Comparison shopping is good financial practice, but situations involving numbers and computations are challenging for consumers with math anxiety. We asked North Americans (N = 256) to select the better deal between two products differing in volume and price. As predicted, math anxiety was negatively related to performance on this Price Comparison Task. We then explored the mechanism underlying this relation by testing math competency, price calculation ability, need for cognition, and cognitive reflection as potential mediators. The results from a competing mediator analysis indicated that all factors, apart from need for cognition, served as significant independent mediators between math anxiety and performance on our Price Comparison Task. This study has important implications for how–and why–math anxiety relates to a person's ability to accurately compare product prices. These data suggest that consumers higher in math anxiety may represent a financially vulnerable population, particularly in the context of financial tasks that are inherently mathematical.


Background A human IgE response to Sm22.6 (a dominant IgE target in Schistosoma mansoni) is associated with the development of partial immunity. Located inside the tegument, the molecule belongs to a family of proteins from parasitic platyhelminths, the Tegument-Allergen-Like proteins (TALs). In addition to containing dynein-light-chain domains, these TALs also contain EF-hand domains similar to those found in numerous EF-hand allergens. Methodology/Principal Findings S. mansoni genome searches revealed 13 members (SmTAL1-13) within the species. Recent microarray data demonstrated they have a wide range of life-cycle transcriptional profiles. We expressed SmTAL1 (Sm22.6), SmTAL2, 3, 4, 5 and 13 as recombinant proteins and measured IgE and IgG4 in 200 infected males (7–60 years) from a schistosomiasis endemic region in Uganda. For SmTAL1 and 3 (transcribed in schistosomula through adult-worms and adult-worms, respectively) and SmTAL5 (transcribed in cercariae through adult-worms), detectable IgE responses were rare in 7–9 year olds, but increased with age. At all ages, IgE to SmTAL2 (expressed constitutively), was rare while anti-SmTAL2 IgG4 was common. Levels of IgE and IgG4 to SmTAL4 and 13 (transcribed predominantly in the cercariae/skin stage) were all low. Conclusions We have not measured SmTAL protein abundance or exposure in live parasites, but the antibody data suggests to us that, in endemic areas, there is priming and boosting of IgE to adult-worm SmTALs by occasional death of long-lived worms, desensitization to egg SmTALs through continuous exposure to dying eggs and low immunogenicity of larval SmTALs due to immunosuppression in the skin by the parasite. Of these, it is the gradual increase in IgE to the worm antigens that parallels age-dependent immunity seen in endemic areas.


State measurements of flux-based superconducting quantum bits (qubits) require the sensitive discrimination of small differences of magnetic flux, with measurement times short compared to the timescales of coherent quantum mechanical behaviour. The single-flux-quantum (SFQ) superconducting comparator may be the best device for this purpose. An SFQ comparator design using a quasi-one-junction SQUID (QOS) acting as the comparator junction has two advantages over earlier designs—increased sensitivity and the possibility to eliminate shunt resistors. Here we report the first measurements of the sensitivity of an unshunted QOS comparator. The gray zone of this device at 4.2K is 6 mΦo.


The propagation features of stepped leader with four grounded branches during a negative CG flash have been analyzed by using the data from a high‐speed digital camera with 1 ms time resolution in correlation with wide‐band electric field change signatures. Four branches that initiated from a main leader trunk connected to ground in sequence and induced four separate return strokes. The propagation speed of four grounded leader branches shows an increase tendency when they progressed downward to ground. The average 2‐D speed of four grounded branches was estimated to be about 1.1 × 105 m/s. The electric field changes caused by the stepped leader were characterized by clustered pulses near the time of return stroke. Each cluster of pulses was composed of 3–4 pulses with an average time interval in a cluster of about 7.7 μs, and the time interval between two first pulses in two adjacent clusters was 30.1 μs.


This work shows an advance of research which aim is to estimate the real and potential open access on the practices of publication of Argentina scientific community based on an analysis of the access model that the chosen journals used to communicate their research results. In this first case the field of Medicine is analized for the period 2008-‐2010. The sample was taken from the SCOPUS database and the journals␣ access models were selected through inquiries to the following sources: DOAJ, e-‐revist@s, SCielo, Redalyc, PubMed, Romeo-‐Sherpa, and Dulcinea. The open access of scientific production was analyzed as well as through subscription to the Science and Technology Electronic Library that belongs to the Argentinean Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation.


Background: Age-related estrogen deficiency leads to accelerated bone resorption. There is evidence that, through selective estrogen receptor modulation, isoflavones may exert beneficial effects against estrogen-deficient bone loss. Isoflavone aglycones show higher bioavailability than their glycosidic counterparts and thus may have greater potency.Objective: To summarize evidence, we executed a systematic review and meta-analysis examining isoflavone therapies and bone mineral density (BMD) loss in peri- and postmenopausal women.Design: We systematically searched EMBASE and PubMed for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating isoflavone therapies for treating BMD loss at the lumbar spine and femoral neck in estrogen-deficient women. Separate meta-analyses were carried out with the use of random-effects models for the lumbar spine and femoral neck for all studies providing isoflavones as aglycones.Results: Twenty-six RCTs (n = 2652) were included in the meta-analysis. At the lumbar spine, isoflavone treatment was associated with a significantly (P < 0.00001) higher weighted mean difference (WMD) of BMD change of 0.01 (95% CI: 0.01, 0.02) than the control. For the femoral neck (18 RCTs, n = 1604), isoflavone treatment showed a significantly (P < 0.01) higher WMD of BMD change of 0.01 (95% CI: 0.00, 0.02) compared with the control. When isolating studies that provide isoflavone aglycones in their treatment arm, the average effect was further significantly increased at the spine (5 RCTs, n = 682) to 0.04 (P < 0.00001; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.05) and femoral neck (4 RCTs, n = 524) to 0.03 (P < 0.05; 95% CI: 0.00, 0.06) compared with the control. This protective effect against bone loss disappeared when only studies with formulations comprising predominantly isoflavone glycosides were included.Conclusions: Isoflavone treatments exert a moderately beneficial effect against estrogen-deficient bone loss in women. The effect appears dependent on whether isoflavone treatments are in aglycone form; we conclude that beneficial effects against bone loss may be enhanced for isoflavone aglycones.


Purpose of review Systemic chemotherapy and second-generation androgen receptor-axis targeted therapies have been in the forefront of management for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients with low or high symptom burden. However, in the recent past, due to improvement in molecular characterization, management of mCRPC has witnessed long strides of advancement. We aim to review the novel nonhormonal and nonchemotherapeutic treatment options. Recent findings Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPis) such as olaparib and rucaparib have been recently approved by the US FDA for use in mCRPC with germline or somatic mutations in homologous recombination repair. The combination of PARPi with androgen receptor axis-targeted agents (ARAT) or dual ARAT-based therapy has shown superior radiographic progression-free survival as a first-line treatment. A combination of AKT inhibitor ipatasertib and abiraterone has shown improvement in radiographic progression-free survival as a first-line treatment. Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted radiopharmaceutical like 177Lu-PSMA-617, a beta particle emitter has demonstrated improvement in overall survival in mCRPC patients pretreated with ARAT or taxanes. Although immune checkpoint inhibitors are being tested in mCRPC, there is no robust evidence to support this premise. Summary These new agents have widened the treatment options for mCRPC patients. Overall treatment should be focused on improving survival while limiting the deterrent effect on the quality of life.


The direct effects of cyclopropane on both adrenal medullary release of catecholamines and release of catecholamines from isolated chromaffin granules were examined. Cyclopropane had no effect on the spontaneous release of catecholamines from perfused bovine adrenals, while it reversibly inhibited carbachol-induced release of catecholamines in a dose-dependent manner. At 20 per cent cyclopropane, catecholamine release was reduced to 52 per cent of control. Cyclopropane exerted no action on spontaneous release or Mg++-ATP-dependent release of catecholamines from isolated chromaffin granules. Thus, the authors conclude that the direct action of cyclopropane on the adrenal medullary release of catecholamines is inhibitory, and that chromaffin granules are not the site of action of this anesthetic.


Four centres in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden have collaborated to provide Internet-based courses for student and professional occupational therapists. The basis of the Occupational Therapy Internet School (OTIS) is the concept of the 'virtual college'. This comprises the design and implementation of a sophisticated Internet-based system through which courses can be managed, prepared and delivered on line, and through which students can communicate both with the staff and their peers. The aim is to support and facilitate the whole range of educational activities within a remote electronic environment.


Abstract The increasing pressure on the environment and the exhaustion of non-renewable natural resources has led to the emergence of a new type of clusters – green clusters. In green clusters, the purpose of combining entities into a cluster is not only to increase their competitiveness, but also to increase the efficiency of using natural resources and reduce the impact on the environment. Companies of various types of activities get united into green clusters; this article considers green clusters in the field of municipal solid waste (MSW) management. The authors described two green clusters in project in the field of MSW management in two large cities – Yekaterinburg (Russia) and Almaty (Kazakhstan). The main difference between these clusters is the ratio between waste management practices. Further, using the IPCC methodology for calculating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the authors analysed GHG emissions per tonne of MSW in both clusters. The calculations have shown that the green cluster of Yekaterinburg is more stable and efficient – the carbon content of 1 tonne of processed MSW in Yekaterinburg is 22.4 % lower than it is in Almaty (329.5 kg CO2eq/tonne of MSW in Yekaterinburg and 424.1 kg CO2eq/tonne of MSW in Almaty). To reduce the MSW green clusters' climatic impact, it is necessary to organize a full-fledged separate collection of different types of waste at the household level; to stimulate waste recycling activities; to reduce the use of non-recyclable packaging, including the implementation of extended producer responsibility; to reduce energy utilization, especially at the waste incineration plants; to stimulate the use of organic waste shredders. The practical examples discussed in this article and the conclusions obtained can be useful to decision makers regarding the design and development of green clusters in the field of MSW management in large cities. The study relies on the research data of the project 'Enhancement of the State Regulation Policy for Intensifying Clusterization of Industrial Regions' supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan.


Abstract Spark plasma sintering (SPS) is an advanced process of sintering materials at low temperatures and short time by creating spark plasma at very high temperatures in the small points and short times, by which materials with high sintering temperature can sinter at lower temperatures. In this study, alumina-nickel-cobalt composites were sintered by SPS and RHP (rapid hot press) methods to investigate the effects of electric pulse on their microstructure and mechanical properties. To this end, sample powders containing alumina, nickel-cobalt aluminate spinel, and aluminum were sintered at 1380 °C under 30 MPa pressure for 10 min by SPS and RHP and then investigated. The densities of both samples were about 98% of theoretical density. Also, hardness and fracture toughness of both samples were about 11 GPa and 14 MPa.m0.5, respectively. The bending strengths of the SPS and RHP samples were 380 and 336 MPa, respectively.


This paper presents a macroeconomic model of unsecured consumer debt and default where credit conditions consist of pre-approved interest rates and borrowing limits, a feature of actual credit cards. All loans, irrespective of their size and risk, take place against the same type of credit line, and some borrowers are credit constrained. This type of situation is shown to arise in a free-entry competitive equilibrium if there are fixed costs in banking and the banks' decisions on interest rates and on credit limits are made separately. Numerical experiments are conducted to study, on one hand, the macroeconomic and welfare effects of the consumer bankruptcy code, and on the other hand, the consequences of various factors for both indebtedness and bankruptcy. Restricting bankruptcy filings - be it through a stricter Chapter 7 means testing or a longer period of credit exclusion - leads to sizable welfare loses. The recent rise in filing rates and debt is best explained by a combination of lower intermediation costs and more severe non-discretionary expenditures shocks. The endogenous response ofthe credit limit proves to be crucial for these findings Keywords; bankruptcy, unsecured credit, general equilibrium, default risk, credit limits


Phosphorus (P) is often a limiting nutrient for plant growth in tropical and subtropical forests. Global cli- mate change has led to alterations in precipitation in the re- cent years, which inevitably influences P cycling. Soil acid phosphatase plays a vital role in controlling P mineraliza- tion, and its activity reflects the capacity of organic P min- eralization potential in soils. In order to study the effects of precipitation on soil acid phosphatase activity, an experi- ment with precipitation treatments (no precipitation, natural precipitation and doubled precipitation) in three successional forests in southern China was carried out. The three forests include Masson pine forest (MPF), coniferous and broad- leaved mixed forest (MF) and monsoon evergreen broad- leaved forest (MEBF). Results showed that driven by season- ality of precipitation, changes in soil acid phosphatase activi- ties coincided with the seasonal climate pattern, with signifi- cantly higher values in the wet season than in the dry season. Soil acid phosphatase activities were closely linked to forest successional stages, with enhanced values in the later stages of forest succession. In the dry season, soil acid phosphatase activities in the three forests showed a rising trend with in- creasing precipitation treatments. In the wet season, soil acid phosphatase activity was depressed by no precipitation treat- ment in the three forests. However, doubled precipitation treatment exerted a significantly negative effect on it only in MEBF. These results indicate that the potential transforma- tion rate of organic P might be more dependent on water in the dry season than in the wet season. A decrease in organic P turnover would occur in the three forests if there was a drought in a whole year in the future. More rainfall in the wet season would also be adverse to organic P turnover in MEBF due to its high soil moisture.


Background: Obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) is associated with T2 diabetes (40-fold relative risk) and cardiovascular complications. Bariatric surgery is becoming a treatment of choice in obese individuals because of the multiple benefits associated with significant weight loss leading to an improved quality of life and decreased morbidity and mortality, which far out weighs the cost of surgery. A major metabolic benefit is the remission from T2 diabetes as a consequence of alterations in gut hormone signaling and weight loss. Indeed cost-effectiveness analyses have led NICE to recommend that all patients with a BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2 with T2 diabetes should be considered for bariatric surgery. In relation to the impact on macro vascular complications there is a significant reduction in MI and stroke in long term follow up studies, which translates to reduced mortality. For the microvascular complications of diabetes, studies are limited but have primarily focused on retinopathy and nephropathy after bariatric surgery. Despite the fact that neuropathy (nerve damage) can lead to pain and foot ulceration with amputation together with increased mortality from autonomic neuropathy, few studies have objectively assessed the impact of bariatric surgery on neuropathy. However, there are concerns that neuropathy could worsen following bariatric surgery due to nutritional deficiencies [1] and indeed there are case-reports of acute Guillain-Barre like demyelinating [2] and motor axonal [3, 4] neuropathy following bariatric surgery. The term post bariatric surgery neuropathic pain has also been coined with a reported prevalence of 33% following bariatric surgery [5]. However, a more recent study has shown complete resolution of neuropathic symptoms with an improvement in the neuropathy disability score [6]. Whereas a recent case-control study has showed no improvement in nerve conduction velocity [7]. Given the potential benefits and indeed harm following bariatric surgery there is a need for a systematic quantitative assessment of neuropathy to define true rates of remission or worsening. Aims: Systematically define the baseline prevalence of neuropathic pain and neuropathy and the outcomes following bariatric surgery on neuropathic pain and objective markers of somatic and autonomic neuropathy in obese subjects with and without T2 diabetes, 6 and 12 months after surgery. Methods: This is a prospective, randomized, single center trial assessing the effect of gastric bypass surgery. The subjects in the study were recruited from Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, UK and the study was performed at the Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility/NIHR, Manchester, UK from 3 September 2013 until 30 July 2015. We estimated that the minimum sample required to detect a significant difference in peripheral autonomic (Neuropad response) and sensory nerve morphology using the novel imaging technique of corneal confocal microscopy (CCM) to quantify corneal nerve fibre length (CNFL) over 12 months was 52 and 46 subjects, respectively with a power of 80%. Exclusion criteria included history of neuropathy due to non-diabetic cause and corneal trauma or surgery. Painful neuropathy was defined using a composite score of the McGill questionnaire with either a positive neuropathic symptom profile (NSP) or diabetic neuropathy symptom (DNS). The objective end-points for remission from neuropathy were: 1) >15 nerve branches/mm2 in corneal nerve branch density (CNBD) and >15 mm/mm2 in corneal nerve fibre length (CNFL), 2) for autonomic neuropathy >90% on the Neuropad response, and 3) for sensory neuropathy, 120 mmHg) was identified in 37/43 (86%) of subjects pre-surgery. The remission rate from hypertension was 57%, 12 months after bariatric surgery. The average starting systolic blood pressure in these subjects was 130.3 ± 2.7 mmHg and was significantly reduced to 120.8 ± 3.13 (P = 0.03) and 114.4 ± 5.49 (P = 0.008) at 6 and 12 months, respectively. The prevalence of sensory neuropathy assessed using the Neuropathy Disability Score (NDS) in 41 subjects was 34% pre-surgery and the remission rate was 50%, 12 months after surgery. Baseline NDS was 2.0 ± 0.4, indicative of minimal neuropathy but was significantly improved to 0.89 ± 0.4 (P = 0.05) at 12 months. Vibration perception threshold was 13.6 ± 1.25 V and showed no improvement (12.6 ± 1.46 V, P = 0.58) 12 months after surgery. The prevalence of neuropathic pain in 36 subjects was 39% pre-surgery and a complete recovery was observed in 71% and 93% of patients at 6 and 12 months, respectively. Likewise, 45% of the 22 subjects with T2 diabetes had neuropathic pain at baseline and 70% and 90% had no painful neuropathy at 6 and 12 months, respectively. The prevalence of peripheral autonomic dysfunction assessed using Neuropad in 24 subjects was 57% pre-surgery and the remission rate was 69% 12 months after surgery. The Neuropad response at baseline was 77.95 ± 5.1% and improved significantly (91.3 ± 3.86%, P = 0.04) 12 months after surgery. Corneal confocal microscopy showed a significant increase in corneal nerve fibre length in the 26 subjects with diabetes from a mean of 14.2 ± 0.7 mm/mm2 to 16.7 ± 1.04 mm/mm2 (P = 0.049) and an increase in corneal nerve branch density (32.8 ± 3.35 no./mm2 to 43.2 ± 4.49 no./mm2 (P = 0.068). However, there was no change in corneal nerve fibre length or branch density in 17 subjects without T2 diabetes 12 months after surgery. Conclusion: Our study shows a high prevalence of diabetes; hypertension, neuropathic pain and neuropathy assessed using objective measures of somatic and autonomic neuropathy in obese people. Bariatric surgery results in significant weight loss, and improved glycemic control and blood pressure, with a reduction in the prevalence of painful neuropathy and improvement in autonomic and in particular small fibre neuropathy assessed using corneal confocal microscopy. Morbid obesity is common (-30%) in the Qatari population and bariatric surgery is an increasingly performed procedure. Contrary to previous data showing a worsening of both neuropathic symptoms and deficits, our data show significant weight loss with an improvement in glycaemic control and blood pressure which improves neuropathy and therefore provide a strong rationale for undertaking bariatric surgery and reducing disabilities to reach the goals of VISION 2020-Qatar. References 1. Thaisetthawatkul, P., et al., A controlled study of peripheral neuropathy after bariatric surgery. Neurology, 2004. 63(8): p. 1462-70. 2. Ishaque, N., et al., Guillain-Barre syndrome (demyelinating) six weeks after bariatric surgery: A case report and literature review. Obes Res Clin Pract, 2015. 9(4): p. 416-9. 3. Landais, A., Neurological complications of bariatric surgery. Obes Surg, 2014. 24(10): p. 1800-7. 4. Landais, A.F., Rare neurologic complication of bariatric surgery: acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN), a severe motor axonal form of the Guillain Barre syndrome. Surg Obes Relat Dis, 2014. 10(6): p. e85-7. 5. Kattalai Kailasam, V., et al., Postbariatric surgery neuropathic pain (PBSNP): case report, literature review, and treatment options. Pain Med, 2015. 16(2): p. 374-82. 6. Muller-Stich, B.P., et al., Gastric bypass leads to improvement of diabetic neuropathy independent of glucose normalization-results of a prospective cohort study (DiaSurg 1 study). Ann Surg, 2013. 258(5): p. 760-5; discussion 765-6. 7. Miras, A.D., et al., Type 2 diabetes mellitus and microvascular complications 1 year after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass: a case-control study. Diabetologia, 2015. 58(7): p. 1443-7.


We report two cases of tendon rupture associated with ciprofloxacin. One patient had a complete rupture of an Achilles tendon 6 months after taking the medication. The other case involved a partial rupture of the subscapularis tendon. Both ruptures occurred with minimal mechanical stress on the tendons, suggesting that the fluoroquinolone increased the susceptibility to rupture. We also review the literature describing the association between fluoroquinolones and tendon rupture and discuss the mechanisms explaining the heightened risk of tendon rupture associated with these drugs.


In this paper, we investigate the impact of window mechanisms on end to end delay in a series of nodes with constant service times. It is shown that arbitrary combinations of window mechanisms, each applying to an arbitrary subset of data, can be embedded on the nodes without affecting the departure instants from the system if the windows are at least as large as the number of nodes spanned. The window mechanisms are shown to have no impact on the average end to end delay of data. As the condition on the windows is a minimal necessary requirement for full parallelism, the results show that the transparent operation from viewpoint of data transmission can be achieved with minimal resources.


Crustal-scale magmatic systems act as filters between the mantle and the atmosphere, and can generate large volcanic eruptions that pose significant hazards while altering Earth's climate. Quantifying the growth rates, magma fluxes, and duration of storage at different crustal levels is crucial for understanding such systems, but these parameters are poorly constrained due to the scarcity of exposed crustal sections. Here we present the first detailed reconstruction of magma emplacement and differentiation time scales of a complete crustal-scale igneous system exposed in the southern Alps (Ivrea-Sesia region, northern Italy) to quantify the magma fluxes and duration of transcrustal magmatism. Integrated zircon U-Pb petrochronology and numerical modeling provides unprecedented evidence that the volcanic and plutonic bodies are directly related to each other both chemically and temporally, suggesting that the entire magmatic system grew rapidly from its deepest roots to the erupted products. In the entire crustal section, zircons record 4 m.y. of magma accretion, but the bulk of the magma was emplaced within approximately 2 m.y. during an episode of enhanced magma flux from the mantle. Our results show the synchronous growth and differentiation of discrete magma bodies at various crustal levels beneath silicic caldera volcanoes and reconcile modeling and geochronological results on crustal-scale heat and mass transfer.


Summary Ninety-two consecutive patients referred for suspicion of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) were analyzed for D-dimer using ELISA, latex test, and a new immunofiltration method (NycoCard D-Dimer). Contrast venography verified the diagnosis in 40, and excluded the diagnosis in 52 patients. The sensitivity, negative predictive values, specificity and positive predictive values were, for ELISA 98%, 95%, 38% and 54, for NycoCard D-Dimer 100%, 100%, 42% and 57% and for the latex test 73%, 78%, 75%, and 69%, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity were inversely related with increasing pathological cutoff value. Comparison of test results by concentration category revealed a good agreement between ELISA and NycoCard D-Dimer, but to less extent between latex and the two other tests. It is concluded that NycoCard D-Dimer and D-dimer ELISA are well-suited as exclusion tests for DVT. A plasma sample is tested with NycoCard D-Dimer in less than 2 min. Thus, this test combines advantageous analytical properties comparable to the ELISA-test, with rapidity and simplicity comparable to the latex test.


A list including 20 species of Phenacoccus Cockerell from China is provided, in which 6 species are newly recorded from this country and 3 species are described as new to science. A key to Chinese species is also given. All type specimens are deposited in the Research Center of Scale Insects, Shanxi Agricultural University.1 Phenacoccus atubulatus sp. nov. (Fig. 1) Adult female oval, about 2.25 mm long and 1.30?mm wide. Antennae 9 segmented; legs well developed, claw with a distinct denticle. 18 pairs of cerarii, C 18 with 2 thick conical setae and 8 10 trilocular pores, borne on an oval sclerotized platelet, C 1 and C 2 with 3 seatae and 3 5 trilocular pores, each of others with 2 slender setae and 2 4. Circulus absents. Trilocular pores densely distributed on both surfaces except median area of venter where they are displaced by quiquelocular pores; multilocular pores about 30 in number, form short transverse rows on abdominal sternites 5 8. Oral collar tubular ducts absent. Holotype ♀, Daba Forest Area ( 37.9 °N,105.8 °E), Ningxia , on root of Cynanchum komarovii Ai. Iljinski, 11. Ⅷ. 1989, coll. WANG Jian Yi; paratype 1♀, the same data as holotype. This new species is allied to P. interruptus Green, 1923, but can be easily distinguished by absence of tubular ducts. Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the absence of oral collar tubular duct.2 Phenacoccus neimengulicus sp.nov. (Fig. 2) Adult female oval, about 2 5 mm long and 1 6 mm wide. Antennae 9 segmented. Legs small, claw with a denticlae. The anterior ostioles absent. Cerarii present only on anal lobe, with 2 thick conical setae and 4 5 trilocular pores, borne on sclerotized plates. Circulus absents. Trilocular pores distributed on both surfaces of body; quinquelocular pores on median area of venter; multilocular pores mainly on tergites 4 8 and sternites 3 8 of abdomen. Oral collar tubular ducts, 8μm long and 3μm wide, mainly distributed on sternites 3 7 of abdomen. Holotype ♀, Alxa Youqi ( 39.1 °N,101.7 °E), Inner Mongolia, on root of Salsova passerina, 15. Ⅶ. 1990, collected by LI Jie; paratypes 3 ♀♀, the same data as holotype. The new species is allied to P. arthrophyti Archangelskaya, 1930, but differs from the latter in having only anal lobe ceraii located on sclerotized plates.3 Phenacoccus shanxiensis sp. nov. (Fig. 3) Adult female oval, about 2.5mm long and 1.5mm wide. Antennae with 8 or 9 segments. Legs relatively small comparative to body. Ostioles developed. 5 pairs of cerarii, C 2 with 3 slender setae and 1 2 trilocular pores, C 3 with 3 setae and 3 4 pores, C 16 with 2 setae and 2 pores, C 17 with 2 setae and 3 4 pores, and C 18 with 2 setae, 1 2 spines and 7 8 pores located on weekly sclerotized plates. Circulus present. Trilocular pores numerous, distributed on both surfaces of body; quinquelocular pores absent; multilocular pores found on abdominal sternites. Tubular ducts of 2 sizes, the large one 11?μm long and 2.8?μm wide, on margins of abdominal sternites 6 8 in group; the small one 8?μm long and 2?μm wide, distributed on venter of body. Holotype ♀, Taigu County (37.4 °N,112.5 °E), Shanxi Province ,on root of Artemisia capillaris, 2. Ⅴ. 1995;paratype 3 ♀♀, the same data as holotype; 3♀♀, Taigu, Shanxi ,on root of Heteropappus altaicus , 6. Ⅴ. 1995, and 1♀, Huguan, Shanxi, on root of Artemisia sp., 23. Ⅳ. 1995, all collected by author. The new species is similar to P. setiger Borchsenius, 1949, but oral collar tubular ducts present only on venter in the former, on both body surfaces in the latter.4 Phenacoccus arthrophyti Archangelskaya New record to China Distribution. Xinjiang; Mongolia, Tajikhstan, Turkmenstan.Host. Haloxylon ammodendron. 5 Phenacoccus bazarovi Ben Dov New record to China. Distribution. Ningxia; Mongolia, Tajikhstan.Host. Aneurolepidium chinense. 6 Phenacoccus borchsenii (Maresova) New record to China.


Intraventricular cavernous hemangiomas are uncommon. Among them, those occurred at the foramen of Monro in the third ventricle may be of particular interest because of its rarity, development of hydrocephalus, being differentiated from other brain lesions. We present a rare case of intraventricular cavernous hemangioma at foramen of Monro which was resected through microsurgery and also review the relevant literatures.


Shrinking process geometries and the increasing use of intellectual property components in system-on-chip designs give rise to new problems in routing and buffer insertion. A particular concern is that cross-chip routing will require multiple clock cycles. Another is the integration of independently clocked components. This paper explores simultaneous routing and buffer insertion in the context of single- and multiple-clock domains. We present two optimal and efficient polynomial algorithms that build upon the dynamic programming fast path framework. The first algorithm solves the problem of finding the minimum latency path for a single-clock domain system. The second considers routing between two components that are locally synchronous yet globally asynchronous to each other. Both algorithms can be used for interconnect planning. Experimental results verify the correctness and practicality of our approach.


The Pazyryk culture of the Altai mountains (second half of the 1st millennium ВСЕ) is famous forits well-preserved organic materials which survived due to the permafrost beneath the barrows. Of all the extant objects that come from five burials the oldest tattoos in Animal style, found on seven human mummies, attract special attention. Pioneering is the author's approach to the finds based on the principles of mapping main tattoos on the body with its interpretation: the development of the principles is traced according to territorial and chronological spreading of iconographic analogues. Finds of this kind allow us to propose certain preliminary systematization: it is possible to distinguish sustainable sets of images different for males and females.Meaning of a tattoo correlates to the role which a body part that bears it played in a person's life. Large images of predators placed closer to the heart make us recall that it is heart that is often considered to be the seat of courage, rage, and other characteristics by many folks associated with large predators. Ungulates shown in agonyas defeated animals or victims are placed on forearms — it is with their hands that people fight, hunt, and makesacrifices. On legs, which are to be fast and strong, there are running herbivore animals chosen from among themost fast and hardy. All this is common for Animal style as a magic mascot that was believed to influence the carrier of a certain image. An image of a hoofed griffin is quite a special phenomenon originating from Northern China and Mongolia.The Pazyryk images of these griffins are imitative; the Altai nomads should have associated the image of this monster with their neighbours endowing it with the idea of victim, and not only they knew the "owners" of theimage, but also feuded and fought with them. Analogies to the composition with predators surrounding tortured ungulates are found to the West of the Altai mountains. Communicative vector which is presented here corresponds with the Western analogies to the finds and imported items that come from the Fifth Pazyryk barrow. Perhaps, the woman buried there, born in Eastern Kazakhstan or in South-West of Siberia, could have arrived to the Altai via marriage as a result of strengthening ties between the Pazyryk culture and the West, to the detriment of connections with South-Eastern neighbours. It is possible that the Pazyryk tattoos in Animal style depict the system of the Pazyrykculture's contacts and their dynamics in the 4th–3rd centuries ВСЕ.


The article examines the letters sent by Marina Tsvetaeva to the translator and public figure Anna Teskova, who was one of the few poet's Czech intimate friends, whom she met during her stay in Czechoslovakia (1922-1925). In the first part of the paper the Author focuses on the echoes of Prague and its culture in this specific correspondence, trying to ascertain to which extent Marina Tsvetaeva was acquainted with the cultural world she lived in: the lack of knowledge of the Czech language and the limited relationships with Prague intellectuals didn't allow her to get a deep insight of the Czech cultural milieu. The textual analysis of the letters, though, on the basis of key concepts as "родной", "родина", "честь", confirms the presence of a persistent feeling of Prague-homesickness in Tsvetaeva's psycho- logical world, which brought her to develop an alternative model of Homeland, substitute to her native Russia and to Germany, which disappointed her after the rise of the Nazi Regime. Through this unique correspondence (including the first part of her Verses dedicated to Bohemia ) we gain the certainty that Tsvetaeva discovered in Prague and in the Czech lands an idealized model of a pacific, beautiful and faithful Homeland.


2983 Ginseng is a well-known herb medicine that has been used for thousands of years. The major medicinal ingredients in ginseng are ginsenosides, a group of triterpene saponins. While a wide range of pharmacological effects of various ginsenosides have been reported, only few ginsenosides (Rh2 and Rg3) have shown cytotoxicity in cancer cells. In the present study, we investigated the anti-tumor activity of an aglycon Rh2 derivative, namely aglycon 20(S)-protopanaxadiol (aPPD). Human tumor cells of various types were treated with aPPD followed by cytotoxicity assay. Aglycon PPD induced tumor apoptotic cell death in a dose-response fashion. Results of Western blotting revealed that all caspases including caspase 3, 8, and 9 were activated 3 hours after treatment. However, aPPD can also induce apoptosis through a pathway independent of above caspases. In addition, aPPD synergistically enhances cytotoxicity of various chemotherapy drugs on cancer cells, especially for the multidrug resistant cancer cells. Further study showed that aPPD significantly blocked p-glycoprotein in a mechanism different from verapamil. In an intracranial rat glioma model, animals were orally given aPPD at doses of 2.5, 12 and 25mg/kg for 5 days. Among animals treated with 12 and 25mg/kg, 40% survived longer than 42 days comparing to the average of 18 days in control animals. Furthermore, more than 50% of survived animals were found completed tumor regression by autopsy. No toxicity was detectable. The above results suggest that aglycon PPD possesses effective anti-tumor activity and therefore is a potential anti-tumor drug candidate.


This paper reports a sequence of harmonic tremor observed during the 2011 eruption of Shinmoe-dake volcano, Kyushu, Japan. The main eruptive activity started with subplinian eruptions, followed by lava effusion. Harmonic tremor was observed as seismic waves during the final stage of the effusive eruption. The tremor observed at this stage had unclear and fluctuating harmonic modes. In the atmosphere, however, many impulsive acoustic waves indicating small surface explosions were observed. When effusion stopped and explosive degassing began, harmonic tremor was observed as acoustic waves in the air and in the seismic data, and the harmonic modes became clearer and more stable. This transition in the character of the harmonic tremor coincided with rapid deflation of the lava that had accumulated in the crater. Based on these observations, and laboratory experiments reproducing the features of the wave fields, it is concluded that the harmonic tremor sequence at Shinmoe-dake was generated by gas flowing through channels in the gradually solidifying lava. Comparing our results with the few cases of similar transition observed at other volcanoes, we expect that the transition indicates changes in magma rheology and degassing conditions in the crater, and therefore of changes in eruptive activity. Key words: Harmonic tremor, infrasound, lava deflation, degassing, lava viscosity, bubbles.


ABSTRACT The present study analyzes the influence of a restaurant's symbolic design on photo-posting behavior on Instagram. Data from 272 consumers who had visited a restaurant for dinner were used to test the proposed conceptual framework. Results confirmed a positive influence of a restaurant's symbolic design on consumers' photo-posting behavior, mediated by positive emotional arousal. This effect was stronger for individuals with a higher level of commitment to the Instagram community and for those who experienced a greater gratification from being perceived as cool by their peers when posting photos on Instagram. The study contributes to the hospitality marketing management and social media literature by adding to our understanding of the underlying mechanisms that influence user-generated content on Instagram in the restaurant industry. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications are discussed.


Bioelectrochemical systems are a promising technology capable of reducing CO2 emissions, a renewable carbon source, using electroactive microorganisms for this purpose. Purple Phototrophic Bacteria (PPB) use their versatile metabolism to uptake external electrons from an electrode to fix CO2. In this work, the effect of the voltage (from −0.2 to −0.8 V vs. Ag/AgCl) on the metabolic CO2 fixation of a mixed culture of PPB under photoheterotrophic conditions during the oxidation of a biodegradable carbon source is demonstrated. The minimum voltage to fix CO2 was between −0.2 and −0.4 V. The Calvin–Benson–Bassham (CBB) cycle is the main electron sink at these voltages. However, lower voltages caused the decrease in the current intensity, reaching a minimum at −0.8 V (−4.75 mA). There was also a significant relationship between the soluble carbon uptake in terms of chemical oxygen demand and the electron consumption for the experiments performed at −0.6 and −0.8 V. These results indicate that the CBB cycle is not the only electron sink and some photoheterotrophic metabolic pathways are also being affected under electrochemical conditions. This behavior has not been tested before in photoheterotrophic conditions and paves the way for the future development of photobioelectrochemical systems under heterotrophic conditions.


Aims A substantial fraction of patients undergoing knee arthroplasty (KA) or hip arthroplasty (HA) do not achieve an improvement as high as the minimal clinically important difference (MCID), i.e. do not achieve a meaningful improvement. Using three patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), our aim was: 1) to assess machine learning (ML), the simple pre-surgery PROM score, and logistic-regression (LR)-derived performance in their prediction of whether patients undergoing HA or KA achieve an improvement as high or higher than a calculated MCID; and 2) to test whether ML is able to outperform LR or pre-surgery PROM scores in predictive performance. Methods MCIDs were derived using the change difference method in a sample of 1,843 HA and 1,546 KA patients. An artificial neural network, a gradient boosting machine, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression, ridge regression, elastic net, random forest, LR, and pre-surgery PROM scores were applied to predict MCID for the following PROMs: EuroQol five-dimension, five-level questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L), EQ visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS), Hip disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score-Physical Function Short-form (HOOS-PS), and Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score-Physical Function Short-form (KOOS-PS). Results Predictive performance of the best models per outcome ranged from 0.71 for HOOS-PS to 0.84 for EQ-VAS (HA sample). ML statistically significantly outperformed LR and pre-surgery PROM scores in two out of six cases. Conclusion MCIDs can be predicted with reasonable performance. ML was able to outperform traditional methods, although only in a minority of cases. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2023;12(9):512–521.


Low concentrations of a disulfide reducing agent were added to unheated and heated (80 °C for 30 min) skim milk, with and without added whey protein. The reduction of the β-lactoglobulin and κ-casein disulfide bonds was monitored over time using electrophoresis. The distribution of the proteins between the colloidal and serum phases was also investigated. κ-Casein disulfide bonds were reduced in preference to those of β-lactoglobulin in both unheated and heated skim milk (with or without added whey protein). In addition, in heated skim milk, while the serum κ-casein was reduced more readily than the colloidal κ-casein, the distribution of κ-casein between the two phases was not affected.


Salmonella enteritidis serotype Agona, which is associated with animal feeds containing fish meal, was isolated consistently from waters influenced by sewage containing poultry processing wastes.


ICES stock assessments of North Sea plaice are routinely carried out with eXtended Survivors Analysis (XSA), based on landings and survey data. Recently, the assessments included data on discarded young fish, sampled with high variance. Fishing effort has been declining since the mid-1990s, so conditioning the estimated fishing mortality (F) on the recent past could introduce bias into the perceived stock size. Simulated populations with North Sea plaice-like characteristics are used to explore the dependence of the perceived stock dynamics on the inclusion of discards data at different sampling noise, using the same methods and XSA settings as ICES. The sensitivities of the results were tested against different trends in fishing effort and recruitment, and different scenarios for "shrinkage" (i.e. the way in which the past is used to estimate the most recent fishing mortality). Within the bounds of the simulation assumptions, the perception of population trends from an XSA stock assessment can be biased when there are trends in fishing effort: decreasing effort leads to underestimating SSB and overestimating F. When discards are not included, bias in SSB is greatest when effort decreases, and bias in F is greatest when effort increases. Bias in SSB and F were removed by including discard data, but at substantial loss of precision. If effort shows a clear trend and discards are substantial and estimated noisily, the recent trend in the target population may be hard to track with an XSA-type assessment methodology


american literary humor during the great depression is available in our book collection an online access to it is set as public so you can get it instantly. Our book servers hosts in multiple locations, allowing you to get the most less latency time to download any of our books like this one. Kindly say, the american literary humor during the great depression is universally compatible with any devices to read.


The cost and the performance of PV plants strongly depends on modules. However, the electrical parameters of the modules can be different from those provided by the manufacturer; moreover, such parameters can change as the module is getting older. Therefore, the behavior of the mathematical model of a PV module can-t match the real operating conditions. The paper proposes an improved model of a PV module that make use only parameters provided by manufacturers datasheets without requiring the use of any numerical methods. In the paper after the detailed description of the proposed model, different simulation results are pointed out. Finally a suitable procedure that permits to account the real operating parameters in the PV model and an experimental validation is presented.


The need for a dynamic and scalable expansion of the grid infrastructure and resources and other scalability issues in terms of execution efficiency and fault tolerance present centralized management techniques with numerous difficulties. In this chapter we present the case for biologically inspired grid resource management techniques that are decentralized and self organized in nature. To achieve the desired de-centralized resource management, these techniques model the self-organization observed in many natural complex adaptive systems. Using a few representative techniques, we review the literature on Bio-inspired Grid Resource Management. Based on this review we conclude that many such techniques have been successfully applied to resource discovery, service placement, scheduling and load balancing.


In this study the absorption of Fe, Zn and Cu in decoctions of siwu decoction, sijunzi decoction and liuwei dihuang decoction by the small intestine in anesthetized rats was observed. The experimental results showed that the absorption of Cu and Fe from siwu decoction was much higher than that from other decoctions which might be related to the hematopoietic function of Cu and Fe rich in the decoction.


The engineering and control of devices at the quantum mechanical level—such as those consisting of small numbers of atoms and photons—is a delicate business. The fundamental uncertainty that is inherently present at this scale manifests itself in the unavoidable presence of noise, making this a novel field of application for stochastic estimation and control theory. In this expository paper we demonstrate estimation and feedback control of quantum mechanical systems in what is essentially a noncommutative version of the binomial model that is popular in mathematical finance. The model is extremely rich and allows a full development of the theory while remaining completely within the setting of finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces (thus avoiding the technical complications of the continuous theory). We introduce discretized models of an atom in interaction with the electromagnetic field, obtain filtering equations for photon counting and homodyne detection, and solve a stochastic control problem using dynamic programming and Lyapunov function methods.


SUMMARY This report describes a patient with end stage IgA nephropathy who received a renal transplant from his asymptomatic HLA-identical brother. A biopsy of the donor kidney performed at the time of transplantation showed evidence of widespread electron-dense mesangial deposits. On immunofluorescence these deposits stained with IgA, documenting clinically occult IgA nephropathy in this otherwise healthy donor. These findings are of particular interest in view of the association of IgA nephropathy with the HLA-Bw35 alloantigen, and raise the possibility that asymptomatic disease, already present in a donor kidney, may have accounted for what has previously been called "recurrence" of this disease in renal allograft recipients.


Time effects in magnetic recording media are noticeable, particularly in tapes using CrO/sub 2/ particles. It is found that the time effects can be described by functions that are almost the same as ln t. The coefficient of the log term is studied for tapes with CrO/sub 2/ particles and with metallic particles as functions of magnetic field and temperature. The tapes are subjected to rotating magnetic fields before measuring the time effects.


Auditory and vestibular inputs are applied to the hair cell hair bundle as mechanical energy, and are transduced into electrical energy by gating ion channels, most likely at the base of the hair bundle. The mechano-electrical transduction channel has a unitary conductance of 50 pS and has a broad selectivity to monovalent cations and to divalent cations. Ca ions are the most permeable through the channel. The angular displacement of the hair bundle is the primary gating factor. However, we still do not know the exact linkage between the angular displacement and the channel gating. Circumstantial evidence indicates a possibility of the direct gating of channels by the membrane deformation itself. ATP and cholinergic muscarinic receptors likely mediate the inhibitory efferent innervation to the hair cell.


During end-to-side mechanical anastomosis with a circular stapler, an intestinal fold may be caught between the anvil and the loader resulting in obstruction, to a varying degree, of the efferent segment of the loop. This can be avoided by careful spreading of the bowel over the loader opposite the future anastomotic area.


The existing approaches for salient motion segmentation are unable to explicitly learn geometric cues and often give false detections on prominent static objects. We exploit multiview geometric constraints to avoid such shortcomings. To handle the nonrigid background like a sea, we also propose a robust fusion mechanism between motion and appearance-based features. We find dense trajectories, covering every pixel in the video, and propose trajectory-based epipolar distances to distinguish between background and foreground regions. Trajectory epipolar distances are dataindependent and can be readily computed given a few features' correspondences between the images. We show that by combining epipolar distances with optical flow, a powerful motion network can be learned. Enabling the network to leverage both of these features, we propose a simple mechanism, we call input-dropout. Comparing the motion-only networks, we outperform the previous state of the art on DAVIS-2016 dataset by 5.2% in the mean IoU score. By robustly fusing our motion network with an appearance network using the input-dropout mechanism, we also outperform the previous methods on DAVIS-2016, 2017 and Segtrackv2 dataset.


Following recent experimental studies, we present in this paper a linear model of the periodic-waveguide cyclotron maser. This device is based on a cyclotron-type interaction of a nonrelativistic electron beam with traveling waves in a metallic periodic waveguide. The kinetic model presented in this paper incorporates the periodic-waveguide spatial wave harmonics with the cyclotron and Weibel interactions. It results in a Pierce-type gain-dispersion equation with new coupling terms. The dependence of the cyclotron amplification on the low impedance of the inductive periodic waveguide and on the electron initial transverse velocity is analyzed in various operating regimes. In agreement with experimental results, this analysis shows that amplification is feasible in certain conditions without an initial electron transverse velocity (${\mathit{V}}_{0\mathrm{\ensuremath{\perp}}}$=0) and with a wide acceptance of electron beam energy variation.


The authors demonstrate high-performance and highly reliable single-frequency quarter-wave ( lambda /4)-shifted multiple-quantum-well distributed-feedback laser diodes with double-channel planar buried heterostructure (MQW-DFB-DC-PBH LDs). Superior characteristics, such as narrow spectral linewidth (about 1 MHz) and flat FM response (several GHz bandwidth with less than 50-kHz dip frequency) at high light output power, have been obtained with small values of coupling coefficient and cavity length product ( kappa L), and thick separate-confinement-heterostructure (SCH) layers. An estimated lifetime in terms of spectral linewidth, FM response, and lasing wavelength of over 10/sup 5/ has been obtained, demonstrating that these devices are suitable for practical use in gigabit/second coherent optical fiber communication systems. >


Gas hydrates are ice like crystals, but they are different in structure. gas hydrates formation in gas transporting pipe lines causes clogging the pipe lines, and prevents transporting gas .therefore gas hydrates formation should be prevented because clogging price is high and it's time- consuming. To stop gas hydrate formation in gas transporting pipe lines, chemical inhibitors are used. These inhibitors are divided into thermodynamic and synthetic inhibitors. Synthetic inhibitors are used with low density and prevents making and growing of crystal hydrates. This article will focus on analyzing synthetic inhibitors, and their function the task orders are as followed: 1. Synthetic investigation of hydrate formation with and without presence of inhibitor. 2. Using Kashchiev- Firozabad model and experimental data of gas transporting pipe lines for drawing synthetic graphs of gas hydrates formation with presence of synthetic inhibitors.


Inability to conceive even after one year of unprotected intercourse is called infertility. Amongst them the common causes aretubal blockage which contributes 30% and ovulatory dysfunction 30-40% of total infertility cases. Tubal factor is dealt with assisted reproductive techniques or invasive procedures like tubal reconstructive surgery which are not accessible to majority of population whereas PCOD has no permanent solution till date. A 30 years old female patient was trying to conceive since 1.5 year but she could not conceived.She had history of consuming allopathic treatment for conception during 1st pregnancy. After 3 months, she conceived but she had to take MTP as fcp was not present. When she attended our OPD of PTSR, IPGT&RA hospital. She was known case of unilateral blocked fallopian tube with PCOD since 2 month. A Multi-modality Ayurveda regime including Virechana (Purgation therapy), Niruha Basti (Decoction rich enema), Uttara Basti (Intrauterine medication) and Oral medication were given for duration of 3 months. After 3 month of treatment patient was conceived. Therefore this Multi-modality Ayurveda regime has shown significant result in removing tubal blockage and achieving conception. This treatment is safer and cost effective as compare to available invasive management of tubal blockage without complications.


We analyse the average annual and seasonal air temperature conditions in the 'local climate zones' (LCZs) of Szeged, Hungary. The basis of our analysis is a 1‐year dataset from 2014 to 2015 for a 20‐station urban meteorological network. The network and its corresponding LCZ classes put temperature studies in Szeged into a new spatial framework to assess local climate and urban heat island (UHI) conditions. The stations were installed at locally representative sites using a Geographic Information System (GIS) method based on the standard surface parameters of the LCZ classification. The network was purposely designed to monitor thermal differences among LCZ classes in Szeged. We provide detailed site metadata for each of the monitoring stations used in the analysis. Our results show that the densely built‐up LCZ classes have higher annual and monthly mean and minimum air temperatures than structurally open and more vegetated classes, with nocturnal differences of >4 °C observed under calm, clear skies. Among select temperature indices measured in the urban LCZ classes, frost days, cooling degree‐days, and tropical nights differ markedly from the background rural LCZ classes. This difference suggests that local climatologies exist within Szeged, and that these have implications for thermal comfort, urban energy use, and urban agriculture. Finally, the evaluation of heating and cooling rates in Szeged shows an important role for LCZs in UHI analysis.


In this paper a new monolithic Eulerian formulation in the framework of non-classical continuum is presented for the analysis of fluid-strucutre interaction problems. In this respect, Cosserat continuum theory taking into account the micro-rotational degrees of freedom of the particles is considered. Continuum description of the model and variational formulation of the governing flow dynamics for non-classical -fluid-structure interaction nCFSI is presented. The model is analyzed by computing a well known benchmark problem by Hecht and Pironneau [16]. The algorithmic description is presented and implemented using FreeFEM++. Code is validated with the benchmark solution of Turek and Hron [38] in case of flow around a flag attached with cylinder. New microstructral behavior of the solution is studied and numerical simulations and results are shown in the form of figures. Some interesting feature of the flow is observed and microstructural characteristics are discussed. Abstract


Abstract The present paper deals with the sliding wear behaviour of prealloyed chromium sintered steel (Fe-1.5Cr-0.2Mo) with graphite powder added in the amount of 0.7%. The wear characteristics, such as profilograms, wear tracks morphology and wear curves of the as sintered specimens and TiCN coating were investigated through pin-on-disk tests. The specimens were sintered in pusher furnace at the temperature of 1453 K for 2400 s in a nitrogen-hydrogem atmosphere. Dominant bainitic microstructures with evident features of plastic deformation at the worn surface were detected. The coating of the investigated prealloyed steels increases the wear resistance in comparison with the as-sintered state according to the wear curves. Microstructural and EDX analyses confirmed that delamination and oxidation wear are the main wear mechanism in wear tests.


BACKGROUND There is a small and poorly studied population of patients with mild and limited Crohn's disease (CD), who either spontaneously enter remission and can discontinue therapy, or be maintained on milder anti-inflammatory treatment. AIM To identify a group of children with mild CD who were not escalated to immunomodulators (azathioprine, mercaptopurine, or methotrexate) or biologics (infliximab or adalimumab) within the first two years after their Crohn's diagnosis and outline the natural history and phenotypic features of these patients. METHODS In a retrospective chart review of the inflammatory bowel disease database at Boston Children's Hospital we reviewed all the mild CD patient's clinic visits, laboratory studies, and procedures for the duration of time they were followed at the center. Patients were included if they had clear diagnosis of Crohn's disease, and they were not escalated to immunosuppressive therapies for at least 2 years after the date of diagnosis. These mild CD patients were compared to controls diagnosed at a similar time, that were treated with immunomodulators or biologics. Data that was abstracted included: Age at diagnosis, sex, disease location utilizing the Paris classification, medical treatment, surgical treatment, endoscopic findings, histology, and hospitalizations. We also analyzed differences in the phenotypic features between those with mild CD and those with moderate to severe disease. RESULTS Out of 1205 patients with CD diagnosed between 1990 and 2013, we identified 29 patients that met the inclusion criteria, and they were matched with 58 controls. There were no significant differences between the disease behaviors at presentation, with approximately 90% of patients in each group having inflammatory disease. However, patients with mild disease were more likely to have disease limited to the colon (31% vs 12%, P = 0.03). In contrast, patients with moderate to severe disease (aka control group) were more likely to have ileocolonic disease (70% vs 45% in the mild group, P = 0.02). Of the 29 patients, only 8 required medication escalation to immunomodulators during the period of follow-up. The primary indication for escalation to immune suppressive therapies was corticosteroid dependence. We also found that patients treated without immunomodulators or biologics for mild CD continue to exhibit histologic intestinal inflammation. Of the 29 patients, three developed significant complications of ileal disease, though only one required surgical intervention during the period of follow-up. CONCLUSION We identified a cohort of children with mild CD, who were able to avoid the institution of immune suppressive therapies for several years, and generally had good outcomes during the period of follow-up. While a subset of these patients will eventually require either immunosuppression or surgery, the majority of them have a good quality of life despite having low-grade intestinal inflammation. Importantly, this subset of patients has managed to avoid the potential toxicities of immune suppression for several years. The majority of these patients have either colonic disease with minimal small bowel involvement or limited ileal disease.


Background and Aims: To determine accuracy, safety and specificity of a novel non-invasive wrist-worn continuous BGM device which analyses resonance shifts in the microwave spectrum using AI. We present results from an ongoing study in patients with T1D and T2D from an expanded dataset (cohorts 1-3).
 Methods: In this open, pilot, adaptive design study, subjects (N=5/cohort) attended 4 test occasions (n=2/session), each ≤7 days apart. Devices automatically collected data every 60 secs for 500 msec over 3 hours/session, with plasma glucose measured every 5 mins. A global AI model was evaluated by MARD using venous blood glucose. Interim results from every 5 completed patients informed the next device iteration with 10 iterations possible across the study.
 Results: Data from each cohort was used to train a neural net algorithm to predict a new trial. Each cohort improved overall MARD prediction accuracy. All analyses followed a leave-one-trial-out methodology where the data for the omitted trial was predicted for each analysis cycle. Using the first cohort, the MARD was 21%, adding the second reduced MARD to 15% and with all 3 cohorts the predictive MARD was 13%. Improvement in the SEG plots showed data falling into low risk SEG categories.
 Conclusions: We have shown that by giving the neural network an expanded dataset, the MARD decreased to nearer commercially available minimally-invasive BGMs by 38% from a predictive MARD of 21% to 13%.

 M.S.Chaudhry: None. G.J.Dunseath: None. J.Ryan: None. L.Barlow: None. I.C.Carrillo masso: Employee; Afon Technology Ltd. J.H.Crane: None. M.R.A.Qureshi: Employee; Afon Technology Ltd. S.C.Bain: Advisory Panel; Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim Inc., AstraZeneca. S.D.Luzio: None. C.M.Handy: None. B.Love: Consultant; Afon Technologies LTD. N.M.M.Silva: None. L.M.Ferreira: None. K.Wareham: None.


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

Purpose: There is a need to improve detection of peritoneal ovarian cancer metastases before and during surgery. Previous designs of activatable GSA-fluorophore probes, which target lectin receptors, have used only visible range dyes conjugated to GSA. However, activatable agents emitting fluorescence in the NIR range are advantageous because NIR photons have deeper in vivo tissue penetration and lower background autofluorescence than those emitting in the visible range. An NIR-activatable GSA fluorophore pair can be synthesized using the dye NMP1. This NMP1 dye has two unique absorption peaks (in green and NIR wavelength ranges) with a single NIR emission peak of 780nm. NMP1 thus has two different Stoke's shifts that have the potential to allow separate imaging of tumor nodules both at the surface and at depths below the surface. Experimental Design: GSA was conjugated with 2 NMP1 molecules to create a self-quenching complex (GSA-NMP1). The activation magnitude of GSA-NMP1 was validated by adding 10% SDS. Flow cytometry, fluorescence microscopy, and in vivo spectral fluorescence imaging were carried out to compare GSA-NMP1 with GSA-IR800 (an always on control agent with similar emission to NMP1) in terms of intracellular activation and abilities to allow detection of small ovarian cancer implants in mice models. Sensitivity and specificity of GSA-NMP1 for implant detection were determined by co-localizing NMP1 emission spectra with red fluorescent protein expressed constitutively in SHIN3 tumor implants. Image processing in Java was used to subtract spectral images, with resulting images theorized to show tumor nodules at a depth below the surface. Results: The fluorescence signal of GSA-NMP1 can be activated ∼100-fold and was specifically yielded after internalization into SHIN3 cells 3h after incubation. Submillimeter ovarian cancer implants in the peritoneal cavity were clearly detectable in vivo with spectral fluorescence imaging. Among 555 peritoneal lesions, the sensitivity and specificity for GSA-NMP using NIR and green excitation light, were 75%/92% and 91%/92% for lesions ∼0.8 mm or greater in diameter, respectively. Image processing suggests that nodules at a depth below the small bowel are imaged only with GSA-NMP1 by subtraction of the two excitation images. Conclusions: GSA-NMP1 is useful in imaging peritoneal ovarian cancer metastases, located both superficially and deep in the abdominal cavity.

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 LB-508. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-LB-508


This paper presents a dielectric simulation approach for predicting withstand voltage of air insulated power devices. The paper gives an overview of typical evaluation procedures for the basic discharge stages including inception, streamer propagation and leader transition. For selected test arrangements, we compare the results of lightning impulse tests with simulations. The simulations utilize a new approach that combines the well-established empirical procedure with numerical computations for arbitrary geometries. We introduce a new formulation for evaluation of saturation charge density, which enables a revision of the streamer inception conditions due to surface charging and an estimation of the leader transition characteristics including the surface capacitance.


SIRT1 inhibitors offer therapeutic potential for the treatment of a number of diseases including cancer and human immunodeficiency virus infection. A diverse series of 45 compounds with reported SIRT1 inhibitory activity has been employed for the development of quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) models using the Monte Carlo optimization method. This method makes use of simplified molecular input line entry system notation of the molecular structure. The QSAR models were built up according to OECD principles. Three subsets of three splits were examined and validated by respective external sets. All the three described models have good statistical quality. The best model has the following statistical characteristics: R2 = 0.8350, Q2test = 0.7491 for the test set and R2 = 0.9655, Q2ext = 0.9261 for the validation set. In the mechanistic interpretation, structural attributes responsible for the endpoint increase and decrease are defined. Further, the design of some prospective SIRT1 inhibitors is also presented on the basis of these structural attributes.


In the present study the optimum dimensions of circular rectangular and triangular profile fins with fin to fin and fin to base radiant interaction are determined. The basic assumptions are one-dimensional heat conduction, and black surface radiation. The governing equations are formulated by means of dimensionless variables and solved numerically. The optimum fin dimensions, bore thickness and height, are presented in generalized dimensionless form. In order to assist the spacecraft thermal systems designers explicit correlations are provided for the dimensionless, bore thickness. The results are analyzed and reported in diagrams that give insight to the operational characteristics of the heat rejection mechanism. Moreover, special attention is given in the error analysis of the numerical methods used, since the accuracy and the reliability of the algorithms employed for the solution of the integro-differential equation is importand for the calculation of the heat dissipation at the fin base and its subsequent optimization.


Jamun or Black plum is an important summer fruit, associated with many health and medicinal benefits. The black plum is known to relieve stomach pain, carminative, anti-scorbutic and diuretic. Jamun vinegar is good to reduce enlargement of spleen, diarrhea, and who has urine retention problems. Jamum's ployphenolic compounds are effective against cancer, heart diseases, diabetes, asthma and arthritis. Various digestive disorders i.e. flatulence, bowel spasm, stomach disorders, dysentery are cured by jamun. It is also eaten as tonic to increase sexual activity. Jamun is known by different names such as jambul, jambas, jamun, jambolan, rajaman, kala jamun, neredu, naval, nerale, jamali, java plum, black plum and


Electrolytic changes in blood have been associated with the use of anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antibodies. The objective of this retrospective study was to compare the rate of incidence and the severity of blood electrolyte and protein imbalances occurring in patients receiving cetuximab or panitumumab with or without concurrent chemotherapy. Treatment data of 58 patients who received cetuximab and 21 patients who received panitumumab were analyzed. Cetuximab caused hypomagnesemia in more than half of the patients, among whom 4 had severity up to grade 2/3 level, whereas panitumumab induced hypomagnesemia in 90% of the patients with severity up to grade 2 level occurring in 38% of the patients. Intravenous magnesium supplementation on the day of anti-EGFR treatment did not always adequately control the magnesium wasting in these patients. Often treatments with these agents had to be interrupted or terminated as a result of severe electrolyte depletion despite supplementation. Taking into consideration the mechanism of magnesium wasting from the kidney and the magnesium transport process in the gut, intravenous magnesium infusion coupled with oral supplementation with more tolerant oral magnesium products may help improve the treatment outcome in these patients. Surprisingly, more than half of these patients showed significant decreases in their albumin levels, which were correlated with the initiation or discontinuation of anti-EGFR therapy. The underlying mechanism of this decrease in albumin level is not known. The increased likelihood of poor outcomes such as mortality, morbidity and prolonged hospital stay in acutely ill patients with hypoalbuminemia is well recognized. Moreover, the maintenance of adequate serum albumin levels in these patients receiving anti-EGFR therapy may play an important role in containing some of the adverse effects of concurrently administered chemotherapeutic agents.


Research in automated planning is getting more and more focused on empirical evaluation. Likewise the need for methodologies and benchmarks to build solid evaluations of planners is increasing. In 1998 the planning community made a move to address this need and initiated the International Planning Competition --or IPC for short. This competition has typically been conducted every two years in the context of the International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling ICAPS and tries to define standard metrics and benchmarks to reliably evaluate planners. In the sixth edition of the competition, IPC 2008, there was an attempt to automate the evaluation of all entries in the competition which was imitated to a large extent and extended in several ways in the seventh edition, IPC 2011. As a result, a software for automatically running planning experiments and inspecting the results is available, encouraging researchers to use it for their own research interests. The software allows researchers to reproduce and inspect the results of IPC 2011, but also to generate and analyze new experiments with private sets of planners and problems. In this paper we provide a gentle introduction to this software and examine the main difficulties, both from a scientific and engineering point of view, in assessing the performance of automated planners.


The structural, energetic, and electronic properties of lattice highly mismatched ZnY1−xOx (Y = S, Se, Te) ternary alloys with dilute O concentrations are calculated from first principles within the density functional theory. We demonstrate the formation of an isolated intermediate electronic band structure through diluted O-substitute in zinc-blende ZnY (Y = S, Se, Te) at octahedral sites in a semiconductor by the calculations of density of states (DOS), leading to a significant absorption below the band gap of the parent semiconductor and an enhancement of the optical absorption in the whole energy range of the solar spectrum. It is found that the intermediate band states should be described as a result of the coupling between impurity O 2p states with the conduction band states. Moreover, the intermediate bands (IBs) in ZnTeO show high stabilization with the change of O concentration resulting from the largest electronegativity difference between O and Te compared with in the other ZnSO and ZnSeO.


This chapter revisits the historical development and outcome of studies focused on the transmissible, extrachromosomal genetic elements called plasmids. Early work on plasmids involved structural and genetic mapping of these molecules, followed by the development of an understanding of how plasmids replicate and segregate during cell division. The intriguing property of plasmid transmission between bacteria and between bacteria and higher cells has received considerable attention. The utilitarian aspects of plasmids are described, including examples of various plasmid vector systems. This chapter also discusses the functional attributes of plasmids needed for their persistence and survival in nature and in man-made environments. The term plasmid biology was first conceived at the Fallen Leaf Lake Conference on Promiscuous Plasmids, 1990, Lake Tahoe, California. The International Society for Plasmid Biology was established in 2004 (www.ISPB.org).


The metal-insulator transition in composite Al-Ge films has been extensively studied experimentally. Using the superconducting properties of clusters composed of aluminium grains in the presence of a magnetic field, the critical metallic volume fraction phi cgp has been determined for the case of grain percolation (gp). Because the films investigated are composed of extremely small grains of Al partially coated with amorphous Ge, the critical volume fraction phi c takes on a comparably large value. Typically about 56 at.% Al. The low-temperature electrical conductivity data are examined using a number of criteria for phi c. Most of these criteria yield values phi c to within 1% of phi cgp. However, one widely used criterion involving the fitting of the low-temperature conductivity data to a T1/2 dependence, as suggested by the electron-electron interaction theory, was found to yield a significantly smaller value for phi c. Methods based on room-temperature data are also evaluated. These criteria yield phi c values that are within +or-1% of phi cgp.


The emerging creative economy, on the one hand, has become a leading component of economic growth, employment, trade and innovation, and social cohesion in most advanced economies; on the other hand, it offers to developing countries a feasible option and new opportunities to leapfrog into emerging high-growth areas of the world economy. In China, how to effectively cultivate high-quality world-class creative talents to adapt to the rapid development of creative industry has been becoming a problem should be solved urgently. This study helps build a reasonable design-talent cultivation mode-an open studio environment in creative industry precinct-for the development of Hangzhou local creative economy and serves as a source of reference for creative talent cultivation model in developing countries.


CaTi1−yFey O3−δ perovskite oxide films are promising candidate materials for p-type interlayers of third generation solar cells or light-emitting devices. The impact of atomic Ti substitutions by Fe on electrical and optical properties of CaTi0.5Fe0.5O3−δ perovskite films have been studied. The best compromise between a high transmission coefficient and the suitable electrical conductivity is obtained for a specific atomic composition of Ca (1) Ti (0.5) Fe (0.5) O (3−δ) perovskite films. This paper shows that CaTi1−yFeyO3−δ perovskite oxides can be integrated as p-type interfacial layers of optoelectronic devices through their work functions, electrical, and optical properties.


Controlled drug delivery is a key topic in modern pharmacotherapy, where controlled drug delivery devices are required to prolong the period of release, maintain a constant release rate, or release the drug with a predetermined release profile. In the pharmaceutical industry, the development process of a controlled drug delivery device may be facilitated enormously by the mathematical modelling of drug release mechanisms, directly decreasing the number of necessary experiments. Such mathematical modelling is difficult because several mechanisms are involved during the drug release process. The main drug release mechanisms of a controlled release device are based on the device's physiochemical properties, and include diffusion, swelling and erosion.

In this thesis, four controlled drug delivery models are investigated. These four models selectively involve the solvent penetration into the polymeric device, the swelling of the polymer, the polymer erosion and the drug diffusion out of the device but all share two common key features. The first is that the solvent penetration into the polymer causes the transition of the polymer from a glassy state into a rubbery state. The interface between the two states of the polymer is modelled as a moving boundary and the speed of this interface is governed by a kinetic law. The second feature is that drug diffusion only happens in the rubbery region of the polymer, with a nonlinear diffusion coefficient which is dependent on the concentration of solvent. These models are analysed by using both formal asymptotics and numerical computation, where front-fixing methods and the method of lines with finite difference approximations are used to solve these models numerically. This numerical scheme is conservative, accurate and easily implemented to the moving boundary problems and is thoroughly explained in Section 3.2. From the small time asymptotic analysis in Sections 5.3.1, 6.3.1 and 7.2.1, these models exhibit the non-Fickian behaviour referred to as Case II diffusion, and an initial constant rate of drug release which is appealing to the pharmaceutical industry because this indicates zeroorder release. The numerical results of the models qualitatively confirms the experimental behaviour identified in the literature. The knowledge obtained from investigating these models can help to develop more complex multi-layered drug delivery devices in order to achieve sophisticated drug release profiles. A multi-layer matrix tablet, which consists of a number of polymer layers designed to provide sustainable and constant drug release or bimodal drug release, is also discussed in this research.

The moving boundary problem describing the solvent penetration into the polymer also arises in melting and freezing problems which have been modelled as the classical onephase Stefan problem. The classical one-phase Stefan problem has unrealistic singularities existed in the problem at the complete melting time. Hence we investigate the effect of including the kinetic undercooling to the melting problem and this problem is called the one-phase Stefan problem with kinetic undercooling. Interestingly we discover the unrealistic singularities existed in the classical one-phase Stefan problem at the complete melting time are regularised and also find out the small time behaviour of the one-phase Stefan problem with kinetic undercooling is different to the classical one-phase Stefan problem from the small time asymptotic analysis in Section 3.3. In the case of melting very small particles, it is known that surface tension effects are important. The effect of including the surface tension to the melting problem for nanoparticles (no kinetic undercooling) has been investigated in the past, however the one-phase Stefan problem with surface tension exhibits finite-time blow-up. Therefore we investigate the effect of including both the surface tension and kinetic undercooling to the melting problem for nanoparticles and find out the the solution continues to exist until complete melting.

The investigation of including kinetic undercooling and surface tension to the melting problems reveals more insight into the regularisations of unphysical singularities in the classical one-phase Stefan problem. This investigation gives a better understanding of melting a particle, and contributes to the current body of knowledge related to melting and freezing due to heat conduction.


Rethinking the Nonmetropolitan Turnaround: Renewed Rural Growth or Expanded Urbanization? (December 2006) Xiaodong Wang, B.A., Nanjing Normal University; M.S., Beijing Agricultural University Co-Chairs of Advisory Committee: Dr. Steve Murdock Dr. Alex McIntosh This dissertation proposes a new, synthesized perspective for explaining the "Nonmetropolitan Turnaround" in the 1970s and 1990s. By studying the definition of urbanization carefully, using the human ecological perspective, many processes happening during the "Nonmetropolitan Turnaround" in the 1970s and 1990s, such as suburbanization, deconcentration, and counterurbanization, can be understood as different forms of the urbanization processes. When the majority of the population was rural, the dominant pattern of urbanization was rural-urban migration. When the majority of the population became urban, the dominant urbanization pattern reversed to urbanrural migration because urban centers had reached beyond their optimal density and processes operated to reduce their density. This paper hypothesizes that the two "turnarounds" were simply the result of different aspects of urbanization complicated by metropolitan status reclassifications. The perspectives of suburbanization, counterurbanization and deconcentration are integrated into the urbanization perspective. Using migration flow data compiled by the Census Bureau from 1975 to 1980 and from


This article focuses on the work of two practitioners who deliver wraparound playgroups in a Communities for Children (CfC) programme in Queensland, Australia. Playgroups are used as a universal, soft entry tool, providing space for wraparound services to be offered to families in a non-stigmatised way. The practitioners who staff this playgroup draw on multiple knowledge bases to enact their practice and to situate the playgroup as an early intervention and prevention tool. The authors describe their encounter with playwork philosophy and research that deepened their understanding and capacity to articulate their practice. In the Australian context there is limited knowledge about playwork practice. However, as this article demonstrates, understanding about playwork practice has contributed to practitioners' understandings about their own work, and subsequently improved support to children and families that allows this strengths-based approach to work and thus, to give maximum support to the children and families who attend.


Angiogenesis is a complex process that involves sprouting of new capillaries from pre-existing blood vessels. Angiogenesis is also involved in many pathological conditions including tumor growth, diabetic retinopathy, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and atherosclerosis. In cancer, newly formed vessels not only promote tumor growth but also cause the tumor cells to become more malignant and metastatic. Therefore, angiogenesis is an attractive target for the development of a wide variety of therapies, including antitumor agents. A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR) agonists have exhibited anti-proliferative activity against cancer cells. However, anti-angiogenic effects of A3AR agonists in endothelial cells have not been investigated yet. In the present study, the potential anti-angiogenic activity and precise mechanism of action of the A3AR agonist thio-Cl-IB-MECA (TCIM) were investigated in cultured HUVECs and mouse embryonic stem cells/embryonic body (mES/EB) derived endothelial cells. TCIM inhibited migration and tube formation of endothelial cells and markedly decreased ex vivo microvessel sprouting in cultured mouse aortic rings. TCIM also suppressed the expression of the endothelial biomarker platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule (PECAM) via regulation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR and ERK signaling in mES/EB-derived endothelial cells. Citation Format: Jedo Oh, Gi Dae Kim, Lak Shin Jeong, Sang Kook Lee. Anti-angiogenic activity of Thio-Cl-IB-MECA, a novel A3 adenosine receptor agonist, by regulating of PI3K/AKT/mTOR and ERK signaling pathways in endothelial cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 5567. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-5567


Despite almost universal agreement that employee absenteeism leads to decreased production efficiency, there is little documentation of a relationship between these variables. Several authors have even suggested that absenteeism might have some beneficial effects. The present study finds that absenteeism and department efficiency are negatively associated only (1) when production processes are not highly automated, and (2) when the absences cannot be anticipated in advance. Despite these limitations, however, the costs attributable to the impact of absenteeism on department efficiency are substantial. Programmes designed to decrease unanticipated absenteeism, therefore, can result in considerable savings by increasing operating efficiency where employees are directly involved in the production process.


The same organic molecule that proved successful as an electron acceptor in light emitting diodes may be a technologically viable material for doping graphene.


Abstract In this paper we propose architecture for a multirobot management system, ways of identifying the implementation challenges and analyzing how to address these challenges by using out-of-the-box features provided by .NET framework. We make a departure from using agent or robot specific development tools in order to take a fresh look at one of the industry leading general purpose development platforms that is .NET framework to analyze its applicability to multi-robot system development. For verification of the proposed ideas in practice, a multi-robot system is implemented using physical iRobot Roomba robots as the robot platform.


Three feeds were formulated using low cost raw materials with proteincontents ranging from 44% - 62% and prepared in the laboratory and weretested against an imported feed (protein 32%) on young stages (initial weight,0.03 - 0.71 g.) of four species of ornamental fish namely, Rosy Barb (Barbasconchoniusy, Angel (Pterophyllum scalurey; Gold fish (Carassius auratus auratus)and Goggle - eye iCarassius sp.) over a period of 2 months to assess thefeasibility of using locally prepared feeds in rearing of very young stages inornamental fish culture. High Assimilation Efficiencies (56 - 82 ~~), low Food Conversion Ratios(less thae 2), high Growth Rates (0.005) - 0.02 g. day") and high SurvivalRates (93% - 100) shown by all species on the prepared diets proved thelocally prepared feeds to be highly acceptable. The results also reveal that there is an optimal level of dietary proteinrequirement in the range of 44 - 50% for three of the four species studied. The study also showed that the cost of feeds can be reduced by (a) using low cost protein sources such as shrimp heads, fish/meatoffals, rice bran and soya flour; (b) using more carbohydrates with less protein.


We have performed a series of experiments, which demonstrate the effect of open-ended coaxial diameter on the depth of penetration. We used a two-layer configuration of a liquid and movable cylindrical piece of either Teflon or acrylic. The technique accurately demonstrates the depth in a sample for which a given probe diameter provides a reasonable measure of the bulk dielectric properties for a heterogeneous volume. In addition, we have developed a technique for determining the effective depth for a given probe diameter size. Using a set of simulations mimicking four 50- Ω coaxial cable diameters, we demonstrate that the penetration depth in both water and saline has a clear dependence on the probe diameter, but is remarkably uniform over frequency and with respect to the intervening liquid permittivity. Two different 50- Ω commercial probes were similarly tested and confirm these observations. This result has significant implications to a range of dielectric measurements, most notably in the area of tissue property studies.


Targeting DNA repair and the DNA damage response for cancer therapy has recently gained increasing attention with inhibitors of the PI3-K-like kinases in early stage clinical trials. The utility of DNA repair inhibitors can be expanded by their use in combination treatment with DNA damaging chemotherapeutics including cisplatin. We have focused on directly targeting the DNA repair pathway responsible for repairing platinum-induced DNA damage, nucleotide excision repair (NER). We have selected the molecular target XPA, whose role is in the identification and verification of the sites of DNA damage. Clinical validation of XPA has been obtained where high XPA expression in lung, ovarian and lung cancer results in decreased efficacy of platinum therapy. We report the continued development of the X80 class of XPA small molecule inhibitors. In a two-step, iterative process we have identified critical structure activity relationships that have resulted in a 100-fold increase in potency with in vitro IC50 values below 1μM. Analyses of the SARs define the chemical and structural features that impact the interaction with XPA, cellular permeability and contribute to selectivity. Data demonstrate that the X80 class of inhibitors do not interact with DNA but directly bind the XPA protein. Recent production of a sub-fragment of the XPA protein will allow the identification of the direct binding domain to enable continued structure-based design of more potent XPA inhibitors. Supported by NIH grants R01CA180710 and R41CA162648 to JJT. Citation Format: Pamela S. VanderVere-Carozza, Navnath Gavande, Akaash Mishra, John J. Turchi. Small molecule inhibitors targeting the interaction of xeroderma pigmentosum group A protein with cisplatin-damaged DNA. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2015 Nov 5-9; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2015;14(12 Suppl 2):Abstract nr C58.


Background: Measurement of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) competency is often resource intensive. A popular emerging alternative to independent observers' ratings is using other perspectives for rating competency. Aims: This pilot study compared ratings of CBT competency from four perspectives – patient, therapist, supervisor and independent observer using the Cognitive Therapy Scale (CTS). Method: Patients (n = 12, 75% female, mean age 30.5 years) and therapists (n = 5, female, mean age 26.6 years) completed the CTS after therapy sessions, and clinical supervisor and independent observers rated recordings of the same session. Results: Analyses of variance revealed that therapist average CTS competency ratings were not different from supervisor ratings, and supervisor ratings were not different from independent observer ratings; however, therapist ratings were higher than independent observer ratings and patient ratings were higher than all other raters. Conclusions: Raters differed in competency ratings. Implications for potential use and adaptation of CBT competency measurement methods to enhance training and implementation are discussed.


Calculation of the entropy of a set of consecutive order statistics is relatively more complicated than that of the entropy of the individual order statistic, which has been studied by Wong and Chan (1990). We provide some fundamental relations occurring in the entropy of consecutive-order statistics, which are very useful for computations. We first consider the decomposition of the entropy of order statistics, and derive some recurrence relations in the first r order statistics. We also establish a dual principle for the entropy of order statistics, which yields a dual relation from a given relation in the entropy of order statistics.


The study of urban informality has exploded since Keith Hart theorized the term the 'informal sector.' This explosion has coincided with a growing interest among urban scholars who train their eyes toward the 'Global South.' Informality is used as shorthand for any number of urban experiences and realities ranging from the economy to governance, housing, the state, agency, political resistance, the urban form, and poverty. Much scholarship carefully illustrates different versions and modes of 'informality,' while equating the term's first use with the provenance of the practice itself. Despite the global heterogeneity of informality, its instantiation can be traced further back than the 1960s and 1970s. Nearly half a century since the advent of the term the 'informal sector,' we are still left with a deceptively simple question. If the creation and practice of informality predate African independence, where does it come from? This paper argues that the Zambian Copperbelt's early 20th–century history of urbanization and migration produced the informal/formal dialectic, establishing the grounds for inequalities that proliferate in the present. The structure of 'informality' finds its roots in colonial spatial strategies central to the formation of global capitalism. Through this dialectic, urbanization became a key mode of colonialism.


Atmosphere-related atom migration and phase reconstruction are an easy way for optimizing the catalytic activity of a bimetallic catalyst. Herein, the structure evolutions of NiAu nanoparticles under oxidative and reductive environments are investigated via combining identical location and in situ environmental scanning transmission electron microscopy. During oxidation, a NiO layer first forms and the redispersion of Ni and Au atoms yields a Ni@Au@NiO multi-shell structure at 350 °C. Further, Ni and Au segregate into an Au-NiO hybrid structure at 600 °C. During reduction, Au atoms disperse over the particle surface forming a NiAu alloy shell with scattered Au atoms/clusters. In situ observation further discloses that the reduction changes the local structural ordering from Ni3Au to NiAu alloy. Very interestingly, the reduced NiAu exhibits promoted activity over oxidized ones for the CO-NO reaction. Density functional theory calculations further reveal the structure-property relationships of CO, NO, and O adsorbates on NiAu alloy surfaces. This study is beneficial for understanding the atmosphere-related evolution behaviors of bimetallic systems, thereby inspiring the catalytic surface optimization.