap with probes at other wavelengths. We discuss many lessons learned in the course of reducing MWA data with an extremely precise measurement in mind, and conclude with the first deep integration from array. We present a 2-σ upper limit on the EoR power spectrum of ∆(k) < 1.25× 10 mK at cosmic scale k = 0.236 h Mpc−1 and redshift z = 6.8. Our result is a marginal improvement over previous MWA results and consistent with the best published limits from other instruments. This result is the deepest imaging power spectrum to date, and is a major step forward for this type of analysis. While our limit is dominated by systematics, we offer strategies for improvement for future analysis.


We introduce a method for manifold alignment of different modalities (or domains) of remote sensing images. The problem is recurrent when a set of multitemporal, multisource, multisensor, and multiangular images is available. In these situations, images should ideally be spatially coregistered, corrected, and compensated for differences in the image domains. Such procedures require massive interaction of the user, involve tuning of many parameters and heuristics, and are usually applied separately. Changes of sensors and acquisition conditions translate into shifts, twists, warps, and foldings of the (typically nonlinear) manifolds where images lie. The proposed semisupervised manifold alignment (SS-MA) method aligns the images working directly on their manifolds and is thus not restricted to images of the same resolutions, either spectral or spatial. SS-MA pulls close together samples of the same class while pushing those of different classes apart. At the same time, it preserves the geometry of each manifold along the transformation. The method builds a linear invertible transformation to a latent space where all images are alike and reduces to solving a generalized eigenproblem of moderate size. We study the performance of SS-MA in toy examples and in real multiangular, multitemporal, and multisource image classification problems. The method performs well for strong deformations and leads to accurate classification for all domains. A MATLAB implementation of the proposed method is provided at http://isp. uv.es/code/ssma.htm.


OBJECTIVE
Available basal insulin formulations do not provide a constant and reliable 24-h insulin supply. We compared the efficacy and safety of glargine (a long-acting insulin analog) and NPH insulins in insulin-naive type 2 diabetic patients treated with oral antidiabetic agents.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
There were 426 type 2 diabetic patients (age 59 +/- 9 years, BMI 28.9 +/- 4.3 kg/m2, mean +/- SD) with poor glycemic control on oral antidiabetic agents randomized to treatment for 1 year with bedtime insulin glargine or bedtime NPH insulin. Oral agents were continued unchanged. The fasting blood glucose (FBG) target was 6.7 mmol/l (120 mg/dl).

RESULTS
Average glycemic control improved similarly with both insulins (HbA(1c), [reference range <6.5%] 8.3 +/- 0.1 vs. 8.2 +/- 0.1% at 1 year, glargine vs. NPH, mean +/- SEM, P < 0.001 vs. baseline for both). However, there was less nocturnal hypoglycemia (9.9 vs. 24.0% of all patients, glargine vs. NPH, P < 0.001) and lower post-dinner glucose concentrations (9.9 +/- 0.2 vs. 10.7 +/- 0.3 mmol/l, P < 0.02) with insulin glargine than with NPH. Insulin doses and weight gain were comparable. In patients reaching target FBG, HbA(1c) averaged 7.7 and 7.6% in the glargine and NPH groups at 1 year.

CONCLUSIONS
Use of insulin glargine compared with NPH is associated with less nocturnal hypoglycemia and lower post-dinner glucose levels. These data are consistent with peakless and longer duration of action of insulin glargine compared with NPH. Achievement of acceptable average glucose control requires titration of the insulin dose to an FBG target < or =6.7 mmol/l. These data support use of insulin glargine instead of NPH in insulin combination regimens in type 2 diabetes.


AlPO4 mesoporous glass doped with perylene orange (PO) is prepared using two steps. The effects of dipping time and PO concentration on the fluorescent properties and molecular formation are investigated through absorption spectra, excitation spectra, and emission spectra. A slight increase in the intensity of excitation bands formed at 499 and 468 nm is ascribed to PO J-dimers aggregates as the dipping time increased from 2 to 24 h at high PO concentration (4×10 -3 mol/L). This is also the reason behind the concentration increase from 4×10 -6 to 4×10 -3 mol/L for the 16 h dipping. The excitation spectra, and the emission spectra of samples doped with PO show a slight red shift as the dipping time and the PO concentration increase. AlPO4 mesoporous glass is suitable to host the PO at high concentration.


Research on informal housing tends to focus overwhelmingly on less developed countries, downplaying or ignoring entirely the presence of informality in United States housing markets. In actuality, a longstanding and widespread tradition of informal housing exists in the United States but is typically disregarded by scholars. In this article we draw on three definitions of informality-as non-compliant, non-enforced, or deregulated economic activity-to characterize examples of informality in US housing markets, focusing in particular on five institutions that govern housing market activity in this country: property rights law, property transfer law, land-use and zoning, subdivision regulations, and building codes. The cases presented here challenge the notion that informality is absent from US housing markets and highlight the unique nature of informal housing, US style-namely, that informal housing in the US is geographically uneven, largely hidden and typically interwoven within formal markets. We conclude with a discussion of how research on informal housing in the US can inform research in the global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]


Seven dogs with thyroid gland carcinoma were treated with 131I and hormone suppressive therapy either alone (3 dogs) or in combination with surgery (3 dogs) or 137Cs teletherapy and chemotherapy (1 dog). Empirically chosen doses of 75 to 137 mCi of 131I were given orally (2 dogs) and intravenously (5 dogs). Adverse effects were limited to acute, transient bone marrow hypoplasia and pancytopenia. Nominal objective reduction in tumor volume or size and number of pulmonary metastases was observed in 4 dogs treated with 131I and thyroxine. Of these 4 dogs, 2 had stable disease for periods of 4 and 12 months while a third dog had stable disease for 27 months following two 131I treatments at 3 month intervals. The fourth dog had progressive disease. Two dogs with mediastinal metastases showed reduction in localization of 99mTc pertechnetate and radioiodine following 2 and 3 treatments using 131I. It appears that relatively high doses of 131I can be used safely for the treatment of canine thyroid tumors and that further investigation can be justified to define its efficacy.