The self-assembly of diblock copolymers confined around one square-shaped particle is studied systematically within two-dimensional self-consistent field theory (SCFT). In this model, we assume that the thin block copolymer film is confined in the vicinity of a square-shaped particle by a homopolymer melt, which is equivalent to the poor solvents. Multiple sequences of square-shaped particle-induced copolymer aggregates with different shapes and self-assembled internal morphologies are predicted as functions of the particle size, the structural portion of the copolymer, and the volume fraction of the copolymer. A rich variety of aggregates are found with complex internal self-assembled morphologies including complex structures of the vesicle, with one or several inverted micelle surrounded by the outer monolayer with the particle confined in the core. These results demonstrate that the assemblies of diblock copolymers formed around the square-shaped particle in poor solvents are of immediate interest to the assembly of copolymer and the morphology of biomembrane in the confined environment, as well as to the transitions of vesicles to micelles.


We report our experiences with implementing a distributed and self-organizing scheduling algorithm designed for energy-efficient data gathering on a 25-node multihop wireless sensor network (WSN). The algorithm takes advantage of spatial correlations that exist in readings of adjacent sensor nodes and utilizes cross-layer information from the underlying MAC layer to minimize message transmissions. We describe how we modify our experiments in order to meet the assumptions made in the earlier theoretical analysis of the algorithm. The implementation results which are virtually identical to the preliminary simulation results, show that the algorithm achieves up to 80% energy savings when compared to conventional raw data collection.


SUMMARY The aim of this study was to evaluate cytokine expression in 22 Leishmania infantum naturally infected dogs, in order to correlate this parameter with the clinical status of infected animals. After 4 and 8 months from the first diagnosis of Leishmania infection, clinical and laboratory examination of dogs was performed and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated. The cytokine profile was analysed in terms of IFN-gamma, IL-4, IL-10 and TNF-alpha mRNA expression in cultured PBMC by a semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR. Thirteen out of 22 Leishmania-infected dogs remained asymptomatic in the follow-up, while 9 showed clinical signs of leishmaniasis. IL-4, IL-10, TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma mRNA levels were not significantly different in asymptomatic compared to symptomatic animals 4 months from the diagnosis of Leishmania infection, but were significantly higher in symptomatic versus asymptomatic dogs after 8 months from diagnosis. In addition, IL-4, IL-10 and TNF-alpha mRNA levels significantly increased only in symptomatic dogs at 8 months, in comparison to the levels found at 4 months. These results show a mixed Th1 and Th2 cytokine response in Leishmania-infected dogs, with higher cytokine expression in dogs with manifest clinical disease, during the second follow-up after 8 months from the first diagnosis of infection.


During the course of our research into the use of cane by-products from sugar manufacturing, we have studied the isolation and structural determination of bioactive compounds present in sugarcane molasses. In this study, dehydrodiconiferylalcohol-9'-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (1) and isoorientin-7, 3'-O-dimethyl ether (2) were isolated as antibacterial active compounds against cariogenic bacteria. Their structures were elucidated by (1)H-NMR, (13)C-NMR and ESI-MS. The activities of these isolated compounds against Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus were assessed by a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test. The MICs of compounds 1 and 2 against both S. mutans and S. sobrinus were >4 mg/mL and 4 mg/mL, respectively.


ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of different modes of competition on science learning in a game-based learning (GBL) environment. Some key motivational constructs such as learning goals, performance goals, and perceived ability were also investigated. One hundred ninety-five students from a secondary school in Taiwan were randomly assigned to three conditions (anonymous competition, non-anonymous competition, and a control group) in a GBL environment to learn the concepts of force and balance. The results suggested that students in both the anonymous competition and non-anonymous competition groups outperformed students in the control groups. Additionally, we found that the students in the anonymous competition group reported higher learning goals and higher perceived ability than the control group did, whereas students in the non-anonymous competition group reported higher performance goals than the control group did. This study extends findings from previous research on the influences of GBL on learning and motivation.


Safe childhood is the foundation of a good future. Children face different kinds of accidents at school premises while playing. Prevention of these accidents and their management is essential. A study was therefore conducted among school teachers at Anekal Taluk, Bangalore to make them aware about different accidents of children at school premises and their first aid management. The sample consisted of 30 primary and higher primary school teachers selected by convenience sampling technique. The analysis showed that improvement of knowledge occurred after administering structured teaching programme (STP) on first aid management. Nursing professionals can benefit from the study result at the area of community, administration, research and education.


In continuation of our studies of sulfuric acid H-bonded complexes of atmospheric relevance we report the infrared spectra of the matrix isolated complexes formed between trimethylamine and sulfuric acid. Evidence for proton transfer was anticipated for the present system, as trimethylamine ((CH3)3N) is of strong basic nature. However, the spectra of this system are complicated by the inevitable presence water in the vapor and in the matrix, resulting in matrix layers containing three species capable of forming H-bonded complexes. The complex formed between trimethylamine and sulfuric acid is of ionic character due to proton transfer of the H(+) proton from sulfuric acid to (CH3)3N to form a new N-H bond and the replacement of the intramolecular O-H bond in H2SO4 by a strong intermolecular N-H···O hydrogen bond. The complex is further stabilized by hydration. The skeletal modes show clear bisulfate related bands and are only slightly affected by hydration. The ν(OH) region shows a rich band scheme, best explained by a structure involving (at least) three H2O molecules. A broad spectral feature spanning the 1700-500 cm(-1) is assigned, in analogy to previous studies to a double-well potential quasi-symmetric, Zundel-like, ionic species with a (CH3)3-N···H(+)···N-(CH3)3 configuration. A band in the skeletal S═O stretch spectral region may be assigned to hydrated sulfate as its counterion.


OBJECTIVES
Incidence and risk factors for recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (rCDI) are well established in adults, though data are lacking in pediatrics. We aimed to determine incidence of and risk factors for rCDI in pediatrics.

METHODS
This retrospective cohort study of pediatric patients was conducted at 3 tertiary-care hospitals in Canada with laboratory-confirmed CDI between April 1, 2012, and March 31, 2017. rCDI was defined as an episode of CDI occurring 8 weeks or less from diagnostic test date of the primary episode. We used logistic regression to determine and quantify risk factors significantly associated with rCDI.

RESULTS
In total, 286 patients were included in this study. The incidence proportion for rCDI was 12.9%. Among hospitalized patients, the incidence rate was estimated at 2.6 cases of rCDI per 1,000 hospital days at risk (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.7-3.9). Immunocompromised patients had higher incidence of rCDI (17.5%; P = .03) and higher odds of developing rCDI independently of antibiotic treatment given for the primary episode (odds ratio [OR], 2.31; 95% CI, 1.12-5.09). Treatment with vancomycin monotherapy did not show statistically significant protection from rCDI, independently of immunocompromised status (OR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.05-1.15]).

CONCLUSIONS
The identification of increased risk of rCDI in immunocompromised pediatric patients warrants further research into alternative therapies, prophylaxis, and prevention strategies to prevent recurrent disease burden within these groups. Treatment of the initial episode with vancomycin did not show statistically significant protection from rCDI.


There is abundant literature on knowledge management, but we know of only two articles (of Mulej and co-authors) acknowledging interdependence of the human knowledge and the human values, recently. Mulej addressed this interdependence since his formulation of his 'Dialectical Systems Theory' in a Slovenian article in 1974 and in his best-seller book 'Creative Work and the Dialectical Systems Theory' in 1979 (in Slovenian). His co-authored English book 'Dialectical Systems Thinking and the Law of Requisite Holism concerning Innovation', Emergent Publications, Litchfield Park, Arizona (2013), contains the related novelties. The point can be simply exemplified: 'If somebody has gained knowledge on shooting with a rifle, does the person's choice to shoot whether at a paper target or at a human being depend of the person's knowledge or values?' The paper is aimed to address generation of human properties on which one's bases for action, called the subjective starting points in the Dialectical Systems Theory, and their impact over the human capacity to generate inventions and innovations in a socially responsible manner, meaning consideration of interdependence and holism in order to minimize one's detrimental impact over society, i.e. humans and nature. The addressed thesis reads: Knowledge management that fails to consider human values and other emotions is too one-sided to prevent failures, which tend to result from one's/team's lack of requisite holism; it is irrational to be only rational in human decision making and action.


reviewed and a new globally convergent algorithm is some properties of the time scale separation are proposed. A connection between the new algorithm and the existing Riccati-like algorithms is established. BASIS FREE TIME SCALE SEPARATION


Time delays are an important aspect of mathematical modelling, but often result in highly complicated equations which are difficult to treat analytically. In this paper it is shown how careful application of certain undergraduate tools such as the Method of Steps and the Principle of the Argument can yield significant results. Certain delay differential equations arising in population dynamics may serve as good teaching examples for these methods. The determination of linear stability properties for an ordinary differential equation with a varying time delay is carried out through discrete point analysis, either by seeking explicit solutions or leading to the consideration of a difference equation and the roots of a characteristic polynomial. Numerical simulations carried out using MATLAB Simulink are compared to the analytical solutions, and computation is also used to suggest extensions to some results.


Natural cells (NCs) can automatically and continuously respond to fluctuant external information and distinguish meaningful stimuli from weak noise depending on their powerful genetic and protein networks. We herein report a network topology–directed design of dynamic molecular processing system (DMPS) as a molecular central processing unit that powers an artificial cell (AC) able to process fluctuant information in its immediate environment similar to NCs. By constructing a mixed cell community, ACs and NCs have synchronous response to fluctuant extracellular stimuli under physiological condition and in a blood vessel–mimic circulation system. We also show that fluctuant bioinformation released by NCs can be received and processed by ACs. The molecular design of DMPS-powered AC is expected to allow a profound understanding of biological systems, advance the construction of intelligent molecular systems, and promote more elegant bioengineering applications.


OBJECTIVE
To treat hysteromyoma by hysteroscopic surgery and to examine the treatment results in relation to the extent of surgery.

METHODS
177 patients admitted from May, 1990 to Dec. 1994 for abnormal uterine bleeding caused by hysteromyoma were subjected to transcervical resection of myoma (TCRM) and/or transcervical resection of endometrium (TCRE). Except for 19 patients lost to follow-up, 158 patients were closely observed postoperatively. The mean follow-up was 29.3 months (range 5-60). These patients were divided into four groups according to the extent of the resected myoma. Analysis was based on 3 categories: the degree of bleeding control, the rate of growth of myoma and the need of subsequent surgery, and the treatment results were grouped into: perfection, satisfaction and dissatisfaction.

RESULTS
The growth of myoma and bleeding were controlled in 150 patients (94.9%) after resection. The result was much better than that of abdominal myomectomy. The treatment success of total resection of pediculate submucosal myoma was as high as 100%. If only > or = 50% of sessile submucosal myoma and intramural myoma were resected, the results of hysteroscopic surgery were satisfactory although there might be small residual intramural myoma or subserous myoma. Long term follow-up showed the residual myomata seemed to have stopped growing.

CONCLUSION
Transcervical resection is one of the effective treatments for abnormal uterine bleeding in hysteromyoma. Preoperative accuracy in appraisal of the extent of the myoma to be resected may help to correctly predict the prognosis and to improve the surgical cure rate.


A marginal farm can be defined by three criteria : the amount of improved land, the amount of time spent by the operator off the farm, and the absolute and relative income derived from agriculture. Both human and physical factors explain the deficiencies of marginal agriculture in the study area. The settlers' lack of agricultural experience, improper agricultural specializations, and the small size of the parcels of improved land (and consequently of the cattle herds) are the important human factors. The main physical limitations are climatic (especially the cool summer temperatures and the short length of the frost-free period), and pedologic. More research is needed before political decisions can be made concerning the future of these areas of marginal agriculture. Surveys of the marginal farms and studies of the physical limitations to agriculture should be made not only by economists and pedologists, but also by geographers.


Many people in policy debates have argued that means testing, or reducing Social Security payments to affluent beneficiaries, can be an effective way to save money for the program and to reduce the federal budget deficit. This paper examines the feasibility of saving money through various types of means tests and suggests that is likely to be very limited unless the means test is applied to individuals who are very much middle class by any reasonable definition. The percentage of benefits that go to affluent seniors is too small to make very much difference to the program's finances.


Strength-endurance type of sport can lead to modification of human beings' physiological status. The present study aimed to investigate the alteration of metabolic phenotype or biochemical compositions in professional athletes induced by long-term training by means of a novel systematic tool, metabolomics. Resting venous blood samples of junior and senior male rowers were obtained before and after 1-wk and 2-wk training. Venous blood from healthy male volunteers as control was also sampled at rest. Endogenous metabolites in serum were profiled by GC/TOF-MS and multivariate statistical technique, i.e., principal component analysis (PCA), and partial least squares projection to latent structures and discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) were used to process the data. Significant metabolomic difference was observed between the professional athletes and control subjects. Long-term strength and endurance training induced distinct separation between athletes of different exercise seniority, and training stage-related trajectory of the two groups of athletes was clearly shown along with training time. However, most of these variations were not observed by common biochemical parameters, such as hemoglobin, testosterone, and creatine kinase. The identified metabolites contributing to the classification included alanine, lactate, beta-d-methylglucopyranoside, pyroglutamic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, citric acid, free fatty acids, valine, glutamine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and so on, which were involved in glucose metabolism, oxidative stress, energy metabolism, lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism. These findings suggest that metabolomics is a promising and potential tool to profile serum of professional athletes, make a deep insight into physiological states, and clarify the disorders induced by strength-endurance physical exercise.


Indonesia is one of the world important suppliers of young trainees in Japan. We present a preliminary study's result on Indonesian trainees in Japanese SMEs and their potential to develop micro-small business in Indonesia. This paper utilizes three step approaches. First, an online survey of potency of Indonesian trainees in Japan has been conducting since October 2007 followed up by a Japan-wide Entrepreneurship and Banking Trainings (PWEP). Second, web-based business start-ups consultation forums for Indonesian trainees have been conducted since January 2008 followed up by networking creation with Bank of Indonesia. Third, a key performance indicator of business proposed and money invested was developed. We report three main findings: first, over 70% of Indonesian trainees were working at manufacturing-based Japanese SMEs and might acquire a necessary human capital in developing micro-small manufacturing-based business start-ups. In addition, more than 60% of them could save their income at least 25-40% of their total monthly income, suggested that capital foundation required for business creation might then be compromised. Second, the structural constraint of unmonitored Indonesian trainees might cause problems in which—after having cultural distress while working in Japan and less conducive condition in managing their capital after returning to Indonesia—the potential to become an law-breaking overstay workers is considerably high and might cause a more sophisticated problem in the future. Third, the importance of directing step for Indonesian trainees who are interested in creating businesses and key performance indicators for measuring its achievement are acknowledged.


AIMS
This study investigated relative relationships between auditory hallucinations and nonpsychotic hallucinations (pseudohallucinations), and suicidal risk.

METHODS
A sample of 206 consecutive patients seen in an emergency psychiatric service was evaluated for the presence and intensity of hallucinatory experiences (the hallucination item of the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale), suicidal intensity (the suicide item of the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale), and cumulative suicide risk (the total number of risk factors).

RESULTS
Individuals with nonpsychotic hallucinations experienced greater intensity of suicidal ideation versus subjects with no hallucinations or subjects with psychotic hallucinations (p = .0001).

CONCLUSIONS
Pseudohallucinosis is associated with higher intensity of suicidal ideation compared with psychotic hallucinations or no hallucinations.


Research questions: In which ways do cultures differ? Do differences in culture affect management practice? What are the differences between Chinese and German controlling methods? What are the links between cultural factors and controlling methods? Methods: Two case studies of German companies involved in Chinese business ventures and a Chinese auditing and consulting company using a questionnaire as a basis to conduct structured interviews with management representatives of the case history companies. Results: Cultural factors influence controlling methods. Differences are shown in variations in the extent of delegation of responsibility and participative decision making, work standard and quality monitoring.


We present high-precision measurements of the Nusselt number N as a function of the Rayleigh number R for a cylindrical sample of water (Prandtl number sigma=4.4) of height L approximately equal to 50 cm and aspect ratio Gamma identical with D/L approximately equal to 1 (D is the diameter) for 3 x 10(9)< or =R< or =6 x 10(10). For R approximately 3 x 10(9) the data are consistent with existing results for acetone (sigma=4.0, R< or =3 x 10(9)). There the measurements are also consistent with a model by Grossmann and Lohse (GL). As R increases, the measurements fall below the GL prediction. Near R=6 x 10(10) the prediction is 8% above the data.


These papers are from the 2000 IEEE Workshop on Signal Processing Systems Design and Implementation. They explore: analogue and digital circuits; programmable DSPs; design methodologies and CAD; real-time operating; systems vilification; sensors; and more.


Early events responsible of tumor growth in patients with a normal immune system are poorly understood. Here, we discuss, in the context of human melanoma, the Prehn hypothesis according to which a weak antitumor immune response may be required for tumor growth before weakly or non-immunogenic tumor cell subpopulations are selected by the immune system.


The mortality and morbidity of tumors of the upper GI tract are formidable with incidence and mortality nearly the same. Therefore, better therapies are necessary, and these are generally molecularly targeted therapies. This chapter focuses on the treatment of pancreatic cancer with targeted therapy. Important cellular pathways are reviewed, including signal transduction, proteasome inhibition, cell cycle, anti-angiogenesis pathways, immunologic therapies, viral therapy, epigenetic therapies and microarray analysis. Signal transduction pathways include epidermal growth factor receptors, such as cetuximab and Tarceva, as well as other less well-defined pathways. Proteasome inhibition includes inhibition of the 26S proteasome with PS-341. Cell cycle therapies include inhibitors of all the proteins involved in pushing the cell through the cell cycle. Viral therapies mainly cover the adenoviruses, like ONYX-015, and Reolysin, a type 3 serotype Dearing strain with little pathogenicity. Immunological therapies include cytokines, vaccines and cell-based therapies. Epigenetic therapies are mainly centered around histone deacetylases. Microarray analysis analyzes expression of thousands of genes to create a tumor profile, mainly for prognosis or prediction. Various promising treatment strategies are reviewed in terms of treatment with molecularly-guided therapies. Complications of therapy, particularly rash and thrombosis are reviewed.


Recent genetic and biochemical studies have revealed critical information concerning the role of nucleosomes in eukaryotic gene regulation. Nucleosomes package DNA into a dynamic chromatin structure, and by assuming defined positions in chromatin, influence gene regulation. Nucleosomes can serve as repressors, presumably by blocking access to regulatory elements; consequently, the positions of nucleosomes relative to the location of cis‐acting elements are critical. Some genes have a chromatin structure that is "preset," ready for activation, while others require "remodeling" for activation. Nucleosome positioning may be determined by multiple factors, including histone–DNA interactions, boundaries defined by DNA structure or protein binding, and higher‐order chromatin structure. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


In this work we report the results of theoretical analysis of the effect of the thermal environment on the thermoelectric efficiency of molecular junctions. The environment is represented by two thermal phonon baths associated with the electrodes, which are kept at different temperatures. The analysis is carried out using the Buttiker model within the scattering matrix formalism to compute electron transmission through the system. This approach is further developed so that the dephasing parameters are expressed in terms of relevant energies, including the thermal energy, strengths of coupling between the molecular bridge and the electrodes and characteristic energies of electron–phonon interactions. It is shown that the latter significantly affect thermoelectric efficiency by destroying the coherency of electron transport through the considered system.


The common reflection surface (CRS) stack is an alternative method of producing a zero-offset stacked section with a higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) than the conventional normal moveout (NMO)/dip moveout (DMO) stack method. Since, however, it is difficult to determine global optimal parameters for the CRS stack method by the conventional three-step search method, especially for complex structures and low-fold data, we investigate the ability of simulated annealing (SA) to optimise our estimation of these parameters. We show a detailed but practical procedure for the application of SA to the CRS stack method. We applied the CRS stack method with SA to numerically modelled seismic reflection data, and to multichannel marine seismic data over complicated geological structures around the Median Tectonic Line (MTL) in Japan. We used the results of the conventional three-step search algorithm as the initial model for the SA search and showed that with this approach SA can estimate CRS parameters accurately within a reasonable number of calculations. The CRS stack method with this approach provided a clearer seismic profile with a higher SNR than either a conventional NMO stack method or a conventional CRS stack method. We show the application of simulated annealing to optimise our estimation of the parameters in the common reflection surface (CRS) stack method. This approach using numerically modelled data and multichannel marine seismic data around the Median Tectonic Line in Japan provides a clear seismic profile with a high signal-to-noise ratio.


Biologic intra-individual variations in concentrations of serum iron and serum iron-binding capacity were determined for nine healthy young women in a double experiment. In each of two series approximately one month in duration, venipunctures were performed three times per week. All serum specimens were assayed for iron concentration and iron-binding capacity. The average intra-subject day-to-day biologic variations for the group in terms of coefficient of variation (CV) were 29.3% for serum iron and 8.8% for iron-binding capacity. No significant difference in variances was found for any subject in serum iron concentrations from series I to series II. Only one subject had a significant positive correlation between iron concentrations and iron-binding capacity values. Percentage iron saturation was computed for each iron and iron-binding capacity combination, and the average intra-subject CV was of the same order of magnitude as the CV for serum iron. The clinical significance of an isolated serum iron result in view of the dramatic intra-subject day-to-day variability is discussed.


While there has been significant discussion of the techniques of method engineering, the current literature gives little attention to the adoption a nd diffusion process, firstly, how the organizations get ready for the adoption process th en how they shift their behaviours from prior approaches to their new ones. Utilising four Australian Case Studies, we investig ate some factors contributing to the success or failure of a method engineering implementation and discuss a transition model (RADaR) that was designed and constructed to assist IT organizat ions to adopt and diffuse new approaches such as method engineering successfully and effecti vely. In this paper, we demonstrate and discuss some important aspects of the IT organizati onal process to adopt and diffuse a method engineering approach such as the organizational rea diness and the impact of executive commitment on the outcome of the method engineering exercise. We also draw conclusions for practitioners looking to achieve 'successes' from t he process.


Abstract. Existing studies on the vertical displacement of thermoclines driven by mesoscale eddies are insufficient and rare. Using 17-year Argo dataset in combination with satellite altimetry, the deepening and uplifting of the depth of thermocline (DTC) by anticyclonic (AE) or cyclonic eddies (CE), respectively, were estimated globally. DTC shifts exhibited multiple geographic and seasonal trends, with the largest magnitude shifts occurring in March and September in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, respectively. The more pronounced DTC shifts were concentrated in the midlatitudes, and the largest DTC displacements appeared along the western boundaries of strong current systems, with peak shifts of more than 40 m. In general, eddy-induced DTC shifts were linearly correlated with eddy radius and amplitude, suggesting that high intensity eddies induced larger DTC displacements. Finally, a normalized analysis revealed a monopole (ring) structure of DTC ringing the eddy center inside the AE (CE). The forces of AE and CE on the DTC were different, seen in the stronger deepening at the center of the AE (~ 30 m) than the uplifting at the center of the CE (~ 20 m). One possible mechanism for this asymmetry could stem from differential current shears in the thermoclines in AE and CE.


The analysis of the group delay ripple (GDR) generated by chirped fiber gratings is developed based on the Fabry-Perot (F-P) resonator. It shows clearly how the GDR is generated and why the periods of GDR varies along the chirped fiber gratings. It could also explain why apodization could suppress the GDR and how apodization affects the chirp of the grating. The theory could be used to devise the apodization of fiber gratings.


We identify a whole family of approval-based multi-winner voting rules that satisfy PJR. Moreover, we identify a subfamily of voting rules within this family that satisfy EJR. All these voting rules can be computed in polynomial time as long as the subalgorithms that characterize each rule within the family are polynomial. One of the voting rules that satisfy EJR can be computed in $O(n m k^2)$.


Expressivist landscape architecture is developed in response to concerns that landscape architecture's capability to make places beneficial to human fulfillment may be constrained by excessive emphasis on utility and style over wider human experience. The paper argues that this problem is related to elements of landscape architecture's intellectual underpinning and introduces expressivism as the basis for developing a new conceptual framework involving a holistic approach to the human-environment relationship. Expressivism underpins a humanistic approach to landscape architecture in which landscape is understood as an expressive medium central to the achievement of human fulfillment. Aspects of Christopher Alexander's work are considered in the context of expressivist landscape architecture as a means of developing an operational strategy.


The study of dynamics and thermodynamics of single biological molecules at confined liquid-solid interfaces is crucially important, especially in the case of low-copy number molecules in a single cell. Using a high-throughput single molecule imaging system and Lagrangian coordinates of single molecule images, we discovered that the local equilibrium isotherms of single lambdaDNA molecules at a confined liquid-solid interface varied from a stair type for the regions of single or double molecular DNA to a mild "S" type for the regions of triple molecular DNA spots, which does not agree with the conventional equilibrium isotherms in the literature. Single molecule images in time sequence for different lambdaDNA concentrations were statistically analyzed by measuring preferential partitioning from shearing effects, which were used to measure the local velocity of DNA molecules by directly observing the migration of DNA fluorescence spots for the 12 continuous images. The local linear velocity of hydrodynamic flow was calculated by the Hagen-Poiseuille equation in different microregions with a local Lagrangian approach. The local single molecule isotherms for the tracked molecules in the regions of single, double, or triple molecular DNA layers within the laminar flows were obtained according to the average local velocities of both the stochastic molecule events and the corresponding local Poiseuille flows. A millisecond and microvolume approach to directly determine local single molecule isotherms at confined liquid-solid interfaces was established, and the microspace scale effects on the types of isotherms were discovered. This study may have significant impact on preparations of low-copy number proteins in a single cell, membrane separations, and other bioseparation studies.


It has been suggested that radiation-induced G2-arrest is an extension of interphase to allow repair of DNA double-strand breaks (dsb) prior to mitosis. Cycloheximide blocks the repair of the lesions which result in radiation-induced G2 arrest. Caffeine and cordycepin reduce the duration of G2 arrest. All of these agents should therefore reduce the cell's ability to repair dsb. The influence of cycloheximide (50 micrograms/ml), caffeine (5 mM) and cordycepin (0.15 mM) on the repair of the damage detectable in DNA by neutral filter elution was determined. Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO) were irradiated with X-ray doses of 20, 60 and 100 Gy then allowed to repair without drug treatment or in the presence of each drug for intervals up to 6 h. DNA damage repair proceeded in two phases. The fast component of the repair process (t1/2 approx. 7 min) was not modified by drug treatment; the slow component (t1/2 approx. 170 min) was unaffected by cycloheximide or cordycepin, but appeared to be inhibited by caffeine. It was concluded that: (a) the lesion which results in radiation-induced G2 arrest is not the lesion which is detectable by neutral filter elution, and (b) the influence of caffeine on dsb repair is specific to caffeine and is not mediated by a reduction in the duration of G2 arrest.


This paper argues the thesis that education should be understood as a guide that directs the young people towards reflexive and imaginative social practices that allow them to formulate new and varied hypotheses as well as alternative justifications. Based on Dewey, we will expose that a goal such as this is only applicable to members of a democratic society. Next, we present some features of onto-epistemological pluralism in relation to freedom and responsibility. It is concluded that there is no justification that is closer to truth or reality. The relevance of a justified belief with good reasons lies in its practical consequences for specific conditions of existence.


Process flexibility has been investigated in depth in the context of intra-organisational processes, but it is still an open issue when processes cross the boundaries of companies. In this paper, we address the modelling of flexible inter-organisational processes using a version-based approach. Indeed, versions are known to be a powerful technique to deal with variability, evolution and adaptation of processes, which are the three main needs of process flexibility. More precisely, this paper presents VP2M (Version of Process Meta-Model), a meta-model supporting the modelling of versions of inter-organisational processes, addressing both static and dynamic aspects of VP2M. It also illustrates process version modelling within the Subsea Pipeline process example.


Sections of the phase diagram Al-Mg-Si with up to 35 at.% magnesium and 35 at.% silicon are constructed. The thermodynamic calculation and experimental analysis have shown that the conode of three-phase eutectic equilibrium L ⇔ a-Al 1 Mg2Si, corresponding to the maximum temperature of eutectic transformation, does not coincide with the stoichiometric cross section between Al and Mg2Si in the Al-Mg-Si ternary system, but rather occurs toward the magnesiumrich side of the ternary diagram. A polythermal cross section, corresponding to this conode, has been constructed. Concentration-temperature parameters of the univariant eutectic transformation L ⇔ a-Al 1 Mg2Si, as well as the boundaries of the domain of existence of alloys crystallizing with the formation of only two phases, namely, a-Al and Mg2Si, were determined. Modeling of phase equilibria involving solid and liquid phases in the ternary system Al-Mg-Si was carried out. The topology of the phase diagram is stable against a wide range variation of the adjustable parameters; the inherent form of the diagram seems well established. The reasons for this are discussed.


The regulation by glucose and insulin of the musclespecific facilitative glucose transport system GLUT-4 was investigated in L6 muscle cells in culture. Hexose transport activity, mRNA expression, and the subcellular localization of the GLUT-4 protein were analyzed. As observed previously (Walker, P. S. , Ramlal, T., Sarabia, V., Koivisto, U.-M., Bilan, P. J., Pessin, J. E., and Klip, A. (1990) J. Siol. Chern. 265, 15161523), 24 h of glucose starvation and 24 h of insulin treatment each increase glucose transport activity severalfold. Here we report a differential regulation of the GLUT-4 and GLUT-1 transport systems under these conditions. (a) The level of GLUT-4 mRNA was not affected by glucose starvation and was diminished by prolonged (24 h) administration of insulin; in contrast, the level of GLUT-1 mRNA was elevated under both conditions. (b) Glucose starvation and prolonged insulin administration increased the amount of both GLUT-4 and GLUT-1 proteins in the plasma membrane. (c ) In intracellular membranes, glucose starvation elevated, and prolonged insulin administration reduced, the GLUT-4 protein content. In contrast, the GLUT1 protein content in these membranes decreased with glucose starvation and increased with insulin treatment. Glucose transport was rapidly curbed upon refeeding glucose to glucose-starved cells, with half-maximal reversal after 30 min and maximal reversal after 4 h. This was followed by a marked decrease in the levels of GLUT-1 mRNA without major changes in GLUT-4 mRNA. Neither 2-deoxy-D-glucose nor 3-O-methyl-Dglucose could substitute for D-glUCOSe in these effects. It is proposed that glucose and insulin differentially regulate the two glucose transport systems in L6 muscle cells and that the rapid own-regulation of hexose transport activity by glucose is regulated by posttranslational mechanisms.


The precision of manufacturing using machine tools depends on the accuracy of the relative position of the cutting tool with respect to the workpiece. Kinematic modeling of machine tools is used to describe this relative position. This motion can be modeled by homogeneous coordinate transformation matrices composed of both rotational elements as well as positional offset elements of the associated coordinates. The rotation and translation components of the homogeneous transformations are considered to be functions of nominal tool position and machine temperatures. In general these functions are low order polynomials in terms of position and temperatures. The coefficients are usually calculated with least squares curve fitting techniques. The data for these fits are obtained by measuring actual coordinate positions and temperatures on the machine tool based upon desired programmed nominal coordinates. The process of measuring and modeling the errors of machine axis positions as functions of nominal positions and temperatures is referred to as machine tool characterization. The geometric-thermal models developed through machine tool characterization may not fully predict the errors encountered by a machine tool during machining. The data from machine characterization usually provides the structure to derive the basic form of the equations used to model the various error components used in the homogeneous matrices. This process of model updating involves determining the residual systematic errors of the machine tool and applying an algorithm to update the geometric-thermal model coefficients. The updating algorithm described in this report begins with adding perturbation terms to the characterization coefficients of the geometric-thermal model. These coefficients are estimated by an "inverse" process, using residual systematic errors, determined from part measurements on a coordinate measuring machine. The main tool used in identifying the perturbation terms is called a generalized or pseudo inverse matrix. This matrix is applied to the residual error vector to obtain a "best" approximate solution to the least squares problem.


Abstract : The effective utilization of multiprocessors, particularly those with architectures that cannot support shared memory in an efficient way, is currently dependent on the ability of the user to map the problem onto the multiprocessor. In order to obtain high levels of efficiency, this mapping must distribute computational load relatively evenly between the machine's processors and must minimize the effects of interprocessor communication delay on algorithm performance. The need to explicitly designate a problem decomposition and to verify that the decomposition is both correct and has the desired performance characteristics can be a time consuming and error prone task. In cases in which the load distribution of and algorithm cannot be predicted sufficiently well in advance to allow a deterministic decomposition to be specified, it may be necessary to specify a family of problem decompositions along with a procedure for run time load management. While the development of methods for dynamically balancing loads is an active area of current research without the development of automated mapping methods, the implementation of such schemes can be particularly time consuming and difficult. A methodology will be developed that can insulate the user from the considerations required to produce efficient programs for multiprocessor machines while still enabling the user to achieve high levels of performance. Programs will be written in a very high level programming language Crystal. Keywords: Parallel processing.


Mass spectrometry is the work-horse technology of the emerging field of metabolomics. Community-wide accepted data models and XML formats for data interchange such as mzData are currently in development. The information contained in these models is sufficient to create applications and databases in a model driven architecture (MDA). This allows to (re-)create the necessary code basis and backend database with minimal manual coding. We present an infrastructure to support the use of these data standards. It uses the Eclipse framework to generate Java objects, XML input/output, database persistence and a user-friendly editor for both the XML files and database content. A prototype of a Web frontend has been created to view, verify and upload to such a repository


Recently, international crude oil prices remain high, which are around 100 USD for one barrel. The economic impact under the high oil prices may become the most anticipated issue. Due to the double up of both gasoline and electric recently, the reasonable prices of domestic gasoline become universal lively discussion topic. The paper uses the sorting gasoline weighting obtained from grey relational analysis to be compared with Taiwan's neighboring countries and decides whether the gasoline prices in Taiwan are reasonable or not. First, the data of 92 unleaded gasoline prices, international crude oil prices as well as the national income in Taiwan and neighboring countries in 2008 are used in grey relational analysis. It is to discuss the reasonable prices of the gasoline in Taiwan and neighboring countries. The results show that the gasoline prices in Taiwan are a bit higher. They are a little higher than the gasoline prices in Japan and Singapore, but they are much higher than the gasoline prices in Korea. After the analysis, it is found that there is still falling space in Taiwan's gasoline prices. Also, the declining of the gasoline prices can slow down people's grievances caused by inflation and stabilize the domestic economy.


We describe the ghost sector of cubic string field theory in terms of degrees of freedom on the two halves of a split string. In particular, we represent a class of pure ghost BRST operators as operators on the space of half-string functionals. These BRST operators were postulated by Rastelli, Sen, and Zwiebach to give a description of cubic string field theory in the closed string vacuum arising from condensation of a D25-brane in the original tachyonic theory. We find a class of solutions for the ghost equations of motion using the pure ghost BRST operators. We find a vanishing action for these solutions, and discuss possible interpretations of this result. The form of the solutions we find in the pure ghost theory suggests an analogous class of solutions in the original theory on the D25-brane with BRST operator QB coupling the matter and ghost sectors.


The contribution of e-learning technologies, especially LMS which has become an important component of e-learning, is significantly increasing in higher education. It is critical to understand the factors that affect the behavioral intention of students towards LMS use. The aim of this study is to explore predictors of students' acceptance of Course Portal at a postsecondary vocational school level. We utilised a framework suggested by Sezer and Yilmaz (2019) for understanding students' acceptance of LMS. This framework obtains the main constructs in UTAUT: namely, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions. More external variables, associate degree programs, high school type, academic grade point average were also adopted. Accordingly, 387 students were answered the questionnaire for investigating behavioral intention. Artificial neural network analysis (ANN) was used to predict students' acceptance of LMS use according to variables associated with their use of LMS technology. ANN analyses in the present study revealed that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions are important predictors of students' behavioral intention to use LMS. Nevertheless, performance expectancy was found to be the most influencing predictor of LMS use. The analyses of this research provides evidence on the utilization of ANN to predict the determining factors of LMS acceptance.


The testing of the internal taper thread in joint is the key measurement on spot. The automatic CAT system has been developed for testing key parameters of internal thread on the machine tool. The six key parameters of the 2 7/8EU internal taper thread could be given by the CAT system. A simple and effective method has been developed for the calibration of the sensors in the CAT system. It is called tracing standard part method, which has the simple procedure with high precision. The tooth depth of the joint internal taper thread given by the manual gauge has been chosen for the coefficient calibration of the range sensor in the CAT system. The calibration method has been verified on the spot with manual gauge. It has been shown that this novel calibration method could meet the demanding of the user's precision.


For nearly 200 years it has been appreciated that plaque psoriasis consists of a number of distinct clinical phenotypes. However, a reliable and simple stratification of clinical presentation of psoriasis is lacking. In the era of immunogenetic association studies and an advanced understanding of the pathomechanisms of psoriasis it is important that a classification of the disease according to phenotype is readily available. Such a classification would facilitate clinically relevant interpretation of investigational data. A meeting of the International Psoriasis Council produced a consensus on clinical phenotypes of psoriasis equally relevant to clinical practitioners and psoriasis researchers.


Background anakinra has been used off-label for the treatment of severe episodes of acute inflammation (EAIs) in gout [1], only a small retrospective series of 3 patients reported as prophylaxis with intermittent schedule [2]. Objectives to explore whether a low-dose prescription of anakinra would be useful in patients with severe gout and contraindication of other current treatments for prophylaxis of AEIs when starting urate-lowering therapy (ULT). Methods patients with crystal proven arthritis, tophaceous gout, and severe, recurrent EAIs showing aformal contraindication for current treatments for prophylaxis and requiring repeated doses of parenteral corticosteroids were included in a cohort for follow-up. All patients were scheduled to start ULT and receive anakinra 100 mg sc once a week with additional 100 mg doses on demand during the first 3 months and only on demand dosing from month 3 to 6. AEIs were evaluated using the EULAR-ACR preliminary criteria for self-referred AEIs in gout [3] and expressed as events/patient-year observation. Clinical evaluation and anaylsis (hemogram, full biochemistry including urate, estimated GF -CKD_EPI - and high sensitivity CRP) were monitored at baseline and months 3 and 6. Results nine patients were included in the protocol, but 1 of them was excluded from analysis as he was shown to suffer also from crystal-proven chronic pyrophosphate inflammatory arthritis [4]. Mean age was 58±16 years (39-79), time with gout 9±4 years (5-16), polyarticular 75%. CHF was present in 4/8, CKD 3-4 in 6/8, serious AEs to NSAIDs in 6/8 and diabetes or steroid-induced hyperglycemia in 6/8. Results are shown in Table. In the 0-3 period, only 2/8 required additional doses, and 4/8 while only on demand from mo 3-6. A patient had an episode of heart failure (4th in a year) but was maintained on treatment without further complications to date. Conclusions this small sized pilot study is, to our knowledge, the first to explore in pre-established doses the efficacy of low-dose anakinra for the prophylaxis of AEIs in patients with severe comorbidities and severe tophaceous gout. These encouraging results deserve further studies. References So A, DeSmedt T, Revaz S, Tschopp J. A pilot study of IL-1 inhibition by anakinra in acute gout. Arthritis Res Ther 2007;9:R28. Tran AP, Edelman J. Interleukin-1 inhibition by anakinra in refractory chronic tophaceous gout. Int J Rheum Dis 2011;14:e33-e37. Gaffo AL, Schumacher HR, Saag KG, Taylor WJ, Dinnella J, Outman R et al. Developing a provisional definition of a flare in patients with established gout. Arthritis Rheum 2012; 64: 1508-17. Zhang W, Doherty M, Bardin T, Barskova V, Guerne PA, Jansen TL et al. European League Against Rheumatism recommendations for calcium pyrophosphate deposition. Part I: terminology and diagnosis. Ann Rheum Dis 2011. Disclosure of Interest F. Perez-Ruiz Consultant for: Ardea, Savient, Menarini, Astra, Metabolex, Pfizer, Novartis, SOBI, Speakers bureau: Menarini, A. Herrero-Beites: None Declared, A. Alonso-Ruiz: None Declared, J. Atxotegi: None Declared, M. Lopez-Santamaría: None Declared, M. de Miguel: None Declared


e-Letters "Responses" in the online version of this article. "Submit a response" in the right-hand menu under or click on here To submit an e-Letter on this article, click E-mail alerts to receive free e-mail alerts here Sign up Correction http://ptjournal.apta.org/content/73/2/123.2.full.pdf correction is also available online at: correction has been appended to this PDF. The A correction has been published for this article. The


Parents frequently call their children's physicians as an alternative to office visits. A telephone conversation with a pediatrician may obviate the need for a visit by providing the parent with the information necessary to successfully manage the child's condition at home. To accomplish this, the physician must be capable of obtaining a reliable history by telephone; however, concern has been raised about pediatric residents' abilities to do so. 1-4 Diagnoses made and advice rendered by telephone have medical and legal implications for pediatric training programs. In addition, the ability of a resident to communicate effectively with parents by telephone is an extension of his or her ability to communicate effectively when parents are present. Communication skills can be learned, which implies that they can be taught. A medical-social skill that can be taught should be included in the curriculum of a pediatric training program. However, many programs have not emphasized this


approved: ______________________________________________________ Douglas A. Keszler The solution chemistry and kinetic behavior of hafnium peroxy sulfate solutions ("HafSOx") is described in terms of peroxide content and solution speciation. Additionally, thin film behavior, including thermal behavior and solubility, is characterized, and a mechanism of patterning is presented, as well as parameters that should be considered when looking at new potential resist materials. With the lessons learned from HafSOx, new resist candidates are explored and characterized. Thin films of Bi-Mo and Bi-W are spectroscopically characterized, and their thermal and patterning behavior is also studied, as is the thermal and patterning behavior of thin films of three previously-unsynthesized phosphium hexatungtates. Finally, organotin thin films are characterized, to understand their film behavior, including composition and morphology, as well as their radiation behavior, with and without post-exposure baking. ©Copyright by Jenn M. Amador December 7, 2017 All Rights Reserved Metal-oxo Clusters as Novel Photolithographic Materials: How Understanding the Chemistry of HafSOx Informs Next-Generation Patterning Systems by Jenn M. Amador


Flavobacterium psychrophilum is a pathogen causing bacterial coldwater disease in salmonid hatcheries worldwide. This study evaluated the feeding of four commercial diets to rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss at a hatchery with endemic bacterial coldwater disease in three sequential feed trials, beginning at 28 days after initial feeding and lasting for a total duration of 83 days. Two Bio-Oregon (Longview, Washington, USA) diets, Bio-Vita and BioPro2, and two Skretting (Toele, Utah, USA) diets, Classic Trout and Protec, were used. While the overall mortality rates were the same among all the diets, there were differences in the timing at which the mortality occurred. Significant differences in tank ending weight, weight gain, and feed conversion ratio only occurred in the third and final trial, with the Classic Trout diet producing the poorest results. Overall results, with all of the trials combined, indicated tanks receiving the Bio-Vita and BioPro2 diets had significantly higher weight gain than tanks receiving Classic Trout. Additionally, feed conversion ratios were significantly elevated in the Classic Trout treatment group compared to the other three dietary treatments. With few impacts on overall mortality among all diets tested, the faster growth obtained from the Bio-Oregon diets may lead to more rapid development of acquired immunity with possible implications for bacterial coldwater disease management beyond the duration of this study.


Appearance-based gaze estimation has achieved significant improvement by using deep learning. However, many deep learning-based methods suffer from the vulnerability property, i.e., perturbing the raw image using noise confuses the gaze estimation models. Although the perturbed image visually looks similar to the original image, the gaze estimation models output the wrong gaze direction. In this paper, we investigate the vulnerability of appearance-based gaze estimation. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the vulnerability of gaze estimation to be found. We systematically characterized the vulnerability property from multiple aspects, the pixel-based adversarial attack, the patch-based adversarial attack and the defense strategy. Our experimental results demonstrate that the CA-Net shows superior performance against attack among the four popular appearance-based gaze estimation networks, Full-Face, Gaze-Net, CA-Net and RT-GENE. This study draws the attention of researchers in the appearance-based gaze estimation community to defense from adversarial attacks.


This article is stimulated by current criticisms of Chinese exchange rate policy. The concern is really about China's current account surplus. The article discusses the factors that determine the surplus, and the reasons why the surplus increased sharply from 2005. The international implications of China's surplus and growth are discussed, and how it has affected the world real interest rate, and through that the US current account deficit. The surplus has had various international relative price effects, which have produced both gainers and losers. Finally, the surplus played only a small part in determining the world credit crisis. Copyright © The Author(s). Journal compilation © Royal Economic Society 2009.


Jacqui Wise Is this something to do with the Ingrid Bergmanmovie? That would be the 1944 film Gaslight, which tells the story of a man who manipulates his wife to such an extent that she doubts her own sanity. Since then, the term gaslighting has been widely used to describe any form of emotional abuse that makes someone question their own grasp of reality. Is Medical Gaslighting the sequel? No, it's a term usually used to describe when a medical professional wrongly blames a patient's symptoms on psychological factors such as stress or anxiety or tells them they are not really sick. Never heard of it—I think you're imagining it Patients are increasingly sharing their stories of medical gaslighting on social media sites such as Instagram with the hashtag #medicalgaslighting. And two articles on the subject published in the New York Times this year have prompted thousands of responses.1 2 In one article a woman described going to a cardiologist with chest pains and being told to simply exercise more. Another woman who described weight loss, losing her hair, and developing a full body rash in her 20s was told by her male doctor that she was "young, healthy, and just lazy." She was later given a diagnosis of the autoimmune disorder Graves' disease. Are women particularly at risk? Womenhave reported thathealthproblems suchas endometriosis, fibromyalgia, and irritablebowel syndrome are often downplayed or dismissed by doctors. And studies have shown that, when compared with men, women face longer waits to be given a diagnosis of cancer or heart disease, for example.3 But black people, geriatric patients, and LGBT+ people are also more likely to have their symptoms dismissed without a full investigation. Is it mainly doctors dismissing patients' concerns? Not just that. A female Canadian doctor described being gaslit several times by colleagues in professional settings. She described specialist colleagues using their status to try to convince her of something she knew to be false or not in the best interests of her patients.4 Is medical gaslighting becomingmore common? The term has been used widely in connection with long covid, particularly early on in the pandemic. Some patients who were still experiencing symptoms months after infection with SARS-CoV-2 thought that they were not treated seriously, or investigated fully, by doctors.5 6


This compendium on the treatment of common acute poisonings reflects the authors' experience in Scotland, where 80% of the incidence is due to self-poisoning in an age group of 18 to 25 years. This is in marked contrast to the United States, where the reverse is true. Because of the preponderance of small children involved, acute poisoning here is mainly a pediatric problem. The lack of enthusiasm for the use of syrup of ipecac as an emetic will be questioned by most pediatricians and others working in this area. The same might be said for the safe dose of apomorphine (followed by levallorphan tartrate [Lorfan], a narcotic antagonist), which is being used in some medical centers exclusively and effectively because of its prompt action. The chapter on "Basic Principles of Psychiatric Treatment," necessitated by the self-poisoning group, is brief and informative, with material usually not found in books of this


Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) lead dysfunctions can cause inappropriate shocks. Current ICDs store lead diagnostics and detected episodes. This stored information with intracardiac electrograms (EGM) and sensed RR interval patterns may characterize the ICD lead performance. The aim of this analysis was to determine the sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) of an automatic lead dysfunction identification algorithm. This algorithm uses RR and EGM data to distinguish noncardiac oversensing (OS), for example, due to conductor fracture, and cardiac OS, for example, T‐wave OS, from detected episodes. The algorithm also uses lead diagnostics: sensing integrity counter trends (e.g., RR intervals <140 ms), nonsustained tachyarrhythmias episodes with a mean RR <200 ms and impedance trends to identify lead fractures. The PPV was determined using the stored memory from 1,756 ICD patients enrolled in a 13‐center long‐term lead study with an average follow‐up of 18.3 patient‐months. Sensitivity was determined in 35 patients who presented with OS or lead fracture‐related adverse events confirmed by stored ICD diagnostics. The algorithm sensitivity was 97.1% (34/35). There were 43 additional patients identified by the algorithm without an adverse event. Stored ICD diagnostics confirmed lead dysfunctions in 32 of 43 patients corresponding with an 85.7% PPV (66/77). ICD memory diagnostics and episodes with intracardiac EGM may be used to identify ICD lead dysfunctions with high sensitivity and PPV. This algorithm may be implemented in postprocessing ICD environments (e.g., remote server, programmer) to rapidly identify lead dysfunction prior its clinical manifestation.


We study the shape of the relationship between French bond mutual funds' returns and their flows by using data for the period 2005-2017. Beyond considering the effect of relative performance, we are mainly interested by the effects of absolute short-term returns on funds' flows. We find empirical evidence of a mechanism demonstrating that mutual funds can generate financial instability. Indeed, it is possible that negative shocks that affect short-term returns and generate outflows can result in a loop between funds' flows and their returns. Our model allows for nonlinear effects in the shape of the relationship between flows and performance. We show that mutual funds presenting very negative short-term returns experience greater outflows than funds presenting less negative short-term returns (this effect appears at the bottom negative return quintile). Conversely, this nonlinear effect is not present in the positive short-term returns segment. Irrespective of mutual funds' returns, investors seem to redeem more during periods of financial stress. Additional results show that for institutional investors (which are here defined as the owners of the largest shares and thus whose decisions are the most influential for the market), the non-linear effect appears more frequently, starting from the fourth quintile of negative returns. We hence confirm the presence of a potential source of fragility and risk coming from negative shocks to bond mutual funds' short-term returns. Preliminary draft January 10, 2020


Psychiatric patients often do not cooperate fully with the neurologic examination. Reflexes virtually bypass patient effort and are difficult to consciously determine. This article reviews muscle stretch (deep tendon) reflexes, and pathological reflexes including the extensor plantar (Babinski) and primitive release reflexes. Topics include findings in common psychiatric and neurologic conditions and methods for eliciting these signs.


The umbilical cord is the link between fetus and the placenta. It consists of one vein and two arteries, encased inside Wharton's jelly. In this study, the influence of morphological parameters of umbilical arteries, namely the wall-lumen ratio and lumen diameter, on the stress distribution in Wharton's jelly is analyzed using a 3D finite element model. The lumen diameter of the arteries is varied from 0.4 mm to 2.0 mm in steps of 0.4 mm. The variation of average and maximum effective stresses in the Wharton's jelly with wall-lumen ratio is analyzed. Further, differences in stresses between the placental and fetal ends of umbilical cord are analyzed. Results show that, the average and maximum effective stresses at both ends of the umbilical cord vary nonlinearly with the wall-lumen ratio. For all the considered lumen diameters, the average effective stress is found to decrease with an increase in wall-lumen ratio at both the ends. An increase in the lumen diameter is found to be associated with a nonlinear decrease in average stress ratios. Clinical Relevance— The results of this study could be useful for the early diagnosis of fetal abnormalities and might be helpful to develop better treatment strategies.


This study provides an updated analysis to characterize the gut microbiota in ASD using 16SrRNA gene high-throughput sequencing data from 10 publicly available studies. Our analysis suggests an association between the fecal microbiota and ASD. ABSTRACT Cumulative studies have utilized high-throughput sequencing of the 16SrRNA gene to characterize the composition and structure of the microbiota in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, they do not always obtain consistent results; thus, conducting cross-study comparisons is necessary. This study sought to analyze the alteration of fecal microbiota and the diagnostic capabilities of gut microbiota biomarkers in individuals with ASD using the existing 16SrRNA microbial data and explore heterogeneity among studies. The raw sequence and metadata from 10 studies, including 1,019 samples, were reanalyzed. Results showed no significant difference in alpha diversity of fecal microbiota between ASD and the control group. However, a significant difference in the composition structure of fecal microbiota was observed. Given the large differences in sample selection and technical differences, the separation of fecal microbiota between ASD and controls was not observed. Subgroup analysis was performed on the basis of different country of origin, hypervariable regions, and sequencing platforms, and the dominant genera in ASD and healthy control groups were determined by linear discriminant analysis (LDA) of the effect size (LEfSe) algorithm and Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Machine learning analyses were carried out to determine the diagnostic capabilities of potential microbial biomarkers. A total of 12 genera were identified to distinguish ASD from control, and the AUC of the training set and verification set was 0.757 and 0.761, respectively. Despite cohort heterogeneity, gut microbial dysbiosis of ASD has been proven to be a widespread phenomenon. Therefore, fecal microbial markers are of great significance in diagnosing ASD diseases and possible candidates for further mechanistic study of the role of intestinal microbiota in ASD. IMPORTANCE This study provides an updated analysis to characterize the gut microbiota in ASD using 16SrRNA gene high-throughput sequencing data from 10 publicly available studies. Our analysis suggests an association between the fecal microbiota and ASD. Sample selection and technical differences between studies may interfere with the species composition analysis of the ASD group and control group. By summarizing the results of 16SrRNA gene sequencing from multiple fecal samples, we can provide evidence to support the use of microbial biomarkers to diagnose the occurrence of ASD. Our study provides a new perspective for further revealing the correlation between gut microbiota and ASD from the perspective of 16SrRNA sequencing in larger samples.


A new type of Hidden Markov Model (HMM) developed based on the fuzzy clustering result is proposed for identification of human motion. By associating the human continuous movements with a series of human motion primitives, the complex human motion could be analysed as the same process as recognizing a word by alphabet. However, because the human movements can be multipaths and inherently stochastic, it is indisputable that a more sophisticated framework must be applied to reveal the statistic relationships among the different human motion primitives. Hence, based on the human motion recognition results derived from the fuzzy clustering function, HMM is modified by changing the formulation of the emission and transition matrices to analyse the human wrist motion. According to the experimental results, the complex human wrist motion sequence can be identified by the novel HMM holistically and efficiently.


An age-old dilemma plays out in the litigation surrounding physician-assisted suicide practices. It highlights the need to balance the rights of the individual with the expectations, goals, and values of society; but in a society as committed to individual autonomy as the United States, whose promise has been the right to control their own destinies, this conflict becomes central to preserving our heritage. We have attempted to negotiate between conflicting rights many times in judicial history. Such negotiations are rarely satisfactory to either side since it is a zero-sum outcome. In this history of negotiations calling for calibrating the line between individual and collective rights, nothing has been more contentious than whether there is a constitutional right to engage in physician-assisted suicide, notwithstanding the controversy over the constitutional right of privacy for women seeking abortions.


The ideal community life structure has a strong institutional level. Economists agree on the institution as an important factor in creating economic growth. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of institutional factors on economic growth in ASEAN. Institutional variables include political stability, voice and accountability, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, and control of corruption, while economic variables include exports and imports. This study utilized panel data estimation on 10 countries in ASEAN during 2002-2018. The fixed effect model was the best estimation model. The findings show that there are three keys of institutions that had a significant influence on per capita GDP on ASEAN, namely voice and accountability, regulatory quality, and rule of law. It could be that if the institutional factors are weak, it will be detrimental to economic performance. The policy implication is that the synergy of all stakeholders needs to be improved for better institutional enforcement.


In this paper we study som problems on the separability of k disjoint point sets in the plane. One one hand, we give algorithms for finding minimum cardinality separators by means of parallel lines or rays with common apex. On the other hand we show how to decide whether it is possible to separate by k-1 parallel lines, k rays with the same origin, an arrangement of 2-3 lines or, in the projective sense, by k lines through a point.


Mediterranean region of Turkey has mountainous and hilly topography that is ecologically suitable for goat grazing. However most of the time goat producers do not consider the carrying capacity of the shrublands and overgrazing or undergrazing occur. Since overgrazing or undergrazing affect the ecology of the shrublands, the purpose of the study was to compare the grazing plan prepared by Isparta Sütçüler Forest Administration Office for determining the herb and dry substance yield, the best month of the year for grazing and the optimum number of goats per grazing hectare. According to scientific studies, 4 goats can be grazed per year annually on free grazing ranges with 100% canopy coverage. Accordingly, 3 different parcels were determined at regions in settlements where grazing is allowed thereby the canopy coverages of kermes oak were tried to be calculated for the grazing areas. Based on these ratios, the optimum number of goats that can be grazed at these areas was determined. According to the acquired data, while the number of goats that can be grazed on an area of 57.605 ha was calculated as 81.453, this was put forth in the grazing management plan prepared by the Forest Administration as 57.605 goats. This corresponds to 23,848 fewer goats in comparison with the optimum number indicated in the study. It was observed when the grazing plan was compared with the data acquired in the study that the grazing areas in the village are sufficient for the current number of goats, however it was determined in our study that the current grazing areas can be sufficient for greater number of goats.


The Central Sterilization Service Department has changed over the last thirty years and the professionals who work in this department face the challenge of the pursuit of knowledge and technical ability to carry out their activities. Among these, there is the management, which also involves controlling costs. This is an integrative review performed from September to November 2016, using the MEDLINE, LILACS, and IBECS databases to search for papers. The structure of the research question was based on the PIO anagram (patient/population, intervention, and outcome). It aimed the analysis of the scientific evidence that address the health product processing costs. Five out of 122 papers were selected and they addressed specific processing steps or all the processing in a broader way. Four points are highlighted from the studies: the preparation stage, the processing time designed, the need for training the CSSD professional for generating competence, and the attention to compliance with current legislation. The knowledge of each process cost is a need for managerial decision making. The search for knowledge and enhancement of skills helps the balance between the costs and the patient safety.


The genome of many cancers is characterized by ongoing genome instability; however, the causes of genome instability in cancer are not well understood. To understand the control genome instability, we developed three types of genetic assays for measuring the rate of accumulating gross chromosomal rearrangements (GCRs) in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae - one that detects GCRs containing breakpoints in single copy sequences, a second that detects GCRs mediated by segmental duplications, and a third that detects GCRs mediated by Ty elements which are similar to mammalian LINE elements. Initial studies characterizing these three types of assays found that there are specific pathways that suppress duplication-mediated GCRs and identified sequences that are hotspots for the formation of GCRs. We have subsequently used these three assays to perform a genetic screen of the non-essential genes in S. cerevisiae to identify the genetic network that acts to prevent genome instability. This screen involved three steps: a novel bioinformatics screen to identify and prioritize candidate genome instability suppressing genes; a biological genetic screen to identify which of the predicted genes actually suppress genome instability; and a biological genetic screen to identify interacting genes. As a result of these screens, we have identified 184 genes in which defects cause increased GCRs and an additional 459 genes in which mutations only cause increased GCRs when combined with a second mutation thus defining multiple pathways that prevent GCRs. Control experiments indicated that this approach led to the identification of greater than 95% of the non-essential genes that act to suppress genome instability. In a second screen, we identified 44 essential genes in which defects caused increased GCRs. We are now beginning to use the S. cerevisiae genome instability suppressing genes to predict the mammalian genome instability genetic suppressing network. Citation Format: Richard Kolodner, PhD. Identification of genes and pathways that prevent genome instability [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 10th Biennial Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium; Sep 8-9, 2014; Seattle, WA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2015;21(16 Suppl):Abstract nr KP01.


The purpose of this study is to examine the creative process of Indonesian Muslim writers. The method employed in this study is qualitative method, known as descriptive-explorative. Questions were asked to writers through in-depth interview. These writers have written at least 5 books related to Islam or having Islamic nuances, with concept ranges from Islamic thought/ ideas to fiction. Other than books the participants are actively engaged in writing articles, papers and other forms of writing. The result of this study shows that creative ideas were obtained by: (a)    focusing on one topic, through observing realities related to the topic, and getting involved directly and intensively in activities related to topic of interest. (b)    studying a certain topic by actively engaged in activities to broaden their knowledge related to the topic of interest (e.g., reading, discussion with colleagues, students, spouse, family members, including those who have opposing ideas). (c)    having leisure activities in between their creative engagement (e.g. gardening, sight-seeing). (d)    performing  intensive religious practices (e.g. night prayer, dzikir/supplication). (e)    maintaining good conduct, both thought and behavior, and observing self-control against their own negative feeling (e.g. arrogance, ambition, show-off). These negative psychological states might contaminate their creative process. Keywords: creative process, Muslim writers.


Haemocytes of Ephestia kuehniella adhere to foreign objects introduced into the haemocoel and form capsules around them. The fine structure of these capsules, and the blood cells which form them, has been studied by electron microscopy. By 72 h the capsule is a compact tissue, about 50-60 cells thick. The cells retain their integrity and do not form a syncytium. Cells nearest the implant develop large numbers of cytolysomes and appear necrotic. Peripheral to this the cells, which are initially more or less spherical and about 6 µ across, are flattened into thin sheets, on average about 0.3 µ thick. Capsule cells adhere closely to each other, and a conspicuous electron-dense material may be present between them. The structure of developing capsules 24 h old and of capsules retrieved from adult insects following metamorphosis is described. The formation of capsules is discussed in relation to general problems of cell recognition and adhesion.


The study of polarization reversal in (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O-3 thin films reveals a drastic difference between the switching kinetics observed at RT and at low temperature of 40 K. In particular, at 40 K, the switching kinetics in studied films is similar to that observed in ferroelectric single crystals. Additionally, the films with completely different switching behavior at RT show very similar switching properties at 40 K. The data analysis suggests that the polarization reversal at RT is limited mainly by nucleation of reversed domains, while at 40 K, the switching kinetics is governed by domain wall motion. It is demonstrated that the measurements of switching kinetics at low temperature can provide useful information for modeling of the important, practical case of polarization reversal at RT. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.


The system of design consideration is developed as a complex system with the appropriate linguistics and substantial addition of new categories that are useful for the further theoretical research and practical use. It is considered condition of contemporary design, its purpose is a propriety of existence, the harmony of architectural and objective environment, technical perfection election of technological feasibility and economic efficiency ergonomical comfort and environmental sustainability. Its social value is creating of provided and worthy way оf life and work, artistic figurativeness of the physical world, social self-organization and humanisation of society,the formation of social identity, inspiration, purification,ennoblement of person, his spiritual rebirth and recreation, perception of work and creative motivation and therefore progressive economic development of society.


The detailed circuit behaviour of the asymmetrical half bridge flyback converter is analysed. The specific relationships between the duty cycle and the different types of energy in the energy storage elements are thoroughly investigated. From the analytical results, the maximum duty cycle is not bounded by 50%, which means that the converter can now be optimally used for the different applications. The zero voltage switching (ZVS) conditions of the power switches are derived. Mathematical equations and design considerations are also given. According to the presented design guidelines, the ZVS operations of the power switches can be maintained from no-load to full-load conditions. A 5V/20A prototype has been built to verify the analytical results under real life conditions.


Spelt, a close relative of hexaploid bread wheat and a dominant wheat subspecies cultivated in Europe before the 20th century, still plays an important role as a high-value niche product today. Compared to most other cereals, spelt has not been subjected to intensive breeding in the 20th century. Even today, mostly traditional landraces are cultivated on a regional scale. The traditional way of spelt cultivation has limited the extensive exchange of germ plasm and intermixing of genetic material, which makes spelt an ideal crop to study the early agricultural history of cereals in Europe. Here, we unraveled the population structure and agricultural history of spelt based on 22,999 high-quality SNPs obtained by genotyping-by-sequencing on 267 spelt accessions covering the entire cultivation range. SNP markers were aligned to the high-quality bread wheat reference genome, which allowed us to analyze individual subgenomes. Our analyses of genetic variation revealed that bread wheat and spelt are most likely of monophyletic origin, but that European spelt diverged from bread wheat by hybridization with tetraploid emmer wheats. Interestingly, spelt accessions from the Iberian Peninsula formed a separate clade that was distinct from the Central European accessions for all three subgenomes. Demographic modelling indicated that Iberian spelt was introduced into Europe independently from Central European spelt. Our analysis provides a comprehensive assessment of spelt diversity and history. The separate introduction of Iberian spelt is supported by recent molecular evidence of two independent prehistoric migrations of ancient farmers from the Near East into Europe.


ening due to incoherent scattering processes is of minor importance. This interpretation is supported by simulations of the coherent dynamics and of the carrier redistribution processes, based on a Monte Carlo solution of the SBEP cf. Fig. 2 (d-f). As observed experimentally, this model gives constant linewidths for the luminescence peaks at each density. These findings are related to the details of the cc scattering processes: The efficiency of cc interaction for dephasing is higher than that for electron redistribution because the decay of the interband polarization is strongly influenced by hole-hole scattering, which is much faster than electron-electron scattering. 'Fachbereich Physik, Universitat Marburg, D35032 Marburg, Germany **Institut fur Theoretische Physik, Universitat Stuttgart, 0-70505 Stuttgart, Germany *"Walter-Schottky-Institut, Technische Uniwrsitdt Munchen, D-85748 Garching, Germany


A novel fluorescence microscope configuration for real‐time observation of the Langmuir–Blodgett transfer is presented. It enables the imaging of any portion of the entire monolayer, including on the water subphase, on the substrate, or even on the meniscus. Studies are performed even while the layer is being deposited. Two sets of optical components, one for the visible and one for the ultraviolet spectrum, were implemented. Studies on a monolayer of dimyristoyl‐L‐α‐phosphatidylethanolamine (DMPE) reveal domain growth and nucleation phenomena at the boundary between water‐supported and deposited film. The performance of the instrument in the UV is demonstrated with pentadecanoic acid containing a pyrene probe.


ABSTRACTPurpose: Libraries collect written cultural heritage which is not only the most valuable part of their collections but also a part of library materials which is, due to digitalization projects in the last decade, becoming more and more interesting to librarians and library users. The main goal of the study is a theoretical research of library materials acknowledged as Slovenian heritage. By defining the basic terms it highlights the attributes which are immanent to library materials, derived from the context of their origin or later destiny. Slovenian library legislation concerning protection of written cultural heritage is also critically analysed.Methodology/approach: Comparative analyses of European and Slovenian legislation concerning librarianship and written cultural heritage. Research limitation: Research was mainly limited to professional literature and resources dealing with written cultural heritage. Originality/practical implications: Results of the research serve as formal criteria for definition of library materials as written heritage and suggest how to improve legislation in the field of protection of written heritage in libraries.


Purpose: In order to obtain reliable sand casting products, it is essential that the temperature distribution within the alloy during cooling is accurately known at each point by FEM simulation. This requires a great precision in setting the Heat Transfer Coefficients (HTC) at the boundaries. In particular for castings of big size, chills are frequently at different heights, so that remarkable differences arise from the metal head effect. Design/methodology/approach: An A356 alloy was cast and cooled. The castings were mono-directionally solidified in a experimental equipment modified to accept a controlled variable metal-head. HTC were evaluated in a side arm, where a chill end ensured a dominant unidirectional heat flow during cooling. At the end of a square horizontal channel, an aluminium chill of the same section and 60 mm in depth determined nearly one-dimensional cooling conditions. Findings: The evolution of heat transfer coefficient (HTC) in the sand casting of A357 aluminum alloy against aluminum chills is evaluated with different metal heads in order to study the effect of pressure on the HTC. Inverse modeling techniques based on Beck's analysis were used to determine the experimental evolution of HTC as a function of time, casting temperature and chill temperature. The HTC evolution at the casting-chill boundary is then described as a function of local parameters such as casting-chill interface pressure (as long as they are in contact) and interface gap (when solidification shrinkage occurs and the casting detaches from the chill). Practical implications: Finally, the experiments are reconstructed by means of coupled thermal-stress numerical analyses and the predicted cooling curves are fitted to the experimental ones by adjusting model parameters. As a result, the best parameters for describing the HTC evolution are found, thus allowing to extrapolate any possible HTC behavior on chills at different heights for the same casting. Originality/value: Some transient interface pressure can develop between casting and chill, the effect being negligible in HTC evaluation with the aim to precisely predict the cooling evolution inside the casting.


A two month old infant with congenital syphilis and secondary nephrotic syndrome is presented. The diagnosiswas confirmed by renal biopsy with light and electron microscopy. The patient was treated with full doses ofPenicillin with an excellent clinical response: at controls done at four, seven and fourteen months of age, he was freeof clinical and laboratory evidence of disease. The different causes of nephrotic syndrome in babies are analized.with special emphasis on the peculiarities of renal hystology when associated to congenital syphilis.(Key words: Lues, Congenital. Nephrotic Sybdrome. Syphilis).


Abstract Cancer induces a hypercoagulable state and renders patients susceptible to venous thromboembolism. While anticoagulation remains the mainstay of treatment, many of these patients require placement of an inferior vena cava (IVC) filter, often due to a contraindication to or failure of anticoagulation. In this article, the available data on IVC filter usage in cancer patients will be reviewed.


Holographic complexity proposals have sparked interest in quantifying the cost of state preparation in quantum field theories and its possible dual gravitational manifestations. The most basic ingredient in defining complexity is the notion of a class of circuits that, when acting on a given reference state, all produce a desired target state. In the present work we build on studies of circuits performing local conformal transformations in general two-dimensional conformal field theories and construct the exact gravity dual to such circuits. In our approach to holographic complexity, the gravity dual to the optimal circuit is the one that minimizes an externally chosen cost assigned to each circuit. Our results provide a basis for studying exact gravity duals to circuit costs from first principles.


ABSTRACT Tao, S.; Liu, H.B.; Wang, S.T., and Li, C.H., 2020. Construction of smart coastal cities based on digital government. In: Al-Tarawneh, O. and Megahed, A. (eds.), Recent Developments of Port, Marine, and Ocean Engineering. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 110, pp. 154–158. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. With the development of China's economy and society, the progress of urbanization has accelerated, and a series of issues such as population, transportation, and environment problems have emerged in the process of the operation and development of the cities. The concept of smart city has pointed out the direction to solve the above problems, and governments at all levels have been actively promoting the construction and development of digital cities. Based on literature review and empirical analysis, this paper takes a coastal city X of Fujian Province, China as an example to study the smart city construction process in coastal areas, it analyzes the existing problems and proposes corresponding feasible countermeasures. The research results show that digital government can promote the construction progress of smart coastal cities through top-level design and data sharing; aiming at problems such as insufficient information infrastructure and imperfect development environment, the government should guide investment to participate in the construction, innovatively develop the "Internet+" industry, and strive to create an upgraded version of smart city, the Smart Coast. This study has certain reference significance for the construction and development of smart coastal cities, and provides an effective way for the government to plan, construct and manage the digital cities.


Within the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Changes (NDACC), various remote sensing techniques are used in addition to in situ ozone sounding measurements for the long-term evaluation of the ozone vertical distribution. These techniques, using e.g. microwave spectrometers, Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometers or laser radiation (lidars), are very different in terms of vertical distribution, time sampling and precision, which can present some difficulties for the validation of satellite data or the products of the European Monitoring atmospheric composition & climate Service (MACC). A methodology was developed for the integration of profile ozone data from various sources in order to provide consistent ozone vertical distribution time series as well as tropospheric and stratospheric ozone partial columns. This methodology was developed for measurements performed in the stations forming the Alpine station (e.g. Haute-Provence Observatory OHP – France, Bern – Switzerland, Jungfraujoch – Switzerland). Ozone measurements from the ozone DIAL lidar instrument and ozone sondes at OHP, the microwave spectrometer at Bern and the FTIR spectrometer at the Jungfraujoch station were used for this purpose.


A new method is introduced to locate the layered structures in the ionosphere based on simultaneous observations of radio wave temporal intensity and phase variations in trans‐ionospheric satellite‐to‐satellite links. The method determines location of the tangent point on the trans‐ionospheric ray trajectory where gradient of refractivity is perpendicular to the ray trajectory and the influence of a layered structure on radio wave parameters is maximal. This new technique was applied to the measurements provided during CHAMP radio occultation (RO) mission. For the considered RO events, the locations of the inclined plasma layers in the lower ionosphere are found and the electron density distributions are retrieved. The method is checked by measuring the location of the tangent point on the ray trajectory in the neutral gas in the atmosphere. The results showed a fairly good agreement.


Academia, homeland security, defense, and media have accepted the perception that critical infrastructure in a future cyber war cyber conflict is the main gateway for a massive cyber assault on the U.S. The question is not if the assumption is correct or not, the question is instead of how did we arrive at that assumption. The cyber paradigm considers critical infrastructure the primary attack vector for future cyber conflicts. The national vulnerability embedded in critical infrastructure is given a position in the cyber discourse as close to an unquestionable truth as a natural law. The American reaction to Sept. 11, and any attack on U.S. soil, hint to an adversary that attacking critical infrastructure to create hardship for the population could work contrary to the intended softening of the will to resist foreign influence. It is more likely that attacks that affect the general population instead strengthen the will to resist and fight, similar to the British reaction to the German bombing campaign Blitzen in 1940. We cannot rule out attacks that affect the general population, but there are not enough adversarial offensive capabilities to attack all 16 critical infrastructure sectors and gain strategic momentum. An adversary has limited cyberattack capabilities and needs to prioritize cyber targets that are aligned with the overall strategy. Logically, an adversary will focus their OCO on operations that has national security implications and support their military operations by denying, degrading, and confusing the U.S. information environment and U.S. cyber assets.


Survival of Stage IV gastric cancer is poor. We report 2 cases of Stage IV gastric cancer with positive peritoneal washing cytology or peritoneal dissemination that were successfully treated with gastrectomy and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy( HIPEC)followed by systemic chemotherapy. Case 1: A 59-year-old woman. She was diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer and underwent gastrectomy with HIPEC. Her peritoneal washing cytology was positive during the gastrectomy. After the surgery, she underwent chemotherapy consisting of 8 courses of combination S-1 plus CPT-11 and 19 courses of PTX. It has been 5 years and 7 months since she had the surgery and she survives without recurrence of the cancer. Case 2: A 60-year-old woman. She was diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer and peritoneal dissemination(peritoneal cancer index: 3 points). She underwent gastrectomy, hemi-colectomy, and HIPEC. After the surgery, she underwent chemotherapy, 35 courses of combination S-1 plus PSK/DOC, and 13 courses of S-1 plus PSK. It has been 5 years since her surgery and she survives without exacerbation of the cancer. These cases suggest a gastrectomy and HIPEC followed by systemic chemotherapy may represent an effective treatment for advanced gastric cancer with a small amount of peritoneal metastasis.


The joint work with Valery Grikurov on thermal conductivity is recollected. This article has been written by one author only (S.Yu.S) but he dared to do it taking into account two reasons Firstly, it gives him the opportunity to recollect his scientific and human communications with late Valery Grikurov. Secondly, it permits him to discuss on an informal level how local characteristics of a media can be generalized to global characteristics of an element. This discussion also can be extended to diffraction problems.


The paper aims to capture a form of naturalism that can be found "builtin" in phenomenology, namely the idea to take science or mathematics on its own, without postulating extraneous normative "molds" on it. The paper offers a detailed comparison of Penelope Maddy's naturalism about mathematics and Husserl's approach to mathematics in Formal and Transcendental Logic (1929). It argues that Maddy's naturalizedmethodology is similar to the approach in the first part of the book. However, in the second part Husserl enters into a transcendental clarification of the evidences and presuppositions of the mathematicians' work, thus "transcendentalizing" his otherwise naturalist approach tomathematics. The result is a moderately revisionist view that takes the existing mathematical practices seriously, calls for reflection on them, and eventually gives suggestions for revisions if needed.