The problem in this study was the lack of ability to appreciate the art works on PGSD FKIP-UR students that could be seen from the ability to distinguish works of craft and art works. The students had low ability to explain the function and meaning of craft objects in public life in accordance with the local culture. They had also lack of awards both morally and materially to the creation of creative crafts. They had lack of ability in the understanding of concepts, reasoning, and problem solving art crafts. Based on the problems it was necessary to find away to solve those problems. The teaching methods were needed to be changed. In this study, the researcher applied local wisdom approach. This research was conducted in two cycles, in which each cycle consisted of two meetings. The application of local wisdom approach involved a conscious effort to engage students actively and creatively. Subjects in this study were fourth semester PGSD FKIP-UR students. Research data collection instruments consisted of observation activity sheets and sheets of faculty and students to replay the end of the test cycle. The study was a classroom action research (CAR). This study aimed to increase art appreciation fourth semester PGSD FKIP-UR students. The results of this study indicated that the application of local wisdom approach improved PGSD FKIP-UR students' art appreciation, with the average value of the initial score 58,41into 84,75 in the second cycle. The average value of faculty activity sheet also increased from an average score 68,15 into 94.75. Students' activities also increased from an average score 63,24% in the first cycle to 89.80%. Thus, the research hypothesis, if applying local wisdom approach, the ability of PGSD FKIP-UR students to approach art appreciation increased, was proven.


Background: The pathogenesis of lacunar infarcts is still incompletely established. Data from the literature suggest that vascular risk factors differ among patients with multiple (MLI) and single lacunar infarcts (SLI). We reexamined this hypothesis using stricter inclusion criteria and a less selected study population. Methods: We evaluated 136 patients consecutively admitted for first-ever minor stroke to a general hospital with the characteristics of a community hospital. Vascular risk factors were studied by univariate and multivariate statistical analyses among the following subgroups of patients, classified according to CT findings: (a) with lacunar infarct; (b) with nonlacunar infarct (NLI); (c) with SLI; (d) with MLI; (e) with single, either lacunar or nonlacunar, infarct. Results: No significant difference was observed between patients with lacunar infarcts and patients with NLI. Compared to patients with SLI or NLI, patients with MLI had significantly more often a family history of hypertension, cardiomegaly on the chest radiograph and CT leukoaraiosis as well as a higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure on admission. Logistic regression analysis selected CT leukoaraiosis, Rx cardiomegaly and admission diastolic blood pressure as independent, significant predictors of MLI. Conclusion: In patients with first-ever minor stroke, the risk factor profile differs according to the evidence of SLI or MLI on the CT scan. In terms of risk factors, patients with SLI seem more similar to those with NLI than those with MLI. Based on the predicting effect of variables linked with type and severity of arterial hypertension, the CT appearance of MLI might express a more univocal and specific cerebrovascular pathology (hypertensive arteriolosclerosis).


In this work we introduce a new optimisation method called SAGA in the spirit of SAG, SDCA, MISO and SVRG, a set of recently proposed incremental gradient algorithms with fast linear convergence rates. SAGA improves on the theory behind SAG and SVRG, with better theoretical convergence rates, and has support for composite objectives where a proximal operator is used on the regulariser. Unlike SDCA, SAGA supports non-strongly convex problems directly, and is adaptive to any inherent strong convexity of the problem. We give experimental results showing the effectiveness of our method.


We describe PSR J1926−0652, a pulsar recently discovered with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). Using sensitive single-pulse detections from FAST and long-term timing observations from the Parkes 64 m radio telescope, we probed phenomena on both long and short timescales. The FAST observations covered a wide frequency range from 270 to 800 MHz, enabling individual pulses to be studied in detail. The pulsar exhibits at least four profile components, short-term nulling lasting from 4 to 450 pulses, complex subpulse drifting behaviors and intermittency on scales of tens of minutes. While the average band spacing P3 is relatively constant across different bursts and components, significant variations in the separation of adjacent bands are seen, especially near the beginning and end of a burst. Band shapes and slopes are quite variable, especially for the trailing components and for the shorter bursts. We show that for each burst the last detectable pulse prior to emission ceasing has different properties compared to other pulses. These complexities pose challenges for the classic carousel-type models.


Abstract Colibacillosis in poultry is relating with the colonisation with so called Avian Pathogen E. coli (APEC) strains. It is already known that usually in the APEC isolates are present at least 13 virulence-associated genes. We selected 12 non-repetitive E. coli isolates from different Romanian poultry outbreaks. Isolates have been evaluated for the presence of the virulence-associated genes, iroN and iucC. The DNA extraction was made using QIAamp cador Pathogen Mini Kit (Qiagen). The amplification protocol was: a cycle of denaturation at 94°C for 5 min followed by 35 cycles of 94°C for 30 s, 63°C for 45 s and 72°C for 105 s, and a cycle of 72°C for 7 min. Both virulence-associated genes were identified in 83.33% (11/12) isolates. In two APEC isolates, only one gene was identified, iroN or iucC, respectively. According to these preliminary results it could be assumed that iroN and iucC genes are independently expressing their virulence.


Cisplatin is one of the most widely used anti-cancer drugs that can effectively inhibit the growth of multiple types of cancer. However, its clinical application is limited by its severe side effects, especially kidney toxicity, caused by cisplatin-induced oxidative stress, inflammation and kidney cell apoptosis. Here, we found that moderate (a few hundred mT) quasi-uniform static magnetic fields (SMFs) could inhibit cisplatin-induced renal proximal tubular cell death, especially the vertically downward direction SMF. RNA-seq experiments demonstrate that SMFs induced differential gene expressions that are closely associated with oxidative stress, apoptosis, cytokine production, transmembrane transport and DNA repair. In vivo experiments show that SMFs can reduce cisplatin-induced kidney injury in cisplatin-administrated tumor-bearing mice by reducing oxidative stress, inflammation and cell apoptosis. Furthermore, high-dose cisplatin-induced acute nephrotoxicity can be effectively alleviated by SMF treatment of as little as one day, which significantly reduced the reactive oxygen species levels in kidneys and prolonged the mice's survival. Moreover, the concentration of cisplatin in the kidney was significantly attenuated in SMF-treated mice. Therefore, our study demonstrates the effects of moderate SMFs as a novel physical method to reduce oxidative stress, and revealed their future potential to be used against cisplatin-induced kidney toxicity in cancer treatment.


We develop simple procedures to test for omitted variables and perform other tests in regression directions, which are asymptotically valid in the presence of heteroskedasticity of unknown form. We examine the asymptotic behaviour of these tests, and use Edgeworth approximations to study their approximate finite-sample performance. We also present results from several Monte Carlo experiments, which suggest that one family of these tests should always be used in preference to the other.(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)


Embedded boundary methods for CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simplify a number of issues. These range from meshing the fluid domain, to designing and implementing Eulerian‐based algorithms for fluid–structure applications featuring large structural motions and/or deformations. Unfortunately, embedded boundary methods also complicate other issues such as the treatment of the wall boundary conditions in general, and fluid–structure transmission conditions in particular. This paper focuses on this aspect of the problem in the context of compressible flows, the finite volume method for the fluid, and the finite element method for the structure. First, it presents a numerical method for treating simultaneously the fluid pressure and velocity conditions on static and dynamic embedded interfaces. This method is based on the exact solution of local, one‐dimensional, fluid–structure Riemann problems. Next, it describes two consistent and conservative approaches for computing the flow‐induced loads on rigid and flexible embedded structures. The first approach reconstructs the interfaces within the CFD solver. The second one represents them as zero level sets, and works instead with surrogate fluid/structure interfaces. For example, the surrogate interfaces obtained simply by joining contiguous segments of the boundary surfaces of the fluid control volumes that are the closest to the zero level sets are explored in this work. All numerical algorithms presented in this paper are applicable with any embedding CFD mesh, whether it is structured or unstructured. Their performance is illustrated by their application to the solution of three‐dimensional fluid–structure interaction problems associated with the fields of aeronautics and underwater implosion. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


In this paper we report a case of malignant lymphoma with neoplastic angioendotheliosis in the brain. A 44-year-old man with transient episodes of deafness, hypersomnia, and anorexia over a 5-month period acutely deteriorated. He presented with low grade fever, dementia, frontal lobe signs, general hyperreflexia, muscle weakness of the extremities, and ataxia. He did not have hepatosplenomegaly, lymph node swelling, or skin eruptions. On the 15th day after admission to the hospital he developed convulsions and died. Post-mortem examination revealed multiple infarcts in the central nervous system, especially in the bilateral cerebral white matter and basal ganglia, where mononuclear tumor cells were widespread within the lumens of small blood vessels, accompanied by lymphocytic infiltration and degenerative and occulsive changes of the vessels. Intravascularly in many visceral organs and in the adrenal glands, both intra- and extravascularly, proliferation of tumor cells was observed. Furthermore, a small nest of malignant lymphoma of diffuse mixed cell type was found in a para-aortic lymph node, and the lymphoma cells were identical to tumor cells observed in the brain and other organs.


Leukemia is broadly divided into acute and chronic lymphocytic and myeloid types based on the proportion of blasts, morphology of cells, and expression of specific antigens on neoplastic cells. Classifying leukemia in horses can be challenging if blasts predominate and since few antibodies to identify cell types are available. The objective of this study was to describe in detail the clinical and pathologic features of acute leukemia in horses. Twelve horses ranging from 0.2 to 25.9 years of age were diagnosed with acute leukemia. Six cases were classified as acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) based on predominance of blasts, lack of granulocytic or monocytic differentiation, and detection of CD3, CD20, and/or CD79a antigens by immunohistochemistry. Six other cases were classified as acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with myelomonocytic (n = 4), basophilic (n = 1), and eosinophilic (n = 1) differentiation based on > 20% bone marrow blasts and partial leukocytic differentiation. Reactivity with antibodies to Iba-1/AIF-1, CD172a, and CD163 was determined for all cases of AML. Eleven horses had thrombocytopenia, 10 had neutropenia, 8 had anemia, all had blasts on blood films, and none had leukocytosis. Ten horses had increased serum acute phase proteins. Bone marrow cellularity ranged from 30% to 100%, and the proportion of blasts ranged from 80% to 100% and 30% to 60% in ALL and AML, respectively. Horses were severely ill at diagnosis and euthanized within days or weeks. Unique features of acute leukemia in horses compared to other species were variable lymphocyte antigen expression (ALL) and frequent inflammation (ALL and AML).


The establishment of protected areas is often preceded by tensions and intense discussions between stakeholders of differing interests. Governmental bodies, environmental conservation groups and local actors, such as farmers or locals involved in tourism, are either in favour of or in opposition to the designation of protected areas in their home regions. Using two protected areas in the Eastern Austrian Alps as cases in point, the present study combines the methods of oral history and archival research to trace these timelines of tension and to identify the actors involved and the issues debated on the way to designation. Our results reveal the complex nature of both cases shaped by a variety of actors from the public, non-profit (or voluntary) and private sectors. After up to 30 years of discussions, both protected areas now seem to be accepted by large parts of the local population and are even well-integrated in the regional agrarian and touristic setting. To shorten these "timelines of tension" in future conservation projects, communication measures and strategies could clearly be improved and past experiences of protected area designations made available to present policy makers of the Alpine region. In this way, new protected areas could be established without undue tensions and pave the way for sustainable development in sensitive environments of the European Alps.


Rats were injected intramuscularly with 5-HT or LSD and intravenously with 5-HT, LSD, BOL or equimolar concentrations of 5-HT + LSD or 5-HT + BOL. Appropriate saline controls were included. They were then exposed to a standard amount of Noble-Collip trauma. Animals receiving 5-HT i.m. showed a significant multiphasic mortality curve after trauma depending on dose of drug. With small doses, mortality significantly exceeded controls, but fell to a value near controls as dose increased until a critical level was reached at which point mortality again rose considerably above controls. When rats received 5-HT, LSD or BOL intravenously in the doses used, no significant differences from control were seen following trauma. Thus, a difference in mortality from trauma is seen based on route of administration of 5-HT and LSD. When an equimolar combination of 5-HT + LSD was given i.v., a significant increase in mortality following trauma over rats receiving either 5-HT + BOL or saline was noted.


A B S T R A C T For about three decades, it has not been possible to completely balance global carbon emissions into known pools. A residual (or 'missing') sink remains. Here evidence is presented that part of soil respiration is allocated into an internal soil CO2-sink localized to the saprophytic subsystem (roots excluded). The process occurs in forest, agricultural and grassland soils and is favoured by high N-deposition. Chemoautotrophic nitrification has a key role, and the most efficient internal CO2-sequestration occurs concurrently with lowest soil nitrate (NO3−) concentrations, despite considerable N-loading. Not until drastic N-supply occurs, does the CO2-sink successively breakdown, and nitrate concentrations increase, leading to NO3−-leaching. Within-soil CO2-uptake seems to be of the same magnitude as the missing carbon sink. It may be gradually enforced by the ongoing input of nitrogen to the biosphere.


Lion's mane jellyfish stings are usually characterised by local inflammation, especially weals. Systemic symptoms are not widely described although there is a well known fictional description of a fatal reaction to envenoming. We describe five divers presenting with suspected decompression sickness, where the probable diagnosis was jellyfish envenoming.


Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is becoming common in the United States and throughout the world and can progress to cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and death. There is a strong association between coronary artery disease and NAFLD due to common risk factors, such as metabolic syndrome, obesity, and diabetes mellitus. Subclinical atherosclerosis, defined as coronary artery calcification in asymptomatic patients, has been shown to have a higher incidence in patients with NAFLD. We performed a meta‐analysis to examine the association of NAFLD with subclinical atherosclerosis measured by coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring. Data were extracted from 12 studies selected using a predefined search strategy. NAFLD was diagnosed by abdominal ultrasound or computed tomography scans. The rate of coronary artery calcification was analyzed using random effects models, and publication bias was assessed using Egger's regression test. A total of 42,410 subjects were assessed, including 16,883 patients with NAFLD. Mean CAC score was significantly higher in subjects with NAFLD compared to those without NAFLD (odds ratio with random effects model, 1.64; 95% confidence inteval, 1.42‐1.89). This association remained significant through subgroup analyses for studies with >1,000 subjects and a higher CAC score cutoff of >100. Higher aspartate aminotransferase levels were also associated with increased subclinical atherosclerosis (mean difference 1.77; 95% confidence interval, 1.19‐2.34). Conclusion: There is an increased prevalence of subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with NAFLD, where subclinical atherosclerosis is defined using a "real world" clinical biomarker, namely the CAC score. Prospective studies are needed to establish a causative link between NAFLD and coronary artery disease. (Hepatology Communications 2018; 00:000‐000)


In order to implement business process reengineering successfully, organizations find that they need to combine a variety of change initiatives. Yet, most of the empirical literature dwells on a single change initiative. Integrating multiple change initiatives requires a structural learning mechanism. The learning mechanism is created to lead, design, and implement the overall change effort. This paper reports on BPR at Blue Shield of California. The theoretical implications of system‐wide transformation and learning mechanisms ‐ based on the integration of BPR with other change initiatives ‐ within the rapidly changing health care competitive context are discussed.


The operative treatment of unstable fractures of the pelvic ring has gained upon the conservative treatment during the last years. The anatomical reconstruction and the stability of the bony structures allow a rapid postoperative mobilization and avoid the complications due to a difficult nursing and a long-time bedrest. The operative management could significantly diminish the mortality and morbidity in multitraumatized patients. The most recent classification of fractures of the pelvic ring pays great attention to the trauma mechanism and the degree of instability. Also in diagnostic procedures the surgeon pays attention to the stability of the dorsal pelvic ring. The value of CT-images is greater than the conventional roentgenograms in evaluating fracture form, dislocation and instability. A primary operative treatment is only necessary in certain emergency situations. All other operations can be carried out secondarily on the stable and well prepared patient. The external fixation is a simple procedure in emergency situations. In secondary operations we have the choice between the plate osteosynthesis on the ventral pelvic ring and a plate osteosynthesis or a transarticular arthrodesis on the dorsal pelvic ring. 53 of 62 patients with unstable fractures of the pelvic ring were operated upon in the Department of Traumatology of the University Clinic of Essen. The postoperative complications are reviewed and discussed. The invalidity in patients with fractures of the pelvic ring is more dependent on the lesions of the intra- or extrapelvic structures accompanying the fractures, than on the fractures themselves.


Background and objective: Epidural analgesia is widely used for abdominal surgery due to the properties of 'stress-free' anaesthesia and superior pain control. Nevertheless, sympathomimetics are known to antagonize inflammation. The present study was performed to investigate if epidural local anaesthetics caused increased local oedema formation. Methods: Thirty Dansk Landrace pigs were randomized into three groups: epidural bupivacaine, epidural morphine or intravenous (i.v.) fentanyl. All animals were anaesthetized with isoflurane and i.v. midazolam and received an identical fluid regimen. Six small bowel resections were performed over a 3-h period and during the following 3 h the anastomoses were resected. Primary end-points were water content in small bowel and mesentery samples before and after gut anastomosis, lymph flow and urine production. Results: The water content in the small bowel samples was not changed by surgery or by the different anaesthetic protocols. In the mesenteric tissue, there was a highly significant increase in water content of the post-anastomotic samples compared to pre-anastomotic samples (P < 0.001) and a significant time treatment interaction was revealed (P < 0.05) suggesting an increase in oedema formation in the epidural local anaesthetic group. Lymph flow did not change during the experiments and there were no significant differences between the groups (P = 0.80). The mean total urine output was 44% higher in the epidural morphine group compared to the local anaesthetic group (P = 0.17). Conclusions: Surgery did not increase gut wall water content, but acute oedema formation resulted in the peri-resectional mesenterial tissue, more prominently so in the bupivacaine group.


Two recent nonlinear theories of thermoelasticity, developed by Green and Naghdi, are examined. It is shown that in type II theory, second sound is permissible and both mechanical and temperature waves may propagate. In type III theory we show that the situation is more analogous to that in classical nonlinear thermoelasticity: one wave propagates and a homothermal temperature wave is allowed.


We show that nonlinear wave trapping plays a significant role in both the generation of whistler-mode chorus emissions and the acceleration of radiation belt electrons to relativistic energies. We have performed particle simulations that successfully reproduce the generation of chorus emissions with rising tones. During this generation process we find that a fraction of resonant electrons are energized very efficiently by special forms of nonlinear wave trapping called relativistic turning acceleration (RTA) and ultra-relativistic acceleration (URA). Particle energization by nonlinear wave trapping is a universal acceleration mechanism that can be effective in space and cosmic plasmas that contain a magnetic mirror geometry.


The interaction of nonlinear Schrödinger solitons with extended inhomogeneities, modeled by potential wells with different shapes, is investigated numerically. For fixed initial velocities below the transmission threshold, the scattering pattern as a function of the width of the well exhibits periodically repeating regions of trapping, transmission, and reflection. The observed effects are associated with excitation and a following resonant deexcitation (in the cases of escape) of shape oscillations of the solitons at the well boundaries. The analysis of the oscillations indicates that they are due to interference of the solitons with emitted dispersive waves.


The main objective of this study is to develop a dual approach for geometrically nonlinear finite element analysis of plane truss structures. The geometric nonlinearity is considered using the Total Lagrangian formulation. The nonlinear solution is obtained by introducing and minimizing an objective function subjected to displacement-type constraints. The proposed method can fully trace the whole equilibrium path of geometrically nonlinear plane truss structures not only before the limit point but also after it. No stiffness matrix is used in the main approach and the solution is acquired only based on the direct classical stress-strain formulations. As a result, produced errors caused by linearization and approximation of the main equilibrium equation will be eliminated. The suggested algorithm can predict both pre- and post-buckling behavior of the steel plane truss structures as well as any arbitrary point of equilibrium path. In addition, an equilibrium path with multiple limit points and snap-back phenomenon can be followed in this approach. To demonstrate the accuracy, efficiency and robustness of the proposed procedure, numerical results of the suggested approach are compared with theoretical solution, modified arc-length method, and those of reported in the literature.


ABSTRACT A growing body of research shows that private tutoring is a globally pervasive phenomenon. A common way in which tutoring provisions are defined is with the use of the metaphor "shadow education", signifying that tutoring centres "shadow" formal schools. Despite the popularity of this metaphor in the field, how "shadowing" occurs as a process and what implications this process has for formal schooling and society have seldom been put through empirical scrutiny. To redress this gap in the literature, this article draws on the data produced through an ethnography of schooling in Dehradun (India) between 2014–15. The discussion on specific ways in which the institutional arrangement of private tutoring aligns with that of formal schooling reveals the socio-educational embeddedness of private tutoring within the mainstream schooling experience in India. The article argues that "shadowing" is not a neutral process, it is executed tactically and strategically with an aim to provide private tutoring a valued, legitimised, and competitive space in an increasingly marketised education sector. Importantly, this analysis of "shadowing" exposes problematic practices within formal schooling and suggests that by mirroring these practices in its structure, private tutoring reproduces social inequality. The insights into understanding the "shadowing process" that this article offers may be of value to the analysis of the organisational arrangements of tutoring businesses within India and in other societies. Through demonstrating that tutoring is part of everyday schooling, this article makes a case for recognising it as integral to mainstream education in India.


Abstract : DOD does not have reasonable assurance that Selected Reserve members are informed about TRS. A 2007 policy designated the reserve components as having responsibility for providing information about TRS to Selected Reserve members on an annual basis; however, officials from three of the seven components told GAO that they were unaware of this policy. Additionally, only one of the reserve components had a designated official at the headquarters level acting as a central point of contact for TRICARE education, including TRS. Without centralized responsibility for TRS education, the reserve components cannot ensure that all eligible Selected Reserve members are receiving information about the TRS program. Compounding this, the managed care support contractors that manage civilian health care are limited in their ability to educate all reserve component units in their regions as required by their contracts because they do not have access to comprehensive information about these units, and some units choose not to use the contractors to help educate their members about TRS. Nonetheless, DOD officials stated that they were satisfied with the contractors' efforts to educate units upon request and to conduct outreach. Lastly, it is difficult to determine whether Selected Reserve members are knowledgeable about TRS because the results of two DOD surveys that gauged members' awareness of the program may not be representative because of low response rates.


This paper describes the design of a multi input multi output (MIMO) non-linear Model Reference Adaptive controller (MRAC) system for the digital servo motor. The complete design is developed determining the rate of gradient adaptation to MRAC in this paper. The MIT rule is used in the original MRAC. The main goal is to follow the desired position set as square wave. The important role of computer aided- design tools is illustrated using MATLAB and associated toolboxes. The control algorithm is implemented using a Pentium computer running the lab-tech notebook control program. The adaptive controlled system satisfactorily controls set point changes in velocity and position.


Flaxseed is mainly considered as oilseed crop. Moreover, the other nutritional parameters than its oil content, make it more favorable choice for food technologist to develop functional foods. Flaxseed contains good amount of α-Linolenic Acid (ALA), a omega-3 fatty acid, protein, dietary fiber, lignan, specifically Secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG). Several studies reveal that these components work well for nutritional benefit in human being. ALA is beneficial for infant brain development, reducing blood lipids and cardiovascular diseases. Flaxseed proteins are relatively high in arginine, aspartic acid and glutamic acid whereas lysine, methionine and cystine are limiting amino acid. Flaxseed dietary fiber exhibits positive effect to reduce constipation, to keep better bowel movement and as hypocholestermic agent. SDG have antioxidant activity and free oxygen radical scavenging activity. Consequently, it may have anticancer property. At some extent, SDG helps in bone development. Cyanogenic glycosides and linatine are antinutrients in flaxseed. As compared to soyabean and canola, flaxseed antinutrient effect on human health is very less. Researchers reported that flaxseed incorporated food products can have good consumer acceptability along with its nutritional benefits.


The value of modern techniques of respiratory care for patients with acute respiratory failure in specialized intensive care units has been documented. Unfortunately, many patients needing this type of care are located far from such resources and require transportation over large distances. This paper describes a modified bird Mark 14 ventilator and a Linde liquid oxygen attachment used successfully in the air and ground transport of 84 patients over a five-year period.


A highly loaded transonic centrifugal compressor is aerodynamically designed and numerically investigated. The objectives are to improve the compressor efficiency by using tandem impeller configuration and 3D free-formed blade design concepts. This approach has the potential to control both the transonic and distorted flows within impeller passages. The results suggest that employing the tandem impeller configuration can significantly improve the compressor efficiency by 1.4%. The efficiency gain is mainly contributed by the improved uniformity of the impeller discharge flow achieved when the newly generated inducer-shed vortices rearrange the secondary flow pattern. In addition, the location of the impeller passage shock moves downstream due to the potential effect within the tandem impeller and locally changes the back pressure of the inducer. These factors mitigate flow losses in the impeller and diffuser. Furthermore, the 3D design concepts of forward blade sweep and negative lean are employed in the tandem impeller configuration. The forward sweep design of the inducer weakens flow acceleration before the passage shock, and the negative lean design optimizes the secondary flow pattern, which yield an additional compressor efficiency improvement of 0.7%. The study conducted in this paper provides a valuable reference for future advanced transonic centrifugal compressor designs.


Records Continuum research is increasingly engaging with critical and participatory archiving and recordkeeping approaches to research and practice, "questioning the social constructs, values and power differentials embedded in current frameworks, processes, systems and technologies, exploring archival and recordkeeping agency, autonomy and activism, and moving beyond insight and critique with the aim of bringing about transformative outcomes."[1] In this paper, we explore the characteristics of these approaches with reference to an illustrative case, and the Records Continuum, theory, models and constructs which complement, frame and support critical archiving and recordkeeping theorizing and practice. [1] Sue McKemmish, "Recordkeeping in the Continuum: An Australian Tradition." In Research in the Archival Multiverse edited by Anne Gilliland, Sue McKemmish and Andrew Lau. Melbourne: Monash Publishing, 2016.


Background: The recently published short version of the Maastricht Utrecht Adherence in Hypertension (MUAH) questionnaire (MUAH-16) suggests that MUAH-16 better represents a patient's adherence to antihypertensive medication than the original MUAH questionnaire. Objective: The aim of our study was the cultural adaptation and validation of the short MUAH-16 questionnaire in the Greek population. Methods: 10 patients were involved in the process of translation and cultural adaptation of MUAH-16, providing feedback on the final version, which was then administered to 100 patients. All patients received at least one antihypertensive drug during the last three months and were followed in the Hypertension-24h ABPM ESH Center of Excellence, Outpatient Clinic for the Treatment of Hypertension in the 3rd Internal Medicine Department of Papageorgiou General Hospital of Thessaloniki. Results: A factor analysis revealed a similar internal structure with four subscales that closely resembled the subscales in the original version of the questionnaire. Internal reliability indexes are equal or better than those of the original subscale structure. Conclusions: The Greek translation of the MUAH-16 is a good match for the original version with small, cultural differences. More research is needed in order to validate the proposed revised internal structure with a larger sample.


BACKGROUND
Sphingolipids (SPs) are ubiquitous, structurally diverse molecules that include ceramides, sphingomyelins, and sphingosines. They are involved in various pathologies including obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Therefore, it is likely that perturbations in plasma concentrations of SPs are associated with disease. Identifying these associations may reveal useful biomarkers or provide insight into disease processes.

METHODS
We performed a lipidomics evaluation of molecularly-distinct SPs in the plasma of 2,302 ethnically-Chinese Singaporeans using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry coupled with liquid chromatography. SP profiles were compared to clinical and biochemical characteristics, and subjects were evaluated by follow-up visits for 11 years.

RESULTS
We found that ceramides correlate positively but hexosylceramides correlate negatively with body mass index (BMI) and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Furthermore, SPs with a d16:1 sphingoid backbone correlate more positively with BMI and HOMA-IR, while d18:2 SPs correlate less positively, relative to canonical d18:1 SPs. We also found that higher concentrations of two distinct sphingomyelins were associated with a higher risk of T2DM (HR 1.45, 95% CI 1.18-1.78 for SM d16:1/C18:0; and HR 1.40, 95% CI 1.17-1.68 for SM d18:1/C18:0).

CONCLUSION
We identified significant associations between SPs and obesity/T2DM characteristics, specifically, that of hexosylceramides, d16:1 SPs, and d18:2 SPs. This suggests that the balance of SP metabolism, rather than ceramide accumulation, is associated with the pathology of obesity. We further identified two specific SPs that may represent prognostic biomarkers for T2DM.

FUNDING
Funding sources are listed in the Acknowledgements section.


DOE LABSCongress has voted to cut the budget of a special fund controlled by the directors of the Department of Energy's national laboratories, slashing the amount available for hiring young scientists and funding high-risk research. Four national labs, including the three nuclear weapons centers, have been hit especially hard by the reductions, which lab officials hope to reverse next year. Lawmakers say that some of the money has been mismanaged in the past and that the cuts are needed to keep the labs focused on priorities determined by Congress.


The demand for smart grid and smart home applications has raised the recent interest in power line communication (PLC) technologies, and has driven a broad set of deep surveys in low-voltage (LV) power line channels. This book proposes a set of novel approaches, to characterize and to emulate LV power line channels in the frequency range from0.15to 10 MHz, which closes gaps between the traditional narrowband (up to 500 kHz) and broadband (above1.8 MHz) ranges.


We report on realization of channel plasmon-polariton (CPP) propagation along a subwavelength metal groove. Using imaging with a near-field microscope and end-fire coupling with a tapered fiber connected to a tunable laser at telecommunication wavelengths (1425-1620 nm), we demonstrate low-loss (propagation length approximately 100 microm) and well-confined (mode width approximately 1.1 microm) CPP guiding along a triangular 0.6 microm-wide and 1 microm-deep groove in gold. We develop a simple model based on the effective-index method that accounts for the main features of CPP guiding and provides a clear physical picture of this phenomenon.


The assessment of intravascular volume status is important in the ICU, since adequate resuscitation is critical for optimizing tissue energy supply, whereas excessive fluid may worsen outcome.1,2 Rather than a single variable, detailed knowledge of a patient's underlying physiology and careful consideration of concomitant organ function must be put together into the whole clinical picture to determine if a patient needs fluid.

One variable that is crucial for determining who needs fluid is whether or not the patient can respond with an increased cardiac output to fluid infusion. While traditionally central venous pressure (CVP) and pulmonary artery occlusion pressure (wedge) have been used by clinicians to determine whether or not to administer fluid, numerous studies3,4 have shown that cardiac filling pressures in isolation are often misleading when used to predict the effects of volume expansion on cardiac output.

There is increasing interest in the use of respiratory variations in vascular pressures (CVP, arterial and wedge pressure) to predict the cardiac output response to a fluid challenge. In patients receiving mechanical ventilation with no spontaneous efforts, continuous monitoring consistently demonstrates an early inspiratory rise in arterial pressure5 ("reversed pulsus paradoxus"6), which is followed during late inspiration and expiration by a decrease in systolic pressure. Perel and Segal5 defined the difference between maximum and minimum arterial systolic pressure during a respiratory cycle as systolic pressure variation. The inspiratory increase in pressure relative to the value at end-expiration was called dUp, and the fall in pressure relative to the end-expiratory value was called dDown. While dUp reflects a direct mechanical effect of positive pressure on the ventricle, dDown is an index of preload reserve. The larger the dDown and pressure variation, the greater the predicted increase in cardiac output with volume loading. Based on similar considerations on the interplay between respiration and stroke volume, other variables such as stroke volume variation (SVV),4 which can be measured by the commercially available PiCCO system (PiCCO plus; Pulsion Medical Systems; Munich, Germany), or aortic blood velocity variation (ABVV)3 have been shown to predict the hemodynamic effects of volume expansion on cardiac output as well. Basically, all of these new techniques (pulse pressure variation [PPV], SVV, ABVV) are predicated on the observation that the magnitude of the cyclic variation in stroke volume depends on whether the patient is operating on the steep or the flat portion of the Frank-Starling curve; that is, whether the heart is preload responsive or not.

While the superiority of respiratory variations of dynamic hemodynamic variables over static indicators in predicting fluid responsiveness has been demonstrated, several physiologic aspects must be considered to avoid misinterpretations. Breathing affects left ventricular (LV) stroke volume by changing independently LV filling and emptying.7–9 Positive pressure in the thorax decreases preload and increases afterload on the right ventricle (RV).10 The accompanied inspiratory decrease in RV stroke volume during positive pressure ventilation decreases subsequent LV preload and stroke volume, usually reaching its nadir during expiration. Conversely, during rapid intrathoracic pressure changes, LV stroke volume usually increases with pleural pressure.9 The early inspiratory increase in LV stroke volume observed during PPV may be the consequence of enhanced pulmonary venous return, increased LV compliance because of decreased RV dimensions, decreased LV afterload, and/or external pressure on the LV.

Aortic elastance is an important variable that directly determines aortic pressure and flow. Elastance of the aorta is curvilinear, so that change in pressure for a change in volume positively correlates with initial aortic volume. Thus, blood that enters at a high initial aortic volume will produce a larger pulse pressure than if it enters at a lower initial volume. Aortic elastance varies with age and disease as does the relationship of stroke volume to pulse pressure.11 For a given cardiac output, stroke volume also varies with heart rate and therefore so will pulse pressure.12

Thus, the relationship of stroke volume to pulse pressure differs widely between and within patients, and this greatly limits quantitative predictions. The variability of pulse pressure responses to a given stimulus should be particularly high in the population of critically ill patients, since several variables that affect stroke volume and aortic elastance (heart rate, chest wall compliance, or treatment with vaso-active drugs) vary considerably between critically ill patients. Notably, the predictive value of variables derived from stroke volume on volume responsiveness is valid only when patients have regular rhythm, do not have any spontaneous inspiratory or expiratory efforts,13–15 and are receiving ventilation with same parameters as used in original studies. Deep sedation and/or neuromuscular blockade are therefore required to avoid spontaneous ventilation-related artifacts.

Nevertheless, data indicate that PPV and aortic blood flow variation are sensitive parameters for qualitative prediction of the response to volume infusion in patients receiving mechanical ventilation.11 In this issue of CHEST (see page 1301), Brennan and coworkers16 compared the correlation between brachial artery velocity variation (BAVV) and radial artery PPV and found that these variables correlate quite well. This observation is of interest because assessment of BAVV is a noninvasive approach, and the authors report that minimal training is required to accomplish reliable BAVV measurements. If it would be possible to develop a device that allows continuous measurement of respiratory changes in brachial artery blood flow, resuscitation with fluid infusions could potentially be guided by using noninvasive techniques.

However, the study of Brennan et al16 has some limitations. Firstly, the authors did not compare BAVV, their proposed measure of volume responsiveness, to a clinically relevant end point such as cardiac output or end-organ perfusion, and did not assess actual response of BAVV to volume challenge. Thus, although the correlation between brachial artery peak velocity variation and PPV is interesting, one could argue that the authors are assessing one surrogate marker for another surrogate. Secondly, the authors took their cutoff point used for comparison (PPV of 13%) from a study of patients with sepsis. However, because pulmonary and vascular compliance affect PPV, the 13% cutoff may not be widely generalizable. Thirdly, Bland-Altman analysis revealed that clinically meaningful variation does exist between BAVV and PPV for individual patients. Thus, whether specific patients would be mismanaged based on BAVV is unclear. Finally, the premise that noninvasive measures are preferable to invasive ones is certainly true; however, patients who require heavy sedation and/or paralysis should probably receive an arterial line. Therefore, the applicability of this noninvasive technique could be questioned.

We should use lessons from the past and not waste the clinical value of "new" parameters by improper use. The pulmonary artery catheter has been used for cardiac output measurement for > 30 years, and a study17 suggests that physicians' knowledge in this area is still inadequate. In addition, the end point volume responsiveness per se is problematic, since such studies fail to identify patients who need fluid as opposed to those who may respond to fluid.

To evaluate if BAVV as a viable method for managing ICU patients, effects of BAVV-guided volume challenges on clinical outcome must be rigorously studied. Brennan et al16 are commended on taking the first step.


The study objective is to describe the available techniques of microscopically controlled surgery for skin cancer with histological control of tumor resection margins (three-dimensional (3D) histology). This approach almost completely eliminates the risk of recurrence and allows preserving healthy tissue. It is a standard treatment for skin cancer in Germany; however, in Russia and other CIS countries, this method is not in use. Materials and methods. We reviewed German standards for skin cancer treatment and currently available research literature on the treatment methods used for skin cancer. Results. Automated subcutaneous tumescent local anesthesia (ATLA). Since ATLA contains a highly diluted (up to 100 times) anesthetic, we can inject a 100-fold larger volume, thus, increasing the anesthetized area. The use of naropin or ropivacaine in ATLA ensures long lasting effect (10 h on average), while the incidence of side effects is two times lower due to mixing of anesthetics and reducing their doses. The anesthetic solution is injected slowly; therefore, the patient has neither pain nor oppressive feeling. Moreover, the sodium chloride solution was replaced by ionosteril, which eliminates burning sensation. Microscopically controlled surgery (MCS). Before excision, the tumor is topographically marked (with indicating the 12 o'clock position) in order to determine the tissues that should be additionally excised after finding a tumor infiltrate in the resection margin. The tumor is excised by circumscribing an ellipse of skin; the scalpel blade should be tilted toward the tumor, making an acute angle with skin surface. The defect is closed by wound closure strips; then a compression bandage is placed over the strips. When the complete removal of tumor infiltrates is histologically confirmed, the wound is sutured or closed with a flap (if necessary). MCS ensures complete removal of the tumor and preservation of healthy tissues, which is particularly important for patients with head and neck cancer. Three-dimensional histology. In the case of small tumor specimens (up to 2 cm), the margins and the basis of the specimen are folded to a one plane by incisions ("Muffin" technique). Larger specimens require the "Tubingen cake" technique: a narrow (2–4 mm) lateral strip is cut vertically around the full perimeter of the tumor border (marginal fragment). Then a narrow section is cut from the bottom of the specimen (basal fragment); the remaining tissue is cut by diameter (medial fragment). The marginal and basal fragments are examined to identify tumor infiltrates, whereas the medial fragment is used for the diagnosis. The 3D-histological examination allows revealing twice as many tumor infiltrates as conventional histology in Germany, tumor recurrence is the lowest in the world. 3D-histology does not require additional labor costs. Defect closure using intracutaneous 3D-sutures for high tension. Absorbable butterfly and double butterfly sutures withstand strong skin tension, which allows avoiding reconstructive surgery with local tissues and skin transplantation and allows avoiding expander using. This improves functional and aesthetic results, reduces the duration of surgery, the incidence of postoperative complications, and treatment costs. Conclusion. MCS, 3D histology, ATLA, and defect closure with intracutaneous 3D-sutures for high tension preserve healthy tissues, reduce the frequency of complications and relapses, improve functional and cosmetic results, and decrease the duration of surgery and treatment costs. This technique has proven its efficacy in Germany; so we recommend its implementation in the Russian Federation and in CIS countries.


Introduction Acute upper gastrointestinal (GI) haemorrhage is rare in paediatric practice but continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality. Guidelines for the management of GI bleeding in children exist but their evidence base is limited and their implementation in the UK is unknown. We aimed to determine the provision for paediatric upper GI bleeding in the UK with regard to access to services and management using a national survey. Methods In August 2013 an electronic survey containing 20 questions was sent to the 18 RCPCH-approved National GRID paediatric gastroenterology training centres who also act as regional referral centres. The questionnaire was completed online by either the departmental clinical or endoscopy lead and results collated by the study centre. Descriptive statistics were used to present results. Results Sixteen centres responded, representing the experience of 65.6 whole-time equivalent (WTE) consultant paediatric gastroenterologists. Half of centres provided out-of-hours cover for GI emergencies in their region, with surgeons providing the majority (69%) of out-of-hours support, often in conjunction with GI specialists (44%), for acute upper GI bleeds. 11/16 centres dealt with <20 endoscopies for upper GI bleeding annually with 3 centres dealing with >40/year. 63% of tertiary centres had a GI haemorrhage protocol available in electronic format (online/shared-drive), but 53% were not aware of a similar protocol in their respective DGHs; only 31% of centres provided 'at-risk' patients with emergency cards/advice. 88% of centres had access to interventional radiology in-hours and 63% out-of-hours. The injection of vasoconstrictors/sclerosants/thrombotic agents and endoclips were available in all but one centre, however only 19% of centres (with between 3–4.6 WTE consultants) stated that all their consultants were competent in managing upper GI bleeds, with the same percentage stating that no consultant was competent in management; very few procedures were carried out by trainees. Only half of centres were undertaking regular case review of paediatric bleeding cases. All respondents were keen to be involved in a detailed review of UK practice. Conclusion Our national survey of tertiary paediatric GI unit experiences' of acute upper GI bleeding demonstrates that a large proportion of centres do not have protocols in place in their own centre or referring units, with most centres performing fewer than 20 therapeutic endoscopic procedures for upper GI bleeding annually. The majority of centres have a small number of consultants competent in upper GI haemorrhage management with limited opportunities for training. There is also limited development of managed clinical networks that would allow more ready access to expert endoscopy provision. Disclosure of Interest None Declared.


In this paper, design and performance analysis of switched reluctance motor(SRM) according to design parameters are researched. The parameters which are senstive to the performance are examined and selected to have good performances. Some effective guide lines to have a good performance motor are suggested. Prototype machines are constructed to compare with the simulated and tested results.


This article attempts to consolidate theorizing about the radicalization of Western homegrown jihadists. Five major models of radicalization are reviewed. The commonalities and discrepancies among these models are identified and analyzed in the context of empirical evidence in the field of terrorism research and social psychology. Three psychological factors emerge as contributors to radicalization: group relative deprivation, identity conflicts, and personality characteristics. Avenues for future research concerning the radicalization of homegrown jihadists are suggested, focusing on research that may not only be practical for counter-terrorism, but also feasible given the challenges of research with radicalized individuals.


Genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity of cancer cells within tumors underlies metastatic progression and therapeutic resistance, thus, it is a major clinical problem. We have characterized intratumor genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity by immunoFISH (iFISH) in primary tumor, lymph node, and distant metastases from the same patient and breast tumor biopsies before and after treatment. We found that distant metastases were highly divergent in some patients and that intratumor diversity associated with tumor subtype and response to treatment. We have also developed preclinical models to assess the functional relevance of intratumor heterogeneity in breast cancer and found cooperative clonal interactions that may promote metastatic progression and contribute to therapeutic resistance. In addition, our analyses of associations between clonal frequency and drivers of tumor growth have revealed some unexpected findings. Our results highlight the importance of exploring and understanding tumors at the single cell level to be able to predict and overcome disease progression and therapeutic resistance.

Citation Format: Kornelia Polyak. Metastasis and diversity in breast cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Invasion and Metastasis; Jan 20-23, 2013; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(3 Suppl):Abstract nr IA1.


In this paper we present a hybrid technique that applies an ant colony optimization algorithm followed by
 simulated annealing local search approach to solving the Multi-Depot Periodic Open Capacitated Arc
 Routing Problem (MDPOCARP). This problem is a new variant of OCARP that has never been studied in
 the literature and consists of determining optimal routes in each period where each route starts from a
 given depot, visits a list of required edges and finishes by the last one. The final edge of the route is not
 required to be a depot. We developed a constructive heuristic, called Nearest Insertion Heuristic (NIH) to
 build an initial solution. The proposed algorithm is evaluated on three different benchmarks sets and
 numerical results show that the proposed approach achieves highly efficient results.


Slim telecommunication cabinet cooler, equipped with parallel flow heat exchangers and operating with R-22, is developed. The performance is compared with imported one, equipped with fin-tube heat exchangers and operating with R-134a. Test results show that the newly-developed cooler increases the cooling capacity by 6% and EER by 33%. The refrigerant charge for the developed cooler is 500g compared with 1250g for the imported one. The adoption of parallel flow heat exchanger appears to have reduced the refrigerant charge. In addition, it is shown that the reduced air flow rates through parallel heat exchangers as compared with those through fin-tube heat exchangers are beneficial to the reduction of the equipment noise.


ested in ( viz., alginates) are given what appears to be a disproportionate amount of space. The book is not balanced from an American point of view but does present a good compilation of most of the fibers which one hears about today. On each fiber a generous amount of general information is given, as well as some highly technical chemical-reaction formulas which most readers can easily skip without impairing the value of the book. The chemical equations, on the other hand, will be of interest to those who are directly interested in the chemical structure of the new synthetics. The author, on occasion, gives his opinions regarding aspects of some of the fibers he describes.


ABSTRACT Lipopolysaccharide from a wbjA mutant, deficient in a putative glycosyltransferase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa serogroup O11, was compared to that from an O-antigen polymerase mutant. Results suggest that WbjA adds the terminal glucose to complete the serogroup O11 O-antigen unit and identifies the biological repeating unit as [-2)-β-D-glucose-(1-3)-α-L-N-acetylfucosamine-(1-3)-β-D-N-acetylfucosamine-(1].


The use of theoretical classes that contextualize physiological concepts, followed by active methodologies has been common practice in our physiology classes.We employed active learning techniques in the medical course that involved physiology contents. We use brainstorming followed by conceptual maps, question-andanswer games, dramas, memory games, puzzle and portfolio creation.The goal of this assignment was to evaluate the active and passive methodologies in our educational context and to present a memory game – as active methodology - to explain the mechanisms of the electrical and chemical synapses.The game consisted of 2 boards and 40 foam pieces. The boards: one meant for electrical synapses and the other for chemical synapses, were divided into two columns to be fitted by the pieces: characteristics and the order of synaptic physiological events. The players were divided into two (n = 10) groups, one (n = 5) for each type of synapse. One player from each team chose two pieces simultaneously andthey were placed on the corresponding board.This procedure was repeated until one of the groups had filled the board with all the pieces related to the physiological characteristics of the synapses and to the sequences of synaptic events.At the end of the activity, it was concluded that learning the synaptic mechanisms through a playful process was more pleasant and fun compared to theoretical classes only and when strategically applied, active learning and passive learning are useful for teaching and for the learning process of medical school students.


Parental burnout is a specific syndrome resulting from enduring exposure to chronic parenting stress. But why do some parents burn out while others, facing the same stressors, do not? The main aim of this paper was to propose a theory of parental burnout capable of predicting who is at risk of burnout, explaining why a particular parent burned out and why at that specific point in time, and providing directions for intervention. The secondary goal was to operationalize this theory in a tool that would be easy to use for both researchers and clinicians. The results of this two-wave longitudinal study conducted on 923 parents suggest that the Balance between Risks and Resources (BR2) theory proposed here is a relevant framework to predict and explain parental burnout. More specifically, the results show that (1) the BR2 instrument reliably measures parents' balance between risks (parental stress-enhancing factors) and resources (parental stress-alleviating factors), (2) there is a strong linear relationship between BR2 score and parental burnout, (3) parental burnout results from a chronic imbalance of risks over resources, (4) BR2 predicts parental burnout better than job burnout and (5) among the risk and resource factors measured in BR2, risks and resources non-specific to parenting (e.g., low stress-management abilities, perfectionism) equally predict parental and job burnout, while risks and resources specific to parenting (e.g., childrearing practices, coparenting) uniquely predict parental burnout.


Speech recognition performance degrades significantly when there is a mismatch between testing and training conditions. Linear transformation-based maximum-likelihood (ML) techniques have been proposed recently to tackle this problem. We extend this approach to use nonlinear transformations. These are implemented by multilayer perceptrons (MLPs) which transform the Gaussian means. We derive a generalized expectation-maximization (GEM) training algorithm to estimate the MLP weights. Some preliminary experimental results on nonnative speaker adaptation are presented.


Background A recent national survey of tertiary neonatal units in the UK showed that six different premedication drugs are being used in ten different combinations. Preparation and administration of three premedication drugs, especially regimen having controlled drugs, may take significantly longer time and may delay intubation. Aims and objectives: To study the time taken for preparation and administration of commonest drug regimen (combination of Fentanyl, Atropine and Suxamethonium). To study its efficacy during neonatal intubation. Design and methods A prospective study in a tertiary neonatal setting in the UK included elective and semi-elective intubations. Neonatal intubations done in the delivery suite and emergency situation, where patient was collapsed, were excluded. Results Data was collected from use of premedication drugs during 24 neonatal intubations. Mean time taken to obtain and prepare premedication drugs was 18 minutes (Range: 3–94 minutes) and mean time taken to administer premedication drugs was 3 minutes (Range: 1–10 minutes). Mean time taken from insertion of laryngoscope in mouth to successful intubation was 5 minutes (Range: 1–24 min) and mean number of attempts were 2 (Range: 1–7 attempts). Only 8% cases needed repeat premedication drugs. Conclusion The average time taken for preparation and administration of three premedication drugs was 18 minutes which is significantly longer than expected for emergency situations. Use of single un-controlled premedication like Propofol can be quick and cost effective. Is this time to change our practice or do we need more randomised trials to study the efficacy of Propofol?


Ultrasonic real-time B-mode technique was used to record fetal breathing movements (FBM) in 100 consecutively examined women in late pregnancy. During the "inspiratory" phase of the FBM cycle, the diaphragm of the fetus contracts and moves in caudal direction. The diaghragmatic movement is accompanied by a retraction of the thorax with maximum inward movement of the lower sternum and by an expansion of the fetal abdomen. During "expiration" all structures return to their initial position. The incidence of FBM found in 24 pregnancies with various disorders was significantly lower than that in the 76 uncomplicated pregnancies (P < 0.001). In 92% of the observations in which FBM were present for more than 5 minutes within 30- minute recording, this finding indicated an unaffected pregnancy at the time of the examination. No correlation was found between the FBM results and the subsequent course and outcome of the pregnancies.


Correlations of (christian) religiosity and religious thematization in functional psychoses with paranoid syndromes (60 pat.) were studied by an extensive questionnaire. In regard of the frequency of religious themes in the paranoid syndromes there was no difference between catholic and protestant confession. Probands with religious experiences in their psychoses had other religious socialization (a home with special interest in religious subjects). They are themselves more active in regard to religious practices, more interested in religious problems, refer more often to fear of devil and hell, feel themselves more frequently close bound to the church. The premorbid religious activity increased in the period of 6 months before hospitalisation. They judge their fathers retrospectively more often as permissive. Concerning psychopathology probands with religious thematization in their psychosis had higher values of "grandiosity" in the IMPS (LORR), had more often experiences of immediate inspiration, evidence and clearness. They were hospitalized for a longer period than probands without religious thematization.


We used an experimental model of neurogenic inflammation, plasma extravasation induced by bradykinin or capsaicin, to study the effect of receptor-selective opioid agonists on plasma extravasation. Plasma extravasation was induced in the knee joint of the rat by continuous perfusion of either bradykinin (160 ng/ml), an inflammatory mediator produced at sites of tissue injury, that produces plasma extravasation significantly dependent on the sympathetic postganglionic neuron, or capsaicin (5 mg/ml), a C-fiber excitotoxin, that induces plasma extravasation that is dependent on both primary afferents and sympathetic post-ganglionic neurons. When selective delta-((d-Pen2,5)-enkephalin) or kappa-(trans-3,4-dichloro-N-methyl-N[2-(- pyrolidinyl)cyclohexyl]benzeneacetamide; U50,488H) opioid agonists were perfused with bradykinin, plasma extravasation was significantly attenuated. Co-perfusion of the non-selective opioid antagonist naloxone (1 microM), reversed this opioid-induced inhibition of bradykinin-induced plasma extravasation. In contrast, co-perfusion of a selective mu-opioid agonist (Tyr-d-Ala-Gly-NMe-Phe-Gly-ol) did not reduce bradykinin-induced plasma extravasation. Tyr-d-Ala-Gly-NMe-Phe-Gly-ol was, however, able to completely inhibit the plasma extravasation produced by capsaicin. These results suggest that delta- and kappa-, but not mu-selective opioids inhibit bradykinin-stimulated plasma extravasation, while a mu-selective opioid inhibits primary afferent-dependent plasma extravasation. Therefore, inhibition of neurogenic plasma extravasation by receptor-selective opioids may depend on the relative contribution to plasma extravasation of unmyelinated afferent and sympathetic postganglionic neuron terminals. Our findings can also explain, in part, the variation in anti-inflammatory effects of receptor-selective opioids reported in different inflammatory conditions.


Antifeminist mobilisation is growing in the United Nations. It is led by a coalition of certain post-Soviet, Catholic, and Islamic states; the United States; the Vatican; conservative nongovernmental organisations, occasionally joined by the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation, the League of Arab States, the UN Africa Group, and the G77. Uniting them is the aim of restoring the 'natural family' and opposing 'gender ideology'. The group has become increasingly strategic, and its impact can already be seen in a number of UN fora, including the Security Council. By surveying feminist notions of backlash and comparing them to Alter and Zürn's definition of 'backlash politics', the article gauges whether the group's activities can be characterised as such politics. The conclusion is that they can, suggesting that we are looking at a group with the potential to alter not only the global course of women's rights but also how politics is done within the UN.


The importance of aid for trade as a tool for facilitating trade, economic growth, and social development has received attention since the concept was introduced in 2005. While one of the main targets of aid for trade is export diversification, reflecting the fact that the exports of many developing countries are concentrated in a small range of items, there have not been many efforts to measure the effect of aid for trade on export structure. This study, therefore, attempts to trace the relationship between aid for trade and 133 aid recipients' export structure between 1996 and 2013. Using the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI) to measure the degree of export concentration, the findings suggest that, total aid for trade has reduced the concentration level in the short-run. In the long-run, on the other hand, aid for trade has had no significant effect on export structure of recipient countries. Only aid for building productive capacity, which is one of the three categories of aid for trade, contributes to lower concentration. Yet, this change is not caused by an increase in export diversity but by the redistribution of shares of existing products of a similar sophistication level.


Despite significant advances in medical and surgical management of heart failure, mostly of ischaemic origin, the mortality and morbidity associated with it continue to be high. Pluripotent stem cells are being evaluated for treatment of heart failure. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been extensively studied. Emerging evidence suggests that locally delivered MSCs can lead to an improvement in ventricular function, but the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved remain unclear. Myocardial regeneration, as proposed by many researchers as the underlying mechanism, has failed to convince the scientific community. Recently some authors have ascribed improvement in ventricular function to paracrine actions of MSCs. A lot has been written about the host immune response triggered by embryonic stem cells and the consequent need for immunosuppression. Not enough work has been done on immune interactions involving allogeneic bone marrow cells. Full potential of stem cell therapy can be realised only when we are able to use allogeneic cells. The potential use of MSCs in cellular therapy has recently prompted researchers to look into their interaction with the host immune response. MSCs have immunomodulatory properties. They cause suppression of proliferation of alloreactive T cells in a dose-dependent manner. Tissue injury causes inflammation and release of several chemokines, cytokines and growth factors. They can cause recruitment of bone marrow-derived MSCs to the injured area. We review the literature on paracrine actions and immune interactions of allogeneic MSCs.


Background Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global public health problem and the leading cause of mortality by a single infectious agent. TB is a chronic infectious disease that is primarily caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Macrophage (Mφ) are the main hosts of Mtb, the interaction between Mtb and Mφ plays an important role in the pathogenesis of TB.Summary The macrophages used in the current study are mostly derived from tumor cell lines or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), but the application of such cells still have many problems needed to be sloved, such as the loss of function due to changes in genetic structure and the difficulty in cell acquisition. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPS) represent an innovative source for the standardized in vitro generation of Mφ, and show novel promise in exploring disease pathogenesis, particularly TB. Current studies have revealed that autophagy plays a central role in the interaction between Mtb and Mφ, but the molecular mechanism involoved remains unclear and the exact role of hiPS-derived macrophages (hiPS-Mφ) in regulating autophagy induced by Mtb also remains unclear. To investigate the similarities and differences in hiPS-Mφ and THP-1-Mφ in anti-tuberculosis immunity, this study successfully obtained macrophages derived from hiPS and THP-1, then explored the mechanism behind Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG)-induced autophagy through transcriptome sequencing analysis, qPCR, Western Blot Analysis and cell submicroscopic structure observation etc.. Our findings revealed that BCG infection of hiPS-Mφ and THP-1-Mφ would promote autophagy by regulating the expression of autophagy-related genes, which also indicated that the BCG-induced autophagy in hiPS-Mφ and THP-1-Mφ may be associated with PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. However, there are some differences in the mechanism by which BCG infects macrophages from different sources and induces autophagy. Considering the above findings, we have provided novel insights into the role of macrophages along with autophagy in the anti-tuberculosis immune mechanism and the possibility of establishing an in vitro hiPS-Mφ-TB disease model.


Geospatial data play a key role in a wide spectrum of critical data management applications, such as disaster and emergency management, environmental monitoring, land and city planning, and military operations, often requiring the coordination among diverse organizations, their data repositories, and users with different responsibilities. Although a variety of models and techniques are available to manage, access and share geospatial data, very little attention has been paid to addressing security concerns, such as access control, security and privacy policies, and the development of secure and in particular interoperable GIS applications. The objective of this paper is to discuss the technical challenges raised by the unique requirements of secure geospatial data management and to suggest a comprehensive framework for security and privacy for geospatial data and GIS. Such a framework is the first coherent architectural approach to the problem of security and privacy for geospatial data.


Introduction Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) has an important impact on the public health system in particular due to the occurrence of chronic venous ulcers (UCV) and infections. Objective To evaluate cultures of biopsies of chronic venous ulcers of patients who suffered an acute change in the intensity of pain of the lesion. Method Antibiograms of the cultures of chronic venous ulcer biopsies of patients who suffered an acute change in the lesion with significant pain for 24 hours were evaluated. All patients were treated between 2011 and 2015 in the Vascular Surgery Outpatient Clinic of the Medical School in Sao Jose do Rio Preto. Other causes of pain such as chronic arterial insufficiency and problems with the dressings were ruled out. Results Positive cultures were detected in 34 of the 35 patients whose pain was resolved by antibiotic therapy. Conclusion Acute changes in the intensity of pain associated with chronic venous ulcers seem to be related to local infectious disease.


We describe a rare case of traumatic subperiosteal orbital hematoma in a child, with intracranial hemorrhagic complication. Subperiosteal hematoma are the more infrequent occurrences among intraorbital hemorrhagic lesions and can be also associated with intracranial extradural hematoma in patients with orbital roof fracture. Here, we describe a case without roof fracture but with a never-before described intracranial subdural hematoma. The patient underwent computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, in an acute state, and later, a radiologic diagnosis of percutaneous drainage of the hematoma was mad. MRI was more sensitive and specific in the evaluation of the intracranial and intraorbital complication.


The management of endometriomas in women wishing to preserve their fertility is complex. While surgery can help to achieve pregnancy in some, it may also have a detrimental effect on a woman's ovarian reserve. The present article reviews the impact of endometriomas on fertility and the different management approaches that should be considered in women who wish to preserve their fertility. This study also reviews the role of assisted reproduction in the setting of endometriomas, and the evolving role of oocyte cryopreservation for this benign but progressive disease. Using evidence from the latest guidelines and major publications, we emphasize the need to consider the woman's future fertility when navigating the diverse range of management strategies available, and outline an evidence‐based framework to help facilitate fertility‐friendly discussion, counseling and management of this complex disease.


The Hackberry wedge of the Oligocene(?) Frio Formation can be divided into two parts. The upper part ranges in thickness from zero to more than 3,000 feet, consists mainly of shale, and contains an outer-neritic microfaunal assemblage. The lower part ranges in thickness from zero to 700 feet and consists essentially of sandstone. The sequence of events in the deposition of the Frio Formation of northern Jefferson Davis and Calcasieu Parishes is summarized as follows: 1) deposition of lower Frio Textularia seligi zone; 2) development of lower unconformity; 3) deposition of lower Frio and Hartburg sediments; 4) uplift, folding, erosion, and development of 'pre-Hackberry unconformity;' 5) tilting of the unconformity surface and channel forming erosion; 6) filling of the channels with basal Hackberry sandstones; 7) deposition of Hackberry shale; and 8) deposition of the remainder of the Frio.


Clinical and laboratory examinations were carried out on a total of 338 monkeypox patients in Zaire from 1981 to 1986. An animal source of infection was suspected in 245 (72%) and interhuman transmission for the remaining 93 patients. Among those whose infection was presumably acquired from an animal source, the most affected groups were children aged 3-4 years (27%) and 5-6 years (20%), while only 4% of cases were over 15 years old; there was a considerable preponderance of males (58%) over females (42%), especially in the age group 5-14 years. Among those presumably infected by person-to-person transmission, the age distribution was more uniform, adult patients tending to be relatively more common, and there were more females (57%) than males (43%).Based on comparisons of the frequency and intensity of clinical signs and symptoms among patients infected from an animal source and those who were infected by another patient, there was no evidence that the disease becomes more severe and the transmitted virus more virulent or more easily transmissible from person to person after one or more passages through human hosts.


Today, more parcels are crossing international borders than ever before. While this has given rise to new opportunities, not least for individuals and SMEs who are now more directly engaged in trade, it is also raising new challenges. This paper explores this complex and evolving environment, identifying the types of goods that are traded as parcels and the different actors along the parcels supply chain, as well as the policies to help ensure that parcels get to where they are needed. Empirical analysis shows that progress on digital connectivity and trade facilitation measures, such as increased transparency or automating border processes, are likely to have a greater trade-enhancing impact on parcel trade than on "traditional" trade. In contrast, greater differences in regulations across countries in transportation, courier or logistics services are associated with lower trade in parcels. Overall, enabling benefits from trade in parcels and facing forthcoming challenges requires a comprehensive policy approach across a number of areas and throughout the parcel supply chain.


The present studies aimed to advance the measurement and understanding of microaffirmation kindness cues and assessed how they related to historically underrepresented (HU) and historically overrepresented (HO) undergraduate student persistence in science-related career pathways. Study 1 developed and tested the dimensionality of a new Microaffirmations Scale. Study 2 confirmed the two-factor structure of the Microaffirmations Scale and demonstrated that the scale possessed measurement invariance across HU and HO students. Further, the scale was administered as part of a longitudinal design spanning 9 months, with results showing that students' reported microaffirmations did not directly predict higher intentions to persist in science-related career pathways 9 months later. However, scientific self-efficacy and identity, measures of student integration into the science community, mediated this relationship. Overall, our results demonstrated that microaffirmations can be measured in an academic context and that these experiences have predictive value when they increase students' integration into their science communities, ultimately resulting in greater intentions to persist 9 months later. Researchers and practitioners can use the Microaffirmations Scale for future investigations to increase understanding of the positive contextual factors that can ultimately help reduce persistence gaps in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics degree attainment.


Revised! Circular 334, a 4-page fact sheet by Sydney Park Brown, describes how to choose successful rose varieties for Florida, select a site and prepare the soil, plant and care for them. Includes references. Supersedes "Circular 334: Rose Culture" by S.E. McFadden and R.J. Black. Published by the UF Department of Environmental Horticulture, August 2007.
CIR 344/EP339: Growing Roses in Florida (ufl.edu)


Introduction Healthy diet and physical activity (PA) are essential for preventing type 2 diabetes, particularly, a combination of diet and PA. However, reports on interaction between PA and diet, especially from large epidemiological studies, are limited. We investigated the effect of interaction between PA and macronutrient intake on hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels in the general population. Research design and methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of 55 469 men and women without diabetes who participated in the baseline survey of the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort Study. A self-administered questionnaire ascertained PA and macronutrient intake (carbohydrate, fat, and protein). Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to adjust for confounding variables and examine the interactions. In addition, we conducted a longitudinal study during a 5-year period within a subcohort (n=6881) with accelerometer-assessed PA data. Results Overall, PA had a weak inverse association (β=−0.00033, p=0.049) and carbohydrate intake had a strong positive association (β=0.00393, p<0.001) with HbA1c. We observed a tendency of interactions between PA and carbohydrate or fat intake, but not protein intake, on HbA1c levels after adjusting for age, sex, study area, total energy intake, alcohol consumption, smoking, and medication for hypertension or hypercholesterolemia (Pinteraction=0.054, 0.006, and 0.156, respectively). The inverse associations between PA and HbA1c level were more evident in participants with high-carbohydrate (or low-fat) intake than in participants with low-carbohydrate (or high-fat) intake. Although further adjustment for body mass index slightly attenuated the above interactions (Pinteraction=0.098 for carbohydrate and 0.068 for fat), the associations between PA and HbA1c level in stratified analyses remained unchanged. Similar associations and interactions were reproduced in the longitudinal study. Conclusions The present results suggest that the effect of PA on HbA1c levels is modified by intake of macronutrient composition.


Total body potassium has been measured for a Japanese adult male group using two whole-body counters. The total body potassium data were analyzed to present the longitudinal data on body potassium concentration in aging individuals. The data for each individual showed that potassium concentration decreased linearly with age from 30 y to 60 y of age. The average decrease rate was -0.0154 +/- 0.0049 g K kg body wt(-1) y(-1). On the other hand, a subject group for each of the 23 years (1975-1998) of the study was divided into three age groups. The same age groups were followed with the course of time to analyze changes in potassium concentration due to other factors besides age. The follow-up study of the same age groups indicated that the average potassium concentration decreased with the course of the 23-y study and that the decrease was due to other factors besides age. The decrease in the average potassium concentration for study subjects is the major cause of the decrease in the average annual dose from 40K. The average annual dose for subjects aged 30-59 y was 194 muGy in 1975, changing to 166 muGy in 1998. The decrease in the average annual dose was about 14% over the 23-y study period.


The post-Carboniferous crustal evolution of the German Continental Deep Drilling Program (KTB) area, as summarized in this paper, could not be predicted from surface observations: deep drilling was essential for its revelation. The most conspicuous and unexpected feature discovered in the drill hole is the absence of marked gradients with respect to the pre-Carboniferous record. There are no depth-related differences in K-Ar cooling ages of hornblende and white mica, in petrology or in lithology. All metamorphic rocks encountered, both at the surface as well as in the drill hole down to 9100 m depth, were below 300°C from the Carboniferous onward. The late to post-Carboniferous deformation is essentially confined to several fault zones. A major fault zone encountered in the drill hole at 7000 m depth is linked by a prominent seismic reflector to the Franconian Lineament, the surface boundary between Variscan basement and Mesozoic cover. This fault zone probably formed in the late Paleozoic and reactivated as a reverse fault in the Mesozoic. Two important episodes of NE-SW directed shortening by movements along reverse faults took place in the early Triassic and in the late Cretaceous, as indicated by the distribution of apatite and titanite fission-track ages, the sericite K-Ar ages of fault rocks, and the sedimentary record in the adjacent basins. Upper crustal slices were detached at a specific level, corresponding to the approximate position of the brittle-ductile transition in post-Variscan times, and form an antiformal stack that was penetrated by the KTB throughout its entire depth range.


Background
 In order to fulfil their medical and academic mission, clinical trials have to be available to the very populations they are intended to serve. A broad and homogenous geographic distribution is thus paramount to ensure patient fairness as well as to allow optimal generalizability of trial results to real-world populations. We aimed to investigate trends in the geographic distribution of clinical trials in lymphoma performed over the past 2 decades.
 Methods
 We systematically searched the Clinicaltrials.gov registry for phase 3 and 4 clinical trials in lymphoma conducted between 01/01/1997 and 12/31/2017. We divided the time period into two intervals and analysed the geographic distribution of trials during these time periods. The Gini coefficient, a statistical measure of inequality ranging from 0 (equal distribution) to 1 (most unequal distribution), was calculated for each period.
 Results
 We found 633 clinical trials in lymphoma conducted between 1997 and 2017 globally. 284 and 349 trials were performed in the 1997-2007 and 2008-2017 time periods, respectively. 127 (50%) and 138 (39.5%) of the trials were done in the US. Hodgkin Lymphoma accounted for 55 (19.3%) and 42 (12.0%) studies in the two time periods. CA, TX, IL and NY were consistently in the upper one-fifth of trial-abundant states (each accounting for 3.5-4.5% of all trials). AK, WY, MT and RI were consistently in the lower one-fifth of trial-abundant states (each accounting for 0.13-0.84% of trials). The trial participation of NY and AK mildly increased during the time period while that of TX and RI decreased. In each of the time periods, the 12 most trial-intense states accounted for 41.5% of all investigations. The 12 least trial-intense states were responsible for 8.8% of all the trials. The extent of geographic inequality increased over the years with the Gini coefficient rising from 0.246 to 0.3 between the first and second study period. The geographical pattern of state-specific trial intensity was strongly mitigated after adjusting for each state's population size.
 Conclusions
 The geographic distribution of clinical trials in lymphoma in the U.S is not uniform. Our data suggests that the trend of geographic mal-distribution is worsening, a phenomenon that may lead to deleterious public health outcomes. As patients' enrolment continues to be linked to geographic factors, patients' ability to enter clinical trials may be limited and the representation of real-world participants may be skewed (towards particular zip codes, socio-economical status and education levels, etc), consequently affecting the yield and generalizability of clinical trials. Innovative solutions must be devised to minimise any barriers to trial participation for suitable patients.

 No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


INTRODUCTION ..............6.............573 The Problem: Detecting Light Direction in the Native Environment ..... .... 574 The Solution: a Directional Antenna Designed to Match the Environment of the Organism .......................................................... 576 ANTENNA STRUCTURES .................................................... 579 Optical Principles 580 Absorption ............................................................... 581 Scattering 581 Refraction 581 Reflection and interference ............................................... 581 Wave guide optics ........................................................ 583 Dichroism ................................................................ 584 Tracking Antenna Designs .................................................. 584 Chlorophyceae: multilayer quarter-wave stack antennas .................. 584 Chlorophyceae: variations in design .... .................................. 588 Dinophyceae: quarter-wave stack antennas and lens antennas ........... 590 Cryptophyceae: dielectric slab wave guide antennas ...................... 592 Euglenophyceae: absorbing screens and dichroic crystal detectors ....... 592 Chrysophyceae, Xanthophyceae, and Phaeophyceae: absorbing screens and paraflageliar swelling ................................................. 593 Eustigmatophyceae: absorbing screens and paraflagellar buttons ........ 594 Prymnesiophyceae (Haptophyceae) ....................................... 595 Discussion 595 ANTENNA PROPERTIES DETERMINED FROM BEHAVIOR ................. 596 Threshold: Receptor Pigment Concentration 596 Receptor pigment content of various algae ..... 598 Action Spectra: Identity of Photoreceptor Pigment and Mechanisms of Producing Directivity .................................................... 600 Threshold action spectrum ............................................... 601 Finite-response action spectra ............................................ 601 Algae with layered eyespots ...... 601 (i) Volvox ............................................................. 601 (ii) Chlamydomonas 602 (iii) Platymon as ........................................................ 602 Dinoflagellates ... ... ..... 603 Cryptomonas ............................................................. 603 Euglena .............................................................. 604 Intensity-Response Curve: Identity of Receptor Pigment, Mechanisms of Producing Directivity, and Pigment Regeneration Rate ................... 604 Chlamydomonas action spectra and regeneration rate .................... 606 Polarized Light: Characterization of the Dichroic Crystal Detector in Euglena 607 Discussion of Receptor Pigments ........... ... ... 608 ANTENNA FUNMCION IN PHOTOTAXIS ........ 609 Signal Production: Scanning by Cell Motion .. .... 609 Signal Processing 6............12 Response: Tracking the Light Direction 6.............................. 61 Chknmydomonas ........................ .. 616 Microthamniun 617 Eugklna ........... ........... .. .. .. 617 Dinoflageliates ..................................... 617 Colonial algae .. ... ........ .. .. ..... 617 Discussion 619 PROSPECTS AND CONCLUSIONS ........................... 619


In this thesis we examine four bottom hole pressure estimators based on adaptive estimation of the friction pressure for the drill string and the annulus. Knowledge about the bottom hole pressure is crucial to achieve security and commercial objectives. Bottom hole pressure measurements transmitted by mud pulse telemetry have limited bandwidth and it is common to use additional models to estimate the bottom hole pressure when measurements are unavailable. The motivation for an adaptive approach is that several parameters are encumbered with high uncertainty and are continuously, but slowly changing. The suggested online parameter estimation scheme is implementable in a wellsite computer system and may be a valuable tool in drilling operations. The frictional pressure loss estimates use the relation between the frictional pressure loss and the flow through the system. It is shown that the pump flow is not a good estimate for the flow in this context. The best results were obtained both for mean flow estimates and for an adaptive bit-flow observer. The parameter estimation scheme has been tested using the drilling simulatorWemod developed by IRIS. Simulations shows that all four bottom hole pressure estimates are within a drilling window of ±2.5 bar. To further develop this solution we recommend that the system is tested on data from a real well.


Abstract Clay mineral analyses were performed on Eocene sediments from drill sites in the western Central Atlantic. The investigated sites cover the full range of early Palaeogene deep waters above and below the calcite compensation depth (CCD), but otherwise represent different depositional and hydrographic regimes. Palygorskite clays with authigenic microstructures were discovered in Lower Eocene hemipelagic sediments from the distal end of the Blake Nose depth transect and in pelagic clays of the same age from the distal Nares Abyssal Plain, where terrigenous input was reduced. Palygorskite clays were not detected in coeval sediments from a distal near-CCD setting on Bermuda Rise that received major terrigenous input. The distribution of palygorskite clays at these sites, the microstructures of the constituent minerals, their absence from contemporaneous deposits on the American margin, and the position of the northerly sites outside the range of a potential African aeolian supply strongly suggest an authigenic origin of these clays at the early Eocene sea floor. Palygorskite clays are widely distributed in lower Eocene sediments from about 50° N to 50° S palaeolatitude. The most widespread distributions and peak abundances in Atlantic oceanic sediments are reported from shelf to deep-water sites of the palaeo-tropical and -subtropical belt and correlate with the Early Eocene period of extreme warmth. Marine authigenic palygorskite clay may provide an indication of the localities and the time periods that were characterized by high bottom-water temperatures, by elevated alkalinity, silica and magnesium concentrations, and by reduced sediment accumulation rates.


The 1995 marketing styles for the 25 market advisory service programs included in the AgMAS Project were developed in two steps. The first step was the construction of a detailed "menu" of the tools and strategies used by each of the advisory programs in marketing corn and soybeans. The menu describes the type of pricing tool, frequency of transactions, and magnitude of transactions. The second step was the development of a daily index of the net amount sold by each market advisory program. To construct such an index, the various futures, options, and cash positions recommended for a program on a given day were weighted by the respective position "delta." When the daily values of the index were plotted for the entire marketing period, the marketing "profile" for a program was generated. The results show that advisory programs made a relatively small number of recommendations that primarily involved cash marketing strategies, not futures and options, non-cash marketing recommendations were typically held open for a short period of time, and the re-harvest amount sold averaged 35 percent for corn and 30 percent for soybeans.


Abstract Seed retention, and ultimately seed shatter, are extremely important for the efficacy of harvest weed seed control (HWSC) and are likely influenced by various agroecological and environmental factors. Field studies investigated seed-shattering phenology of 22 weed species across three soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]-producing regions in the United States. We further evaluated the potential drivers of seed shatter in terms of weather conditions, growing degree days, and plant biomass. Based on the results, weather conditions had no consistent impact on weed seed shatter. However, there was a positive correlation between individual weed plant biomass and delayed weed seed–shattering rates during harvest. This work demonstrates that HWSC can potentially reduce weed seedbank inputs of plants that have escaped early-season management practices and retained seed through harvest. However, smaller individuals of plants within the same population that shatter seed before harvest pose a risk of escaping early-season management and HWSC.


P. Kanerva's (1988) sparse distributed memory model is applied to character recognition. The results of recognizing corrupted characters, using a sparse distributed memory with fewer than 10000 locations, is described: 100 corrupted test patterns were generated to recognize 18 template patterns. The performance of the model is evaluated. Insights about the behavior of sparse distributed memories as well as the model's applicability to character recognition are provided. It was found that a sparse distributed memory of small size can recognize patterns with considerable noise. >


Climate simulations predict a decrease in oxygen at depths of 500–2,500 meters in the southern ocean around Antarctica, a team of Australian climate researchers announced on 15 March.

"The interpretation [from the simulations[ is that less oxygen-rich water is penetrating into the ocean, and this in turn gives additional credibility to climate change models. The oxygen analysis provides a new benchmark of understanding for researchers, "said Richard Matear, an oceanographer with Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).