Abstract The case of Hizbullah offers an important opportunity to examine Islamist actors. Created during the 1980s as a religious-oriented movement with a clear Islamic agenda, it gradually shifted towards a more pragmatic position, entering Lebanese political life in 1992. In its early days Hizbullah adopted a clear anti-system posture and strongly criticised the consociational Lebanese system and the international order. By comparing three key moments in the political evolution of the movement this article analyses the strategy of Hizbullah from an anti-system perspective. The aim is to demonstrate how playing as a dual anti-system actor (as both social movement and party) on two interrelated levels (domestic and external) has been a strategic and informed political choice. Hizbullah has been able to juggle these positions over the years, activating or silencing its domestic anti-system attitude to the benefit of the external one. To have a differentiated anti-system attitude has allowed it to maintain a double (but always coherent) position in the different systems it plays, adapting its anti-system posture to the political circumstances, to its goals and to the international context.


There has been growing concern about the number of multiple gestations resulting from assisted reproductive technologies. For in-vitro fertilization (IVF), there are guidelines concerning the number of embryos to be transferred. In oocyte donation, however, there is a paucity of studies addressing this issue and common practice is extrapolated from standard IVF procedures. This may not be correct since endometrial receptivity has been shown to be altered in oocyte donation. Thus the purpose of this study was to assess the optimal number of embryos to be transferred in oocyte donation. The study population included 254 patients with ovarian failure who underwent a total of 601 embryo transfers in a single shared oocyte donation programme. Pregnancy rates (PRs), multiple pregnancies, triplet pregnancy rates, and implantation rates were evaluated according to the number of embryos transferred. A significant linear increase in PRs was noted with the increasing number of embryos transferred up to five (11.1% for one embryo, 36.7% for five embryos). Multiple pregnancies increased significantly from 15.8% for two embryos transferred, to 44.4% for five embryos. The rate of triplet pregnancies also increased from 2.7% for three embryos transferred, to 8.3% for five embryos. Optimization of the number of embryos to be transferred is discussed.


We introduce a self-supervised speech pre-training method called TERA, which stands for Transformer Encoder Representations from Alteration. Recent approaches often learn by using a single auxiliary task like contrastive prediction, autoregressive prediction, or masked reconstruction. Unlike previous methods, we use alteration along three orthogonal axes to pre-train Transformer Encoders on a large amount of unlabeled speech. The model learns through the reconstruction of acoustic frames from their altered counterpart, where we use a stochastic policy to alter along various dimensions: time, frequency, and magnitude. TERA can be used for speech representations extraction or fine-tuning with downstream models. We evaluate TERA on several downstream tasks, including phoneme classification, keyword spotting, speaker recognition, and speech recognition. We present a large-scale comparison of various self-supervised models. TERA achieves strong performance in the comparison by improving upon surface features and outperforming previous models. In our experiments, we study the effect of applying different alteration techniques, pre-training on more data, and pre-training on various features. We analyze different model sizes and find that smaller models are strong representation learners than larger models, while larger models are more effective for downstream fine-tuning than smaller models. Furthermore, we show the proposed method is transferable to downstream datasets not used in pre-training.


Demand for sustainably produced biomass is expected to increase with the need to provide renewable commodities, improve resource security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with COP26 commitments. Studies have demonstrated additional environmental benefits of using perennial biomass crops (PBCs), when produced appropriately, as a feedstock for the growing bioeconomy, including utilisation for bioenergy (with or without carbon capture and storage). PBCs can potentially contribute to Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) (2023–27) objectives provided they are carefully integrated into farming systems and landscapes. Despite significant research and development (R&D) investment over decades in herbaceous and coppiced woody PBCs, deployment has largely stagnated due to social, economic and policy uncertainties. This paper identifies the challenges in creating policies that are acceptable to all actors. Development will need to be informed by measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of greenhouse gas emissions reductions and other environmental, economic and social metrics. It discusses interlinked issues that must be considered in the expansion of PBC production: (i) available land; (ii) yield potential; (iii) integration into farming systems; (iv) R&D requirements; (v) utilisation options; and (vi) market systems and the socio‐economic environment. It makes policy recommendations that would enable greater PBC deployment: (1) incentivise farmers and land managers through specific policy measures, including carbon pricing, to allocate their less productive and less profitable land for uses which deliver demonstrable greenhouse gas reductions; (2) enable greenhouse gas mitigation markets to develop and offer secure contracts for commercial developers of verifiable low‐carbon bioenergy and bioproducts; (3) support innovation in biomass utilisation value chains; and (4) continue long‐term, strategic R&D and education for positive environmental, economic and social sustainability impacts.


Island and mainland populations of Trimerotropis pseudofasciata from California were compared with respect to the nature and extent of their percentric inversion systems. Island populations generally have more chromosomes polymorphic for centromere position than mainland populations and a considerably higher percentage of the genome in these island populations is in a structurally heterozygous state. Thus, although geographically peripheral, the islands provide habitats capable of supporting denser and more chromosomally polymorphic populations than the mainland. Chiasmata are generally localized to terminal positions in all classes of chromosomes and do not occur in the inverted regions of inversion heterozygotes. Chiasma frequency is highest in inversion homozygotes. It is hypothesized that the inversion system in T. pseudofasciata serves the dual synergistic function of preserving allelic sequences in the inversion region intact through inversion heterozygosity and limiting the generation of variability in regions outside the inversion by increasing terminal chiasmata. Additionally, it is argued that it is the gene sequence on only the inversion chromosome that is important in Trimerotropis. This condition contrasts with the "co-adapted" pattern seen in Drosophila where the gene sequences on both chromosomes in the inversion heterozygote are simultaneously important.


The content of kaolinite plus halloysite is differentiated quantitatively from chlorite by differential dissolution, even in those samples wherein each mineral has 500°C heat instability of the 7 A peak. This differentiation is possible because the structures of kaolinite and halloysite are destroyed on loss of the 7 A peak, producing amorphous material which is rapidly soluble in 0.5 N NaOH, whereas the chlorite structure remains largely intact with only partial dehydration of the octahedral layer. The amorphous residue of kaolinite-halloysite is dissolved from the other mineral components of the heated sample with sodium hydroxide and the dissolved silica and alumina are allocated to kaolinite. The percentages of kaolinite thus obtained for Elliott, B3–C horizon, 2–0.2 μ fraction, are 3.8 and 3.7 based on silica and alumina, respectively. Similarly, the percentages of kaolinite obtained for Buchanan, B1 horizon, 2-0.2 μ fraction, are 14.9 and 13.8 based on silica and alumina, respectively. Collapse of the vermiculite basal spacing to 10 A on K saturation and heating to 300°C, together with the clear differentiation of kaolinite by differential dissolution analysis (D.D.A.) above, removed the possibility of misinterpretation of the chlorite-like diffractometer tracing by kaolinite and vermiculite occurring together. Other clays, from Davidson and Susquehanna soils, had 44 and 42 to 43 percent kaolinite, based on silica and alumina, respectively. The vermiculite and montmoril-lonite contents of soil clay samples are quantitatively determined by specific surface. The mica percentages are based on the K2O after exclusion of potassium in feldspars. Water loss in the 400°C-to-ignition range gives an important quantitative basis for chlorite.


Nanotechnology is one of the most promising tools for the current revolution in agri-food sector. Nanotechnology approaches provide novel and innovative ways to improve crop yield and to reduce the use of harmful crop protection agents. Nanotechnology can be useful for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance of plants, lesser use of pesticides/insecticides/herbicides, nanosensors for crop protection from bacteria, disease treatment, pest control management and genetic manipulations by nano delivery vehicles. Also, nanotechnology has great advantages in food sector like detection of pesticides/toxicants in food items, development of food storage and packaging materials, enhancement of shelf life of foods, nanoencapsulation of food nutraceuticals or bioactive molecules, detection of pathogens in food materials, enhancement of food taste, color and odour. Above all, safety concerns regarding the use of nanomaterials should be of priority before their exploration for positive impact on agriculture and food.


Inside frame trucks were historically unacceptable on freight cars, because of bearing maintenance problems which the modern roller bearing eliminated. This paper is a design study showing the potential advantages of a modern inside frame truck particularly in improvements in reducing weight and maintenance requirements, and was inspired by a short wheelbase inside bearing four wheel truck that the auhor designed to replace the original single axle trucks on an updated version of the Iron Highway articulated integral train. The new truck had to be interchangeable with the original without frame or car structure: a four wheel truck in a two wheel space! The design was completed, operation simulated, and a truck built, but the development stopped, for economic reasons, prior to equipping a demonstration train. This effort, though, suggested that an AAR compatible version of that truck might be advantageous, and this paper outlines how and why such a truck might be built. The paper is divided into six sections: 1) Background in the Iron Highway; 2) Requirement dictating conversion to a 4 wheel truck; 3) Design of a 286,000lb. GRL North American freight truck; 4) Maintenance considerations; 5) Economic Considerations; and 6) an Annex describing testing by the Pennsylvania Railroad of Timken inside frame roller bearing trucks 80 years ago.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


- The goal of this work was to study the biology of Stenoma catenifer Walsingham on natural and artificial diets and to develop a laboratory rearing technique. Thus, three experiments were performed: a) rearing and development of S. catenifer on pulp and seed of avocado cultivars Breda and Margarida; b) rearing and development of S. catenifer on artificial diet and seeds of cultivars Margarida and Breda; and c) adaptation of S. catenifer to the artificial diet for seven generations. Morphological and biometrical parameters were used to evaluate insect development on all experiments. Larval and pupal survival, fecundity and longevity (males and females) were higher in avocado seeds than pulp. So, nutrition-wise it was a more adequate substrate despite the longer larval stage as compared to that obtained from pulp. Likewise, larval duration and survival were higher in avocado seeds than in artificial diet with five instars regardless the rearing substrate. The artificial diet used for insect rearing for seven generations proved to be suitable since the biological and morphological parameters evaluated did not change throughout all generations studied. Therefore, it is possible to rear S. catenifer using natural and artificial diet through the approaches presented in this paper.


Back ground: Toxoplasmosis is an important zoonosis that causes economic losses in animal herds due to abortion and stillbirth as well as changes in the reproductive and neural system of susceptible animals . Objective: The aims of the present study is to determination the prevalence of T. gondii in farm animals ( sheep& goat)of both genders and different ages in Sulaimani province by using two serological tests (ELISA and LAT). Methods: Blood samples were collected from farm animals ,142 sheep and 46 goats , of different sexes and ages. Tow different serological tests ,ELISA and LAT for qualitative determination of T. gondii antibody titer in sheep and goats serum samples. Results: The prevalence rate in sheep was 73 (51.7 %) and 82 (57 %) , and 21 (54.6 %) and 25 (54.35 %) in goats ,by ELISA and LAT respectively. The prevalence of toxoplasmosis was highest in age group 7-9 (66.6%) in sheep in compares' with other age groups. There was no significant differences between both spp.and tow test. Conclusion: Statistical results show no significant differences between both tests (ELISA &LAT) at (P ≥ 0.05).The prevalence of toxoplasmosis was increased proportionally with the age of animals, while gender has no effect on the prevalent rate .


This article considers two areas that arise in the context of corporate criminal investigations relating to claims of legal professional privilege: the extent to which litigation privilege may attach to communications made in the context of such investigations and the difficulty of identifying the client for the purposes of legal advice privilege. These issues are of particular significance where a company is or may be the subject of an investigation by specialist prosecuting authorities, such as the Serious Fraud Office. We identify the policy considerations justifying litigation privilege and whether they continue to explain the current ambit of the privilege. With particular reference to the extent to which the privilege is capable of attaching to communications made for the purpose of working towards a potential settlement, we consider how the constraints upon its ambit operate in the context of corporate criminal investigations. In relation to legal advice privilege, we demonstrate that it is possible to give a coherent explanation of the jurisprudence in this area which, while accepting that decisions are fact-specific, should enable corporations and the courts to identify the client within the corporation with a greater degree of confidence.


Greater attention has lately been paid to the microscopical study of clay-slates and slate-clays, giving rise to a number of researches the results of which may be found in the classical paper of Zirkel. The principal object of these investigations has been to discuss the origin and formation of the crystalline constituents contained in clay-slates, and they have chiefly extended from Silurian and Devonian to rocks of the recent period. Such clay-slates as belong to Archæan districts might also claim the privilege of a certain interest, especially as the presence of these crystalline constituents has been used to solve geological problems. The clay-slates which I have examined occur in the Huronian region of Lake Superior. The respective rocks are in the collection of Major T. B. Brooks, Marquette, Michigan, who placed them at my disposal, chiefly for the sake of microscopical examination. Hermann Credner in his paper, "Die vorsilurischen Gebilde der 'Oberen Halbinsel' von Michigan, in Nord-Amerika," gives us a partial description of the geological appearance of these rocks. Further information may be obtained from the Geological Survey of Michigan, to which we shall refer hereafter.


Certification of safety-critical systems according to well-recognised standards is the norm in many industries where the failure of such systems can harm people or the environment. Certification bodies examine such systems, based on evidence that the system suppliers provide, to ensure that the relevant safety risks have been sufficiently mitigated. The evidence is aimed at satisfying the requirements of the standards used for certification, and naturally a key prerequisite for effective collection of evidence, is that the supplier be aware of these requirements and the evidence they require. This often proves to be a very challenging task because of the sheer size of the standards and the fact that the textual standards are amenable to subjective interpretation. In this paper, we propose an approach based on UML profiles and model-driven engineering. It addresses not only the above challenge but also enables the automated verification of compliance to standards based on evidence. Specifically, a profile is created, based on a conceptual model of a given standard, which provides a succinct and explicit interpretation of the underlying standard. The profile is augmented with constraints that help system suppliers with establishing a relationship between the concepts in the safety standard of interest and the concepts in the application domain. This in turn enables suppliers to demonstrate how their system development artifacts achieve compliance to the standard. We illustrate our approach by showing how the concepts in the domain of sub-sea control systems can be aligned with the evidence requirements in the IEC61508 standard, which is one of the most commonly used certification standard for control systems.


Abstract The original therapeutic community movement has seen a variety of interpretations that may bear little resemblance to the original model. The democratic model concept of social learning offers one approach to further social maturation and personality change. The programmatic or concept model offers another approach based on a behavior code and behavioral concepts. Both of these communities are human groups and appear to share the hereditary behavior of such groups. A Darwinian approach is used to facilitate understanding of both communities. A generic biosocial therapeutic community is described.


An inhibitory effect of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) on delayed hypersensitivity skin test responses in guinea-pigs given 4000 i.u. of HCG intraperitoneally, 1--7 days prior to skin testing, is presented. The effect of HCG on skin test responses lasted for at least 3 weeks. Inhibition of lymphocyte response to PHA or PPD in the HCG-treated guinea-pigs was also observed. Guinea-pig peripheral blood lymphocyte response to mitogen or antigen is unequivocally inhibited by HCG in vitro. The effect of this hormone is not due to direct cytotoxicity, and its inhibitory effect seems to be dose related. These observations support the hypothesis that the HCG and possibly other placental hormones might play an important role in protecting the foetus against maternal rejection.


This paper reconstructs the roots of configurational analysis in organization theory and organizational economics, focusing on the elements of configurational thinking that are particularly relevant to organizational design; and outlining some future prospects for a configurational theory of organization design. We detect the presence of configurational ideas in many organization theories and organizational economics approaches. We argue that this, seldom acknowledged, continuity extends and enriches the implications of configurational analysis for organization design. In addition, we define and identify "structural heterogeneity" as an organizational property that can be distinctively studied by configurational analysis, distinguishing between internal heterogeneity –diversity of organizational attributes within one configurationand external heterogeneity –diversity of organizational configurations under the same environmental conditions. Some of the insights that can be gained through a configurational analysis of structural heterogeneity are illustrated through a fs/QCA study of a multi-industry sample of firms.


Similarly to evolving controllers for single robots also controllers for groups of robots can be generated by applying evolutionary algorithms. Usually a fitness function rewards desired behavioral features. Here we investigate an alternative method that generates collective behaviors almost only as a by-product. We roughly follow the idea of Helmholtz that perception is a process based on probabilistic inference and evolve an internal model that is supposed to predict the agent's future perceptions. Separated from this prediction model the agent also evolves a regular controller. Direct selective pressure, however, is only effective on the prediction model by minimizing prediction error (surprise). Our results show that a number of basic collective behaviors emerge by this approach, such as dispersion, aggregation, and flocking. The probability that a certain behavior emerges and also the difficulty of making correct predictions depends on the swarm density. The reported method has potential to be another simple approach to open-ended evolution analogical to the search for novelty.


AbstractThis manuscript investigates some instability features in granular materials by considering an elementary grain arrangement on the intermediate scale. Although force chains have long been recognized as playing a basic role in the strength of granular specimens, the collaborative contribution of grain loops (grain arrangement) has been highlighted more recently. As a result, the stability of grain loops is expected to strongly govern the stability of the whole assembly. This paper shows that such elementary patterns can be destabilized even though the contact law between granules is elastic. This behavior stems from the nature of the kinematical model describing the geometrical interaction between neighboring grains.


This study explored the possibility of estimating nitrogen content in a pasture grass using thermal images and artificial neural networks (ANN), based on the premise that plant herbage with a higher N content would be absorbing more light energy for active photosynthesis, therefore emitting excess energy as heat. This is the first reported study to use thermal infrared images and ANN to estimate pasture nitrogen content under different conditions of nitrogen (N) fertiliser. The research was conducted in a controlled- climate environment to isolate the effect of a key environmental parameter, available soil N, on pasture grass herbage temperatures. The project was the first step towards developing a smart fertiliser spreader to manage N applications based on plant temperature. A small glasshouse pot experiment was conducted to determine the degree of the correlations between leaf N content and the surface temperatures of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) herbage. Using a thermal imaging camera, periodic measurements of the herbage surface temperatures were made in conjunction with herbage cuts and analysis of grass dry matter for % N content. At the same time, other environmental factors, such as air temperature and humidity, were also measured. As data constituted the core of the study, the database should be flexible, accessible and simple, for both data entry and data analysis. Subsequently, an ANN model was developed to predict N content based on herbage temperatures and the other factors measured. The final ANN model was developed based on three input variables: plant temperature, number of days after planting, and number of days after the last nitrogen application, with an error margin of ± 0.93 and ± 0.87 %N for the training and validation data, respectively. Comparing actual and predicted data showed that the ANN model could be fitted to pasture nitrogen content and accounted for around 84% and 92% of the variance in the training and validation data, respectively. The outcome of this study will aid the development of technology for estimating nitrogen content of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) under field conditions which was seen as critical in the design of an advanced fertiliser spreader to manage nitrogen application on farms.


Our public-facing website #Huh (Helping U Help) – www.grampianclinicalresearch.com – has been designed to engage public, patients and staff in clinical research. We have included views from patients and the public in its design and content, using multiple methods to gather feedback, some proving more successful than others. This article presents how our website was developed, including the different methods we used to gather views from the patients and public before, during and after its development. We hope that this paper will give useful insights to other people interested in incorporating stakeholder feedback into their own work.


Two new secophragmalin-type limonoids, secotrichagmalins B (1) and C (2) along with two known compounds, were isolated from the fruits of Trichilia connaroides. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by analysis of spectroscopic (IR, MS, and 2D NMR) data and single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. In addition, semisynthetic derivatives (2a-2l) were efficiently synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxicity along with the isolated limonoids against a panel of human cancer cell lines. The results indicated that new analogues 2a, 2d, and 2e showed cytotoxicity on the DU145 cell line with IC50 values of 3.6, 4.2, and 5.2 μM, respectively. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that these analogues arrested the cell cycle in the G0/G1 phase and markedly induced apoptosis.


The aim of the study was to investigate factors that may prevent small-scale farmers from succeeding. Poor sheep production is generally associated with the ineffective management of these production systems. It would therefore be valuable to assess small-scale farmers' management of sheep production systems to investigate what causes the high rate of morbidity and mortality as well as increased costs of maintenance associated with ineffective sheep production systems. The management practices followed in the production of sheep, including reproduction, nutrition, and health management; the management of farming equipment; and marketing strategies were also investigated. Structured questionnaires were used to gather the required data from small-scale farmers in the Eastern Free State, South Africa. The questionnaire was designed to include both open and closed-ended questions and was administered through personal interviews. A total of 40 small-scale farmers participated in the study. The results revealed that the specific limiting factors that small-scale farmers face are poor animal health management skills, poor animal nutritional management, and inadequate support services from the government and other related stakeholders. Furthermore, insufficient land availability to expand production, inadequate agricultural farming equipment, a lack of reproduction and production management skills, and poor marketing skills were the most obvious challenges. Finally, the results from the study highlighted that agricultural extensionists have a crucial role to play in improving the sheep production systems of smallscale farmers as they are well positioned to render training and advisory services. If the Department of Agriculture (DoA) joins forces with agricultural institutions like the Red Meat Producers Organisation (RPO), the National Wool Growers Association (NWGA), and breeders' societies, this objective will be achieved. Keywords: Emerging sheep farmer, sheep production, constraints, production systems, Eastern Free State


Oklahoma's position improved during 1941 by increasing production about 2¼ million barrels to total 152,013,942 barrels. Estimated reserves at the close of 1941 were 1,035,820,000 barrels, an increase of 34,000,000 barrels over 1940. The Oklahoma production curve paralleled the national production curve from 1930 through 1937. The drop in national production in 1938 was corrected in 1939 and national production has continued to rise since that year. Oklahoma on the other hand steadily declined through 1938, 1939, and 1940. The small gain in production and reserves in 1941 is the first hopeful sign in several years. Production increase is due largely to development of pools discovered prior to 1941. However, 43 new pool discoveries are listed for the year. Of these, A ache is the most important, but its discovery came too late in the year materially to affect production. An encouraging sign is the continued successful search for oil in the older areas, such as the Seminole region and Okfuskee County. Geophysical activity was widespread and included all the present-day methods. There was an average of 25 seismograph parties operating in the state, totaling 281½ crew months of work, an increase of 36 crew months for the year. Nearly three-fourths of all the new discoveries are credited to seismograph surveys. Gravimeters and magnetometers continued in use and the stratigraphic drill was used more than in previous years. There were 2,162 wells drilled during the year, of which 1,489 produced oil or gas. Of these, 271 were exploratory wells drilled following the exploratory surveys. Seventy of these wells were completed as producers, and 43 are classed as new pool openers. End_of_Article - Last_Page 901------------


In this follow up to Brain vs Computer: The Challenge of the Century, Jean-Pierre Fillard brings together diverse perspectives to address the recurring theme of rivalry between man and machine. Accelerated by recent events such as the Covid-19 pandemic that caught the world by surprise and brought it to a standstill, the use of technology has become more relevant than ever. What new conclusions can we draw in this debate featuring humans (brain) on the one side, and artificial intelligence (computer) on the other? Featuring brand new content including a complementary perspective from the arts, the author balances the argument from the traditional scientific approach of logic, rationality, and computation with instinct, intuition, and emotion. Read together with his latest offerings Longevity in a 2.0 World and Transhumanism: A Realistic Future? this trilogy culminates in an attempt to answer one of the most exciting questions of our time. © 2021 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.


Calonectria pseudonaviculata (Cps) poses an increasing threat to boxwood, a major nursery crop and iconic landscape plant worldwide. Here, we report on a potent biocontrol agent that produces small sage green (SSG) colonies on potato dextrose agar. SSG is a bacterial strain recovered from Justin Brouwers boxwood leaves with unusual response to Cps inoculation. Water-soaked symptoms developed on leaves 2 days after inoculation then disappeared a few days later. This endophyte affected several major steps of the boxwood blight disease cycle. SSG at 107 cfu/mL lysed all conidia in mixed broth culture. SSG at 108 cfu/mL reduced blight incidence by >98% when applied one day before or 3 h after boxwood were inoculated with Cps. Its control efficacy decreased with decreasing bacterial concentration to 103 cfu/mL and increasing lead time up to 20 days. When applied on diseased leaf litter under boxwood plants, SSG reduced Cps sporulation and consequently mitigated blight incidence by 90%. SSG was identified as a new member of the Burkholderia cepacia complex with distinct characters from known clinical strains. With these protective, curative, and sanitizing properties, this Burkholderia endophyte offers great promise for sustainable blight management at production and in the landscape.


As the semiconductor industry converts more of its fabs to relatively expensive 200 mm wafers, concerns for the costs of experimentation must increase. Many semiconductor processes involve 6 or more process inputs, and many of those inputs act together (factor interactions) or with nonlinear relationships to control outputs. Classical experimental design courses explain the need to build information sequentially to characterize a process fully. This paper contrasts alternative experimental scenarios regarding relative cost versus information content and describes a technique adopted for a number of process characterization investigations at SEMATECH and its member companies. The paper further illustrates the use of a commercial software product that fully supports these methods in a user-friendly environment which is available on a variety of computing platforms.<<ETX>>


Achromobacter protease I (API), a serine protease, shows an order of magnitude higher activity than bovine trypsin. The optimum pH of mutant enzymes with His210 replaced by Ser (H210S) and Trp169 replaced by Phe (W169F) has been shown to shift from approximately pH 9 (wild-type enzyme) to approximately pH 7 while retaining high activity. The mutants were crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion technique with 2 M ammonium sulfate as the precipitant. The space group of the W169F mutant crystal was P1, with unit-cell parameters a = 42.6, b = 34.7, c = 69.5 Å, α = 91.8, β = 97.5, γ = 89.9°, while the space group of the H210S mutant crystal was P2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 42.4, b = 34.2, c = 67.7 Å, β = 97.6°. Diffraction data were collected from W169F and H210S crystals to resolutions of 2.0 and 2.3 Å, respectively.


In this paper, we explore how narrative loss may impact upon one's sense of self and the spiritual process of meaning-making and purpose. We argue that we are narrative beings that make sense of our selves and our social, physical, and ideational worlds in and through narrative and that this process, which involves matters of purpose, truth, and values, is at one and the same time a spiritual activity, as both spirituality and narrative involve a sense of openness and indeterminacy, and the generation of meaning and purpose. As we age, however, physical, mental and social changes may disrupt how we narrativize our lives, and social and ideological (or meta-) narratives might frame what stories we can tell, and how we can tell them, in ways different from the past. We explore some of the narrative losses associated with aging and then, drawing on practices in spiritual direction, discuss some possible ways of countering such losses, in particular the development of narrative literacy, the re-ignition of narrative desire, the making of narrative connections, and the deepening of autobiographical reasoning. In this way, we hope to illustrate how narrative works in the spiritual lives of older adults.


The authors present the fabrication and characterization of molecular transistors comprising at most a small number of molecules, which display a distinct chemical function. The fabrication involves a self-aligned technique capable of patterning metal electrodes with interelectrode separations of ∼2nm with very high yield. The electrodes are bridged by molecules with a metal-ion core which can be inserted by in situ designed chemical reaction. The presence or absence of the ion modulates the electrical conductance of the device.


Standard genetic nomenclature is necessary to help researchers, clinicians, and the public to access data on their genes of interest, and to communicate in a globally understood language of approved gene symbols. In both human and mouse, one unique symbol (acronym/abbreviation) and one name are assigned for each gene. Co‐ordination between human and mouse gene nomenclature is a successful endeavor, due in part to the historical interaction between the two nomenclature committee groups. This interaction grew out of the Human Gene Mapping (HGM) Workshops. This appendix discusses development and organization of gene nomenclature, how to find a gene and how to name a new gene.


This study examined inexperienced listeners' perceptions of children's naturally produced /r/ sounds with reference to levels of accuracy determined by consensus between two expert clinicians. Participants rated /r/ sounds as fully correct, distorted or incorrect/non-rhotic. Second and third formant heights were measured to explore the relationship between acoustic cues and perceptual judgments. Inexperienced listeners' agreement was greater for correct productions than for distorted or incorrect/non-rhotic productions. In addition, inexperienced listeners' differentiation of intermediate versus fully incorrect /r/ had lower sensitivity and specificity relative to an acoustically defined threshold than experienced listeners' classification. These findings are consistent with results of previous studies highlighting the difficulty in identifying gradations of correctness in misarticulated /r/, and they suggest that this ability may be influenced by clinical experience. Additionally, all listeners were noted to be more consistent in rating vocalic /r/ than consonantal /r/. Implications for clinician training and treatment planning are discussed.


We evaluated the data of working environment measurements of chemical materials, which is estimated at class 2 or 3 management division, in Tohoku University from 2005 to 2008 , and examined present problems in environmental safety and health at University. According to these data, a few work places in our university needed the improvement for suitable work place. There are several environmental health and safety problems in there, which were mainly caused by work management. Then they have taken the necessary corrective measures to be suitable circumstances. We concluded that the work places circumstances in university are dependent upon the work management level by labors, researchers and students, so it is important for them to educate environmental health and safety, and devel-op their ability and mind to assess and manage the risk of their own work in their work place.


Given the wide industrial use of chromium (Cr) and its environmental contamination, chromium represents a risk to humans exposed to the metal. Considering that Cr(VI) is a potent oxidizing agent that increases intracellular oxidation and DNA damage, it would be worth considering the pretreatment of cells with antioxidants as a means of preventing Cr(VI)-induced toxicity. The objective of this study was to pretreat yeast cells with the water-soluble vitamin E analogue Trolox in an effort to increase cell tolerance against reactive chromium and reactive oxygen species formed during Cr(VI) reduction. Results revealed a decrease in Cr(VI)-induced cytotoxicity and mitotic gene conversions in Trolox-pretreated cells. The protective effect of Trolox in Cr(VI) induced genotoxicity was confirmed also with the prokaryotic Salmonella typhimurium SOS/umu test. Pretreatment of cells with Trolox (1) increased total Cr bioaccumulation, (2) decreased Cr(VI)-induced intracellular oxidation, (3) decreased Cr(V) persistence and (4) increased OH• formation in yeast extracts. These findings might be useful in directing future investigations concerning the use of Trolox as a human antioxidant supplement, and in clinical applications related to Cr-induced genotoxicity in occupational and environmental situations where chromium is a problem.


A 77-year-old man showed Cheyne-Stokes respiration (CSR) without a consciousness disturbance. In each apneic period of CSR, he became mute. In the apneic and mute state, he could open his mouth or protrude his tongue, but he could not breath or speak. In this patient, it was evident that not only phonation but also speech was under the control of respiration. Neuroimaging technique revealed an infarction in the right anterior cingulate gyrus and supplementary motor area as well as the entire perfusion area of the right middle cerebral artery. Marked atrophy of bilateral cerebral hemispheres was also observed. In this case, destruction of the right cingulate gyrus was thought to manifest occult functional fluctuation of the left cingulate gyrus influenced by the respiratory control mechanisms. This case suggested that the limbic system integrates the speech mechanism and the respiratory mechanism.


We consider the effects of vacuum polarization and proton cyclotron resonances on the propagation of radiation through a strongly magnetized plasma. We analyze the conditions under which the photons evolve adiabatically through the resonant density and find that the adibaticity condition is satisfied for most photon energies of interest, allowing for a normal-mode treatment of the photon propagation. We then construct radiative equilibrium atmosphere models of strongly magnetized neutron stars that includes these effects, employing a new numerical method that resolves accurately the sharp changes of the absorption and mode-coupling cross sections at the resonant densities. We show that the resulting spectra are modified by both resonances and are harder at all field strengths than a blackbody at the effective temperature. We also show that the narrow absorption features introduced by the proton cyclotron resonance have small equivalent widths. We discuss the implications of our results for properties of thermal emission from the surfaces of young neutron stars.


The two‐dimensional (2-D) reflection path from a dipping plane between an offset source‐receiver combination in a constant velocity medium can be described with several parameters (coordinates, offsets, angles, and lengths). Although there are many parameters, only four independent ones are needed to locally determine the reflection geometry. Given four determining parameters, the evaluations of other ones present problems that range from trivial to formidable. The circumscribed circle about the source, receiver, and specular point turns out to have a number of remarkable properties that are useful for the solution of these problems. The radius of the circle is a useful new auxiliary parameter. Triangles constructed in the circle provide nonintuitive mathematical relationships between angles and lengths. The use of mathematical relations derived from the circle has allowed the creation of formulas to fully recover the reflection geometry in a vast majority of valid sets of four known parameters. This circ...


Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the charging of Li2MnO3 reveal that the reason nanocrystalline-Li2MnO3 is electrochemically active, in contrast to the parent bulk-Li2MnO3, is because in the nanomaterial the tunnels, in which the Li ions reside, are held apart by Mn ions, which act as a pseudo 'point defect scaffold'. The Li ions are then able to diffuse, via a vacancy driven mechanism, throughout the nanomaterial in all spatial dimensions while the 'Mn defect scaffold' maintains the structural integrity of the layered structure during charging. Our findings reveal that oxides, which comprise cation disorder, can be potential candidates for electrodes in rechargeable Li-ion batteries. Moreover, we propose that the concept of a 'point defect scaffold' might manifest as a more general phenomenon, which can be exploited to engineer, for example, two or three-dimensional strain within a host material and can be fine-tuned to optimize properties, such as ionic conductivity.


ABSTRACT The first European case of bat rabies was reported in 1954. Since then, more than 800 cases have been confirmed from 13 countries. The causative agents are European Bat Lyssavirus Type-1 (EBLV-1) and Type-2 (EBLV-2). The natural host of EBLV-1 seems to be the serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus) with more than 95% of all cases reported in this species. Although much fewer EBLV-2 cases have been identified, it seems that Myotis dasycneme and M. daubentonii are likely to be the principal hosts' species for this virus. The ecological mechanisms underlying the transmission of EBLV-1 and EBLV-2 are still poorly understood. In order to assess the public health risks associated with EBLVs and the implications for bat conservation, some issues need urgent clarification. In this review some of the most pressing topics will be addressed. Only collaboration between a range of disciplines that include virologists, epidemiologists and bat conservationists will be able to elucidate some of these unanswered questions.


Cryptococcus albidus grown on wood xylans possesses a soluble intracellular beta-xylosidase (EC 184.108.40.206) as an additional constituent of the xylan-degrading enzyme system of this yeast. The enzyme attacks linear 1,4-beta-xylooligosaccharides in an exo-fashion, liberating xylose from the non-reducing ends. The activity of the enzyme increases in the cells during growth on xylan and incubation with xylobiose or methyl beta-D-xylopyranoside which are the best inducers of extracellular beta-xylanase (EC 22.214.171.124). Various alkyl-,alkyl-1-thio- and aryl beta-D-xylopyranosides were excellent inducers of a different beta-xylosidase of Cryptococcus albidus. This enzyme is localized outside the plasma membrane and is principally associated with cell walls. Unlike the soluble intracellular beta-xylosidase, the wall-bound enzyme does not hydrolyze xylooligosaccharides. Evidence has been obtained that beta-xylosidase activity in the cell walls is not due to the presence of a specific aryl beta-xylosidase, but is exhibited by a nonspecific beta-glucosidase (EC 22.214.171.124) inducible by beta-D-xylopyranosides. The ratio of beta-glucosidase and beta-xylosidase activity in the cells and isolated cell walls from yeast induced by various beta-xylopyranosides and beta-glucopyranosides was very similar. Both wall-bound activities were inhibited in a similar pattern by inhibitors of beta-glucosidases, 1,5-gluconolactone and nojirimycin. This bifunctional enzyme does not bear any relationship to the utilization of xylans in Cryptococcus albidus.


The phase diagram under magnetic fields in the organic Mott system κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br in which the bandwidth was tuned by the substitution of deuterated molecules was studied by means of the resistivity measurements. The lower critical point of the first-order Mott transition, which ended on the upper critical field Hc2-temperature plane of the superconductivity, was found in addition to the previously observed upper critical end point. The lower critical end point moved to a lower temperature together with the suppression of Tc in magnetic fields and then it reached T = 0 when H > HC2 in the end.


This paper used Feldman's clues to factitious illness behavior on the Internet (FIBI), to determine whether the online behaviour of one member of an online breast cancer support community www.breastcancerclick.com , moderated by a specialist breast cancer nurse (SBCN), could be Munchausen by Internet (MBI) and why identification of this behaviour is important for online nursing practice. This was a focused ethnonetnographic and qualitative research study whereby the online behaviour of one member was observed and compared with Feldman's clues to factitious behaviour on the Internet. The online data showed that nine out of ten of Feldman's clues were applicable to the member's behavior in the Click online community. The relevance of these findings are discussed in relation to the effects this behaviour can have on other community members, the attendant legal ramifications and the necessity for nurses and other health professionals, who are employed or who participate in online support communities, to be aware of this behaviour and how to recognize it.


The largest single immigration of Germans to the United States, and the most unusual, occurred in Texas around the middle of the nineteenth century. The organization formed to direct this German colonization of Texas became popularly known as the Adelsverein (The Society of Noblemen). The key figure in this settlement was Carl, Prince of Solms-Braunfel, appointed Commissioner-General by the Adelsverein. Solms' diary of this time was discovered in documents relating to the Adelsverein and has been translated here for the first time.


Simulation experiments were carried out in the Environmental Wind Tunnel to understand the vertical spread of pollutants ( z ) in simulated Atmospheric boundary layers .The vertical profiles of line source dispersion followed power law profile, the concentration of the tracer showed decreasing trend with increase in height above the tunnel floor and downwind distance. Twenty one hydrocarbon tracer experiments were performed to evaluate( z ) in simulated Atmospheric boundary layers corresponding to three different terrain roughness and approaching wind direction of 90 o .It showed an increasing trend with the downwind distance. The observed values were compared with that of Rao and Keenan (1) field values. it is concluded that they were in same trend, but the observed values were higher than that of Rao and Keenan 1 . This is due to fact that field experiments were done in low roughness conditions.


The radio spectrum that governments license to mobile operators is central to the quality and affordability of mobile broadband services. However, some government policies – inadvertently or not – result in high prices being paid to access spectrum. This empirical study assesses whether high spectrum prices, and other aspects of spectrum management, had an impact on consumer welfare in 64 countries during the 2010-2017 period. Our empirical strategy isolates the impact of spectrum pricing on consumer outcomes by applying an instrumental variable model and also by considering the 'affordability' of spectrum as a percentage of operator revenues. We find strong evidence that higher spectrum prices cause negative consumer outcomes, including lower coverage levels and slower data speeds. These findings have important ramifications for governments and regulators – particularly those betting on 4G and 5G as enablers of economic growth and sustainable development.


This paper presents a study of the effects of annealing on the micromagnetic properties of encapsulated Permalloy films. The stress relaxation during annealing causes observable changes in the micro-magnetic state of the Permalloy. The amount of stress relaxation is highly sensitive to the shape of the Permalloy film and the encapsulation material. After Permalloy films with negative magnetostrictive coefficient are annealed, the easy axis of bar-shape yokes remains in the transversal direction while those of ring-shape yokes and heart-shape yokes rotate so that the easy axis is normal to the film edge. The annealing properties of bar-shape Permalloy films in six different encapsulation structures are compared. Permalloy films encapsulated entirely in hardbaked photoresist are consistently more stable. The uneven external stress is absorbed by the relatively softer hardbaked photoresist buffer layer and is re-distributed evenly to the Permalloy. A better control of the anisotropy of the Permalloy yoke can be obtained by placing a hardbaked photoresist buffer layer between the alumina overcoat and the Permalloy. >


Attention is given to a repairable system which is subject to catastrophic failures while it is in operation or under repair. The topic of investigation is the time-dependent point availability measure of the system, which is obtained in terms of the repair and failure time distributions and in the form of convolution integrals that are readily evaluated by means of known computational algorithms. Also derived are expressions for this measure that are useful for estimating the parameters of the model according to the data available. An application of the model is considered. >


Colonialism is a highly gendered process whose effects are disproportionately felt by women, and within the context of the settler state of Canada, by Indigenous women. The imposition of Euro-Canadian gender norms upon Indigenous Peoples by the settler Canadian government was driven by an explicit goal of assimilation. Consequently, Indigenous women have had their important positions within their communities as matriarchs, elders, midwives, healers, and other positions of significance undermined. While there are numerous dimensions to the Canadian government's attempt to force Indigenous women into subservient gender roles, this paper is a historical analysis that focuses on the government's attempt to exert control over the bodies and sexuality of Indigenous women, alongside restrictions placed upon Indigenous women that limited their ability to pursue midwifery following the introduction of the Indian Act in 1876.


The aim of this master's thesis is to determine the irreducible representations of a simple Lie algebra over an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero that decompose in at most two irreducible summands, when restricted to a simple subalgebra. We will study the case of a Lie algebra of type G2, whose long roots form a root system of type A2, and the embedding of a Lie algebra of type Bn into a Lie algebra of type Dn+1. For this purpose, we will recall some basic notions about Lie algebras and their representation theory, and give some specific results for our work. We will especially explain an inductive method to determine these irreducible representations, for the case of Bn in Dn+1. Acknowledgement I would like to thank Professor Donna Testerman for her support and for the long time she spent helping me through the realisation of this project. I am grateful that she suggested me this great subject for my master's thesis, that I really enjoyed. I would also like to thank Mikaël Cavallin for his useful advices and help.


For particular commercial kitchen, using CFD software to build model according to the actual operation condition uttermost, adopting the exhaust system of up-suction hood, the effect of exhaust airflow rate on working temperature,velocity,CO2 concentration at main site in commercial kitchen is studied. According to the common four calculation methods of airflow rate of exhaust hood, the simulation results shows 4.81 m3/s of exhaust system can realize eliminating harmful gas quickly and effectively, IAQ is good relatively. Based on of it, additional airflow rate can not improve emissions effect and operating conditions obviously, whereas it can be detrimental to save energy. The simulation results help design exhaust system.


Background: New therapies with prognostic benefits have been recently introduced in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) management. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic power of current listing criteria for heart transplantation (HT) in an HFrEF cohort submitted to cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) between 2009 and 2014 (group A) and between 2015 and 2018 (group B). Methods: Consecutive patients with HFrEF who underwent CPET were followed-up for cardiac death and urgent HT. Results: CPET was performed in 487 patients. The composite endpoint occurred in 19.4% of group A vs. 7.4% of group B in a 36-month follow-up. Peak VO2 (pVO2) and VE/VCO2 slope were the strongest independent predictors of mortality. International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) thresholds of pVO2 ≤ 12 mL/kg/min (≤14 if intolerant to β-blockers) and VE/VCO2 slope > 35 presented a similar and lower Youden index, respectively, in group B compared to group A, and a lower positive predictive value. pVO2 ≤ 10 mL/kg/min and VE/VCO2 slope > 40 outperformed the traditional cut-offs. An ischemic etiology subanalysis showed similar results. Conclusion: ISHLT thresholds showed a lower overall prognostic effectiveness in a contemporary HFrEF population. Novel parameters may be needed to improve risk stratification.


Rocky seabeds, as an integral part of ecotopes in marine ecosystems, are actively inhabited by diatoms and cyanobacteria. It is currently unknown whether the element contents in the surface layer of seabed rocks affect the epilithon species composition and abundance in microphytobenthos communities in the sea. The results of this study on the rock surface element composition and correlation analysis of the element contents with the abundance of epilithon diatoms and cyanobacteria in three bays in Sevastopol (Black Sea) are presented. Ca, Fe, and Si were the major elements with the largest weight fraction in the rock surface layer. Using cluster analysis, the differentiation of samples in the content and distribution of these three elements was shown. In total, 63 taxa of diatoms and 20 species of cyanobacteria were found, with their abundance ranging from 14,000 to 17,6000 cells/cm2 and from 12,000 to 1,198,000 cells/cm2, respectively. In general, it was found that the elemental composition of the rock surface is not a decisive factor affecting the total abundance of the benthic diatom and cyanobacterial communities as no strong correlations with any element contents were observed. However, when analyzing the abundance of populations of certain largely non-dominant species, the majority of diatoms showed noticeable (r = 0.5–0.7) to very high (r = 0.9–0.99) correlations with Fe. The highest positive correlations were noted for the diatoms Bacillaria paxillifer and Navicula directa with Fe. For the cyanobacteria Chroococcus minutus, Pseudanabaena minima, and Spirulina subsalsa, strong positive correlations with Ca and negative correlations with Si were observed. The correlations with Fe were very strong and negative for Lyngbya confervoides and strong and positive for Kamptonema laetevirens and Phormidium holdenii.


Diversification—investing in imperfectly correlated assets—reduces volatility without sacrificing expected returns. Although the expected return of a diversified portfolio is the weighted average return of its constituent parts, the variance of the portfolio is less than the weighted average variance of its constituent parts. Our results suggest that very few people have correct statistical intuitions about the effects of diversification. The average person in our data sees no benefit of diversification in terms of reducing portfolio volatility. Many people, especially those low in financial literacy, believe diversification actually increases the volatility of a portfolio. These people seem to believe that the unpredictability of individual assets compounds when aggregated together. Additionally, most people believe diversification increases the expected return of a portfolio. Many of these people correctly link diversification with the concept of risk reduction but seem to understand risk reduction to mean greater returns on average. We show that these beliefs can lead people to construct investment portfolios that mismatch investors' risk preferences. Furthermore, these beliefs may help explain why many investors are underdiversified. This paper was accepted by Yuval Rottenstreich, decision analysis.


We study decompositions of Nakano type varying exponent Lebesgue norms and spaces. These function spaces are represented here in a natural way as tractable varying $\ell^p$ sums of projection bands. The main results involve embedding the varying Lebesgue spaces to such sums, as well as the corresponding isomorphism constants. The main tool applied here is an equivalent variable Lebesgue norm which is defined by a suitable ordinary differential equation introduced recently by the author. We also analyze the effect of transformations changing the ordering of the unit interval on the values of the ODE-determined norm.


Hedge funds commonly misreport returns by overstating their reported performance. We study the conditions that affect hedge fund managers' propensity to misreport and the effects of misreporting on performance measurement and investment decisions. First, misreporting is most prevalent in large funds, in funds that have strongly performance-dependent flows, and during months of positive capital flows. These empirical findings are consistent with a simple model where hedge fund managers have three motives to misreport returns: charging a higher management fee, attraction of larger capital flows in the future, and wealth transfer from the new investors to the old investors in the fund. Second, misreporting smooths returns, decreases the estimates of risks, and increases estimates of risk-adjusted returns. Finally, misreporting affects investors' decisions: misreporting funds receive higher capital flows.


When people speak or write about their experience of depression, a small number of metaphors often dominate their accounts. This article uses two graphic memoirs to show how comics artists may creatively transform such entrenched metaphors by drawing on the sociocultural conventions and formal properties of the medium.


Background The ability to inhibit a response is a component of executive control that is impaired in many individuals with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and may contribute to clinical symptoms. This study explored whether neural processing during response inhibition, measured using magnetoencephalography (MEG), differed in a sample of medication-naïve youth with OCD, compared to typically developing controls (TDC). Methods Data was acquired from 20 medication-naïve children and youth with OCD (11.9 ± 2.1 SD years) and 14 TDC (12.3 ± 2.1 SD years). MEG was used to localize and characterize neural activity during a Go/No-Go task. Regional differences in amplitude of activity during a Go and No-Go condition between OCD versus TDC were examined. Results In response to the visual cue presented during the Go condition, participants with OCD showed significantly increased amplitude of activity in the primary motor (MI) cortex compared to TDC. A trend towards decreased amplitude of activity in the orbitofrontal cortex in OCD versus TDC was also found during stop errors in the No-Go condition. Conclusion Our preliminary study in a small medication-naïve sample suggests that neural response within motor and orbitofrontal regions may be altered during Go/No-Go Task performance, and that MEG as an imaging tool may be sensitive to detecting such differences.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

Background: ERG gene rearrangements and PTEN genomic deletions have been shown to be associated with specific molecular subtype of prostate cancer (PCA). It has been also suggested that tumors showing those two genetic aberrations are associated with worse prognosis compared to tumors with none of those genetic aberrations. In this study, we investigated gene expression differences between those two classes of tumors to identify potential genetic targets and pathways Material and Methods: 6144 informative genes belonging to 59 HRPCA samples were previously studied using the DASL platform. We used Singular Value Decomposition (SVD), as an effective method for analyzing gene expression data based on their ERG and PTEN status. We used the normal prostate cell line RWPE-1 as well as different prostate cancer cell lines (LNCaP, VCaP, DU145 and PC-3) to validate the results of microarray expression profiling. We screened for the expression of the different proteins by means of real time PCR and western blot studies. Results: MMP1 and LEF1 protein expression was much higher in VCaP cells and almost absent in RWPE-1 cells while MEIS2, CHD5 and Syntenin were expressed differently between cell lines and were not specifically in VCaP which is only cell line that harbor the ERG fusion. Conclusion: In this preliminary study we show that MPP1 and LEF-1 might be associated with the TMPRSS2-ERG fusion since their expression was much higher in VCaP cell line compared to other cell lines. However, further studies are still needed to confirm these results in TMPRSS2-ERG knockdown VCaP cells.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1686. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-1686


We have investigated the prevalence of spoilage lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in table wines produced in the Apulia region. The occurrence of LAB was evaluated in wines produced with low sulphur dioxide doses and not supplemented with selected malolactic starters such as Oenococcus oeni. About 150 strains were isolated from wine must and a molecular characterization was performed using PCR‐based techniques. Most of the strains analysed belonged to Lactobacillus plantarum species. However, some of the strains were identified as Pediococcus damnosus and Leuconostoc sp. The amplified fragments of Pediococcus damnosus were cloned and sequenced. The coding sequence was highly homologous to that of the ropy plasmid confirming that the isolated strain was a ropy+ Pediococcus damnosus. In all the samples analysed, the final must pH value reached was relatively high (from 3.78 to 3.90). The high pH values had probably negatively influenced (counteracted) the activity of sulphur dioxide added, allowing proliferation of spoilage wine microorganisms.


This paper examines the importance of the Orpheus myth during the English Renaissance. The Orpheus myth was one of the most common mythic intertexts of the period due to the fact that we could see the very story of Orpheus as being imbedded within the idea of the Renaissance itself. The main ambition of the Renaissance humanist was to bring the literature of the ancients back to life via the means of education. In other words, they attempted to bring the dead back to life and Orpheus serves as an embodiment of this ambition due to his ability to bring inanimate objects to life and in his journey to the underworld to rescue Eurydice. We find many different aspects of the Orpheus myth dealt with in Renaissance writing, for example Orpheus as poet, Orpheus as lover and the death of Orpheus being some of the key focal points. This paper, however, will focus specifically on the role of Orpheus as Poet as, due to the Renaissance love for art, rhetoric and eloquence, this seems to be the most popular dimension of the Orpheus myth at that time. We will see how Renaissance writers reinterpret the story of Orpheus, as originally told by Ovid and Virgil, in the "Metamorphoses" and the "Georgics" respectively, to show Orpheus as not only as being an archetypal poet but in fact the very first poet whose art is not only responsible for the civilisation of man, but also for the creation of a "Golden Age" in Renaissance England.


The paper provides a survey on first editions - from 1998 to 2001 - of the the well-known festival called La Notte della Taranta, one of the most important events dedicated to local musical traditions in Europe. Born rather extemporaneously in summer of 1998, as a unique event in a single day, during the night, it is transformed over time to become a Festival of extended duration, with specific articulation in several concerts, culminating in a final concert that is held in the village of Melpignano, in the called "Grecia Salentina", where in some villages are still spoken Greek dialects. From the beginning, the Festival La Notte della Taranta was marked by an important "public discourse" on possible ways "to patrimonialize" the local musical traditions, with cultural and political positions strongly opposed, gradually changed in line with the growing success of the program itself. In particular, the edition of 2000, represented a new perspective on the organization, distribution and on the selection of cultural events and musical performances, which has survived essentially unchanged until today.


Reiki was administered to 50 patients out of 100 patients with normal left ventricular function scheduled for elective coronary artery bypass grafting. Blood components and inflammatory markers were estimated at various time points. Haemodynamic parameters, psychological analysis, intensive care unit stay,incidence of infection, chest tube drainage and mortality were recorded. Haemodynamic parameters and use of blood components were similar in both groups. Interleukin-6 were significantly lower in the preoperative period in the Reiki group, but showed similar trends in both the groups in the post-operative period. The psychological analysis assessed by World Health Organisation quality of life and General Health Questionnaire revealed that social relationships improve once patient is in his own surroundings and with his own people in both the groups. Psychological domain showed significant difference, six day after surgery in the Reiki group. This study concludes that Reiki is a time consuming process with no significant clinical benefit.


The discrepancy between observed flower visitors and those predicted based on floral phenotype has often cast doubt on the pollination syndrome concept. Here we show that this paradox may be alleviated by gaining better knowledge of the contributions of different flower visitors to pollination and the effects of floral traits that cannot be readily perceived by humans in Adenophora triphylla var. japonica. The blue, bell-shaped and pendant flowers of A. triphylla appear to fit a bee pollination syndrome. In contrast to this expectation, recent studies show that these flowers are frequented by nocturnal moths. We compared the flower visitor fauna, their visitation frequency and their relative contributions to seed set between day and night in two field populations of A. triphylla in Japan. We also determined the floral traits associated with temporal changes in the visitor assemblage, i.e. the timing of anthesis, the timing of changes in the sexual phase and the diel pattern of nectar production. While A. triphylla flowers were visited by both diurnal and nocturnal insects, the results from pollination experiments demonstrate that their primary pollinators are nocturnal settling-moths. Moreover, the flowers opened just after sunset, changed from staminate to pistillate phase in successive evenings and produced nectar only during the night, which all conform to the activity of nocturnal/crepuscular moths. Our study illustrates that the tradition of stereotyping the pollinators of a flower based on its appearance can be misleading and that it should be improved with empirical evidence of pollination performance and sufficient trait matching.


Background: There have been concerns that microvascular dysfunction could limit the maximal and constant microvascular vasodilation, which are the requisites of fractional flow reserve (FFR) measurement. Increased microvascular resistance may impair hyperemic coronary flow, resulting in an underestimation of the translesional pressure gradient with a possible overestimation of FFR. Aim: We assessed the hypothesis that increased microvascular resistance represented by an index of microcirculatory resistance (IMR) may lead to an overestimation of FFR in patients with successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods: A total of 90 coronary arteries from 90 patients treated with successful stenting (less than 20% residual stenosis with TIMI 3 flow grade) underwent FFR and IMR measurements during maximal hyperemia induced by intravenous administration of 160µg/kg/min of adenosine triphosphate. FFR values were compared among quartiles based on IMR values. The relationship between FFR and IMR was also assessed by linear regression analysis. Hyperemic mean transit time (Tmn) was evaluated for the assessment of coronary flow. Quantitative coronary angiography analysis (QCA) was performed with the use of CMS-MEDIS system.

Results: IMR values were distributed in the wide range from 7.7 to 89.2. Median IMR value was 19.8 and IMR values of each quartile were 10.6 (IQR 9.0 - 12.5), 15.4 (IQR 14.8 - 17.8), 24.0 (IQR 21.9 - 26.1), 40.0 (IQR 34.4 - 45.8), respectively. Median FFR was 0.89 (IQR 0.85 - 0.96). FFR values were significantly greater in the highest quartile of IMR values (p=0.004). FFR showed a significant linear relationship with IMR (r=0.32, p=0.002). Increase in IMR value by 20 overestimated FFR by 0.03. Coronary flow represented by Tmn showed significant reduction in the highest IMR quartile. There was no significant difference in QCA analyses across the IMR quartiles.

Conclusion: IMR values after successful PCI were widely distributed, and increased IMR was not uncommon. Increased IMR values may lead to the overestimation of FFR by the reduction of coronary flow after successful PCI.


Long-term follow-up studies were conducted on massively obese hypertensive subjects during and after a successful protein supplemented fast (PSMF) in order to correlate blood pressure changes with caloric intake and body weight. The blood pressures in 43 subjects were compared during rapid weight loss and at identical weights during post-fast weight gain (Study A). Blood pressures and body weights in 50 subjects were compared prior to starting PSMF and prior to restarting the program 21 months later (Study B). One hundred twenty-five compliant subjects were observed after one month of weight maintenance (Study C-1), and 39 subjects were followed during six months of weight maintenance (Study C-2). In Study A, during subsequent weight gain on an unrestricted diet blood pressure was significantly higher than at identical weight during continuous weight loss on PSMF. However, this increase in blood pressure was only approximately 30 percent of the original decrease. In Study B, weight loss and blood pressure reduction were significantly correlated. After one month of weight maintenance following continuous weight loss of 73 lb, there was no increase in blood pressure (Study C-1). A small but significant increase in blood pressure after six months (Study C-2) was associated with similar small weight increment. However, all blood pressures remained well within the normotensive range and significantly lower than control values. In this study, long-term changes in blood pressure correlated with changes in body weight.


ABSTRACT The pioneering work of Gross and Neuhauser26 indicated that early surgery and routine postoperative irradiation gave the best survival rates in children with Wilms' tumor, and it has become standard practice in many centers to deliver routine postoperative irradiation to the tumor bed of these patients. The meticulous accuracy essential in pediatric radiotherapy is assisted greatly by consultation, between the surgeon and the radiotherapist, in the operating room at the time of surgery. In this way, zones of doubtful involvement, the advisability of extending the surgical procedure or curtailing it, and similar decisions can be reached jointly. It is often helpful to have metal clips placed around the margins of the tumor bed and similarly to identify suspicious zones of tumor involvement. Radiotherapy is initiated shortly after surgery, often on the same day, since there is no need to await wound healing, and because children tolerate radiation therapy very


The cognitive abilities of biological organisms only make sense in the context of their environment. Here, we study longhorn crazy ant collective navigation skills within the context of a semi-natural, randomized environment. Mapping this biological setting into the 'Ant-in-a-Labyrinth' framework which studies physical transport through disordered media allows us to formulate precise links between the statistics of environmental challenges and the ants' collective navigation abilities. We show that, in this environment, the ants use their numbers to collectively extend their sensing range. Although this extension is moderate, it nevertheless allows for extremely fast traversal times that overshadow known physical solutions to the 'Ant-in-a-Labyrinth' problem. To explain this large payoff, we use percolation theory and prove that whenever the labyrinth is solvable, a logarithmically small sensing range suffices for extreme speedup. Overall, our work demonstrates the potential advantages of group living and collective cognition in increasing a species' habitable range.


Advances in the field of Machine Learning and Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) has enabled rapid development of sophisticated and autonomous systems. However, the inherent complexity to rigorously assure the safe operation of such systems hinders their real-world adoption in safety-critical domains such as aerospace and medical devices. Hence, there is a surge in interest to explore the use of advanced mathematical techniques such as formal methods to address this challenge. In fact, the initial results of such efforts are promising. Along these lines, we propose the use of quantifier elimination (QE) - a formal method technique, as a complimentary technique to the state-of-the-art static analysis and verification procedures. Using an airborne collision avoidance DNN as a case example, we illustrate the use of QE to formulate the precise range forward propagation through a network as well as analyze its robustness. We discuss the initial results of this ongoing work and explore the future possibilities of extending this approach and/or integrating it with other approaches to perform advanced safety assurance of DNNs.


Purpose To evaluate the spherical equivalent outcomes of intraoperative aberrometry (IA) power calculations compared with the surgeons' preoperative power calculations in eyes implanted with AcrySof® IQ T3 intraocular lenses (IOLs). Patients and methods We assessed data collected by an IA system from multiple centers in the United States. Data was from patients who had undergone cataract extraction by phacoemulsification with the use of the Optiwave Refractive Analysis System and whose eyes had been implanted with model SN6AT3 (1.5 diopter [D] at IOL plane) aspheric lenses. The analysis was performed in 2 stages: hypothesis generation and confirmatory testing. Confirmatory endpoints were a comparison of absolute prediction errors for IA for the implanted IOL versus preoperative formula power calculations. Design Retrospective analysis of preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative data concerning eyes implanted with model SN6AT3 (1.5 D) aspheric lenses from the AnalyzOR™ database. Results Mean absolute IA prediction error was significantly lower than preoperative prediction error (paired difference: −0.06 D; p<0.0001); this was mirrored by the median paired difference of −0.04 D (p<0.0001). For eyes where the power of the implanted IOL differed from the power of the preoperatively planned lens, mean and median paired differences in prediction errors were greater: −0.13 D (p<0.0001) and −0.15 D (p<0.0001), respectively. The percentage of eyes with prediction error ≤0.50 D was significantly higher with IA (83.4%, n=5388/6460) than with the preoperative formula (76.5%, n=4942/6460, p<0.0001). When the powers of the implanted IOL and the preoperatively planned lens were different, the percentage of eyes with prediction error ≤0.50 D was 83.3% (2155/2587) for IA and 68.8% (1781/2587, p<0.0001) for the preoperative formula. Conclusion IA produces more accurate spherical equivalent outcomes for eyes implanted with a low toric IOL than the preoperative formulas.


Previous studies demonstrated complex architecture of the muscular system of Macrostomum species, especially in the rostrum area and the pharynx. However, little is known about the differences in muscular pattern between species of the genus. This study examines and compares the muscular systems of specimens belonging to three freshwater Macrostomum species (M. quiritium, M. tuba and M. velastylum), labeled with phalloidin‐rhodamine and studied by confocal microscopy. Our results agree with the previous descriptions, confirming that the muscular patterns for the body wall, rostrum area, pharynx and caudal region differ among species. The muscles of the body wall follow the typical architecture, but the number of fibers in the species analyzed varies between dorsal and ventral surfaces, ranging from 80 to 100 fibers, this record being higher than previous observations. The arrangement of the fibers in the rostrum is complex, especially in the brain area. Macrostomum tuba and M. quiritium have a set of two muscles crossing at brain level and forming an "X," which is not evident in M. velastylum. We identified five different sets of fibers associated to the pharynx and mouth at ventral, medium and deep levels. These different sets are present in all three species studied. The caudal plate in M. tuba has an additional layer of diagonal fibers in the body wall, which is not evident in the other two species. The muscles of the reproductive system are independent of the body wall musculature in the species analyzed, but connected to the intestinal wall by specific fibers that may serve as an anchor. J. Morphol. 278:264–282, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals,Inc.


This study aimed to characterize somatotype, analyze anthropometric indicators associated with body composition during the race and verify possible relationships with the performance of athletes in a 217-km ultramarathon. For this, ten male volunteers (42.8 ± 3.5 years; 171.4 ± 1.9 cm height, 70.7 ± 3.1 kg body mass; 15 ± 3 years of running exercise) performed a critical velocity (CV) test one week before the competition and were submitted to anthropometric measurements before, at 84 km of the race and at the end of the race. Volunteers finished the race in 46.8 ± 3.4 h (4.9 ± 0.4 km / h; 33.4 ± 1.8% CV). Mean values equivalent to somatotype components accounted for 3.4 ± 0.4 for endomorphy, 5.2 ± 0.4 for mesomorphy and 1.7 ± 0.3 for ectomorphy. Body mass, body mass index, fat-free mass and chest circumference decreased (P <0.05) after 84 and 217 km compared to baseline. Pre-race values of thigh skinfold thickness (R = 0.79) and waist circumference (R = 0.64) were significantly correlated (P <0.05) with final race time. Thus, we concluded that ultramarathoners had mean endo-mesomorph somatotype and reductions in both body mass and fat-free mass during and after the race. Furthermore, the results suggest that increased body fat deposits concentrated in the lower limbs and abdominal region may have a negative impact on the performance of the athletes in 217-km ultramarathon.


A laboratory-based three-phase sensor network testbed for the Smart Grid was developed at the Smart Grid and High-Power System Laboratory of The University of Hong Kong. The setup is featured by a scaled three-phase transmission-line model, visualization of sensor measurement, optical communication network, and integration with global positioning system (GPS). The three-phase transmission-line model consists of three power cables and two transmission towers in which various types of sensors, including magnetic sensors, infrared sensors, strain gauges, and accelerometers, are installed to monitor the condition of the transmission lines and the transmission towers. Magnetic sensors and infrared sensors are employed as advanced sensors, which can provide more accurate and comprehensive information of the transmission line. The sensor data is transferred to a computer for analysis and visualization. A graphical user interface (GUI) was designed in LabVIEW to integrate the data acquisition and display the measurement results, including cable position, inclination and vibration of the tower, and frequency and waveform of the cable current. The host computer also forms an IP network with five remote computers, via optical fibers and an optical interface card, for testing various communication protocols. The topology and connectivity of the network are graphically displayed. The sensor network is integrated with GPS and can perform synchronized measurement with the GPS timing. This sensor network testbed provides a platform for the implementation testing, experimentation, and feasibility evaluation of new sensor applications under test in the Smart Grid.


The current study examines the relationships between several home country-specific macroeconomic factors and the level of the outward FDI of China and India using multiple time-series data from 1982 to 2006 and from 1980 to 2006, respectively. With the use of a vector autoregressive model assessing the causal relationships of the endogenous variables, the empirical research proves that Chinese national characteristics associated with income per capita, openness of the economy to international trade, interest rate, human capital, technological capability, exchange rate and exchange rate volatility do not Granger cause the level of outward FDI of China. By contrast, the national technological capability of India Granger causes their level of outward FDI. The level of outward FDI of China does not Granger cause any of the home country-specific macroeconomic factors considered, while the level of outward FDI of India Granger causes their national interest rate.


It is assumed that the cultivation of olive trees started in the East Mediterranean in the third millennia BCE. Throughout history and until recently, successful olive clones were maintained vegetatively and were grafted either on seedlings or on spheroblasts removed from the base of the trunk. It therefore can be hypothesized that local old olive trees, older than 500 years might represent an ancient gene pool. Modern terminology categorizes local genotypes into four main variety groups. However, in traditional terminology these were further differentiated into 27 cultivars according to their phenotypic traits. This genetic diversity, along with the fact that olive trees have been cultivated in a wide range of environmental conditions, might also suggest that adaption to specific conditions played a major role in the selection of rootstocks and scions. We therefore consider it important to start a conservation program of this valuable genetic resource that can be used in future breeding programs.


Using detailed personnel data from a firm, we analyze the real effects of the kind of compensation system that is used in many large firms--the Hay system. Such compensation systems are highly centralized and bureaucratic, with little ability for managers to adjust incentives for different job designs, individuals, and circumstances. We find that this system does appear to have real effects, particularly for those who are at the maximum salary in their allowable range. Such employees tend to have falling performance ratings and salary growth, are less likely to win promotion, and are more likely to exit the firm. We interpret these facts as suggesting that such employees have lower motivation from the incentive system than other employees. Moreover, the firm's bonus system is not designed to mitigate these effects. These findings suggest that theories emphasizing such formal, bureaucratic pay systems (e.g., influence costs) may be very important in understanding actual incentive contracting schemes.


When training object detection models on synthetic data, it is important to make the distribution of synthetic data as close as possible to the distribution of real data. We investigate specifically the impact of object placement distribution, keeping all other aspects of synthetic data fixed. Our experiment, training a 3D vehicle detection model in CARLA and testing on KITTI, demonstrates a substantial improvement resulting from improving the object placement distribution.


The authors describe a case of Type 1 diabetes mellitus (insulin dependent) in a 34-year-old fighter pilot, which included a 15-month remission ("honeymoon period"). The pathogenesis, characteristics, diagnosis, evaluation, and the aeromedical implications of Type 1 diabetes are discussed. The use of C-peptide values in accessing beta cell function is also discussed. The risk of poorly controlled diabetes, diabetic ketoacidosis, and visual acuity fluctuations were major reasons to disqualify this individual when in remission. The importance of determining the type of diabetes for prognosis and aeromedical disposition is stressed.


It is always easier to find out the elements of success and/or failure in retrospect than to find new development paths for the future and new modes of action in the middle of uncertain and open-ended situations. True leadership is becoming more and more important and hence there seems to be a need to direct attention also towards studying power and competences needed in promotion of economic development of regions. When aiming to bring human agency back to regional development studies, one way to do it is to ask how people engaged in promotion of regional development actually influence complex processes and networks, how they influence other actors and what kind of power they have. It might also provide us with additional analytical leverage if we understood better the consequences of the choices made and the actions taken by powerful individuals and core coalitions formed by them. The research questions discussed here are: a) what is leadership like in regional development; b) what kind of sources of power are used by regional development officers; and c) how regional development officers aim to influence the course of events? The empirical research is based on data gathered a) through 41 interviews of Finnish actors responsible for the promotion of economic development in city governments, technology centres, regional development agencies, and ministries and other national bodies, and b) through internet survey of development officers at local, regional and national levels (531 respondents, response rate 51.8 %). The survey was designed to solicit information about power, influence tactics and competences in the context of regional development. In addition various bottlenecks in the daily work were probed. The empirical analysis shows, for example, how interpretive power and network power are more important for regional development officers than institutional and resource power, and how indirect influence tactics surpass the direct ones.


Aim The objective was to study the long-term (lifetime) cost effectiveness of four different hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment models of care (MOC) with directly acting antiviral drugs. Methods A cohort Markov model-based probabilistic cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) was undertaken extrapolating to up to 30 years from cost and outcome data collected from a primary study involving a real-life Australian cohort. In this study, noncirrhotic patients treated for HCV from 1 March 2016 to 28 February 2017 at four major public hospitals and liaising sites in South Australia were studied retrospectively. The MOC were classified depending on the person providing patient workup, treatment and monitoring into MOC1 (specialist), MOC2 (mixed specialist and hepatitis nurse), MOC3 (hepatitis nurse) and MOC4 (general practitioner, GP). Incremental costs were estimated from the Medicare perspective. Incremental outcomes were estimated based on the quality-adjusted life years (QALY) gained by achieving a sustained virological response. A cost-effectiveness threshold of Australian dollar 50 000 per QALY gained, the implicit criterion used for assessing the cost-effectiveness of new pharmaceuticals and medical services in Australia was assumed. Net monetary benefit (NMB) estimates based on this threshold were calculated. Results A total of 1373 patients, 64% males, mean age 50 (SD ±11) years, were studied. In the CEA, MOC4 and MOC2 clearly dominated MOC1 over 30 years with lower costs and higher QALYs. Similarly, NMB was the highest in MOC4, followed by MOC2. Conclusion Decentralized care using GP and mixed consultant nurse models were cost-effective ways of promoting HCV treatment uptake in the setting of unrestricted access to new antivirals.


Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC

a) The goal of this study is to develop and characterize mass spectrometry assays for antibody quantification to assess multiple myeloma patients; the results generated from these peptide-based techniques will be compared data generated with gel-based and capillary serum protein electrophoresis (SPEP), which represents the current standard of care.

b) Monoclonal antibody concentrations are currently determined using protein electrophoresis with either serum aliquots (SPEP) or Urine samples (UPEP), the specific class of myeloma is then determined using immunofixation. Liquid chromatography coupled to multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (LC-MRM) assays have been developed to quantify all antibodies (Ig G, A, M, D, E, kappa, and lambda) and their isoforms in serum samples by measuring against known concentrations of stable isotope labeled internal standards using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. For assay development, at least two peptides representing each antibody isoform were derived from either LC-MS/MS runs based on excised gamma bands from stored SPEP gels of previous myeloma patients; these experimental results could also be supplemented by in silico workup of the protein sequence (i.e. theoretical peptide predictions). For each peptide target, several transitions (pairs of intact peptide masses and fragment ion masses) are programmed into the triple quadrupole for targeted detection using LC-MRM. Samples are analyzed in triplicate and compared with SPEP results.

c) LC-MRM analysis has been performed on more than 40 serum samples collected from multiple myeloma patients. Using the selected peptides, protein amounts were calculated and compared with previous clinical SPEP results. The panel of antibodies presents unique opportunities and challenges for examining the utility of LC-MRM monitoring; for example, IgD and IgE increases can be detected with LC-MRM well below the 1 mg/ml limit of SPEP (at approximately 20 micrograms/ml). On the other hand, quantification of IgG1 with LC-MRM must be extremely accurate (< 10% CV) to detect the monoclonal protein against the background of that protein normally found in serum. To date, LC-MRM can detect all SPEP positive patients, and this method shows promise in detecting increases in antibody concentrations before they can be detected with SPEP.

d) Quantitative mass spectrometry measurements for the antibodies combine the value of current SPEP and immunofixation experiments. Our results show that peptide-based monitoring can be as effective as protein-based monitoring. In addition, LC-MRM can detect light chain only disease, IgA myeloma that do not present a clear band in the gamma region of SPEP, and oligoclonal or polyclonal disease. These data enable broader commentary on the utility of LC-MRM in clinical protein measurements.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5557.


Protective role of thyme extract against N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA)-induced oxidative stress has been evaluated in albino rats. For this, one group of rats were fed diet supplemented with thyme extract (0.5%) and served as the test group, whereas animals of the other group fed on normal diet served as the control group. The rats were fed on respective diets for a period of 2 weeks after which stress was induced to half the animals of each group by i.p. administration of NDEA at 200 mg/kg body weight. Animals were killed 48 h post stress-induction period. Feed intake and body weight decreased significantly in both test and control groups, the effect being less in test group. Increase in osmotic fragility and in-vitro lipid peroxidation (LPO) on stress induction was of lower degree in the test group. NDEA toxicity was mainly reflected in liver as evidenced by increased activities of plasma aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase. The effect was of lower degree in test group as compared with that in the control group. Increase in urea levels observed following NDEA administration was also of lower degree in test groups. Blood glutathione (GSH) levels increased more so in test group compared with control group on stress induction. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (Px), and catalase (CAT) activities decreased significantly on stress induction in erythrocytes. LPO increased in all the tissues through varying degree, and the increase was appreciably of lower degree in test group. The activity of SOD increased significantly in both test and control group on stress induction, whereas activities of Px and CAT decreased following NDEA treatment, and the effects were of lower degree in test group. Thus, supplementation of diet with thyme extract can improve antioxygenic potential and hence help to prevent oxidative stress.


Current environmental assessment methods commonly use a simple 'point hunting' approach. As a result, developers and design teams try to obtain "cheap and easy points". Consequently, they avoid choosing "Energy points". Additionally, "Energy points" are achieved mainly by improving the mechanical, electrical and hot water systems, since they are easier points to handle than designing low energy buildings, especially at the advanced design stages. This is in contrast with the fact that buildings are designed to last 50 to 100 years and the mechanical systems only 15 to 20 years, at most. The new Israeli Green Building Standard attempts to overcome the deficiencies presented above by dividing the energy chapter into two parts; Building energy performance and Building services systems and by trying to make the "Building performance points" easier to handle at the early design stages. The present paper puts an emphasis on the building performance subchapter as well as on the simulation and CAD models that are applied to ensure bioclimatic and low energy building design.


We consider the nonrelativistic field theory with a quartic interaction on a noncommutative plane and compute the 2-->2 scattering amplitude within perturbative analysis to all orders. We regain the results of the perturbative analysis by finding the scattering and the bound state wave functions of the two particle Schrodinger equation. These wave functions unusually have two center positions in the relative coordinates, whose separation is transverse to the total momentum and scales linearly with its magnitude, exhibiting the stringy nature of the noncommutative field theory.