Digestive disorders in calves are an urgent problem in animal husbandry. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the properties of enterosorbent and its effect on blood parameters in calves with digestive disorders. The study revealed the dynamics of total protein, albumin, globulins, protein coefficient, glucose, transaminases, creatine kinase in the blood serum of calves with digestive disorders in the early postnatal period against the background of the use of methylsilicic acid hydrogel as an intestinal sorbent. The use of enterosorbent at a dose of 0.5 g/kg for 7 days had a positive effect on protein metabolism: the concentration of albumin increased by 10.40%, the content of globulins decreased by 11.20%. The activity of AST serum against the background of the use of enterosorbent was lower by 14.40% than in the control group, which indicates the detoxification properties of the drug used.


ABSTRACT The objectives of this work were (i) to characterize the pharmacokinetics of cefazolin in pregnant women undergoing elective cesarean delivery and in their neonates; (ii) to assess cefazolin transplacental transmission; (iii) to evaluate the dosing and timing of preoperative, prophylactic administration of cefazolin to pregnant women; and (iv) to investigate the impact of maternal dosing on therapeutic duration and exposure in newborns. Twenty women received 1 g of cefazolin preoperatively. Plasma concentrations of total cefazolin were analyzed from maternal blood samples taken before, during, and after delivery; umbilical cord blood samples obtained at delivery; and neonatal blood samples collected 24 h after birth. The distribution volume of cefazolin was 9.44 liters/h. The values for pre- and postdelivery clearance were 7.18 and 4.12 liters/h, respectively. Computer simulations revealed that the probability of maintaining free cefazolin concentrations in plasma above 8 mg/liter during scheduled caesarean surgery was <50% in the cord blood when cefazolin was administered in doses of <2 g or when it was administered <1 h before delivery. Therapeutic concentrations of cefazolin persisted in neonates >5 h after birth. Cefazolin clearance increases during pregnancy, and larger doses are recommended for surgical prophylaxis in pregnant women to obtain the same antibacterial effect as in nonpregnant patients. Cefazolin has a longer half-life in neonates than in adults. Maternal administration of up to 2 g of cefazolin is effective and produces exposure within clinically approved limits in neonates.


ABSTRACT All-trans retinoic acid (RA) induces transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β)-dependent autocrine growth of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). We have used chromatin immunoprecipitation to map 354 RA receptor (RAR) binding loci in MEFs, most of which were similarly occupied by the RARα and RARγ receptors. Only a subset of the genes associated with these loci are regulated by RA, among which are several critical components of the TGF-β pathway. We also show RAR binding to a novel series of target genes involved in cell cycle regulation, transformation, and metastasis, suggesting new pathways by which RA may regulate proliferation and cancer. Few of the RAR binding loci contained consensus direct-repeat (DR)-type elements. The majority comprised either degenerate DRs or no identifiable DRs but anomalously spaced half sites. Furthermore, we identify 462 RAR target loci in embryonic stem (ES) cells and show that their occupancy is cell type specific. Our results also show that differences in the chromatin landscape regulate the accessibility of a subset of more than 700 identified loci to RARs, thus modulating the repertoire of target genes that can be regulated and the biological effects of RA.


Beautiful people are seen more positively than others, but are they also seen more accurately? In a round-robin design in which previously unacquainted individuals met for 3 min, results were consistent with the "beautiful is good" stereotype: More physically attractive individuals were viewed with greater normative accuracy; that is, they were viewed more in line with the highly desirable normative profile. Notably, more physically attractive targets were viewed more in line with their unique self-reported personality traits, that is, with greater distinctive accuracy. Further analyses revealed that both positivity and accuracy were to some extent in the eye of the beholder: Perceivers' idiosyncratic impressions of a target's attractiveness were also positively related to the positivity and accuracy of impressions. Overall, people do judge a book by its cover, but a beautiful cover prompts a closer reading, leading more physically attractive people to be seen both more positively and more accurately.


This paper investigates the role of Parliamentary oversight over the Cyber Security health and Critical Information Infrastructure Protection (CIIP) of a country, with special reference to Developing Countries. The paper argues that such oversight is especially important in Developing Countries where citizens and companies are venturing into cyber space at great speed and are often not as aware of the potential risks of using cyber space as in Developed Countries. Parliament therefore has a specific responsibility to help mediate the risks as very often, nobody else will do so.


The method of analysis of possible motion variants of space vehicles of the satellite system within the view of its ground stations is suggested. It is meant to be used at the stage of satellite systems design. The method is based on two simplified kinematic models of mechanical system «ground antenna — space vehicle» (the models, describing the kinematics of the line connecting the location point of an integrated station of the satellite system with the center of space vehicle masses as it moves above the local horizon of the ground station). In the models, the kinematic parameters of mechanical system (angles, directing the ground antenna to the space vehicle and the distance between the ground station and the space vehicle) are expressed not as a temporal function, but as a function of an introduced universal parameter. The first model does not take into account the Earth's rotation that allows using merely analytical correlations. The second (specified) model takes account of the Earth's rotation, and the rotation time is expressed as the function of the introduced universal parameter. The use of the proposed method allows prompt analysis of parameters of connection between ground antennas and space vehicles, estimating not only maximum and minimal values, but getting average values as well by conducting qualitative analysis on the set of possible visibility intervals of space vehicles of the satellite system.


We developed a ground-based method for estimating leaf area index (LAI) and vertical distribution of leaf area density (LAD) for two Betula ermanii plots, combining an allometric method for tree leaf area with the MacArthur–Horn (MH) method using a portable laser rangefinder, including a correction for changes in leaf inclination angle along the vertical gradient measured with a portable digital protractor from a canopy access tower in each plot. Vertical distribution of projected leaf area density obtained by the MH method (LADMH) was transformed to relative distribution for allotting fixed LAI to different heights. Hence, we first developed an allometric method for estimating tree leaf area for LAI determination. Trunk cross-sectional area at branching height (AB) was accurately estimated (r2 = 0.97) from ground-based measurements of tree dimensions. We used this method to apply pipe model allometry between tree leaf area and AB, and estimated LAI (4.56 and 4.57 m2 m–2). We then examined how leaf inclination angle affected estimation of the vertical distribution of actual LAD. Leaf inclination angle measurements revealed that actual LAD in the upper canopy was 1.5–1.8-times higher than LADMH, because of steep leaf inclination, while the correction factor was 1.15–1.25 in the lower canopy. Due to the difference among heights, vertical distribution of LAD estimated with correction for vertical change in leaf inclination was more skewed to the upper canopy than that without correction. We also showed that error in LAD distribution can result if horizontal canopy heterogeneity is neglected when applying the MH method.


We have studied the coverage-dependent energy transfer dynamics between hot electrons and CO on Cu(110) with femtosecond visible pump, sum frequency probe spectroscopy. We find that transients of the C-O stretch frequency display a red shift, which increases from 3 cm(-1) at 0.1 ML to 9 cm(-1) at 0.77 ML. Analysis of the transients reveals that the non-adiabatic coupling between the adsorbate vibrational motion and the electrons becomes stronger with increasing coverage. This trend requires the frustrated rotational mode to be the cause of the non-adiabatic behavior, even for relatively weak laser excitation of the adsorbate. We attribute the coverage dependence to both an increase in the adsorbate electronic density of states and an increasingly anharmonic potential energy surface caused by repulsive interactions between neighboring CO adsorbates. This work thus reveals adsorbate-adsorbate interactions as a new way to control adsorbate non-adiabaticity.


This thesis studies the problem of statically bounding the resource usage of computer programs, from programs written in high-level languages to those in assembly languages. Resource usage is an aspect of programs not covered by conventional software-verification techniques, which focus mostly on functional correctness; but it is important because when resource usage exceeds the programmer's expectation by a large amount, user experience can be disrupted and large fees (such as cloud-service fees) can be charged. I designed TiML, a new typed functional programming language whose types contain resource bounds; when a TiML program passes the typechecking phase, upper bounds on its resource usage can be guaranteed. TiML uses indexed types to express sizes of data structures and upper bounds on running time of functions; and refinement kinds to constrain these indices, expressing data-structure invariants and pre/post-conditions. TiML's distinguishing characteristic is supporting highly automated time-bound verification applicable to data structures with nontrivial invariants. Type and index inference are supported to lower annotation burden, and, furthermore, big-O complexity can be inferred from recurrences generated during typechecking by a recurrence solver based on heuristic pattern matching. I also designed a typed assembly language with resource bounds, and a typepreserving compiler that compiles well-typed TiML programs into well-typed assembly programs, conforming to the same bounds. Typechecking at the assembly level reestablishes the soundness of the bounds, and the types can serve as resource-usage certificates for the assembly programs. I used Ethereum smart contracts as a real-world application of the techniques developed in this thesis. The assembly language I designed, TiEVM, is a typed version of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) bytecode language. I will demonstrate that TiML can be used as a new language to write smart contracts, and the generated TiEVM code is equipped with types proving that its resource usage – "gas" in Ethereum terminology – is bounded.


CANDLES is the project to search for neutrino-less double beta decay (0νββ) of 48Ca. The observation of 0νββ will prove existence of a massive Majorana neutrino. For the 0νββ measurement, we need a low background condition because of a low decay rate of 0νββ. Now we installed the CANDLES III system at the Kamioka underground laboratory. The CANDLES III system realizes the low background condition by a characteristic structure and data analyses for background rejection. Here we report performances of the CANDLES III system. c © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.


Airborne spectral and light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors have been used to quantify biophysical characteristics of tropical forests. Lidar sensors have provided high-resolution data on forest height, canopy topography, volume, and gap size; and provided estimates on number of strata in a forest, successional status of forests, and above-ground biomass. Spectral sensors have provided data on vegetation types, foliar biochemistry content of forest canopies, tree and canopy phenology, and spectral signatures for selected tree species. A number of advances are theoretically possible with individual and combined spectral and lidar sensors for the study of forest structure, floristic composition and species richness. Delineating individual canopies of over-storey trees with small footprint lidar and discrimination of tree architectural types with waveform distributions is possible and would provide scientists with a new method to study tropical forest structure. Combined spectral and lidar data can be used to identify selected tree species and identify the successional status of tropical forest fragments in order to rank forest patches by levels of species richness. It should be possible in the near future to quantify selected patterns of tropical forests at a higher resolution than can currently be undertaken in the field or from space.


We report the femtosecond time-resolved studies of room temperature exciton recombination and ultrafast stimulated emission dynamics in ZnO microcrystallite thin films. A free exciton photoluminescence lifetime of a few tens of picoseconds and a decay time of a few picoseconds for the stimulated emission were observed. The relatively slow rise time (3 ps) for the P band as the result of exciton-exciton scattering compared with the 0.8 ps rise time for the N band attributed to electron-hole plasma recombination clearly distinguished the two stimulated emission processes.


This paper was submitted to the Chartered Institute of Transport in 1981 and received the BET road passenger transport award for that year. It is reproduced here by kind permission of the institute, in whom the copyright subsists. The paper is a tentative approach to the extension of transport studies into the field of the behavioural sciences, which, it is argued, is necessary if a paradigm of the transport industry is to be constructed which has serious predictive capacity. After a brief introduction, Part 2 addresses itself to the reality of need, as distinct from effective demand, as an origin of that motivation which may or may not give rise to the provision of transport services to secure its satisfaction. It recognises that, even after the market mechanisms have had full and unfettered play in residual need that, if it is left unsatisfied, may be a net disbenefit to a society that can apply its resources to it by transfer. Part 3 discusses the extent to which the free working of the market mechanisms may be inhibited, on the argument that there is no merit in approaching the problems of satisfying residual need until all possible steps have been taken to minimise it. It is recognised that the market within which transport is supplied and consumed is not and cannot be perfect, but that considerable possibilities exist for obviating its most serious imperfections. These are discussed under the headings: 1. Elasticities of demand; 2. In-elasticity of supply; 3. Institutional rigidities; 4. Organisational rigidities; 5. Technical rigidities; 6. Insufficient information; 7. Cross-subsidisation. In part 4 an approach is made to the nature of the residual need that might exist were all these imperfections to be minimised. The need for further work in this area is emphasised. In part 5, headed "how to do good", a number of approaches to the satisfaction of residual need by way of transfer payment are considered, with their strengths and weaknesses, and starting from the assumption that internal cross-subsidisation is not an accceptable practice. The techniques considered are; 1. Deficit financing; 2. The payment of subventions to ensure the continuance of services which a commercial undertaking would otherwise withdraw (advocated in the United Kingdom by the Low committee's report of 1960): 3. The contractor/client relationship. Special attention is paid to the distortions that any form of intervention may produce, and it is concluded that some form of "fine tuning" is required, rather than across-the-board subvention. Finally part 6 concludes with some thoughts as to the place of professional transport managers in the situation that has been examined, and the paper closes with a plea for further work to be done towards the definition of a general theory of need. It places great stress upon the desirability of involving the public transport industry in the debates about this process. (Author/TRRL)


Antimicrobial substances are used in the preoperative period to reduce the number of resident skin flora and prevent surgical wound infection. Most standing abdominal surgeries in cattle are classified as clean contaminated and are performed on potentially immune-compromised cattle in a contaminated area. Thus, the antiseptic used must quickly reduce the number of microbes present while at the same time preventing bacterial recolonization following the procedure. This can be particularly difficult in field conditions where many environmental contaminants cannot be controlled by the surgeon. Environmental conditions are a major contributing factor in determining the efficacy and residual effects of antiseptic agents. Therefore, a preparation procedure with a high percentage of bacterial reduction and prolonged residual activity would prove favorable in the surgical management of cattle in a field setting. The few studies that have been completed on surgical site preparation in cattle have either been conducted in a sterile hospital surgical suite or only using 1 product in 2 different manners in a field situation. The purpose of this study was to document the comparative efficacy of a standard iodophor and alcohol preparation and a chlorhexidine and alcohol preparation in cattle under field conditions.


Critical care as a clinical specialty is over half a century old. With every successive decade, advances in the education and practices of critical care nurses have been made. Today, critical care nurses are some of the most knowledgeable and highly skilled nurses in the world, and ongoing professional development and education are fundamental elements in ensuring we deliver the highest quality care to our patients and their families.
This book is intended to encourage and challenge nurses to further develop their critical care nursing practice. Our vision for the first edition was for an original text from Australasian authors, not an adaptation of texts produced in other parts of the world. This writing approach more accurately captures the uniquely local elements that form contemporary critical care nursing in Australia and New Zealand and help to answer the myriad of questions posed by critical care nurses as they practise in the local environment, while still allowing the universal core elements that represent critical care practice internationally. This second edition of ACCCN's Critical Care Nursing has 27 chapters that reflect the collective talent and expertise of 50 contributors - a strong mix of academics and clinicians with a passion for critical care nursing - in showcasing the practice of critical care nursing in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the Pacific. We also engaged contributors beyond Australasia to reflect global practices and to extend the applicability of our text to a wider geographic audience. All contributors were carefully chosen for their current knowledge, clinical expertise and strong professional reputations.


This document is dedicated to recent results on the measurements of a vector boson production associated with jets (V+jets) using CMS detector experiment, with a central proton-proton (pp) collision energy of respectively 8 TeV (RunI) and 13 TeV (RunII). The vector boson can be a W boson, Z boson, or photon(γ). The jets are of any flavor, as well as the ones containing heavy flavor quarks, such as bottom(b) quarks. The inclusive cross sections of V+jets processes and differential cross sections as a function of various kinematic observables are presented and compared to several theoretical predictions. In general, the comparison between theoretical calculations and measurement are crucial for improving modeling and precision on QCD dynamics.


The problem of scheduling activities dynamic for a project, within the available resources and adhering to precedence relationships is NP hard combinatorial. Traditional approaches and their extensions are limited in application for simultaneous scheduling of resources with leveling. Considering the need for improved modeling and scheduling techniques, this paper proposes the use of Petrinet based approach aided by memetic algorithm. Manufacturing projects involving either a single or multi resources can be optimally leveled and scheduled. The effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated with case studies.


State territory — Sovereignty over the air — Position of national aircraft outside national airspace — Whether labour relations on aircraft governed by national law — Position of foreign employees of air carrier — Doctrine of law of the flag — Applicability of — The law of the United States of America. Jurisdiction — Personal — Over nationals abroad and their property abroad — Foreign employees of air carrier — Statute requiring collective bargaining to determine wages and working conditions — Territorial limits of — Applicability to flights wholly outside territory of State of nationality of owner — Applicability to foreign-based alien employees of domestic air carrier — Doctrine of law of the flag — Applicability of — The law of the United States of America. Jurisdiction — On the high seas — Doctrine of law of the flag — Applicability to aircraft — Statute requiring collective bargaining to determine wages and working conditions aboard aircraft — Flights wholly outside territory of State of flag — Wages and working conditions of foreign-based alien employees — The law of the United States of America. Jurisdiction — Territorial — Territorial limits of Jurisdiction — Jurisdiction over aircraft and their personnel — Statute requiring collective bargaining to determine wages and working conditions — Applicability to flights wholly outside territory of State of nationality of owner — Applicability to foreign-based alien employees of domestic air carrier — Doctrine of law of flag — Applicability of — The law of the United States of America.


This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed conference proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Multi-disciplinary Trends in Artificial Intelligence, MIWAI 2013, held in Krabi, Thailand, in December 2013. The 30 full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 65 submissions and cover topics such as cognitive science, computational intelligence, computational philosophy, game theory, machine learning, multi-agent systems, natural language, representation and reasoning, speech, vision and the web.


Occurrence of free phosphoserine (SerP) in ripened cheeses was investigated to clarify whether this amino acid can be directly released from casein by enzymatic attack. Free amino acids extracted from cheese were separated by IEC or RP-HPLC and the peak of SerP always eluted close to unretained material and acidic components. Presence of these interferences suggests that the content of free SerP (from 0.8 to 16.4 mmoles/kg cheese) could be highly overestimated. These figures were dramatically lowered (up to 100 times) after a purification step of the cheese extract on cationic column, but the chromatographic separation of SerP was not yet interference-free. However, these values of free SerP are not significant on the basis of the total amount of free amino acids (<0.06%). The interfering compounds were characterized in Grana Padano cheese by FAB-MS and several low-MW peptides were found, the most abundant of which was the casein phosphopeptide (CPP) β(16-22)3P. In vitro enzymatic hydrolysis of casein confirmed that accumulation of short-chain CPPs having the common structure X-SerP-SerP-SerP-Glu-Glu-X occurs, explaining incomplete recovery of the amino acids. The recovery increased from 89% up to 96% and the content of Ser and Glu approached the theoretical value when the enzymatic hydrolysis was performed in presence of alkaline phosphatase.

These data are consistent with splitting of Ser and not of SerP from casein by enzymatic attack and with accumulation of only free Ser in cheese ripening. Because of the accumulation of "enzyme-resistant" CPPs, in vitro enzymatic hydrolysis of casein can be completed when alkaline phosphatase is included in the pool of enzymes.


The exploitation of tourism in Mexico is an activity in constant growth, taking into account its cultural heritage and its natural potential. It represents 8.5% of PBI, and ranks second, after remittances from Mexican migrants in the US. However, the scourge of drug trafficking, illegal activity in the hands of criminal organizations, is a major factor in the construction of the collective imaginary of insecurity. Violence, contingent on the nature of criminal practices, represents one of the new forms of manifestation, of a predatory terrorism with exclusive profit aims, at the expense of vulnerable and defenseless populations. The change of the criminal model in the practices of organized crime, starting in the 80s of the last century, will mark a turning point in the perception of Mexico, as a tourist destination, and will impact the economic development supported by this vocation. In this context, tourism temporarily flows to new destinations, while reconfiguring the composition of its demand to adapt to the new conditions of a potentially hostile environment.


There is consensus about the potential of education to influence the lives of individuals and society. Governments and the international community try to harness the positive potential by promoting universal access to quality basic education through periodic global goals, constitutional guarantees, deliberate national policies and increased investments in education. However, despite the multiple imperatives, evidence from national education systems and the Global Education Monitoring Reports indicates that the number of school-aged out-of-school children (OOSC) continues to grow exponentially, especially in low-income fragile contexts. The most affected are children in their second decade of life. In this thesis I problematised the contradiction between imperatives to increase access to education and the rapid growth in OOSC numbers, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. I analysed existing data from the Eritrea Education Management Information System and then applied conceptual frameworks drawn from literature on OOSC (UNICEF & UNESCO, 2015); on risk (Hammond et.al. 2007; Rumberger & Lim 2008), motivation (Deci & Ryan 2004) and resilience (Masten & Powell, 2013; Schoon, 2006; Wright et.al., 2013) to explore the phenomenon of drop-in among lower secondary school students who were considered by their schools to be at risk of dropping out of school. My position as an insider/outsider facilitated me to conduct complementary analysis of existing official documents from the Ministry of Education and UNICEF. The key findings were that whereas the traditional EMIS provided information on basic education in general, it was not adept at accounting for all children of school age, particularly 'invisible' children (Carr-Hill, 2012; UNICEF, 2005) such as those in institutions including those offering non-education, children living on streets, working children, or those kept out of sight due to disabilities. The Eritrea EMIS had a blind spot for qualitative data, and consequently, it did not sufficiently document the risks faced by students nor the strategies by individual children and institutions to overcome those risks. In this thesis I argue that information, which is readily available at school and community level, can be collated and analysed to advance understandings on student flows and children's ability to enjoy their right to education. I also note that whereas existing frameworks for assessing risk, motivation and resilience are helpful, they only provide a partial understanding of the way those concepts operate within the fragile communities in sub-Saharan contexts, particularly in the way individual resilience underpins students' volition to drop into school. For example, external resilience frameworks tend to base on a single system of learning whereas the students in fragile contexts function in multiple concurrent learning systems. The thesis recommends ways in which EMIS can be strengthened to benefit from complementarities of qualitative and quantitative data to provide a more composite view of children's participation in schooling. It also makes suggestions on how drop-in can be nurtured into more sustainable participation in schooling for at-risk students in low-income contexts like Eritrea.


This paper presents an efficient and accurate procedure for computing the quasi-static matrix parameters ([C], [L], [G], and [R]) of rectangular-shaped conductors embedded in a multilayered dielectric medium over an infinite ground plane. An additional top ground plane can also be considered., The problem is formulated in terms of the space-domain integral equation for the free-charge distribution on the slab conductor surfaces. The spatial Green's function is computed from its spectral counterpart using system identification techniques [Prony's method or matrix pencil method (MPM)]. The integral equation is solved by means of a Galerkin scheme employing entire domain basis functions. This results in a small matrix size. In addition, the quasi-analytical evaluation of the entries of the Galerkin matrix leads to a very efficient and accurate computer code. A detailed study on the convergence and accuracy of the method has been included.


Huang zhong bing, the "yellow puffy disease" caused by parasitic hookworms living in the human small intestine, was common throughout pre-liberation China. Hookworms contributed significantly to the nation's reputation as the sick man of Asia. However, even today China has the world's greatest number of cases of human hookworm infection. From estimates based on diagnostic surveys obtained during the early 1990s on over one million patients, there are approximately 194 million Chinese infected with hookworm. Most of these infections occur among the rural poor in the south and south-west. Even more recent data obtained in 1997 and 1998 indicate that hookworm remains a major public health problem in Hainan, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. Populations of the elderly and middle-aged women are emerging as the groups now at greatest risk for acquiring hookworm. New evidence indicates that in addition to threatening health, hookworms also contribute significantly to economic under-development. Hookworms are a living reminder of China's often-forgotten rural southern poverty and a rapidly growing urban–rural inequality; they are an impediment to China's future economic growth.


Background: Treatment for acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF) includes treating the underlying disease, conventional oxygen therapy (COT), noninvasive ventilation (NIV), high-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO), and invasive mechanical ventilation. Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the use of HFNO and NIV in patients with moderate-to-severe AHRF to the tertiary level intensive care unit (ICU) of a teaching hospital. Methods: All adult patients admitted to the ICU with AHRF and failed COT were included. Administration of HFNO or NIV was protocol-based and targeted improvement in oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, PaO2, and PaCO2. Demographic data, clinical details, vital parameters, and laboratory findings were noted at prespecified intervals. Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II at 24 h of ICU admission and daily Sequential Organ Failure Assessment were noted. The primary outcome was failure of treatment modalities defined as need for intubation and invasive ventilation. The secondary outcomes measured at 28 days were differences in ventilator-free days, ICU and hospital length of stay, patient comfort, and mortality. Results: A total of 35 patients were included in the study. Treatment failure was 20.8% (5/24) in the NIV group and 36% (4/11) in the HFNO group (P = 0.32). The number of ventilator-free days at day 28 was 22.67 ± 9.92 and 19.36 ± 12.45 (P = 0.44) in the NIV and HFNO groups, respectively. Mortality at 28 days was 12.5% (3/24) and 27.2% (3/11) in the NIV and HFNO groups, respectively (P = 0.282). Conclusion: Treatment with HFNO is associated with nonsignificant increase in the need for intubation and 28-day mortality compared to NIV. Larger studies are required to assess the utility of HFNO in moderate-to-severe AHRF.


We propose one kind of improved QKD scheme based on time coding and phase coding. The pulse which had been discarded on the BB84 protocol phase coding QKD system is used to realize the time coding protocol, thus the useful bits rate in the present scheme can be doubled. At the same time, the phase coding keys and the time coding keys are obtained, we may combine both as new keys which can enhancethe generated rate and the sensitivity of monitor. At Bob's side, a Fraday-Michelson is used instead of a traditional M-Z interferometer, which improves the stability of the interference visibility. With the proposed experimental setup, a stable quantum key distribution was performed over 90 km fiber. It is shown in our experiment that the characteristics of our system are as follows: secure, stable and economical.


Abstract Integer-valued autoregressive (INAR) processes are generally defined by specifying the thinning operator and either the innovations or the marginal distributions. The major limitations of such processes include difficulties in deriving the marginal properties and justifying the choice of the thinning operator. To overcome these drawbacks, we propose a novel approach for building an INAR model that offers the flexibility to prespecify both marginal and innovation distributions. Thus, the thinning operator is no longer subjectively selected but is rather a direct consequence of the marginal and innovation distributions specified by the modeler. Novel INAR processes are introduced following this perspective; these processes include a model with geometric marginal and innovation distributions (Geo-INAR) and models with bounded innovations. We explore the Geo-INAR model, which is a natural alternative to the classical Poisson INAR model. The Geo-INAR process has interesting stochastic properties, such as MA( ) representation, time reversibility, and closed forms for the -order transition probabilities, which enables a natural framework to perform coherent forecasting. To demonstrate the real-world application of the Geo-INAR model, we analyze a count time series of criminal records in sex offenses using the proposed methodology and compare it with existing INAR and integer-valued generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic models.


Author(s): Ranney, April Patricia | Advisor(s): Ziemann, Paul J | Abstract: Spectrophotometric functional group derivatization methods were developed, validated, and utilized to study the products and mechanisms of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from reactions of VOC systems with atmospheric oxidants in environmental chamber studies. These methods utilize derivatizing agents that form characteristic chromophores which can be detected at wavelengths specific to each functional group and can be used to determine SOA composition. In chapter 2, the derivatizing methods were adapted for use with an Implen nanophotometer, a UV-Vis spectrophotometer with at 1 or 0.2 mm fixed pathlength, which requires ~10-100 µg of SOA sample. The detection limits are approximately 0.03, 0.3, 1, 0.02, 1, and 0.07 nmoles for carbonyl, carboxyl, ester, hydroxyl, peroxide, and nitrate groups. The method was then validated for linearity, repeatability, and accuracy by comparing results from analysis of standards and SOA formed from the reaction of α-pinene and O3 with results using previously developed macroscale methods. In chapter 3, the derivatizing methods for carbonyl, hydroxyl, carboxyl, and ester were adapted for use with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in conjunction with chemical ionization ion trap mass spectrometry (CI ITMS) with ammonia and/or isobutane as the reagent ion gas. The methods were tested for linearity, ability to detect molecular ion, and for characteristic fragmentation patterns with derivatized standard. In chapter 4, these methods were used to identify and quantify SOA products formed from the reaction of n-hexadecane with OH radicals in the presence of NOx. These results will be used to evaluate and improve the GECKO-A atmospheric model for predicting fate and transport of atmospheric emissions. In chapter 5, the rate constant for the dehydration of particulate cyclic hemiacetal to dihydrofuran was determined with respect to the acidity of the particle as 0.07 ± 0.00, 0.11 ± 0.00, 0.25 ± 0.01, and 0.57 ± 0.02 per h-1 for 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 ppmv of gas-phase HNO3, respectively, which was proportional the amount of HNO3 measured in SOA particles. These quantities will be used to model the behavior of SOA as this constant is necessary for understanding the ageing process in alkane-type reactions.


This paper seeks to account for the strangely double nature of the early American novel. For twenty-first-century readers, novels such as Hugh Henry Brackenridge's Modem Chivalry, Susanna Rowson's Charlotte Temple or Charles Brockden Brown's Wieland seem firmly embedded in a premodern culture that subordinates the rights of art under those of religion, morality, and education. In their persistent didacticism, their claims to truthfulness and social utility, and their long authorial digressions, these texts perform those kinds of heteronomous functions Romantic theorizing and literary practice of the early nineteenth century would seek to reject in their quest for literary autonomy. Yet a closer look at early American novels also reveals elements of modern artistic practice that exist side by side with premodern residues. Brackenridge, for instance, repeatedly insists that his work is but an exercise in style devoid of ideas, praises originality and the figure of the genius, consistently privileges form over subject matter, and ridicules the excessive didacticism of his contemporaries. In such passages, we can see a modern consciousness at work. Tensions between these modern impulses and a premodern sensibility pervade both early novels and aesthetics, another invention of the eighteenth century. This paper discusses those tensions from a systems-theoretical perspective.


The effect of different management strategies on dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM) and bacterial populations in newly recycled sand (RS) were compared on three commercial dairy farms in southeastern Pennsylvania during late spring and summer. DM increased by 0.98%, OM decreased by 0.05%, and bacterial numbers were not different comparing arranging RS into one windrow and turning 3 times to forming a static pile. RS stored outside had fewer coliform bacteria compared to when stored inside under cover. RS should be stored for a minimum of 22 days before placement back into the cow stalls to minimize the numbers of bacteria associated with mastitis.


The society of today is getting aware of all the emissions that damage the environment when energy is used. That's why efficient ways to use our energy becomes more important every day so that we can prevent the greenhouse effect from destroying our climate. This thesis deals with indoor climate systems in shopping malls. An analysis of three different cooling systems has been made with energy simulations with IDA Indoor Climate & Energy. The three systems consist of: System 1: Liquid based system with active chilling beams and constant air volume flow System 2: Liquid based system with passive chilling beams and variable air volume flow System 3: All air systems with variable volume flow These systems are then provided with cooling from either a conventional chiller or district cooling of different types. The results show that system 1 uses less energy than the other two (51 kWh/m2), but all systems are close to each other. Environmentally it shows that district cooling is to be preferred to a chiller if it is produced by an energy source of low exergy level. This is a fact both concerning the use of primary energy and the CO2 emissions. A sensitivity analysis shows that the best possibility to make energy usage more efficient in shopping malls is to exchange ordinary lighting with low energy lighting bulbs. An LCC analysis has been made which shows that System 1 has the lowest total life cycle cost of the three systems studied but one shall remember that only small changes in the input data can provide a different result.


Subependymal and mild intraventricular hemorrhages (S/IVH) are likely to affect the subcortical and frontal cortex regions of the brain in premature infants. Damage to the subcortical and frontal areas has been associated with poorer performance in certain abilities, including visual attention, memory for location, and ability to change response set. This study investigated whether S/IVH, occurring at birth, affect these abilities in young children. Two-year-old premature children with S/ IVH, premature children with normal neonatal head ultrasound scans, and full term children with normal births were evaluated on a series of tasks. These tasks were a habituation/novelty preference task (visual attention), Piaget's invisible displacement task (memory for location), an object discrimination reversal task (ability to change response set), and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (traditional infant test). Premature children with hemorrhage performed significantly less well on the task of ability to remember the last location of a hidden object and on the task of ability to reverse response set. Both groups of premature children performed.


For years now gamers, developers and critics have been talking about the role of deep complex emotions in video games and whether it has a viable place in the industry. Some believe that gaming as a medium of entertainment is a perfect format to enable people to experience things that can not be experienced in other media whilst others believe that you can not get a deep enough emotional connection from games to experience it. Other papers have tried to identify emotions felt during gameplay via means of analysing other players or conclusions based on their own experiences. This paper looks at what current research has been done in the field, the current feedback about the subject from gamers and tries a different method to determining emotional connection to the player. The experiment in this study uses players conclusions and decisions made during gameplay to determine the reason for their choices. Putting players in situations of complex moral questions where gameplay or reason may be overridden by the emotional impact the game makes on their decision making process. Can emotion play such a large role as to override reason in games?


Background/purpose Traditionally, children and young people with Diabetes (CYPD) attend hospital clinics at least 4 times a year to see the Diabetic Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) for their regular reviews. Attendances in those patients who are in secondary school in the 11–16 year age group have been very poor at Hillingdon Hospital during 2012/13. There are multiple factors that can influence clinic non-attendance including the CYPD being reluctant to come to hospital due to the perceived burden of illness and the need for time off school during a critical period (GCSEs exams) as well as parental factors such as the need for time off work and practicalities such as difficult parking. To address these issues we decided to develop an innovative clinic model based on taking the MDT clinic out to local schools. Material/Methods The Paediatric Diabetes MDT underwent 3 monthly visits to 4 schools in the Hillingdon borough that had 5 or more CYPD enrolled between April 2013 and the present day. The team included a Paediatric Diabetes Consultant, Specialist nurse and Dietician. Outcomes measured included number of missed appointments, patient quality of life and parents' satisfaction measured using Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMs). Results Our innovative approach to dealing with CYPD MDT reviews revealed: a significant reduction in missed appointments from 30% to only 2%, improved patient quality of life and parent satisfaction and decreased admissions to hospital with diabetes related complications. Awareness of diabetes in school welfare officers was increased during the project. Conclusion Our innovative approach to improving Diabetes MDT clinic attendance has had a positive impact on patients' health and quality of life. This approach could be rolled out across the UK to improve both the health and educational attainment of this vulnerable group of children.


Epoxides have long enjoyed popularity as synthetic intermediates because of their facile preparation, often with substantial stereochemical control, and their high chemical reactivity, a feature attributable to the ring strain of these small-ring heterocycles. The preponderance of synthetic applications involves nucleophilic opening of the epoxide ring, and an enormous range of nucleophilic species has been utilized for this purpose. The conversion of epoxides to isomeric compounds under the influence of acidic reagents has also been used preparatively for some time. However, it is only relatively recently that such isomerizations have been effected by strong, non-nucleophilic base such as lithium dialkylamides (LiNR2). This chapter is concerned with the synthetic potential of these base-promoted reactions of epoxides.

Although several types of isomeric products are observed on treatment of epoxides with strong bases, the most interesting conversion from a synthetic point of view is the formation of allylic alcohols. This subject constitutes the major emphasis of this discussion.

A second, much less common transformation is typified by the conversion of cis-cyclooctene oxide to endo-2-bicyclo[3.3.0]octanol, along with some of the expected allylic alcohol. This early observation attracted considerable attention because of the unanticipated generation of a new carbon skeleton in the isomerization process and is largely responsible for the subsequent flurry of activity in the area of base isomerizations of epoxides.

A third type of conversion also occasionally observed leads to the production of an isomeric carbonyl compound.

The final isomerization pathway included in this survey involves the transformation of epoxides possessing allylic, propargylic, or benzylic methylene groups with a 1,3 relationship to an epoxide carbon into cyclopropylcarbinols by lithium amides in the presence of hexamethylphosphoramide (HMPA).

This review attempts to provide the necessary information for predicting the type of isomerization to be expected for a given epoxide under a specified set of conditions and, where possible, for manipulating these conditions to achieve the desired conversions. The survey is limited to the isomerizations of simple epoxides by powerful, relatively non-nucleophilic bases. Thus the significant literature concerning epoxides with proximate carbonyl functions and other anion-stabilizing substituents is not considered since the chemistry of such molecules is typical of the stabilized anions (intramolecular alkylations, Favorskii rearrangements, etc.) with the epoxide unit serving the trivial function of a good leaving group. In addition to lithium amides and organolithium reagents, the recently developed dialkylaluminum amides are systematically covered. Studies utilizing non-nucleophilic alkoxides (e.g., potassium tert-butoxide), particularly in polar aprotic solvents, are also included. However, the vast literature concerning the interaction of epoxides with metal alkoxides in alcohol solvents is not reviewed since these conditions are generally conducive to nucleophilic addition and are only rarely effective in promoting the epoxide isomerizations of concern in this chapter.

Keywords:

base-promoted isomerizations;
epoxides;
allylic alcohol;
cyclic alcohol;
ketones;
cyclopropyl carbinols;
saturated epoxides;
unsaturated epoxides;
functional epoxides;
lithium amide reactions;
organolithium reactions;
aluminum amide reactions;
side reactions;
oxiranes;
scope;
limitations;
experimental procedures


We analyze a real example of collaborative work in mechanical design. Two kinds of problems emerge from this analysis: the first is a lack of complete design environment very early before modeling. The second is the need for a flexible and very intuitive collaborative environment. In addition, there is no knowledge management of the exchanges, and the design method could be improved with information assistance during the project. From this analysis, we try to detect design and collaborative tasks for which students need help. Then a personal assistant agent based on a task ontology is proposed to offer them this help.


Abstract The Pagerungan gas field was discovered by ARBNI in 1985. This discovery, along with the JS53A-1 oil discovery by Cities Service in 1977, confirmed that a mature hydrocarbon-generating kitchen area was present on the Northern Platform province of the Kangean PSC. Results from an integrated geological and geochemical study of Northern Platform hydrocarbons and source rocks indicate that hydrocarbons in the JS53 oil field and in the Pagerungan gas field were generated by Eocene and pre-Eocene age source rocks in an east-west trending synclinal kitchen area which runs between the two fields. The Late Eocene age Ngimbang Clastics source facies (coals and carbonaceous shales) have been correlated geochemically to the oil at JS53 and to the condensate at Pagerungan. Geohistory modeling indicates that the Paleocene-Middle Eocene age Pre-Ngimbang Formation is the source of the gas at Pagerungan. The Cretaceous-age sediments are shown to be over-mature and non-generative. Interpretation of seismic (tied to well penetrations) revealed the nature of the structuring of the Northern Platform. The seismic shows an east-west trending synclinal trough in the Cretaceous and Pre-Ngimbang sediments just north of the Pagerungan Field. The north limb of the syncline subcrops beneath the JS53 field and the Igangan-1 well, while the south limb of the syncline subcrops beneath the Pagerungan Field. Geohistory modeling shows that Ngimbang and Pre-Ngimbang sediments (but not Cretaceous) are at maximum burial today in the syncline. Oil and gas generated by these formations migrated up the limbs of the synclines and into the Ngimbang reservoirs at JS53 and Pagerungan structures. Hydrocarbon charge calculations were performed in order to model the amount of hydrocarbons generated and expelled from the source intervals in the kitchen area, which were then available for migration into JS53 and Pagerungan closures. The calculated volumes compare favorably to the observed volumes of oil and gas in place in the two structures. It is concluded that hydrocarbon generation on this part of the Northern Platform was triggered relatively recently by sedimentation associated with a north-south compressional event, which affected the Kangean PSC in the Late Miocene. As the Pagerungan anticline rose, sediments that were shed to the north filled in and deepened the synclinal trough, triggering hydrocarbon generation and migration which then filled the Pagerungan and JS53 structures.


This study suggested the first Korean site-specific ecological surface water quality criteria for the protection of ecosystems near an artillery range at a Korean military training facility. Surface water quality (SWQ) criteria in Korea address human health protection but do not encompass ecological criteria such as limits for metals and explosives. The first objective of this study was to derive site-specific SWQ criteria for the protection of aquatic ecosystems in Hantan River, Korea. The second objective was to establish discharge criteria for the artillery range to protect the aquatic ecosystems of Hantan River. In this study, we first identified aquatic organisms living in the Hantan River, including fishes, reptiles, invertebrates, phytoplankton, zooplankton, and amphibians. Second, we collected ecotoxicity data for these aquatic organisms and constructed an ecotoxicity database for Cd, Cu, Zn, TNT, and RDX. This study determined the ecological maximum permissible concentrations for metals and explosives based on the ecotoxicity database and suggested ecological surface water quality criteria for the Hantan River by considering analytical detection limits. Discharge limit criteria for the shooting range were determined based on the ecological surface water quality criteria suggested for Hantan River with further consideration of the dilution of the contaminants discharged into the river.


To address the problems of errors in health care and serious safety issues, fundamental changes of health care processes, culture, and the physical environment are necessary and need to be aligned, so that the caregivers and the resources that support them are set up for enabling safe care. The study is aimed at evaluating the relationship between patient physical demands (problems) and hospital beds design using anthropometric factors and to determine which anthropometric factor is majorly responsible for patients' physical demand. A survey was conducted using 30 patients of equal sex randomly. Independent Test was used to evaluate the relationship between patient physical demands (back pain, fatigue, poor blood circulation and sleep discomfort) and anthropometric factors (stature, elbow span, popliteal height and vertical grip reach) used in the bed design. Analytical Hierarchial Process (AHP) was also conducted for the anthropometric factors to determine which factor is most responsible for these physical demands. The results from the Independent Test and Analytical Hierarchial Process show that patient's physical demands are extremely related to anthropometric factors. Also, stature which is equivalent to bed length in design is the major cause of back pain in patient. These physical demands were as a result of not considering anthropometric dimensions before design, leading to poor ergonomic design of hospital beds. It is therefore recommended that anthropometric data of users of any particular work station should be taken into consideration before any design is embarks on by design engineers. This will enhance the comfort and health safety of the users.


The beginning of the twenty-first century has been marked by three distinct waves of zoonotic coronavirus outbreaks into the human population. The current pandemic COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). With a rapid infection rate, it is a global threat endangering the livelihoods of millions worldwide. Currently, and despite the collaborative efforts of governments, researchers, and the pharmaceutical industries, there are no substantially significant treatment protocols for the disease. To address the need for such an immediate call of action, we leveraged the largest dataset of drug-induced transcriptomic perturbations, public SARS-CoV-2 transcriptomic datasets, and expression profiles from normal lung transcriptomes. Our unbiased systems biology approach not only shed light on previously unexplored molecular details of SARS-CoV-2 infection (e.g., interferon signaling, inflammation and ACE2 co-expression hallmarks in normal and infected lungs) but most importantly prioritized more than 50 repurposable drug candidates (e.g., Corticosteroids, Janus kinase and Bruton kinase inhibitors). Further clinical investigation of these FDA approved candidates as monotherapy or in combination with an antiviral regimen (e.g., Remdesivir) could be promising treatment options against COVID-19.


A temperature-responsive composite membrane with tunable responsive behavior was prepared by covalently grafting a polymeric ionic liquid (PIL) functionalized temperature-responsive copolymer onto the brominated poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (BPPO) supporting membrane. The "switch" effect of the composite membrane can be facilely adjusted by tuning the counter-ion of PIL units of the grafted copolymer based on the transformation between hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity of PIL. The response temperature of the composite membrane was decreased with increasing the content of hydrophobic PIL units. Both the pure water flux and rejection of dyes and polyethylene glycol (PEG) of the composite membrane show a good responsiveness with changing the temperature. The study provides an easily available, flexible and effective method for the design and preparation of a temperature-responsive membrane with tunable responsive behavior to satisfy various applications.


Filamentous green algae (FGA) may reach high biomass and play a very important functional role in productivity and nutrient cycling in the different water bodies. Their extracellular alkaline phosphatase activity may be an important player in the phosphorus cycle. Currently, there is intensive development of green algae in various freshwater and marine water bodies, which creates problems for people's activities and necessitates its investigation. Filamentous green algae in four Chinese and Crimean (Russia) shallow freshwater ponds were in focus of this study. The dissolved phosphorus fraction in pond water, algal pigment level, activity and kinetic properties of alkaline phosphatase were evaluated in water column and cell membrane of filamentous green algae. Microalgal taxa were identified in the plankton samples. Species composition and density of FGA in the studied ponds were different. Two ponds had more than 50 % coverage of a water surface by FGA and its wet biomass more than 100 g·m−2. Two others were with wet biomass less than 2 g·m−2. In ponds with low FGA biomass, the soluble reactive phosphorus concentration exhibited considerably low level with less than 10 μg·L−1, and the dissolved organic phosphorus comprised the largest phosphorus fraction, averaging 23.1 μg·L−1 and ranged from 20.8 to 25.4 μg·L−1. However, in ponds with high FGA biomass, particulate phosphorus was the major component, which contributes 45.8 % and 56.7 % of total phosphorus, respectively. Size fractionation of extracellular alkaline phosphatase activity in water column expressed spatial heterogeneity, which corresponded with biomass of FGA. The response of extracellular alkaline phosphatase activity to different phosphate concentration in water column was completely distinct from that in the cell membrane of FGA, the last of which represented the significantly inhibition effect to high phosphate concentration. The significant inhibition of alkaline phosphatase activity in cell membrane of FGA by phosphate in water may validate that FGA growth was limited by phosphorus. The contradiction between a low concentration of soluble reactive phosphorus and high FGA biomass may indicate that there was high speed nutrient cycling, probably, due to the alkaline phosphatase activity. Excreting exo-alkaline phosphatases, FGA, microalgae and bacteria accelerate phosphorus cycling through different mechanisms, and this may increase their development. In ponds with high FGA biomass, many of bacteria are responsible for regeneration of nutrients, which then consuming by FGA. Those bacteria also may concurrently restrict a microalgae development, such as unicellular Chlorophyta species. As an example, Cladophora provides habitat for different species of epibionts (bacteria and microalgae, primarily diatoms), and sustains of strong mutualistic alga-bacterium interactions. Therefore, the problem of excessive FGA growth should not be considered in isolation, but in a whole-ecosystem context.


: The aim of this study is to explore the possibility of identifying speaker stance in discourse, provide an analytical resource for it and an evaluation of the level of agreement across speakers. We also explore to what extent language users agree about what kind of stances are expressed in natural language use or whether their interpretations diverge. In order to perform this task, a comprehensive cognitive-functional framework of ten stance categories was developed based on previous work on speaker stance in the literature. A corpus of opinio-nated texts was compiled, the Brexit Blog Corpus (BBC). An analytical protocol and interface (Active Learning and Visual Analytics) for the annotations was set up and the data were independently annotated by two annotators. The annotation procedure, the annotation agreements and the co-occurrence of more than one stance in the utterances are described and discussed. The careful, analytical annotation process has returned satisfactory inter-and intra-annotation agreement scores, resulting in a gold standard corpus, the final version of the BBC.


Inference proceeds from ingredients chosen by the analyst and data. To validate any inferences drawn it is essential that the inputs chosen be deemed appropriate for the data. In the Bayesian context these inputs consist of both the sampling model and the prior. There are thus two possibilities for failure: the data may not have arisen from the sampling model, or the prior may place most of its mass on parameter values that are not feasible in light of the data (referred to here as prior-data conflict). Failure of the sampling model can only be fixed by modifying the model, while prior-data conflict can be overcome if sufficient data is available. We examine how to assess whether or not a prior-data conflict exists, and how to assess when its effects can be ignored for inferences. The concept of prior-data conflict is seen to lead to a partial characterization of what is meant by a noninformative prior or a noninformative sequence of priors.


This paper presents formation and investigation of morphology and mechanical properties of nanocomposit layers, widely used in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). These nanocomposit layers were fabricated on silicon and silica substrates using spin coating procedure from synthesized PVP or Ag/PVP solutions. After spin coating the formed MEMS layer is irradiated with UV light. As later results of investigation using SPECORD UV/VIS spectrometer showed, an irradiation time leads to different absorbance properties of nanocomposit layers. Mechanical properties of both (PVP and Ag/PVP) layers were investigated using a scratch test, i.e. the hardness of each formed layer were evaluated. Elastic properties and morphology were investigated using Atomic Force Micro-scope NT-206.


Staging a play or musical can be exciting, demanding and rewarding. It can also be exhausting, frustrating and chaotic. However, a good stage management team can turn a potentially embarrassing production into a smooth-running, trouble-free success. With a glossary and index for perfect ease of use, this book explains every aspect of stage management and theatre administration.


Human motion analysis is a complex but extremely interesting and important research area in computer graphics and computer vision. This paper addresses three vital topics in human motion analysis related to keyposes: how to extract keyposes from dance motions, how to utilize them, and how to recognize the person and task that constitute a keypose. As our first topic, we propose a new method to extract keyposes from a given dance using the energy flow of the motion. Our experimental results and comparison with a previous keypose extraction approach show the high accuracy of keypose extraction with our new method. As our second topic, we propose a new method to reconstruct lowdimensional motion based on keyposes, and we illustrate the effect of keyposes in a given motion space on human perception. We utilize the keyposes extracted with our new method, formulate a model, and derive a low-dimensional motion based on our model. We also construct low-dimensional motion using uniform sampling poses, and we compare the results with those obtained from our method. As our third topic, we propose a novel approach to decompose motion into common and individual factors using the Multi Factor Tensor (MFT) model. By this method, we recognize person and task from the motion sequence.


Epileptic seizures are transiently occurring symptoms due to abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Previous functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) studies during seizures have focused in only monitoring the brain oxygenation and haemodynamic changes. However, few tools are available to measure actual cellular metabolism during seizures, especially at the bedside. Here we use an in-house developed multichannel broadband NIRS (or bNIRS) system, that, alongside the changes in oxy-, deoxy- haemoglobin concentration (HbO2, HHb), also quantifies the changes in oxidised cytochrome-c-oxidase Δ(oxCCO), a marker of cellular oxygen metabolism, simultaneously over 16 different brain locations. We used bNIRS to measure metabolic activity alongside brain tissue haemodynamics/oxygenation during 17 epileptic seizures at the bedside of a 3-year-old girl with seizures due to an extensive malformation of cortical development in the left posterior quadrant. Simultaneously Video-EEG data was recorded from 12 channels. Whilst we did observe the expected increase in brain tissue oxygenation (HbD) during seizures, it was almost diminished in the area of the focal cortical dysplasia. Furthermore, in the area of seizure origination (epileptic focus) ΔoxCCO decreased significantly at the time of seizure generalization when compared to the mean change in all other channels. We hypothesize that this indicates an incapacity to sustain and increase brain tissue metabolism during seizures in the region of the epileptic focus.


Crushed Mangima stone as an alternative concrete aggregate has been studied and found to provide concrete with comparable compressive strength to that of the conventional concrete. This study investigated the effect of water-reducing admixtures in concrete production using crushed Mangima stone as fine aggregate. Waterreducing admixture with a variance of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5% by weight of cement was added to the concrete mixture. A water-cement ratio of 0.57 was used for this study. Samples were cured at seven, 14, and 28 days and tested for compression after each curing period. The compressive strength of concrete using water-reducing admixtures showed an early strength and passed the minimum requirement of 3,000 psi. Results revealed that through the use of admixtures, compressive strength obtained from all samples was higher than the control mixture. This means that using crushed Mangima stone has its potential to be used as fine aggregate in a structural concrete mixture with the addition of water-reducing admixture.


Epidemiological studies have reported that consumption of dairy products rich in β-lactolin is beneficial for cognitive decline among elderly individuals. Although previous studies have shown that β-lactolin supplementation improves memory function and attention in healthy adults, the mechanism through which β-lactolin affects human brain function has yet to be elucidated. This placebo-controlled randomized double-blind study therefore examined the effects of β-lactolin on human regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) according to the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials guidelines. A total of 114 healthy participants aged between 50 and 75 years with relatively low cognition were randomly allocated into the β-lactolin or placebo groups (n = 57 for both groups) and received supplementation for 6 weeks. After the 6 weeks of supplementation, total hemoglobin during cognitive tasks (Kraepelin and 2-back tasks) was measured using two-channel NIRS to determine rCBF. Accordingly, the β-lactolin group had significantly higher changes in total hemoglobin at the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) area measured using the left-side channel during the 2-back tasks (p = 0.027) compared to the placebo group. The present study suggests that β-lactolin supplementation increases rCBF and DLPFC activity during working memory tasks.


Since the enactment of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 the courts have struggled to define the burdens of proof surrounding the central issue of an employer's alleged discriminatory intent. What evolved was the McDonnell Douglas framework, premised upon established concepts of circumstantial proof and inference. The approach permits plaintiffs lacking direct proof to nonetheless establish a violation of the Act by proving that the employer's explanation of the challenged decision was pretextual.In St. Mary's Honor Center v. Hicks, a closely-divided Supreme Court substantially altered the McDonnell Douglas framework. Discrediting the reasons offered by the employer for its decision no longer suffices to establish a violation of Title VII. Rather, plaintiffs must somehow prove that the pretext was offered to hide discrimination, and not for some other motivation. Moreover, the trier of fact is permitted to construct its own explanation of the events even though that scenario was not offered by either party at trial. As a result, plaintiffs must be prepared to discredit stated and unstated non-discriminatory reasons for the employer's action.Professor Brodin criticizes the sharp move away from McDonnell Douglas and argues that it will distort the fact-finding process and deprive victims of bias of a meaningful opportunity to enforce their rights to equal employment opportunity.


Species in the Miscanthus genus have been proposed as biofuel crops that have potential to mitigate elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) emissions. Miscanthus sinensis is widespread throughout Japan and has been used for biomass production for centuries. We assessed the carbon (C) budget and N2O and CH4 emissions over the growing season for 2 years in a M. sinensis‐dominated grassland that was naturally established around 1972 in Tomakomai, Hokkaido, Japan, which is near the northern limit for M. sinensis grassland establishment on Andisols. Average C budget was −0.31 Mg C ha−1, which indicates C was released from the grassland ecosystem to the atmosphere. Dominant components in the C budget appeared to be aboveground net primary production of plants (1.94–2.80 Mg C ha−1) and heterotrophic respiration (2.27–3.11 Mg C ha−1). The measurement of belowground net primary production (BNPP) of plants in the M. sinensis grassland was extremely variable, thus only an approximate value could be calculated. Mean C budget calculated with the approximated BNPP value was 1.47 and −0.23 Mg C ha−1 for 2008 and 2009, respectively. Given belowground biomass (9.46–9.86 Mg C ha−1) was 3.1–6.5 times higher than that of aboveground biomass may provide additional evidence suggesting this grassland represents a C sink. Average CH4 emissions across years of −1.34 kg C ha−1 would indicate this grassland acts as an atmospheric CH4 sink. Furthermore, average N2O emissions across years were 0.22 kg N ha−1. While the site may contribute N2O to the atmosphere, this value is lower compared with other grassland types. Global warming potential calculated with the approximated BNPP value was −5.40 and 0.95 Mg CO2 Eq ha−1 for 2008 and 2009, respectively, and indicates this grassland could contribute to mitigation of global warming.


Kaolinite surfaces were modified by mechanochemical treatment for periods of time up to 10 h. X-ray diffraction shows a steady decrease in intensity of the d(001) spacing with mechanochemical treatment, resulting in the delamination of the kaolinite and a subsequent decrease in crystallite size with grinding time. Thermogravimetric analyses show the dehydroxylation patterns of kaolinite are significantly modified. Changes in the molecular structure of the kaolinite surface hydroxyls were followed by infrared spectroscopy. Hydroxyls were lost after 10 h of grinding as evidenced by a decrease in intensity of the OH stretching vibrations at 3695 and 3619 cm(-1) and the deformation modes at 937 and 915 cm(-1). Concomitantly an increase in the hydroxyl stretching vibrations of water is found. The water-bending mode was observed at 1650 cm(-1), indicating that water is coordinating to the modified kaolinite surface. Changes in the surface structure of the OSiO units were reflected in the SiO stretching and OSiO bending vibrations. The decrease in intensity of the 1056 and 1034 cm(-1) bands attributed to kaolinite SiO stretching vibrations were concomitantly matched by the increase in intensity of additional bands at 1113 and 520 cm(-1) ascribed to the new mechanically synthesized kaolinite surface. Mechanochemical treatment of the kaolinite results in a new surface structure. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.


We study the optical properties of polymer layers filled with phosphor particles in two aspects. First, we used two different polymer binders with refractive indices n = 1.46 and n = 1.61 (λ = 600 nm) to study the influence of Δn with the phosphor particles (n = 1.81). Second, we prepared two particle size distributions D50 = 12 µm and D50 = 19 µm. The particles were dispersed in both polymer binders in several volume concentrations and coated with thicknesses of 150-600 µm onto glass substrates. Experimental results and numerical simulations show that the layers of the higher refractive index binder with larger particles result in the highest optical transmittance in the visible light spectrum. Finally, we used numerical simulations to determine optimal layer composition for application in realistic photovoltaic devices.


The mnd2 mutation on mouse chromosome 6 produces a progressive neuromuscular disorder. To determine the gene content of the 400-kb mnd2 nonrecombinant region, we sequenced 108 kb of mouse genomic DNA and 92 kb of human genomic sequence from the corresponding region of chromosome 2p13.3. Three genes with the indicated sizes and intergenic distances were identified: D6Mm5e (>/=81 kb)-787 bp-DOK (2 kb)-845 bp-LOR2 (>/=6 kb). D6Mm5e is expressed in many tissues at very low abundance and the predicted 526-residue protein contains no known functional domains. DOK encodes the p62(dok) rasGAP binding protein involved in signal transduction. LOR2 encodes a novel lysyl oxidase-related protein of 757 amino acid residues. We describe a simple search protocol for identification of conserved internal exons in genomic sequence. Evolutionary conservation proved to be a useful criterion for distinguishing between authentic exons and artifactual products obtained by exon amplification, RT-PCR, and 5' RACE. Conserved noncoding sequence elements longer than 80 bp with >/=75% nucleotide sequence identity comprise approximately 1% of the genomic sequence in this region. Comparative analysis of this human and mouse genomic DNA sequence was an efficient method for gene identification and is independent of developmental stage or quantitative level of gene expression. [The sequence data described in this paper have been submitted to the GenBank data library under the following accession numbers: AC003061, mouse BAC clone 245c12; AC003065, human BAC clone h173(E10); AF053368, mouse Lor2 cDNA; AF084363, 108-kb contig from mouse BAC 245c12; AF084364, mouse D6Mm5e cDNA.]


The electrochemical properties of meldola blue and toluidine blue cationic dyes immobilized on cellulose acetate surface modified with titanium dioxide were investigated by cyclic voltammetry. The materials synthesized were employed as carbon paste electrodes. The redox mediator properties of the meldola blue and toluidine blue chemically modified electrodes were optimized using a factorial design, consisting of two levels and four factors with two pseudo-central points (n= 20 experiments). The factorial analysis was carried out by searching for better reversibility of the redox process, such as the lowest separation between anodic and cathodic potential peaks and a current ratio near unity. The factors that presented significant effects on the overall optimization of the system to achieve the best conditions of the reversibility of electron transfer were the main factors scan rate and type of electrode (meldola blue or toluidine blue), besides the interaction factors KCl concentration × type of electrode (B×D) and the pH × [KCl] concentration × scan rate (A×B×C) interaction. The best electrochemical reversibility conditions obtained were: using the CA-TiO2-MB electrode, 1.0 mol L-1 KCl as supporting electrolyte, at scan rate of 10.0 mV s-1. Afterwards, the CA-TiO2-MB modified electrode was tested as an amperometric sensor for the determination of NADH, with a detection limit of 0.1 µmol L-1.


We give a functorial construction of the genus zero chiral algebras of class $\mathcal{S}$, that is, the vertex algebras corresponding to the theory of class $\mathcal{S}$ associated with genus zero pointed Riemann surfaces via the 4d/2d duality discovered by Beem, Lemos, Liendo, Peelaers, Rastelli and van Rees in physics. We show that there is a unique family of vertex algebras satisfying the required conditions and show that they are all simple and conformal. In fact, our construction works for any complex semisimple group G that is not necessarily simply laced. Furthermore, we show that the associated varieties of these vertex algebras are exactly the genus zero Moore-Tachikawa symplectic varieties that have been recently constructed by Braverman, Finkelberg and Nakajima using the geometry of the affine Grassmannian for the Langlands dual group.


This study has been done for evaluating the growth performance and health performance of Cyprinus carpio isoenergetic with isonitrogenous diets which contain three levels (0, 10, 15, gm of mulberry fruit powder, have been used for a period of 12 weeks. The effect of white mulberry (Morus albas L.) fruit powder on common carp, T2 was significantly higher than other treatments in each of growth performance and feed utilization parameters. the adding of white mulberry fruit powder significantly increased each of CBC counts in T2 of RBC and HCT%. The conrol was significantly higher in each of MCH, MCHC, MCV and Platelets count. Cholestrol, triglyceride and HDL were higher significantly in T2, LDL was significantly higher in control. The white mulberry (M. albas L.) fruit powder effect significantly in, GPT, GOT, in T2 and the CKI and blood suger were higher significantly in the control, the control was significantly higher in each of total protein, and albumin ratio. T2 was higher significantly in Intestine Length Index in both fish weigth and length, and both fish weigth without viscera and/ or head. No significant differences in each of Intestine Weight Index among treatments, blood Globulin ratio, Hemoglobin count and VLDL.


The paper studies a two-machine flowshop with unavailability interval on the second machine. Contrary to most literature where machines are available at all times, this means that the machine may not always be available during the scheduling period, it needs a constant time to maintain the machine after completing a fixed number of jobs at most. The objective is to find the optimal job schedule such that the makespan is minimized. We focus on the relationship between the solution and the Johnson rule, and the performance of the Johnson rule as a heuristic when the job is resumable, analysis the worse-case performance ratio of the Johnson rule as a heuristic. Demonstrate the complexity of the problem when the job is nonresumable.


Background: In an effort to reduce surgical complications, some institutions have implemented universal hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) screening for all preoperative patients. However, the value of HbA1c screening for predicting clinically meaningful complications after elective carpal tunnel release (CTR) remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinically meaningful predicative value of HbA1c screening on postoperative complications following elective CTR. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 790 patients who underwent CTR was performed. All patients had an HbA1c screening performed, regardless of whether they underwent the diagnosis for diabetes or not. Primary outcomes were overall complication rate, rates of major complications (readmission or reoperation), and rates of minor complications (surgical site infection and wound dehiscence). Patients were stratified into 3 groups based on HbA1c: HbA1c <7, HbA1c 7-8, and HbA1c >8. Results: The overall complication rate for all groups was 4.8%. Rates of major complications were 0.4% for readmission and 0.1% for reoperation. For minor complications, the odds ratio (OR) for the HbA1c 7-8 group was 0.6 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.14-1.77), and for the HbA1c >8 group, the OR was 1.6 (95% CI, 0.66-3.60). All minor complications resolved with outpatient treatment. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups for any comparisons. Conclusions: Elective CTR has a low complication rate. Routine preoperative screening of HbA1c is of little value in predicting clinically meaningful complications.


ABSTRACT Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a highly acid-resistant food-borne pathogen that survives in the bovine and human gastrointestinal tracts and in acidic foods such as apple cider. This property is thought to contribute to the low infectious dose of the organism. Three acid resistance (AR) systems are expressed in stationary-phase cells. AR system 1 is σS dependent, while AR systems 2 and 3 are glutamate and arginine dependent, respectively. In this study, we sought to determine which AR systems are important for survival in acidic foods and which are required for survival in the bovine intestinal tract. Wild-type and mutant E. coli O157:H7 strains deficient in AR system 1, 2, or 3 were challenged with apple cider and inoculated into calves. Wild-type cells, adapted at pH 5.5 in the absence of glucose (AR system 1 induced), survived well in apple cider. Conversely, the mutant deficient in AR system 1, shown previously to survive poorly in calves, was susceptible to apple cider (pH 3.5), and this sensitivity was shown to be caused by low pH. Interestingly, the AR system 2-deficient mutant survived in apple cider at high levels, but its shedding from calves was significantly decreased compared to that of wild-type cells. AR system 3-deficient cells survived well in both apple cider and calves. Taken together, these results indicate that E. coli O157:H7 utilizes different acid resistance systems based on the type of acidic environment encountered.


In recent days navigation system has been receiving high demand for several kinds of applications. For autonomous, landing vehicles, navigation system must be accurate to distribute localization point. In the navigation system, Inertial Navigation System (INS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) are most popular. However these systems suffer from continuity, integration drift and reliability problems. To reduce this problem by performing noise reduction, a novel method has been designed to integrate INS with GPS in a flexible way. The integrated section requires a careful tuning in order to get accurate results. Thus the system can minimize the attitude, velocity and position errors. To verify this technique simulation of loosely coupled INS-GPS integration model is created using matlab. The simulation result confirms the benefit of integrated system in both open and urban areas and suitable for real time implementations and gives improved accuracy in parameters (i.e. Attitude, Velocity and Position) estimation.


Cnesterodon pirai new species is described from a small stream, tributary of the arroyo Cuna-Piru, rio Parana basin in Argentina. The new species is diagnosed by the following combination of characters: 6 to 8 irregular dashes, ranging from oval to vertical stripes on females and 7 to 9 irregular dashes ranging from oval to circular dots on males; lack of a distal membranous filament on the terminal appendix of ray 3 of the gonopodium; absence of longitudinal dark-brown band along flank; snout long (16.7–28.7 % HL) and pointed; absence of a large post-gonopodium blotch on ventral profile in adult males; absence of dashes along predorsal portion of first, second and third lateral series of scales, associated to the vertical bars on body side; 12–13 epipleural ribs; medial surface of ascending process of premaxilla approximately straight; presence of teeth on fourth ceratobranchial; distal portion of third and fourth gonactinosts separate, except by tip of third gonactinost; fifth gonactinost free; and presence of a constriction on unpaired appendix of gonopodium. In a phylogenetic analysis the new species forms a tricotomy with (Cnesterodon brevirostratus + C. septentrionalis) and (C. hypselurus + C. iguape).


In this paper, we examine different database synchronization/replication strategies and compare their suitability for satellite links in terms of latency and exchanged data volume. Earlier works have investigated the performance of these algorithms over terrestrial networks; however, the delay caused by a geostationary satellite has not been taken into account yet. A test-bed emulating a satellite link with database end nodes was used to compare different synchronization algorithms.


The large-scale and light-weight design trend in aircraft and spacecraft results in extremely flexible structures with lowfrequency vibration modes. Suppression of undesired vibrations in such flexible structures with limited energy is becoming an important design problem to develop energy-autonomous controllers powered using the harvested ambient energy. The objective of this paper is to compare different control laws to suppress low-frequency vibrations using the minimum actuation energy for the same system and under the same design constraint (identical settling time for free vibrations). The vibration suppression performance of four active control systems as well as their hybrid versions employing a switching technique are presented and compared. The control systems compared here are a Positive Position Feedback (PPF) controller, a Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controller, a nonlinear controller (with a second-order nonlinear term multiplying the position and velocity feedback to create variable damping), a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) controller and their hybrid versions integrating a bang-bang control law (on-off control) with each of these controllers. Experimental results are presented for a thin cantilevered beam with a piezoceramic transducer controlled by these eight controllers with a focus on the fundamental vibration mode under transverse free vibrations and the control energy requirements are compared. Experiments results reveal that all the controllers reduce the vibration settling time to 0.85s as a design constraint (which is 92.3% of the open-loop settling time: 10.9s). The average actuation power input provided to the piezoceramic transducer in each case is obtained for the time current and voltage measurements until the settling time. Comparisons show that the switching technology reduces significant actuation power requirement, so that all the hybrid control systems require much less power than their conventional versions. Especially, the hybrid bang-bang-nonlinear controller requires 67% less power than the conventional nonlinear controller. In order to verify this statement, the actuation current is theoretically calculated through piezo-capacitance using voltage measurements to check out the average power estimation. The theoretical checking out provides the same results with slightly error, which can be explained by measurement errors.


Biomolecular semiflexible polymer networks with persistence lengths well above those of single polymeric chains serve important structural and adhesive roles in biology, biomaterials, food science and many other fields. While relationships between the structure and viscoelasticity of semiflexible polymer networks have been previously investigated, it remains challenging to systematically relate fibril and network properties to cohesive and adhesive properties that govern the function of these materials. To address this issue, here we utilize coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations to thoroughly elucidate how the work of adhesion of a semiflexible polymer network to a surface depends on crosslink density and fibril persistence length. Two emergent characteristics of the network are its elasticity and its interfacial energy with the surface. Stiff networks that are either highly crosslinked or have high persistence length fibrils tend to have lower interfacial energy, and consequently, lower work of adhesion. For lightly crosslinked networks with flexible fibrils, considerable strain energy must be stored within the adhesive during detachment, which creates an additional penalty to detachment. Increasing persistence length while keeping crosslink density constant leads to porous, low density networks, leading to an optimal fibril persistence length at which maximum work of adhesion per mass density is attained for a given crosslink density. For any given fibril persistence length, increasing crosslink density has a slightly negative effect on network mass density and interfacial energy. A critical crosslink density is found, below which the networks have no significant load-bearing capacity. Lightly crosslinked networks above this threshold absorb more strain energy during desorption and consequently possess greater work of adhesion. The conflict between mass density and stiffness results in a non-monotonic trend between the ratio of work of adhesion to interfacial energy and persistence length. These findings provide physical insight into the adhesive mechanisms of biomaterials based on crosslinked semiflexible polymer networks, and reveal important design guidelines for bio-adhesives.


– Mathematics is not only arithmetic. It comprises also developing abilities and skills, for example precision, skillfulness, reasoning, ability for systematic work. Children obtain basic information about mathematics, in a general form which is necessary for further study in elementary school. The main activity which develops mathematical reasoning and creative abilities, such as independence, originality, imagination, intuition and memory, are games. This paper is devoted to characterization of didactic games, their effect on development of empirical education of children of preschool age. It includes a few examples of didactic games which are focused on development of mathematical abilities in children, too.


The CD8+ T cell response to acute Friend virus (FV) infection is critical for recovery from lethal disease. However, in the late acute phase of infection this response becomes suppressed by regulatory T cells (Tregs), thereby leading to chronic infection. A major question regarding these events is how does FV infection induce the Treg response. We discovered a novel subset of natural Tregs that expand disproportionately in response to FV infection. These Tregs bear Vβ5+ T cell receptors, which are unique because of their known specificity for a superantigen (Sag) encoded by an endogenous retrovirus. Our results demonstrate that these Sag-reactive Tregs are independent of IL-2 but dependent on TNFα. Studies revealed that the expansion of these Tregs is actually driven the CD8+ T cell response. Activated, FV-specific CD8+ T cells upregulate membrane bound TNFα, which induces Vβ5+ Treg expansion by binding to TNFR2 receptors on the Tregs. Thus the expansion of the Vβ5+ Tregs is dependent on activated CD8+ T cells, the eventual targets of Treg-mediated suppression. These results demonstrate a new pathway of Treg expansion and two-way intercellular communication between Tregs and activated CD8+ T cells. Control by Tregs appears to be a natural mechanism to prevent immunopathological damage from CD8+ T cell responses that are too vigorous or too sustained. Modulation of this Treg subset has implications not only for the treatment of viral infections but also autoimmune diseases.


This paper proposes two improved triple parity placement schemes, the HDD1 (horizontal and dual diagonal) and HDD2 schemes, to enhance the reliability of a RAID system. Both schemes can tolerate up to three disk failures by using three types of parity information (horizontal, diagonal, and anti-diagonal parities) in RAID disk block partitions. The HDD1 scheme can reduce the occurrences of bottlenecks because its horizontal and anti-diagonal parities are uniformly distributed over a disk array, while diagonal parities are placed in a dedicated disk. The HDD2 scheme uses one more disk than HDD1 to store the horizontal parities and an additional diagonal parity, while the anti-diagonal and the diagonal parities are placed in the same way as in the HDD1 scheme, only with a minor difference. The encoding and decoding algorithms of both schemes are simple and effective. Many of the steps of the encoding and decoding algorithms can be executed in parallel. Both schemes enable a RAID to recover rapidly from up to three disk failures, with a single algorithm applied straightforwardly.


This article deals with the effect of periodically acting liquid droplets on the polished surfaces of AISI 316L stainless steel and Ti6Al4V titanium alloy. These materials were exposed to a pulsating water jet produced using an ultrasonic sonotrode with an oscillation frequency of 21 kHz placed in a pressure chamber. The only variable in the experiments was the time for which the materials were exposed to water droplets, i.e., the number of impingements; the other parameters were kept constant. We chose a low number of impingements to study the incubation stages of the deformation caused by the pulsating water jet. The surfaces of the specimens were studied using (1) confocal microscopy for characterizing the surface profile induced by the water jet, (2) scanning electron microscopy for detailed surface observation, and (3) transmission electron microscopy for detecting the changes in the near-surface microstructure. The surface described by the height of the primary profile of the surface increased with the number of impingements, and was substantially more intense in the austenitic steel than in the Ti alloy. Irregular surface depressions, slip lines, and short cracks were observed in the Ti alloy, whereas pronounced straight slip bands formed in the austenitic steel. The dislocation density near the surface was measured quantitatively, reaching high values of the order of 1014 m−2 in the austenitic steel and even higher values (up to 3 × 1015 m−2) in the Ti alloy. The origins of the mentioned surface features differed in the two materials: an intense dislocation slip on parallel slip planes for the Ti alloy and mechanical twinning combined with dislocation slip for the austenitic steel.


Objectives The objectives of this study were to describe the demographic profile and baseline disease characteristics of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) treated with either infliximab (IFX), subcutaneous golimumab (GLM) or ustekinumab (UST) treatment in Canadian routine care setting along with assessing long-term effectiveness and safety. Methods Patients with PsA were enrolled into the Biologic Treatment Registry Across Canada registry (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00741793) from 2005 to 2017. The study visits occurred at study enrolment (baseline) and every 6 months thereafter. Effectiveness was assessed by changes in disease parameters (joint counts, Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI), Health Assessment Questionnaire, patient/physician global, minimal disease activity, enthesitis, dactylitis, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C reactive protein). Improvements from baseline were explored with the paired t-test and the McNemar's test. Safety was evaluated by assessing the incidence of adverse events (AEs) and drug survival rates. Results A total of 111 IFX-treated, 281 GLM-treated and 70 UST-treated patients were enrolled. Most baseline disease parameters remained similar over time in all three cohorts. UST-treated patients had lower mean baseline Disease Activity Score in 28 joints CRP, swollen joint based on 28 joints and higher PASI compared with patients treated with GLM. Treatment with IFX, GLM and UST was associated with significant improvements in all disease parameters over time (p<0.001) from baseline up to 84, 84 and 40 months, respectively. AEs were reported for 74.8%, 69.8% and 52.9% (138, 114 and 115 events/100 patient-years (PYs)) covering 325, 567 and 87 years of exposure for IFX-treated, GLM-treated and UST-treated patients, respectively. Severe AEs were reported in 19.8%, 8.5% and 5.7% (8.8, 7.2 and 8.0 events/100 PYs) in IFX-treated, GLM-treated and UST-treated patients, respectively. The proportion of patients who discontinued treatment were 63.1%, 50.9% and 50.0%, respectively. Conclusions IFX, GLM and UST treatment significantly reduced disease activity and improved functionality in patients with PsA followed by routine clinical practice and had a safety profile similar to that previously reported in the literature. Trial registration number NCT00741793.


SS-AGR-330, a 10-page illustrated report by B.L. Tillman, M.W. Gomillion, J. McKinney, G. Person, and W.D. Thomas, provides data from University of Florida peanut trials conducted in Florida at IFAS research centers located in Gainesville (Citra), Marianna, and Jay from 2006–2009. Published by the UF Department of Agronomy, March 2010.


Breast cancer remains the leading cause of death in American women 30 to 70 years of age, and research in the field of breast cancer continues at an explosive pace. Our understanding of the molecular basis of familial breast cancer has advanced significantly through investigation of the tumor suppressor gene BRCA1, as has our knowledge of the role of the ATM gene and predisposition to breast cancer in ataxia-telangiectasia carriers. In addition, progress has been made in understanding the role of HER-2/neu as a prognostic factor in breast cancer. In this review, some of the recent advances in breast cancer biology that are relevant to these areas of study are highlighted.