Introduction Cerebral aneurysms have morphometric features that influence the initial and long term success of coil embolization. Advances in coil assist technology now permit endovascular treatment of previously uncoilable aneurysms. We report a single institution experience of 52 patients with intracranial aneurysms that necessitated stent adjunctive treatment for occlusion, with angiographic follow-up studies available on 46 of the 52 patients. Methods Between May 2007 and November 2009, 52 patients with 55 intracranial aneurysms were treated by Enterprise stent mediated coil embolization. Initial and short term demographic, clinical and radiographic outcome data were collected and analyzed for technical success of the initial intervention, clinical complication rates, 6 month occlusion and recannalization rates, and delayed radiographic complications. Results Seven aneurysms in seven patients were re-treatments of previously coiled aneurysms. 48 aneurysms in 45 patients were stent coiled as an initial treatment. 13 were treated after an acute subarachnoid hemorrhage. Initial procedural results showed complete occlusion (Raymond I) in 14/55 (25%), neck remnant (Raymond II) in 12/55 (22%) and incomplete occlusion (Raymond III) in 29/55(53%). Periprocedural complications were infrequent, with no aneurysm perforations, and one thromboembolic event resulting in an anterior cerebral artery stroke. Stent migration was the most frequent technical complication occurring in four cases. Six month follow-up arteriography was available for 46 patients with 48 aneurysms. Complete occlusion was present in 28/48 (58%) aneurysms, neck remnant or regrowth was present in 12/48 (25%) and 8/48 (17%) were incompletely treated. Five patients with five aneurysms eventually underwent further embolization, and delayed placement of a second enterprise stent was necessary in one patient. In-stent stenosis was an infrequent problem occurring in 4/48 (8%), none of which were hemodynamically significant. One patient developed a mild stenosis in a perforating vessel adjacent to the stent. Conclusion The Enterprise stent is a safe and useful device in treating wide necked cerebral aneurysms. Our short term experience demonstrates a low rate of complications and a trend toward progressive occlusion among patients who initially had a neck or dome remnant.


Objective— To determine the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus in Zuni Indian women and the subsequent rate of diabetes among Zuni women with GDM. Research Design and Methods— A retrospective analysis of 809 deliveries over a 4-yr period among Zuni Indian women was conducted to determine the prevalence of GDM and diabetes antedating pregnancy. A prospective case-control study of 47 full-blooded Zuni Indian women with GDM and 47 control subjects was performed to determine the progression to clinical diabetes in women with a first-time diagnosis of GDM. Cases with GDM delivered during a defined 8-yr period. The control group of Zuni women delivered during the same time period but had plasma glucose values <7.8 mM on the 1-h glucose screening test. Cases with GDM and control subjects were matched for age, body mass index, gravidity, and length of follow-up. All women were re-evaluated for diabetes up to 9 yr after the index pregnancy. Results— Between 1987–1990, 116 cases of GDM and 8 cases of pre-existing diabetes were identified, giving a prevalence of maternal diabetes in pregnancy of 15.3%. At the time of follow-up, 14 of 47 (30%) women with GDM had developed diabetes after a mean of 4.8 yr compared with only 3 of 47 (6%) from the control group with an average of 5.5 yr follow-up. Conclusions— GDM is prevalent among Zuni Indians and is associated with an increased risk of diabetes. Glucose tolerance after GDM may deteriorate at a greater rate in Native Americans than in other populations.


People with disabilities have been among the most marginalized groups within society, with consequent limitations imposed on their access to many goods within society, including education, employment, and economic independence. Some progress is evident in the establishment of more inclusive learning environments, yet it is also clear that upon leaving compulsory education or further/higher education, young people with disabilities encounter significant barriers to accessing meaningful employment. Facilitating transitions to employment for people with disabilities should be informed by ambition and a belief in the capacity of these individuals to make a meaningful contribution to society and achieve a level of economic independence. The issues that are pertinent to young people who have a special educational need or a disability and an aspiration to transition to further/higher education require attention. Research and applied practice has demonstrated the utility of an innovative educational and work readiness program for people with an intellectual disability. Such work highlights the facilitating factors that may encourage a more ambitious reimagining of what may be possible for individuals who have been marginalized.


Abstract:This paper is composed of two related parts. The first raises questions regarding the characterization of the phenomenology of music listening required by Davies's theory of musical expressiveness, appearance emotionalism. I will identify two possible readings of the theory, a thick and a thin one, and claim that the former represents the basic characterization of what it is to hear expressive music according to appearance emotionalism. The thick characterization is to be preferred, I will claim, both on the grounds of textual evidence and of overall consistency and explanatory power. The second part of the paper discusses a criticism of appearance emotionalism I advanced in a recently published paper, along with its consequences for aesthetic education. In the remainder of the paper, I address Davies's twofold reply to my objection. I contend that both replies fail to address at least some of the problems I raised. The first reply fails because of Davies's own view of emotions, while the seconds fails if one accepts the thick characterization of appearance emotionalism I offer in the first half of the paper.


Anti-Flynn effects (i.e., secular declines in IQ) have been noted in a few countries. Much speculation exists about the causes of these trends; however, little progress has been made toward comprehensively testing these. A synthetic literature search yielded a total of 66 observations of secular IQ decline from 13 countries, with a combined sample size of 302,234 and study midyears spanning 87 years, from 1920.5 to 2007.5. Multilevel modeling (MLM) was used to examine the effect of study midyear, and (after controlling for this and other factors) hierarchical general linear modeling (GLM) was used to examine the following sequence of predictors: domain "g-ness" (a rank-order measure of g saturation) Index of Biological State (IBS; a measure of relaxed/reversed selection operating on g), per capita immigration, and the 2-way interactions IBS × g-ness and Immigration × g-ness. The MLM revealed that the anti-Flynn effect has strengthened in more recent years. Net of this, the GLM found that g-ness was a positive predictor; that is, less aggregately g-loaded measures exhibited bigger IQ declines; IBS was not a significant predictor; however immigration predicted the decline, indicating that high levels of immigration promote the anti-Flynn effect. Among the interactions there was a negative effect of the Immigration × g-ness interaction, indicating that immigration promotes IQ decline the most when the measure is higher in g-ness. The model accounted for 37.1% of the variance among the observations.


The accompanying paper on vaccine distrust in France raises the ongoing and thorny issue of trust and distrust in childhood vaccinations, although this time from the perspective of doctors.1 The authors interviewed 16 French doctors who regularly treated adolescents and had experience of talking with adolescents and their parents about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. HPV vaccination rates are particularly low in France, and the authors set out to explore some of the reasons from the perspectives of doctors. One of the over-riding themes from the interviews was a distrust in the HPV vaccination, not in and of itself, but the stakeholders who had a part to play in vaccinations. They questioned their own knowledge of HPV vaccinations and ability to talk with adolescents about sexuality, distrusted the pharmaceutical industry to provide impartial information and were not fully convinced of the benefit-to-risk ratio of the HPV vaccination. All in all, these various levels of questioning and unease led to a general distrust in the HPV vaccination, leading to a situation whereby 'the doctor becomes an involuntary instrument of the anti-vaccination discourse'.1

The key purpose of this Editorial is to explore the sometimes murky and impenetrable world of sociological theory, as applied to trust. It draws on my and colleagues' publications on parental trust in childhood vaccinations in Australia, which provide neat synopses of different sociological ideas.2–5

The times when we were simply, even blindly, expected to trust people because they were in positions of power has gone. This is not to say that people in power should not be trusted, but simply that people are expected to question such authority, access other sources of information and perform the role of the 'informed citizen'. Across many countries and cultures, this unquestioning of power has been somewhat eroded and, in …


Developing countries could receive international climate financing through diverse resource streams (private investment, traditional development aid, dedicated national funds, carbon markets, etc.), but it is fragmented both in terms of its source as well as its destination (various line ministries, general budget support, national implementing agencies, private sector, etc.). Additionally, application processes vary both in length and requirements. It is more effective and politically tenable for countries to centralize their climate change portfolios, both financially within the Ministries of Finance, and policy wise in a national climate change program.


BACKGROUND
Gliomas are primary brain tumors that are associated with a poor prognosis. The introduction of new treatment modalities (including immunotherapy) for these neoplasms in the last 3 decades has resulted in only limited improvement in survival. Gliomas are known to create an immunosuppressive microenvironment that hampers the efficacy of (immuno)therapy. One component of this immunosuppressive environment is the myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC).

METHODS
We set out to analyze the presence and activation state of MDSCs in blood (n = 41) and tumor (n = 20) of glioma patients by measuring S100A8/9 and arginase using flow cytometry and qPCR. Inhibition of T cell proliferation and cytokine production after stimulation with anti-CD3/anti-CD28 coated beads was used to measure in vitro MDSC suppression capacity.

RESULTS
We report a trend toward a tumor grade-dependent increase of both monocytic (M-) and polymorphonuclear (PMN-) MDSC subpopulations in the blood of patients with glioma. M-MDSCs of glioma patients have increased levels of intracellular S100A8/9 compared with M-MDSCs in healthy controls (HCs). Glioma patients also have increased S100A8/9 serum levels, which correlates with increased arginase activity in serum. PMN-MDSCs in both blood and tumor tissue demonstrated high expression of arginase. Furthermore, we assessed blood-derived PMN-MDSC function and showed that these cells have potent T cell suppressive function in vitro.

CONCLUSIONS
These data indicate a tumor grade-dependent increase of MDSCs in the blood of patients with a glioma. These MDSCs exhibit an increased activation state compared with MDSCs in HCs, independent of tumor grade.


The subject of this paper is a new two-step method of optical imagery. In a first step the object is illuminated with a coherent monochromatic wave, and the diffraction pattern resulting from the interference of the coherent secondary wave issuing from the object with the strong, coherent background is recorded on a photographic plate. If the photographic plate, suitably processed, is replaced in the original position and illuminated with the coherent background alone, an image of the object will appear behind it, in the original position. It is shown that this process reconstructs the coherent secondary wave, together with an equally strong 'twin wave' which has the same amplitude, but opposite phase shifts relative to the background. The illuminating wave itself can be used for producing the coherent background. The simplest case is illumination by a point source. In this case the two twin waves are shown to correspond to two 'twin objects', one of which is the original, while the other is its mirror image with respect to the illuminating centre. A physical aperture can be used as a point source, or the image of an aperture produced by a condenser system . If this system has aberrations, such as astigmatism or spherical aberration, the twin image will be no longer sharp but will appear blurred, as if viewed through a system with twice the aberrations of the condenser. In either case the correct image of the object can be effectively isolated from its twin, and separately observed. Three-dimensional objects can be reconstructed, as well as two-dimensional. The wave used in the reconstruction need not be the original, it can be, for example, a light-optical imitation of the electron wave with which the diffraction diagram was taken. Thus it becomes possible to extend the idea of Sir Lawrence Bragg's 'X -ray microscope' to arbitrary objects, and use the new method for improvements in electron microscopy. The apparatus will consist of two parts, an electronic device in which a diffraction pattern is taken with electrons diverging from a fine focus, and an optical synthetizer, which imitates the essential data of the electronic device on a much enlarged scale. The theory of the analysis-synthesis cycle is developed, with a discussion of the impurities arising in the reconstruction, and their avoidance. The limitations of the new method are due chiefly to the small intensities which are available in coherent beams, but it appears perfectly feasible to achieve a resolution limit of 1 Å, ultimately perhaps even better.


We propose a spiking network model capable of performing both approximate inference and learning for any hidden Markov model. The lower layer sensory neurons detect noisy measurements of hidden world states. The higher layer neurons with recurrent connections infer a posterior distribution over world states from spike trains generated by sensory neurons. We show how such a neuronal network with synaptic plasticity can implement a form of Bayesian inference similar to Monte Carlo methods such as particle filtering. Each spike in the population of inference neurons represents a sample of a particular hidden world state. The spiking activity across the neural population approximates the posterior distribution of hidden state. The model provides a functional explanation for the Poisson-like noise commonly observed in cortical responses. Uncertainties in spike times provide the necessary variability for sampling during inference. Unlike previous models, the hidden world state is not observed by the sensory neurons, and the temporal dynamics of the hidden state is unknown. We demonstrate how such networks can sequentially learn hidden Markov models using a spike-timing dependent Hebbian learning rule and achieve power-law convergence rates.


Post-conviction relief is a vital part of the American justice system. By filing post-conviction petitions after the close of direct appeal, defendants can raise claims based on evidence outside the record that was not known or available at the time of trial. One common use of post-conviction relief is to file a claim related to a previously unknown constitutional violation that occurred at trial, such as ineffective assistance of counsel. If a defendant's trial attorney performed ineffectively by failing to call, for instance, an alibi witness, then that omission is unlikely to be reflected in the trial record – but in post-conviction proceedings, the defendant may seek to expand the record to include evidence of such ineffectiveness. If a court sitting in post-conviction hears that evidence and sides with the defendant, the usual remedy is to grant a new trial. Without access to the opportunities to supplement the record that are afforded by post-conviction proceedings, however, a defendant who suffers ineffective assistance of counsel often has no opportunity for relief. Post-conviction proceedings are also often used to raise newly discovered evidence of innocence. This use of post-conviction proceedings, in particular, has met with much success, especially since the development of DNA technology has enabled attorneys to subject trial evidence to scientific testing and to introduce those test results post-conviction as newly discovered evidence of innocence. To date, 289 individuals have been exonerated by DNA testing, almost all of it conducted through the vehicle of post-conviction proceedings. Each of these individuals stands as living proof of the fact that access to post-conviction relief is an essential part of a justice-seeking judicial system. This article examines the troubling disparities in access to post-conviction relief between adults and juveniles that appear to occur in many jurisdictions. Some states explicitly make post-conviction relief unavailable to defendants who are tried as juveniles while granting such access to adults. In many other states, legislatures have drafted laws governing the availability of post-conviction proceedings that are vague and ambiguous, leading to uncertainty about whether juvenile defendants may take advantage of such proceedings. This disparity exists despite the fact that those tried in juvenile court need access to post-conviction remedies just as much as those tried in adult court.


This study examines women's political representation in pre-election (candidate nomination), election, and post-election (legislative activities) stages in South Korea. First, I examined factors contributing to electing women to the National Assembly in the eight national legislative elections since democratization in 1987. I conducted statistical analysis to examine how a candidate's political experience, major party nomination, incumbency, and districts' party loyalty affect the candidate's electoral victory and how each influences women and men differently. I also interviewed candidates, candidate aspirants, elected legislators, legislative staffers, scholars and activists on their personal experiences with major party nomination and election campaigns. Second, I analyzed how legislators' gender, partisanship, ideology, and gender stereotypes interact in shaping lawmakers' legislative priorities. Using digital archives, I tracked who proposed women-friendly bills in the previous four Assemblies (2000-2016) and analyzed how invisible factors such as electoral rules, the culture of parliaments, party affiliation, and their seat types affect lawmakers' legislative agendas and productivity, using both statistical analysis and interview analysis. This research contributes to the literature on gender and politics. There is very little known about the effectiveness of gender quotas on women's political representation in the South Korean context. By identifying promotional or inhibitive factors leading to the election of more women to the national legislature, the findings propose policy measures that appear more effective in tackling the issue of women's underrepresentation in politics. Based on original data in Korean language, this research also provides valuable resources for comparative studies in the future. Lee, Young-Im, 2017, UMSL, p.4 Chapter


Dr. Goodreau is part of a multi-disciplinary research team that uses social network analysis and epidemic modeling to understand the causes of HIV disparities among populations around the world, and to predict the impact of different interventions in different communities. One piece of this work involves developing new statistical and computational tools to research the dynamics of social networks, which Dr. Goodreau contributes to as part of the statnet development team [3]. Another piece involves studying the specific behavioral and biological dynamics of HIV transmission within different communities. The research networks that Dr. Goodreau participates in collect behavioral (both qualitative and quantitative), demographic, and biomarker data, all combined into his epidemic modeling tools. Most of Dr. Goodreau's work is among communities of men who have sex with men (MSM), who live in very different cultural and legal climates around the world, and are at varied levels of risk for HIV. His past, present, and near-future work focuses on MSM in the US, Peru, India and Kenya.


The treatment of industrial and domestic wastewaters by passage through beds containing plants of the common reed (Phragmites australis), reedmace (Typha latifolia), or other species, has been widely practised in recent years, with varying degrees of success. Although many workers have demonstrated good removal of organic components of effluents and of suspended solids, poor removal of ammoniacal nitrogen is a common finding. This has often been shown to limit the value of reed beds for treatment of raw landfill leachates. Engineered wetlands do however, have considerable capability for secondary polishing of leachates that have been pretreated in aerobic biological plants and for older leachates, this technology having been widely used in the UK. This paper will deal in general and in detail with the design of engineered wetland systems, both for the treatment of weaker and more- diluted leachates from older landfill sites, and also for the polishing of effluents from the pretreatment of much stronger leachates in aerobic biological treatment plants.


The competitive sporting environment provides an ideal opportunity to examine the concept of psychological momentum. The aim of this thesis is to further develop the issues raised by the momentum literature through the application of an eclectic range of research approaches. Study One examined positive and negative experiences for successful and unsuccessful performances within a population of elite middle and long distance runners. A qualitative design revealed that there were differences between the number of positive and negative experiences exhibited for the two performances. More specifically, more positive experiences were found for the successful performance and negative experiences for the unsuccessful performance. Personal and situational variables, such as confidence, goals, anxiety and attributions, were examined and it was concluded that the athletes' interpretations of experiences may be related to positive and negative momentum states. The second study examined in more detail the relationship between positive and negative experiences. It also attempted to gain a greater understanding of perceived momentum by tracking momentum shifts over time between competing tennis players. A diverse approach to data collection and analysis allowed for comparisons between competing players to be made. Descriptive statistical analysis revealed that winning the first point in a game resulted in more games being won, compared to losing the first point. Content and frequency analysis was also carried out based on interview data. Results indicated that differences existed between the winners and losers. In particular, more positive experiences were exhibited by the winners and more negative experiences by the losers. More in-depth case studies were used to gain a more detailed insight into momentum shifts. Each match examined told a unique story, however similarities were found. There were two main findings, firstly losers identified more key momentum moments than winners. Secondly, questionnaire data revealed divergent patterns for perceived status over a range of parameters (e.g. fatigue) between each winner and loser. In combination these findings offered further support for the differentiated existence of momentum within sports competition. The final study considered the notion of momentum from a more holistic perspective and utilised a longitudinal methodology to examine both on and off court activities of a female tennis player on the professional circuit. A departure from the previous post-positivistic paradigm lead to a case study being produced which identified fluctuation of momentum both during and between performances. Results adapt well to recent models of momentum and are discussed in terms of each construct. The findings from the thesis support the existence of psychological momentum and contribute towards a reformulated model of momentum. The model draws upon findings from the present thesis and also incorporates findings from previous momentum research. Finally, the unique approach of combining traditional quantitative methods with more recent qualitative techniques highlighted concerns over the rigidity of past research and suggests how new lines of enquiry might be used in future research.


We examine the characteristics of the initial stage (IS) in object-initiated lightning derived from current measurements on the Gaisberg tower (100 m, Austria), the Peissenberg tower (160 m, Germany), and the Fukui chimney (200 m, Japan) and their counterparts in rocket-triggered lightning in Florida. All lightning events analyzed here effectively transported negative charge to ground. For rocket-triggered lightning the geometric mean (GM) values of the three overall characteristics of the initial stage, duration, charge transfer, and average current, are similar to their counterparts for the Gaisberg tower flashes and the Peissenberg tower flashes, while the Fukui chimney flashes are characterized by a shorter GM IS duration and a larger average current. The GM IS charge transfer for the Fukui chimney flashes is similar to that in the other three data sets. The GM values of the action integral differ considerably among the four data sets, with the Fukui action integral being the largest. The observed differences in the IS duration between the Fukui data set and all other data considered here are probably related to the differences in the lower current limits, while the differences in the action integral cannot be explained by the instrumental effects only. There appear to be two types of initial stage in upward lightning. The first type exhibits pulsations (ringing) during the initial portion of the IS, and the second type does not. The occurrence of these types of IS appears to depend on geographical location. The characteristics of pulses superimposed on the initial continuous current (ICC pulses) in object-initiated (Gaisberg, Peissenberg, and Fukui) lightning are similar within a factor of 2 but differ more significantly from their counterparts in rocket-triggered lightning. Specifically, the ICC pulses in object-initiated lightning exhibit larger peaks, shorter risetimes, and shorter half-peak widths than do the ICC pulses in rocket-triggered lightning.


Ever since Machine Learning as a Service emerges as a viable business that utilizes deep learning models to generate lucrative revenue, Intellectual Property Right (IPR) has become a major concern because these deep learning models can easily be replicated, shared, and re-distributed by any unauthorized third parties. To the best of our knowledge, one of the prominent deep learning models - Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) which has been widely used to create photorealistic image are totally unprotected despite the existence of pioneering IPR protection methodology for Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). This paper therefore presents a complete protection framework in both black-box and white-box settings to enforce IPR protection on GANs. Empirically, we show that the proposed method does not compromise the original GANs performance (i.e. image generation, image super-resolution, style transfer), and at the same time, it is able to withstand both removal and ambiguity attacks against embedded watermarks. Codes are available at https://github.com/dingsheng-ong/ipr-gan.


Not a line by Pynchon has been published in the USSR/Russia. But his novels have been in the major libraries and–on rare occasions–in the bookstores dealing in foreign books. Unfortunately, even many Soviet literary critics who have written about Pynchon have failed to read his books. However, Pynchon has influenced Russian literature since the beginning of the 1970s. The most evident example of this influence is the parody of V. in Vassily Aksyonov's novel Our Golden Ironburg.


The origin, the nature, and the electronic structure of surface defects causing surface states on metal oxides and their role in solar water splitting have been under scrutiny for several decades. In the present study, the surface of hematite films is treated with an oxygen plasma and then subject to a detailed investigation with electroanalytical methods and element orbital specific X-ray spectroscopy. We observe a systemic variation of photoelectrochemical properties with oxygen treatment time. Fe 2p and O 1s core level X-ray photoelectron spectra and resonant valence band photoemission at the Fe 3p edge reveal the filling of prevalent oxygen vacancies with concomitant oxidation of Fe2+ to Fe3+ upon the oxygen treatment. The dc bias dependent impedance spectra confirm how a prevalent capacitive surface state, which evolves parallel with the photocurrent onset potential, becomes diminished upon oxygen treatment. Surface states of iron induce higher reactivity toward water oxidation than oxygen surface st...


This article considers the type of evidence that an overseer (e.g., a court) should require before allowing a government agent to take some proposed action. The court can increase agency research incentives by prohibiting actions unless the agent produces supporting evidence, and/or by permitting action even when the agent uncovers adverse evidence. The court thus faces a trade-off between an evidentiary standard's ex post effects on the agent's policy decision and its ex ante effects on the agent's incentive to do research. An extension allows the court to make research effort a precondition for action, regardless of the evidence produced.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the effect of dietary potassium citrate supplementation on the urinary pH, relative supersaturation of calcium oxalate and struvite (defined as the activity product/solubility product of the substance), and concentrations of magnesium, ammonium, phosphate, citrate, calcium, and oxalate in dogs.

ANIMALS
12 healthy adult dogs.

PROCEDURE
Canned dog food was fed to dogs for 37 days. Dogs were randomly allocated to 3 groups and fed test diets for a period of 8 days. Study periods were separated by 6-day intervals. During each study period the dogs were fed either standard diet solus (control) or standard diet plus 1 of 2 types of potassium citrate supplements (150 mg potassium citrate/kg of body weight/d) twice daily. Urinary pH, volume and specific gravity, relative supersaturation of calcium oxalate and struvite, and concentrations of magnesium, ammonium, phosphate, calcium, oxalate, and citrate were assessed for each treatment.

RESULTS
Mean urine pH was not significantly affected by dietary potassium citrate supplementation, although urine pH did increase by 0.2 pH units with supplementation. Diets containing potassium citrate maintained a higher urine pH for a longer part of the day than control diet. Three Miniature Schnauzers had a significantly lower urinary relative calcium oxalate supersaturation when fed a diet supplemented with potassium citrate, compared with control diet.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Dietary potassium citrate supplementation has limited effects on urinary variables in most healthy dogs, although supplementation results in maintenance of a higher urine pH later in the day. Consequently, if supplementation is introduced, dogs should be fed twice daily and potassium citrate should be given with both meals or with the evening meal only.


OBJECTIVE
To study differentiation of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BDMSC) into blood vessel endothelial cells for ideal cell origin of complex organ tissue engineering vascularization and injured tissue repairing by cell transplantation.

METHOD
After different days of induction with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in 3D fibrin-gels and matrigel, BDMSC and angiogenesis were determined by the utilization of morphological observation, tissue section and CD34, CD31, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (VEGFR-1, Flt-1), VEGFR-2 (Flk-1), and vWF that were special for blood vessel endothelial cells.

RESULT
After 3D-cultured and induced with VEGF and bFGF in vitro in fibrin-gels and matrigel for 3-21 days, BDMSC expressed CD34, CD31, Flt-1, Flk-1, and vWF came into vessel-like configuration.

CONCLUSION
VEGF, bFGF as well as Flt-1 and Flk-1, expressed by BDMSC, may form a feasible microenviroment after induction and play an important role during processes of blood vessel endothelial cell differentiation and vessel-like configuration forming of BDMSC. Mesenchymal stem cells may be applied to tissue engineering vascularization and injured tissue repairing by cell transplantation.


Written especially for nurses caring for patients with cancer, the 2014 Oncology Nursing Drug Handbook uniquely expresses drug therapy in terms of the nursing process: nursing diagnoses, etiologies of toxicities, and key points for nursing assessment, intervention, and evaluation. Updated annually, this essential reference provides valuable information on effective symptom management, patient education, and chemotherapy administration. Completely revised and updated, the 2014 Oncology Nursing Drug Handbook includes: * New chapter on Chemobiotherapy for Noncancer Diseases * Specific drugs described in terms of their mechanism of action, metabolism, drug interactions, laboratory effects/interference, and special considerations * The most important and common drug side effects * Greater discussion of fundamentals of malignant transformation, new molecular targets, and drugs in the pipeline New drug entries include: enzalutamide, omacetaxine (Synribo), tbo-filgrastim (Netroval), ado-trastuzumab emtansine, aflibercept, bosutinib, cabozantinib, carfilzomib, dabrafenib, pomalidomide, ponatinib, regorafenib, trametinib, abatacept (Orencia), adalimumab (Humira), certolizumab pegol (CIMZA), etanercept (Enbrel), golimumab (Simponi), infliximab (Remicade), tocilizumab (Actemra), and tofacitinib (Xeljanz).


Diabetic rats manifest abnormal renal hemodynamic responses, with persistent renal vasodilation at reduced renal perfusion pressures. We hypothesized that in diabetes, renal hemodynamics are modulated by increased activity of the endogenous vasodilator, NO. In anesthetized Munich-Wistar rats, after 6 wk of streptozotocin-induced, insulin-treated diabetes, and in age-matched, nondiabetic littermates (n = 7-8), basal renal hemodynamics and responses to graded reductions in renal perfusion pressure were determined before and after intrarenal arterial infusion of the NO synthase inhibitor, NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). An identical protocol was followed in a second cohort of rats pretreated with indomethacin (4 mg/kg iv). Diabetic rats demonstrated hyperglycemia, renal enlargement, hyperfiltration, and increased urinary excretion of the stable NO metabolites, NO2 and NO3. L-NAME eliminated basal hyperfiltration in diabetic rats, and L-NAME, but not indomethacin, also eliminated persistent renal vasodilation at reduced renal perfusion pressure. We conclude that in a rat model of diabetes, increased endogenous NO activity may play a role in basal hyperfiltration and in the persistent renal vasodilatation manifested at reduced renal perfusion pressures.


Swarm robotics has a wide range of applications in numerous fields from space and sub-sea exploration to the deployment of teams of interacting artificial agents in disposal systems. In this paper, we introduce a model to simulate the emergent behaviour of multi-agent robot systems, based on principles from physical mechanics. The model is based on mutual interactions among the swarm individuals. The main elements of these interactions are repulsion forces, attraction forces, alignment forces and dissipative forces generated by the swarm members. Using statistical tools, which are used to investigate simulated group behaviour, we discuss the importance of introducing some dissipation to the system as well as the effect of the interaction parameters on various components of the model.


This paper provides an empirical analysis of potential constraints to SMEs upgrading their capability to innovate, and assesses the effectiveness of government support in overcoming these constraints. The justification for government support is that market failures can hinder SMEs' access to information, finance, technology, and human resources. This paper focuses on the impact of the perceived effectiveness of government support through business development services in terms of providing: (i) training; (ii) counselling and advice; (iii) technology development and transfer; (iv) information; (v) business linkages; (vi) financing; and (vii) a conducive business environment. The effectiveness of this support is evaluated against the ability of SMEs to innovate.


Rene Lalique, a master artist and designer of early 20th-century France, initially achieved fame for his jewelry creations that were widely admired and collected. He began experimenting with glass in the 1890s, and was so captivated by the material that he spent the rest of his career working with it exclusively. The glass objects that he designed, such as vases, ashtrays, tableware, and other household accessories, are now considered iconic representations of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements. This publication traces Lalique's distinguished career, including his early experimentation with glass in jewelry-making; his production of innovative perfume bottles, some of the first pieces he made entirely of glass; and the peak of his glassmaking career at the 1925 International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts in Paris. Hundreds of color photographs--including many dramatic, full-page images--spotlight individual pieces of glass and original wax and plaster models selected from the extensive collection of The Corning Museum of Glass. The book also draws on the Museum's wealth of archival material on Lalique, including design drawings and photographs. This strikingly beautiful and informative volume is a testament to the singular allure of his enchanting glass.


The Southern Irumide Belt (SIB) records over one and a half billion years (c. 2000–500 Ma) of tectonic evolution along the southern Congo Craton margin. To understand this evolution we present U–Pb, Lu–Hf, REE zircon and structural data for the SIB of Zambia, which are used to investigate its formation, evolution and relationship to the Irumide Belt of the southern Congo Craton. Orthogneiss in the Chewore–Rufunsa and Chipata terranes yields ages between c. 2040 and 2000 Ma. This implies the presence of Paleoproterozoic basement throughout the SIB, similar to basement rocks within the Irumide Belt. Detrital zircon data from the Chipata Terrane yield age populations and εHf(t) values that are equivalent to those for samples from other SIB terranes and the Irumide Belt. The similarities between basement units and overlying sedimentary sequences in the SIB and Irumide Belt indicate that the SIB formed an integral part of the southern Congo margin since the Paleoproterozoic, rather than accreting to this margin during the late Mesoproterozoic. Subsequent structural deformation in this region occurred as two phases, a north–south-directed compression during the late Neoproterozoic to Cambrian, and a weaker east–west-directed compression during the Phanerozoic. Supplementary material: Sample locations and descriptions, including descriptions of zircon morphologies and cathodoluminescence characteristics (accompanied by images), U–Pb, Lu–Hf and REE zircon data (including diagrams) for all unknowns and reference materials, as well as whole-rock geochemical data (including diagram) for granites of the Nyimba–Sinda Terrane are available at: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4386344


This study addresses product and process features of design products supporting learning in the workplace. From the perspective that learning in the workplace needs a specific design approach, six theoretical assumptions were derived from literature. Those assumptions were used to analyse sixteen design products and accompanying process reports composed by university students in human resource development (HRD). Results of this reconstruction study show that workplace learning designs contain specific product and process features in accordance with the theoretical assumptions. These features help to shape recommendations for designing and stimulating learning in the workplace.


Plant miRNAs are short non-coding RNAs that mediate the repression of hundreds of genes. The basic plant body plan is established during early embryogenesis, and recent results have demonstrated that miRNAs play pivotal roles during both embryonic pattern formation and developmental timing. Multiple miRNAs appear to specifically repress transcription factor families during early embryogenesis. Therefore miRNAs probably have a large influence on the gene regulatory networks that contribute to the earliest cellular differentiation events in plants.


This note analyses derivative pricing in the context of a collateral rate switch during the life of a financial product or the existence of two overnight rates. In particular we analyse the impact of forward change of collateral, the impact on OISs when the collateral rate is different from the OIS underlying, and the impact of bilateral swaptions collateral rate different from the one implied by the cleared market. In each case, we evidence new convexity adjustment impacts previously not accounted for. The order of magnitude of those impacts is also proposed for realistic values of model parameters; the individual relative impacts are not huge, but when applied on trillions of notional, as it is the case, the monetary impacts can be substantial.


Systematic analyses of interannual and seasonal variations of tropospheric NO 2 vertical column densities (VCDs) based on GOME satellite data and the regional scale chemical transport model (CTM), Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ), are presented for the atmosphere over eastern Asia between 1996 and June 2003. A newly developed year-by-year emission inventory (REAS) was used in CMAQ. The horizontal distribution of annual averaged GOME NO 2 VCDs generally agrees well with the CMAQ results. However, CMAQ/REAS results underestimate the GOME retrievals with factors of 2–4 over polluted industrial regions such as Central East China (CEC), a major part of Korea, Hong Kong, and central and western Japan. The most probable reasons for the underestimation typically over the CEC are accuracy of the basic energy statistic data, emission factors, and socio-economic data used for construction of emission inventory. For the Japan region, GOME and CMAQ NO 2 data show reasonable agreement with respect to interannual variation and show no clear increasing trend. For CEC, GOME and CMAQ NO 2 data indicate a very rapid increasing trend from 2000. Analyses of the seasonal cycle of NO 2 VCDs show that GOME data have larger dips than CMAQ NO 2 during February–April and September–November. Sensitivity experiments with fixed emission intensity reveal that the detection of emission trends from satellite in fall or winter has a larger error caused by the variability of meteorology. Examination during summer time and annual averaged NO 2 VCDs are robust with respect to variability of meteorology and are therefore more suitable for analyses of emission trends. Analysis of recent trends of annual emissions in China shows that the increasing trends of 1996–1998 and 2000–2002 for GOME and CMAQ/REAS show good agreement, but the rate of increase by GOME is approximately 10–11% yr −1 after 2000; it is slightly steeper than CMAQ/REAS (8–9% yr −1 ). The greatest difference was apparent between the years 1998 and 2000: CMAQ/REAS only shows a few percentage points of increase, whereas GOME gives a greater than 8% yr −1 increase. The exact reason remains unclear, but the most likely explanation is that the emission trend based on the Chinese emission related statistics underestimates the rapid growth of emissions.


Vegan campaigns are frequently seen nowadays due to the rise of veganism. When these campaigns create stories, i.e. cognitive models which influence how people think, talk and act, it is important to consider both language and images. This article presents findings from a multimodal analysis of the two vegan campaigns, Be Fair Be Vegan and Go Vegan World. The image analysis was conducted with Kress and van Leeuwen's (2006) Grammar of Visual Design; the language analysis used van Leeuwen's (2008) Social Actor and Action. The interpretation of stories adopted Stibbe's (2015) framework for analysing. Findings from the language and image analyses include that such features related to nonhuman animals as specification, personalization, anthropomorphism, mental and material processes characterize the campaigns' language, while the images show narrative and conceptual representation, highlight demand, featuring straight-on angle and close distance. The analysis of the campaigns' language and images established that they create the stories of salience, ideology, and conviction which represent nonhuman animals as sentient beings, similar to humans in many ways.


Inhibition of aluminium corrosion in HCl solutions by Ficus carica leaf extract and was studied using weight loss measurements at 303, 313, 323 and 333 K. The adsorption of the inhibitor on aluminium surface follows Frumkin and Langmuir adsorption isotherms. The effect of temperature indicated that the corrosion rate and inhibition efficiency are temperature dependent in the range 303-333 K. Increase in temperature increased the corrosion rate but decreased the inhibition efficiency in the absence and presence of the inhibitor. The kinetic data obtained indicates that the adsorption follows a first order type of reaction. Physisorption mechanism has been proposed for the inhibitor. The presence of alkaloids, glycosides, saponins and tannins (having -C=O, C-OH, C=C, OH -CH 3, etc. groups) was found to have contributed greatly to the inhibition process by interacting with the aluminium surface .


While harbor porpoises currently enter San Francisco Bay year-round, evidence suggests a disappearance that spanned approximately 65 yr. The range of energetic costs of basal metabolism, locomotion, thermoregulation, and reproduction was estimated for porpoises, using a velocity-dependent bioenergetic model to estimate the potential food requirements of this returning predator. The costs of thermoregulation and locomotion varied with velocity while basal metabolism and reproduction did not. The total metabolic rate in W was analyzed for all possible adult reproductive states. Estimated biomass uptake in kg/d for a 68.5 ± 26.5 km daily swimming distance was assessed using a mixed diet of northern anchovy and rockfish for all possible reproductive states and was found to be highest for simultaneously pregnant and lactating females (4.1 ± 1.6 kg/d) and lowest for male porpoises (1.7 ± 0.6 kg/d). Total energy requirements found for harbor porpoises ranged from 79.3 ± 29.0 W to 186.0 ± 58.5 W. The daily energetic intake for lactating porpoises was estimated to be 105% greater than for a nonreproductive female porpoise. Harbor porpoises in SF Bay were found to require approximately 30.4 ± 22.0 metric tons of fish per year from Bay waters.


The faint radio signal that fills our universe is the echo of the beginning of the universe. This signal, called the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation, was first detected by accident in 1964 but has since been measured in detail by a number of experiments. These measurements provide a rich information set that enables us to determine how the universe began, how galaxies formed and what the eventual fate of the universe might be. I will describe how these observations are made, what we have learnt from them and what we expect to learn from future experiments.


We present a real-time facial expression recognition toolkit that can automatically code the expressions of multiple people simultaneously. The toolkit is available across major mobile and desktop platforms (Android, iOS, Windows). The system is trained on the world's largest dataset of facial expressions and has been optimized to operate on mobile devices and with very few false detections. The toolkit offers the potential for the design of novel interfaces that respond to users' emotional states based on their facial expressions. We present a demonstration application that provides real-time visualization of the expressions captured by the camera.


Multivariate Time Series Analysis-Ruey S. Tsay 2013-11-11 An accessible guide to the multivariate time series toolsused in numerous real-world applications Multivariate Time Series Analysis: With R and FinancialApplications is the much anticipated sequel coming from one ofthe most influential and prominent experts on the topic of timeseries. Through a fundamental balance of theory and methodology,the book supplies readers with a comprehensible approach tofinancial econometric models and their applications to real-worldempirical research. Differing from the traditional approach to multivariate timeseries, the book focuses on reader comprehension by emphasizingstructural specification, which results in simplified parsimoniousVAR MA modeling. Multivariate Time Series Analysis: With R andFinancial Applications utilizes the freely available Rsoftware package to explore complex data and illustrate relatedcomputation and analyses. Featuring the techniques and methodologyof multivariate linear time series, stationary VAR models, VAR MAtime series and models, unitroot process, factor models, andfactor-augmented VAR models, the book includes: • Over 300 examples and exercises to reinforce thepresented content • User-friendly R subroutines and research presentedthroughout to demonstrate modern applications • Numerous datasets and subroutines to provide readerswith a deeper understanding of the material Multivariate Time Series Analysis is an ideal textbookfor graduate-level courses on time series and quantitative financeand upper-undergraduate level statistics courses in time series.The book is also an indispensable reference for researchers andpractitioners in business, finance, and econometrics.


The present paper describes a prey-predator type fishery model with two predators in competition. The aim of the paper is to maximize the net economic revenue earn from the fishery through implementing the sustainable properties of the fishery to keep the ecological balance. The existence of the steady states and the stability of the interior equilibrium point is studied using Routh Hurwitz criterion. The problem of determining the fishing effort that maximizes the net economic revenue of each fisherman results in a Generalized Nash Equilibrium Problem. More precisely, we are interested in equilibrium of mathematical game given by the situation where all fishermen try to optimize their strategies according to the strategies of all other fishermen. The importance of marine reserve is analyzed through the obtained results of the numerical simulations of proposed model system. The results depict that reserves will be most effective when the coefficient of catchability decreases.


To alleviate traffic congestion problems, urban rail transit lines are being built continuously in many metropolitan cities in China. These Chinese cities, like Hong Kong and Shanghai, have significantly higher population densities in urban areas, in contrast with European and American cities. Traditional models for planning of urban rail transit lines are mainly static models and usually developed for European and American cities with low population densities. The research presented in this thesis aims to propose analytical models of optimising urban rail transit lines over time, for cities with high population densities. This thesis contributes to the literature of urban rail transit lines design problems in the following several aspects but with focus on a linear urban transportation corridor for a monocentric city. Firstly, an optimisation model is proposed to investigate over-year interaction between endogenous population densities and financial performance of a candidate rail transit line in Chapter 3. The proposed optimisation model is a bi-level programming model, with a lower level problem formulated as a user equilibrium model, and an upper level problem formulated as an urban rail transit line design model over time. Traditional models for design of urban rail transit lines were developed with objectives of travel time or cost minimisation for a particular design year, while the planning data of the design year is given and fixed. By contrast, the optimisation objective of the mathematical programming model proposed in Chapter 3 is the social welfare maximisation for a period of time horizon. It was found in Chapter 3 that a lack of integration of short-term decision variables, headway and fare, may result in excessive investments for the long-term rail construction, namely the increase of optimal rail line length. More population were attracted to live in vicinity of the candidate transit line while rail service was supplied. With extension of rail service over years, more population chose to move gradually from residential locations of CBD to residential locations of suburban areas. The candidate rail transit line can make population densities more decentralised over time, namely more population distributed at residential locations of suburban areas. Secondly, implementation adaptability of a candidate rail transit line is explored over years in Chapter 4. Adaptability is defined as the ability of the system to adapt to external changes, while maintaining satisfactory system performance. Implementation adaptability gives authorities and/or operators to fast-track or defer the future investment on the candidate rail transit line for several years, if necessary. To obtain an adaptable candidate rail transit line suitable to accommodate external changes over the years, it is required that the candidate rail transit line can be fast-tracked or deferred several years. For example, if the total supply cost of the candidate rail transit line is lower than that predicted in the previous feasible study, the candidate rail transit line can be fast-tracked accordingly. Nonetheless, less attention was given to examine the implementation adaptability of urban rail transit line in the literature. This is mainly due to the fact that most of the traditional models were static models and developed for a particular design year. To address the implementation adaptability issue for design of the candidate rail transit line over time, three alternatives are explored in Chapter 4: fasttracking several years, deferring several years and do-nothingalternative (DNA). The analytical solutions of the optimal years, to be fast-tracked or deferred, are obtained by the proposed model in Chapter 4. Sensitivity tests for the optimal project start time are conducted with respect to the yearly variation of the total population and annual interest rate. Thirdly, the effects of spatial and temporal correlation of population densities on the design of an urban rail transit line over years are investigated in Chapter 5. Population densities at different residential locations along a candidate rail transit line are correlated. Population growth in one location can positively influence the population growth in adjacent location. For instance, for a given total population along a linear rail transportation corridor, more households choose the central business district (CBD) to live, leaving fewer for suburban communities and new towns in the outlying locations. In this case, a negative spatial correlation exists between population densities at the CBD, and the suburban communities and new towns. A closed-form mathematical programming model is proposed in Chapter 5 to investigate the effects of spatial and temporal correlation of population densities on the design of the candidate rail transit line. In the proposed model, the optimisation objective is the budget social welfare maximisation. The decision variables include rail line length, rail station number and project start time of the candidate rail transit line. The analytical solutions of the above decision variables are derived explicitly. Finally, choices of alternative travel modes for households are incorporated in Chapter 6 to investigate the effects of households' prospect theory based travel behaviour over time for design of rail transit line in the liner transportation corridor. The available travel modes consist of car, bus, rail and park-and-ride. The prospect theory based analytical mathematical model proposed in Chapter 6 is proved to be convex, and the existence and uniqueness of solutions are guaranteed. It was found that the population density within the linear transportation corridor was closely correlated with the modal split results of households and the financial performance of the candidate rail transit line. To certain extent, the park-and-ride may not be suitable for cities with high population densities such as Hong Kong. This research appears to be the first devoted exclusively to the topic of using analytical models for investigation of urban rail design problems over time, with particular attention on the effects of population density by location along the linear transportation corridor over years. The transportation authorities could make use of the proposed models for proving useful insights in order to give the guidelines and/or strategies for design of the urban rail line over time in the urban area particularly in the corridor with potential for high population density but uncertainty in population growth in the future.


The advent of potent combination-drug therapies that can drive HIV in the blood to undetectable levels has thrown the world of AIDS drug testing into turmoil. Some researchers are lambasting drug developers for continuing to offer drug trial participants less than these optimal regimens. But there is hot debate about what constitutes "suboptimal" treatment. And some researchers also argue that to know how to maximize patients' options, clinical trials must examine a wide range of treatments, including those that may have only modest firepower against the virus. A Policy Forum on this topic appears on page [548][1].

 [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/276/5312/548


Cluster headache is an uncommon yet distinctive neurovascular syndrome occurring in either episodic or chronic patterns. The most unique feature of cluster headache is the unmistakable circadian and circannual periodicity. The attacks are stereotypical, that is, of extreme intensity, of short duration, occurring unilaterally, and associated with robust signs and symptoms of autonomic dysfunction. Unlike migraine, during an attack the patient with cluster headache often paces about. Attacks frequently occur at night, awakening the patient from sleep. Although the pathophysiology of cluster headache remains to be fully elucidated, several seminal observations have recently been made. The medical treatment of cluster headache includes acute, transitional, and maintenance prophylaxis. Agents used for acute therapy include inhalation of oxygen and triptans, such as sumatriptan, and dihydroergotamine. Transitional prophylaxis refers to the short-term use of fast-acting agents. This typically involves either corticosteroids or ergotamine derivatives. The mainstay of prophylactic therapy is verapamil. Lithium, divalproex sodium, or topiramate may also be useful. As the sophistication of functional neuroimaging increases, so too will our ability to better understand the anatomic and metabolic perturbations that underlie cluster headache.


The CC genotype of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphism TaqI rs731236 has previously been associated with a higher risk of developing myopathy compared to TT carriers. However, the mechanistic role of this polymorphism in skeletal muscle is not well defined. The effects of vitamin D on patients genotyped for the VDR polymorphism TaqI rs731236, comparing CC and TT carriers were evaluated. Primary human myoblasts isolated from 4 CC carriers were compared with myoblasts isolated from four TT carriers and treated with vitamin D in vitro. A dose-dependent inhibitory effect on myoblast proliferation and differentiation was observed concurrent with modifications of key myogenic regulatory factors. RNA sequencing revealed a vitamin D dose–response gene signature enriched with a higher number of VDR-responsive elements (VDREs) per gene. Interestingly, the greater the expression of muscle differentiation markers in myoblasts, the more pronounced was the vitamin D-mediated response to suppress genes associated with myogenic fusion and myotube formation. This novel finding provides a mechanistic explanation to the inconsistency regarding previous reports of the role of vitamin D in myoblast differentiation. No effects in myoblast proliferation, differentiation or gene expression were related to CC vs TT carriers. Our findings suggest that the VDR polymorphism TaqI rs731236 comparing CC vs TT carriers did not influence the effects of vitamin D on primary human myoblasts and that vitamin D inhibits myoblast proliferation and differentiation through key regulators of cell cycle progression. Future studies need to employ strategies to identify the primary responses of vitamin D that drive the cellular response towards quiescence.


This paper reviews labor market developments in the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union since the beginning of transition. The paper examines the relationship between aggregate employment and macroeconomic developments in these countries, emphasizing the changing interaction between aggregate output and employment, the role of wages and of labor market flexibility in determining the ability of these economies to provide suitable employment for their citizens. Attention is also given to the role of starting conditions and how the excess employment of the Communist period was either liquidated or accommodated. The second part of the paper deals with microeconomic issues pertaining to labor market performance in the region. The role of the nature and extent of privatization on employment outcomes is examined as is the role of sectoral restructuring. The role of entrepreneurship and the creation of new SMEs, capital formation and the emergence of new labor market institutions are also described.


This paper presents the findings from an econometric analysis of public transport patronage growth for a selection of New Zealand cities: Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton and Tauranga. The primary objective of the econometric analysis was to provide an explanation of historic growth patterns and, in doing so, provide up-to-date public transport elasticities for use by transport planners and policy analysts. The econometric methods employed differ from conventional approaches because we used panel data models to analyse patronage patterns at a disaggregated level (ie bus route, bus corridor or train line) rather than at a network or city level. We consider that this approach produces more accurate estimates and demonstrates that statistical methods can be used to lpost-evaluater the effectiveness of past public transport investments and the impacts of fare increases. The econometric methodology was developed by DMK Consulting and was designed to ensure that the findings were thoroughly-researched and statistically robust. The development and implementation of this econometric methodology took from 2009 to 2012 to complete.


The in vitro study presented in this article was performed to evaluate the morphological changes in caries excavated dentin after using three different caries removal methods. These methods include mechanical, chemomechanical (Carisolv™) and Er, Cr: YSGG Laser (Biolase™) by means of scanning electron microscope. Extracted carious human molars were ground to flat surfaces to expose caries surrounded by sound dentin. The caries were then removed with tungsten carbide bur and airotor handpiece (G1), by chemomechanical (Carisolv™) method (G2), and by irradiation with an Er, Cr: YSGG Laser (Biolase™) unit (G3). The samples were then observed under a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with different magnification powers (×800, ×2000 and ×5000). SEM study revealed a considerable difference in the surface characteristics of the dental tissue. The surface which was treated with Er, Cr: YSGG laser (Erbium, Chromium: Yttrium – Scandium – Gallium – Garnet) showed the best result with no residual smear layer followed by surfaces which were chemomechanically excavated with Carisolv™ gel. The treatment with mechanical method resulted in a surface with a smear layer without any micro retention. Thus, from the results obtained, it was concluded that Er, Cr: YSGG laser produced a scaly, irregular and rugged tooth surface without smear layer, which can be of highly retentive nature. Carisolv™ treated dentin showed uneven surfaces with many undermined areas. There were partially patented dentinal tubules and residues of contaminant smear layer. The dentin surfaces prepared using tungsten carbide bur and spoon excavator produced smearing and smear plugs in the tubular orifices.


ABSTRACT Though GPS-based human trajectory data have been commonly used in travel surveys and human mobility studies, missing data or data gaps that are intrinsically relevant to research reliability remain a critical and challenging issue. This study proposes a novel framework for imputing data gaps based on frequent-pattern mining and time geography, which allows for considering spatio-temporal travel restrictions during imputation by evaluating the spatio-temporal topology relations between the space-time prisms of gaps and corresponding frequent activities or trips. For the validation, the proposed framework is applied to raw GPS trajectories that were collected from 139 participants in Switzerland. In the case study, the temporal and spatio-temporal gaps are artificially generated by randomly choosing activities and trips from the trajectory data. Through comparing the mobility indicators (i.e. duration and distance) calculated from raw data, imputed data, and data with gaps, we quantitatively evaluate the performance of the proposed method in terms of Pearson correlation coefficients and deviation. We further compare the framework with the shortest path interpolation method based on the generated spatio-temporal gaps. The comparison results demonstrate the performance and advantage of the proposed method in imputing gaps from GPS-based human movement data.


The Georgian-style house--whether a classic building on a Georgetown street or an elegant brick house in a leafy suburb--is considered by some to be the most desirable and comfortable of homes. The Georgian style has stood the test of time. Houses built over two hundred years ago still stand as proud and dignified as when they were first erected, and the style continues to be popular in contemporary domestic architecture. The first part of this book describes the development of the Georgian style, beginning with its introduction in the early eighteenth century in Britain and the colonies. In the 1740s, metropolitan areas on America's east coast, particularly the cities of Boston, Philadelphia, Charleston, and Alexandria, were beginning to show excellent examples of Georgian architecture. In the second part of the book, a chapter is devoted to each element of the house--roofs, stonework, brick, doors and windows, fireplaces, and moldings are examined, stressing the need for today's occupants to understand the ideas, techniques, and materials employed by the original builders. This book enables the preservationist, historian, architect, carpenter, and decorator to understand the craftsmanship and context of the Georgian house. Written with the owner of a modest family house in mind, the text also devotes due attention to the great houses of the period. The book overflows with practical advice on paint colors, wallpapers, and other decor, and provides an invaluable guide to suppliers and sources of further information.


Research with reflexive, narrative accounts has grown in popularity within psychology, not least because it legitimates the deployment of clinical skills. These skills are often directed toward evaluating the quality and substance of narratives according to criteria that are intrinsic to models of psychological well-being and clearly relate to professionally held moral goods. I describe a tension for the clinician-researcher between, on the one hand, evaluating a narrative according to widely accepted norms of "good" storying and, on the other, allowing the participants' own ethical logic to be privileged. Using narrative extracts from a project on parents of transgendered teenagers, I illustrate these two broad approaches to reading reflective narrative accounts. I argue that we require more studies taking a direct interest in the ordinary, unremarkable work of ethical accounting within a local moral order. Research that focuses on the moral particularity of each participant could help us both in understanding the way that ethical reasoning guides action—grasping how participants' uncertainties are expressed in the vocabulary of moral choice—and in deepening our scrutiny of the meaningfulness and relevance of our preferred clinical judgements and the ethical biases they reveal.


An overview of the various Finite Element mesh generation techniques is presented. Since most automatic FE Mesh Generation techniques read in geometry of the object and create meshes on it, an overview of the various methods of representing geometry on computers is presented. A brief description of the TRIQUAMESH technique for generating beam, shell and solid finite elements is given. TRIQUAMESH is a technique for generating finite elements on arbitrarily-shaped curves, areas, and volumes. It has currently been implemented to be used with the I-DEAS Geomod solid modelling program and the I-DEAS Supertab finite element pre/post-processing program. The paper also presents problems connected with creating shell finite elements on solid geometry. Some solutions to these problems (eg. automatic midsurface extraction from a given solid) are presented. The paper concludes with an example of a mesh created by the TRIQUAMESH technique, the time taken by a FE analyst to create the meshes, and the savings in time because of the use of an automatic mesh generation program.


Abstract : Developing the Free Electron Laser (FEL) as a weapon is of high interest to the United States Navy. This thesis aims to gain insight, through simulation of generic configurations of an oscillator and amplifier FEL, into the performance of an FEL and the effects of electron beam misalignments. It then compares simulation results to an existing experiment, and explores similarities and differences. Additionally, a new cathode test cell is designed. Electrostatic cathode test cell designs are proposed and a recommendation for future design and construction is made.


Computing aggregate statistics about user data is of vital importance for a variety of services and systems, but this practice has been shown to seriously undermine the privacy of users. Differential privacy has proved to be an effective tool to sanitize queries over a database, and various cryptographic protocols have been recently proposed to enforce differential privacy in a distributed setting, e.g., statical queries on sensitive data stored on the user's side. The widespread deployment of differential privacy techniques in real-life settings is, however, undermined by several limitations that existing constructions suffer from: they support only a limited class of queries, they pose a trade-off between privacy and utility of the query result, they are affected by the answer pollution problem, or they are inefficient. This paper presents PrivaDA, a novel design architecture for distributed differential privacy that leverages recent advances in secure multiparty computations on fixed and floating point arithmetics to overcome the previously mentioned limitations. In particular, PrivaDA supports a variety of perturbation mechanisms (e.g., the Laplace, discrete Laplace, and exponential mechanisms) and it constitutes the first generic technique to generate noise in a fully distributed manner while maintaining the optimal utility. Furthermore, PrivaDA does not suffer from the answer pollution problem. We demonstrate the efficiency of PrivaDA with a performance evaluation, and its expressiveness and flexibility by illustrating several application scenarios such as privacy-preserving web analytics.


The George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Summation (NEES) completes its tenth year of operation in September 2014. The NEES Center consists of a network of 14 large-scale experimental laboratories that collaborate and share resources in support of research to inform civil engineering practice and reduce losses from future earthquakes. Since the development of the center in 2003, the education, outreach and training (EOT) program has grown from a federation of local outreach activities to an integrated network of "specialists" working together to obtain significant impact towards defined education goals. The leadership of the NEES EOT program has learned from the experience and wisdom of various Engineering Research Centers to establish a focused program to promote a highly talented next-generation research workforce through formal education programs and to increase awareness of earthquake engineering advances through informal learning experiences, webinars for technology transfer, and strong media coverage. The collaboration of EOT specialists, with graduate students, undergraduates and teachers to develop and implement learning experiences has proven to be a highly impactful approach for achieving educational goals of these participants as well as the learners they engage in various learning experiences. This paper describes the critical principles governing the design of an effective education and outreach program by a multi-site, geographically-distributed research center. These lessons will provide a framework for others interested in designing education and outreach programs at future large-scale research centers.


The On-Off direction-selective (DS) ganglion cells in the rabbit retina comprise four discrete subtypes that orthogonally code the direction of image motion. This study examined the dendritic relationships between different subtypes of On-Off DS cells, which were identified by their distinctive type 1 bistratified (BiS1) morphology following the intracellular injection of a biotinylated tracer or Lucifer yellow under direct microscopic control. The dendrites of BiS1 cells that had closely spaced somata, which presumably comprised subtypes of On-Off DS cells with different preferred directions, were not randomly superimposed but were fasciculated into loose bundles. By contrast, tracer coupling revealed that neighboring On-Off DS cells of one subtype were highly territorial, providing complete coverage of the retina with minimal overlap. This mirrors, on a larger scale, the territorial organization within the dendritic tree of individual DS cells, suggesting that similar interactions shape both the branching pattern and the spatial extent of these neurons. Moreover, the dendrites at the edge of the dendritic field often formed tip-to-shaft or tip-to-tip contacts with dendrites from coupled cells, thus appearing to form closed dendritic loops that may be equivalent to those found within the dendritic tree. Consequently, the dendrites of one subtype are distributed uniformly and economically across the retina. The resulting plexus forms a strikingly regular scaffold on which the presynaptic interneurons generate direction selectivity.


Rail tracks serve the principal mode of transportation for bulk freight and passengers in Australia. Ballast is an essential constituent governing the overall stability and performance of rail tracks. However, large repetitive loads from heavy haul and passenger trains often lead to excessive deformation and degradation of the ballast layer, which necessitate frequent and expensive track maintenance works. In Australia, the high cost of track maintenance is often associated with ballast degradation, fouling (e.g. coal and subgrade soil) and associated poor drainage, differential settlement of track, pumping of subgrade soils, and track misalignment due to excessive lateral movements. With increased train speeds, the track capacity is often found to be inadequate unless more resilient tracks are designed to withstand the substantially increased vibration and repeated loads. A field trial was conducted on a section of track in Bulli, New South Wales, and findings indicated that the moderately-graded recycled ballast when used with a geocomposite resulted in smaller deformations in both vertical and lateral directions in comparison to uniformly-graded fresh ballast. Installing resilient (shock) mats in the track substructure led to significant attenuation of high impact forces and thereby mitigated ballast degradation. In addition, a series of full-scale field experiment was undertaken on track sections near Singleton, New South Wales to investigate the effects of geosynthetics on the performance of the track built on subgrade soils with varying stiffness. The finding suggested that geogrids can decrease vertical strains of the ballast layer and a few selected types of geogrids can be used more effectively with soft subgrade soils. This state of the art & practice (SOAP) paper describes the results of two unique full-scale field trials, series of large-scale laboratory tests and numerical models to assess the improved performance of ballasted rail tracks using synthetic grids and shock mats.


Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) solid-state electrolyte is garnering interest due to its potential to enable solid-state batteries (SSBs) using metallic Li anodes. However, Li metal propagates along LLZO grain boundaries at high Li plating current densities (above the critical current density, CCD). In the present study, we examined whether microstructural aspects, such as grain size, could influence mechanical and electrochemical properties thereby affecting the CCD. A unique densification technique (heating between 1100 and 1300 °C) was used to control grain size. Electron backscatter diffraction determined that the grain size and the misorientation angle varied from 5 to 600 μm and 20 to 40°, respectively. Vickers indentation was used to characterize the mechanical properties and revealed that hardness decreased (9.9–6.8 GPa) with increasing grain size, but the fracture toughness was invariant (0.6 MPa m−1/2) at grain sizes ≥40 μm. DC and AC techniques were used to measure and correlate the CCD with grain size and showed that the CCD increased with increasing grain size achieving a maximum of 0.6 mA cm−2. We believe the implications of this work could be far-reaching in that they represent a significant step towards understanding the mechanism(s) that control the stability of the Li–LLZO interface and a rational approach to increase the CCD in SSBs.


Truncating variants of the giant protein titin cause dilated cardiomyopathy when they occur toward the protein's carboxyl terminus and in highly expressed exons. What Happens When Titins Are Trimmed? The most common form of inherited heart failure, dilated cardiomyopathy, can be caused by mutations in a mammoth heart protein, appropriately called titin. Now, Roberts et al. sort out which titin mutations cause disease and why some people can carry certain titin mutations but remain perfectly healthy. In an exhaustive survey of more than 5200 people, with and without cardiomyopathy, the authors sequenced the titin gene and measured its corresponding RNA and protein levels. The alterations in titin were truncating mutations, which cause short nonfunctional versions of the RNA or protein. These defects produced cardiomyopathy when they occurred closer to the protein's carboxyl terminus and in exons that were abundantly transcribed. The titin-truncating mutations that occur in the general population tended not to have these characteristics and were usually benign. This new detailed understanding of the molecular basis of dilated cardiomyopathy penetrance will promote better disease management and accelerate rational patient stratification. The recent discovery of heterozygous human mutations that truncate full-length titin (TTN, an abundant structural, sensory, and signaling filament in muscle) as a common cause of end-stage dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) promises new prospects for improving heart failure management. However, realization of this opportunity has been hindered by the burden of TTN-truncating variants (TTNtv) in the general population and uncertainty about their consequences in health or disease. To elucidate the effects of TTNtv, we coupled TTN gene sequencing with cardiac phenotyping in 5267 individuals across the spectrum of cardiac physiology and integrated these data with RNA and protein analyses of human heart tissues. We report diversity of TTN isoform expression in the heart, define the relative inclusion of TTN exons in different isoforms (using the TTN transcript annotations available at http://cardiodb.org/titin), and demonstrate that these data, coupled with the position of the TTNtv, provide a robust strategy to discriminate pathogenic from benign TTNtv. We show that TTNtv is the most common genetic cause of DCM in ambulant patients in the community, identify clinically important manifestations of TTNtv-positive DCM, and define the penetrance and outcomes of TTNtv in the general population. By integrating genetic, transcriptome, and protein analyses, we provide evidence for a length-dependent mechanism of disease. These data inform diagnostic criteria and management strategies for TTNtv-positive DCM patients and for TTNtv that are identified as incidental findings.


The objective of this article is to clarify the positions of the medical societies that have worked together to establish a consensus regarding the clinical and laboratory parameters involved in sleep-disordered breathing, particularly snoring and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Orthodontists have gradually come to take part in multidisciplinary teams that act in the area of human sleep, but few know about the uniformity coordinated by the Brazilian Association of Sleep. Clinical and scientific studies from the field of dentistry (particularly orthodontics) also must observe and follow these diagnosis and treatment criteria established by the Brazilian medical community.


BACKGROUND
Inactive individuals face motivational obstacles for becoming and remaining physically active. Therefore, sustainable physical activity promotion programmes tailored to reach inactive individuals are needed. The aim of this study was to test the role of motivation and the effect and feasibility of a training programme.

METHODS
We enrolled physically inactive female hospital staff members aged 45 and older in an uncontrolled exercise trial. Follow-up assessments were at 3 and 12 months. The primary outcome was running distance (Cooper test). Secondary outcomes were level of physical activity (Freiburger Physical Activity Questionnaire) and body mass index.

RESULTS
Out of 1249 female hospital staff, 275 classified themselves as inactive and 250 (91%) of them were interested in the exercise programme. Of these, 68 (27%; mean age 53.2 years) agreed to participate in our study and 47 (69%) completed the programme. Average running distance increased by 255.70 m [95% confidence interval (CI) 208.09-303.31] at 3-month follow-up with a sustained benefit at 12-month follow-up (194.02; 95% CI 143.75-244.47). Physical activity level increased by 1152.52 kcal week(-1) (95% CI 703.73-1601.32) at 3 months with a sustained benefit (1279.10 kcal week(-1), 95% CI 826.80-1731.40) after 12 months. Notably, baseline motivation to become physically active was not associated with change in physical performance or physical activity level during the programme.

CONCLUSION
The 3-month step-up jogging programme is a feasible and effective exercise intervention for physically inactive, middle-aged female hospital staff members. The intervention leads to sustained benefits independently of motivation to become more physically active.


Abstract. Polar ecosystems are considered to be the last pristine environments of the earth relatively uninfluenced by human activities. Antarctica in particular, compared to the Arctic is considered to be even less affected by any kind of anthropogenic influences. Once contaminants reach the Polar Regions, their lifetime in the troposphere depends on local removal processes. Atmospheric mercury, in particular, has unique characteristics that include long-range transport to Polar Regions and the transformation to more toxic and water-soluble compounds that may potentially become bioavailable. These chemical-physical properties have placed mercury on the priority list of an increasing number of International, European and National conventions, and agreements, aimed at the protection of the ecosystems including human health (i.e. GEO, UNEP, AMAP, UN-ECE, HELCOM, OSPAR). This interest, in turn, stimulates a significant amount of research including measurements of gaseous elemental mercury reaction rate constant with atmospheric oxidants, experimental and modelling studies in order to understand the cycling of mercury in Polar Regions, and its impact to these ecosystems. Special attention in terms of contamination of Polar Regions is paid to the consequences of the springtime phenomena, referred to as "Atmospheric Mercury Depletion Events" (AMDEs), during which elemental mercury through a series of photochemically-initiated reactions involving halogens, may be converted to a reactive form that may accumulate in polar coastal, or sea ice, ecosystems. The discovery of the AMDEs, first noted in the Arctic, has also been observed at both poles and was initially considered to result in an important net input of atmospheric mercury into the polar surfaces. However, recent studies point out that complex processes take place after deposition that may result in less significant net-inputs from the atmosphere since a fraction, sometimes significant, of deposited mercury may be recycled. Therefore, the contribution of this unique reactivity occurring in polar atmospheres to the global budget of atmospheric mercury, and the role played by snow and ice surfaces of these regions, are important issues. This paper presents a review of atmospheric mercury studies conducted in the Antarctic troposphere, both at coastal locations and on the Antarctic Plateau since 1985. Our current understanding of atmospheric reactivity in this region is also presented.


The article deals with the content of one of the most fundamental diplomatic immunity – inviolability of diplomatic premises. The duties of the receiving state under international law as regards ensuring of this immunity, as well as certain aspects of fulfilling of these duties in the Republic of Lithuania are discussed too. The article focuses on the absolute nature of this immunity and, at the same time, – on the comprehensive analysis of the hitherto existing different practice of states when a receiving state for one reason or the other has violated the immunity of premises of foreign diplomatic missions. As a result of that analysis it is attempted to ascertain whether the existing international law sets any limits on absoluteness of the immunity in question in order to defend the interests of the receiving state and its people in the case when diplomatic premises are used for unlawful purposes, as well as to find out what are or could be those interests.


GSM stands System for Mobile communications. This is a digital mobile telephone system used in most part of the world. The tremendous growth of telecommunication industry results in increase in the number of handset user's everyday which has created a matter of concern in the scientist community .Exposure to electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones can cause harmful effect on cell, tissues and chromosomes. The rapid growth in use of this device has led to widespread concern for the safety of this device in long term exposure to the microwave radiation of low intensity. In this paper, we examined the anatomical (microscopic) and physiological effect (hormonal) of mobile phone radiations on thyroid gland to know its effect. However only on the basis of one or two parameters any conclusion cannot be justified, however it requires future comparative investigations to proof. Here in our study we found that with increase in the doses of radiation and increase in duration of time the microscopic anatomy of thyroid gland showed appreciable changes, also when the hormonal analysis was done the level of thyroid hormone was found disturbed. This is a matter of concern and need further more studies to see whether other endocrine glands are also effected or not by the radiations being emitted by the handsets.


1.0 Introduction

2.0 Formulation of guidelines

2.1 Grading of recommendations

2.2 Scheduled review

3.0 Summary of recommendations

4.0 Types of small bowel enteroscopy

4.1 Enteroscopy using a colonoscope

4.2 Sonde enteroscopy

4.3 Push enteroscopy

4.4 Intraoperative enteroscopy

4.5 Double balloon (push and pull) enteroscopy

5.0 Capsule endoscopy

5.1. Technique

5.2 Indications for capsule endoscopy

5.3 Complications of capsule endoscopy

5.4 Patency capsule

6.0 Service provision and training

References

The small bowel has historically been a difficult area to examine due to its anatomy, location and relative tortuosity. Examination beyond the duodenojejunal flexure is of importance in a number of small bowel disorders. Before the advent of enteroscopy or capsule endoscopy, radiographic studies had been the main investigative modality of the small bowel. Barium follow-through and enteroclysis permits indirect examination of the small bowel but has a low diagnostic yield particularly in the context of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding.1–3

Capsule endoscopy and enteroscopy are now the preferred methods to examine the small bowel in most situations. These guidelines are intended to provide an evidence based document describing endoscopic investigation of small bowel disorders.

These guidelines were commissioned by the Clinical Services and Standards Committee of the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) and have been produced by the small bowel and endoscopy sections of the BSG. The guidelines have been produced to conform to the North of England evidence based guidelines development project.4 5 They have been drawn up from a Medline, Embase and Ovid literature search using terms "enteroscopy", "push enteroscopy", "intraoperative enteroscopy", "double balloon enteroscopy" and "capsule endoscopy". There have been 180 peer review studies, seven review articles, 58 case reports and letters, and one set of American guidelines on enteroscopy.6 The literature search for capsule endoscopy includes 100 peer review studies, 51 review articles, 74 …


Foreign inflows are important sources of income that many African governments use to finance public investments and to support the development of manufacturing or export-oriented service sectors. Yet the recent growth experience of many African economies shows that domestic-oriented industry (construction, utilities) and services have become the largest sectors. Using Ghana and its newly found oil as an example, we analyze the dynamic relationship between increasing foreign inflows and economic growth and structural change by developing a multisector intertemporal general equilibrium model. We find that the sudden increase in petrodollars used to finance either the governments recurrent spending or public investment generates a substantial short-run growth shock consistent with the Dutch disease theory. Opposed short-run effects on the growth of the tradable and nontraded sectors lead the structure of the economy to become more domestic oriented. The creation of an oil fund helps reduce the negative growth and structural effect, while in the longer term, if oil spending does not enhance productivity, growth declines and the GDP share of the nontraded sector further increases. Smart use of oil revenue thus not only involves the creation of an oil fund but also spending inflows on productivity-enhancing investment. Whether public investments can help overcome Dutch disease effects also depends on the growth magnitude of the inflows. At the same level of investment-to-productivity-growth efficiency, public investments take longer to overcome the negative growth effects the higher the growth rate of inflows. This paper further shows that the structural effect of foreign inflows on economic development is a long-term challenge for Africa. The domestic-oriented economic structure can become a persistent phenomenon for countries that continue to receive foreign inflows in the form of petrodollars or in any other form.


Abstract. Identifying and quantifying the sources of climate impacts from land use and land cover change (LULCC) is necessary to optimize policies regarding LULCC for climate change mitigation. These climate impacts are typically defined relative to emissions of CO2, or sometimes emissions of other long-lived greenhouse gases. Here we use previously published estimates of the radiative forcing (RF) of LULCC that include the short-lived forcing agents O3 and aerosols, in addition to long-lived greenhouse gases and land albedo change, for six projections of LULCC as a metric for quantifying climate impacts. The LULCC RF is attributed to three categories of LULCC activities: direct modifications to land cover, agriculture, and wildfire response, and sources of the forcing are ascribed to individual grid points for each sector. Results for the year 2010 show substantial positive forcings from the direct modifications and agriculture sectors, particularly from south and southeast Asia, and a smaller magnitude negative forcing response from wildfires. The spatial distribution of future sources of LULCC RF is highly scenario-dependent, but we show that future forest area change can be used as a predictor of the future RF from direct modification activities, especially in the tropics, suggesting that deforestation-prevention policies that value land based on its C-content may be particularly effective at mitigating climate forcing originating in the tropics from this sector. However, the response of wildfire RF to tropical land cover changes is not as easily scalable and yet imposes a non-trivial feedback onto the total LULCC RF.


The possibility of realizing adiabatic rapid passage (ARP) with an intense chirped-pulse excitation (a concept well known in molecular systems) in direct-gap semiconductors is studied. Based on the semiconductor Bloch equations, the analysis shows that, in spite of complications due to band structure, signatures of ARP accompanied by an intrapulse pump-dump process (IPDP) should be observable in the dependence of the carriers' density on the chirp rate in the frequency domain. The bandgap shrinkage, which is the main many-body effect, gives the dominant contribution to the asymmetry of this dependence on the chirp sign. We show that the bandgap shrinkage enlarges the carriers' density and makes a major impact on the interplay of ARP with IPDP, enhancing ARP (suppressing IPDP) for positive chirped-pulse excitation and suppressing ARP (enhancing IPDP) for negative chirped-pulse excitation.