Interferograms of detonation fronts, with a single Mach stem interaction in each principal plane orthogonal to the front, have been used to determine the variation of strength of the transverse shock along its length. As the transverse shock interacts with the reactive flow field behind the incident shock, both its strength and inclination vary with distance downstream. From the observed density profile and the reaction kinetics of the system, values of the density ratio across the transverse shock are computed. The predicted particle velocity profile behind the front confirms that a one-dimensional approximation is valid in the region of interest close to the front, and also that the calculated values are compatible with the Chapman-Jouguet (CJ) theory at a distance further downstream. The theoretically derived transverse wave velocity is taken to be the measured quasi-steady value of 1.2 aCJ, where aCJ is the equilibrium CJ sound speed.


Peroxisome proliferator activated receptors (PPARs) are well studied for their role of peripheral metabolism, but they also may be involved in the pathogenesis of various disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) including multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's and, Parkinson's disease. The observation that PPARs are able to suppress the inflammatory response in peripheral macrophages and in several models of human autoimmune diseases, lead to the idea that PPARs might be beneficial for CNS disorders possessing an inflammatory component. The neuroinflammatory response during the course of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is triggered by the deposition of the β-amyloid peptide in extracellular plaques and ongoing neurodegeneration. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been considered to delay the onset and reduce the risk to develop Alzheimer's disease, while they also directly activate PPARγ. This led to the hypothesis that NSAID protection in AD may be partly mediated by PPARγ. Several lines of evidence have supported this hypothesis, using AD related transgenic cellular and animal models. Stimulation of PPARγ by synthetic agonist (thiazolidinediones) inducing anti-inflammatory, anti-amyloidogenic and insulin sensitizing effects may account for the observed effects. Several clinical trials already revealed promising results using PPARγ agonists, therefore PPARγ represents an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of AD.


BACKGROUND
Conjunctival melanoma is a relatively rare ocular malignancy with substantial associated morbidity and mortality.

METHODS
More than 100 articles on conjunctival melanoma were reviewed, including most of the relevant recent publications cited in a current MEDLINE search. The author's experience with conjunctival melanomas is also incorporated in this review.

RESULTS
Recognition of their precursor lesions at an early stage is important. Staging of the disease by sentinel lymph node biopsy is now advocated in some centers. Surgical excision with adjuvant cryotherapy and alcohol corneal epithelialectomy is usually effective in eradicating most of these lesions. Extensive cases of flat primary acquired melanosis with atypia may be managed with mitomycin C. Multifocal and advanced melanoma, especially in cases showing intraocular or orbital invasion, may require exenteration and/or radiotherapy to adequately extirpate the neoplasm locally. However, systemic metastases already may have occurred in these patients with advanced disease.

CONCLUSIONS
Conjunctival melanoma is a condition of concern because of its rarity and lethal potential. Advances in the understanding and management of this neoplasm have markedly reduced the mortality and possibly the morbidity associated with this malignancy.


Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), a product of COX-2, plays a central role in inflammation and is elevated in pre-neoplastic tissue and malignancies, as well as in activated normal B lymphocytes. PGE2-induced signals via EP receptors modulate cAMP and/or calcium levels and can cross-talk with other signaling pathways (e.g. MAPK and NF-kB). p53 is a tumor suppressor with broad effects that include negative regulation of cell cycle, DNA repair, and induction of apoptosis. This study describes a role for PGE2 in regulating B cell p53 mRNA and protein. Purified human B2 cells from spleen/tonsil were pre-activated with stimuli resembling those found in sites of inflammation, i.e. surrogate C3dg-coated antigen + IL4 + BAFF. At d 4-5, cell density-limiting cultures were pulsed with PGE2 (50 nM) and harvested 1, 3, 8, 24, and 31 h later. p53 mRNA was monitored by both quantitative and qualitative RT-PCR. Exogenous PGE2 significantly enhanced p53 mRNA expression, in a time dependent fashion, over 3-31 h. This was accompanied by elevated mRNA for BID, a pro-apoptotic protein known to be transcriptionally regulated by p53, and linked to PGE2-elevated levels of p53 protein in replicating blasts. The above findings contrast with evidence that PGE2 promotes the expression of pro-survival Mcl-1 within replicating B cells. Taken together, they indicate that PGE2-mediated signals modulate both pro-survival and pro-apoptotic molecules in normal replicating human B lymphocytes.


ABSTRACT The small GTPase Rac1 has emerged as an important regulator of cell survival and apoptosis, but the mechanisms involved are not completely understood. In this report, constitutively active Rac1 is shown to stimulate the phosphorylation of the Bcl-2 family member Bad, thereby suppressing drug-induced caspase activation and apoptosis in human lymphoma cells. Rac1 activation leads to human Bad phosphorylation specifically at serine-75 (corresponding to murine serine-112) both in vivo and in vitro. Inhibition of constitutive and activated Rac1-induced Bad phosphorylation by a cell-permeable competitive peptide inhibitor representing this Bad phosphorylation site sensitizes lymphoma cells to drug-induced apoptosis. The data show further that endogenous protein kinase A is a primary catalyst of cellular Bad phosphorylation in response to Rac activation, while Akt is not involved. These findings define a mechanism by which active Rac1 promotes lymphoma cell survival and inhibits apoptosis in response to cancer chemotherapy drugs.


The extensive use of social media during disasters raises an important issue concerning use of social media to spread information, including misinformation. This study explores the underlying behavioral context of disaster information sharing by Twitter users. We conducted a web survey with 999 respondents in Japan to determine what makes people retweet disaster information in disaster situations. As a result of factor analysis, four factors were identified from 36 questions, namely: 1) Willingness to provide relevant and updated information because the information is believable, 2) Want people to know the information they perceive as important, 3) "Retweeter" subjective feelings and interests, and 4) Want to get feedback and alert other people. The results suggest that two of the factors influenced different groups of people in the community differently; however, everybody can play their role to reduce the negative impact of social media used for future disaster. Based on the findings, we discuss practical and design implications of social media use during disasters.


SUMMARY: A bacteriological and histological study was made of the sequence of events in unprotected and protected mice, after intracranial challenge with Bordetella pertussis. No difference in the results was obtained whether mice were injected through the parietal bone or through the foramen magnum. Injected material was distributed throughout the subarachnoid space and ventricles. In unprotected mice organisms multiplied continuously until death. Bacterial multiplication was limited to the cranial cavity, in which it was practically confined to the ciliated layer over the ependyma. There was no invasion of the brain substance. The histological changes in the brain included purulent meningitis, choroiditis, polymorphonuclear infiltration of perivasvular spaces and cerebral substance, haemorrhages, hydrocephalus and necrosis of nerve cells. In protected mice there was a brief initial multiplication of organisms and then their rapid elimination. Histologically the brains of immune mice after challenge were characterized by an intense mononuclear-cell response, which persisted for 2-3 weeks, subsiding slowly during the following 10 weeks.


Given the trend towards labour market flexibility in various European countries, this article examines whether the offered type of employment contract has an impact on young people's ratings of the attractiveness of a job. It empirically assesses the notion that young people's preference for secure employment increases as they transition into adulthood. We conducted a factorial survey among a representative sample of 1,025 people aged 18–35 years old in the Netherlands. Participants were asked to evaluate hypothetical job offers. Results show that, compared with a permanent contract, the offer of a temporary contract for 3 years has a small negative effect on young adults' job ratings, whereas offers of an agency contract or an on-call contract have a large negative effect. In line with our predictions, this preference for job security is stronger for men and women who have left the parental home or who have entered parenthood. For men, we also find that their preference for job security is even stronger if they have entered a romantic relationship. These findings suggest that young adults regard insecure employment undesirable, but that, based on their overrepresentation in non-standard employment, their preferences are often not met.


Spodoptera frugiperda, the fall armyworm (FAW), is an important agricultural pest in the Americas and an emerging pest in sub-Saharan Africa, India, East-Asia and Australia, causing damage to major crops such as corn, sorghum and soybean. While FAW larvae are considered polyphagous, differences in diet preference have been described between two genetic variants: the corn strain (sf-C) and the rice strain (sf-R). These two strains are sometimes considered as distinct species, raising the hypothesis that ost plant specialization might have driven their divergence. To test this hypothesis, we irst performed controlled reciprocal transplant (RT) experiments to address the impact of plant diet on several traits linked to the fitness of the sf-C and sf-R strains. The phenotypical data suggest that sf-C is specialized to corn. We then used RNA-Se to identify constitutive transcriptional differences between strains, regardless of diet, in laboratory as well as in natural populations. We found that variations in mitochon rial transcription levels are among the most substantial and consistent differences between the two strains. Since mitochondrial genotypes also vary between the strains, we believe the mitochondria may have a significant role in driving strain divergence.


Background: Osteoarthritis is one of the most common rheumatological diseases and is also considered as one of the causes of myofascial trigger points (MtrPs). Dry needling (DN) is one of the methods used for the treatment of the MtrPs. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of DN on pain in participants with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Materials and Methods: In this before and after preliminary clinical trial study, patients with mild to moderate KOA were enrolled. In one session, after determining the location of trigger points in quadriceps and gastrocnemius muscles, the patients underwent DN. The pain was evaluated at baseline, by passing 4 days and 1 month from the intervention using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Results: Sixteen patients with a mean age of 56.5 (4.53) years old have completed the study and follow-up period. According to the ANOVA analysis, VAS values indicated a significant decrease in pain score at the 4th and 1 month after the intervention compared to baseline (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference between VAS at the 4th day of intervention and also 1 month later of intervention (P = 0.087). Conclusion: The application of one session DN can lead to improvement in pain intensity in participants with mild to moderate KOA.


Single-atom cobalt centers on various oxide surfaces (TiO2, MgO, SBA-15, AlPO, and Y-Zeolite) were prepared and evaluated as water oxidation catalysts by photochemical water oxidation experiments. Superior catalytic rates were observed for cobalt sites on basic supporting oxides (TiO2 and MgO) relative to those on acidic oxides (Y-Zeolite, AlPO, and SiO2). Per-atom turnover frequencies of ca. 0.04 s–1 were achieved, giving initial rates 100 times greater than that of a surface atom of a Co3O4 nanoparticle. Contrary to expectations based on theoretical work, no apparent correlation was observed between the catalytic rates and the oxygen atom affinities of the supporting oxides.


The existence of spatial variability within fields can be beneficial if inputs for arable crop are given to the field according to locally determined requirements. While yield mapping has become an important part of precision farming strategies, the goal of this paper is to plot a yield map by the application of yield monitoring components. A yield monitoring system capable of providing sufficient reliable data to plot a yield map for small grain fields in central regions of Iran was developed. The system consisted of an impact flow sensor determining the mass flow of grain, the GPS receiver determining geographical position of the machine, two shaft encoders measuring the speed of the combine, an ultrasonic sensor measuring the actual cutting width, and a data logger. The mass flow sensor consisted of a load cell and an impact plate which was exposed to the predominant grain flow from the clean grain elevator. This sensor was positioned in the transition housing between the elevator and the loading auger of the clean grain tank. The calibration of the sensor related the force on the sensor to the mass flow rate of grain. The yield data were used with information generated by the GPS receiver and a yield map was created. At last, the correlation between the maps and the data collected using traditional method was found which supports the reliability of the monitoring system.


The main goal of our paper is to analyse business restarts in Visegrad countries on an individual level and to identify key drivers of restart activity from among perceptual variables. The analysis is based on Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data. We employ descriptive statistics to analyse the quantitative aspect of business restart and regression modelling to identifyits drivers. Our findings proved that business discontinuation and consequent restart are both integral parts of entrepreneurship in V4 countries. Entrepreneurial selfefficacy and fear of failure, together with gender andage, proved to have a significant relationship with individual restart activity. The individual perceptual variables as components of entrepreneurial potential, as well as the issue of inclusiveness, proved to play an important role in business restart. Our study is the first comprehensive analysis of the under-researched topic of business restart in the V4 region. In addition to highlighting its importance as an integral part of entrepreneurial dynamics in V4 countries, it also identifies individual-level drivers of this specifictype of entrepreneurial activity.


Multinomial-response models are available that correspond implicitly to tests in which a total score is computed as the sum of polytomous item scores. For these models, joint and conditional estimation may be considered in much the same way as for the Rasch model for right-scored tests. As in the Rasch model, joint estimation is only attractive if both the number of items and the number of examinees are large, while conditional estimation can be employed for a large number of examinees whether or not the number of items is large. In neither case is computation difficult given currently available computers. Large-sample results favor use of conditional estimation, although some use of joint estimation can be contemplated if the number of items is large.


Objectives: To determine the knowledge and attitude of medical and non-medical
students of Peshawar University regarding HIV/AIDS.
Methods: This cross sectional observational study was conducted on students of
Khyber Medical College and Peshawar University Departments of English, Urdu,
Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Chemistry and Botany students from January 2005
to October 2005. Students were divided into four groups. They were asked to fulfill a predesigned
questionnaire. The variables assessed were their knowledge of disease
(etiology, mode of transmission, and prevention) and attitude towards AIDS patients.
Results: A total of 500 students participated, with 150 (30%) pre-clinical students, 100
(20%) clinical students and 125 (25%) each science and art students. The male female
ratio was 2:1; mean age of respondents was 22±1.5 years. Seventy nine percent students
knew the causative agent of the disease and 94.6% agreed that it is a communicable
disease. Only 29% of students were willing to share daily use items with these patients
with fear that they might get disease. Male students agreed on utilization of sterilized
blades for shave (97.2%), and disposable syringe for IV medications (92%). They prefer
blood transfusion screened for HIV (93.6%).
Conclusion: There is a satisfactory awareness among the medical students entering into
the profession. An acceptable difference was recorded among clinical, preclinical and
2
non-clinical students regarding their knowledge and attitude about HIV and AIDS.
(Rawal Med J 2008;33:18-20).


Context. The photometry of mutual occultations and eclipses of natural planetary satellites can be used to infer very accurate as- trometric data. This can be achieved by processing the light curves of the satellites observed during international campaigns of photometric observations of these mutual events. Aims. This work focuses on processing the complete database of photometric observations of the mutual occultations and eclipses of the Uranian satellites made during the international campaign in 2007. The final goal is to derive new accurate astrometric data. Methods. We used an accurate photometric model of mutual events that explicitly depends on parameters that these accurate ob- servations should be sensitive to, including the albedos of the satellites. Our original method is applied to derive astrometric data in relative positions from photometric observations of mutual occultations and eclipses of the Uranian satellites. Results. We process the 41 light-curves obtained during the international campaign of photometric observations of the Uranian satel- lites in 2007. The root-mean-square (rms) of the residuals "observations minus calculations" (O–C) with respect to theory for the best 34 observations are equal to 10.3 and 17.7 mas in right ascension and declination, respectively. For five observations only the position angle was derived. Topocentric or heliocentric angular di ff erences for satellites pairs were obtained from 25 central instant o ff sets between observation and theory during the time period from May 4, 2007 to January 4, 2008. Conclusions. The rms of the residuals is from 10 to 20 mas that corresponds in situ to 10 to 20 km. These mutual event observations appear to be the most accurate astrometric ground-based observations of the major Uranian satellites to-date and should be used for dynamical purposes.


Based on the Theory of Complex Adaptive System developed recently, a holistic model for water resources system is established at the basin level for analyzing water resources management and allocation of the basin. In this holistic model framework, the subsystems of the water resources system, including hydrologic components, agricultural and industrial production, human living, ecosystem and enviorenment are combined in a dynamic connection with inner variables. According to the characteristics of the holistic model framework, a nesting genetic arithmetic is employed to solve the nonlinear optimal model. The model is applied in the Yellow River basin to analyze the rational amount of diversion water for the West Line of Water Transfer Project form South China to North China and its marginal benifit.


The species of the Auchenorrhyncha group represent one of the most important risks for apple and plum orchards, some of them being the vectors of major pathogens such as phytoplasmas. This paper presents results on the presence and structure of species of the Auchenorrhyncha suborder recorded in two unmanaged orchards of apple and plum from the northern part of Bucharest (Băneasa area) in 2020. The insects were collected on yellow double-sticky traps (two traps / orchard) placed in the canopy of apple and plum trees and replaced every week from early April until late November. In total, 25 species have been identified in both orchards, accounting 4834 individuals (4036 in the apple orchard and 798 in the plum orchard). In apple, the most abundant species were Orientus ishidae with 3096 specimens (76.7%), followed by Erasmoneura vulnerata with 380 specimens (9.41%), Zygina flammigera with 177 specimens (4.38%) and Anoplotettix fuscovenosus with 156 specimens (3.86%). The most numerically relevant species in the plum orchard were Zygina flammigera with 371 specimens (46.49%), Erasmoneura vulnerata with 115 specimens (14.41%), Orientus ishidae with 106 specimens (13.28%) and Fieberiella florii with 91 specimens (11.4%). Dynamics of adult populations was performed for the most abundant species in both fruit orchards.


The crisis has shown that banks that are too big to fail are at the core of the international financial system. These institutions are thus at the centre of a powerful wave of re-regulation of the banking system. Overall, the proposals developed to strengthen the capacity of big banks to weather future crises, starting with Basel 3, point in the right direction, but they are missing an essential element. SIFIs have a peculiar nature. Their most salient feature is that because of their size, interconnectedness and similar strategies, a crisis of one tends to become a crisis of all. Hence, it is essential to have a mechanism in place to link them together beforehand. The paper analyzes measures that can serve this end. It then proposes a tool designed to give SIFIs a shared interest in behaving correctly, i.e. taking into account the externality implied by their very existence.


In addition to photosynthesis, chloroplasts perform a variety of important cellular functions in the plant cell, which can for example, regulate plant responses to abiotic and biotic stress conditions. Under stress, intensive chloroplast protein remodeling and degradation can occur, releasing large numbers of endogenous peptides. These protein-derived peptides can be found intracellularly, but also in the plant secretome. Although the pathways of chloroplast protein degradation and the types of chloroplast proteases implicated in this process have received much attention, the role of the resulting peptides is less well-understood. In this review we summarize the data on peptide generation processes during the remodeling of the chloroplast proteome under stress conditions and discuss the mechanisms leading to these changes. We also review the experimental evidence which supports the concept that peptides derived from chloroplast proteins can function as regulators of plant responses to (a)biotic stresses.


Laparoscopic biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (BPD-DS) is a technically challenging operation that requires extensive surgical dissection, transection and restoration of intestinal continuity, and advanced laparoscopic suturing skills.


The production of livestock and poultry faces major challenges to meet the global demand for meat and dairy products and eggs due to a steady increase in the world's population and the ban of antibiotics in animal production. This ban has forced animal nutritionists to seek for natural alternatives to antibiotics. In this context, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has received considerable attention in the last decade. It has been reported that feed supplementation with live yeast cells improve feed efficiency, enhance feed digestibility, increase animal performance, reduce the number of pathogenic bacteria, improve animal health and reduce the negative environmental impacts of livestock production. The current review sheds light on the effects of the use of live S. cerevisiae cells in the diets of nonruminant and pseudo‐ruminant's animals and the mechanisms by which they exert its effects. This review work revealed that the addition of S. cerevisiae in poultry feed causes a phenomenon called competitive exclusion of pathogenic bacteria capable of causing disease adhere to the yeast surface, and so removing a large amount of harmful micro‐organisms and allowing the Animal defend more effectively, the production of antimicrobial agents, the balancing the gut microbiota and stimulation of host adaptive immune system and improving gut morphological structure, thus these benefits are reflected on the overall poultry health. In addition, in the presence of live S. cerevisiae cells, the immunity of rabbits was improved due to the high number of white blood cell. In addition, apparent digestibility of acid and neutral detergent fibre was improved in horses and rabbits. Saccharomyces cerevisiae in pig diets augment mucosal immunity by increasing IgM and IgA activity against pathogens, enhance intestinal development and function, adsorb mycotoxins, modulate gut microbiota and reduce postweaning diarrhoea.


After several decades of marijuana prohibition, the latter part of which has been marked by fierce debate as to the logic of invoking a criminal response to behaviour that is so prevalent and widely tolerated, the movement for reform, though unabated, has to date been largely unsuccessful in many western countries. Despite pragmatic adaptations in some legal jurisdictions to mitigate harm stemming from enforcement of the law, the goal of wider policy reform remains elusive. Theoretically informed by a constructionist approach to investigating social problems, the present study documents rhetorical dimensions of drug reform with reference to arguments presented in interviews with prominent Canadian proponents. Juxtaposing the pragmatic modern harm reduction movement with a morally invested human rights based orientation, this book argues that the latter in the long term, though neglected, is indispensible for establishing effective warrants for change. This provocative analysis of the new 'drug problem' is essential reading for a wide audience including academics, activists, practitioners, and other advocates of meaningful drug policy reform.


We have used restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis to investigate the immunoglobulin constant heavy chain (IgCH) loci and the associated locus Dl4Sl, of Caucasoids from South East England and South-West. West Germany, Haplotypes were determined using probes to the Ig heavy chain switch loci S mu and S alpha 1, the IgC gamma 3 and IgC gamma 2 loci as well as the Dl4Sl locus which is 3' of the IgCH loci. The 6.3:1.7 kilobase (kb) Bst EII C gamma 3-C gamma 2 haplotype was the most prevalent in the population from South-East England (frequency 0.364), whilst the 2.3:3.7 kb C gamma 3-C gamma 2 haplotype was the major haplotype in the German population (frequency 0.400). With one exception, the major haplotypes of these two populations differed from the ones previously published for a Caucasoid population from California. This suggests that there may be a major ancestral IgCH haplotype which has been maintained in the population, whilst other haplotypes tend to be specific for a particular group of Caucasoids.


By using a path information defined for the measure of the uncertainty of instable dynamics, a theoretical derivation of Fourier's law of heat conduction is given on the basis of maximum information method associated with the principle of least action.


The acquisition of culture-specific knowledge through reading and/or experience is an important component of cross-cultural counseling education. This study explores the relationship between counselor trainees' culture specific knowledge and their ability to empathize in general. It would seem reasonable to assume that those who belong to a different culture and who are aware of the cultural norms of a different culture would also tend to be more empathic and vice versa. Because of the long-standing tension between Black American and White society, Blacks were chosen for inclusion in this study. Given that the understanding of another's language is typically associated with some understanding and interest in another's culture, a measure that assesses knowledge of Black vocabulary was also selected to address the following research questions: Is there a significant difference in White trainees' scores on the Empathy Test between a group of students who scored high on the Black Intelligence Scale of Cultural Homogeneity and a group of students who scored low on that scale?"; and "Do White counselor trainees who are more familiar with Black culture have a greater ability to empathize in general than those who are less familiar with that culture?" Participants included 15 female and 7 male White graduate students. Findings indicate that counselor trainees who had greater culture specific knowledge of African Americans have no greater ability to empathize with others than those who had less knowledge. Implications for cross-cultural counseling training are presented and discussed. (MKA) ******************************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * ********************************************************************************


Climate change is one of the major concerns nowadays. Doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, and increase in the air temperature are the most likely predicted scenarios of climate change. Agricultural crop production is most vulnerable to these changes since any change in climate translates to change in weather which is an important factor in agriculture. Atmospheric CO2 concentration and air temperature have direct impact on crops. Doubling of atmospheric CO2, an d increase in air temperature could greatly influence crop growth and development, specifically their photosynthetic activities. Plants' response to certain changes is dependent on the photosynthetic pathway that the plant uses. Rice and corn use different photosynthetic pathways; C3 pathway for rice crop, and C4 pathway for corn crop explain the difference on the response behavior of these two crops to climate change. The effect of climate change on yields of rice and corn in selected areas in the Philippines were simulated under 10 different climate change scenarios in three selected provinces, namely: Ilagan, Isabela; Los Banos, Laguna; and Malaybalay, Bukidnon. Yield simulation was done using two CERES (Crop-Environment REsource Synthesis) models, namely, CERES -Rice and CERES-Maize. Simulation results showed that rice and corn yields tend to decrease. There is a greater percent relative change as well as higher coefficient of variation (cv) in yields of rice compared to yields of corn for the three locati ons.


Eagle's syndrome represents a symptomatic styloid process elongation or calcification of stylohyoid or stylomandibular ligament. The symptoms include the throat pain radiating to ipsilateral ear or foreign body sensation in the pharynx causing odynophagia and dysphagia. It is commonly unilateral and bilateral cases are rare. We report a case of bilateral elongation of styloid processes treated surgically by transoral approach.


High-dose IL-2 induces complete responses in a subset of cancer patients, but severe toxicity, including vascular leak syndrome (VLS), limits its clinical potential. Insights into IL2Rα's role in the development of VLS sparked a wave of second-generation IL-2 molecules referred to as "not-α" IL-2s. Emerging clinical data suggests that although not-α IL-2s avoid VLS, they induce suboptimal monotherapy activity in patients. Given the observation that CD8+ T cells are the dominant effector cells with IL-2-based therapies,1 2 we hypothesized that maximizing the activity of IL-2 on CD8+ T-cells and limiting its activity on immunosuppressive Tregs and highly IL-2-sensitive innate populations would improve IL-2's efficacy and tolerability. We developed cis-targeted IL-2 (CD8-IL2) fusion proteins that selectively activate CD8+ T cells and have minimal activity on CD8-negative cells.In vitro selectivity of CD8-IL2 molecules was tested on primary immune cells including mouse splenocytes and human PBMCs. In vivo activity was evaluated in syngeneic tumor models and non-human primates.Due to the 10–20x higher expression of IL2Rβ on NK cells over other lymphocytes, not-α IL-2 induced preferential NK cell expansion in mice. Toxicity-induced body weight loss with not-α IL-2 treatment was dependent on cells expressing NK1.1 but not CD8. To avoid overt activation of IL2Rβhigh NK cells, IL-2Rα-associated toxicity, and Treg activation, we generated cis-targeted fusion proteins consisting of anti-CD8 antibodies and IL-2 muteins with attenuated binding to IL2Rα and IL2Rβ. We demonstrated that CD8-IL2 fusions preferentially activated CD8+ T cells within mouse, human, and cynomolgus immune populations, with 100–1000 fold selectivity over NK cells and Tregs for all three species. Selective expansion of CD8+ T cells over NK cells and Tregs was demonstrated in tumor and peripheral blood compartments in mice. Selective CD8+ T cell expansion was also demonstrated in cynomolgus monkeys. Furthermore, a single dose of CD8-IL2 in mice elicited strong monotherapy efficacy in MC38 tumors, with a majority of mice demonstrating complete responses without detectable body weight loss at doses that were well tolerated in cynomolgus monkeys. In contrast, not alpha IL-2 induced >10% body weight loss prior to reaching efficacious doses in mice and did not drive any complete anti-tumor responses.CD8-targeted IL-2 has superior efficacy and lower toxicity compared to second-generation not-α IL-2. Development of AB248, a novel CD8-targeted IL-2 molecule is underway.Rakhmilevich A, North R. Elimination of CD4+ T cells in mice bearing an advanced sarcoma augments the antitumor action of interleukin-2. Cancer Immunol Immunother 1994;38(2):107–12.Sun Z, Ren Z. A next-generation tumor-targeting IL-2 preferentially promotes tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T-cell response and effective tumor control. Nat Commun 2019;3874:1–12.


A subcritical crack growth due to stress corrosion has been identified as a source of time-dependent fracture of rocks in brittle fields. The stress corrosion cracking was investigated in humid air by using the double-torsion technique for three rocks of different origin, Murata basalt, Oshima granite and Ogino tuff. The subcritical crack growth was found to be strongly dependent on the directions of crack opening and crack propagation. The maximum growth rate was higher by several orders of magnitude than the minimum one for the same rock. The anisotropy in the crack propagation was controlled by microcracks for Oshima granite and by the fabric for other rocks.


The distribution of the endoplasmic reticulum in human hepatocytes is defined in quantitative terms using the techniques of morphometry. The subjects of the study are liver biopsies from normal, untreated subjects and patients being treated with various drugs. In contrast to rat hepatocytes, the amount of smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) in man exceeds that of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) and accounts for 76·3% of the total endoplasmic reticulum. This is to be taken into consideration in pharmacological or toxicological studies. In addition, two components of the SER have been identified: more prominent is the type 1 or vesicular which has a regular honeycomb pattern, made up of cisternae with patent lumina and a mean width of 1500 A; the type 2, or non-vesicular, occurs in discrete foci of densely packed smooth membranes with a spacing of about 140 A. In subjects under short-term treatment with Benzodiazepin (diazepam) the RER remained unchanged but the SER membranes were significantly increased with a remarkable, two-to threefold increase of the SER type 2 in three out of four patients. A rise in incorporation of 14C-acetate into digitonin-precipitable sterols as measured in liver biopsy material was also noted in these three patients. The suggestion is made that the SER 2 represents the newly formed membranes whereas the SER 1 would represent `adult' membranes. No changes were observed in two patients under short-term treatment with phenobarbital or Dilantin.


Background: Little is known regarding the short-term quality of life (QoL) and predictive factors for QoL after esophagectomy for cancer in Eastern countries. Objective: The aims of this study were to assess QoL and symptoms within 1 and 6 months after surgery for esophageal cancer (EC) and to identify factors predictive of QoL within 6 months after esophagectomy in Taiwan. Methods: A longitudinal, prospective design was used, where convenience samples of 99 patients who had undergone esophagectomy for cancer were recruited from 2 medical centers in northern Taiwan. All participants responded to a questionnaire with a QLQ-C30 (Quality of Life Questionnaire–Cancer) core and a QLQ-OES18 (esophageal module of the European Organization for Research and Treatment [EORTC] QLQ-C30) module in structured interviews at baseline and 1 and 6 months after surgery. Results: The results showed significant decline in social function and global QoL; fatigue, insomnia, eating problems, reflux, and dry mouth were major problems within 6 months. Body mass index, body weight loss before surgery, activity performance status, and anastomosis site showed no significant association with the function and symptom aspect of QoL. Surgical complications, advanced cancer, neoadjuvant therapy before surgery, and tumor location other than at the EC junction had significant deleterious effects on several aspects of QoL. Conclusions: This study describes the demographics of EC and short-term changes in QoL and also the predictive impact factor for QoL after surgery for EC. Implications for Practice: Knowledge of risk factors for poor postoperative QoL would be useful for health providers in detecting and prioritizing problems and treatment options in a busy clinical site.


INTRODUCTION
Endodontic treatment removes all pathogens, such as Enterococcus faecalis from pulp and root canals. The aim of this study is to assess the usefulness of sodium hypo-chlorite (NaOCl) in removing E. faecalis from the root canal used with three different irrigation methods.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
This study was conducted on freshly extracted maxillary incisors. After biomechanical preparation, root canals were injected with E. faecalis. Three groups were made which contained 30 teeth in each group; 2 mL of NaOCl solution was used for irrigation followed by agitation with K-files in group I; 2 mL of NaOCl solution was used for irrigation and ultrasonic agitation was done in group II. In group III, an alternate irrigation with NaOCl and 3% hydrogen peroxide was done. The fourth group (control) was irrigated with sterile saline solution. E. fae-calis bacteria were sampled to the root canals with paper points and were transferred to tubes that contained 5 mL of brain heart infusion broth. Tubes were incubated and the presence of broth turbidity was suggestive of bacteria remaining in the root canal.

RESULTS
All three groups showed no statistically significant difference. However, difference existed between experimental groups and control groups.

CONCLUSION
The author concluded that all three methods of application of NaOCl were effective in disinfecting the root canal than the saline solution.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE
No single irrigant has 100% efficiency. Thus by this study, a best irrigating solution with maximum properties can be established.


We investigated the role of sphingolipids in regulating oxidant release in adherent human neutrophils. Stimulation of adherent neutrophils with formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP) resulted in the accumulation of ceramide at a time when H2O2 release is terminated. H2O2 release in fMLP-stimulated neutrophils was suppressed in a concentration-dependent manner by the exogenous addition of several free sphingoid amines and short chain ceramides. Sphingosine, dihydrosphingosine, phytosphingosine, N-acetylsphingosine, and N-acetylphytosphingosine, but not N-acetyldihydrosphingosine, inhibited formyl peptide-stimulated oxidant release. The half-maximal inhibitory concentrations of N-acetylsphingosine and N-acetylphytosphingosine were 0.51 and 0.38 microM, respectively. Sphingosine, dihydrosphingosine, and phytosphingosine were less potent inhibitors with half-maximal inhibitory concentrations of 1.78, 15.4, and 1.48 microM, respectively. The 4 beta-phorbol 12 beta-myristate 13 alpha-acetate-induced respiratory burst was inhibited by 5 microM of sphingosine but not by 5 microM of N-acetylsphingosine. The effects of N-acetyl-conjugated sphingols (C2 ceramides) on phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase D and phosphatidic acid phosphohydrolase were markedly different from the effects of the related sphingoid bases. Both C2 ceramides and sphingoid bases partially inhibited the diradylglycerol formation by the phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase D pathway. Under the same conditions, however, N-acetyldihydrosphingosine and dihydrosphingosine failed to suppress H2O2 release in fMLP-stimulated neutrophils. These findings demonstrate that C2 ceramides inhibit H2O2 generation in fMLP-stimulated neutrophils via protein kinase C- or sphingoid base-independent mechanisms. The effect of ceramide in inhibiting the respiratory burst is structurally specific, because either a 4,5-trans double bond or 4-hydroxyl group is required for the inhibition. Therefore, ceramides may regulate oxidant release in adherent neutrophils.


A growing interest in intelligent fault detection may sometimes lead to practical issues when existing malfunctions reveal analogous indications and the number of observations is limited. This article addresses the classification problem of two identical malfunctions, i.e., unbalancing and shaft bow in rotary machines, where only 56 observations were utilized for the training. The faulty systems are modeled in ABAQUS/CAE; a data set for each fault is created by simulation under various physical and operational conditions employing the uncertainty concept. The wavelet time scattering (WTS) technique extracts low-variance presentations from signals. With respect to the classification procedure of the faulted rotor systems, two models are examined with the extracted features from WTS as the input. Initially, a long short-term memory (LSTM) network is trained and tested, and then, the capability of a support vector machine (SVM) model is inquired. Ultimately, the classification models are trained and tested using the raw time series data and the extracted features to compare the effectiveness of the suggested methods, i.e., WTS. The employed approach for feature extraction demonstrated remarkable effectiveness in addressing a potential hurdle in identifying faults in rotating systems: the ability to differentiate between unbalanced and bowed rotors, irrespective of the classification model utilized.


In this paper, a coal mine safety system is implemented using a Thinger Io platform as a medium to transmit the data. The system is implemented to monitor and control various parameters in the coal mines such as light detection, leakage of gas, temperature and humidity conditions, Fire detection in the coal mine. These all sensors are together considered as one unit and are placed in the coal mines. All the esteems of the sensors are continuously uploaded to the thinger for analysis. Here the gas is continuously monitored if any uncertainties in the level of gas arise, then buzzer is used to alert the workers. In this system LDR sensor is utilized to detect the presence of light. Automatically light gets one and can be controlled using the LED button. In case if any fire occurs in the coal mine, then an alert notification is sent to the mail of the authorized person. Temperature and humidity values are also continuously monitored and displayed on the serial monitor and also in the thinger platform. The developed system is mainly implemented to improve the working condition inside the coal mines and also to ensure workers safety.


The Weyl semimetallic compound Eu2Ir2O7 along with its hole doped derivatives (which is achieved by substituting trivalent Eu by divalent Sr) are investigated through transport, magnetic and calorimetric studies. The metal-insulator transition (MIT) temperature is found to get substantially reduced with hole doping and for 10% Sr doping the composition is metallic down to temperature as low as 5 K. These doped compounds are found to violate the Mott-Ioffe-Regel condition for minimum electrical conductivity and show distinct signature of non-Fermi liquid behavior at low temperature. The MIT in the doped compounds does not correlate with the magnetic transition point and Anderson-Mott type disorder induced localization may be attributed to the ground state insulating phase. The observed non-Fermi liquid behavior can be understood on the basis of disorder induced distribution of spin orbit coupling parameter which is markedly different in case of Ir4+ and Ir5+ ions.


With the application of 5G technology in the fi eld of education, the construction of smart campus has set o ff a wave of digital transformation. At the same time, the traditional smart campus is also facing the exponential growth of the number of Internet of Things devices, servers, and application terminals, which makes it di ffi cult to achieve fl at management. In view of the current di ffi culties in the construction of smart campus, this paper proposes smart campus architecture based on blockchain technology. Unlike the traditional smart campus architecture, this paper combines the characteristics of decentralization, high con fi dentiality, and data sharing of block chain with the Internet of Things technology, which greatly reduces the demand for data storage and physical network equipment. The new smart campus architecture plans the application of smart education based on blockchain, and provides a new solution model and research ideas.


There have been many studies aiming to reveal the origins of the star–gas misalignment found in galaxies, but there still is a lack of understanding of the contribution from each formation channel candidate. We aim to answer the question by investigating the misaligned galaxies in the Horizon-AGN simulation. There are 27,903 galaxies of stellar mass M * > 1010 M ⊙ in our sample, of which 5984 are in a group in the halo mass of M 200 > 1012 M ⊙. We have identified four main formation channels of misalignment and quantified their levels of contribution: mergers (35%), interaction with nearby galaxies (23%), interaction with dense environments or their central galaxies (21%), and secular evolution, including smooth accretion from neighboring filaments (21%). We found in the simulation that the gas, rather than stars, is typically more vulnerable to dynamical disturbances; hence, misalignment formation is mainly due to the change in the rotational axis of the gas rather than stars, regardless of the origin. We have also inspected the lifetime (duration) of the misalignment. The decay timescale of the misalignment shows a strong anticorrelation with the kinematic morphology (V/σ) and the cold gas fraction of the galaxy. The misalignment has a longer lifetime in denser regions, which is linked with the environmental impact on the host galaxy. There is a substantial difference in the length of the misalignment lifetime depending on the origin, and it can be explained by the magnitude of the initial position angle offset and the physical properties of the galaxies.


In this article, we report the in situ synthesis of TiC ceramic layer between titanium plate and graphite phases in grey cast iron using heat treatment method. The microstructure of the compound region was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the kinetics of the TiC ceramic layer was analyzed. The results revealed that the as-prepared TiC samples were irregularly shaped particles with a size of 1 ~ 8 μm and gradient distribution on the surface of grey cast iron. The thickness of the reaction layers increased gradually as the incubation continued, which were 62, 81, 95 and 108 μm after incubation at 1164 °C for 1, 2, 3 and 4 hours, respectively. Also, it can be recognized that the layer thickness changes in a parabolic style with incubation duration. The formation process of TiC ceramic layer consists of diffusion and in situ reaction of carbon and titanium atoms. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.21.4.9700


This study aims to figure out the effect of the Project Based Learning model on learning outcomes of students in science learning. This research is motivated by a lot of research on the effect of project based learning on student learning outcomes. This research is an ex post facto research with descriptive data analysis. The population in this study were all articles originating from indexed journals related to the effect of project based learning on student learning outcomes. The sample used was 8 Scopus indexed articles and SINTA accredited. Based on the results of the analysis of the articles conducted, it was found that the project based learning model had a positive influence on learning outcomes seen from the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains in the form of increasing student creativity and junior high school student science skills in science learning.


Technological innovation is deemed strategic for organizations and nations to achieve and sustain competitive advantage. One of the most effective means for companies to achieve these innovations is through the relationship with universities. Thus, this study aimed to identify the main factors that motivate companies to establish this partnership. Hence, a descriptive study was elaborated, in which respondents are companies that have some level of cooperation with universities and institutes of science and technology. The results obtained show that the main reasons are, according to their importance: (1) to strengthen the technology, (2) to search for new sources of creativity, (3) to obtain expertise in market-oriented technologies, (4) to acquire new technologies; (5) to reach skilled labor, (6) to train their human resources, and (7) to develop new products. Furthermore, this study found that the less important factors are related to social reasons; this finding deserves further investigation in future studies.


Abstract : Nitinol is a shape memory alloy (SMA) capable of martensite-to-austenite phase transformations enabling shape-memory behavior. Shape-memory properties make Nitinol a strong candidate material for use in aircraft applications such as actuators. Structural integrity and reliability of torque tube actuators must be assured before this material can be used in flight-critical components. Thorough understanding of the fatigue response of the material is essential for a structurally-sound SMA actuator design. The present effort investigates pure torsion and combined tension-torsion fatigue behavior of Nitinol at room temperature. Monotonic tests in tension and torsion were conducted to typify uni-directional stress-strain behavior. Fully-reversed torsion fatigue tests were conducted with shear stress ranges of 416, 584, 674, and 1310 MPa. In fully-reversed biaxial fatigue tests, a shear stress range of 500 MPa was superimposed on the axial stress ranges of 250, 500, 1000, 1120, and 1500 MPa. Fatigue behavioral characteristics, including fatigue S-N curves were established. Fatigue lives obtained in torsion-dominated biaxial tests were similar to those obtained in pure torsion. Conversely, tension-dominated biaxial fatigue was significantly more damaging, resulting in decreased fatigue lives. Applicability of von Mises criterion to correlating uniaxial and biaxial test results was examined. Evolution of stress-strain behavior with cycling is discussed.


Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is becoming more important in various application areas. Many application scenarios require connectivity between WSN's nodes to transmit the collected data to a sink node. ZigBee is an industrial standard for wireless ad hoc networks based on IEEE 802.15.4. It has been developed for low cost, low data rate and low power consumption. In the ZigBee standard, network layer defines two routing protocols namely Ad Hoc On-demand Distance Vector (AODV) and Tree Routing (TR). TR protocol follows the tree topology (parent-child) in forwarding the data to the sink node, However, the source node cannot know if the sink is located nearby to the source node or if it is not in the sub-tree. In this case it will follow the tree topology which will use a lot of hops to arrive to the sink node. The objective of this thesis was to develop the TR protocol for ZigBee network and is called Improved Tree Routing (ImpTR) protocol which is computationally simple in finding the shortest path to transmit data packets to the sink node, and does not need any addition in hardware. ImpTR protocol uses an approach to select next hope depending on new algorithm and uses the same tree topology construction for distributing address to all sensor nodes in the network. ImpTR determines the best path to the sink node depending on the tables of the neighbouring nodes, which is part of the existing ZigBee network specification. Packets are forwarded to neighbour node if the path to the sink through neighbour node is shorter than the path through personal area network (PAN) coordinator. The unreliability and inefficiency of the TR originates from the limited links for routes, i.e., parent-child links. If any ZigBee router loses its link to its parent the routing path is broken and the TR cannot recover the routing path by itself , for that the second main objective is overcome the link failure problem. ImpTR algorithm reduces the average end-to-end delay by (10-31) % which is the time needs to transmit packets between source and sink node, decrease the energy consumption from the whole network by (8-40) % , reduce the number of hops need to transmit data packets to sink node by (3-32)%, and increases the average throughput by (4-65) % which is average number of bits receive in sink node per second.


To the extent that clustering takes place in the brain, it happens in an on-line manner: each data point comes in, is processed, and then goes away never to return. To formalize this, imagine an endless stream of data points x 1 , x 2 ,. .. and a k-clustering algorithm that works according to the following paradigm: repeat forever: get a new data point x update the current set of k centers This algorithm cannot store all the data it sees, because the process goes on ad infinitum. More precisely, we will allow it space proportional to k. And at any given moment in time, we want the algorithm's k-clustering to be close to the optimal clustering of all the data seen so far. This is a tall order, but nonetheless we can manage it for the simplest of our cost functions, k-center. The setting is, as usual, a metric space (X , ρ). Recall that for data set S ⊂ X and centers T ⊂ X we define cost(T) = max x∈S ρ(x, T). In the on-line setting, our algorithm must conform to the following template. And for all times t, we would like it to be the case that the cost of T for the points seen so far is close to the optimal cost achievable for those particular points. We will look at two schemes that fit this bill. This algorithm is due to Charikar et al. (1997). T ← {first k distinct data points} R ← smallest interpoint distance in T repeat forever: while |T | ≤ k: (A) get new point x if ρ(x, T) > 2R : T ← T ∪ {x} (B) T ′ ← { } while there exists z ∈ T such that ρ(z, T ′) > 2R: T ′ ← T ′ ∪ {z} T ← T


ABSTRACT Activation of CD4 T cells by dendritic cells leads to their differentiation into various effector lineages. The nature of the effector lineage is determined by the innate cues provided by dendritic cells to newly primed T cells. Although the cytokines necessary for several effector lineages have been identified, the innate cues that drive T follicular helper (Tfh) lineage cell development remain unclear. Here we found that following priming, CD4 T cells undergoing clonal expansion acquire a transient Tfh-like phenotype before differentiating into other effector lineages. In addition, we found that T cell-intrinsic myeloid differentiation antigen 88 (MyD88) signaling, which occurs downstream of interleukin-1 (IL-1) and IL-18 receptors, is critical for the primed CD4 T cells to transition out of the temporary Tfh lineage. Mice with T cell-specific deletion of MyD88 have a higher proportion of Tfh cells and germinal center (GC) B cells. These exaggerated Tfh cell and GC B cell responses, however, do not lead to protective immunity against infections. We demonstrate that T cell-intrinsic MyD88 is critical for effector lineage differentiation as well as production of the cytokines that are necessary for class switching. Overall, our study establishes that following priming and clonal expansion, CD4 T cells undergo a transitional Tfh-like phase and that further differentiation into effector lineages is dictated by T cell-intrinsic MyD88-dependent cues.


In this paper we consider twist mappings of the torus, $\overline{T}:{\rm T^2\rightarrow T^2}$, and their vertical rotation intervals $\rho _V(T)=[\rho _V^{-},\rho _V^{+}]$, which are closed intervals such that for any $\omega \in\, ]\rho _V^{-},\rho _V^{+}[$ there exists a compact $\overline{T}$-invariant set $\overline{Q}_\omega $ with $\rho _V(\overline{x})=\omega$ for any $\overline{x}\in \overline{Q}_\omega $, where $\rho _V(\overline{x})$ is the vertical rotation number of $\overline{x}$. In the case when $\omega $ is a rational number, $\overline{Q}_\omega $ is a periodic orbit. Here we analyze how $\rho _V^{-}$ and $\rho _V^{+}$ behave as we perturb $\overline{T}$ and which dynamical properties for $\overline{T}$ can be obtained from their values.


century and the subsequent incorporation of the Chesapeake into a world economy changed the landscape of the Chesapeake Bay region. In this paper I examine the effects of European land-use practices on the forests surrounding the Chesapeake, by analyzing the record of pollen deposited in estuarine sediments during the last 1300 years. I analyze the patterns of species change and changes in the similarity of the ecological communities at three sites: The Nanticoke River, Magothy River and Furnace Bay. The effects of European settlement were not uniform. In some cases European settlement accentuated differences among sites, while in other cases, settlement diminished these differences and led to a homogenization of the plant communities. The variations seen in the effect of European settlement on the pattern of inter-site similarity depended on the nature of the original plant communities, the specific cultivation practices at the site, and the scale at which the plant communities were examined. At the scale of the entire pollen assemblage, incorporating patterns of forest and nonforest patches, the communities all became more similar to each other. Land clearance for agriculture or charcoal production imposed a similar physical structure on the landscape, one of fragmented forest patches and clearings at all of the sites. This physical structure was manifested in increasing dominance by disturbance-adapted species such as Ambrosia and a decrease in arboreal species such as Quercus and Carya. At the scale of the arboreal pollen, reflecting changes in the remaining forests, areas under the same pattern of land-use showed increased similarity while areas under different land-use showed less. Settlers intensively cultivated tobacco in the Magothy and Nanticoke River sites. The patterns of land-use under this crop system led to an increase in Pinus in the forest patches. The Magothy River site, formerly with low Pinus dominance, became dominated by Pinus and more closely resembled the Nanticoke River site. In contrast, Pinus dominance decreased in Furnace Bay, a region dominated by charcoal production.


In global perspective, it is an incontestable fact that the progress of a nation is highly dependent on the education of their citizens. Education plays a central role and has a cross cutting impact on all aspects of human life. It is a vital investment for human and economic development. The main purpose of this study is to explore the causes of students drop outs and their impact on economy. This research find outs the reasons of dropouts in Pakistan and more importantly comparative analysis of the causes of students dropouts globally. The findings of this study are drawn from the extensive literature review of students' dropout in different countries. Financial problems, parents' unwillingness, distance and lack of basic facilities, bad quality of the education, inadequate school environment and building, overloaded class rooms, improper languages of teaching, carelessness of teachers and security problem in girls school are found as major causes of student dropouts in different countries. This study also find outs the effects of students dropouts on economy and suggest some remedial measures to reduce students' dropouts. Study also has some policy implications for policy makers to combat this problem, such as free education program, curriculum adjustment, teachers training workshops, provision of all facilities in schools.


In light of the Europe 2020 strategy, public authorities in the European Union ought to make better use of public procurement in support of general societal goals. The Member States should therefore use their purchasing power to procure goods and services that foster innovation, respect the environment and combat climate change, while also improving employment, public health and social conditions. However, the overarching objective of the procurement rules in the Union is primarily to strengthen the single market and the EU's competitiveness. An important issue is therefore how much space public authorities have at their disposal in order to support social or environmental objectives. The situation is different in the U.S. where American States can encourage, and in some cases require, public institutions to purchase products produced in the state (i.e., a geographic preference) due to the so called Market Participant Exception. Against this background, the report States as Market Participants in the U.S. and EU? – Public Purchasing and the Environment, written by the American Professor Jason Czarnezki, analyses U.S. law in comparison to EU law and discusses the ability of public authorities to make environmental demands when purchasing products. Given that the EU is presently revising its procurement legislation, the report, published in the context of SIEPS' research project The Future Single Market, provides a useful analysis to determine the space for social and environmental requirements in EU public procurement law.


A 31-year-old Balinese male, who has undergone hemodialysis for 9 years and then diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The basis of the diagnosis was from the increased abdominal complaints and left hip pain. The investigation with ultrasound and abdominal CT scan obtained the mass on the left kidney and after the radical nephrectomy surgery, examination of the pathology found multicystic kidney disease with extensive necrosis with malignant markings in some preparations. Kidney tumors rarely occur in patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis. This is allegedly due to the inactivation of a tumor suppressor gene. Therefore, periodic checks are necessary to detect the presence of malignancy in patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis. As these cases are rarely reported in Indonesia and there is often a delay in diagnosis, it is expected to add insight to early diagnosis and provide optimal therapy to prolong patient life expectancy. Early detection and treatment are expected to provide a better prognosis and prolong the patient's life expectancy.


This paper presents a deep learning system applied for detecting anomalies from respiratory sound recordings. Initially, our system begins with audio feature extraction using Gammatone and Continuous Wavelet transformation. This step aims to transform the respiratory sound input into a two-dimensional spectrogram where both spectral and temporal features are presented. Then, our proposed system integrates Inception-residual-based backbone models combined with multi-head attention and multi-objective loss to classify respiratory anomalies. Instead of applying a simple concatenation approach by combining results from various spectrograms, we propose a Linear combination, which has the ability to regulate equally the contribution of each individual spectrogram throughout the training process. To evaluate the performance, we conducted experiments over the benchmark dataset of SPRSound (The Open-Source SJTU Paediatric Respiratory Sound) proposed by the IEEE BioCAS 2022 challenge. As regards the Score computed by an average between the average score and harmonic score, our proposed system gained significant improvements of 9.7%, 15.8%, 17.8%, and 16.1% in Task 1-1, Task 1-2, Task 2-1, and Task 2-2, respectively, compared to the challenge baseline system. Notably, we achieved the Top-1 performance in Task 2-1 and Task 2-2 with the highest Score of 74.5% and 53.9%, respectively.


The Jomon culture is an ancient Japanese society that existed during approximately 14,000 to 400 BC and which is characterized by Jomon (cord pattern) pottery. To investigate the paleodiet of the people of northeastern Tohoku in Japan during the Final Jomon period (about 1000–400 BC), we studied three sites in Aomori Prefecture, the center of the Kamegaoka culture. The Fubinashi site is on the coast and was supported by a rich fishing culture. Imazu was a coastal salt-making site. Sugisawa is a mountainous inland site on the banks of a river. We determined the 14C ages of the interior and exterior surfaces of carbonized material on potsherds and compared the data with pottery typology and age to study the marine reservoir effect. We also analyzed the bulk carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes and C:N ratios to determine the presence of aquatic foodstuffs. The organic residues from pottery typology corresponding to the described analyses provided a general perspective of differences in the ancient diets at each site. When we recovered sufficient lipids, we analyzed compound-specific stable isotopes of fatty acids to obtain a multilateral view of those diets. Our findings indicate that the diets of inhabitants of both Fubinashi and Imazu consisted primarily of marine products and some terrestrial foodstuffs, whereas people from Sugisawa processed mainly C3 plants and some terrestrial animals and aquatic commodities.


The phenomenon of psychiatric breakdown occurring when the subject reaches the age his/her parent was at death, misleadingly referred to by Hilgard as an 'anniversary reaction', is examined. It is contrasted to breakdown occurring at the anniversary of the death of a significant person and compared with the concept of nemesis as described by Chapman. An attempt is made to assess the incidence and clinical characteristics of patients breaking down at times of such age correspondence in samples of early and late mother-bereaved women from North-East Scotland. It is concluded that the phenomenon is not common and is not associated with specific clinical features. Some illustrative cases are presented.


This review synthesized findings from 17 studies since 1998 regarding evaluation of outpatient treatments for adolescent substance abuse. These studies represented systematic design advances in adolescent clinical trial science. The research examined 46 different intervention conditions with a total sample of 2,307 adolescents. The sample included 7 individual cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) replications (n = 367), 13 group CBT replications (n = 771), 17 family therapy replications (n = 850) and 9 minimal treatment control conditions (n = 319). The total sample was composed of approximately 75% males, and the ethnic/racial distribution was approximately 45% White, 25% Hispanic, 25% African American, and 5% other groups. Meta-analysis was used to evaluate within-group effect sizes as well as differences between active treatment conditions and the minimal treatment control conditions. Methodological rigor of studies was classified using Nathan and Gorman (2002) criteria, and treatments were classified using criteria for well-established and probably efficacious interventions based on Chambless et al. (1996). Three treatment approaches, multidimensional family therapy, functional family therapy, and group CBT emerged as well-established models for substance abuse treatment. However, a number of other models are probably efficacious, and none of the treatment approaches appeared to be clearly superior to any others in terms of treatment effectiveness for adolescent substance abuse.


Abstract This article explores the intersection of sexual and reproductive health, development and human rights in the context of managing post-disaster relief and rehabilitation operations. As a case study, it investigates the disaster response and rehabilitation efforts carried out in southern Philippines after the devastation wrought by the tropical storm Washi (locally known as Sendong) in December 2011, which resulted in thousands of casualties, with thousands more displaced and forced to live in makeshift evacuation centers. Using a varied range of methods for data collection, including personal interviews, group workshops, body mapping, and a socio-demographic and reproductive health survey in evacuation camps, the study reveals how post-disaster interventions and strategies remain grounded in medicotechnical and managerial narratives, thereby marginalizing the sexual and gendered dimensions of calamities. I argue that this marginalization in disaster risk-management practices renders gender and sexuality impersonal, disembodied and apolitical. In doing so, disaster risk management runs the risk of reproducing inequalities, vulnerabilities, and social exclusion in the aftermath of calamities. This article aims at broadening our understanding of disaster risk reduction and management by re-centering sexualityand reproduction in the discourse of humanitarian intervention as a matter of human rights, and not only as a medical(ized) issue.


Aim. To determine independent predictors of adverse cardiovascular events (ACE) and to develop a long-term (12 months) prognostic model after an episode of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).Material and methods. The study included 120 T2D patients hospitalized due to ACS in the period from January 2016 to February 2017. All patients underwent standard diagnostic tests. Twelve months after ACS, the incidence of ACE in T2D patients was assessed: cardiovascular mortality, myocardial infarction, emergency surgical revascularization. Additionally, we analyzed composite endpoint (CEP), including all of the adverse outcomes listed. Patients were divided into 2 groups: group 1 (n=34) — patients with ACE; group 2 (n=86) — patients without ACE. Factors associated with the CEP were then included in the logistic regression to determine independent predictors of ACE. In order to predict the development of CEP in patients with ACS and T2D, a logit model was created. To process the model, a ROC analysis was performed.Results. Independent factors associated with ACE for 12 months in T2D patients after an ACS were established: MI of moderate severity (D.M. Aronov classification); hypertriglyceridemia; decreased heart rate variability (SDNN <0 ms); segments with significant coronary stenosis in the amount of ≥3; no surgical revascularization during acute MI. Based on independent factors, a logit model was developed for assessing 12-month risk of ACE in T2D patients after an ACS.Conclusion. The developed risk prediction model for T2D patients after ACS, based on accessible diagnostic tests, allows to determine the probability of ACE within 12 months.


The benefits and rationale for including a psychologic assessment of a patient with an industrial hand injury are discussed. Issues of compliance and malingering in patients are addressed. The role of pre-existing conditions in understanding an injured patient's current emotional state is explored and contrasted with posttraumatic stress disorders. Recent trends in psychologic assessment techniques are highlighted.


Tennessee's bridge inspection program is one of four state programs to demonstrate that it has inspected all its bridges on schedule, according to a recent independent analysis. The analysis used National Bridge Inventory records, which included inspections up to 2006 and reported that at least 17,000 bridges in the U.S. had gone more than two years between safety inspections. The state ranks 10th in the U.S. in number of bridges, with 19,560 that it has to inspect on the National Highway System or on local system, the most of any of the states with perfect on-time inspection records. The vast majority of Tennessee's bridges are straightforward in design and relatively accessible, ranging from as short as 20 feet to longer than 1,000. In 2008, the state will spend $36.2 million to repair some 69 bridges. About 80 percent of the money comes from federal sources. The inspection work is done by 17 inspection teams within the Tennessee Department of Transportation.


Non-thermalized electrons in metals, featured by deviation from the Fermi-Dirac distribution, have recently shown potential to facilitate realization of ultrafast photonic devices such as all-optical modulators. Dissection of non-thermalized electron dynamics and its influence on optical response of metals is therefore essential for optimization of photonic design. The subpicosecond dynamics of non-thermalized electrons in gold, excited by femtosecond laser, is studied in this work combining electron Boltzmann transport equation and femtosecond spectroscopy. It is found that there are significant differences among the ultrafast reflectance signals detected with different probe photon energies in sub-picosecond timescale, which result from the evolution of non-thermalized electrons and cannot be described by temperature-based models. For the probe photon energy far away from the interband transition threshold (ITT) of gold, the transient reflectance signal is featured by short leading and tailing durations. While for the probe photon energy close to the ITT, the transient reflectance change exhibits much slower dynamics. By calculating the dynamics of the non-thermalized electron energy distribution, the origin of the ultrafast optical response is revealed. The analysis in this study could provide insights on electron-photon coupling to guide the design of ultrafast photonic devices based on metals.


Two methods of using switches to implement reversible computations are discussed. The first method has an energy dissipation which is proportional to the square of the error in the voltage, while the second method has an energy dissipation which can in principle be reduced indefinitely by slowing the speed of computation. The first method is basically an extension to 'pass logic' which has been previously used with both nMOS (hot clock nMOS) and CMOS transmission gates to achieve low energy dissipation. The second method is a novel thermodynamically reversible logic system based on CCD-like operations which switches charge packets in a reversible fashion to achieve low energy dissipation.


New York Police Department (NYPD) stop and frisk policy has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years and has been analyzed exclusively in terms of its equity and effectiveness. This study adds a third approach of policy outcome analysis—technical efficiency—by employing a pooled data envelopment analysis of all Stop, Question, and Frisk data from all NYPD precincts from 2004 through 2010 (3,410,300 total stops resulting in 1,721,955 total frisks). The results reveal that the NYPD is input inefficient in many precincts (mean IOTA score = .40) but slightly more output efficient (mean IOTA score = .50). The most efficient precincts and boroughs are also identified to set performance benchmarks for frisks within the NYPD. According to the input-oriented results (the equity side), there should have been 1,091,846 fewer frisks given the outputs produced (arrests, guns, and contraband), and the output-oriented results (effectiveness side) suggest the NYPD should have produced 179,056 more arrests, found 6,306 more pistols and found 59,883 more instances of contraband to be technically efficient, given the level frisks throughout the NYPD. Though a certain amount of inefficiency is enshrined in the frisk decision, these results are placed in the context of police actions and outcomes in the NYPD over this time period, and are used to inform both sides of the current debate. This research is unique to the police efficiency literature and sets the foundation for future research that fully models efficiency antecedents as well as the outcomes that result from inefficient frisks.


The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a worldwide array of difficulties and disruptions, changing the way people live, work and interact. Gatherings of large groups of people stopped completely in spring of 2020, forcing technical conference organizers to either cancel or move to online meetings. This major disruption has tested peoples' resilience and ability to find alternative ways to accomplish goals, and as a result a plethora of virtual platforms were created and demonstrated to allow people to meet and exchange ideas and technical advancements. For the first time since its creation, IEEE Energy Conversion Congress & Exposition (ECCE 2020) happened in a new, virtual format. And with that novel experience to support our vision, the ECCE 2021 team is organizing the largest international energy conversion conference and exposition in hybrid format where the virtual component will be prepared and tested during most of 2021 in order for it to run smoothly by October.


In Colombia, the fish fingerling marketing is done by units and not by weight and, due to the lack of automatic equipment, it requires a manual counting. The current proposal is a ramp with variable inclination, in order to regulate the lowering speed. A first prototype had no lighting, which caused problems due to the different lighting operating conditions, which required the design of a closure with its own internal lighting. The software is designed under LabVIEW, with capacity of 400 fingerlings per second, becoming the video camera a limitation because of its rate of 30fps. In this article different vision algorithms used on line with the video camera are explained. The final results are presented, achieving a counting error of less than 6%, and some improvements in the system such as technology not dependent on computers and equipment with better specifications are suggested, which would increase the cost but at the same time would improve accuracy.


Most influenza viruses express the PB1-F2 protein which is regarded as a virulence factor. However, PB1-F2 behaves differently in avian and mammalian hosts, suggesting that this protein may be involved in the species barrier crossings regularly observed in influenza viruses. To better understand the functions associated with this viral protein, we decided to compare the BioID2-derived proximity interactome of a human PB1-F2 from an H3N2 virus with that of an avian PB1-F2 from an H7N1 strain. The results obtained reveal that the two proteins share only a few interactors and thus common functions. The human virus protein is mainly involved in signaling by Rho GTPases while the avian virus protein is mainly involved in ribonucleoprotein complex biogenesis. PB1-F2 H3N2 interactors include several members of the 14-3-3 protein family, a family of regulatory proteins involved in many signaling pathways. We then validated the interaction with 14-3-3 proteins and were able to show that the association of H3N2-PB1-F2 with YWHAH increased the activity of the antiviral sensor MDA5, while H7N1-PB1-F2 had no effect. Collectively, these results show that PB1-F2 can associate with a large range of protein complexes and exert a wide variety of functions. Furthermore, PB1-F2 interactome differs according to the avian or human origin of the protein.


This paper proposes the Elastic force application on the obstacle avoidance of Silvermate robots. The method deals with the problem associated with a Silvermate robot driving to a goal configuration as avoiding obstacles. The initial trajectory of a robot is determined by a motion planner, and the trajectory modification is accomplished by adjusting the control points. The control points are obtained based on the elastic force approach. Consequently the trajectory of a robot is incrementally modified to maintain a smooth and adaptive trajectory in an environment with obstacles. The suggested algorithm drives the robot to avoid obstacle in real-time. Finally, The simulation studies are carried out to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.


We theoretically propose a photonic flash based on a linearly coupled cavity system. Via driving the two side cavities by external fields, it forms a cyclic energy-level diagram and therefore the phase difference between the driving fields acts as a controller of the steady state due to the quantum interference effect. In the optical trimer structure, we show that the perfect photonic flash can be realized in the situation of resonant driving. The perfect photonic flash scheme is furthermore generalized to multiple coupled cavity system, where the cavities with odd and even number turn bright and dark alternatively. Our proposal may be applied for designing the quantum neon and realizing a controllable photonic localization.


The magnetoconductance G in chaotic quantum dots at medium/high magnetic fluxes Φ is calculated by means of a tight-binding Hamiltonian on a square lattice. Chaotic dots are simulated by introducing diagonal disorder on surface sites of L×L clusters. It is shown that when the ratio W/L is sufficiently large, W being the width of the leads, G increases steadily (almost with no fluctuations) showing a maximum at a magnetic flux Φmax∝L2/W (a flux at which the cyclotron radius rc≈W/2). Neither regular nor bulk disordered ballistic cavities (with a content of impurities proportional to L) show this effect. On the other hand, for magnetic fluxes such that rc>L/2 and up to the aforementioned maximum, the average magnetoconductance increases almost linearly with the flux with a slope proportional to W2. These results closely follow a theory proposed by Beenakker and van Houten to explain the magnetoconductance of two point contacts in series.


The article presents the methodology and some of the results of the corporate image study carried out, in 2014, in the International Center for Advanced Studies in Communication for Latin America (CIESPAL). In order to collect data, in addition to the survey, it has been used a Semantic Differential -an instrument that has been widely used in some scientific fields, but which has nevertheless been used for the evaluation of the corporate image of organizations. According to Paul Capriotti, at first, 18 pairs of concepts were established to reconstruct Quito center's corporate image within three global components (products, activities and behavior). After the pretest phase, it was decided to reduce the test to 9 pairs of concepts. It is found that CIESPAL, has wide recognition, is reliable for its public, and is cataloged as a prestigious and necessary institution. Among the aspects to be improved: its facilities, presence in social networks and the dissemination of its programs and activities.


Despite significant progress in neuroimaging and introduction of new combined treatments for solid tumors, brain metastases are still adverse factor for overall survival. Brain metastases are diagnosed in 8-10% of patients and associated with extremely poor prognosis. These lesions result focal and general cerebral symptoms. Literature review highlights the current principles of surgical treatment of metastatic brain lesions in patients with solid tumors.


Poled Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT 52/48) ceramics have been prepared and impacted normally to the direction of polarization by a 40-mm gas-gun accelerated projectile. The impact depoled the PZT 52/48 ceramic and caused it to release electricity to the electrodes which was connected to an external resistor. The comparison of the voltage difference produced at the PZT specimen by the shock with that calculated from a simplified circuit model revealed that the resistivity of the PZT 52/48 ceramic under a 2.1-GPa initial shock stress was approximately 3.8·104 Ω-cm.


The aim of this work was to provide a comprehensive insight concerning coated films which might be used for first mirrors in ITER. The influence of the mirror crystallite size has been addressed as well as the coating techniques to provide nanocrystalline films. Tests of coated mirrors both in laboratories and in tokamaks are reviewed. For the tokamak tests a wide angle camera system has been installed in JET-ILW which is composed of a mirror box with 3 stainless steel mirrors coated with rhodium viewing the torus through a conically shaped aperture. The system delivered the required image quality for plasma monitoring and wall protection. No or insignificant degradation of the optical transmittance has been observed during the C33 experimental campaign in 2014 with about 3000 plasma pulses in different magnetic field configurations.


The present work aimed to evaluate the effect of the temperature and defoliation on the growth of micropropagated apple plants, cv. 'Marubakaido', during the acclimatization process. Apple shoots  were  rooted in vitro and transplanted to greenhouse  where  they remained for  fifteen days. After this period, two lots of plants, defoliated and not defoliated, were transferred to growth room and kept under temperature of 4±1oC and 10±1oC by 0, 360, 720, 1.080 and 1.440 hours, under 16 hours photoperiod and radiation of 5µE.m-2.s-1. Then, the plants were transferred to greenhouse where their growth was evaluated every two weeks during ten weeks. The internode length and dry matter weight of the aerial part and roots as well were also evaluated at the end of the experiment. The percentage of plant survival was evaluated after a month in a greenhouse. A sharp decrease in the plants survival was verified when they were defoliated and treated at 4±1oC. Plants with leaves maintained at 4±1oC  presented an increase in the height, internode length and in the weight of the dry matter of the roots and aerial parts proportional to the time remained in this temperature. Plants treated with 10±1oC had a beneficial effect of the treatments which was also verified for the growth and internode lengthening. Only the plants maintained initially with leaves presented an increase in the dry matter of aerial part in this treatment. 10±1oC did not affect the weight of roots dry matter of the plants, defoliated and not defoliated.


Georgieva, N. (2021) Allelopathic tolerance in broad bean (Vicia faba L.) accessions to Sorghum halepense extracts. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 27 (3), 524–530 Due to the growing importance of organic farming and environmental protection, more and more attention should be paid to ecological interactions between species, and less to the use of pesticide products. The present study aimed to determine the allelopathic tolerance of ten Vicia faba accessions (Fb 1896, Fb 1903, Fb1929, Fb 2481, Fb 2486, Fb 3270, BGE 002106, BGE 029055, BGE 032012, BGE 046721) to extracts of Sorghum halepense. Aqueous extracts (in concentrations of 1.0, 5.0 and 10.0%) from shoot and root weed biomasses were compared with distilled water used as control. Germination and initial growth parameters, including the percentage of seed germination, length and weight of the germ, percentage of inhibition, tolerance index and seedling vigour index were reported. Analysis of variance showed significant influence of the factors "accession" and "concentration of the extracts" of S. halepense on the seed germination and initial growth parameters, and the influence of the type of weed extract was significant only for seed germination. The inhibitory effect of the extracts ranged from 7.7 to 100% in terms of seed germination, and it was in limits 3.6 ÷ 100% and 7.1 ÷ 100% regarding germ length and weight, respectively. As a whole, as the extract concentration increased, the depressive effect on the studied parameters enhanced. The summary effect of the allelopathic action of Sorghum halepense on all parameters studied (represented by GGE-biplot analysis) determined accessions Fb 3270, Fb 2481 and Fb 2486 as exhibiting higher tolerance, unlike Fb 1929, BGE 032012, BGE 002106, Fb 1903 and Fb 1896 which were more sensitive.


This paper examines some of the relationships between the ethnographic experience andknowledge that has been deployed on the ethnicity of the Great Chaco region in the first decadeof the XXIst century in the argentinian anthropology. Considering that it is through "the livedexperience" in the field that knowledge is produced, there are two conditions as interpretivefocus: the condition of displacement, otherness and space condition. It is argued that each ofthese conditions suggest to the recent ethnography of Gran Chaco, as field of experiences andpractices that are temporarily, politically and historically located in relation to configurations,anthropological trajectories and subjectivities, whose heterogeneity is intertwined with theparticularity of each lived experience in "the ethnographic field". The Cartesian dual dimension ofthe field work is questionned and the article shows how the epistemological dispute, by the Chacoethnic alterity, is ascribed to specific forms of knowledge of the national anthropological academy.


A research project conducted for the Electric Power Research Institute has resulted in substantial improvements in the assessment of steam-generator integrity. The objective of the work was to determine the maximum advantage of multifrequency methods for the inspection of steam generators. Advanced multifrequency technology has been developed under the program and has been implemented into a prototype system that uses both differential and absolute data simultaneously from four test frequencies. Multiparameter processing of the data results in very effective elimination of unwanted parameters such as support plates, probe wobble, dents, and other dimensional variations. The information of interest, flaw depth, is preserved in this process and is no longer masked or altered by the unwanted data. The availability of both differential and absolute multifrequency data significantly extends the range and accuracy of the flaw-sizing process, and enables the profiles or contours of larger volume flaws to be obtained.


Background We recognised the limitations of our bereavement groups, and were eager to explore grief at a deeper level through a creative medium, guided by national standards (Bereavement Care Service Standards, 2013). Aims To write about our lives, feelings, thoughts, share our writing with others, reflect on past experiences, including service user feedback; For group members to discover a new tool allowing them to access their grief in a different way; Through group exercises members will discover a new narrative and a new source of meaning to their lives. Methods Invitations were sent to bereaved people using hospice services. A closed group ran for six sessions, limited to six members and two facilitators, who participated to allow a collegiate approach. Each session opened with a poem, brought by the group, allowing the group to reflect on their mood, for facilitators to lead with greater sensitivity adapting to the group needs. Homework was set weekly providing the focus for the first half of the next session. The remainder of the session was used for written exercises using techniques of expressive writing. Results Evaluation was mainly qualitative, measured by attendance and evaluation forms. Facilitators monitored and reflected weekly. On our first group, anticipated results were confirmed by user evaluation, which informed our next group. Facilitators witnessed aims met, promoting further writing groups, thus ensuring hospice bereavement support reaches a wider level of need. Conclusions Conclusions and recommendations for the hospice bereavement service is to include this group as a regular service. We recognise the limitations of educational levels, however, skilful facilitation enables a generous group. Using a different medium has proved to unlock the unspoken – 'The course helped me to break out of a writing drought, and find courage and vocalise about my late wife.'


This paper examines the property rights theory of the firm when a manager's relationship-specific investment can be partially appropriated by the owner of an asset even if cooperation breaks down. The investments of non owners may then be devalued, but are seldom wholly lost to the owner. With such spillovers, the outside-option principle can be incorporated into the Grossman-Hart-Moore framework without implying that ownership demotivates. Enriched predictions on the determinants of integration emerge.


New technologies are continually being placed in the ocean, constantly collecting data in real time. As a result, Data Literacy is now a necessary learning goal for supporting students' Ocean Literacy. The newest ships in the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, the Regional Class Research Vessels (RCRVs), are being built with the aim of supporting data literacy through outreach and education, with aid from a forthcoming real-time data portal. To understand how the RCRVs' outreach and education initiatives can best support data and ocean literacy, while also facilitating intentional engagement with minoritized populations, a three-phase research strategy was conducted over three years. The objective was to determine promising practices in data literacy education and shipboard outreach. The first phase of the research interviewed experts in the fields of teaching, data literacy, shipboard education, and community engagement in order to generate recommendations. The second phase was an assessment of a three-day data literacy high-school curriculum utilizing research vessel data. The third phase examined the success of potential culturally responsive data literacy curricular frameworks and teaching practices in an afterschool pilot program for Latinx youth. The research determined that as students have never-ending access to data, data literacy education must be scaffolded throughout a student's life. Data used in education must be contextual and relatable and the best tools for data literacy learning are designed for teachers and students. As new knowledge is generated about the ocean through new technologies continually collecting data, ocean literacy can no longer exist without data literacy.


Maternal health behaviors such as substance use and sexual promiscuity can put the health of mothers and their offspring at risk. Sociodemographic factors including low socioeconomic status are also found to correlate with health risks for childbearing women. Hispanic women—particularly those less acculturated—often have sociodemographic risk factors present, but have paradoxically positive pregnancy outcomes. This study examines the acculturation and ethnic differences among Hispanic, White, and Black women in health behaviors and attitudes during childbearing, using data from the National Survey of Family Growth Cycle 6 on 1,062 women who were either currently pregnant or had given birth in the past 12 months. Less acculturated Hispanic women had the lowest rates of substance use and reported the least risky sexual behavior compared to Blacks, Whites, and more acculturated Hispanic women, and had the highest levels of agreement with statements valuing traditional maternal roles compared to the other groups.


The human motion electromagnetic energy harvesting is under investigation. Our device has a planar structure and consists of three groups of flat, spiral-shaped coils and an arc-shaped magnet. This construction is suitable for integration into clothing. During natural human motions the generator elements move one relatively to another and induce the pulses of voltage. The most suitable place of integration (at the level of anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) for outerwear), the most suitable type of clothing (insulated jacket and a small easy at chest and hip level and the advisable number of coils to be integrated into the jacket were found experimentally.


and anticonvulsants act synergistically' and similarities between the fetal anticonvulsant and alcohol syndromes have been noted.4 Consequently, we wonder whether palatal function may be particularly susceptible to the teratogenic effects of alcohol or anticonvulsants, or both, and suggest that if such an effect were confirmed by others this would be a useful diagnostic pointer in these disorders.


An outbreak of tuberculosis due to Mycobacterium bovis among 46 rhesus monkeys housed in individual cages in the same large room of a closed experimental colony appeared to originate in one male that had been in the laboratory for 25 months. During this time, the animal received a total of 17 intrapalpebral tuberculin tests and two chest radiographs, all of which were negative. Of the remaining 45 animals in the room, 43 converted from tuberculin negative to positive within 7 weeks, while the animals in all other rooms remained tuberculin negative during the 1-year follow-up period.