A large-field substitution procedure for making Rayleigh matches was used to study the color matches of eight red-green dichromats and two extreme anomalous trichromats. Matches were made under three experimental conditions: (1) During the cone plateau period after a bleach; (2) after the rods had recovered from the bleach; and (3) on a blue background. Under conditions (1) and (3) rods were desensitized and appear to be unable to contribute to the color match. Seven of eight dichromats were still able to make unique matches with the rods desensitized. The matches of six of these seven dichromats were consistent with predicted matches for simple protanomalous and simple deuteranomalous trichromats. Matches made under condition (2) were typically more nearly consistent with matches predicted for the rods and the remaining normal cone mechanism, but there were also some individual differences in these matches. The matches of the two extreme anomalous trichromats were similar to the matches of the dichromats.


This paper presents a low-rank matrix completion approach to tackle the problem of wall clutter mitigation for through-wall radar imaging in the compressive sensing context. In particular, the task of wall clutter removal is reformulated as a matrix completion problem in which a low-rank matrix containing wall clutter is reconstructed from compressive measurements. The proposed model regularizes the low-rank prior of the wall-clutter matrix via the nuclear norm, casting the wall-clutter mitigation task as a nuclear-norm penalized least squares problem. To solve this optimization problem, an iterative algorithm based on the proximal gradient technique is introduced. Experiments on simulated full-wave electromagnetic data are conducted under compressive sensing scenarios. The results show that the proposed matrix completion approach is very effective at suppressing unwanted wall clutter and enhancing the targets.


No jurisdiction in Canada has yet enacted comprehensive legislation regarding fiduciary access to the digital assets of an individual who has died, become incapacitated, or has appointed an attorney or other representative. In August, 2016, the Uniform Law Conference of Canada (ULCC) adopted a uniform act on fiduciary access to digital assets (ULCC Uniform Act). This paper discusses why there may be a need for legislation, and then examines the most important elements of the ULCC Uniform Act. The act, which tends to favour fiduciary access and media neutrality, is compared throughout the paper with the two American acts prepared by the American Uniform Law Commission. The first American act was adopted in 2014 and then withdrawn due to concerns voiced by internet service providers and civil liberty groups regarding privacy issues, and the other, a revised version, was subsequently adopted in 2015.


Denmark is one of the world's leading countries in the use of health care technology. Virtually all primary care physicians have electronic medical records with full clinical functionality. Their systems are also connected to a national network, which allows them to electronically send and receive clinical data to and from consultant specialists, hospitals, pharmacies, and other health care providers. Under the auspices of a nonprofit organization called MedCom, over 5 million clinical messages are transferred monthly. One of the most important innovations has been the "one-letter solution," which allows one electronic form to be used for all types of letters to and from primary care physicians; it is used in over 5,000 health institutions with 50 different technology vendor systems.


Stiffness of pavement subgrade materials that is commonly determined by the resilient modulus parameter is an important component in the mechanistic design of flexible pavement structures. Environmental effects such as seasonal variations in pavement moisture content can considerably influence this material property which should be properly consideredin any realistic pavement design. The seasonal changes in moisture condition affects the stress state in the subgrade due to changes in the matric suction which is an important stress state variable in unsaturated soil mechanics. In this study, a modified test procedure and apredictive resilient modulus model that takes into account the subgrade soil matric suction asa stress state variable is presented. Two different silty sand subgrade materials were tested inunsaturated conditions using a series of Repeated Load Triaxial (RLT) tests. The tests wereperformed under various matric suctions (moisture contents) to enhance the understandingof its effect on the resilient modulus. The results showed a considerable influence of the moisturecontent (matric suction) on the subgrade resilient modulus. The resilient modulus datatogether with the suction measurements were used and a set of parameters for the enhancedpredictive model were developed. This model accounts for seasonal variation of subgradematerial stiffness by incorporating suction as a stress state variable.


While America's relationship with Britain has often been deemed unique, especially during the two world wars when Germany was a common enemy, the American business sector actually had a greater affinity with Germany for most of the twentieth century. American Big Business in Britain and Germany examines the triangular relationship between the American, British, and German business communities and how the special relationship that Britain believed it had with the United States was supplanted by one between America and Germany. Volker Berghahn begins with the pre-1914 period and moves through the 1920s, when American investments supported German reconstruction rather than British industry. The Nazi seizure of power in 1933 led to a reversal in German-American relations, forcing American corporations to consider cutting their losses or collaborating with a regime that was inexorably moving toward war. Although Britain hoped that the wartime economic alliance with the United States would continue after World War II, the American business community reconnected with West Germany to rebuild Europe's economy. And while Britain thought they had established their special relationship with America once again in the 1980s and 90s, in actuality it was the Germans who, with American help, had acquired an informal economic empire on the European continent. American Big Business in Britain and Germany uncovers the surprising and differing relationships of the American business community with two major European trading partners from 1900 through the twentieth century.


This experience paper is a follow-on from an experience paper presented at last year's
EASE conference which looked at the use of feature analysis to support strategic IT
decision-making within an engineering support function in Rolls-Royce [1].
The feature analysis tool is exceedingly powerful and informative, particularly
appreciated by senior managers. The graphical output enabled senior managers to
make strategic decisions quickly and effectively. The tool was extended by the
creation of different views of the business, of which the feature and system
comparison view has been by far the most useful. The other views proved interesting,
but did not ultimately have the impact of the feature and system comparison.
Feature analysis is an informative and effective tool for managers and developers but
is not complete in itself. A stakeholder analysis also proved extremely useful and
powerful. It can concisely summarise who has influence and why. The analysis
focussed thinking on how to manage the stakeholders. Feature analysis combined with
stakeholder analysis proved to be particularly effective.


The laboratory plays an important role in teaching engineering skills. An Electrical Engineering department at an Australian University implemented a reform to monitor and improve student satisfaction with the teaching laboratories. A Laboratory Manager was employed to oversee the quality of 27 courses containing instructional laboratories. Student satisfaction surveys were carried out on all relevant laboratories every year, and the data were used for continuous improvement. This paper will investigate the reforms that were implemented and outline a number of the improvements made. It also examines the program's overall impact on: (1) overall satisfaction; (2) laboratory notes; (3) learning experiences; (4) computer facilities; (5) engineering equipment; and (6) condition of the laboratory. Student satisfaction with the laboratories increased by 32% between 2007 and 2013. The results show that the laboratory notes (activity and clarity) and the quality of the equipment used are among the most influential factors on student satisfaction. In particular, it is important to have notes or resources that explain in some detail how to use and troubleshoot equipment and software used in the laboratory.


A Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE) has been undertaken jointly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the Department of Commerce and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to prove out an economically important application of remote sensing from space. At the outset LACIE will concentrate on wheat grown in the North American area. The experiment will combine crop area measurements obtained from LANDSAT data and meteorological information from NOAA satellites and from ground stations designed to relate weather conditions to yield assessment and ultimately to production forecasts. The Department of Agriculture will study the utilization of the experimentally derived production estimates in its crop reports. These reports are made public as a routine service to the domestic and international agriculture community. If this activity is successful and the results prove useful the application will be extended to other regions and ultimately to other crops.


Abstract The literature on nomadism shows that nomadic and sedentary modes of production complement each other. The interaction between them is characterized by both complementarity and conflict, depending on the prevalent circumstances that vary according to the ecological conditions of the environment that supports their subsistence base. The movement of people between these two modes of production has also been documented, particularly in Western Sudan where circumstances are favourable. Using examples from Western Sudan, this article argues that external factors such as state policies and internationalization are the cause of conflicts between nomads and sedentary people that we see today. Due to external factors, the complementary linkage has become one of conflict. We need to shift our anthropological work to a more expeditious analysis in which the forms and outcomes of the interaction between farmers and nomads at any point in time are seen as the product of the total social system in which they live, rather than a particular aspect of it. Keywords: Conflict, farming, internationalization, nomads, state Introduction Sedentary and nomadic peoples in Sudan have been interacting since time immemorial. Their interaction has been characterized by complementarity and conflict, depending on the prevalent circumstances that vary according to the differences in modes of livelihood, culture and ecological conditions of the environment that supports their subsistence base. Sedentary people and nomads practise agriculture and/or pastoralism, which are the two main systems of production in Sudan. However, in both academic and policy-making circles, the relationship between nomads and sedentary peoples is often depicted as existing in a state of perennial conflict, as if the two systems are mutually exclusive or as though one of them can only thrive by scavenging on the other. This crisis scenario, which permeates both anthropological and other academic disciplines, is rampant at the present time with some scholars declaring the end of pastoralism in East Africa by the end of the twentieth century (Dyson-Hudson 1982: 213). As Babiker (2002) stipulates, these types of assumptions present serious methodological problems for research on agro-pastoralism--to the extent that they are predicated on an untenable farmer/herder dichotomy, and gloss over the leverage that pastoralists can assert under particular circumstances. Many anthropologists have documented the relational and complementary exchanges between pastoralists and settled cultivators (cf. Haaland 1972, McGown et al. 1979), and there is also ample empirical evidence to suggest that external factors are the cause of many of the violent conflicts that exist in many parts of Sudan, where nomadism represents an important livelihood system (Harir 1994, Assal 2006, Takana 2008) It should be mentioned that the dichotomy of nomads/sedentary people has been challenged as early as the 1970s in many contributions that address nomads in the wider system (cf. Nelson 1973, Ahmed 1974, 2002). Yet, this dichotomy tends to be enforced, particularly in the context of protracted conflicts that result from the competition over natural resources. The existence of competition in Western Sudan contributes to sharpening the dividing lines between the nomadic and farming communities, and leads to violent conflicts of the sort we see today in Darfur. Furthermore, violent conflicts also happen within groups, including among nomads and farmers as well. The persistence of this dichotomy is without a doubt the result of conflict conditions in which identity boundaries of different sorts are stressed and manipulated by various actors. In other words, conflict conditions that sharpen identification lead scholars to construct analytical tools based on false premises. In this article, I will reflect on the problematic interaction between sedentary and nomadic peoples in Sudan in the context of state policies and internationalization. …


This article develops the hypothesis that the underlying processes generating the 1960s black rioting differed by time frame. More specifically, the idea is developed that local situations of blacks mattered least during the rioting explosion immediately following the assassination of Martin Luther King. To test this hypothesis, two subpopulations of cities were defined: those experiencing black rioting during April 1968 (N = 130), and those that had riots outside of April 1968 (N = 267). Indicators of the local situations of blacks (e.g., racial inequality) were then regressed on riot severity measurements developed for each subpopulation of cities. The results of this and other analyses supported the basic hypothesis of a rupture in the process generating riot activity immediately after the murder of King. These results are interpreted as fitting a common historical pattern of ebbs and peaks during eras of collective violence, wherein peaks reflect supralocal levels of an aggrieved group's collective consciousness and rage.


currently under debate between models invoking continuous subduction-accretion or punctuated accretion by closure of multiple ocean basins. We use the Yueyashan-Xichangjing ophiolite belt of the Beishan Collage (southern Altaids) to constrain the earliest oceanic crust in the southern Paleoasian Ocean. Five lithotectonic units were identified from south to north: the Huaniushan block, a sedimentary passive margin, the structurally incoherent Yueyashan-Xichangjing ophiolite complex, a coherent sedimentary package, and the Mazongshan island arc with granitic rocks. We present a structural analysis of the accretionary complex, which is composed of the incoherent ophiolitic melange and coherent sedimentary rocks, to work out the tectonic polarity. A new weighted mean Pb/U age of 534.4 ± 3.4 Ma from a plagiogranite in the Yueyashan-Xichangjing ophiolite indicates that the ocean floor formed in the early Cambrian. Furthermore, we present new geochemical data to constrain the tectonic setting of the YueyashanXichangjing ophiolite, and obtained seven U-Pb ages of Sandstone and granitoid and five Ar/Ar ages. The Yueyashan-Xichangjing ophiolite was emplaced as a result of northward subduction of an oceanic plate beneath the Mazongshan island arc to the north at about 420 Ma. Together with data from the literature, our work demonstrates that there were multiple overlapping periods of accretion existed in the Palaeozoic in the northern and southern Altaids. Therefore, a model of multiple accretion by closure of several ocean basins is most viable.


This note addresses the ongoing controversial stance that was ignited when Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the playing of the national anthem in protest of what he deems are wrongdoings against African Americans and minorities in the United States. The scope of this note does not surround Kaepernick himself, but rather the professional NFL football player in general. Specifically, players are entitled to the full rights of free expression and free speech as human beings and public figures, up and until the line where that right is abused on the field or "on the job," thereby threatening an increase of injury to the NFL, team owners, and the public interest. With anti-American sentiment growing and only 52% of Americans that are "extremely proud" of their country, it is time to start coming together and it is time to appropriately mark that line aforementioned. Professional football players should have a heightened threshold of professional responsibilities that coincide with their elevated status on the field when performing in uniform, and in their professional setting. Through exploring an athlete's freedoms of speech and expression under the Constitution and the National Labor Relations Act while simultaneously navigating through the world of player contracts and working conditions under the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, this note will portray a potential solution to the growing issue at hand that when multiplied can devastate the mission of the NFL, and effectually change how our nation's youth perceive this great country. Part II will lay the foundation of this analysis; by first giving the reader an inside look into the NFL's corporate structure and the interrelations between the NFL League Office, NFL Executive Committee, and team owners. Then I will discuss the NFLPA, the power of unions, and the role of the NFLPA in collective bargaining for the interests of the NFL players. This section will also note the relevant sections of the current 2011 NFL CBA which governs the league. Part III will illustrate a successfully executed demonstration of free speech on the professional sports stage and then introduce the reader to the Kaepernick Stance and its continued effect on our society and popular culture during a major transition of government policy. Here, the facts surrounding the issue will be put on display in a time-line fashion along with notable reactions allowing for the reader to make an independent judgment call for or against the stance and manner at which it has been presented. Furthermore, insight into the impact of social media on political protesting will reveal why the Kaepernick Stance has grown so fast, so quick. Part IV will take the reader back in time and discuss the origins of the National Anthem as well as the right of free expression under the First and Fourteenth Amendment and its continued evolution in terms of its interpretation. Finally Part V will conclude this note with an argument and a proposed solution.


This eight-volume set is an authoritative collection presenting state-of-the-art information on infrared and electro-optical systems. The handbook has been completely revised and updated, featuring 45 chapters written by 80 experts in IR/EO technology.


Erythrocyte invasion is a key step in the Plasmodium life cycle. This process is tightly regulated, involving the sequential release of specialised apical secretory organelles – the micronemes, rhoptries and dense granules. These organelles contain proteins required for invasion and establishment of the parasitophorous vacuole, but most of the proteins remain uncharacterised. The aim of this project was to uncover novel proteins with a role in invasion by the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum merozoites. I identified proteins using the following selection criteria: a) expression in the schizont/merozoite form of the parasite; b) conservation across the genus; c) the presence of a signal peptide and d) one or more transmembrane (TM) domains. A list of 64 proteins was identified, and filtered further based on novelty, presence in the merozoite proteome, expression in other life cycle stages, and difficulty of study. Five proteins were selected, and I produced recombinant protein and raised antibodies against three, which I used to identify the sub-cellular location of the protein within the parasite. The proteins appear to reside in either the rhoptries or the endoplasmic reticulum of the merozoite. Attempts were made to epitope-tag and delete all 3 genes, with a focus on one protein, the type IV Hsp40, PF11_0443. This protein contains two TM domains and is expressed during schizogony. By immunofluorescence it is present in the ER of early schizonts, before accumulating at the apex of merozoites in a rhoptry location. Immunoprecipitation experiments indicated that the protein binds known rhoptry proteins and other chaperones. The protein has been epitope-tagged but attempts to delete the gene by genetic recombination were unsuccessful. The gene is conserved in Plasmodium spp. and there are orthologues in higher eukaryotes, but it is absent from other Apicomplexa. Current studies are focused on the role of this protein in erythrocyte invasion.


The Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) advisory board recently proposed a smoking ban in most Maryland workplaces, including bars and restaurants, unless smoking is restricted to a separately ventilated area where nonsmoking workers cannot be required to enter. Results from the 1992-1993 Current Population Survey strongly suggest that there is broad support among Maryland residents for such restrictions and that the MOSH rules would merely extend an already widespread practice in the state. Efforts by the tobacco industry to gain an injunction against the proposed MOSH regulations would not appear to be supported by a clear majority of Maryland residents.


A new portfolio theory takes into account the non-Gaussian properties of asset returns. The non-Gaussian properties of a portfolio are quantified by the so-called moments and cumulants of its distribution of returns. Generalizing the concept of efficient frontiers, the non-Gaussian efficient frontier depends on the chosen risk measure, corresponding to different orders or combinations of centered moments or cumulants. These extended formulas let investors analyze the conditions under which it is possible to have one's cake and eat it too, in order to construct a portfolio with both higher return and fewer major risks.


The Metadata Retention measures being considered in Australia make some sweeping assumptions about the semantics of IP addresses and their association with individual subscribers to the Internet. But are these assumptions warranted? The exhaustion of the free pool of IPv4 addresses has prompted a new generation of Internet services that treat IP addresses as ephemeral shared conversation tokens, and retaining address use metadata in such an environment is an exercise in futility. The regulatory environment persists in treating the Internet in the same manner as the telephone network, and as a network-centric service utility, while the revolutionary change that the Internet bought to the communications environment was to reverse the roles of network and attached device, and form a device-centric model of communications. Unless our regulators can grasp the implications of this essential architectural change we will continue to see misplaced and ultimately futile regulatory measures imposed on the Internet, to the ultimate cost of the consumer.


This research investigates variation in hate crime offending against Arabs and Muslims across U.S. counties in the months before and after September 11, 2001. Four questions are of particular interest. First, what were the determinants of anti-Arab and Muslim hate crimes prior to 9/11? Second, in what social contexts were Arabs and Muslims at greatest risk of victimization? Third, to what extent did hate crimes against these groups increase after the terrorist attacks? And last, did the predictors of hate crimes against Arabs and Muslims change appreciably after 9/11? Findings show that hate crimes targeting Arabs and Muslims increased dramatically in the months following 9/11, although the structural determinants and geographic concentration of these crimes remained largely consistent after the attacks. Negative binomial regression results further suggest that counties with larger concentrations of Arabs and Muslims have higher incidents of such hate crimes, which likely reflects the availability of targets for this type of offending. At the same time, the likelihood of victimization for a given Arab or Muslim person is lowest in counties where the percent Arab or percent Muslim is highest, in line with a power-differential perspective on discrimination and intergroup violence. The findings imply that terrorist attacks may indeed incite retaliation and set off a wave of hate crime offending, but the location of these crimes is likely to remain consistent after a galvanizing event.


Alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases are risk factors for development of hepatocellular carcinoma, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. On the other hand, ingestion of soy-containing diets may oppose the development of certain cancers. We previously reported that replacing casein with a soy protein isolate reduced tumor promotion in the livers of mice with alcoholic liver disease after feeding a high fat ethanol liquid diet following initiation with diethylnitrosamine. Feeding soy protein isolate inhibited processes that may contribute to tumor promotion including inflammation, sphingolipid signaling, and Wnt/β-catenin signaling. We have extended these studies to characterize liver tumor promotion in a model of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease produced by chronic feeding of high-fat liquid diets in the absence of ethanol. Mice treated with diethylnitrosamine on postnatal day 14 were fed a high-fat liquid diet made with casein or SPI as the sole protein source for 16 weeks in adulthood. Relative to mice fed normal chow, a high fat/casein diet led to increased tumor promotion, hepatocyte proliferation, steatosis, and inflammation. Replacing casein with soy protein isolate counteracted these effects. The high fat diets also resulted in a general increase in transcripts for Wnt/β-catenin pathway components, which may be an important mechanism, whereby hepatic tumorigenesis is promoted. However, soy protein isolate did not block Wnt signaling in this nonalcoholic fatty liver disease model. We conclude that replacing casein with soy protein isolate blocks development of steatosis, inflammation, and tumor promotion in diethylnitrosamine-treated mice fed high fat diets. Impact statement The impact of dietary components on cancer is a topic of great interest for both the general public and the scientific community. Liver cancer is currently the second leading form of cancer deaths worldwide. Our study has addressed the effect of the protein source on hepatic tumor promotion in a mouse model reflecting aspects of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). A high-fat liquid diet with casein as the protein source promotes hepatic injury and tumor promotion in diethylnitrosamine-treated mice. Replacing casein with a soy protein isolate led to a pronounced diminishment of tumor promotion and associated hepatic injury and inflammation. The study thus demonstrates that a dietary protein source can have beneficial, preventative effects on hepatic tumor promotion.


In the R&D process of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Poloidal Field (PF) coils, 16 m PF5 Cable-in-Conduit Conductor (CICC) was integrated at Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP). The manufacture process of the qualification conductor was according to the ITER design. As required by the ITER Procurement Arrangement (PA), full size PF5 qualification conductor sample was manufactured and delivered to SULTAN facility (CRPP Villigen, Switzerland) for acceptance test. The PF5 conductor sample was made of two legs by one conductor bending, bottom hairpin box, upper terminations, support clamps, insulation, cryogenic piping and instrumentations. The concept of hairpin box and comb-type terminations configuration for ITER PF conductor sample which was co-contributed by ENEA and CEA was successfully verified by the first China PF2 conductor sample tested in SULTAN facility May 2010. The PF5 conductor sample test was initiated at the end of Feb. 2011. The test program included DC performance, cyclic loading, AC loss and MQE test. The conductor manufacture process, conductor sample assembly and test results were presented in this paper.


The magnetic mineral content of wind‐transported dust should reflect atmospheric transport dynamics and conditions in its source areas, and could thus be used as an environmental proxy. To test the feasibility of determining the magnetic mineral content in polar ice, isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) was measured on a small suite of Greenland ice samples of Holocene (interglacial) and Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) age. Although the extremely low dust concentrations limit weak field (susceptibility) measurements, all samples contained an easily measurable concentration of magnetic minerals that can be estimated using IRM intensity provided that special precautions are used. IRM experiments at liquid nitrogen temperatures indicate ice magnetic properties which are consistent with that expected from varying concentrations of magnetite or maghemite. Interestingly, the Holocene ice samples tend to have higher magnetic concentrations, despite having much lower total polar dust contents, than the few LGM ice samples tested thus far.


CONTEXT
People with chronic low back pain (CLBP) suffer from weaknesses in their core muscle activity and dysfunctional breathing. Inspiratory muscle training (IMT) was recently developed to treat this condition.

OBJECTIVES
The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of IMT on core muscle activity, pulmonary parameters, and pain intensity in athletes with CLBP.

DESIGN
This study was designed as a single-blind, randomized, controlled trial.

SETTING
Clinical rehabilitation laboratory.

PARTICIPANTS
A total of 23 male and 24 female athletes with CLBP were randomly divided into the experimental and control groups.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
The experimental group performed IMT for 8 weeks, 7 days per week and twice daily, using POWERbreathe KH1, beginning at 50% of maximum inspiratory pressure with a progressively increasing training load. The surface electromyography muscle activity of the erector spinae, multifidus, transverse abdominis and rectus abdominis, respiratory function and Visual Analogue Scale score were also measured before and after the intervention in both groups. The repeated-measures analysis of variance and 1-way analysis of covariance were further used to compare the intragroup and intergroup results following the intervention.

RESULTS
The findings of the study revealed that multifidus and transverse abdominis activity, as well as respiratory function, increased significantly in the IMT group (P < .05). Moreover, a descending trend was observed in the Visual Analogue Scale score in the experimental group (P < .05).

CONCLUSION
The results showed that IMT can improve respiratory function, increase core muscle activity, and, consequently, reduce pain intensity in athletes with CLBP.


Background
Optic nerve ultrasonography (optic nerve sheath diameter sonography) has been proposed as a noninvasive, quick method for diagnosing increased intracranial pressure.

Purpose
To examine the accuracy of optic nerve ultrasonography for diagnosing increased intracranial pressure in children and adults.

Data Sources
13 databases from inception through May 2019, reference lists, and meeting proceedings.

Study Selection
Prospective optic nerve ultrasonography diagnostic accuracy studies, published in any language, involving any age group or reference standard.

Data Extraction
3 reviewers independently abstracted data and performed quality assessment.

Data Synthesis
Of 71 eligible studies involving 4551 patients, 61 included adults, and 35 were rated as having low risk of bias. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio of optic nerve ultrasonography in patients with traumatic brain injury were 97% (95% CI, 92% to 99%), 86% (CI, 74% to 93%), 6.93 (CI, 3.55 to 13.54), and 0.04 (CI, 0.02 to 0.10), respectively. Respective estimates in patients with nontraumatic brain injury were 92% (CI, 86% to 96%), 86% (CI, 77% to 92%), 6.39 (CI, 3.77 to 10.84), and 0.09 (CI, 0.05 to 0.17). Accuracy estimates were similar among studies stratified by patient age, operator specialty and training level, reference standard, sonographer blinding status, and cutoff value. The optimal cutoff for optic nerve sheath dilatation on ultrasonography was 5.0 mm.

Limitation
Small studies, imprecise summary estimates, possible publication bias, and no evaluation of effect on clinical outcomes.

Conclusion
Optic nerve ultrasonography can help diagnose increased intracranial pressure. A normal sheath diameter measurement has high sensitivity and a low negative likelihood ratio that may rule out increased intracranial pressure, whereas an elevated measurement, characterized by a high specificity and positive likelihood ratio, may indicate increased intracranial pressure and the need for additional confirmatory tests.

Primary Funding Source
None. (PROSPERO: CRD42017055485).


In recent months there has been an increase in the popularity and public awareness of secure, cloudless le transfer systems. The aim of these services is to facilitate the secure transfer of les in a peer-to-peer (P2P) fashion over the Internet without the need for centralized authentication or storage. These services can take the form of client installed applications or entirely web browser based interfaces. Due to their P2P nature, there is generally no limit to the le sizes involved or to the volume of data transmitted and where these limitations do exist they will be purely reliant on the capacities of the systems at either end of the transfer. By default, many of these services provide seamless, end-to-end encryption to their users. The cybersecurity and cyberforensic consequences of the potential criminal use of such services are signi cant. The ability to easily transfer encrypted data over the Internet opens up a range of opportunities for illegal use to cybercriminals requiring minimal technical know-how. This paper explores a number of these services and provides an analysis of the risks they pose to corporate and governmental security. A number of methods for the forensic investigation of such transfers are discussed.


This paper describes the process of involving mental health service users in the planning and running of a community service. PACT (Psychiatric Assertive Outreach and Continuing Care Team) is based in south London and provides care for people who have severe and enduring mental health problems. We present an approach based on three years of intensive collaboration with service users. Community services will only become effective if they respond to need and develop new partnerships with people in contact with them. People require the opportunity to experience new ways of becoming involved at all levels of service provision and, therefore, efforts need to be made to develop a variety of opportunities for people to put forward their views. This takes time and determination by all involved.


The gut microbiota, the collection of all bacterial members in the intestinal tract, plays a key role in health. Disruption of the indigenous microbiota by a variety of stressors, including antibiotic therapy and intestinal infections, is associated with multiple health problems. We sought to determine if infection with Norovirus disrupts the gut microbiota. Barcoded pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA-encoding gene was used to characterize the stool microbiota in Norovirus-infected human patients (n = 38). While the microbiota in most infected patients (n = 31) resembled that seen in uninfected healthy controls, a minority of patients (n = 7) possessed a significantly altered microbiota characterized by reduced relative numbers of Bacteriodetes and a corresponding increase in Proteobacteria. In these patients, the increase in Proteobacteria was due to a single operational taxonomic unit (OTU) of Escherichia coli. We cultured E. coli from Norovirus-infected patients and characterized them using PCR-ribotyping and virulence factor analysis. Multiple ribotypes were encountered, but none possessed typical virulence factors commonly carried by enteropathogenic E. coli strains. Microbiota disruption and elevated Proteobacteria were not significantly correlated to patient age, gender, sampling time following illness onset, or overall gut inflammation. These results demonstrate that some patients have a disrupted microbiota following Norovirus infection, and therefore may be at elevated risk for long-term health complications.


The identification and classification of phases in small systems, e.g., nuclei, social and financial networks, clusters, and biological systems, where the traditional definitions of phase transitions are not applicable, is important to obtain a deeper understanding of the phenomena observed in such systems. Within a simple statistical model, we investigate the validity and applicability of different classification schemes for phase transtions in small systems. We show that the whole complex temperature plane contains necessary information in order to give a distinct classification.


Purpose: To monitor the MPIO and enhanced green fluorescenceprotein (eGFP) labeled mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) infiltration into the myocardial infarction (MI) site using T 2 * ‐weighted MRI; To monitor the MRI contrast around the MI site post‐GCSF modulation. Methods: C57Bl/6 male mice (6–8 weeks old) were irradiated with an 8‐Gy dose. The labeled MSCs (3–7×105) were transplanted into the tibial medullary space 2 days post‐irradiation. The mice were divided into: 1) a sham‐operated group (Sham, n=7); 2) a MI group without GCSF injection (MI‐GCSF, n=7); and 3) a MI group with GCSF treatment (MI+GCSF, n=3). At 14 days post‐labeled MSCs transplantation, the two MI groups underwent surgery via permanent ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery while the Sham group underwent open‐chest operation without perturbing the heart. The MI+GCSF group received subcutaneous GCSF injection 1 day post‐MI to enhance MSC mobilization. T 2 * ‐weighted short‐axis cardiac MRI was performed at baseline, 3, 7 and 14 days (D14) post‐surgery. Results: The MRI signal at the MI site was temporally attenuated for both MI groups, with more attenuated for MI+GCSF group (SNR 18.17±6.06 vs 11.37±1.01 at D14, p<0.05), but not for Sham group (30.63±5.69). The MI+GCSF group showed a trend of cardiac function improvement relative to MI‐GCSF group (left ventricular ejection function 45.55±7.52% vs 40.80±16.69% at D14), but it is insignificant possibly due to the small sample number. Dual‐labeled cells were fluorescently detected around the infarction site. Conclusions: Migration of MPIO‐labeled MSCs from bone marrow into the injured heart can be temporally monitored by MRI and additional signal attenuation caused by GCSF treatment can be differentiated. Results of this study suggest a potential approach in cell therapy to noninvasively monitor migration of labeled cells as well as the mobilization modulation produced by pharmaceuticals in the MI related events.


Nanomechanical properties of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) reinforced epoxy composites with varying weight percentage (0, 1, 3, and 5 wt%) of nanotubes were measured by nanoindentation and nanoscratch techniques. Hardness and elastic modulus were measured using a nanoindenter. Scratch resistance and scratch damage were studied using the AFM tip sliding against the SWNT reinforced sample surfaces. Nanoindentation/nanoscratch deformation and fracture behaviour was studied by in situ imaging of the indentation impressions/scratch tracks. Viscoelastic properties of the nanocomposites were measured using nanoindentation dynamic mechanical analysis tests. The reinforcing mechanisms are discussed with reference to the nanotube dispersion, interfacial bonding, and load transfer in the SWNT reinforced polymer composites.


Abstract: Background : oral health is an important aspect of well-being. In Italy immigrants can have different access to health care services, and can opt for the national Health Service (nHS) and/ or private non- profit health care organizations. The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to evaluate oral health in the immigrant population of rome and to investigate the differences between two different types of ser- vices: the First observation unit at the department of oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences, at the "Sapienza" university of rome (a nHS affiliate), and a charitable organization, the caritas dental center (cdc). Methods : a multiple-choice questionnaire was administered between the last trimester of 2006 and the first trimester of 2007. a chi square analysis was performed and the level of significance was set at p<0.05. reSulTS: The sample was composed of 250 people, of which 100 were patients of the cdc and 150 were patients of the nHS. The percentage of non-Italians was 80% (n=80) in the cdc sample, and only 16% (n=25) in the nHS sample. In the cdc, definitive resolving therapies, such as tooth extractions, prevailed (60% v's 47% nHS; p=0.033). In addition, the frequency of consumption of sugary foods and drinks was significantly higher among cdc patients (31% reported to consume these over 9 times a day) compared to nHS patients (11% reporting this consumption). Discussion : the study shows a substantial under using of the national Health Service for oral health care needs by the immigrant population. The particular composition of the sample, with a high prevalence being of romanian nationality, might reflect specific conditions of this nationality. The results showed that immigrants were satisfied with the health care even though they encountered difficulties in terms of level of communication.


Problem statement: The most of the distributed or physically-based hydrologic and water
quality models from developed countries are not directly applicable in developing countries due to
both lack of data and different climatic conditions. Hence, there is a need for a study to be conducted a
catchment of developed countries. Approach: From a review of various models to estimate runoff
using a semi-distributed model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was selected. Sequential
Uncertainty fitting (SUFI-2), a program that is linked to SWAT was utilized for calibration and
validation analysis. SUFI-2 is linked with SWAT in the Calibration Uncertainty Program known as
SWAT-CUP. There are two stream gages with adequate data for calibration and validation in Taleghan
basin with an area of 800 km2 in northwest of the Tehran, Iran. Joestan gauging station is located in the
upstream and measures runoff from an area of 413 km2 whereas Galinak station located at the outlet of
800 km2 Taleghan catchment. Results: The results showed surface runoff was 21% of the precipitation
for the upper part of the catchment and 33% at the outlet. Groundwater and lateral flows took place
mostly in the mountainous upper part of the catchment with contribution of 23% and 17 %,
respectively. Evapotranspiration losses at Joestan and Galinak stations were around 38% and 49% of
the precipitation, respectively. Conclusion/Recommendations: This research has successfully
developed a customized SWAT model by SUFI-2 program to be used by water engineers and
managers in their planning of future land and water developments in Taleghan Catchment. The
database system created in the study area, using dispersed datasets in GIS environment could be used
not only for modeling purposes but also for decision making. High surface runoff and low interflow at
Galinak station and inversely at Joestan station showed downstream of Joestan stations on need of
greater soil conservation measures. The main reason is snowpack in the winter and good rangeland in
other seasons. The study has produced a technique with reliable capability and high accuracy for
annual and monthly water balance components of the Taleghan catchment.


Background: The research history of rural hospitals from 1980 forward is reviewed. This summary, in turn, becomes a foundation for proposing an updated applied research agenda; one focused on ensuring health services for rural America. Research history: From 1980 to 1997 rural hospitals closed at a disproportionally higher rate than non-rural facilities. This trend prompted an academic search (Phase I) for the factors associated with the closure-conversion threat to hospitals. The public policy response was the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and the creation of the Critical Access Hospital (CAH). Once the closure-conversion threat diminished as a result, the research focus (Phase II) shifted from survival to financial performance monitoring, economic efficiency, quality of care, and patient safety of CAHs. Phase II research demonstrates that CAHs can sustain themselves and are not necessarily victims of adverse rural circumstances. Today, CAHs, Rural Health Clinics (RHC) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) exist as an established rural health safety net. Also, the 1332 CAHs are considered the hub of health services for rural communities. Significance: The rural environment remains a changing, challenging arena in which to ensure care for it residents. As such, the expanded Internal Revenue Service (IRS) definition of Community Benefit, specifically the periodic Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), provides a template for assessing the rural health safety net's capacity to meet local health needs and improve the health status of its communities. This rubric also balances fiscal stewardship with positive health service outcomes. It is argued that the CHNA expansion of Community Benefit is an ideal research template and performance standard for all rural hospitals. It enables one to offer researched answers to the enduring question, "What is the best way to ensure health services for rural America?"


Much has been written about how international firms create and sustain firm-specific advantages that offset their liability of foreignness. Less attention has been devoted the question of how international firms can reduce their liability of foreignness. Looking for different paths of learning our study explores the dynamics of firms' liability of foreignness. A sample of 494 international firms from Sweden, Denmark and New Zealand is clustered along three structural dimensions of liability of foreignness: (1) perceived lack of knowledge about the foreign market, (2) the longevity of operations in the foreign market, and (3) international experience of the entrant firm. The four clusters that precipitate represent different learning path positions. One group of firms can be identified as pre-entry learners, another group as post-entry learners. A minor group of firms is characterized by perceiving a persistent lack of knowledge about the foreign market they are operating in. One might speculate if these firms engage in any learning about the foreign business environment. Furthermore, the data suggest that firms with extensive international experience are more capable in familiarizing with the foreign business environment than are firms with little international experience.


Background: People with mental health problems are known to have nutritional and physical health risks. This is due to the effect of mood on food intake, the side-effects of psychotropic medications, such as obesity and constipation, and the social issues affecting their food intake, such as poverty, homelessness and lack of motivation to shop for and cook food. Little is known about the actual dietary intake of this population. This study aimed to 1) establish the dietary patterns of a sample of community based mentally ill people, 2) compare their dietary patterns with the general population, 3) identify whether they follow the recommended healthy eating guidelines and 4) establish whether they are a group who require targeting for dietary education to prevent diet related health problems developing in the future.
Method: Twenty-two people with a mental illness, attending a local day centre, were weighed and questioned about their food intake, using a validated food frequency questionnaire.
Results: An analysis of the food frequency questionnaires demonstrated that the diets of mentally ill people differed little from the diets of the general population. Diets were generally low in fibre, due to a low intake of fruit and wholegrain foods, and high in saturated fat due to the frequent consumption of pies, pastries, chips and full fat milk (particularly by females). Refined sugar intake was primarily derived from sugar added to tea and coffee rather than sugared soft drinks or sugar containing foods. Over half of the subjects were overweight, smoked or exceeded the recommended level for alcohol intake.
Conclusion: This study demonstrated that although the diets of our sample of mentally ill people were similar to those consumed by the general population, their diets did not meet the government's healthy eating recommendations, in order to prevent cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and cancer. Our sample of mentally ill people was therefore predisposed to the same risks of disease as the general population. Dietary and healthy lifestyle education programmes are thus required and should be targeted at individuals in this population who are most nutritionally at risk. Unfortunately, we were unable to establish which individuals were most at nutritional risk due to the small sample size. Larger studies, which allow for sub grouping according to diagnosis and psychotropic medication, are required in order to establish whether they have an effect on dietary intake patterns.


Available antiretrovirals both for treatment and prevention and more comprehensive HIV testing would have prevented the majority of past, annual HIV transmissions among MSM in the Netherlands, but none of the three interventions in isolation. The ART of HIV prevention Despite the relative success of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for individuals infected with HIV, the rate of new diagnoses has remained fairly constant in vulnerable population groups, particularly men having sex with men (MSM). Now, ART is also available in the United States to uninfected individuals to directly prevent infection with the virus. Ratmann et al. were able to reconstruct ~600 past transmission events among men having sex with men in the Netherlands, and examined probable sources of transmission. They found that the large majority of new infections is neither attributable to ineffective ART nor inadequate retention in care. Rather, many of these cases could have been averted with more comprehensive HIV testing and a broader use of ART that includes provision to uninfected men as well as starting ART as soon as possible among newly diagnosed men. These findings support making ART for pre-exposure prophylaxis available worldwide, and especially in countries with high retention in care and high ART coverage among infected MSM. New HIV diagnoses among men having sex with men (MSM) have not decreased appreciably in most countries, even though care and prevention services have been scaled up substantially in the past 20 years. To maximize the impact of prevention strategies, it is crucial to quantify the sources of transmission at the population level. We used viral sequence and clinical patient data from one of Europe's nationwide cohort studies to estimate probable sources of transmission for 617 recently infected MSM. Seventy-one percent of transmissions were from undiagnosed men, 6% from men who had initiated antiretroviral therapy (ART), 1% from men with no contact to care for at least 18 months, and 43% from those in their first year of infection. The lack of substantial reductions in incidence among Dutch MSM is not a result of ineffective ART provision or inadequate retention in care. In counterfactual modeling scenarios, 19% of these past cases could have been averted with current annual testing coverage and immediate ART to those testing positive. Sixty-six percent of these cases could have been averted with available antiretrovirals (immediate ART provided to all MSM testing positive, and preexposure antiretroviral prophylaxis taken by half of all who test negative for HIV), but only if half of all men at risk of transmission had tested annually. With increasing sequence coverage, molecular epidemiological analyses can be a key tool to direct HIV prevention strategies to the predominant sources of infection, and help send HIV epidemics among MSM into a decisive decline.


The aim of the present study was to assess whether the feeding pattern displayed by sheep exposed to a monotonous ration is modified when the same ration is presented in a diversity of flavours and if such diversity influences nutrient intake and digestibility. Twelve commercial crossbred wether lambs were assigned to two groups. Six lambs/period (three lambs/group.period) were housed in metabolic crates during two successive periods. One group of lambs (Diversity, D) was fed simultaneously an unflavoured ration of alfalfa, barley, beet pulp and urea (55 : 35 : 9 : 1) and the same ration supplemented (0.2%) with one of the following two flavours: (1) sweet, and (2) umami. The other group (Monotony, M) received only the unflavoured ration. All animals were fed their respective rations ad libitum from 0800 hours to 1600 hours for 26 days in each period. Day 19 was used for assessing the lamb feeding pattern every 30 min for 8 h, and the last 6 days of the period were used for estimating in vivo food digestibility. Lambs in D tended to ingest more acid detergent fibre (ADF; P = 0.10) and to have a lower crude protein digestibility (P = 0.08) than did lambs in M. Nevertheless, average daily DM intake did not differ between treatments (P = 0.22) and lambs in M and D digested the same amount of DM, neutral detergent fibre, ADF and N (P > 0.10). Flavour diversity did not affect N retained, N retained/N consumed, or ruminal pH 1 h after feeding (P > 0.10). Lambs in D showed greater intakes than did those in M during 30 (P = 0.006), 60 (P = 0.02), 90 (P = 0.02), 120 (P = 0.04) and 180 min (P = 0.07) after offering the rations. Results suggest that changes in eating behaviour occurred only during the first part of the feeding period, leading to slight changes in ADF intake and crude protein digestibility, which did not impact nutrient utilisation.


The supermode noise suppressing ratio (SMSR) and the phase noise of a harmonically mode-locked Erbium-doped fiber laser (HML-EDFL) with an intra-cavity semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) and an optical band-pass filter (OBPF) are improved and compared with a state-of-the-art Fabry-Perot laser diode (FPLD) injection-mode-locked EDFL. By driving the intra-cavity SOA based high-pass filter at unitary gain condition, the SMSR of the HML-EDFL is enhanced to 82 dB at the cost of degrading phase noise, increasing jitter, and broadened pulse width. The adding of OBPF further improves the SMSR, pulse width, phase noise, and jitter of the SOA-filtered HML-EDFL to 90 dB, 42 ps, -112 dBc/Hz, and 0.7 ps, respectively. The ultrahigh SMSR of the SOA-filtered HML-EDFL can compete with that of the FPLD injection-mode-locked EDFL without sacrificing its pulse width and jitter performances.


This thesis covers the establishment of palm oil-based fluid shortening production by investigating the static and dynamic crystallization behaviors of palm oil blends with and without emulsifier at various temperature treatments. Solid fat content (SFC), crystal size and distribution, fatty acid content (FAC) and triacylglycerol (TAG) composition of the palm oil blends were determined and analyzed using ANOVA at 95% confidence level. Palm oil-based fluid shortening formulation, emulsifier and stirring speed were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) based on the storage study that included SFC, viscosity, pourability and crystal size and distribution. Crystal development of the blends as a function of time had developed crystallization curves that demonstrated distinct steps corresponding to crystallization stages due to the occurrence of mixed crystallization. Slow crystallization without emulsifier was influenced by the total saturated FAC, with significant (P<0.05) changes in SFC, crystal distribution and viscosity. Lecithin at 0.03% was generally a crystal promoter; however, at 0.06 and 0.09% it acted as a crystal inhibitor. STS was generally a crystal inhibitor at 0.03, 0.06 and 0.09%. Temperature cycling processes at Cycle 3 had caused the blends with slip melting points (SMP) of 26.5 - 33.5°C to crystallize forming uniform crystal aggregates. Crystal size of blends with emulsifier was significantly increased as the temperature cycling was reduced and the emulsifier content was increased. However, blends with 0.03 and 0.06% lecithin and 0.09% STS had low viscosities. Blends of SMP 21.6 - 26.5°C with 0.09% STS and 0.03% lecithin formed crystal aggregates ranging from 10 – 40 μm and produced low SFCs. The model developed by RSM comprising of 20 - 23% palm oil, 77 - 80% palm olein, 0.02-0.06% lecithin and crystallized at stirring speed of 150 – 300 RPM had established palm oil-based fluid shortenings stable at storage of 25 – 30oC for three weeks. It is concluded that the size of the crystal aggregates and their distribution in the bulk, were important factors contributing to palm oil-based fluid shortening to flow.


INTRODUCTION
The importance of patient instructions, designed to optimize therapy with phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED), has recently been demonstrated.

AIM
To evaluate the impact of an educational program for new sildenafil users against usual ED management in Canadian primary care practices.

METHODS
This multicenter, 6-month cluster randomized prospective study was conducted across Canada in general practitioners' offices where sites were randomized to receive a treatment optimization program (TOP) tool at visit 1 (TOP sites) or not to receive the TOP tool (non-TOP sites) while continuing with usual practice. Study participants were men seeking medical attention for ED and who were sildenafil naïve. The TOP tool consisted of a tear-off sheet, a brochure, and a video. Study drug was not provided to the patients. Sildenafil samples and prescriptions were dispensed as per usual care practices.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
The Erectile Dysfunction Inventory of Treatment Satisfaction (EDITS) questionnaire was used to determine treatment satisfaction at visit 2 (month 3) and visit 3 (month 6). Patient and physician satisfaction with the TOP tool was assessed using self-reported questionnaires.

RESULTS
The intent-to-treat (ITT) population consisted of 2,573 patients from 231 primary care sites. At visits 2 and 3, treatment satisfaction with sildenafil was high with almost 9 patients out of 10 satisfied with treatment. No significant statistical differences were observed in the EDITS scores between the TOP and the non-TOP groups at visits 2 and 3. More than 80% of the participants were satisfied or very satisfied with the video and the brochure. More than 8 out of 10 participating physicians (84%) would use the TOP tool in their current practice if available.

CONCLUSIONS
TOP is a valuable and time-efficient ED management tool providing benefits to newly diagnosed ED patients and to their physicians.


Navigation, the ability to organize behavior adaptively to move from one place to another, appeared early in the evolution of animals and occurs in all mobile species. At the simplest level, navigation may require only movement toward or away from a stimulus, but at a more sophisticated level, it involves the formation of complex internal representations of the environment, the subject's position within it, the location of goals, the various routes from current position to goal and possible obstacles along the way. The vast array of navigational capabilities in various species has made it challenging for students of comparative cognition to formulate unifying frameworks to describe and understand these capabilities, although the variety also confers an exciting opportunity for asking comparative questions that are hypothesis driven. A unifying framework, the navigation toolbox, is proposed to provide a way of formulating common underlying principles that operate across many different taxa. The toolbox contains a hierarchy of representations and processes, ranging in complexity from simple and phylogenetically old sensorimotor processes, through the formation of navigational "primitives" such as orientation or landmark recognition, up to complex cognitive constructs such as cognitive maps, and fi nally culminating in the human capacity for symbolic representation and language. Each element in the hierarchy is positioned at a given level by virtue of being constructed from elements in the lower levels and having newly synthesized spatial semantic contents in the representations that were not present in the lower levels. In studying individual species, the challenge is to determine how given elements are implemented in that species, in view of its particular behavioral and anatomical constraints. The challenge for the fi eld as a whole is to understand the semantic structure of spatial representations in general, which ultimately entails understanding the behavioral and neural mechanisms by which semantic content is synthesized from sensory inputs, stored, and used to generate behavior. © 2011 Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies. All rights reserved.


ABSTRACT Bacteria use two-component signaling systems to adapt and respond to their competitors and changing environments. For instance, competitor bacteria may produce antibiotics and other bioactive metabolites and sequester nutrients. To survive, some species of bacteria escape competition through antibiotic production, biofilm formation, or motility. Specialized metabolite production and biofilm formation are relatively well understood for bacterial species in isolation. How bacteria control these functions when competitors are present is not well studied. To address fundamental questions relating to the competitive mechanisms of different species, we have developed a model system using two species of soil bacteria, Bacillus subtilis and Streptomyces sp. strain Mg1. Using this model, we previously found that linearmycins produced by Streptomyces sp. strain Mg1 cause lysis of B. subtilis cells and degradation of colony matrix. We identified strains of B. subtilis with mutations in the two-component signaling system yfiJK operon that confer dual phenotypes of specific linearmycin resistance and biofilm morphology. We determined that expression of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter yfiLMN operon, particularly yfiM and yfiN, is necessary for biofilm morphology. Using transposon mutagenesis, we identified genes that are required for YfiLMN-mediated biofilm morphology, including several chaperones. Using transcriptional fusions, we found that YfiJ signaling is activated by linearmycins and other polyene metabolites. Finally, using a truncated YfiJ, we show that YfiJ requires its transmembrane domain to activate downstream signaling. Taken together, these results suggest coordinated dual antibiotic resistance and biofilm morphology by a single multifunctional ABC transporter promotes competitive fitness of B. subtilis. IMPORTANCE DNA sequencing approaches have revealed hitherto unexplored diversity of bacterial species in a wide variety of environments that includes the gastrointestinal tract of animals and the rhizosphere of plants. Interactions between different species in bacterial communities have impacts on our health and industry. However, many approaches currently used to study whole bacterial communities do not resolve mechanistic details of interspecies interactions, including how bacteria sense and respond to their competitors. Using a competition model, we have uncovered dual functions for a previously uncharacterized two-component signaling system involved in specific antibiotic resistance and biofilm morphology. Insights gleaned from signaling within interspecies interaction models build a more complete understanding of gene functions important for bacterial communities and will enhance community-level analytical approaches.


In this study, improvement of power density by applying novel shape of slit and notch to outer ribs of a rotor that reduces magnetic flux leakage in outer rib and increases air-gap magnetic flux density for spe PMSM for a washing machine, was investigated.It is important that motors for home appliance require lower manufacturing cost, high power and high efficiency. In order to increase power, rotor shape is re-designed. In the outer rib of the rotor, magnetic flux leakage occurs by permanent magnet and magnetic flux is saturated which is one of the factors that reduces the power and efficiency. However, if the outer rib is designed to be too thin, the permanent magnet may scatter during high-speed rotation. Therefore, a design considering permanent magnet scattering is necessary. Motor for a washing machine has two operating points that washing mode at constant torque point and dehydrating mode at high-speed point.For improvement of higher power density, 2-D finite elements analysis was performed to optimize the parameters of the shape of slit and notch to increase the torque. The torque increases by optimizing width and length of slit shape and notch shape. Finally, with the optimized parameters of shape of slit and notch, stack length was adjusted as per torque requirement for a washing machine motor and power density increases considering the safe factor from stiffness analysis.


A transdisciplinary view of the management area means looking for new epistemological and methodological stands that are not only an overlap of ideas and methods, but an attempt in the search of insights and multiple approaches that can embrace the essence of the phenomena of the area. To some extent, they are connected with the wide universe of social sciences in its different domains and multidisciplinary body. This article focuses on complexity, in search of foundations for the development of a methodological pluralism supported by transdisciplinarity. It also questions the mainstream rationalities that, to some extent, have served as theoretical and epistemological framework to a management where there is no room for emancipation and creativity. The article develops new epistemological perspectives that may mean more adequate and fertile analyses of the individual and collective phenomena. They characterize the organizations' universe, in their conflicts, contradictions and own reason of being and that of the society.


Designing a software architecture is about defining and composing highlevel design structures. Whereas describing several structures is is fairly well supported, both non-aspect-oriented and aspectoriented Architectural Description Languages (ADLs) fall short when it comes to documenting relations or compositions between architecturallyrelevant crosscutting structures. This makes in turn separation of important concerns in the architecture hard, thereby increasing maintenance overhead and reducing reuse capabilities. This paper identifies and analyzes examples of crosscutting structures in an architecture for an industrial Automatic Guided Vehicle Transportation System (AGVTS). This analysis allowed us to determine and introduce an initial set of structural composition operators into xADL, namely substructure, mapping, and unification. The operators' feasibility have been assessed while refactoring the existing AGVTS architecture. Based on a real maintenance scenario, we also investigate to what extent these explicit compositions led (or not) to enhanced architectural changeability for evolving the distribution strategy.


We used data from the International Social Survey Program to investigatethe correlation between 'green' attitudes and 'green' consumption behaviours in 21 different countries. Despite avoiding the methodological problems often blamed for poor attitude-behaviour correlations, we found lower correlations than reported in a recent meta-analysis of this subject. Furthermore, the correlations varied considerably between countries, and in some countries were not significant at all. These results suggest that previous findings on attitude-behaviour correlations are not generalisable to all countries, and that attitudes seldom explain more than 10% of the variance in behaviour.


Volcanic eruptions at mid-ocean ridges are rarely witnessed due to their inaccessibility, and are therefore poorly understood. Shallow waters in the Red Sea allow the study of ocean ridge related volcanism observed close to sea level. On the 18th December 2011, Yemeni fishermen witnessed a volcanic eruption in the Southern Red Sea that led to the formation of Sholan Island. Previous research efforts to constrain the dynamics of the intrusion and subsequent eruption relied primarily on interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) methods, data for which were relatively sparse. Our study integrates InSAR analysis with seismic data from Eritrea, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia to provide additional insights into the transport of magma in the crust that fed the eruption. Twenty-three earthquakes of magnitude 2.1–3.9 were located using the Oct-tree sampling algorithm. The earthquakes propagated southeastward from near Sholan Island, mainly between December 12th and December 13th. The seismicity is interpreted as being induced by emplacement of a ∼12 km-long dike. Earthquake focal mechanisms are primarily normal faulting and suggest the seismicity was caused through a combination of dike propagation and inflation. We combine these observations with new deformation modeling to constrain the location and orientation of the dike. The best-fit dike orientation that satisfies both geodetic and seismic data is NNW-SSE, parallel to the overall strike of the Red Sea. Further, the timing of the seismicity suggests the volcanic activity began as a submarine eruption on the 13th December, which became a subaerial eruption on the 18th December when the island emerged from the beneath the sea. The new intrusion and eruption along the ridge suggests seafloor spreading is active in this region.


The notion of marginalism is central to modern economic theory. Its emergence, in the 1870s, underpinned the change from classical economics to modern (micro)economics, described by Schumpeter as a 'revolution'. This book explores the origins of the concept, its development and role in modern economics and shows why the marginalist approach is much more than a set of mathematical rules. The book examines how marginalism and its development of calculus came about in a variety of different arenas, including as a reaction to Ricardo's dominant theory of rents, in von Thunen's location model, in the writings of German and French authors, both within the mainstream and outside it, before going on to look in detail at the work of Jevons, Walras and Menger, the economists most closely associated with the marginal revolution. By exploring the origins and development of the marginalist approach within the history of economic thought, rather than seeking to explain it in forbidding formal terms, the book is better able to show students the wider importance of the marginalist approach in economic theory and its far-reaching societal implications in terms of the distribution of wages and capital. For anyone who has struggled with the technicalities of microeconomic theory, this approach will be warmly welcomed.


The present study examines the role of family functioning and self-concept in psychopathology by comparing the groups of adults with psychopathology (patients) and without psychopathology (normal) on the variables of family functioning and self concept. Further it examines the relationship between family functioning and self concept. After detailed literature review, it was hypothesized that a) Adults with psychopathology would score high on the variable of 'communication' in family, as compared to their normal counterparts; b) Adults with psychopathology would score high on the variable of 'control' in family, as compared to their normal counterparts; c) Adults with psychopathology would score high on the variable of 'involvement' in family, as compared to their normal counterparts; d) Adults with psychopathology would score low on the variable of self-concept as compared to their normal counterparts; e) Family functioning (communication, control & involvement) would be a predictor of self- concept in the sample of adults with psychopathology.

The sample consisted of 180 unmarried adult volunteers. The entire sample comprised of two groups (i.e., 90 diagnosed patients with psychopathology and 90 normal adults). The first sample included adults falling in the three major classification of mental disorders, that is, 30 adult patients with the diagnosis of Psychotic Disorder (Schizophrenia), 30 adult patients with the diagnosis of Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia and Major Depression), and 30 adult patients with the diagnosis of Anxiety Disorder (Specific and Social Phobia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder). These individuals were diagnosed as having above mentioned disorders by their respective psychiatrist and clinical psychologists according to the criteria of DSM-IV Text Revision (APA, 2000), and were selected from various psychiatric clinics and hospitals. The second sample of normal adults was drawn from different institutes and organizations of metropolitan city of Karachi, Pakistan. These individuals did not have history of psychological problems and had never sought any kind of psychiatric / psychological treatment (psychotropic medication / psychotherapy). The ages of participants in both samples ranged from 20 to 35 years with the mean age of 25.25 years (patients 25.22 years and normal adults 25.28 years). The entire sample belonged to middle socioeconomic class and the minimum educational level was intermediate. To further confirm the diagnosis and obtain clinical/ personal information, the examiner filled in the semi-structured interview form for psychological assessment designed by the Institute of Clinical Psychology, University of Karachi. General subscale of Family Assessment Measure-III (Skinner, Steinhauer & Santa-Barbara, 1984) and Six-factor self-concept scale (Stake, 1994) were administered in order to assess impairment in family functioning (Communication, Control, Involvement) and self concept of both groups (with psychopathology and normal) respectively.

One way Analyses of Variance (ANOVA) were applied to determine the difference between adults with psychopathology (psychosis, depression and anxiety disorders) and normal adults on the variables of family functioning (Communication, Control and Involvement) and degree of self-concept; Post hoc analyses were conducted to further assess the mean difference of normal group from three groups with psychopathology (Psychosis, Depression and Anxiety disorders). Multiple Regression analysis was done to see the causal relationship between the variables of family functioning (Communication, Control and Involvement) and self-concept in sample with psychopathology, and additionally in entire sample. Additionally, t tests, Pearson product moment correlations, partial correlations and stepwise regression were calculated.

The results showed significant differences on the variables of family functioning and level of self-concept between adults with and without psychopathology. Adults without psychopathology have higher scores on family functioning variables which reflect deviant patterns of communication, inadequate control and involvement and in the families of adults with psychopathology as compared to their normal counterparts. Similarly, adults with psychopathology have lower scores on self concept as compared to normal participants. Further, it was also found that family functioning predicts self-concept in adults with psychopathology. Avenues for future research have also been suggested, while implications and limitations have been illustrated.


The concept of significant lesions has substantially evolved over the last decade. With growing evidence for use of fractional flow reserve (FFR) as a determinant of lesion-specific ischemia and its superiority to angiography-guided revascularization and medical therapy, the field of percutaneous revascularization has shifted to rely exclusively on FFR instead of luminal stenosis alone in guiding revascularization. This transition to physiological assessment has not yet made it to the realm of surgical revascularization. FFR-guided therapy has been shown to be superior to angiography-guided therapy mainly by safe deferral of about 1/3rd of lesions, leading to less periprocedural events and better outcomes. Is it possible that utilization of FFR-guided CABG would lead to less complicated procedures, shorter operating times, more frequent off pump CABG procedures and more hybrid procedures? Can FFR-guided CABG improve the cardiovascular outcomes as compared to current standard of practice? In the following paragraphs we review the concept of FFR, the evidence behind FFR-guided therapy, the emerging data regarding use FFR-guided CABG and discuss where the revascularization field is headed.


The aim of this study was to determine the composition of nitrogen fractions in alfalfa and red clover, which differ in proteolytic activity, and to evaluate the effect of wilting on changes in nitrogen fractions in alfalfa and red clover herbage. Total nitrogen was divided into protein and non-protein nitrogen, and the amino acid profile of protein was analyzed. Buffer-soluble nitrogen (BSN), including buffer-soluble protein nitrogen (BSPN) and non-protein buffer-soluble nitrogen (NPBSN), was determined. The NPBSN fraction was further subdivided into peptide nitrogen, amino acid nitrogen, neutral detergent-insoluble nitrogen (NDIN) and acid detergent-insoluble nitrogen (ADIN). Wilting in the field to 40% dry matter content (the swath was tedded once) did not reduce the total nitrogen content of alfalfa and red clover herbage, although it affected the concentration of the BSNfraction, in particular NPBSN, and free amino acid nitrogen. During alfalfa wilting, the soluble protein content decreased and the concentrations of non-protein nitrogen compounds increased, mostly due to an increase in free amino acid nitrogen. A reverse trend was observed during red clover wilting – the concentrations of non-protein nitrogen compounds decreased and soluble protein content increased. A decrease was also noted in peptide nitrogen, NDIN and ADIN. Wilting of alfalfa and red clover had no adverse effect on the amino acid profile of protein. The concentrations of essential amino acids that limit milk protein synthesis, i.e. Lys, Met, His and Arg, did not decrease. Legume wilting in the field contributes to an increase in the concentrations of soluble nitrogen in the plant material intended for ensiling.


We have previously reported that l‐thyroxine treated patients may often have elevated serum T4 concentrations and yet show no clinical signs of hyperthyroidism. We found that such patients had normal serum T3 concentrations. The present study explored the relationship between serum T3 and T4 and dosage of l‐thyroxine. Retrospective analysis of 99 patient records was performed. There was an increase of serum T4, serum T3 resin uptake (T3R), and T3 with increasing dose of l‐thyroxine. The T3/T4 ratio decreased with increasing dose of l‐thyroxine and with increasing T4. This phenomenon was analysed prospectively by starting 23 individuals on l‐thyroxine and progressively incrementing the dose until either symptoms of hyperthyroidism developed or T4 levels exceeded the upper unit of the normal range. Once again, there was a progressive increase in serum T4, T3R, and T3 with increasing dose of l‐thyroxine. At even the lowest dose of l‐thyroxine (0.05 mg), there was a marked fall in T3/T4 ratio as compared to untreated individuals. The T3/T4 ratio fell further with increasing dose but with a fairly weak correlation. The decrease in T3/T4 ratio showed a much stronger correlation with serum T4. Of the 23 individuals, all exceeded the upper limit of the normal range of serum T4. No individual with elevated T4 developed clinical signs of hyperthyroidism unless serum T3 was also elevated beyond the normal range. Of eight individuals who reached elevated T3 levels, six demonstrated clinical signs of hyperthyroidism. We conclude that l‐thyroxine treated individuals may show elevated T4 levels and yet be clinically euthyroid as a consequence of a relative decrease in T3 levels. Serum T3 appears to be the most reliable indicator of possible hyperthyroidism in l‐thyroxine treated patients.


The definition of a refugee in international law is famously vague. Two particularly challenging elements are the nature of "persecution" and the scope of involvement in "a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity, as defined in [...] international instruments" (1) such that an otherwise eligible refugee would be excluded from international protection. Given that asylum adjudicators have had over sixty years of experience in interpreting the 1951 Refugee Convention definition, now governing in the 148 states parties to the Convention and/or its 1967 Protocol, there should be ample opportunities for comparative analysis and judicial conversation. Outside the confines of the Convention itself, the evolution of human rights law since 1951 and the explosive growth in international humanitarian law and international criminal law since the mid-1990s have created a rich environment for situating the refugee definition in a more comprehensive international law context. Some jurisdictions have interpreted persecution using the language of human rights, while others have developed what might be characterized as a more inward-looking, refugee-specific, sense of the word. Similarly, some jurisdictions have indeed looked to "international instruments" to inform their understanding of exclusion for war crimes and related offenses, while others have based their exclusion analysis on other factors. The United States has taken a different direction, by excluding those who persecute others, with the result that persecution for the purposes of exclusion is a mirror image of persecution as defined for the purposes of inclusion. My work looks at the use, or lack thereof, of international and comparative law in refugee status determination, and explores the consequences for coherence and consistency in international protection. To the extent that international law is taken into account in refugee status determination, it is generally regarded as a positive development. It may feel intuitively correct that this is so, and some scholars have argued that an external legal framework provides analytical rigor to refugee status determination, but it does not empirically appear to be the case. My intention is to raise questions about these links. I am a skeptic when it comes to the utility, or even the usage, of international law norms in refugee status determination. I question the significance of finding citations to external sources of law in domestic asylum jurisprudence. To the extent that these citations reveal serious engagement with an analytic framework, and not just boilerplate language, there is a risk of making a refugee definition that is famously vague and difficult to apply consistently even more unwieldy by interpreting it with the often indeterminate norms of international law. With respect to inclusion, is it helpful to say, as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has done, that persecution is a serious violation of human rights? (2) Or in the European Union formulation, that it is a severe violation of basic human rights? (3) Human rights law does not recognize a division of basic and non-basic rights. To the contrary, human rights are interrelated, interdependent, and indivisible. With respect to exclusion, is it useful to know that an asylum seeker may be excluded under Article 1F(a) of the Refugee Convention for a war crime as defined under international law? Would that refer to all violations of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which do not themselves use the terminology of war crimes, or perhaps just grave breaches? I have looked at the use of human rights law in refugee status determination in the context of claims of persecution based on economic harm, comparing Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, which interpret persecution in human rights terms, with Australia and the United States, which do not. (4) I found that despite de jure differences in the legal standard employed, all five countries applied a de facto similar, strict, standard. …


The topic of organizational responsiveness – where organizations need to flexibly react to strategic and operational demands simultaneously – has been under-explored in strategic management research. Our study was initiated to shed more light on this topic, primarily by studying an organization specifically designed to handle crises. By definition, crisis response organizations have to be prepared to react to unpredictable events. Moreover, the volatility of the crisis situation itself requires a high degree of flexibility to get or keep the situation under control. The study hypothesizes modular organizing and organizational sensing to be key drivers of organizational responsiveness. Empirically, we examine the effect these two variables have on the responsiveness of the Netherlands armed forces for crisis response deployment. Findings indicate that modular organizing and organizational sensing are drivers of responsiveness. In addition, our study uncovered the importance of an organization's level of system decomposition to responsiveness. A high degree of system granularity can lead to a predominantly inward focus whereas organizational responsiveness calls for a strong external orientation.


Batch normalization plays a crucial role when training deep neural networks. However, batch statistics become unstable with small batch sizes and are unreliable in the presence of distribution shifts. We propose MetaNorm, a simple yet effective meta-learning normalization. It tackles the aforementioned issues in a unified way by leveraging the meta-learning setting and learns to infer adaptive statistics for batch normalization. MetaNorm is generic, flexible and model-agnostic, making it a simple plug-and-play module that is seamlessly embedded into existing meta-learning approaches. It can be efficiently implemented by lightweight hypernetworks with low computational cost. We verify its effectiveness by extensive evaluation on representative tasks suffering from the small batch and domain shift problems: few-shot learning and domain generalization. We further introduce an even more challenging setting: few-shot domain generalization. Results demonstrate that MetaNorm consistently achieves better, or at least competitive, accuracy compared to existing batch normalization methods.


Aspergillus clavatus intoxication is a highly fatal neuromycotoxicosis of ruminants, especially cattle. It is caused by the ingestion of infected sprouting grain and sorghum beer residue. Locomotor disturbances, tremors and paralysis are observed. Histologically, degeneration and necrosis of larger neurons in the medulla oblongata, the midbrain, the thalamus and the ventral horns of the spinal cord are observed. Although a range of mycotoxins such as patulin, cytochalasin E and pseurotin A have been isolated, there is limited information on which specific mycotoxin or group of mycotoxins are involved during outbreaks of intoxication in livestock. In the present study, two outbreaks of A. clavatus poisoning in cattle are briefly described. Feed samples were collected for fungal identification, and culture and multitoxin analysis. A range of fungal metabolites were detected, and the estimated concentrations (μg/kg) are provided. Both the sprouting barley and brewer's grain were predominantly infected with A. clavatus and, to a lesser extent, Rhizopus arrhizus. The only common Aspergillus secondary metabolite present in all the samples was pseurotin A. Patulin and cytochalasin E were present in the sprouting barley samples, as well as the A. clavatus isolates cultured on malt extract agar for 2 weeks; however, neither of these mycotoxins could be detected in the brewer's grain sample.


Self-adaptive software is a closed-loop system that tries to manage, direct, or regulate its own behavior dynamically. Such a system aims at providing an automated and systematic approach to handling the increasing complexity of operation management. Mission-critical systems (e.g., e-business and telecommunication systems) are usually large, complex, and distributed. These systems must preserve their Quality of Service (QoS) at runtime under highly dynamic and non-deterministic conditions; therefore, they are suitable candidates for being equipped with self-adaptive capabilities. Although significant efforts have been devoted to modeling, designing, developing and deploying self-adaptive software since a decade ago, there is still a lack of well-established concrete processes for evaluating such systems. This dissertation proposes a systematic evaluation process for mission-critical selfadaptive software systems. The process is a well-defined testing approach that needs a post-mortem analysis, takes the quantified QoS requirements as inputs, and comprises two main phases: i) conducting system-level testing, and ii) evaluating QoS requirements satisfaction. The process uses Service Level Agreements (SLAs) as quantified QoS requirements, and consequently as the adaptation requirements of mission-critical systems. Adaptation requirements are specific types of requirements used to engineer self-adaptive software. Moreover, for the first phase, the dissertation discusses the uniqueness and necessity of conducting system-level load and stress testing on a self-adaptive software system, for collecting runtime QoS data. In the second phase, the process makes use of utility functions to generate a single value indicating the QoS satisfaction of the evaluated system. The dissertation mainly focuses on evaluating the performance, availability and reliability characteristics of QoS. An open source service-oriented Voice over IP (VoIP) application was selected as a case study. The VoIP application was transformed into a self-adaptive software system with various types of adaptation mechanisms. A set of empirical experiments was performed on the developed self-adaptive VoIP application, and the proposed process was adopted for evaluating the effectiveness of different adaptation mechanisms. To this end, the dissertation defines a sample SLA for the VoIP application, presents a report on the load and stress testing performed on the self-adaptive VoIP application, and presents a set of utility functions for evaluation. The experiments illustrate the validity, reliability, flexibility, and cost of the proposed evaluation process. In sum, this dissertation introduces a novel evaluation process for mission-critical selfadaptive software systems, and shows that the proposed process can help researchers to systematically evaluate their self-adaptive systems.


The objective of this book is to better acquaint English-speaking linguistics with a corpus of texts hitherto untranslated, containing the cognitive-based research in formal linguistics of one of the most important theoreticians in the field: Antoine Culioli (b. 1924). Culioli's viewpoint is grounded in Emile Benveniste's (1902-1976) revolutionary answer to Saussure's opposition between competence (langue) and performance (parole) captured in the idea of enonciation, in which the relationship between an individual and a language is one of appropriation. The translation has been prepared to provide the reader with as obstacle-free a path as one can clear to a theory that requires, and indeed commands, a very close, attentive reading. As an additional aid to understand Culioli's argument, footnotes throughout the work show similarities and differences with the work of the cognitive linguist Ronald W. Langacker.


The success of longwall mining can largely be traced to the development of powered roof support systems. The most significant improvement in powered support design has been the shield support, which improved kinematic stability and promoted the application of longwall mining in difficult-to-control caving conditions where chock and frame supports were inadequate. The most obvious trend in shield design has been an increase in shield size and capacity. This US Bureau of Mines report examines shield design and operation practices and their consequences for the utilization of high-capacity shield support systems. An optimization goal is to minimize support loading by selecting an active shield setting force that is compatible with strata behavior and shield loading characteristics. Shield stiffness is an important design parameter that is often overlooked. A consequence of increasing shield capacity by incorporating larger diameter leg cylinders is a proportional increase in shield stiffness. Setting forces have also increased in direct proportion to the increase in shield capacity. The increased stiffness and higher setting force cause the available capacity to be consumed more quickly, severely limiting the ability of high-capacity supports to last longer and provide reserve capacity for difficult mining conditions.


Active learning is the task of using labelled data to select additional points to label, with the goal of fitting the most accurate model with a fixed budget of labelled points. In binary classification active learning is known to produce faster rates than passive learning for a broad range of settings. However in regression restrictive structure and tailored methods were previously needed to obtain theoretically superior performance. In this paper we propose an intuitive tree based active learning algorithm for non-parametric regression with provable improvement over random sampling. When implemented with Mondrian Trees our algorithm is tuning parameter free, consistent and minimax optimal for Lipschitz functions.


Glioblastomas are aggressive, lethal primary brain tumors that affect human and canine patients. A subpopulation representing a variably large percentage of the bulk of tumor cells has been identified to have stem cell-like properties based on expression of certain molecular markers and growth properties in specialized culture conditions. This cancer stem-like cell (CSLC) population has been demonstrated to have increased resistance to radiation and chemotherapy, and is postulated to drive the bulk of tumor growth, invasion, regrowth, and treatment failure. Expression of several of these markers in human tumors, including CD133, nestin, and HIF2α, are associated with increasing tumor grade and/or a negative prognostic outcome, and because of their known roles in developmental biology have been utilized as markers for identifying CSLC. The role of the microenvironment in acquisition and maintenance of the stem-like state has not been fully elucidated; however, there is mounting evidence to indicate that hypoxia plays a crucial role. Although rodent and in vitro models exist to study the biology of glioblastoma and potential therapeutics, canine patients with naturally-occurring tumors offer a unique opportunity to serve as a bridge between these models and human clinical trials. Their usefulness in this regard necessitates a detailed and systematic investigation of the comparative biology of the disease beyond the histomorphologic level. In this body of work, we utilize an in vitro canine glioblastoma model system to demonstrate that hypoxia produces transcriptional upregulation of multiple putative CSLC and angiogenesis markers, and that siRNA-mediated gene silencing of HIF2α abrogates some of these effects and increases susceptibility to the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin.


We propose an adaptive sampling method for the linear model, driven by the uncertainty estimation with a generative adversarial network (GAN) model. Specifically, given a forward observation model that provides partial measurements y about an unknown parameter x, we show how to build a GAN model to estimate its posterior p(x|y). We then leverage our approximate posterior to perform sequential adaptive sampling by actively selecting the measurement with the current maximal uncertainty. We empirically demonstrate that our posterior estimate contracts rapidly towards the correct mode, while outperforming the state-of-the-art approaches even for other criteria for which they are specifically trained, such as PSNR or SSIM.