Bio-composites of oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fibres and polycaprolactones (PCL) with a thickness of 1 mm were prepared and characterized. The composites produced from these materials are low in density, inexpensive, environmentally friendly, and possess good dielectric characteristics. The magnitudes of the reflection and transmission coefficients of OPEFB fibre-reinforced PCL composites with different percentages of filler were measured using a rectangular waveguide in conjunction with a microwave vector network analyzer (VNA) in the X-band frequency range. In contrast to the effective medium theory, which states that polymer-based composites with a high dielectric constant can be obtained by doping a filler with a high dielectric constant into a host material with a low dielectric constant, this paper demonstrates that the use of a low filler percentage (12.2%OPEFB) and a high matrix percentage (87.8%PCL) provides excellent results for the dielectric constant and loss factor, whereas 63.8% filler material with 36.2% host material results in lower values for both the dielectric constant and loss factor. The open-ended probe technique (OEC), connected with the Agilent vector network analyzer (VNA), is used to determine the dielectric properties of the materials under investigation. The comparative approach indicates that the mean relative error of FEM is smaller than that of NRW in terms of the corresponding S21 magnitude. The present calculation of the matrix/filler percentages endorses the exact amounts of substrate utilized in various physics applications.


Ultrasonic guided waves have been extensively applied for non-destructive testing of plate-like structures particularly pipes in past two decades. In this regard, if a structure has a simple geometry, obtained guided waves' signals are easy to explain. However, any small degree of complexity in the geometry such as contacting with other materials may cause an extra amount of complication in the interpretation of guided wave signals. The problem deepens if defects have irregular shapes such as natural corrosion. Signal processing techniques that have been proposed for guided wave signals' analysis are generally good for simple signals obtained in a highly controlled experimental environment. In fact, guided wave signals in a real situation such as the existence of natural corrosion in wall-covered pipes are much more complicated. Considering pipes in residential buildings that pass through concrete walls, in this paper we introduced Smooth Empirical Mode Decomposition (SEMD) to efficiently separate overlapped guided waves. As empirical mode decomposition (EMD) which is a good candidate for analyzing non-stationary signals, suffers from some shortcomings, wavelet transform was adopted in the sifting stage of EMD to improve its outcome in SEMD. However, selection of mother wavelet that suits best for our purpose plays an important role. Since in guided wave inspection, the incident waves are well known and are usually tone-burst signals, we tailored a complex tone-burst signal to be used as our mother wavelet. In the sifting stage of EMD, wavelet de-noising was applied to eliminate unwanted frequency components from each IMF. SEMD greatly enhances the performance of EMD in guided wave analysis for highly contaminated signals. In our experiment on concrete covered pipes with natural corrosion, this method not only separates the concrete wall indication clearly in time domain signal, a natural corrosion with complex geometry that was hidden and located inside the concrete section was successfully exposed.


This article explores the phenomenon of nation as narrative. This approach is rooted in political theory, more specifically, in post-foundational thought and poststructuralist narratology. The article is significantly informed by the so-called performative turn, especially in historiography. It will therefore focus on narrative and hi/story, as it is understood by Rancière: as a discourse which originally belongs to literature yet keeps escaping it. Relying on a literary technique, history constitutes itself as a science: this is why we can approach it by employing methods similar, albeit not identical, to those used to approach literature. The main argument put forward in this article is that society, understood in Laclauian terms, does not exist, whereas the (Croatian) society effect, that is, the illusion of society as a totality, is produced by the narrative of the so-called Croatian thousand-year dream. In other words, what Hobsbawm dubs the invention of tradition is founded upon the narrative's past, while the impact of the present of this narrative's narration is excluded from the mechanisms of the ontology of nationalism.


Several questions regarding the role of vaccination in women treated for high-grade cervical intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) have not been clarified. One of the main queries is whether the time at which the vaccine is administered (before or after treatment) influences the protection against post-treatment HSIL. A second unanswered question is whether the vaccine has any effect in women with persistent HPV after treatment. We aimed to address these questions in a study of 398 women undergoing excisional treatment from July 2016 to December 2019. Vaccination was funded and offered to all women undergoing treatment. A total of 306 women (76.9%) accepted HPV vaccination (vaccinated group): 113 (36.9%) received the first dose before excision and 193 (63.1%) after the procedure. A total of 92 women (23.1%) refused the vaccine (non-vaccinated group). Women vaccinated before treatment showed a lower rate of post-treatment HSIL compared with non-vaccinated women (0.9% vs. 6.5%; p = 0.047). Among women with persistent HPV infection after treatment, those who had received the vaccine showed a lower prevalence of post-treatment HSIL than non-vaccinated women (2.6% vs. 10.5%; p = 0.043). In conclusion, this study shows that HPV vaccination before treatment reduces the prevalence of post-treatment HSIL and suggests that vaccination might even benefit women with persistent HPV after treatment.


The essay intends to analyze the comic fashion phenomenon. If the relationship between fashion and comic strip has been partially crystallized over time, the connection, previously unidirectional, has been overhead by a far more eclectic approach. Leaving aside the notion of comic strip as a trend, this form of art has been adopted also to promote the fashion product, through advertising campaigns with a high visual impact, which, thanks to some of the most important cartoonists' pencil and wit, besides being real art masterpieces, have realized a strategic package aimed to fix the promoted product into the consumer's mind. A relationship between comic strip and fashion is lastly focused in the wide cross-breeding that has finally taken place through the cinema.


Ouabain-induced kaliuresis was investigated in rats loaded with 1% NaCl (3 ml/100 g body weight, p.o.). The intraperitoneal administration of ouabain produced an increase in potassium excretion and a decrease in sodium excretion in doses over 1 mg/kg. The effect of ouabain in altering the electrolyte pattern of urine was more marked in NaCl-loaded rats than in water-loaded (3 ml/100 g body weight, p.o.) rats. At doses of 10 mg/kg, ouabain produced a significant decrease in excretions of sodium and H+ and equalized the output of sodium with that of potassium in terms of concentration and total output. Thus, factors other than the ion exchange mechanism in distal tubules appear to be responsible for the ouabain-induced kaliuresis, when the drug is given to rats in high doses.


Membranes supported by posts are used as vibrating elements of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs). The residual stress built up during the fabrication process determines the transducer properties such as resonance frequency, collapse voltage, and gap distance. Hence, it is important to evaluate and control the stress in thin film CMUT membranes. The residual stress in the membrane causes significant vertical displacements at the center of the membrane. The stress bends the membrane posts, and the slope at the membrane edges result in amplified displacement at the center by the radius of the membrane. By measuring the center displacement, it is possible to determine the stress provided that Young's modulus of the thin film is known accurately. Usually, in thin film structures Young's modulus differs from that of bulk materials and it depends on thin film deposition technique. In this paper, we propose a novel technique for the measurement of stress and Young's modulus of CMUT membranes. The technique depends on the measurement of membrane deflection and resonance frequency. We modeled the stress and Young's modulus dependence of membrane deflection and resonance frequency using finite element analysis. We used an atomic force microscope (AFM) to measure the membrane deflection and a laser interferometer to determine the resonance frequency of the membrane. The technique is tested on a CMUT membrane. We found that our LPCVD deposition technique yields residual stress of around 100 MPa and Young's modulus of around 300 GPa.


ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to provide a description and create an understanding of public sport policy, the key actors within the sports system, and the political sphere in Finnish sport. The development of sport policy in Finland has been characterised by a relatively long-lasting, polarised, and highly politicised sports sector and a series of structural reforms. The contemporary sports system in Finland represents a mixed model, in which the state has a strong role in directing sport policy (especially through resource steering), while the role of sports organisations is implementation. Further, municipalities play a central role in creating conditions for sport and physical activity, and all sport policy actors have high autonomy in their operations. In particular, the population's increasing physical inactivity and lack of elite sport success in Finland have driven the central government to seek new solutions, such as centralisation, a cross-administrative approach, and evidence-informed policy-making practices. Sport policy is also impacted by international trends and agreements, such as sustainable development, in which Finland's ambitious goals affect the sports sector. In the future, the unclear roles of different actors and a lack of leadership could cause further challenges to the adoption of effective sport policies.


To investigate the effect of n-3 fatty acid from Bokbunja (Rubus coreanus Miq.) seed oil (BSO), we examined improvement of plasma triglycerides and cholesterol in vivo. Five-week-old ICR mice were divided into five groups of six mice each; Control, high fat diet (HFD) control (negative control), salmon oil control (positive control, HFD+commercial n-3 fatty acid), and BSO experimental groups (HFD+1 g/60 kg BW/d, HFD+2 g/60 kg BW/d). After 4 weeks of BSO treatment, we measured serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels. The levels of low-density lipoprotein/very-low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and total cholesterol were significantly (P<0.05) reduced in the group fed BSO at 2 g/60 kg BW/d compared to the negative control. Levels of triglycerides, which are similar to cholesterol, were also significantly (P<0.05) reduced in the same group. To investigate further, we tested blood coagulation parameters. Prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) were not significantly different among the five groups according to BSO. However, the 2 g/60 kg BW/d BSO group treated with PT and aPTT showed a tendency to live longer than the negative control. Taken together, BSO might improve blood homeostasis mediated via hypo-lipidemic and anti-coagulation activities.


High levels of comorbidity between the anxiety and depressive disorders have raised questions about whether the diagnostic boundaries between these disorders need to be redrawn, or even whether both should be considered as different facets of a single disease process. Accordingly, latent class analysis has been used in several attempts to find data-driven groupings of individuals based on the symptoms of anxiety and depression. However, the assumption of conditional independence in this approach risks the extraction of spurious 'severity classes', making findings difficult to interpret. Factor mixture analysis relaxes that assumption by incorporating a common factor within each class, thereby overcoming the problem. This project investigated whether factor mixture analysis can suggest a data-driven classification of individuals based on the symptoms of common mental disorders. The analysis was based on pooled symptom-level data from three national psychiatric morbidity surveys of adults living in Great Britain carried out in 1993, 2000 and 2007. A comparison of the fit from the various latent variable models indicated that factor mixture models provided the best fit to the data, both in terms of model parsimony and goodness-of-fit. However, subsequent investigations suggested that the classes did not represent true groups in the population, but were rather accommodating violations of key assumptions in the standard factor model. Therefore, the results provide little guidance for revising the psychiatric classification. This is the first study to carry out an in-depth investigation into the interpretation of the extracted classes after applying factor mixture models to investigate the latent structure of mental disorders; its findings highlight the difficulties of interpreting the results of these models. Consequently, the thesis questions whether factor mixture models are actually useful for exploring the true nature of psychiatric disorders, and whether the present heavy use of such models is justified. An investigation of previously published examples suggests that their results may be prone to misinterpretation. The thesis concludes with a set of recommendations for the reporting of these models that may help to minimise the risks of such misinterpretation.


The photofission process at intermediate energies is reviewed and comparison is made with fission processes induced by pions, nucleons and heavy ions. The photofission cross section in medium-heavy and heavy elements is discussed at photon energies both below and above the photomeson threshold. Single fragment kinetic energy spectra, fragment mass distributions and the angular distribution of fission fragments are treated and discussed from simple interaction models.


The ATP7A gene encodes a copper-transporting ATPase. Mutations in this gene result in two clinically distinct X-linked inherited disorders: Menkes disease and occipital horn syndrome (OHS). We identified a single exon skipping in the ATP7A transcript in cells from the affected proband, affected cousins and obligate carriers in a family with OHS. Genomic sequencing identified an A-->T transversion at the +3 position in the splice donor site of intron 10 (gtaaagt-->gttaagt) in all affected individuals and the obligate female carriers. This mutation results in the constitutive skipping of exon 10 and creates an in-frame deletion of transmembrane domains 3 and 4 (78 amino acids) in the mature transcript. The exon 10-skipped transcript is present in low amounts as an alternatively spliced product in normal individuals. Immunocytochemical assay shows that these two protein products have different subcellular distributions: the major form is concentrated in the perinuclear Golgi system while the minor form (as the only form in this family with OHS) is co-localized with the endoplasmic reticulum-resident BiP protein (GRP78). These findings indicate that endoplasmic reticulum localization only of a variant ATP7A protein is insufficient to effect normal copper transport.


A new approach to digital signatures for imaging, which adapts well to multimedia communications in lossy channels is introduced. Rather than attaching the signature's bit-string as a file-header, it is invisibly etched into the image using a new watermarking algorithm. The watermark is "nonfragile," tolerating small distortions but not malicious tampering aimed at modifying the image's content. In particular, the rank-order relationship in local areas throughout the lowest level of the DWT is exploited to encode the watermark. An edge-based message digest is used. The signature is in the form of binary data and the wavelet decomposition coefficients are modified according to this binary sequence. The signature is also embedded and tested within the SPIHT compression algorithm. The information capacity is studied and the experimental results confirm a logarithm relation between the bit rate and the quantization level, which is similar to the Shannon's capacity theorem. Experiments are performed to examine the signature's transparency and robustness.


Herein we report a cutaneous anthrax in a child from eastern region of Turkey. A six-year-old girl has admitted pediatric emergency clinic with a black eschar on her right thumb. The patient's parents described an erythematous painless papule on this region starting five days ago. There was no prior history of insect bite or trauma. Her parents job was livestock farming and living in an area endemic for anthrax. The body temperature was 36.7°C, pulse rate was 105/min, blood pressure was 95/65 mm/Hg, and respiratory rate was 24/min. A 1.5x1.5 cm irregular and black skin eschar was detected on the right thumb with central necrotic appearance (Figure 1). Examination of other systems was normal. Laboratory examinations showed that the leukocyte count was 12770 mm3 and C-reactive protein level was 0.55 mg/dL (normal: 0-0.8 mg/dL). Other laboratory results were normal. Lesion swab and blood samples were taken for Bacillus anthracis culture but no bacterial growth was observed. Although blood polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was negative, PCR of the swab specimen obtained from lesion was positive for B. anthracis plasmids (pXO1 and pXO2) (Figure 2). According to the WHO guidelines, the primers PA5-PA8 for the amplification of the protective antigen broad region of plasmid pXO1 and the CAP 1234-CAP 1301 primers for amplification of the plasmid pXO2 capsu-lar region were used in the PCR reaction (4). The PCR reaction was run on a Qiagen RotorGene 6000 (Hilden Germany) Real-time instrument using Evagreen qPCR master mix (Bio-Rad Lab Inc USA). Cutane-ous anthrax


One of the most contentious and long-standing debates in corporate governance is whether company founders and other insiders should be permitted to use multi-class stock structures with unequal votes to control their companies while seeking capital through a public listing. Stymied by the permissive attitudes of legislatures and regulators, institutional investors opposed to multi-class arrangements recently turned to a new potential source of regulation: benchmark equity index providers. At the behest of institutional investors, the three largest index providers recently changed the eligibility requirements for their benchmark equity indexes to exclude, limit or underweight companies with multi-class stock structures. Investors expected the prospect of exclusion from such indexes to discourage founders and directors from adopting dual-class stock structures in connection with their initial public offerings. While there is a voluminous financial literature on the effects of index inclusion and exclusion on stock prices, and legal scholars have recently explored the corporate governance implications of the exponential growth of passive index investing, focusing primarily on the incentives of index fund asset managers, neither the financial nor the legal literature have considered the corporate governance role and influence of the parties who write the rules for index investing: the index providers. We begin to fill this gap in the literature by assessing the efficacy of index providers as corporate governance arbiters through the rubric of their dual-class index exclusion decisions. We start with the premise that the index exclusion sanction will not discourage dual-class listings unless it is sufficiently costly to outweigh the perceived benefits of founder control through a multi-class stock structure. We expect the index exclusion sanction will not be sufficiently costly for several reasons. First, it is difficult, if not impossible, to implement a sanction through the public capital markets. Second, the index inclusion effect on which the anticipated sanction is premised has effectively disappeared in recent years and may never have been a long-term source of lower capital costs. Third, despite the explosive growth of index investing in recent years, funds following stock indexes still hold a relatively modest percentage of the market capitalization of U.S. equities – around 12% according to BlackRock. Finally, the proliferation of index investing opportunities has weakened the market-moving influence of any one benchmark index. To test the efficacy of the sanction, we conduct an event study of the S&P announcement that dual-class companies would henceforth be excluded from the S&P 1500 Composite Index and its components – the S&P 500, S&P 400 mid-cap and S&P 600 small-cap indices. Because S&P grandfathered dual-class companies currently in the index, we are able to compare movements in the stock prices of dual-class companies currently in the index with movements in the stock prices of dual-class companies not yet included in the index at the time of announcement. We do not observe any statistically significant abnormal returns in the stock prices of either included or excluded firms as a result of the S&P announcement, suggesting that exclusion is not expected to have a significant adverse cost of capital effect on firms that elect to list with a dual-class stock structures in the future and the sanction is ineffective. In the absence of an effective sanction, the exclusion of dual-class shares from benchmark equity indexes will not affect corporate governance choices. It may, however, have material adverse consequences for index investors and the index providers themselves.


The central idea of the paper emphasizes Romania's competitive advantages in the EU and there are two analysis levels herein: the correct identification of Romania's competitive advantages and the oportunities to value them. The paper aims at achieving a competitiveness analysis of the Romanian economy during 2006-2009. The Romanian economy's integration within the European Union does not only mean a mere inclusion or accession into/to the Community, but it also represents the belonging to a strongly competitive area. Since the Union has mainly aimed at becoming the most competitive economy at world level, Romania has to face a double challenge: redefining its competitiveness and reducing the current gaps between its economy and the average level of the main EU social and economic indices. Redefining competitiveness is actually redefining competitiveness determiners. Reaching the convergence goal is based on the Romanian economy's sustainable competitive advantages. The essential concern is their proper identification, as they are the result of a strategic vision. Taking account of these principles, Romania's EU accession is acquiring new traits. Is there a competitiveness gain or is there a certain loss right from the moment of the accession?


Aimed to explore many unknown properties of unstable nuclei, the RIKEN Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory (RIBF) began operation at the end of 2006 as the first of several next-generation RI beam facilities planned worldwide. To date, the design intensity for light ions has been achieved, and the intensity of Ca beams is steadily increasing. For very heavy ions such as uranium, a new injector system RILAC2 is now under construction to realise an increase in intensity of two orders of magnitude. The present status of RIBF is described, and other next-generation RIB facilities that will begin operation in the near future are outlined. The future scope of RIBF is discussed in comparison with other in-flight facilities.


A Componential Model of Stress Reactivity in Daily Life Megan Goldring Despite widespread agreement about the importance of stress for health and well-being, scholars disagree about the types of variables that matter most. On one side, some argue that stress reactivity depends mostly on person-level variables, such as personality, while others contend that stress reactivity depends mostly on situation-level variables, for example chronicity. Researchers from a more integrative perspective assert that stress reactivity depends on an idiosyncratic interaction between person-level and stressor-level variables, for example the finding that lonely people are especially reactive to interpersonal tension. My dissertation reconciles these perspectives by leveraging crossed random effect modeling to determine the percent of stress reactivity attributable to each of these types of variables; the person, the situation, and the person-by-situation interaction. In Study 1, 368 undergraduate college students reacted to 60 unique situations in the context of normal daily life on two separate occasions. In Study 2, 955 adults from the Midlife in the U.S. study self-reported their reactivity to stressful situations encountered on each of eight days. Results from both studies suggest that these three types of variables account for the bulk, at least 70%, of stress reactivity in daily life. Moreover, all three types of variables emerged as important, as each factor contributed at least 20% of the overall variability in stress reactivity. Interestingly, both studies also found that situation-level variables mattered relatively more than the other two types of variables. I discuss these findings in relation to stress theory, stress-reduction interventions, and methodological innovations.


Passing references to the medieval period, the court of King Arthur, the quest for the Holy Grail, and the Bible abound in the fiction of Alice Munro. These often coincide with female characters' quests for individuation and wholeness within the constraining atmosphere of patriarchy. These quests regularly take the form of writerly and readerly self-exploration, where the creative word is key. Munro approaches logos (the creative word, thought, deed, light) as an open, Grail-like symbol rather than the revealed truth of religious convention and authority. Many of her characters, such as Del Jordan of Lives of Girls and Women , Louisa of "Carried Away," and Edith of "Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage," use literary autodidacticism to embark on process-oriented quests of self-discovery, reformulating Horace's dictum carpe diem to carpe verbum ("seize the word").


Orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS) waveform has been considered as a potential candidate for affording a wide range of emerging communications and sensing applications in beyond 5G wireless technologies. OTFS takes advantage of both time and frequency selectivity of the doubly dispersive wireless environment, which has been considered as one of the limiting factors in classical wireless communication technologies. However, the performance of OTFS-based wireless systems is severely affected by fractional Doppler that arises due to inevitable and inherent characteristics of the wireless channel taps of not being always integer Doppler values in the delay-Doppler plane. Thus, this results in severe inter-Doppler interference (IDI) and a low channel sparsity in delay-Doppler (DD) domain. To this end, this work introduces a novel receiver (Rx) windowing technique to combat the impact of fractional Doppler on error performance of the OTFS-based transmission with practical pulse shaping filters at the transceiver. Specifically, we introduce a global cyclic prefix (CP) based raised cosine (RC) windowing at Rx in order to alleviate the effect of IDI on the received signal. To do so, the proposed scheme changes the pulse shape of the OTFS signal in DD domain that defines the IDI level and sparsity of the effective channel. Furthermore, we assess the performance of the proposed Rx windowed OTFS (RW-OTFS) scheme under various practical communication scenarios. The obtained numerical and simulation results validate the accuracy of the proposed IDI mitigator for OTFS systems in practical high-mobility scenarios.


A panel of mice hybrids was obtained, producing monoclonal antibodies (MCAB), which are capable to differentiate the vaccine and wild strains of polioviruses of the I and III types in the reaction of virus neutralization (RVN). The obtained MCAB activity was estimated on laboratory reference-strains and on the field isolates of polioviruses isolated in the territory of Ukraine in 1995-1998. The results of RVN with obtained MCAB were compared with the data of intratypical differentiation carried out with the use of standard MCAB from the Pasteur Institute as well as with results of the chain polymerization reaction (CPR) and immunoenzyme analysis (IEA) with cross-adsorbed sera. High correlation has been demonstrated between the results of the intratypical differentiation with obtained MCAB and data of the rest of the experiments.


Three males with Robertsonian translocations were found in a sample of 1115 males examined for military service. One was a 14/15 translocation, and two were 13/14 translocations. One was spontaneous and two familial. The segregation rate of the translocations did not deviate significantly from unity in the sibships where the mother was the carrier, whereas all five children had the translocation in the two sibships where the father was the carrier. There were no abortions and no aneuploid chromosome abnormalities in the progeny of carriers with D/D translocation. There were no indications ofany association between the D/D translocations and physical or mental development.


Objective: To find out how common subclinical atherosclerosis is in psoriasis patients. Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study Place and Duration of Study: Dermatology unit of Fauji Foundation, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Jan 2020 to Jun 2020. Methodology: After receiving informed consent, 314 cases that met the selection criteria were enrolled. Psoriasis was diagnosed depending on physical examination the family history of patients. Ultrasonography high-resolution B mode was opted to assess carotid atherosclerosis (Xario color Doppler probe frequency 5 to 7mHZ.). If the (IMT) was less than 0.9mm, it was regarded normal; values greater than 0.9mm were termed thickened intima, while digits greater than 1.5mm were considered atherosclerotic plaque. SPSS version 21.0 was used for data analysis. Results: Age of patients was from 18 to 70 years old, with a Mean±SD (44.00 ±12.12) years. Males made up 47(15%) of the population, while females made up 267(85%). There were 33(10.5%) smokers and 281(89.5%) non-smokers. The mean IMT was 0.84±0.61, with 0.1mm and 2.05mm as the minimum and maximum, respectively. Subclinical atherosclerosis was found in 96 patients (30.6%) (p<0.05). SPSS 21 was used to enter and evaluate the data. Age, BMI, IMT, and disease duration were all expressed as a Mean±SD. Other parameters like gender, smoking, subclinical atherosclerosis be measured by frequency and percentage. Conclusion: Subclinical atherosclerosis is significantly higher in patients of psoriasis. Early detection and management can help to reduce risks of cardiovascular complications.


The studied mineralization is located on the eastern slopes of Lopejské Čelno valley, south of the Lopej village (cadastral area of Podbrezová village, Central Slovakia). The U occurrence was described and classified as U-Cu stratiform mineralization. The mineralization is located in the Ľubietová Zone of Veporic Unit, and is bound to the arkosic sandstones containing Permian volcanoclastic material. The host rock of mineralization underwent low-grade metamorphism and limonitization. Lens shaped ore bodies are characterized by disseminated pyrite, rutile, chalcopyrite, leucoxene and metatorbernite. Small cavities and cracks in rock are also filled and/or coated by goethite, Mn oxides and malachite. Uranium is irregularly distributed within the host rock and is bound to the U-Ti oxides, brannerite and torbernite/metatorbernite. Brannerite and leucoxenized U-Ti oxides are the only one primary uranium U4+ minerals, for the first time identified in studied occurrence. Brannerite forms clusters of needle-like crystals (up to 100 μm in size). It occurs in close spatial and genetic association with U-Ti oxides, rutile, leucoxene and clay minerals. Chemical composition of brannerite and U-Ti oxides differs in ratio of U/(U + Ti): from 0.22 to 0.29 apfu for brannerite and from 0.09 to 0.22 apfu for U-Ti oxides. Metatorbernite forms light green crystals, typically occurs in small cavities and fractures in rock. It shows an unusual light green luminescence under UV radiation. The average chemical composition of metatorbernite can be expressed by empiric formula (Cu0.75Ba0.06Ca0.03K0.04Al0.02Mg0.01Fe0.01)Σ0.94 (UO2)Σ2.00 (PO4)Σ2.01 (H2O)8. Occasionally torbernite/metatorbernite directly replaces single crystals of apatite.


This article describes the development and validation of the Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (MSBS)—the first and only full-scale measure of state boredom. It was developed based on a theoretically and empirically grounded definition of boredom. A five-factor structure of the scale (Disengagement, High Arousal, Low Arousal, Inattention, and Time Perception) was supported by exploratory factor analyses and confirmatory factor analyses of two independent samples. Furthermore, all subscales were significantly related to a single, second-order factor. The MSBS factor structure was shown to be invariant across gender. MSBS scores were significantly correlated with measures of trait boredom, depression, anxiety, anger, inattention, impulsivity, neuroticism, life satisfaction, and purpose in life. Finally, MSBS scores distinguished between participants who were experimentally manipulated into a state of boredom and those who were not, above and beyond measures of trait boredom, negative affect, and depression.


Magnetic relaxation of high-pressure synthesized MgB2 bulks with different thickness is investigated. It is found that the superconducting diamagnetic moment depends on time in a logarithmic way: the flux-creep activation energy decreases linearly with the current density (as expected by Kim-Anderson model) and the activation energy increases linearly with the thickness of sample when it is thinner than about 1 mm. These features suggest that the vortices in the MgB2 are rather rigid, and the pinning and creep can be well described by Kim-Anderson model. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.


Syringe-exchange programs (SEPs) will likely play a major role in slowing the spread of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) among injecting drug users (IDUs), but the success of any single SEP will depend to a large extent on where it is located. We show how the optimal position for a new SEP can be chosen given accurate knowledge of where IDUs live and how far they are willing to travel to an SEP. This information is not normally available, and one of our major points is that SEPs will necessarily be placed in suboptimal locations and will serve fewer ID Us than they otherwise might until it becomes available. Our method for choosing the best SEP placement is illustrated with Manhattan as an idealized example.


We introduce a protocol for QKD based on reusable entangled states. In this protocol, the EPR pairs act as a quantum key to encode and decode information particles. And only an information particle travels between the legitimated users. This improves the security and efficiency of communication. In addition, we show that its extension to a new QSS protocol is also secure and efficient.


INTRODUCTION ........................................................ 291 General ............... ......................................... 291 Cell Waill Structure and Synthesis ....................... ........................ 292 Identification of the Target of Penicillin Action .......... ........................ 293 PENICILLIN-BINDING COMPONENTS .............. .......................... 296 What Is Actually Bound? ....................................................... 298 How Much Penicillin Do Cells Bind? ................. ........................... 298 Is the Penicillin Bound Covalently? ................... .......................... 299 To What Group Does PenicillinBind?..... 299 Under What Conditions Can Penicillin Be Released from the PBCs?........ ........ 300 What Is the Physical Nature ofthe PBCs? ............. .......................... 300 Are PBCs Located in Peripheral Membranes, Mesosomes, or Both? ...... ........ 301 Do Organisms Have One or Multiple Proteins Which Bind Penicillin? ..... ...... 301 Isolation ofPBCs by Covalent Affinity Chromatography ........ ................. 303 What Is the Relationship of the PBCs to the Killing Site? ....... ................. 304 Biochemical Evidence for the Involvement ofPBCs in Peptidoglycan Synthesis . . 305 PENICILLIN-SENSITIVE ENZYMES ................ ........................... 306 Transpeptidase......................................................... 306 Transpeptidase assayed with natural acceptor in a coupled system ............ 306 Transpeptidase assayed with unnatural acceptor in a coupled system ..... ..... 307 Transpeptidase assayed in a simple, uncoupled system ....... ................. 307 D-Alanine Carboxypeptidase .................................................... 308 E. coli carboxypeptidase ...................................................... 309 Carboxypeptidases from Bacillus ................... .......................... 309 Streptomyces carboxypeptidases .................... .......................... 309 Endopeptidase......................................................... 313 Other Activities ........................................................ 314 Number of Enzymes Corresponding to the Different Penicillin-Sensitive Enzymatic Activities ........................................................ 314 Relationship ofthe Penicillin-Sensitive Enzymes to the PBCs ....... ............. 316 Physiological Functions ofthe Penicillin-Sensitive Enzymes ....... .............. 316 Physiological Evidence for the Existence of Multiple Transpeptidases ..... ...... 318 Kinetics of Penicillin Inhibition ................................................. 319 Models for the Interaction ofPenicillin with Its Target ........ .................. 321 MECHANISM OF KILLING BY PENICILLINS .......... ....................... 324 Mutant Analysis........................................................ 324 Evidence That Penicillin Kills by Inhibiting Cross-Linking ...................... 324 Killing by Amidino Penicillin ................................................... 325 Transfer of Penicillin Side Chain ................................................. 325 CONTROL OF CELL WALL SYNTHESIS ............. .......................... 326 SUMMARY ................ ....................................... 327 LITERATURE CITED ....................................................... 327


The study attempts to analyse the effects of some selected demographic and socioeconomic predictor variables on the likelihood of immunisation of a child for six vaccine-preventable diseases covered under Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP). It focuses on immunisation coverage a) in all India, b) in rural and urban areas, c) for three states, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh, and d) for three groups of states, namely, Empowered Action Group, North-Eastern and Other states. The study applies logistic regression model to National Family Health Survey-III (2005-06) data. Excepting only one variable, the results are robust across different models. The likelihood of immunisation increases with urban residence, mother's education level, mother's age, mother's exposure to mass media, mother's awareness about immunisation, antenatal care during pregnancy, wealth index, household electrification, mother's empowerment index, and caste/ tribe hierarchy. It is also higher for boys than girls but it decreases for higher birth-order irrespective of the sex of the child. However, standard of living index and sex of household headship has no effect. Religion and zone of states also have some effects. Further research with both demand- and supply-side issues will be critical for the policy makers to make the immunisation programme justly universal.


1. The structural changes accompanying the early genesis of the mouse hindlimb bud have been studied in serial Epon thick sections at five successive somitic stages collected during the 10th developmental day. 2. As soon as the 14-somite stage, increased proliferative activities occurring in a limited area of the embryonic somatopleure close to the caudal end of the coelomic cavity point out the onset of limb morphogenesis. From its very beginning on, up to its ceasing at the 27-somite stage, the somatopleural proliferation is more active in the caudal part of the prospective limb territory and in the whole area, it appears stronger ventrally than dorsally. 3. Discrete structural changes occur during this period in the mesoderm interposed between the hindlimb bud territory and the overlying unsegmented sheet of somitic mesoderm, in relation with the genesis of the mesonephritic constituents and of the posterior cardinal vein. A detailed analysis of this area in serial sections reveals that the unsegmented somitic mesoderm does not provide any cell to the limb bud mesoderm. 4. As soon as the somitic mesoderm becomes organized into segmented somites, obvious histological changes located on the lateral aspect of the ventro-lateral somitic edge reveal that numerous undifferentiated somitic cells invade the proximal area of the limb bud mesoderm. Starting at the 27-somite stage in the first two metameres adjacent to the precordonal portion of the limb bud, this processus extends to the five somites of the limb territory at the 33-somite stage. In each metamere, the area of cell migration takes place near the caudal border of the somite and, from one somite to the other, the number of migrating cells increases in a cephalo-caudal direction. No sign of a similar cell migration was observed in the somites located cranially or caudally to the hindlimb bud. 5. The results are discussed in relation with the various experimental and descriptive evidences obtained in non-mammalian Vertebrates about the contribution of the somites to limb morphogenesis and about the factors involved in the onset of cell proliferation in the prospective limb mesoderm.


Small-scale fisheries supplying tropical sea cucumbers to Asian markets frequently overharvest stocks, incurring unknown loss of economic value. An indication of such value loss can provide economic incentives for better conservation and management. However, "before and after" time-series by which loss could be calculated are generally not available for most sea cucumber fisheries. In this study we provide a snapshot comparison of stocks of three characteristic sea cucumber species in two islands in the Western Indian Ocean: Zanzibar (open-access fishery) and Mayotte (stocks protected since 2004). Our aim is to provide an indication of reference economic value of holothurian populations under two contrasting management regimes. Comparisons were made from stock appraisals using transects, linked to the species-specific market value, and compared between similar habitats from both locations. Surveyed habitats in Mayotte held sea cucumber stocks with a mean economic value of USD556.90 ± 110.30/ha, compared with USD1.73 ± 0.58/ ha in Zanzibar. A 5% harvest of sea cucumbers from surveyed areas in Mayotte would yield about 20 times greater income than harvesting the total surveyed stock in Zanzibar. By illustrating the economic value when strong management measures are implemented, this study highlights existing economic values and shows that sea cucumber fisheries in the tropics are a resource worth investing in and with high potential for social-economic benefits if properly managed.


Apolipoprotein A-IV is considered to play a role in triglyceride-rich lipoprotein metabolism, in reverse cholesterol transport, and in facilitation of CETP (Cholesterolyl Ester Transfer Protein) activity. Moreover, apoA-IV is genetically polymorphic in humans, in whom two major isoproteins (apoA-IV 1 and apoA-IV 2) are present and have differences that influence the apoA-IV phenotype in lipid metabolism. In non-insulin-dependent-diabetes, increased apoA-IV levels are found, mainly related to hypertriglyceridemia and to a lesser extent to HDL cholesterol level; apoA-IV phenotype distribution is not different from controls; in the control population, the potential protective lipid profile (characterized by increased HDL and HDL2 cholesterol levels) related to the apoA-IV 1-2 phenotype, is no longer found in NIDDM patients (the metabolic state of NIDDM appears to have effected the potential protective lipid profile related to the apoA-IV 1-2 phenotype); and plasma apoA-IV levels is associated with increased prevalence for macrovascular disease. In non-insulin-dependent diabetes treated with insulin, apoA-IV levels are increased. Unlike results for NIDDM patients undergoing oral treatment, the increase in apoA-IV level is not related to hypetriglyceridemia, so that the effect on lipid metabolism may be different.


With ever-increasing productivity targets in mining operations, there is a growing interest in mining automation. In future mines, remote controlled and autonomous haulers will operate underground guided by LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) sensors. We envision reusing LiDAR measurements to maintain accurate mine maps that would contribute to both safety and productivity. Extrapolating from a pilot project on reliable wireless communication in Boliden's Kankberg mine, we propose establishing a System-of-Systems (SoS) with LiDAR-equipped haulers and existing mapping solutions as constituent systems. SoS requirements engineering inevitably adds a political layer, as independent actors are stakeholders both on the system and SoS levels. We present four SoS scenarios representing different business models, discussing how development and operations could be distributed among Boliden and external stakeholders, e.g., the vehicle suppliers, the hauling company, and the developers of the mapping software. Based on eight key variation points, we compare the four scenarios from both technical and business perspectives. Finally, we validate our findings in a seminar with participants from the relevant stakeholders. We conclude that to determine which scenario is the most promising for Boliden, trade-offs regarding control, costs, risks, and innovation must be carefully evaluated.


The aim of the study was to analyze the goals scored pattern in elite female soccer players. All goals (330) scored in the first half of the Spanish female national league (Iberdrola League) were analyzed using the Nacsport Scout Plus 6.0 New Assistant for Coach Sport SL software. The frequency, place and starting situation, position goal action, type and style of play, type of set play and action prior to goal score with a combination of space of the goal and scoring zones were analyzed. The periods with the greatest amount of goals were the last one of each half (18.2% and 26.1% respectively), and the teams that scored the first goal won 71% of matches. Open play, positional and first touch are the predominant actions prior to achieving a goal in elite female soccer players. It is also important to pay attention to the high number of steals in the center zone of the own side while designing defensive strategies. The relationship between the space of the goal and scoring zones shown that the majority of the close shoots enter throw the low part of the goal. These findings could be used for coaches to propose defensive strategies in female soccer players.


It is important to consider an effect of a member size when estimating the ultimate strength of a concrete member loaded for all types of loading conditions. As well known as size effect, the strength of a member tends to decrease when the member sizes increase. Therefore, due to the recent increased interest in the topic of size effect of concrete this research focuses on the size effect of two main classes of compressive strength of concrete: pure axial compressive strength and flexural compressive strength. First, the fracture mechanics type size effect on the axial compressive strength of unnotched and notched cylindrical concrete specimens were studied, with the diameter, and the height/diameter ratio and initial notch length considered as the main parameters. For this purpose, theoretical, experimental, and statistical analyses were conducted. Size effect equations were proposed to predict the compressive strength of cylindrical concrete specimens with various diameters and height/diameter ratios. The proposed equations show good agreement with the existing test results for concrete cylinders. Second, the size, length, and depth variations of a flexural compressive member have been studied experimentally. A series of C-shaped specimens subjected to axial compressive load and bending moment were tested. The shape of specimens and the test procedures used were similar to those of Hognestad et al.. The test results are curve fitted using Levenberg-Marquardt's Least Square Method (LSM) to obtain parameters for Modified Size Effect Law (MSEL) by Kim et al.. The analysis results show that the effect of specimen size, length, and depth on ultimate strength was apparent.


Background. 4-1BB (CD137) is a key costimulatory immunoreceptor and a highly promising therapeutic target in cancer. To overcome toxicity and efficacy limitations of current 4-1BB targeting antibodies, we have developed PRS-343, a 4-1BB/HER2 bispecific based on Anticalin® technology. We have previously reported on the generation and characterization of PRS-343 with regard to preclinical proof-of-concept and basic drug-like properties. 1 Here, we describe the preclinical dataset supporting initiation of a first-in-patient trial. Methods and Results. The pharmacology of PRS-343 was investigated by ex vivo assays based on mixed culture of human PBMC and tumor cell lines. We find that 4-1BB costimulated T cells prominently increase production of IL-2, GM-CSF, TNF-α and IFN-γ. Using a set of immortal cancer cell lines spanning a range of HER2 surface copy numbers, we identified a copy number threshold above which PRS-343 reliably elicited T cell costimulation with a high potency and an EC50 in the subnanomolar range. PRS-343 was well tolerated in a repeat-dose study in cynomolgus monkeys, with no overt toxicity and no significant drug-related toxicological findings. Pharmacokinetic assessment confirmed dose-proportional exposure of the animals during the course of the study. In a mouse model of human PBMC-induced xenograft-vs-host disease (xGvHD), PRS-343 did not show an acceleration of xGvHD development, in contrast to a 4-1BB targeting benchmark. Again utilizing ex vivo assays, we found no PRS-343 induced T cell costimulation in a panel of primary cells, showing that physiological levels of HER2 are insufficient for activation. In a cytokine release assay, proinflammatory cytokine induction by PRS-343 in the absence of a primary TCR stimulation was negligible. Conclusion. The ex vivo experiments described indicate that HER2 expression level is expected to be a reliable marker for patient stratification for PRS-343. The toxicology assessment of PRS-343 indicates that the benign toxicity profile of trastuzumab is retained in PRS-343 with regard to HER2 targeting, and that PRS-343 is expected to elicit its costimulatory effects strictly on T cells also receiving a primary TCR signal and strictly localized to HER2-positive tumors. This is in agreement with in vivo mouse model data showing PRS-343 leads to tumor-localized CD8+ T cell expansion, 1 and supports the potential of PRS-343 as an efficacious yet well tolerable 4-1BB costimulating agent. The reported data is the basis for the trial design of a first in patient Phase 1 trial with PRS-343. 1 Cancer Immunol Res 2016;4(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B016. Citation Format: Marlon J. Hinner, Rachida-Siham Bel Aiba, Thomas Jaquin, Sven Berger, Manuela Durr, Corinna Schlosser, Andrea Allersdorfer, Christine Rothe, Louis A. Matis, Shane A. Olwill. Preclinical toxicology and pharmacology for the 4-1BB/HER2 bispecific PRS-343: A first-in-class costimulatory T cell engager [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3673. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-3673


Proposals possessing sound and well-funded evaluation plans are normally stronger and have greater chances of being funded. This new 4-page publication of the UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural Education and Communication shares information the authors learned during a series of meetings with federal agency program officers and evaluators about best practices for grant proposals. The practices encompass two broad categories: incorporating evaluation expertise into the project team and building a sound project rationale and evaluation plan. By adopting these practices, you will enhance the quality of your proposals; you will most likely increase the amount of extramural funding that is secured; and you will elevate the visibility and impact of programs within your organization. Written by Glenn Israel, Jaclyn D. Kropp, David C. Diehl, Conner Mullally, and Sebastian Galindo.https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/wc350


To this relationship, 24-h ambulatory intraesophageal or dual pharyngoesophageal pH monitoring in 33 patients with hoarseness and laryngeal lesions suggestive of acid irritation. Twenty-six of the patients (78.8 pH evidence of severe GER, at least three greater than the upper limit of normal. In contrast to 19 patients esophagitis, worse in the upright position. Of 15 patients with both pharyngeal and esoph- ageal probes, three esophagopharyngeal reflux, and two amplitude of Pa component of the MAEP beginning at 25-35 ms poststimulus. The data suggest that prefrontal cortex exerts early inhibitory modulation of input to primary auditory cortex in humans. fifteen cases. Distant failure occurred in 17 patients (nine per cent). Although 57 (30 per cent) of the 189 patients without elective neck irradiation subsequently showed lymph node involvement, none of the seven regionally-treated patients relapsed. The successful regional salvage rate was 81 per cent overall (46 out of 57 patients), but 90 per cent (44 of 49) for those properly treated with whole neck irradiation. However, the seven-year actuarial survival was lower in patients with nodal relapse than those without (70 per cent versus 87 per cent) because of the associated higher incidence of hematogenous dissemination. The various aspects of treatment, the value of elective neck irradiation in particular, are discussed. pres- effect late auditory deprivation; presents as loss of discrimination time in the ear of individuals a single aid fitted in age. In a replication of the basic effect, the influ- ence of presentation level in 24 monaurally aided subjects. The effect was at presentation levels about normally high selective the range, in ears with a dynamic range limited by a sensory hearing this inter-pretation perceptual and the time of evaluation in 2107-12. The ability to recognize synthetic, two-formant vowels with equal duration and similar loudness was measured in five subjects with the Cochlear and five subjects with the Symbion cochlear implants. results suggest that implanted subjects can utilize both 'place' information across different electrodes and 'rate' information on a single electrode to derive information about the spectral content of the stimulus. Author. lone was five times as high as that of prednisolone when plasma corticosteroid concentration was in the 2000 ng/ml range. With this continuous infusion technique, methylprednisolone has a higher degree of bronchoalveolar penetration then prednisolone, and these differences are greater at higher plasma concentrations. A monkey model of transtentorial brain herniation (TBH) was cre-ated to simulate the clinically encountered situation of a gradually expanding intracranial lesion. TBH was produced by extradural balloon inflation over a 4-hour period and documented by the appearance of the pupils as dilated or fixed at midposition. Intracranial pressure (ICP), brain stem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP), and short-latency somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) were recorded before, during, and after TBH. Statistical significance from baseline values to TBH was found for diminution of the BAEP amplitude, rise of the ICP, and diminution of the SSEP amplitude. An ICP rise to twice the baseline value and a 25 per cent decrease in Wave V amplitude was found one hour before TBH. Changes in BAEP and SSEP took several minutes after deflation to return to baseline values. Analysis of Wave V of the BAEP was as sensitive as ICP in warning of TBH. Discussion cen-ters upon previous animal studies of brain herniation and ICP ele- vation, and findings reported in humans deteriorating as a result of intracranial mass lesions. BAEP and SSEP monitoring may be used as noninvasive tests for brain stem compression in the setting of primate TBH, and in the future may be used to guide the effec- tiveness of therapy. Author. frequent occurrence of anatomic A study was carried out in 68 otherwise healthy male naval crew members to assess the long-term effectiveness and side-effects of routine transdermal scopolamine administration for the prevention of seasickness. The transdermal patches were applied to the mastoid process before each sailing and the subjects generally used two patches a week. Check-ups were made every three months over a period of three years. The average reported seasickness sev-erity (on a scale of 0 to 7) after six months at sea prior to the admin- istration of transdermal scopolamine was 5.64+/—0.11 (mean+/—S.E.M.), in comparison with 3.14+/—0.23 post-administration (p less than 0.001). A significant improvement was found in the self-estimated performance at sea whilst receiving the drug: 65.7 per cent +/- 3.38 per cent (mean +/— S.E.M.), com- pared to 25 per cent +/— 2.24 per cent beforehand (p less than 0.001). Contact dermatitis precluded the use of transdermal scopo- lamine in 3 (4.4 per cent) subjects. The only other significant side-effect was dryness of mucous membranes. In conclusion, transder- mal scopolamine was found to be effective in the prevention of seasickness and improvement of performance at sea during three years of follow-up and routine administration of the drug was not complicated either by severe side-effects or by performance dis- turbances. Author. Cervical myelography: survey of modes of practice and major com- plications. Robertson, of eight space subsequent are described. In four the initial less, was stridor other four longer days) the fairly


The chemistry of higher valent ruthenium(IV) complexes has attracted considerable attention because of its possible relevance in catalytic processes and the fact that analogous iron complexes may be biologically important. In this work a range of RuII (N4)(X)(Y) complexes (N4 = nitrogen-based macrocycle or related ligand ; X, Y = axial ligands) has been prepared. It is shown that the presence of macrocyclic type ligands and suitable axial ligands leads to readily accessible six coordinate formally ruthenium(IV) complexes on the voltammetric time scale as ascertained by studies at platinum, gold, glassy carbon and mercury electrodes. Thus, dimethylgloxime complexes RuII ( dmgH )2(PPh3)2 and other complexes containing non- oxidizable macrocyclic type ligands readily undergo two chemically and electrochemically reversible one-electron oxidation processes to produce six coordinate ruthenium(III) and ruthenium(IV) complexes. The ruthenium(III) species are moderately stable on the synthetic time scale at ordinary temperature, whereas -78°C is required to generate low concentrations of the formally ruthenium(IV) complexes with a limited range of complexes. When the axial phosphine ligands are replaced by nitrogen and oxygen donors (N-methylimidazole , dimethyl sulfoxide , pyridine, etc.), the stability of the six-coordinate ruthenium(IV) complexes are significantly lowered as evidenced by the more complex voltammetry for the ruthenium(III)/(IV) oxidation process. Similarly, replacement of the (N4) macrocyclic type system by (N-O)2 (e.g. quinolin-8-ol as ligand ) lowers the stability of the ruthenium(IV) complexes. When the macrocyclic type ligand can itself be oxidized (e.g. benzoquinone dioxime as a ligand) four electrons can be transferred reversibly. In this case the oxidation processes are not readily assigned in terms of formal oxidation states although ruthenium(IV) still appears to be an accessible oxidation state. Electrochemical oxidation of the iron complexes, Fe( dmgH)2(P(Obu)3)2 and Fe(Pc)(P( OBu ),3)2 (Pc = phthalocyanine ), also produces two reversible one-electron oxidation processes, confirming that information derived from the more kinetically inert ruthenium systems may be applied to related iron systems on the voltammetric time scale and that macrocyclic type ligands stabilize both high oxidation state formally ruthenium(IV) and iron(IV) oxidation states.


In their seminal book Time Series Analysis: Forecasting and Control, Box and Jenkins (1976) introduce the Airline model, which is still routinely used for the modelling of economic seasonal time series. The Airline model is for a differenced time series (in levels and seasons) and constitutes a linear moving average of lagged Gaussian disturbances which depends on two coefficients and a fixed variance. In this paper a novel approach to seasonal adjustment is developed that is based on the Airline model and that accounts for outliers and breaks in time series. For this purpose we consider the canonical representation of the Airline model. It takes the model as a sum of trend, seasonal and irregular (unobserved) components which are uniquely identified as a result of the canonical decomposition. The resulting unobserved components time series model is extended by components that allow for outliers and breaks. When all components depend on Gaussian disturbances, the model can be cast in state space form and the Kalman filter can compute the exact log-likelihood function. Related filtering and smoothing algorithms can be used to compute minimum mean squared error estimates of the unobserved components. However, the outlier and break components typically rely on heavy-tailed densities such as the t or the mixture of normals. For this class of non-Gaussian models, Monte Carlo simulation techniques will be used for estimation, signal extraction and seasonal adjustment. This robust approach to seasonal adjustment allows outliers to be accounted for, while keeping the underlying structures that are currently used to aid reporting of economic time series data. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The chronic alitiasic cholecystopathy represents an unusual trmorphological disease not well defined in literature; it is characterized by a chronic alteration of gallbladder without gallstones. The authors present a retrospective study on a group of 21 patients having undergone cholecistectomy from January 1992 to January 1995. The choice for the surgical treatment was made on the basis of blind gallbladder after i.v. cholangiography, and cholecystography and/or tickning of the gallbladder wall performed through ultrasonography, in patients with hystory of biliary pains not responding to the pharmacological therapy. The removed gallbladder has been histologically examined, observing the absence of gallstone and the presence of chronic inflammation of the gallbladder wall. The c.a.c. is a pathology whose etiopatogenesis is yet discussed, some authors assert in fact that on its basis there are functional symptoms. Although in the past these kinds of disease were considered functional disorders this study revealed that in some cases there are organic problems and that the surgical treatment is necessary.


In the wake of increasingly widespread bio prospecting and commercial use of indigenous knowledge by enterprises and research institutions, a variety of international agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (1992), the CBD Bonn Guidelines (2002), the FAO' International Treaty on Plant and Genetic Resources (2001), the the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Draft Provisions on Traditional Cultural Expressions/Folklore and Traditional Knowledge (2004) have proposed certain formulas for the protection of traditional knowledge (TK). The existing legal frameworks of TK protection at the international level lack specific instruments for TK protection, and rather constitute a soft law, and some regional and national laws that provide indigenous peoples with property rights over TK are not internationally recognized. There is still no operating binding international agreement that provides effective protective measures. The article argues that in the meanwhile private contractual arrangement constitutes one of the major instruments to protect TK during the bio prospecting process. Nevertheless, whether the contract basis is always workable and equitable remains controversial. The article aims to assess whether a contract model may properly protect indigenous peoples' traditional knowledge related to genetic resources. It will explore the strength and weakness of using contracts for the protection of TK holders. Among the most significant advantages are the freedom of concluding a contract and its flexibility. Thus, the contract could be of a very flexible instrument, fitting the peculiarities of a particular transaction. On the other hand, the approach has some limitations, such as an imbalance of bargaining powers between contracting parties.


Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a disorder characterized by lateral curvature of the spine and is the most prevalent orthopedic disorder in this age group. The diagnosis and management of AIS requires multiple full-spinal radiographs, leading to potentially high doses of ionizing radiation. The purpose of this study was to estimate in a cohort of subjects with AIS the organ-specific doses of x-ray radiation from spinal radiographs and to calculate the lifetime number of cancers attributable to these exposures. The cohort consisted of AIS patients referred from 1960 to 1979 to a large pediatric hospital in Montreal, Quebec. Organ-specific x-ray doses were estimated using a Monte Carlo procedure that accounted for the radiant energy of the x-ray beam. Cumulative doses for each subject were obtained by summing the estimated doses over all radiographs. These estimates of dose and published estimates of risk from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences Fifth Committee on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation were then incorporated into a life table procedure to project the excess lifetime risk of cancer. About 85% of the 2,181 subjects in the cohort were first referred for scoliosis between the ages of 11 and 17 y. The mean number of radiographs over an average 3-y follow-up period was 12. Organs receiving the highest mean cumulative doses (about 0.03 Gy) were the thyroid gland and the female breast. About 10 excess incident cancer cases (out of a total of 399 projected) and about four excess deaths (out of a total of 247 projected) were estimated to occur over the lifetime of the 1,847 women in the cohort. This is equivalent to an excess lifetime risk of about 1 to 2% (12-25/1,000) among women. Although doses today from spinal radiographs are considerably lower than two decades ago, doses and risks can be further reduced through the use of the posteroanterior view in place of the more traditional anteroposterior view.


ABSTRACT In our previous report, we showed that astrakurkurone, a triterpene isolated from the Indian mushroom Astraeus hygrometricus (Pers.) Morgan, induced reactive oxygen species, leading to apoptosis in Leishmania donovani promastigotes, and also was effective in inhibiting intracellular amastigotes at the 50% inhibitory concentration of 2.5 μg/ml. The aim of the present study is to characterize the associated immunomodulatory potentials and cellular activation provided by astrakurkurone, leading to effective antileishmanial activity in vitro and in vivo. Astrakurkurone-mediated antileishmanial activity was evaluated by real-time PCR and flow cytometry. The involvement of Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) was studied by in vitro assay in the presence of a TLR9 agonist and antagonist and by in silico modeling of a three-dimensional structure of the ectodomain of TLR9 and its interaction with astrakurkurone. Astrakurkurone caused a significant increase in TLR9 expression of L. donovani-infected macrophages along with the activation of proinflammatory responses. The involvement of TLR9 in astrakurkurone-mediated amastigote killing has been evidenced from the fact that a TLR9 agonist (CpG, ODN 1826) in combination with astrakurkurone enhanced the amastigote killing, while a TLR9 antagonist (bafilomycin A1) alone or in combination with astrakurkurone curbed the amastigote killing, which could be further justified by in silico evidence of docking between mouse TLR9 and astrakurkurone. Astrakurkurone was found to reduce the parasite burden in vivo by inducing protective cytokines, gamma interferon and interleukin 17. Moreover, astrakurkurone was nontoxic toward peripheral blood mononuclear cells of immunocompromised patients with visceral leishmaniasis. Astrakurkurone, a nontoxic antileishmanial, enhances the immune efficiency of host cells, leading to parasite clearance in vitro and in vivo.


Error characteristics of model output statistics (MOS) temperature forecasts are calculated for over 200 locations around the continental United States. The forecasts are verified on a station-by-station basis for the year 2001. Error measures used include mean algebraic error (bias), mean absolute error (MAE), relative frequency of occurrence of bias and MAE values, and the daily forecast errors themselves. A case study examining the spatial and temporal evolution of MOS errors is also presented. The error characteristics presented here, together with the case study, provide a more detailed evaluation of MOS performance than may be obtained from regionally averaged error statistics. Knowledge concerning locations where MOS forecasts have large errors or biases and why those errors or biases exist is of great value to operational forecasters. Not only does such knowledge help improve their forecasts, but forecaster performance is often compared to MOS predictions. Examples of biases in MOS forecast errors are illustrated by examining two stations in detail. Significant warm and cold biases are found in maximum temperature forecasts for Los Angeles, California (LAX), and minimum temperature forecasts for Las Vegas, Nevada (LAS), respectively. MAE values for MOS temperature predictions calculated in this study suggest that coastal stations tend to have lower MAE values and lower variability in their errors, while forecasts with high MAE and error variability are more frequent in the interior of the United States. Therefore, MAE values from samples of MOS forecasts are directly proportional to the variance in the observations. Additionally, it is found that daily maximum temperature forecast errors exhibit less variability during the summer months than they do over the rest of the year, and that forecasts for any one station rarely follow a consistent temporal pattern for more than two or three consecutive days. These inconsistent error patterns indicate that forecasting temperatures based on recent trends in MOS forecast errors at an individual station is usually not a good strategy. As shown in earlier studies by other authors and demonstrated again here, MOS temperature forecasts are often inaccurate in the vicinity of strong temperature gradients, for locations affected by shallow cold air masses, or for stations in regions of anomalously warm or cold temperatures. Finally, a case study is presented examining the spatial and temporal distributions of MOS temperature forecast errors across the United States from 13 to 15 February 2001. During this period, two surges of cold arctic air moved south into the United States. In contrast to error trends at individual stations, nationwide spatial and temporal patterns of MOS forecast errors could prove to be a powerful forecasting tool. Nationwide plots of errors in MOS forecasts would be useful if made available in real time to operational forecasters.


Objective: To study the surgical treatment of chronic type B dissection with aortic arch involvement using Sun's procedure. Methods: Between February 2009 and December 2015, 29 patients [20 males, 9 females, with a mean age of (41±12) years, range 24-64 years] with type B dissection with aortic arch involvement underwent Sun's procedure. Sixteen patient had a history of hypertension. Marfan syndrome was observed in 9 cases, coronary artery disease in 3 cases, mitral regurgitation in 3 patients, cerebrovascular disease in one patient. Twenty-two patients suffered proximal aortic arch disease, 4 cases experienced history of aortic root procedure and 2 subjects had history of pregnancy. Four patients had aortic arch malformation. Results: One case suffered from massive cerebral infarction after surgery and died in another hospital. Concomitant procedures included mitral valve replacement in 3 cases, coronary artery bypass grafting in 3 patients, reconstruction of the right aberrant subclavian artery in one patient. Ventilator support exceeding 24 hours obseved in 2 patients. One of them recieved continuous renal replacement therapy and recovered before discharge. Spinal cord injury was obseved in one case, brain infarction in one patient and pericardial drainage in one case. Two patients required tracheotomy. During 12-94 (43±23) months' follow-up, thoracoabdominal aortic replacment was performed in 4 patients, thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) in 2 subjects and repair of perivalvular leakage in one patient. Conclusions: Sun's procedure obtained satisfactory results in patients with chronic type B dissection with aortic arch involvement. Concomitant repair of proximal aortic arch lesions and distal type B dissection can be adopted using Sun's procedure.


Incubation of herpes simplex virus-infected human fibroblasts with the serum from a patient with herpes labialis rendered the cells susceptible to immune lysis by human mononuclear leukocytes (MNL) as well as complement. If, before the addition of MNL, the antibody-treated, infected monolayers were incubated with either IgM rheumatoid factor (RF), staphylococcal protein A (SPA), or anti-Fc gamma serum, antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytolysis (ADCC) was markedly depressed. SPA and anti-Fc caused maximal inhibition (greater than 90%), whereas RF resulted in a 72% depression. The inhibition of ADCC was dependent on both the concentration of the Fc-reacting materials incubated with the antibody-coated target cells and the concentration of antiviral antibody incubated with the virus-infected fibroblasts. Experiments indicated that the Fc-reacting materials depressed ADCC at the target cell level by covering or altering Fc sites on cell-bound antiviral antibody.


Sulfur-doped titania thin films were prepared by atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition (APCVD) for the first time using titanium tetrachloride, ethyl acetate and carbon disulfide. The films were compared to two industrial self-cleaning products: Activ™ and BIOCLEAN™, and shown to be superior in both photocatalysis and photo-induced superhydrophilicity, two preferential properties of effective self-cleaning coatings. X-Ray diffraction showed the films have the anatase TiO2 structure. XPS and EDX analysis shows changes in S : Ti ratio with preparative conditions indicating that sulfur has indeed been incorporated into the lattice. S-Doped TiO2 films were found to be effective agents for killing the bacterium Escherichia coli using light sources commonly found in UK hospitals.


This paper reports the nanostructural and magnetic behaviors of nano-sized magnetite/polyvinyl alcohol prepared by electrospinning route. The composition of the magnetite nanoparticles and polyvinyl alcohol were prepared from natural iron sand. The samples were maintained for pure magnetite without fibers, 0.075 g and 0.175 g for the mass compositions of magnetite in the fibers. The experimental data presented that the mass variation of the magnetite decreased the diameter of the fibers. Moreover, the higher composition of the magnetite has led to an increase in the saturation magnetization of the fibers. Such results were confirmed by the increasing content of the Fe atoms originating from magnetite particles. Morphologically, the magnetite/polyvinyl alcohol fibers were formed in continuous fibers with the diameter of 300 nm for optimum voltage of 20 kV.


The purpose of this paper is using the viscosity approximation method to study the strong convergence problem for a family of nonexpansive mappings in CAT(0) spaces. Under suitable conditions, some strong convergence theorems for the proposed implicit and explicit iterative schemes to converge to a common fixed point of the family of nonexpansive mappings are proved which is also a unique solution of some kind of variational inequalities. The results presented in this paper extend and improve the corresponding results of some others.


A bang-bang control law for digital-processor implementation is presented which directly implements a nonlinear switching surface for sub-time-optimal control of a single-input time-invariant linear plant of arbitrarily high order with unbalanced control levels. The control law requires a complete state vector and must usually be used with a state estimator or observer. Results are presented for attitude control of a space satellite having a single flexible mode with zero damping. The control law is a development of a predictive controller for a plant comprising cascaded pure integrators in which an analogue model of the plant is repeatedly run ahead in time to predict the future plant behaviour under both signs of extreme drive. The sign of real plant drive is determined using sign-change counts in the model runs. Direct digital implementation of this predictive control law results in unequal, and possibly excessive, periods between plant drive updating. These problems are eliminated in the proposed control-law algorithm by computing the number of sign changes direcly, generating the required sign of plant drive by means of a set of equations involving only the state estimate and the assumed plant-drive levels. Rapid determination of the plant drive is facilitated by the presence of only elementary mathematical operations in the algorithm. Application to a linear plant other than cascaded integrators is facilitated by generating the real-time plant model of the state estimator by transforming the plant state equation to the companion form, ensuring stable control in the neighbourhood of the state origin. In fact, no instabilities have been noted in simulations carried out to date, even for starting points relatively far removed from the origin of the state space.


We present a system for treatment by controlled motion after repair of flexor tendons in the hand. This Washington regimen incorporates both controlled active extension against passive flexion by rubber band and the use of controlled passive extension and flexion. We utilise the Brooke Army Hospital modification of the rubber band passive flexion splint; this provides for maximal excursion of the tendon with full passive flexion of the finger. The 66 patients (78 fingers) who form the basis of this study all sustained complete laceration of the flexor profundus and superficialis tendons in "no man's land". Results were evaluated by the Strickland formula of total active motion (TAM) of the proximal and distal interphalangeal joints. Sixty-two fingers (80%) were rated "excellent", 14 fingers (18%) were "good", two fingers (2%) were "fair", none was rated "poor". Our regimen of controlled motion rehabilitation has also been applied with equal success to cases of flexor tendon grafting.


None of Shakespeare's plays is so persistently and thoroughly misunderstood as Henry V, and one is tempted to think that there is no play which is more important to understand . . . Shakespeare can scarcely have intended that force of preconception should, hundreds of years after his death, still be preventing the careful, the learned, and the sympathetic from seeing what he so definitely put down. The play is ironic: that is, I venture to think, a fact susceptible to detailed proof. Gerald Gould (1919)


This study examines the effect of financial crisis on the level of stock market integration. In particular, we investigated the dynamic movements of two regional stock markets, Northeast Asia and Europe during the period between January 1st, 2000 and December 31st, 2012, with particular attention placed on the global financial crisis (GFC). For this purpose, the paper employs various approaches including DCC-MGARCH, Risk Decomposition, GVAR, and CCOR models to ensure the robustness of empirical findings. The findings of this study are as follows. First, the Northeast Asian stock market remains independent from the European and global stock market movements during the sample period. Second, the European stock market shows an increasing trend of joint integration with Northeast Asian stock market. However, the level of integration is not economically significant. Third, the level of market integration between European and global stock markets had temporally increased during the GFC. However, the level returned to its pre-crisis level in the post-crisis era. The overall empirical evidence suggests that, for either European or global stock market portfolio, constructing a portfolio with Northeast Asian stock market would result in a more efficient portfolio. The results in this paper do not support the view of previous empirical studies which suggested the increased level of integration since the GFC. An increased integration is found to be only unique to the crisis period. In sum, the market integration is a dynamic process, and the financial crisis did not uniformly affect the level of stock market integration.


Purpose: The aim of this study is to validate the relationship between the expression of ICAM-1(CD54), a cell surface glycoprotein, and osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and the role of ICAM-1 in the progression of osteosarcoma (OS) cells. Experimental Design: To compare the gene expression profiles between MSCs and MSCs after osteogenic induction, a microarray analysis was first performed. The differences in expression of specific genes including ICAM-1 were confirmed using western blot and flow cytometry. MSCs were sorted into two groups of cells by CD105+CD44+CD54+ and CD105+C44+CD54- and properties of these cells were compared. Expression of ICAM-1 among tumor cell lines and xenograft OS cells were tested at the protein level. ICAM-1 was stably, constitutively overexpressed in multiple cell types. Differences in osteogenic differentiation potential between normal cell lines and transformed cell lines were studied using alizarin red S staining. Motility, proliferation and invasion as well as the metastatic potential of the transformed and normal cells were evaluated. Results: The initial microarray analysis revealed that ICAM-1 expression was significantly increased in MSCs after osteogenic induction for 15 days (p=0.042). Consistent results were achieved in western blot and flow cytometry analysis. Further microarray analysis between CD105+CD44+CD54+ and CD105+C44+CD54- groups determined that NF-kB signaling pathway was differentially activated. As for OS cells, ICAM-1 is not expressed at high level among OS tumor cell lines and is inconsistently expressed in xenograft OS cells. Enhanced osteogenic differentiation potential was observed in ICAM-1 overexpressing cells. Although there were no major difference in in vitro motility, proliferation or invasion tests, substantially less lung nodules occurred with transformation as compared to the normal control. Conclusions: ICAM-1 is involved in the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells and its down regulation may be involved in the progression of osteosarcoma cells. Citation Format: Yidan Zhang, Sajida Piperdi, Nikolas Zaphiros, Pratistha Koirala, Tingting Ren, Michael Roth, Jonathan Gill, Bang Hoang, David Geller, Rui Yang, Wendong Zhang, Xiuquan Du, Jinghang Zhang, Richard Gorlick. ICAM-1(CD54) is involved in the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells and affects the progression of osteosarcoma cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 920. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-920


Beginning with the mental side and including highlights on tactics and technique, coaching and team management, as well as fitness and nutrition. Based in Kansas City, Kan., the NSCAA is the largest soccer coaches' organization in the world. Since its founding in 1941. it has grown to include more than 30,000 members who coach both genders at all levels of the sport. In addition to a national rankings program for colleges and high schools, NSCAA offers an extensive recognition program that presents nearly 10,000 individual awards every year. It fulfills its mission of coaching education through a nationwide program of clinics and week-long courses, teaching more than 6,000 soccer coaches each year.


With the change in time, the practices of HR also get changed to support the businesses in the highly competitive market like by incorporating the technology in daily workplace activities. Although the incorporation of new techniques and methodologies in HR was very limited in past few decades but after analyzing the benefits in every area, HR department incorporate these into their daily functioning like the use of SHRM, HRIS. HRIS system is an application of technology where big data can be managed, retrieved easily by replacing the heavy filing paper work and gives error free result. In this paper after the deep review of literature, the researcher selected six human factors based on infusion of technology in HR practices and their impact over the productivity. This study is conducted to put some light over the technology benefits in small firms, which are lacking in the previous studies. Maximization of profit, high production, good quality and customer satisfaction are the current requirements of every company and to fulfill these requirements technology plays a vital role. Analysis of the information collected from the sample in this research study clearly revealed that requirements of a company could be fulfilled by choosing some selective HR practices along with the strategic point of view for optimization of productivity. PLS-SEM software is used to calculate the statistical value of variables in precise form to analyze this new combination of technology and HR. So, this paper applying quantitative structural analysis method of PLS software to find out the rationale of the study by supporting the concept of right selection of innovative information system in HR practices based on human factor leads to great result


Amorphous/crystalline silicon heterostructure solar cells have been fabricated by hot wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) on textured p-type substrates. The influence of chemical polish (CP) etching and the post annealing process on the solar cell performance have been studied. The CP treatment leads to a reduction of stress in the i-layer by the slight rounding of the pyramid peaks, therefore improving the deposition coverage and the contact by each layer, which is beneficial for the performance of the solar cells. An optimized etching time of 10–15 s has been obtained. A post annealing process leads to a considerably improved open voltage (Voc), filled factor (FF), and conversion efficiency (η) by restructuring the deposited film and reducing the series resistance. An efficiency of 15.14% is achieved that represents the highest result reported in China for an amorphous/crystalline heterostructure solar cells based on the textured p-type substrates.


In this study, rear-impeller axial flow blood pumps (RIAFBP) were developed to realize a trans-valve axial ventricular assist device (VAD) which consists of the latter blood pump and a polymer monomembrane aortic valve, such as the jellyfish valve. The motor of the RIAFBP is installed in the left ventricle, and its impeller is placed at the aortic valve position. In the prototype RIAFBP, the rotation of the motor is sustained by polyethylene bushings. The RIAFBP has a length of 50 mm and diameter of 19.6 mm. The miniature RIAFBP has the same construction as that of the prototype; however, it employs a ceramic bearing and fin bearing to improve endurance and to reduce blood stagnation. The miniature RIAFBP has a length of 63 mm and diameter of 12 mm. Both RIAFBPs were examined by an in vitro experiment using a 33% glycerin solution. The prototype RIAFBP achieved a maximum pump outflow of 8.5 L/min against a pump head of 100 mm Hg at a rotational speed of 12 000 rpm. The miniature RIAFBP achieved 7 L/min against a pump head of 70 mm Hg at a rotational speed of 21 600 rpm. In conclusion, the miniature RIAFBP has enough pump performance to realize the trans-valve axial VAD.


This paper addresses the design of joint source-channel variable-length codes with maximal free distance for given codeword lengths. While previous design methods are mainly based on bounds on the free distance of the code, the proposed algorithm exploits an exact characterization of the free distance. The code optimization is cast in the framework of mixed-integer linear programming and allows to tackle practical alphabet sizes in reasonable computing time.


Abstract H. Kudō introduced a notion of convergence of a sequence Bn of sub-σ-fields. We emphasize a connection with Mosco-convergence of associated subspaces where E is a separable Banach space with separable dual. This enables us to study the convergence of conditional expectation sequences of random sets and therefore to obtain a new version of the multivalued Fatou lemma.


The prenatal and early postnatal periods are critical stages during which long-term development can be affected. For example, retardation of growth during these periods is closely linked to the occurrence of adult degenerative diseases. Appropriate development of muscle is essential for numerous functions, including movement, posture, thermogenesis, breathing and maintenance of the circulation. Defects in normal muscle development could thus impair any of these functions in the neonate and may also have long-term consequences for the health of the individual. Central to normal muscle structure and function is the appropriate development not only of the sarcomeric proteins but also of the sarcolemma, transverse-tubules, sarcoplasmic reticulum and associated membrane-bound ATPases. Long-term regulation of these ATPases is by changes in their concentration, whereas short-term regulation is mediated by alterations in enzyme activity. This review focuses on changes in total concentrations of Na+, K+, and Ca(2+)-ATPases during prenatal and postnatal life, in functionally diverse muscles of mammalian species born at different stages of maturity. Both these cation pumps belong to multigene families and changes in relative abundance of their specific isoforms are also considered because they may have important consequences for contractile performance during distinct stages of development. Finally, potential regulatory mechanisms which alter markedly during normal ontogeny are discussed. These include intrinsic factors such as hormones and contractile activity, extrinsic factors such as nutrition and environmental temperature, and interactions between these variables which are known to be especially important during postnatal development.


We show that any matrix product state (MPS) can be exactly represented by a recurrent neural network (RNN) with a linear memory update. We generalize this RNN architecture to 2D lattices using a multilinear memory update. It supports perfect sampling and wave function evaluation in polynomial time, and can represent an area law of entanglement entropy. Numerical evidence shows that it can encode the wave function using a bond dimension lower by orders of magnitude when compared to MPS, with an accuracy that can be systematically improved by increasing the bond dimension.


This paper investigated how doctors in remote rural hospitals in South Africa use computer-mediated tool to communicate with experienced and specialist doctors for professional advice to improve on their clinical practices. A case study approach was used. Ten doctors were purposively selected from ten hospitals in the North West Province. Data was collected using semi-structured open ended interview questions. The interviewees were asked to tell in their own words the average number of patients served per week, processes used in consultation with other doctors, communication practices using computer-mediated tool, transmission speed of the computer-mediated tool and satisfaction in using the computer-mediated communication tool. The findings revealed that an average of 15 consultations per doctor to a specialist doctor per week was done through face to face or through telephone conversation instead of using a computer-mediated tool. Participants cited reasons for not using computer-mediated tool for communication due to slow transmission speed of the Internet and regular down turn of the Internet connectivity, constant electricity power outages and lack of e-health application software to support real time computer-mediated communication. The results led to the recommendation of a hybrid cloud computing architecture for improving communication between doctors in hospitals.


In contrast to space-partitioning index structures, data-partitioning index structures naturally adapt to the actual data distribution which results in a very good query response behavior. Besides efficient query processing, modern database applications including computer-aided design, medical imaging, or molecular biology require fully-fledged database management systems in order to guarantee industrial-strength. In this paper, we show how we can achieve efficient query processing on data-partitioning index structures within general purpose database systems. We reduce the navigational index traversal cost by using "extended index range scans". If a directory node is "largely" covered by the actual query, the recursive tree traversal for this node can beneficially be replaced by a scan on the leaf level of the index instead of navigating through the directory any longer. On the other hand, for highly selective queries, the index is used as usual. In this paper, we demonstrate the benefits of this idea for spatial collision queries on the relational R-tree. Our experiments with an Oracle9i database system show that our new approach outperforms common index structures and the sequential scan considerably.


Frequently unrecognised, PAD is associated with reduced quality of life and an increased mortality rate because of a greater propensity for fatal ischaemic events. PAD commonly coexists with coronary and cerebrovascular disease and is associated with poorer outcomes in such patients. The Edinburgh Claudication Questionnaire (ECQ) and the ankle–brachial index (ABI) are screening methods to identify the presence of PAD. This study used these methods to estimate the rate of previously undiagnosed PAD and to validate the ECQ against ABI in a Canadian outpatient population with manifest cerebrovascular or coronary disease.


It is commonly assumed that natural selection imposed by predators is the prevailing force driving the evolution of aposematic traits. Here, we demonstrate that aposematic signals are shaped by sexual selection as well. We evaluated sexual selection for coloration brightness in populations of the poison frog Oophaga [Dendrobates] pumilio in Panama's Bocas del Toro archipelago. We assessed female preferences for brighter males by manipulating the perceived brightness of spectrally matched males in two-way choice experiments. We found strong female preferences for bright males in two island populations and weaker or ambiguous preferences in females from mainland populations. Spectral reflectance measurements, coupled with an O. pumilio-specific visual processing model, showed that O. pumilio coloration was significantly brighter in island than in mainland morphs. In one of the island populations (Isla Solarte), males were significantly more brightly colored than females. Taken together, these results provide evidence for directional sexual selection on aposematic coloration and document sexual dimorphism in vertebrate warning coloration. Although aposematic signals have long been upheld as exemplars of natural selection, our results show that sexual selection should not be ignored in studies of aposematic evolution.