Background Resistant hypertension (RHTN) is characterised by blood pressure that remains ≥140/90 mmHg despite concurrent use of 3 antihypertensive drugs. In the general population, RHTN is associated with a 47% increased risk of cardiovascular events.1Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have increased cardiovascular risk; however, no research has addressed the incidence, prevalence, or risk factors associated with RHTN in patients with SLE. Objectives To compare the risk of RHTN in patients with SLE and frequency-matched controls without SLE; to define factors associated with RHTN in patients with SLE. Methods We used a validated algorithm (94% PPV) to identify patients with SLE from the electronic health records (EHR) at an academic medical centre.2 We established a control cohort matched by age, race, and sex with a 5:1 control-case ratio. Follow-up began at first ICD9 code for SLE (cases) or first ICD9 code (controls) and continued until RHTN diagnosis or last note. RHTN diagnosis required either the simultaneous use of 3 antihypertensive drugs and a mean blood pressure ≥140/90 mm Hg in the following 6 months, or the use of ≥4 antihypertensive drugs simultaneously. We used logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards (CPH) models to compare risk of RHTN between groups, with CPH performed on incident cases only. Results We studied 1044 patients with SLE and 5241 controls (median age 42, [31–54] 90% female and 70% Caucasian). Of the total cohort, RHTN developed in 106 SLE patients (10%) and 278 controls (4%). The incidence rate of RHTN was 14.7 cases/1000 person-years in SLE patients compared to 7.4 in controls [HR 1.66, 95% CI, 1.25–2.21] (figure 1). In logistic regression models, RHTN was associated with older age, black race, male gender and end stage renal disease (ESRD). Patients with SLE had a higher risk of RHTN when adjusted for age, sex, race, calendar year, and ESRD [HR 1.53, 1.15–2.05]. In an analysis among SLE patients, RHTN was associated with mortality in an unadjusted model [HR 3.38, 2.20–5.18]. This association remained when age, sex and race were added to the model [HR 2.58, 1.65–4.03], but when ESRD, calendar year and creatinine were included, the association was no longer significant [HR 1.51, 0.91–2.51].Abstract SAT0420 – Figure 1 Cumulative Incidence of RHTN in SLE versus Control Cohort Log rank test: p=0.000391 Conclusions Patients with SLE have a higher risk of RHTN compared to frequency-matched controls. RHTN is an important comorbiditiy for clinicans to recognise in SLE, as it is associated with a 3.3-fold higher risk of mortality. References [1] Muntner P, et al. Hypertension2014;64(5):1012–1021. [2] Barnado A, et al. Arthritis Care Res2017;69(5):687–693. Acknowledgements VUMC's Synthetic Derivative supported by institutional funding and by the CTSA grant ULTR000445 from NCATS/NIH. CTSA awaUL1TR000445 from NCATS, The Rheumatology Research Foundation, Lupus Research Alliance and K-23 award from the NIAMS. Disclosure of Interest None declared


The ballast track was constructed in full operation line excpet of 3 long tunnels in Gyeongbu - high speed railway 1st stage section. Due to the characteristics of operation of vehicle and ballast track, the track maintenance cost has been disbursed from beginning of the opening. Especially, the ballast track is considerably influenced by other environmental effects and requires additional maintenance owing to the occurrence of the frequent track irregularity. In this study, the variation of track quality was observed according to seasonal variation as a basic research for analyzing the effect of environmental factor on track irregularity.


In many of its current and potential applications, technologists treat the surface of cellulose to render it more hydrophobic. By use of a variety of hydrophobic sizing treatment strategies, the bulk cellulose phase becomes covered up with a layer having lower polarity and less inclination to interact with water. Often, the goal is to use a relatively low amount of additive to cover up or change just the surface of the cellulosic material, while still benefiting from the strength, recyclability, relatively low cost, and other favorable features of the bio-based material. But what often gets forgotten is that the hydrophilic nature of pure cellulose is not very high, and there are ways to manipulate such characteristics without reacting the material or covering it up. Sometimes reacting the cellulose with hydrophobic substituent groups appears to make it more water-loving. So, when thinking broadly of processing options for new applications, there are several contrasting approaches to consider.


BACKGROUND
To compare the feasibility of transrectal and transperineal fiducial marker placement for prostate cancer before proton therapy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
From 2013 to 2015, the first 40 prostate cancer patients that were scheduled for proton therapy underwent transrectal fiducial marker placement, and the next 40 patients underwent transperineal fiducial marker placement (the first series). Technical and clinical success and pain scores were evaluated. In the second series (n = 280), the transrectal or transperineal approach was selected depending on the presence/absence of comorbidities, such as blood coagulation abnormalities. Seven patients refused to undergo the procedure. Thus, the total number of patients across both series was 353 (262 and 91 underwent the transrectal and transperineal approach, respectively). Technical and clinical success, complications, marker migration and the distance between the two markers were evaluated.

RESULTS
In the first series, the technical and clinical success rates were 100% in both groups. The transrectal group exhibited lower pain scores than the transperineal group. The overall technical success rates of the transrectal and transperineal groups were 100% (262/262) and 99% (90/91), respectively (P > 0.05). The overall clinical success rate was 100% in both groups, and there were no major complications in either group. The migration rates of the two groups did not differ significantly. The mean distance between the two markers was 25.6 ± 7.1 mm (mean ± standard deviation) in the transrectal group and 31.9 ± 5.2 mm in the transperineal group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
Both the transrectal and transperineal fiducial marker placement methods are feasible and safe.


More frequent drought episodes are expected to cause higher mortality in isohydric tree species such as pines, because individuals close their stomata early during drought in order to maintain constant needle water potentials. It has been suggested that trees delay the ensuing carbon starvation by actively storing carbon at the expense of growth ("bet hedging"). Because such a strategy is only adaptive in drought‐prone regions, we hypothesise that the degree of carbon "bet hedging" should differ between ecotypes. We repeatedly measured the allocation of biomass, starch and soluble sugars to needles, stem and roots in seedlings of nine populations of Pinus sylvestris and Pinus nigra along a gradient from Central Europe to the Mediterranean. During two consecutive growing seasons, seedlings grown from seed were exposed to factorial combinations of 4 months of drought (D1, D2) and ambient/elevated CO2 (aCO2/eCO2). Drought‐stressed pine seedlings did neither increase starch concentrations, nor change biomass production or experience lower mortality under eCO2 compared to aCO2. By the end of D2, seedlings from drier origin had accumulated more starch but at the same time also more biomass than seedlings from wetter origin. Surprisingly, seedlings acclimatised to dry conditions after D1 so that mortality dropped to zero and drought effects on needle starch (P. sylvestris) and overall starch (P. nigra), respectively, disappeared after D2. Synthesis. The absence of a trade‐off between carbon storage (starch) and growth (biomass), and the patterns of mortality observed in seedlings growing under combined drought and eCO2 do not support the theory of carbon "bet hedging" in isohydric Pinus sylvestris and Pinus nigra. Results suggest that reduced growth and acclimatisation minimised seedling mortality in the second year. Acclimatisation might thus enable pine seedlings to resist a moderate increase in summer drought frequency expected in the future.


This is a progress report from an ongoing research project conducted jointly by the Visual Math Institute and Deepvision Labs, the Enter Network. The goal is an adequate visualization system, involving hardware and software, for the teaching of mathematics in schools and colleges, both in the classroom and over the internet. The level of graphics of interest here, 4D (that is, interactive and reactive spatial 3D animation), is particularly suitable for dynamical systems theory, including chaos theory, fractal geometry, and much of mathematical physics.


In wine fermentations, the metabolic activity of both Saccharomyces cerevisiae and non-Saccharomyces organisms impact wine chemistry. Ribosomal DNA amplicon sequencing of grape musts has demonstrated that microorganisms occur non-randomly and are associated with the vineyard of origin, suggesting a role for the vineyard, grape, and wine microbiome in shaping wine fermentation outcomes. We used ribosomal DNA amplicon sequencing of grape must and RNA sequencing of primary fermentations to profile fermentations from 15 vineyards in California and Oregon across two vintages. We find that the relative abundance of fungal organisms detected by ribosomal DNA amplicon sequencing did not correlate with transcript abundance from those organisms within the RNA sequencing data, suggesting that the majority of the fungi detected in must by ribosomal DNA amplicon sequencing are not active during these inoculated fermentations. Additionally, we detect genetic signatures of vineyard site and region during fermentation that are predictive for each vineyard site, identifying nitrogen, sulfur, and thiamine metabolism as important factors for distinguishing vineyard site and region. Importance The wine industry generates billions of dollars of revenue annually, and economic productivity is in part associated with regional distinctiveness of wine sensory attributes. Microorganisms associated with grapes and wineries are influenced by region of origin, and given that some microorganisms play a role in fermentation, it is thought that microbes may contribute to the regional distinctiveness of wine. We show that while the presence of microbial DNA is associated with wine region and vineyard site, the presence of microbial DNA is not associated with gene expression of those microorganisms during fermentation. We further show that detected gene expression signatures associated with wine region and vineyard site provide a means to address differences in fermentations that may drive regional distinctiveness.


The often strident debate over the Second Amendment is like few others in American constitutional discourse and historiography. It is a constitutional debate that has taken place largely in the absence of Supreme Court opinion. It is a historical controversy where the framers' intentions have best been gleaned from indirect rather than direct evidence. It is a scholarly debate that members of the academy have been until recently somewhat reluctant to join, leaving the field to independent scholars primarily concerned with the modern gun control controversy. In short, the Second Amendment is an arena of constitutional jurisprudence that still awaits its philosopher. The debate over the Second Amendment is ultimately part of the larger debate over gun control, a debate about the extent to which the Amendment was either meant to be or should be interpreted as limiting the ability of government to prohibit or limit private ownership of firearms. Waged in the popular press, in the halls of Congress, and increasingly in historical and legal journals, two dominant interpretations have emerged. Advocates of stricter gun controls have tended to stress the Amendment's Militia Clause, arguing that the purpose of the Amendment was to ensure that state militias would be maintained against potential federal encroachment. This argument, embodying the collective rights theory, sees the framers' primary, indeed sole, concern as one with the concentration of military power in the hands of the federal government, and the corresponding need to ensure a decentralized military establishment largely under state control.


Collections of mosquitoes in Vermont during 1980 and 1989 have resulted in 9 new state records, including species of Psorophora and Wyeomyia for the first time. A checklist of all species occurring in the state is also given.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine incentives for risk shifting in debt- and equity-based contracts based on the critiques of the similarities between sukuk and bonds.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a theoretical and mathematical model to investigate whether incentives for risk taking exist in: debt contracts; and equity contracts.

Findings
Based on this theoretical model, it argues that risk shifting behaviour exists in debt contracts only because debt naturally gives rise to risk shifting behaviour when the transaction takes place. In contrast, equity contracts, by their very nature, involve sharing transactional risk and returns and are thus thought to make risk shifting behaviour undesirable. Nonetheless, previous researchers have found that equity-based financing also might carry risk shifting incentives. Even so, this paper argues that the amount of capital provided and the underlying assets must be considered, especially in the event of default. Through mathematical modelling, this element of equity financing can make risk shifting unattractive, thus making equity financing more distinct than debt financing.

Research limitations/implications
Global awareness of the dangers of debt should be increased as a means of reducing the amount of debt outstanding globally. Although some regulators suggest that sukuk replaces debt, they must also be aware that imitative sukuk poses the same threat to efforts to avoid debt. In short, efforts to ensure future financial stability cannot address only debts or bonds but must also address those types of sukuk that mirrors bonds in their operation. In the wake of the global financial crisis, amid the frantic search for ways of protecting against future financial shocks, this analysis aims to help create future stability by encouraging market players to avoid debt-based activities and promoting equity-based instruments.

Practical implications
This paper's findings are relevant for countries that feature more than one type of financial market (e.g. Islamic and conventional) because risk shifting behaviour can degrade economic and financial stability.

Originality/value
This paper differs from the previous literature in two important ways, viewing risk shifting behaviour not only in relation to debt or bonds but also when set against debt-based sukuk, which has been subjected to similar criticism. Indeed, to the extent that debts and bonds encourage risk shifting behaviour and threaten the entire financial system, so, too, can imitation sukuk or debt-based sukuk. Second, this paper is unique in exploring the ability of equity features to curb equityholders' incentive to engage in risk shifting behaviour. Such an examination is necessary for the wake of the global financial crisis, for researchers and economists now agree that risk shifting must be controlled.


Today, with the advent of information technology integrated with each other, NTU Library's has a vast field of information and resources across the access for patrons to discover. NTU Library has made progressive improvement on the library catalogue, showcasing more than 775,000 books in the physical collection. And, this is growing at about 22,000 volumes per year. In addition, strategically align to the model the library's technology and systems at NTU Library. They has built and maintaining seamless access to retrieve more than 110 databases and journals across her subscription. In addition, they have also created more than 30 subject guides to create viral knowledge awareness into the online community, showcasing, sharing and guides on the collection resources that they have. As each year, the resources in the library grows, discovery relevant desired resource would be a tough task for the patrons. Even though, the library catalogue is still one of the key assets, today. On the other hand, patrons (students and scholars) begin routinely bypass library catalogues, in favour to other discovery tools to search, scan and retrieve their desire information needs. Thus, making catalogue to be decline, with its processes and structures start to face unsustainable and change needs to be swift to bring back the traffic of usage. In addition, for the technology librarians the widespread expansion of digitization projects, ubiquitous e-journals and the raise of e-book added to the pressure. Thus, in this paper, the technology and system librarians shares their experience in implementing a web tool for discovering the resource mining in NTU Library – The Web Discovery Tool. Here, the team shares on the (i) need of web discovery tool, (ii) the choice and administration of the tool, (iii) the strength and capability of the discovery tool (vi) the challenges of the discovery tool and (v) the return of investment in implementation of the discover tool. Along side, sharing out in the attribute of new media built into the tools and helps the patrons' learning and research in locating resource effectively and efficiently.


This mini review presents the current state of the art in studies on the personalization of virtual reality for basic research and treatment of fear-related disorders. Of particular interest to the review are the choice of self-report measures and manipulations of contextual factors that researchers are using in their virtual reality procedures. As this mini review will show, work is starting to emerge on the area of the interaction between context and individual differences, yet this topic remains a current gap in the literature on fear learning mechanisms and therapies for fear-related disorders. Studies in this review conclude that virtual reality environments offer many advantages, as they can be adjusted to model different contexts with great precision and control of the experimental context. Virtual reality is also seen by researchers as an opportunity to decrease the translational gap that exists between the research laboratories and the practical use for therapy treatments in clinics. However, the heterogeneity of methodological approaches that have created replicability as well as comparability issues in the field of fear learning is also a concern in studies using virtual reality. Thus, another, albeit secondary, aim of this mini review will be to point out some of the methodological challenges that should be addressed in future research aimed at the personalization of virtual reality for the research and treatment of fear-related disorders. Factors that will be addressed are 1) the use of self-report measures, and 2) interactivity aspects of contextual factor design in the virtual reality environment.


Unemployment emerged as a specific social issue in the late-19th century, but the nature of the threat it posed and the governing instruments available to address it varied widely. Using Britain and France as strongly contrasting cases, this article demonstrates the variable and historically contingent constructions of unemployment as a problem, and demonstrates how policy to address it was developed using administrative agencies that embodied specific, normative visions of how society and employment should operate. The different governing trajectories through which the issue was tackled is analyzed in terms of the context within which the problem of unemployment originally emerged. The article demonstrates the socio-political nature of unemployment's construction and, with reference to recent labour market change, questions its utility as a means of assessing economic or social well-being.


The ability of some RNA molecules to switch between different metastable conformations plays an important role in cellular processes. In order to identify such molecules and to predict their conformational changes one has to investigate the refolding pathways. As a qualitative measure of these transitions, the barrier height marks the energy peak along such refolding paths. We introduce a meta-heuristic to estimate such barriers, which is an NP-complete problem. To guide an arbitrary path heuristic, the method uses RNA shape representative structures as intermediate checkpoints for detours. This enables a broad but efficient search for refolding pathways. The resulting Shape Triples meta-heuristic enables a close to optimal estimation of the barrier height that outperforms the precision of the employed path heuristic.


Clock speed requirements will approach 500 MHz and above and thermal requirements of packages will be over 15 watts by the turn of the century as predicted by SIA and electronic industry analysts. The PDA, laptop markets and the cellular markets are increasingly demanding smaller footprint and low cost packaging. ProLinx's ViperBGA with its patented MicroFilled Via technology has been successful in meeting the above market demands. The ViperBGA exhibits a high electrical performance and a high thermal performance at a considerable cost savings compared to current high performance substrates. These enhancements are further optimized by proper use of 3D field solvers as well as extensive use of finite element modeling and the EGA substrate's thermal and electrical parasitics measurements. This paper will discuss a methodology in which modeling combined with ProLinx's BGA designer software is effectively used to optimize the layout of the EGA substrate for high density interconnect routing and optimal placement of electrical and thermal vias for performance enhancements before the manufacturing of the substrates. Measurements are performed after the substrate has been manufactured, and correlated with modeling. Modeling and measurements are done on both the two layer and three layer, cavity down and cavity up substrates.


Beacons measuring position and transmitting the data via satellite are useful for science, government and industry activities, to track the location and movement of sea and glacial ice in polar and subarctic regions. There are different postioning and telemetry systems, but GPSIridium and Argos are the best for polar applications. Designing ice drift beacons requires state of the art technology for managing power use and ensuring functionality at extremely low temperatures, along with complex and sometimes incompatible design challenges to allow for air deployment, polar bear and meltout resistance, minimal hydrodynamic performance and some capability to survive refreeze. There is great potential for rapid innovation with these highly specialized field instruments, but commercial developments are limited by the small size of the marke niche.


Additive manufacturing allows designers to make complex, efficient parts that are not achievable through conventional manufacturing techniques. Efficiencies are achieved by combining structural members, component interfaces, and hydraulic power distribution elements while eliminating redundant structural mass and volume. This paper documents the design, fabrication, inspection and testing of complex additively manufactured metal components. Parts utilizing AlSi10Mg aluminum alloy combine the roles of hydraulic manifold, mechanical interface, and core structure for a meso-scale quadruped robot. These parts allow Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) engineers to design and construct a highly capable quadruped robot that is both dynamic and lightweight. Metal parts were designed with computer aided design (CAD) and constructed using powder-bed direct laser metal sintering (DLMS). High-pressure hydraulic lines with internal fluid passageways were printed into the body assembly seamlessly creating a complex hydraulic manifold. After fabrication, a rigorous program involving post-processing, inspection, and destructive and non-destructive testing was performed to validate the design and manufacturing methods. The manifold has been approved for use and integrated on the quadruped, awaiting system level testing.


The in-flight control of the wing shape is widely considered as one of the most promising solutions to enhance the aerodynamic efficiency of the aircraft thus minimizing the fuel burnt per mission ([1]-[26]). In force of the fallout that the implementation of such a technology might have on the greening of the next generation air transport, ever increasing efforts are spent worldwide to investigate on robust solutions actually compliant with industrial standards and applicable airworthiness requirements. In the framework of the CleanSky2, a research program in aeronautics among the largest ever founded by the European Union, the authors focused on the design and validation of two devices enabling the camber-morphing of winglets and flaps specifically tailored for EASA CS-25 category aircraft ([29]). The shape transition was obtained through smart architectures based on segmented (finger-like) ribs with embedded electromechanical actuators. The combined actions of the two smart systems was conceived to modulate the load distribution along the wing while keeping it optimal at all flight conditions with unequalled benefits in terms of lift-over-drag ratio increase and root bending moment alleviation. Although characterized by a quasi-static actuation, and not used as primary control surfaces, the devices were deeply analysed with reference to their impact on aircraft aeroelastic stability. Rational approaches were adopted to duly capture their dynamics through a relevant number of elastic modes; aeroelastic coupling mechanisms were identified in nominal operative conditions as well as in case of systems' malfunctioning or failure. Trade off flutter and divergence analyses were finally carried out to assess the robustness of the adopted solutions in terms of movable parts layout, massbalancing and actuators damping.


This dissertation examines the extent to which selected Chicano authors have emphasized the crucial need for cultural hybridity. Although the current positive notion of hybridity was not yet available to these early writers nor was the process of deconstruction, each in their own creative ways challenges the general sentiment of their time and stresses the significance of embracing multiple cultural "Others" for the configuration of a Chicano/a identity. The central argument of this dissertation is that the respective novels redefine Homi K. Bhabha's notion of cultural hybridity, which is rather static in the sense that it focuses on the formation of a hybrid identity based on one colonized and one colonizer. The Chicano novelists discussed in this dissertation, however, underline the pivotal role that both the first and second colonizer as well as the three resulting identities play within the contemporary Chicano/a community. The novels analyzed thus prove the need for a critical redefinition of the concept of hybridity in the context of postcolonial studies.


Abstract High mountain ecosystems, with strong topographic and climatic gradients, are fragile and particularly sensitive to changes in land use. The abandonment of historic cultural landscapes has often led to changes in the pattern of land cover and thus, to a shift in the functions of high mountain landscapes, like fresh water supply, productivity or erosion control. In order to understand the effects of land-use change on the land-cover pattern at the local and regional scale, we analyzed and classified the mountainous landscape structure in the Kazbegi region in Georgia, located in the Central Greater Caucasus. For 13 settlements, we determined the land cover as present in 1987 and 2015, and quantified the changes over time to detect land-cover development trends for each settlement. Using a cluster analysis, the study area was analyzed regarding to topography (altitude, aspect, slope) and distance to settlements at the regional scale to gain six groups with separating conditions. Furthermore, each settlement was classified according to topography and land-cover change to obtain site-specific, comparative development trends. Our results show that this Caucasian high-mountain landscape is characterized by open grassland (67%) used as pasture and hay meadow, and natural birch forests (7%) in patches in the upper half of the subalpine belt. Within the settlements but also in their surroundings, field vegetables are cultivated in home gardens (1%). Land-cover change during the observation period mainly affected the cultural grassland with hay meadow abandonment. Moreover, shrubbery and forest expanded considerably on abandoned pastures. We further detected a strong relationship to topography that considerably varied between settlements resulting in specific trends in land-use change. Hay-making and arable land cultivation are focused today on sun-exposed and gentle slopes near the settlements. Shrub encroachment and reforestations were localized on farther distances and mostly on north-exposed slopes. Besides providing basic information about the historic and current land-use and land-cover patterns, our results quantify the landscape change during almost 30 years. A spatio-temporal analysis revealed an understanding of how land-use decisions influence the landscape pattern. In the context of societal development, regional socioeconomic processes, like shifts in the agricultural structure and population outmigration, seem to be societal drivers of changes. Our findings reveal linkages and interrelationships between natural, human-induced environmental and socioeconomic processes within high-mountain socio-ecological systems. Moreover, we suggest that sustainable land-use strategies for spatial development on sub-regional level, especially in marginal high-mountain regions, should consider topography and its influence on land-use change.


In Denmark interest in digital geographical cable and pipeline registration systems arose at the end of the 1970s in connection with the establishment of the natural gas distribution network from the North Sea. Cooperation between cable and pipeline owners and public authorities was further developed in the beginning of the 1980s. The author gives a closer description of the results of these cooperation initiatives, including the common national reference system; cooperation models for the establishment of a common basic digital map; the development of a common system-model conception for cable and pipeline registration; and standards for the exchange of cartographical data. The authors describe the common basis for the establishment of a cable and pipeline registration system and how NESA, the largest Danish electric utility, has benefited from this basis in connection with the introduction of its own system.


BACKGROUND
The social isolation imposed by COVID-19 pandemic can have a major impact on the mental health of dementia patients and their caregivers.

OBJECTIVE
We aim to evaluate the neurological decline of patients with dementia and the caregivers' burden during the pandemic.

METHODS
We performed a cross-sectional study. Caregivers of dementia patients following in the outpatient clinic were included. A structured telephone interview composed of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q), Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), Beck Depression (BDI) and Anxiety (BAI) Inventories to address cognitive, behavioral, and functional changes associated with social distancing during the Sars-Cov-2 outbreak. Patients were divided in two groups according to caregivers' report: with perceived Altered Cognition (AC) and Stable Cognition (SC).

RESULTS
A total of 58 patients (median age: 57 years [21-87], 58.6%females) and caregivers (median age: 76.5 years [55-89], 79.3%females) were included. Cognitive decline was shown by most patients (53.4%), as well as behavioral symptoms (48.3%), especially apathy/depression (24.1%), and functional decline (34.5%). The AC group (n = 31) presented increased behavioral (67.7%versus 25.9%, p = 0.002) and functional (61.3%versus 3.7%, p <  0.001) changes when compared to the SC group. In the AC group, ZBI, BDI, NPI-Q caregiver distress, and NPI-Q patient's severity of symptoms scores were worse than the SC group (p <  0.005 for all).

CONCLUSION
Patients' neuropsychiatric worsening and caregiver burden were frequent during the pandemic. Worsening of cognition was associated with increased caregivers' psychological distress.


As cloud-based computation grows to be an increasingly important paradigm, providing a general computational interface to support datacenter-scale programming has become an imperative research agenda. Many cloud systems use existing virtual machine monitor (VMM) technologies, such as Xen, VMware, and Windows Hypervisor, to multiplex a physical host into multiple virtual hosts and isolate computation on the shared cluster platform. However, traditional multiplexing VMMs do not scale beyond one single physical host, and it alone cannot provide the programming interface and cluster-wide computation that a datacenter system requires. We design a new instruction set architecture, DISA, to unify myriads of compute nodes to form a big virtual machine called DVM and present programmers the view of a single computer, where thousands of tasks run concurrently in a large, unified, and snapshotted memory space. The DVM provides a simple yet scalable programming model and mitigates the scalability bottleneck of traditional distributed shared memory systems. Along with an efficient execution engine, the capacity of a DVM can scale up to support large clusters. We have implemented and tested DVM on four platforms, and our evaluation shows that DVM has excellent performance and scalability. On one physical host, the system overhead of DVM is comparable to that of traditional VMMs. On 16 physical hosts, the DVM runs 10 times faster than MapReduce/Hadoop and X10. On 160 compute nodes in the TH-1/GZ supercomputer, the DVM delivers a 12.99× speedup over the computation on 10 compute nodes. The implementation of DVM also allows it to run above traditional VMMs, and we verify that DVM shows linear speedup on a parallelizable workload on 256 large EC2 instances.


Abstract:Although social movements and collective action are undeniable mechanisms for pursuing inclusive socioeconomic and political development and accountable forms of governance in Africa, they are now under greater scrutiny, for they are thought to be contradictory. Research highlighting the contradictions of these change agents is, however, largely lacking. In an attempt to contribute to bridging this gap, this study examines the consequences of the persistent antagonism between the postcolonial Kenyan state and the country's Luo community. It argues that given the dominance of neoliberal forces in global socioeconomic and political affairs, these change agents, which African leaders often consider to be "foreign funded agents of the opposition," could be subtle traps aimed at subjecting Africa to more intense forms of neocolonialism. Framed around the "neoliberal— predatory state dialectic," this research employs an ex post facto design and makes use of data from focus groups and budget speeches from independent Kenya to test its assumptions. It finds that the social movements and collective actions of the Luo, which often are responses to political marginalization by the Kenyan state, have had profound consequences at all levels of Kenyan society. A cozy relationship also appears to be developing between two erstwhile foes: the largely predatory African state and western-based neoliberal forces. This article partly concludes that Africa's woes are both self-inflicted and exogenous in character.


Objective: This investigation examined the contribution of anxiety to the social functioning of children with and without ADHD. Method: Participants were 62 children with ADHD (ages 6-10 years and 68% boys) and 62 age- and sex-matched comparison children. Children's social functioning was measured through parent and teacher reports, observations of social behaviors during a lab-based playgroup with previously unacquainted peers, and peer nominations during that lab-based playgroup. Results: Anxiety symptoms incrementally predicted adult-informant reports of poorer social functioning after controlling for demographic covariates, ADHD status, and oppositional-defiant disorder (ODD) status. However, anxiety was not associated with peer nominations received at the playgroup. There were some indications that anxiety may have greater influence on the functioning of comparison children relative to children with ADHD or ODD. Conclusion: Anxiety may contribute to the peer problems of children both with and without ADHD.


This paper analyses the fundamental ingredients behind surrogate explanations to provide a better understanding of their inner workings. We start our exposition by considering global surrogates, describing the trade-off between complexity of the surrogate and fidelity to the black-box being modelled. We show that transitioning from global to local - reducing coverage - allows for more favourable conditions on the Pareto frontier of fidelity-complexity of a surrogate. We discuss the interplay between complexity, fidelity and coverage, and consider how different user needs can lead to problem formulations where these are either constraints or penalties. We also present experiments that demonstrate how the local surrogate interpretability procedure can be made interactive and lead to better explanations.


Background: Fast-acting insulin aspart is a new formulation of the rapid-acting insulin analogue insulin aspart and represents an advancement over current rapid-acting insulin analogues in terms of onset of action and postprandial glucose control. The objective of the current analysis was to demonstrate the cost impact of prescribing fast-acting insulin aspart instead of insulin aspart, to highlight the value of fast-acting insulin aspart for the treatment of people with diabetes requiring mealtime insulin. Methods: A cost-impact analysis was conducted from the perspective of the UK National Health Service (NHS). The analysis excluded patients' out-of-pocket expenses, carers' costs and lost productivity. The time horizon of the analysis was 1 year, and no discounting was therefore applied. Results: The displacement of insulin aspart with fast-acting insulin aspart is cost neutral for the UK NHS. Fast-acting insulin aspart is at price parity to insulin aspart in terms of the vial and Penfill® cartridge and is available in the FlexTouch® pen at the same price as the insulin aspart FlexPen® (and thus cheaper than the insulin aspart FlexTouch® pen). Patients using the insulin aspart FlexPen® will be upgraded to the FlexTouch® pen device, which is preferred by patients and healthcare professionals, on switching to fast-acting insulin aspart, at no additional cost. Conclusions: Fast-acting insulin aspart offers additional clinical benefit but at no additional cost when compared with insulin aspart, and thus provides value to the UK NHS.


The effects of different time-independent and time-dependent couplings on two-atom entanglement are studied. The results show that the effects depend on the initial state. For the initial state |ee0⟩, it is found that different time-independent couplings make the case without entanglement exhibit entanglement, and time-dependent couplings turn the irregular entanglement regions into regular one. Under the case of decay, for the initial state |eg0⟩, the different time-dependent couplings have disbenefit.


Balancing the speed and accuracy of decisions is crucial for survival, but how organisms manage this trade-off during learning is largely unknown. Here, we track this trade-off during perceptual learning in rats and simulated agents. At the start of learning, rats chose long reaction times that did not optimize instantaneous reward rate, but by the end of learning chose near-optimal reaction times. To understand this behavior, we analyzed learning dynamics in a recurrent neural network model of the task. The model reveals a fundamental trade-off between instantaneous reward rate and perceptual learning speed, putting the goals of learning quickly and accruing immediate reward in tension. We find that the rats' strategy of long initial responses can dramatically expedite learning, yielding higher total reward over task engagement. Our results demonstrate that prioritizing learning can be advantageous from a total reward perspective, and suggest that rats engage in cognitive control of learning.


The production of large volumes of scientific information, considering its cost, requires approaches that ensure its maintenance, reuse and recovery. These concerns prompted the emergence of digital curation. We intend to discuss the relevant thinking concerning the costs of digital curation. This means addressing the definition of the concept and the issue of costs, based on the studies related to cost models. A literature review was conducted using B-On and RCAAP as research sources, exploring the perceptions of the authors regarding the digital curation and its costs. The views expressed were organized around a scheme based on the Digital Curation Centre (DCC) lifecycle and the reference model Open Archival Information System (OAIS). It is proposed a systematization of digital curation issues bridging the DCC life cycle view of the digital object curation to the OAIS reference model approach, using a cross view seized by cost models and plan/data management policies.


Drug molecules with low aqueous solubility can be solubilized by a class of cosolvents, known as hydrotropes. Their action has often been explained by an analogy with micelle formation, which exhibits critical micelle concentration (CMC). Indeed, hydrotropes also exhibit "minimum hydrotrope concentration" (MHC), a threshold concentration for solubilization. However, MHC is observed even for nonaggregating monomeric hydrotropes (such as urea); this raises questions over the validity of this analogy. Here we clarify the effect of micellization on hydrotropy, as well as the origin of MHC when micellization is not accompanied. On the basis of the rigorous Kirkwood-Buff (KB) theory of solutions, we show that (i) micellar hydrotropy is explained also from preferential drug-hydrotrope interaction; (ii) yet micelle formation reduces solubilization effeciency per hydrotrope molecule; (iii) MHC is caused by hydrotrope-hydrotrope self-association induced by the solute (drug) molecule; and (iv) MHC is prevented by hydrotrope self-aggregation in the bulk solution. We thus need a departure from the traditional view; the structure of hydrotrope-water mixture around the drug molecule, not the structure of the aqueous hydrotrope solutions in the bulk phase, is the true key toward understanding the origin of MHC.


Abstract We show that if the Julia set of a transcendental entire function is locally connected, then it takes the form of a spider's web in the sense defined by Rippon and Stallard. In the opposite direction, we prove that a spider's web Julia set is always locally connected at a dense subset of buried points. We also show that the set of buried points (the residual Julia set) can be a spider's web.


Cochlear implant is one of the most promising medical applications aiming to utmost restore deaf patients hearing. How to improve voice quality by using effectively algorithms has become a bottleneck. In our research, a new speech signal processing scheme is given based on Bark Wavelet Transform (BWT). This signal-processing strategy can non-uniformly separates the time-frequency space, which is similar with human auditory physiology. By simulating the Matlab simulation, we clearly confirm that the strategy of this paper shows a better performance while comparing to CIS strategy.


A decoupling controller between the tension and speed of steel a processing line is proposed for bridle rolls of the steel mill drive system. With the controller, the tension of the steel strip is kept as a reference value regardless of the line speed variations and the speed of the strip is also kept regardless of the tension variations. The controller generates a torque reference of each roll driving motor according to the average roll speed and required tension, which is in contrast to conventional controllers where one regulates line speed and the other tension. The effectiveness and the performance of this controller is verified by computer simulation and prototype experiments.


A theoretical estimate of carrier-induced changes in absorption and refraction spectra in GaSb is presented. The partly phenomenological electron-hole plasma model including band filling, band-gap renormalization, screening of the Coulomb interaction and the free-carrier plasma effect is used. A dominant contribution of the band filling and screening of the continuum-state Coulomb enhancement is observed. For the first time the influence of high lying conduction band valleys is taken into account. In addition, the model is applied to calculate the absorption and refraction spectra in doped material. The obtained results may prove to be useful in the design of GaSb optoelectronic devices. >


Social networks are the social structures which are composed of people and their relationships and nowadays, play an important role in data extension. In such networks, the communities are recognized as the groups of users who are often interacting with each other. In this article, a method will be introduced for community detection, which has the capability of adoption with different kinds of social networks and also is synchronized with the actual world. One of the most important defined parameters in this paper is the rate of the transferred messages between the nodes of the network, this parameter would be dynamically investigated. In this strategy, the network is reviewed in different time intervals, and the inter-node relations are enhanced or weakened. Therefore, the topology of the network is continuously changing in response to the behavior of the users. The defined parameters in the proposed algorithm are capable of adopting with different types of the social networks and a weight will be assigned to every parameter which is indicative of the relative importance of that parameter in comparison with the other ones. The obtained results show that this method, in comparison with the similar methods, leads to achievement of the desirable results.


Anthropologists working in the Pacific, and particularly in Melanesia, often report that the people with whom they work say that it is impossible to know what is in the mind of another person. One might read these statements as general existential claims about the human condition: we live as we dream alone, as Conrad would have it; or more prosaically, we live in effect as behaviorists, resigned to registering what people do without any interpretive recourse to the inner states that might have shaped their doings. But as much as such statements about the opacity of other minds can point to a general view of human life, in the contexts in which Melanesians make them they are very often more pointed than this, serving as metalinguistic claims about the limits of speech. It is speech in particular that such statements tend to single out, suggesting that speech is rendered problematic by virtue of its inability to convey what is in the minds of those who produce it. Because of its inability to convey what is in the minds of others, Melanesians often say speech is "mere talk" or " just talk"-not something one should treat as of much importance. So often in fact do Melanesians reiterate this point that it almost begins to sound as if they are aware that people might be tempted to interpret speech as a conduit for conveying the inner states of those who produce it, and then go to great lengths to warn them against doing so. The broadest question I want to pose in this essay has to do with what we, as anthropologists, can do with statements about the opacity of other minds and the inability of speech to counteract this opacity. This may sound like an obvious question-one we as a matter of course ask about any kind of data we gather in the field. But I want to suggest that in the case of opacity statements and their language-ideological correlates, the answer is far more difficult to find than it is in most other cases. The difficulties follow from the extent to which these statements sound unbelievable to those anthropologists who have not worked in cultures in which they are prevalent. The problem is not that our colleagues cannot credit that people might make such statements, but is rather that they find it impossible to believe that people, even if they make them, might in any sense live by them. People who make opacity statements, the standard dismissive criticism has it, must nonetheless in their own practices of listening be making some kinds of assumptions about what speaker's intend to say, otherwise they could not interpret the speaker's speech as meaningful. Anthropologists who raise such doubts draw on the deeply held Western assumption that those mental states we call intentions are crucial to the meaning of speech. It is this fundamental tenet of Western language ideologies against which claims about the opacity of other minds offend. Indeed, such claims offend so badly, it seems, that Western scholars cannot help but recoil against them and assert that whatever else they may be about, they certainly cannot be taken to be adequate self-reports of people's ways of approaching language. Up against the skepticism of their colleagues, ethnographers who find reports of the impossibility of knowing other minds to be paramount in local understandings of speech also face the additional problem that an informant's assertion that "you cannot know what is in another's mind, even if they claim to tell it to you in speech" comes very close to being a version of the liar paradox. If speech cannot convey what speakers think or feel, how can a spoken assertion that this is the case be taken to be an accurate report of the speaker's own experience-of how the speaker goes about approaching speech in his/her mind? Of course, this is only a paradox from the point of view of intentionality based, mind-reading language ideologies that expect speakers to be saying things that are true to their own experience. But if, in order to get around the paradox, we set the intentionalist ideology aside and interpret our informants' statements in what we take to be their terms-that is to say, without reference to what is inside their heads-then we cannot use the statements themselves as evidence concerning how those who make them go about mental tasks like interpreting spoken utterances. …


The authors investigated adjustment to an Israeli university by students from two minority groups, Israeli Arabs and Jewish Ethiopians, as a function of their different acculturation attitudes (J. W. Berry, 1990). Social adjustment of both Arabs and Ethiopians was contingent on acculturation attitudes supporting participation with the majority. Psychological adjustment of both groups was negatively associated with personal acculturation preferences that deviated from the shared acculturation attitudes of the respective in-group (i.e., assimilation in the Arab group, and separation in the Ethiopian group). The perceived attitude of the majority also contributed to the psychological adjustment of both groups. Major theoretical implications are that both attitudes of the majority and adjustment to the in-group play an important role in psychological adjustment of immigrants.


Family-centered practices that build caregiver capacity are a central focus of early intervention services for young children with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of adapting the 'Parents Interacting with Infants' (PIWI) facilitated playgroup model to target effective communication strategies for parents of young children with communication delays. A concurrent multiple baseline across behaviors design with three parent–child dyads was used to determine the effects of the weekly facilitated playgroup model on parents' successful implementation of communicative strategies and the effects on the children's communication behaviors. Visual analysis revealed a functional relationship between the seven-week intervention and an increase in parent and child outcomes. Results support the feasibility of using a facilitated playgroup model to enhance parents' ability to implement effective communication strategies with their children. Clinical implications and future directions for research are discussed.


Introduction: This study examined the association of losartan induced changes in urinary metabolomic profile with the changes in blood pressure (BP) and renin-angiotensin- aldosterone system (RAAS) in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Methods: Male SHR were administered with either 0.5 mL of distilled water (control group, n=6) or 10 mg.kg -1 of losartan (group 2, n=6) daily by oral gavage for 4 weeks. Body weight, BP, food and water intake were measured weekly. At week 4, urine was collected for urinary electrolyte analysis and metabolite profiling, after which the animals were euthanised by decapitation and blood was collected for analysis of components of RAAS and electrolyte concentrations. Urine metabolite profile of SHR was determined using proton nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H-NMR) spectrometry combined with multivariate data analysis. Results: At week 4, losartan- treated SHR had significantly lower BP than non-treated SHR. There were no differences in water and food intake, body weight, serum and urinary electrolyte concentrations or in their urinary excretions between the two groups. No differences were evident in the components of RAAS except that the angiotensinogen level was significantly higher in losartan-treated SHR compared to non-treated SHR. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) showed clear separation of urinary metabolites between control and losartan-treated SHR. Losartan-treated SHR group was separated from the control group by changes in the intermediates involved in glycine, serine and threonine metabolism. Conclusion: Antihypertensive effect of losartan in SHR seems to be associated with changes in urinary metabolite profile, particularly involving the metabolism of glycine, serine and threonine.


Marketers have shown increasing interest in the use of corporate societal marketing (CSM) programs. In this article, the authors describe six means by which CSM programs can build brand equity: (1) building brand awareness, (2) enhancing brand image, (3) establishing brand credibility, (4) evoking brand feelings, (5) creating a sense of brand community, and (6) eliciting brand engagement. The authors also address three key questions revolving around how CSM programs have their effects, which cause the firm should choose, and how CSM programs should be branded. The authors offer a series of research propositions throughout and conclude by outlining a set of potential future research directions.


The uninterrupted information about user's position can be obtained from satellite navigation systems (SNS). Currently (September 2017) two global SNSs, GPS and GLONASS, are fully operational, two next, also global, Galileo and BeiDou are under construction. Several hundred million receivers of these systems are used in the world in each mode of transportation, road, rail, maritime and air. The position's accuracy depends on the parameters of SNS, user's latitude and the visibility of satellites in restricted area. Last parameter must be taken into account in road transport in urban canyon, in particular the street orientation and its dimensions, the width and height of the buildings. The impact of satellite position on the effectiveness of intelligent transportation systems are described in this paper.


In this work, enhanced poly(3-hexylthiophene):[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM) bulkheterojunction photovoltaic devices are achieved via slow-solvent-vapour treatment. The correlations between the morphology of the active layer and the photovoltaic performance of polymer-based solar cell are investigated. The active layers are characterized by atomic force microscopy and optical absorption. The results show that slow-solvent-vapour treatment can induce P3HT self-organization into an ordered structure, leading to the enhanced absorption and efficient charge transport.


HISTORY AND ADMISSION FINDINGS: A 23-year-old man known to have Hodgkin's disease in remission and C-protein deficiency presented with chest pain and symptoms of respiratory infection. INVESTIGATIONS: A purulent pericardial effusion was detected by echocardiography. The chest X-ray showed a left-sided pneumonia. TREATMENT AND CLINICAL COURSE: When pericardiocentesis failed to drain the purulent but pathogen-free effusion completely, streptokinase was several times instilled intrapericardially and achieved fibrinolysis without complication. The effusion did not recur. CONCLUSIONS: Intrapericardial application of fibrinolytic agents seems to be an effective treatment of a purulent pericarditis.


Epithelial ovarian cancer is the most severe gynecological cancers, with a low five-year survival, estimated at 35% at any stage (1). A true "silent killer" due to a late diagnosis almost always beyond all therapeutic resources, however, it has a good prognosis, when discovered at an early stage (stage IA at 90% and 70% at stage II) (1,2). Until the early 2000s, various theories on ovarian carcinogenesis were proposed, which focused on the ovary itself and its superficial epithelium with complex functional roles endowed with plastic properties and differentiation (3). Since 2001, new theories based on immunohistochemical and molecular studies have demonstrated the dominant role of the fallopian tube in the genesis of ovarian cancer (1,2).


A kinetic model of the 60% Mg and 40% CaO injection desulphurization was established. The simulation results from the model were verified by sampling, and it was in accord with the sampling results. By analyzing the model, the desulfurization process of high sulfur molten iron had three stages, incubation stage, rapid desulfurization stage and slow desulfurization stage. In order to improve the dynamic conditions and the utilization rate of the desulfurization agent, for the molten iron of sulfur content ≥0.035%, a new injection desurphurization mode was developed and applied. The smaller injection rate of powder and the larger flow rate of nitrogen were used in the slow desulfurization stage. Compared with the conventional process, the consumption of the desulfurizing agent is reduced by 10–20% by using the two-stage injection method.


Following the concern by multi-lateral organizations such as the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) about the problems of high population growth and food supply especially in the developing countries, population policy has become an integral part of their overall development policies as we enter the 21st century. This paper examines Nigeria's population policy and Programmes and the implications of their practical application to achieve national development in the 21st century, considering the events in the country since 1999. The paper argues that looking at the population policies of China, India and Nigeria, and considering the trend of events in the country since the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government in 1999, the Nigerian population policy can be said to be neither antinatalistic nor pro-natalistic but genocidal and anti-Niger Deltans, as its implementation is guided by political selfish interests. It concludes that the Nigerian national population policy as is currently implemented can therefore not enhance the attainment or achievement of national development in the 21st century. It suggests thuggery-free elections as the way forward. LWATI: A Journal of Contemporary Research , 8(4), 241-254, 2011


The use of «Voluson-730 PRO» (Austria) modern ultrasound scanner with Doppler mode and the mode of three-dimensional reconstruction has significantly expanded the notion of reparative osteogenesis process of tibial distraction regenerated bone in patients with subjectively low height. The qualitative and quantitative evaluation of reparative osteogenesis has been made (n = 67), the degree of vascularization in lengthening zone has been assessed. The criteria of osteogenesis three main types are presented on the basis of the data obtained.


Finances are an essential part of entrepreneurial activity without the entrepreneurial subject could not exist. The article focuses on the comparison of entrepreneurs' access to the financial support provided from EU funds, focusing on the Operational Programme Enterprise and Innovation (OPEI), which was implemented by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The article focuses on an identifying differences in behavior, access and attitudes of small, medium and large enterprises in relation to the provided OPEI support. On the basis of the analysis and testing of the dependencies of the results of the questionnaire survey, it can be stated that the behavior of the beneficiaries varies from one category to another, the behavior of medium-sized enterprises is approaching rather the behavior and characteristics of large enterprises. Based on the answers received in the questionnaire survey, the areas in which the subjects' access differs (eg cluster membership) and areas where access is the same, such as the use of consultancy services, have been identified. The analysis confirmed that smaller businesses do not have the financial capabilities in particular to carry out more projects. The second part of the article aims to find the most appropriate model for identifying entrepreneurial subjects / projects that are potentially at risk of failure to default on project sustainability by assessing the financial health of beneficiaries of OPEI support that can be applied for the current and future programming period. The most suitable model that was identified is Taffler's model. Then the possibility of its application to the current and future programming period, both in the project run / administration phase and in the project application phase, is suggested.


PART I: FOUNDATION CONCEPTS. 1. Introduction to Cost Management. 2. Basic Cost Management Concepts. 3. Cost Behavior. 4. Activity-Based Costing. PART II: FUNDAMENTAL COSTING AND CONTROL. 5. Product and Service Costing: Job-Order System. 6. Product and Service Costing: A Process Systems Approach. 7. Allocating Costs of Support Departments and Joint Products. 8. Budgeting for Planning and Control. 9. Standard Costing: A Functional-Based Control Approach. 10. Decentralization: Responsibility Accounting, Performance Evaluation, and Transfer Pricing. PART III: ADVANCED COSTING AND CONTROL. 11. Strategic Cost Management. 12. Activity-Based Management. 13. The Balanced Scorecard: Strategic-Based Control. 14. Quality and Environmental Cost Management. 15. Productivity Measurement and Control and Lean Accounting. PART IV: DECISION MAKING. 16. Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis. 17. Activity Resource Usage Model and Tactical Decision Making. 18. Pricing and Profitability Analysis. 19. Capital Investment. 20. Inventory Management: Economic Order Quantity, JIT, and the Theory of Constraints.


A system called net optimization and resource allocation (NORA) is introduced for the evaluation and programming of parallel signal processors, based on a data flow representation of the signal processing application. The main feature of this approach is that the scheduling and resource allocation can be done at compile time. It is made possible by the fact that most signal processing algorithms have constant data flow. The resulting hardware is much simpler because no overhead is needed for the real-time scheduling, as in usual data flow systems. Therefore a realization can easily be obtained using either commercially available components or VLSI technology. The proposed system comprises four main components: (1) a vector oriented data flow compiler for the translation of a high-level language description of algorithms into a data flow graph; (2) a critical path analysis for the evaluation of the minimal computation time of the algorithm, where block scheduling is assumed; (3) a schedule optimization for the determination of the minimal computation time under limited resources, not taking into account limitations imposed by the interconnection structure and temporary storage; and (4) a combined schedule optimization and resource allocation that maps a signal processing application onto a given hardware configuration and generates a formal microprogram. >


This report maps different methods used by countries to conduct more efficient procurement and to improve access to
treatment, with a focus on procurement of medicines. Efficient procurement involves more than just obtaining the lowest
price – it is about creating a healthy market where high-quality products are available at the right time at affordable prices
and at the right quantity. Strategic procurement encompasses all activities aimed at improving procurement efficiency. These
include, for example, activities to minimize low-value repetitive purchases, to increase the benefit of economies of scale and
to reduce transaction and transport costs. In pharmaceutical procurement additional instruments can be leveraged to improve
efficiency: using of generics or biosimilar products; reducing the number of medicines procured in a particular therapeutic
area, implementation of clinical guidelines and formularies; and creating a competitive market through therapeutic tenders. A
country consultation was organized to review national procurement experiences and explore opportunities for collaboration
between countries to address key challenges faced in introducing new medicines. It was noted that access to new medicines in
Europe could be further facilitated through regional or subregional country collaboration on public procurement of medicines.
Discussion points were formulated on how to improve access to new medicines by enhancing the efficiency of procurement
systems. A number of initiatives have been set up in recent years. Voluntary collaboration between countri


This article is devoted to the reviewing the modern discussions on approaches to the ethical limitations of the applicability of artificial intelligence (hereinafter referred to as AI). The authors note that there are two interrelated problems of using AI from an ethical point of view. The first is that of coordinating the work of AI with the existing values in society. The second is the formalization of these values. Most AI programs focus on neutral data analysis. However, the authors of the article note that for a number of tasks aimed at assessing human actions, such as a neutral position, it is impossible, since there is a risk of contradiction between the legislative framework adopted in the state and ethical norms enshrined in society. The article substantiates the thesis that the lack of a value component makes senseless the work of AI programs in the implementation of a wide range of social and public services. In addition, the article reconstructs the field of ethical dilemmas associated with the implementation and application of AI in various areas of human life. At the same time, it is shown that the range of ethical problems associated with the development and use of AI in the modern world does not fall exclusively under the jurisdiction of the legal sphere and rule-making activities. A number of key ethical discussions regarding the practice of using AI lie outside the realm of legal issues.


This series of columns has 3 main goals: (1) to explain class warnings as used by the United States Food and Drug Administration, (2) to increase awareness of movement disorders that may occur in patients treated with antipsychotic medications, and (3) to understand why clinicians should refrain from immediately assuming a diagnosis of tardive dyskinesia/dystonia (TD) in patients who develop abnormal movements during treatment with antipsychotics. The first column in the series presented a patient who developed abnormal movements while being treated with aripiprazole as an augmentation strategy for major depressive disorder and reviewed data concerning the historical background, incidence, prevalence, and risk factors for tardive and spontaneous dyskinesias, the clinical presentations of which closely resemble each other. The second column in the series reviewed the unique mechanism of action of aripiprazole and reviewed preclinical studies and an early-phase human translational study that suggest a low, if not absent, risk of TD with aripiprazole. The third column in this series reviewed the registration trial data for aripiprazole across all of its indications and found a raw incidence of TD ranging from 0.004 (4 out of 987) in long-term studies of the drug as an augmentation strategy for major depressive disorder to 0.0016 (19 out of 11,897) based on all short-term (ie, weeks to <6 mo) and long-term (6 mo to 1 y) studies combined. This fourth column in the series reviews the "real-world" data on aripiprazole and assesses whether these data also support the conclusion that aripiprazole has a low to absent risk of causing TD. The "real-world" data consist of case reports from the medical literature and the United States Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). We found 37 cases in the medical literature reporting what was termed TD in association with aripiprazole treatment as well as 27 case reports suggesting improvement in preexisting TD with aripiprazole treatment. On the basis of the case reports from the medical literature, the potential or raw incidence of TD during "real-world" treatment with aripiprazole was 0.0000062 (37 out of the 6 million individuals who had been treated with aripiprazole in the United States as of 2013 according to a report from Otsuka). A query of the FAERS yielded 312 cases of TD in which aripiprazole was the primary suspect. On the basis of the FAERS data and again assuming 6 million individuals exposed to aripiprazole, this yields a raw incidence of 0.000052 (312 out of 6 million) for TD in patients treated with aripiprazole. However, these estimates have limitations because they are based on anecdotal reports and pharmacovigilance data and, thus, the events themselves were not confirmed or verified in a systematic way. Further, the figure of 6 million people exposed to aripiprazole was based on data reported to the authors by the drug's manufacturer and only applies to exposure in the United States. The final column in this 5-part series will discuss the types of prohibitively expensive and logistically difficult studies that would be needed to determine whether a definitive causal relationship between aripiprazole and TD exists.


This exercise builds on the ideas and research of Doug Newberg, and is intended to help students work through the key elements of his world-class performance model, Resonance. The technical note "Resonance" (UVA-OB-0626) describes the model, which takes an "experience-based" approach rather than a "goal-oriented" one.


: Active materials are self-propelled non-living entities which, in some circumstances, exhibit a number of cognitively interesting behaviors such as gradient-following, avoiding obstacles, signaling and group coordination. A live proposal across both scientific and philosophical discussions is that this may make them useful as minimal models of cognition (Hanczyc 2014, McGivern 2019). Batterman and Rice (2014) have argued that what makes a minimal model explanatory is that the model is ultimately in the same universality class as the target system, which underpins why it exhibits the same macrobehavior. We appeal to recent research in basal cognition (Lyon et al. 2021) to establish appropriate target systems and essential features of cognition as a target of modeling. Looking at self-propelled oil droplets, a type of active material, we do not find that organization alone indicates that these systems exhibit the essential features of cognition. We then examine the specific behaviors of oil droplets but also fail to find that these demonstrate the essential features of cognition. Because cognitive behaviors are not a universality class, Batterman & Rice's account of the explanatory power of minimal models simply does not apply. However, we also want to stress that it is not intended to; cognition is not the same type of behavioral phenomena as those found in physics. We then look to the minimal cognition methodology of Beer (1996, 2020) to show how active materials can be explanatorily valuable regardless of their cognitive status because they engage in specific behaviors that have traditionally been expected to involve internal representational dynamics. It is not because these model systems are also cognitive that they can be explanatory, but because they can reveal misconceptions about the cognitive underpinnings of certain, specific behaviors in target systems where such behaviors are cognitive.


We obtained the entanglement entropy between a qubit and a harmonic oscillator bath using a Silbey-Harris polaron ansatz. With the assumption that a single mode frequency is dominant, we calculated the exact dependence of the von Neumann entropy on the displacement parameter. The entanglement entropy increases and saturates exponentially fast to its maximum value of ln 2 as the magnitude of the displacement increases. We also showed that the entanglement entropy depends on the sum of complex squares of each displacement when the bath is a multi-mode coherent state.


Engineering of biosynthetic enzymes is increasingly employed to synthesize structural analogues of antibiotics. Of special interest are non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) responsible for production of important antimicrobial peptides. Here, directed evolution of an adenylation domain of a Pro-specific NRPS module completely switched substrate specificity to the non-standard amino acid piperazic acid (Piz) bearing a labile N-N bond. This success was achieved by LC-MS/MS based screening of small, rationally designed mutant libraries and can presumably be replicated with a larger number of substrates and NRPS modules. The evolved NRPS produces a Piz-derived gramicidin S analog. Thus, we give new impetus to the too-early dismissed idea that widely accessible low-throughput methods can switch the specificity of NRPSs in a biosynthetically useful fashion.


The unprecedented downfall of Enron Corporation in 2001, otherwise also known as the 'Enron scandal' shook the financial market and subsequently resulted in the 'unexpected' closure of one of the 'Big 5' accounting firm Arthur Anderson. The collapse of these two giant companies have provided an increased impetus for the improvements in financial reporting and auditing (Graham and Neil, 2004, p.10). This incident has triggered intervention by the US government, which introduced immediate changes, reforms and new regulations over the accounting and auditing industry with the aim of restoring confidence amongst the stakeholders and general members of the public. The 2008 financial crisis has not only been overshadowed by the attempted reforms in the US, and instead, the crisis spread across the globe. One of the key attributes to the crisis stem from the auditing profession where auditors had continuously failed or erred in exercising due diligence in issuing clean opinions on the fraudulent statements to major financial institutions. The repercussions have, once again eroded the public confidence and trust in the auditing industry, the market do not seem have been assured by the unqualified financial report produce by large accounting firms (Sikka, 2009), hence justifying further examination into potential further reforms, or intervention from the government. Therefore, the main aim of this research is to explore the potential approaches in rebuilding confidence on the financial audit services. This research shall also evaluate the feasibility of potential changes which are needed for the future development of the audit profession.
The research design primarily leans towards the qualitative means with semi-structured interviews methods. The investigation into the causes of financial crisis and reforms of the auditing profession necessitate the researcher to seek the knowledge in confirming the 'truth' and this may be done from the epistemology perspective. In ensuring the credibility and viability of the primary and secondary data, qualitative method has been given preference over quantitative means for the purpose of the research. While interviews in general would assist in obtaining 'real' information from the respective interviewees as had been identified, the information would contribute towards not only substantiating the secondary research but also, in answering the research questions which seeks to address the feasibility of the auditing profession for the future, and validity of the auditing reforms.
The research findings recognised the importance of having audit service within the financial market. On the contrary, the results from the interviews expressed much divided opinion in terms of further audit reforms proposed by this research. In relation to the feasibility of suggested audit reform and potential government intervention of the auditing industry, majority of the audit professionals interviewed opposed to any further audit reforms and that any or further government intervention would do more harm than good to the financial market.


Microsatellites, or simple sequence repeats (SSRs), are highly polymorphic, co-dominant genetic markers commonly used for population genetics analyses although de novo development of species specific microsatellites is cost-and time-intensive. Orchidaceae is one of the most species-rich families of angiosperms with more than 30,000 species estimated. Despite its high species-diversity, microsatellites are available only for a few species and all were developed by only using Sanger sequencing methods. For the first time in orchids, we used 454 GS-FLX sequencing to isolate microsatellites in two species (Cypripedium kentuckiense and Pogonia ophioglossoides), and report preliminary results of the study. From 1/16th plate that was subjected to sequencing, 32,665 reads were generated, from which 15,473 fragments contained at least one SSR. We selected 20,697 SSRs representing di-, tri-, and tetra-nucleotides. While 3,674 microsatellites had flanking regions on both sides, useable primer pairs could be designed for 255 SSRs. The mean numbers of reads, SSRs, and SSR-containing reads useful for primer design estimated for other 15 orchid species using Sanger sequencing method were 166, 78 and 31, respectively. Results demonstrate that the efficiency of microsatellite isolation in orchids is substantially higher with 454 GS-FLX sequencing technique in comparison to the Sanger sequencing methods.


Arnold's Cove is a small community located on the isthmus of the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland. It had its beginning in the early 1800's as a fishing community. The turn of the century brought the Newfoundland railway located only 3 miles from Arnold's Cove bringing economic growth through employment and trade. The resettlement of isolated communities brought 122 families to Arnold's Cove and further economic growth. The moratorium in 1992 slowed the growth of most 'outport' communities around Newfoundland. However, with close proximity to the Bull Arm construction site, the North Atlantic Refining Ltd. Oil refinery and the Newfoundland Transshipment terminal, Arnold's Cove has revived its future for many years to come. Since the moratorium on the cod fishery, the types of watercraft that use the wharf in Arnold's Cove have changed. There are more pleasure craft and larger fishing vessels than before. With the changing climate there are now larger storms such as Hurricane Igor and greater need to protect the wharf from harsh wave action and storm undertow conditions. To protect the wharf from these elements the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Small Craft Harbours Branch (DFO SCH) requested to construct a Rubble Mound Breakwater. This Breakwater is to protect the existing wharf infrastructure and provide safe access to the wharf and meet operations requirements of facility users. This is to comply with DFO SCH's mandate to keep harbours critical to the fishing industry open and in good repair. The following paper will highlight the economic advantages of the breakwater, a brief project description, challenges presented with construction and environmental implications.


According to Robert Talisse, 'we have sufficient epistemological reasons to be democrats', and these reasons support democracy even when we are tempted to doubt the legitimacy of democratic government. As epistemic agents, we care about the truth of our beliefs and have reasons to want to live in an environment conducive to forming and acting on true, rather than false, beliefs. Democracy, Talisse argues, is the best means to provide such an environment. Hence, he concludes that epistemic agency, correctly understood, supports the legitimacy of democracy. This reply highlights the interest, but also the difficulties, of this argument and, in particular, of its assumptions about epistemic agency, morality and democracy.


Bowman-Birk serine protease inhibitors (BBIs) from legume seeds are small proteins showing a two-head structure with distinct reactive site loops, which inhibit two molecules of the same enzyme or two different proteases. Purification and characterization of new BBIs is of broad interest for understanding the basic molecular mechanisms underlying natural defence against the action of proteolytic enzymes. In this study, two novel acidic BBIs (LSI-1a and LSI-2a) were isolated from L. sativus seeds using classical biochemical techniques and characterized for their inhibitory activity. In addition, the N-terminal sequencing of LSI-1a was performed by Edman degradation up to residue 10 and the complete primary structure of the most abundant form (LSI-2a) was determined by using a combination of mass spectrometry approaches, including MALDI-TOF MS, tandem MS and Electron Transfer Dissociation coupled with Proton Transfer Reaction (ETD/PTR) top-down sequencing of N- and C-termini. Furthermore, the LSI-2a dimerization surface has also been investigated by a combination of gel filtration, electrophoretic techniques and homology modelling. Knowing the structure of small proteins inhibiting proteolytic enzymes is of general importance for understanding the defence mechanisms against degradation for their use in biological applications as well as for designing artificial inhibitors.


OBJECTIVE
Different prophylactic myocardium saving strategies are often routine in open heart surgery. Even if theoretically well established, they must be critically reviewed in times of limited financial resources.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Troponin-T (TnT) is a valuable tool to detect even minor myocardial damages independently from concomitant muscle injuries. We measured intra- and postoperative TnT-values and ST-wave deviations on the ECG in a control group and in patients receiving one of the following prophylactic

MEASURES
hypothermia during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), nitroglycerine ([0.5 microgram/kg/min]) or nifedipine [0.1 microgram/kg/min] after aortic cross-clamping until end of operation, or perioperative Mg2+ per os.

PATIENTS AND SETTING
The study included 65 patients of a university hospital with preoperative good heart function scheduled for elective aorto-coronary bypass operation.

RESULTS
TnT values increased in all groups after CPB and peaked between end of operation and first post-operative day. TnT values above the critical border of 1.0 microgram/l in the early period after CPB were less often seen in the nitroglycerine and nifedipine group. No pronounced differences could be observed after the first postoperative day. Patients of the hypothermia group had most often TnT values above 1.0 microgram/l. Maximum TnT values of the control, the hypothermia and the Mg(2+)-group correlated with the duration of aortic-crossclamping. No correlation existed between ST-deviations and TnT-values.

CONCLUSIONS
The prophylactic measures failed to reduce myocardial damage as evidenced by the course of TnT values. They can therefore not be recommended as routine strategies in patients with good left heart function. Especially hypothermia should be considered carefully.


Complexes of Cu(II), Ni(II) and Zn(II) with of 3-(phenyl)-1-(2'-hydroxynaphthyl) – 2 – propen – 1 – one (PHPO) , 3 - (4-chlorophenyl) - 1- (2'-hydroxynaphthyl)–2–propen – 1 – one (CPHPO), 3 - (4 -methoxyphenyl) -1-(2'-hydroxynapthyl)-2-propen-1-one(MPHPO),3 - (3,4-dimethoxyphenyl) –1-(2'-hydroxynaphthyl) – 2 - propen– 1 – one (DMPHPO) have been prepared and the purity of the samples were checked by elemental analysis. The ligands and their Cu(II), Ni(II) and Zn(II) complexes were tested on the infectivity of tobacco ring spot virus(TRSV) using cowpea (Vigna Sinensis) as a local lesions assay host. All the compounds were tested at different concentrations (250 ppm to 1500 ppm)on the infectivity of the virus by applying them either with virus inoculum or 24 h before of after virus inoculation to the test plants. The compounds were found to have varied effects on virus infectivity depending on compounds concentration and method of application. The statistical significance of the data was determined by using analysis of variance.


This article reviews the literature on divorce as a risk factor in children's psychological development; describes common themes expressed by children presenting in treatment; and highlights the unique challenges for the child therapist working with a child of divorce, particularly those with high parental conflict and court involvement. Then, using a case example, the article describes therapeutic strategies and a treatment structure that, consistent with the ethical guidelines of the American Psychological Association (2010), focuses on developing and maintaining the therapeutic relationship to support the psychological growth of the child. Finally, the article discusses the ethical challenges inherent in providing therapeutic intervention for this type of child and the implications for this type of therapeutic approach.


The writer believes that mastering vocabulary is a basic need in order to
use language correctly and properly in communication. Though based on his
lifetime experience, he finds that vocabulary has been a problem in English lesson
and that it needs improvement from the earlier stage of education. After
conducting pre-research, he found that vocabulary problems remained in the four
grade of SDN Karangputat 01. Then he found the possible solution after knowing
that the school got software games donated by the education authority in the area.
Because of this, he decided to write the thesis about the topic.
This thesis is written to solve problems that appear in the teaching and
learning vocabulary so that the students can improve their attention, enthusiasm,
and motivation in learning vocabulary, get good scores in vocabulary test, can
remember, grasp and understand the meaning of words easily, can spell and
pronounce words correctly. Then at the end, the students' vocabulary mastery can
be improved by using software games. The method used in this research is action
research. The research was conducted in two cycles from April 17th until June 3rd
2009 on the fourth grade of SDN Karangputat 01, Cilacap. The research data are
collected by using both observational techniques and non-observational
techniques. The observational techniques include classroom observation to record
the events in meetings, and peer-observation to observe the students' behaviour
and vocabulary mastery progress performed by students during meetings. The
non-observational techniques include oral test and written test that are conducted
to support the data from observation. Audio recording and photographs are also
taken during the implementation of the research to provide more accurate
supporting data. The data are analyzed through re-reading the field note, the
observation report, and justified in referent of standard achievement target which
had been stated before the research.
The research findings prove that software games is an effective medium or
teaching aid in teaching vocabulary to improve the students' vocabulary mastery.
The research findings include: 1) The quality of teaching learning process was
improved by using software games. Known from the observation, from the first
time the computer and software games are introduced to the students until the end
of the action, it was a magnet of students' attention. From day to day after it had
been used, students participated in class activity more and more especially in
cycle 2 while the students were working in a group in a competition. The software
games' features were really useful aid to help teacher in drilling pronunciation and
making students grasp words meaning in an interesting way. Because of this, it
ABSTRACT
vi
was easier for the students to be controlled. From the beginning until the end of
the action, classroom situation was conducive. Students in fact did not get bored
with the lesson; 2) Software games in English class does improve the students'
vocabulary mastery. Proved by the observation report, students' spelling and
pronunciation improved meeting by meeting, then at the end of the research, their
spelling and pronunciation of the words they had met was satisfactory. The
problem in memorizing the meaning of the words they had met was also reduced
meeting by meeting, then at the end of the research, there was no one having real
problem in memorizing the meaning of the words by using software games.


This articles reveals how to interpret the woven ikat motif, for young weavers in Sikka District, East Nusa Tenggara. The meaning of Sikka's weaving shows a shift in value on the meaning of Sikka's weaving motifs. Shifting cultural values to religious and economic values, as a result of massive tourism, regional development programs, economics, religious distribution, and issues of originality such as Geographical Indications (IG). Data was collected using a qualitative approach with in-depth interviews and involved observations. The informants consisted of four young weavers in four Sikka areas, native people, and Sikka cultural experts. The results of this study are the meaning of Sikka's weaving motifs has undergone a change of function, both social, religious, economic and tourism functions. This is because of the influence of government programs, churches, NGOs (NGOs), and tourism.


In service-oriented systems non-functional properties become very important to support run-time service discovery and composition. Software engineers should take care of them for guaranteeing the service quality in all the software life-cycle phases, from requirements specification to design, to system deployment and execution monitoring. This wide scope and the criticality of non-functional properties demand that they are expressed in a language which is intuitive and easy to use for the service quality specification, and at the same time is machine-processable to be automatically handled at run-time. In this paper we present a Property Meta-Model that aims to reach these two main objectives and show as a proof of concept its use for the modeling of two different properties.


BRAUN has developed a cast product deburring grinding solution, based on its well-proven HP (high-pressure/high-performance) grinding machines. The machines are able to rapidly and reliably remove burrs from both ends of the cast products and at both the lower and upper edges or, if necessary, to grind the cut end surfaces. The machines can be retrofitted to existing machines and operate inor off-line.


Background—The long-term success of cardiac transplantation is limited by graft coronary artery disease (GCAD). Antisense oligonucleotides (ASs) to proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Cdc2 kinase (Cdc2 k) can arrest cell cycle progression and inhibit neointimal hyperplasia. Transforming growth factor-&bgr;1 (TGF-&bgr;1) has been implicated in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) activation. The role of TGF-&bgr;1 in GCAD remains unclear. We hypothesized that ASs to PCNA and Cdc2 k would inhibit VSMC proliferation and GCAD. Methods and Results—In vitro VSMC proliferation was determined after pretreatment with AS solution or medium alone followed by angiotensin II stimulation. PVG-to-ACI rat heterotopic cardiac transplantation procedures were performed after ex vivo pressure-mediated transfection of ASs to PCNA and Cdc2k or saline alone. At postoperative days 30, 60, and 90, allografts were assessed for GCAD, percent neointimal macrophages and VSMCs, and TGF-&bgr;1 activity. AS pretreatment significantly attenuated VSMC proliferation. At postoperative day 90, percent affected arteries, percent occlusion, and intima-media ratio demonstrated severe GCAD in saline-treated allografts, whereas these parameters were significantly lower in AS-treated allografts. Percent neointimal macrophages and VSMCs was reduced in AS-treated allografts. TGF-&bgr;1 activity was increased in saline compared with AS-treated allografts and nontransplanted heart controls. Conclusions—ASs to PCNA and Cdc2 k inhibit VSMC proliferation in vitro and reduce GCAD, percent neointimal VSMCs and macrophages, and TGF-&bgr;1 activity in vivo. TGF-&bgr;1 may play a "response to injury" role in the development of GCAD. The prevention of GCAD via AS inhibition of cell cycle regulatory genes before reperfusion may offer a useful clinical alternative to current therapeutic strategies.


Abstract Recently, it has been remarked that dietary fatty acids and fatty acid receptors might be involved in the aetiology of diabetes. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the relationship between dietary fatty acid pattern, fatty food preferences and soluble CD36 (sCD36) and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). The study was carried out with thirty-eight newly diagnosed type 2 DM patients and thirty-seven healthy volunteers, aged 30–65 years. In the study, socio-demographic characteristics, dietary fat type and fatty acid pattern of individuals were recorded. After anthropometric measurements were taken, blood CD36, glucose, TAG and insulin levels were analysed. The results showed that although the type of fatty acid intake did not differ between the groups (P>0·05), the consumption of olive oil in the type 2 DM group was lower than the control group (P<0·05). Mean blood glucose, insulin, insulin resistance, TAG and sCD36 levels were determined to be higher in the type 2 DM group (P<0·05). However, there was no correlation between sCD36 levels and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) value, blood insulin and TAG levels, waist circumference, dietary fatty acid pattern and food preferences in the type 2 DM group (P>0·05). Crucially, elevated sCD36 levels increased the type 2 DM risk (OR 1·21, P<0·05). In conclusion, sCD36 level may be a possible biomarker, independent from the dietary fatty acid pattern, for type 2 DM owing to its higher levels in these patients. Therefore, the new insights make CD36 attractive as a therapeutic target for diabetes.


Rabbits were trained to accept a standardized feeding regime. Under anaesthesia both parotid ducts were cannulated in a retrograde direction and saliva was subsequently collected in feeding sessions involving pellets and carrots before and after the administration of propranolol. Salivary total protein and amylase concentrations were assayed and protein analysed by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS‐PAGE). Propranolol produced a reduction in protein secretion but not fluid secretion, indicating that protein secretion is partly under beta‐adrenergic control. A transient increase in protein secretion was seen 8 h after the administration of propranolol and suggested the existence of different neural mechanisms involved in protein secretion compared to synthesis. Protein output (with high fluid secretion) during feeding on pellets was higher than on carrots (with high protein concentration) and suggested a significant role of the parasympathetic nervous system. The pattern of protein secretion as seen by SDS‐PAGE was similar in individual rabbits and remained largely unchanged with the different foods and in the presence of propranolol.


The change in viscosity of a liquid with different concentrations (volume fractions) of suspended particles has been measured using a differential viscometer. The results support the recently introduced concept of gelation, in that the viscosity first diverges when the concentration of suspended particles reaches a critical value, and `gelation' comes after that.


In addition to a well-known type, two more types of relaxation oscillation are present in a solid-state ring laser. The frequencies of these specific oscillations depend on the difference in the eigenfrequencies of counterpropagating resonator modes (phase nonreciprocity). There are instability mechanisms that can convert these relaxation oscillations into undamped pulsations. The instability is responsible for the possibility of detecting low-frequency oscillation characteristic of a ring laser. In our experiment these oscillations are represented by resonant features in the intensity-fluctuation spectrum of a Nd:YAG laser operating in a stable traveling-wave regime although close to a self-modulation instability threshold.