INTRODUCTIONThe university course scheduling or timetabling problem typically involves the scheduling of multiple courses to be taught by multiple faculty members over multiple timeslots across multiple classrooms. The complexity of the problem makes it difficult to solve to optimality, and applications generally involve simplifications to make the problem tractable. Most of the studies in this field focus on applications pertaining to course scheduling at a single or at most few departments of a university (Sarin et al, 2010). The research presented in this paper is a pilot study to model the scheduling issues faced by one of the departments in the College of Business at a CSU (California State University) campus. There are scheduling challenges faced in trying to ensure that students are able to get the classes they need at the times that are convenient for them (for example, many of the students are not full-time students, and therefore have work-related constraints; further, students do not typically move through courses in cohort groups), while also considering faculty teaching preferences and availability. The department currently does the scheduling manually.In general, effective scheduling can be instrumental in ensuring a smooth flow of students through the university system, and reducing the time to graduate. This is particularly important under the tight budget environment that many universities face. The overall research goal is to develop a realistic model and solution procedure that captures the main features of the scheduling problem while being computationally tractable. Our focus is on the scheduling of courses (and sections of courses) during specific timeslots, and the assignment of faculty to the different sections. We do not consider classroom allocations in this research.The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. Section II presents a review of the literature. In Section III we provide the specific context for our problem and outline the current manual scheduling procedure. We modeled the problem using integer linear programming, and the model details are described in Section IV. Section V discusses our use of a spreadsheet approach to pilot test the model, along with the results. We conclude in Section VI with limitations and suggestions for future enhancements.LITERATURE REVIEWScheduling classes at universities is a challenging problem. The timetabling problem is generally large, highly constrained, and solution by exact optimization methods is difficult (Mirrazavi et al, 2003). Therefore, solution approaches typically rely on heuristics. There are several examples in the literature on the use of heuristics in university scheduling. For example, a major curriculum review in the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University revealed that course scheduling was a major problem (Hinkin and Thompson, 2002). The authors developed a computer program to automate the scheduling process, considering conflicts among core required courses, and among electives within areas. The program was used by an administrator in the student services office. The College of Business Administration at Texas A&M University used a network-based model considering the dimensions of faculty, subject, time, and room (Dinkel et al, 1989). Derigs and Jenal (2005) described a Genetic Algorithm - based system for professional course scheduling using strategies such as pre-assigning subsets of courses. Another heuristic procedure based on genetic algorithms is described in Adewumi et al (2009). This procedure addresses lecturer timetabling at a Nigerian University, and uses an iterative process to generate schedules based on the degree of violation of hard constraints. Other articles describing heuristic approaches to course scheduling in university environments include Ferland et al (1994), Boronico (2000), Daskalaki et al (2004), and Dimopoulou and Miliotis (2004).Several researchers have adopted the approach of developing subproblems for the overall problem. …


A method is presented for obtaining the pressure-volume area (PVA) as defined by H. Suga and K. Sugawa (see Circ. Res., vol.32, p.314, 1973). The method allows calculation of the PVA from pressure and flow waveforms of ejecting beats and requires only one isovolumic ventricular contraction performed at any end-diastolic volume. The major advantages of the method are that it eliminates the requirement for a volume measurement and for repeated isovolumic beats. All the calculations are based on a normalized function obtained from a single isovolumic beat and pressure flow data for the ejecting beat of interest.<<ETX>>


In learning-to-learn the goal is to infer a learning algorithm that works well on a class of tasks sampled from an unknown meta distribution. In contrast to previous work on batch learning-to-learn, we consider a scenario where tasks are presented sequentially and the algorithm needs to adapt incrementally to improve its performance on future tasks. Key to this setting is for the algorithm to rapidly incorporate new observations into the model as they arrive, without keeping them in memory. We focus on the case where the underlying algorithm is ridge regression parameterized by a positive semidefinite matrix. We propose to learn this matrix by applying a stochastic strategy to minimize the empirical error incurred by ridge regression on future tasks sampled from the meta distribution. We study the statistical properties of the proposed algorithm and prove non-asymptotic bounds on its excess transfer risk, that is, the generalization performance on new tasks from the same meta distribution. We compare our online learning-to-learn approach with a state of the art batch method, both theoretically and empirically.


Gels are often used for the delivery of drugs because they have rheological properties that will give a long residence time. Most pharmaceutical gels consist of approximately 99% water and a polymer matrix that will not hinder the release of drugs with a small molecular weight. To fully take advantage of the residence time, it is necessary to have a sustained drug release. In this paper it is suggested that surfactant micelles can be used to control the release from gels. The in vitro release under physiological conditions of five parabens from four different poly(acrylic acid) gels (Carbopol 934, 940, 1342) and one gellan gum (Gelrite) gel was measured using a USP dissolution bath modified for gels, and the diffusion coefficients were calculated. The diffusion coefficient of uncharged parabens was generally lower in gels with lipophilic modifications, such as C1342, and the greatest effect was seen for butylparaben, with a diffusion that was 25% lower than that in C934 (lacking lipophilic modification). Addition of surfactant micelles to gels delayed the release of all the uncharged drugs in all types of gels studied. The slowest release was seen for butylparaben in a lipophilically modified gel with micelles present. The diffusion coefficient in such a system was almost 30 times smaller than that in C934 without micelles.


How does the author of a successful textbook set about revising it 20 years after the first edition? In the two main areas, the text and the illustrations, Dr Huber and his editor have made changes, some of which emphasize the difficulties that are faced in producing a new edition. The greatest problem with the illustrations is the exceptionally poor reproduction of the older photographs, which were of outstanding clarity in the 1956 edition published in Switzerland, and are now sometimes of so low contrast that the relevant features are barely discernible. It must be mortifying for an author to watch his photographs, which were reproduced with such expertise by the original Swiss publisher, progressively degraded in St Louis so that the details disappear in successive editions, leading the reader to speculate whether in the next edition the usefulness of the illustrations will have disappeared into a black hole in


The major aim of the present study is to emphasize the potential offered by Virtual Reality (VR) to develop new tools for research in experimental psychology. Despite several works have addressed cognitive, clinical and methodological issues concerning the application of this technology in psychological and neuro-psychological assessment and rehabilitation, there is a lack of discussion focusing on the role played by Virtual Reality and 3D computer graphics in experimental behaviour research. This chapter provides an introduction to the basic concepts and the historical background of experimental psychology along with a rationale for the application of Virtual Reality in this scientific discipline. In particular, the historical framework aims at emphasizing that the application of VR in experimental psychology represents the leading edge of the revolution that informatics has operated into the traditional psychology laboratory. We point out that the use of VR and Virtual Environments (VEs) as research tool might discover new methodological horizons for experimental psychology and that it has the potential to raise important questions concerning the nature of many psychological phenomena. In order to put the discussion on a concrete basis, we review the relevant literature regarding the application of VR to the main areas of psychological research, such as perception, memory, problem solving, mental imagery and attention. Finally, fundamental issues having important implications for the feasibility of a VR approach applied to psychological research are discussed.


In this paper, we focus on 3D point cloud classification by assigning semantic labels to each point in the scene. We propose to use simplified Markov networks to model the contextual relations between points, where the node potentials are calculated from point-wise classification results using off-the-shelf classifiers, such as Random Forest and Support Vector Machines, and the edge potentials are set by physical distance between points. Our experimental results show that this approach yields comparable if not better results with improved speed compared with state-of-the-art methods. We also propose a novel robust neighborhood filtering method to exclude outliers in the neighborhood of points, in order to reduce noise in local geometric statistics when extracting features and also to reduce number of false edges when constructing Markov networks. We show that applying robust neighborhood filtering improves the results when classifying point clouds with more object categories.


Objectives Improving the model of movement of solid particles in natural turbulent flows. Method The improvement of knowledge about the structure of water flows and the nature of channel processes has led to the development of views on sediment movement as a stochastic process due to the random nature of the factors causing it: natural-climatic and hydrological conditions, variability of the physical and mechanical properties of soils, and turbulence of water streams. In this regard, the methods of probability theory and the theory of random processes were used to construct the model of sediment movement. Result Based on the studies, a mathematical model of the reformation of natural channels was established by an unsteady flow, which provides a more complete, in comparison with existing domestic and foreign counterparts, consideration of factors affecting the flow of channel-forming sediments. The analysis of mathematical models of the movement of solid particles in the water stream showed that the physical nature of the transport of channel-forming sediments is more consistent with the model based on the parameters of the trajectories of solid particles, namely, lengths, heights and transport time (jumps) of bottom and suspended sediments and their concentration in the stream. Such a model is implemented by integrating averaged equations and vortex formations using a mathematical apparatus. Conclusion The calculated model of the movement of solid particles is implemented in the algorithmic language Fortran Power Station and tested on the basis of field and experimental studies in a wide range of hydraulic flow characteristics and physical and mechanical characteristics of channel soils.


With the increasing of information technology, there are Doppler frequency shift and clock errors between master station and slave station in Multi-Warhead Collaborative Multi-Base Radar System (MCMRS), thus precise time synchronization is needed. Therefore, this paper presents a new time synchronization method, which integrates PN code ranging and dynamic phase shift module based on digital clock management (DCM) in FPGA to measure the clock error precisely. At the same time, we use Extended Kalman Filtering technique to smooth the measuring results. This method can not only accurately compensate for the generated synchronization pulse offset, but also be easy to implement on hardware. This algorithm can be widely used in the military field without GPS.


Consumers usually prefer to touch and feel, smell, and try on products before purchasing. Consequently products with high sensory requirements are likely to be perceived as more risky to buy online. Products with variable functionality, such as electronics, are also difficult to evaluate prior to purchase and fragile items run the risk of being damaged during delivery. Furthermore, while commodities are usually easy to specify, specialized products with high product description complexity are more of a challenge to specify accurately for the consumer online. Negative feedback posted on eBay is analyzed to calculate the rate of complaints for different product categories. We hypothesize that high sensory, complex products with variable functionality and high fragility generate more complaints than low sensory, simple products with little variable functionality and low fragility. This study has important implications for research as well as for online auctions, buyers and sellers.


Abstract Context: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease with incompletely known physiopathology. There is a great challenge to predict its course and therapeutic response using biomarkers. Objective: To critically review proteomic biomarkers discovered from biological specimens from systemic sclerosis patients using mass spectrometry technologies. Methods: Medline and Embase databases were searched in February 2014. Results: Out of the 199 records retrieved, a total of 20 records were included, identifying 116 candidate proteomic biomarkers. Conclusion: Research in SSc proteomic biomarkers should focus on biomarker validation, as there are valuable mass-spectrometry proteomics studies in the literature.


The advancement in the number of online social media platforms has entailed active participation from the web users globally. This has also lead to subsequent increase in the cyberbullying cases online. Such incidents diminish an individual's reputation or defame a community, also posing a threat to the privacy of users in cyberspace. Traditionally, manual checks and handling mechanisms have been used to deal with such textual content. However, an automatic computer-based approach would provide far better solutions to this problem. Existing approaches to automate this task majorly involves classical machine learning models which tend to perform poorly on low resource languages. Owing to the varied background and language of web users, the cyberspace witnesses the presence of multilingual text. An integrated approach to accommodate multilingual text could be the appropriate solution. This paper explores various methods to detect abusive content in 13 Indic code-mixed languages. Firstly, baseline classical machine learning models are compared with Transformer based architecture. Secondly, the paper presents the experimental analysis of four state-of-the-art transformer-based models vis à vis XLM-RoBERTa, indic-BERT, MurilBert and mBERT, out of which XLM Roberta with BiGRU outperforms. Thirdly, the experimental setup of the best performing model XLM-RoBERTa is fed with emoji embeddings that leads to further enhancement of overall performance of the employed model. Finally, the model is trained with the combined dataset of 13 Indic languages, to compare its performance with those of individual language models. The performance of combined model surpassed those of the individual models in terms of F1 score and accuracy, supporting the fact that combined model fits the data better possibly due to its code-mixed nature. This model reports a F1 score of 0.88 on test data while rendering a training loss of 0.28, validation loss of 0.31 and an AUC score of 0.94 for both training and validation.


Research endeavors are committed to the optimization and function of Microbial fuel cells (MFCs), with most efforts largely dedicated towards increasing power density by optimizing physical parameters. Knowledge of the microbial physiology intrinsic to MFCs is hindered by the limited number of current-producing isolates in pure culture and the confinement of most mechanistic studies to the model Fe(III)-reducing organisms Geobacter and Shewanella , members of the Delta- and Gamma- proteobacteria respectively. This discrepancy between known physiology and organisms evaluated in the MFC suggests that the diversity of electricity-producing organisms remains unknown. For MFCs to achieve their potential, however, knowledge of the microbiological factors controlling current production is essential. The research within this dissertation characterizes the electrochemistry (Chapter 2), ecology (Chapter 3), and physiology (Chapter 4) of bacterial current production. The thermophilic (55 o C) fermentation of solid waste has higher reaction rates, lower biomass yields, a broader range of carbohydrate utilization, and tolerance to higher loading rates when compared to mesophilic counterparts. While research has begun to examine the efficiency and microbiology of mesophilic MFCs, the equivalent electrochemical, ecological, and physiological studies have not been performed in MFCs operated under thermophilic conditions. Microbial fuel cells operated under elevated temperatures show promise due to potentially higher energy yields resulting from higher rates of metabolic activity, easier maintenance of anaerobic reducing conditions because of the lower solubility of O2 at elevated temperatures, and thermal removal of most known pathogens. Additionally, MFCs operated at 55 o C exclude the growth of Geobacter and Shewanella species and thus may enrich for novel electricity-producing communities and organisms. MFCs inoculated with thermophilic anaerobic digester were constructed and operated at 55 o C for 100 days. Electrochemical performance was well replicated within the reactors (Chapter 2). Over the experimental period, current was continuous, averaging 0.57 mA (100 mA.m-2) with a mean electron recovery of 89% and maximum power output of 37 mW.m-2. Relative to similarly constructed mesophilic MFCs thermophilic MFCs may offer increased electrochemical performance with elevated current production, coulombic efficiency, and power generation. Not only does this detailed electrochemical description demonstrate that MFC technology is compatible with elevated temperature waste streams, but also functions a benchmark for future comparative studies. To date, the characterization of bacterial communities in electricity production is hampered by the lack of controls, the use of low-resolution DNA fingerprinting techniques, and the failure to discriminate between active and colonizing members of the anode biofilm. To assess bacterial composition and function of anode biofilm communities we used two complementary approaches: a novel high-density oligonucleotide microarray (PhyloChip) and clone library sequencing (Chapter 3). Within the anode bacterial community, active members were distinguished from persistent members by monitoring 16S rRNA in addition to cataloging 16S rRNA gene presence. Nucleic acids from a no-acetate control (no electron donor), open circuit control (no electron acceptor), and the initial inoculum were extracted to verify community membership on current producing anodes. Research presented in this dissertation revealed that current-producing anode communities were statistically different from control reactors and the initial inoculum. PhyloChip results indicated that Firmicutes were dominant in the persistent and active bacterial community on thermophilic anodes. To identify specific Firmicutes OTUs involved in current generation, 16S rRNA clone libraries from the initial inoculum and current producing reactors were constructed. Two Gram-positive phyla, Firmicutes (11 OTUs, 229 clones, 77% of clones) and Coprothermobacteria (2 OTUs, 48 clones, 16% of clones), represented 93% of the clone sequences. Within the Firmicutes, sequences belonging to the genera Thermicanus , Alicyclobacillus , Thermincola , and Geobacillus represented 27%, 25%, 22%, and 2% of the total clones respectively. These genera could not be detected in clone libraries from the initial inoculum (482 total clones), suggesting their enrichment corresponds to current production in this system. Members of these genera have not previously been identified in MFCs operated under mesophilic conditions. To link the phylogeny with functional current production, we complemented 16S rRNA approaches with isolation of pure cultures. Several bacteria representing three genera, Thermincola , Geobacillus , and Coprothermobacter were isolated from the MFC anode (Chapter 3). These genera contain three of the five most dominant members of the anode community and collectively represent 39% of the clone library sequence diversity. Both Firmicutes isolates, Thermincola potens strain JR and Geobacillus sp. strain S2E, are of great interest given their enrichment from the initial inoculum and their ability to reduce solid phase iron, or hydrous ferric oxide (HFO). Interestingly, while both isolates reduced HFO coupled to acetate oxidation, only Thermincola potens strain JR could generate current independently with acetate as an electron donor. Strain JR generated an average of 0.42 mA in two separate experiments with a coulombic efficiency of 91%, similar to that observed for the original complex community (89%). In contrast to Thermincola potens strain JR, Geobacillus sp. strain S2E could not produce current in the absence of an exogenous electron shuttle (AQDS) and only produced small amounts of current in its presence (0.03 mA). While it has been shown that Gram-negative bacteria use either endogenously produced electron shuttles (contact-independent) or direct electron transfer (contact-dependent) for exporting electrons to the anode of MFCs, there is limited data about the mechanisms employed by Gram-positive bacteria for transferring electrons to insoluble electron acceptors. A combination of physiological, electrochemical and imaging methods support the hypothesis that Thermincola sp. strain JR does not produce an electron shuttling compound but requires direct contact for current production. Medium replacement experiments and cyclic voltammetry (CV) failed to detect redox active components secreted into the surrounding medium when strain JR was grown on these electron acceptors. Confocal microscopy revealed highly stratified biofilms in which cells contacting the electrode surface were primarily responsible for current generation. These results, along with cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), suggest that Thermincola potens strain JR directly transfers electrons from the cell membrane across the 37nm cell envelope to the cell surface. Analogous to direct electron transfer by Gram-negative organisms, physiological and genomic evidence suggests that direct extracellular electron transfer in Gram-positive bacteria is mediated by periplasmic and cell wall associated c-type cytochromes. Together, these results are the first to implicate a role for c-type cytochromes in direct extracellular electron transfer by Gram-positive bacteria (Chapter 4). This dissertation follows electron flow in MFCs operated at 55oC to reveal a novel physiological role for Gram-positive Firmicutes within current-producing anode communities. We confirmed the functional role for Firmicutes in this systems by demonstrating current-production from two novel bacteria from the anode surface, Thermincola potens strain JR and Geobacillus sp. strain S2E. Physiological investigation of Gram-positive extracellular respiration was carried out in strain JR demonstrating that this organism is capable of independent and direct electron transfer to insoluble electron acceptors like Fe(III) and anode surfaces. Further, genomic and physiological studies of strain JR provide evidence for multiheme c-type cytochromes in facilitating electron transfer across the Gram-positive cell envelope. As a result of this dissertation, an option now exists for efficient MFC current-production at elevated temperature, two novel anode-respiring bacteria have been isolated, independent electricity generation by Gram-positive bacteria has been demonstrated, the genome of one of these isolates has been sequenced, and the molecular mechanism of electron transfer by a Gram-positive anode respiring bacterium elucidated.


The prevailing conception and practice of education perpetuates a civilization saturated with a deep sense of ontological disconnect and axiological crisis in all dimensions of human life. We examine the disconnect from body, senses, and world in the practice of education. We explore the possibilities in the burgeoning contemplative education movement for reconnection offered by holistic, experiential approaches to learning, in particular, contemplative practices that manifest the arts of somatic, sensuous, relational, and contextual awareness.


This study of afterripening conditions during oyster mushroom (Suhanneutari 1ho) cultivation in bottles was investigated. Medium materials were used poplar-sawdust (68%), cotton seed peel (16%), Beet pulp (8%) and cotton seed cake (8%). Mix of materials was used as a percentage of the volume and to adjust moisture content (67%). Autoclaved mediums were placed in low temperature storage (20℃) and then moved in inoculation room and conducted mechanical inoculation. Mycelial culture temperature was maintained at 20~21℃ and cultured during 18 days. The afterripening period were 6days, 9days, 12days and 15 days at 25~27℃. The yield of fruit body was higher for 9 days (163.1g/bottle) and 12 days (160.7g/bottle) than that of other afterripening period. Second, in the changes in moisture content of the medium according to the afterripening period, no significant changes were observed during mycelial grwoth. The longer afterripening period was showed slightly lower weight of media. The moisture content of media after harvest at afterripening for 9 days had the biggest reduction than any other treatments. In addition, weight of media and yield of afterripening for 9 days were the lowest and highest, respectively.


This paper systematically presents the design and performance of an extremely sensitive 1.55-µm free-space monostatic laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) using optical homodyne detection for real-time acquisition and enhancement of the remote acoustic signals. The phase shifts produced by laser light scattered off a remote target carries the extremely tiny vibration displacement information of the target' surface motivated by the acoustic source around and is demodulated using the optical in-phase/quadrature demodulator. The real-time acquisitions of the remote acoustic signals, including the sinusoidal signal and the speech signal at the target distance of 100 m, is performed between two buildings. The real-time speech enhancement of remote speech signals is also carried out by the different algorithms based on the short-time spectral magnitude, and the comprehensible speech signals can be reconstructed. The results demonstrate that the designed free-space monostatic homodyne LDV has a low system background noise and can offer high precision for the uncooperative targets in the real-time acquisition of the remote acoustic signal.


In this article, we present a simple optical engine system that uses the wired grid component to construct the LCOS engine. The performance of this optical engine (ITRIBOX) is suitable for the portable applications.


Background: Health is a fundamental requirement for living a socially and economically productive life. Poor health inflicts great hardships on households, including debilitation, substantial monetary expenditures, loss of productivity and sometimes, death.
Objectives: To describe healthcare-seeking behaviour, access to health services and utilisation, and their predictors in a southwestern Nigerian community.
Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in Ajebo community, Obafemi/Owode Local Government Area in Ogun State. A total of 420 respondents were studied using an interviewer-administered questionnaire to collect quantitative data.
Results: More than half (54.0%) of the respondents had access to public health facilities, 41.7% had access to private health facilities, while patent medicine stores were accessed by 4.3% of the respondents. Out of the 249 (59.3%) who were ill in the preceding three months, 92.4% of them sought healthcare. More males utilized government-owned health services s than females (χ² = 3.878, p = 0.049). More than half (56.4%) travelled >10 minutes to access healthcare services. Lack of formal education was not a hindrance to seeking healthcare (OR = 31.392, p = 0.003, CI = 3.323-2.347). Income earning <30,000 Naira was the strongest predictor of healthcare utilization (OR = 3.304, p =0.001, 95% CI = 2.007-5.441). Education with OR = 31.392 (p = 0.003, 95% CI = 3.323-96.570) was the strongest predictor of healthcare-seeking behaviour.
Conclusion: Healthcare-seeking behaviour was not limited by lack of formal education. The utilisation of public health facilities was high among the respondents. State of employment and income were strong predictors of healthcare utilisation in Ajebo community.


Being the controller of digital copiers intended for professional environments, Smart Imager must carry out a completely transparent management of the system for the user. The performance problems met during tests simultaneously involving several greedy functionalities encourage to find means to guarantee the good behavior of the system in all circumstances. Rather than trying to solve these problems only by multiplying the available resources by means of a multiprocessor platform, this study proposes to associate a scheduling algorithm which takes into account the specificic needs of Smart Imager. This report begins with an analysis Smart Imager, from which we identify the constraints that will guide the development of the scheduling algorithm. After a review of the principal scheduling policies of the literature, this study details the Earliest Eligible Virtual Deadline First policy (EEVDF), which will be used as a basis for our scheduling algorithm. Finally, this report presents the implementation of our scheduling algorithm on top of Windows 2000's scheduler.


Background: Successful hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) could cure the hematological manifestations of transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT), but introduces risks of morbidity and mortality. Umbilical cord blood transplantation (UCBT) is considered as an acceptable strategy, by providing a condensed graft versus host disease (GvHD). This paper compares the outcomes of UCBT with HSCT from peripheral blood and bone marrow in TDT patients.Methods: Between 1998 and 2014, 10 patients with TDT underwent UCBT, which were matched with 20 patients undergone BMSCT and 20 patients undergone PBSCT, by using propensity score matching (PSM) for age, gender and thalassemia class. All patients received the same myeloablative conditioning regimen and were transplanted from a fully HLA matched sibling donor. Results: The median follow-up time after HSCT was 5.7 years. Rejection incidence was 70.0% (95% CI = 28.1%-90.4%) after UCBT, 25.6% (95% CI = 8.9%-46.4%) after BMSCT, and no rejection occurred in the PBSCT group. Acute GVHD incidence was 20.0% (95% CI = 2.6%-49.0%), 35.0% (95% CI = 15.1%-55.8%), and 40.0% (95% CI = 18.6%-60.6%) in patients undergone UCBT, BMSCT and PBSCT, respectively (P=0.62). The incidence of chronic GVHD was 7.2% (95% CI = 0.3%-28.7%), and 35.2% (95% CI = 13.7%-57.8%) in patients undergone BMSCT and PBSCT, respectively (P=0.026) and none of the patients in the UCBT group experienced chronic GvHD. Conclusions: Although the overall survival is not significantly influenced by the graft source, due to the high incidence of rejection after UCBT, the probability of thalassemia free survival is very low in these patients.


ABSTRACT The research aims to find out about the type of insect pests population in potato plants Solamun tuberosum L. in Modoinding, South Minahasa. The research was conducted on the potato plants in Modoinding, South Minahasa. The research was carried out by using the survey method on potato in Modoinding's villages, South Minahasa, such as Palelon Village, Makaaroyen Village, and Lineleyan Village. The sampling was carried out with a diagonal incision method that established of five sub-plot that is on the corner and the middle of the sampling sites. The sampling was done by using insect nets that swung above the potato crop for ten times the double swing. The netted insects are immediately put into the "killing bottle" then collected in 70% alcohol to be identified. Identifying the type of insect pests is done by using the facilities of the Entomology and Pest Plant Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, UNSRAT. The results of the research of the associated pests on potato was found about eight kinds of insect pests, such as Empoasca sp. 109.03, Drosophila sp. 37.03, Nesidiocoris sp. 34.11, Lirionyza sp. 10.72, Lygus sp. 4.47, Phthorimaea sp. 2.97, Antractomorpha sp. 1.61, and Epilachna sp. 0.69. The average of the highest populations of insect pests are found in Makaaroyen Village with 37.99, whereas in Palelon Village with 22.79, and the lowest is in rural Lineleyan Village with 14,49. Keywords: Population, Pest, Potato


We present our experiences in implementing hardware-based attacks to subvert the results of an election system. The election system was outlined by the Cyber Security Awareness Week (CSAW) Embedded Security Challenge (ESC) competition in 2015, held at the New York University (NYU). The system had multiple layers of security and primarily used homomorphic encryption. The competition presented a challenge to hack the election system such that a preferred candidate wins the election. We cryptanalyzed the given election system to evaluate the effectiveness of various theoretical and practical attacks, and used a custom designed embedded system to demonstrate our attacks. The embedded system was implemented on a Nexys 4 DDR Artix-7 FPGA board. Our work, which earned the first place in the competition, demonstrates that low-cost hardware-based attacks can indeed lead to catastrophic consequences.


n-Ni/SiO2, n-Fe/SiO2 and n-Co/SiO2 nano-catalysts were prepared by co-precipitation cum modified Stober method and applied for thermocatalytic decomposition of methane in order to investigate their thermal stability and activity to produce greenhouse gas free hydrogen and nano-carbon. The mean particles sizes of the produced nano-catalysts obtained from BET analysis are 32.19 nm, 30.26 nm and 49.92 nm, respectively. Temperature programmed methane decomposition were conducted as a preliminary catalytic examination and further isothermal analyses were performed at 700 °C, 600 °C and 500 °C. Production of hydrogen at each experimental temperatures and corresponding carbon yield were measured. Among the three catalysts inspected, n-Ni/SiO2 was found to be the most efficient one for thermocatalytic methane decomposition. Furthermore, significant catalytic stability was observed with n-Ni/SiO2 at 500 °C and 600 °C. While, the rapid deactivation of the n-Fe/SiO2 and n-Co/SiO2 catalysts are attributed to particle agglomeration and the irregular formation of nano-carbon due to metal fragmentation. Physical and chemical characteristics of the produced nano-catalysts were investigated by N2 adsorption–desorption measurement (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and hydrogen-temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR). Produced nano-carbon were inspected with TEM, FESEM and XRD.


AbstractThis study investigates the exchange of momentum between the atmosphere and ocean using data collected from four oceanic field experiments. Direct covariance estimates of momentum fluxes were collected in all four experiments and wind profiles were collected during three of them. The objective of the investigation is to improve parameterizations of the surface roughness and drag coefficient used to estimate the surface stress from bulk formulas. Specifically, the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment (COARE) 3.0 bulk flux algorithm is refined to create COARE 3.5. Oversea measurements of dimensionless shear are used to investigate the stability function under stable and convective conditions. The behavior of surface roughness is then investigated over a wider range of wind speeds (up to 25 m s−1) and wave conditions than have been available from previous oversea field studies. The wind speed dependence of the Charnock coefficient α in the COARE algorithm is modified to , where m = 0.017 m−1 ...


A 1–12% rate of pleural infection has been observed in patients with an indwelling pleural catheter (IPC) to manage malignant pleural effusion (MPE), leading to concern that systemic chemotherapy may increase infection risk.1–5 This study aimed to determine whether chemotherapy increases the infection rate in patients with an IPC.

Data were collected from a prospectively maintained database, hospital notes and electronic records in a tertiary centre. All patients who had an IPC inserted between May 2006 and January 2010 to treat an MPE without pleural infection at the time of insertion were included. Pleural infection was defined as satisfying all of the …


Abstract. As a consequence of a diminishing sea ice cover in the Arctic, activity is on the rise. The position of the sea ice edge, which is generally taken to define the extent of the ice cover, changes in response to dynamic and thermodynamic processes. Forecasts for sea ice expansion due to an advancing ice edge will provide information that can be of significance for operations in polar regions. However, the value of this information depends on the quality of the forecasts. Here, we present methods for examining the quality of forecasted sea ice expansion and the geographic location where the largest expansion are expected from the forecast results. The algorithm is simple to implement, and an examination of two years of model results and accompanying observations demonstrates the usefulness of the analysis.


ABSTRACT Archana, C.; Zacharia, P.U., and Sanil, N.K., 2019. Myxobolus chanosi n. sp., a novel Myxosporean infecting farmed Chanos chanos (Forsskål, 1775) from Alappuzha, along the southwest coast of India. In: Jithendran, K.P.; Saraswathy, R.; Balasubramanian, C.P.; Kumaraguru Vasagam, K.P.; Jayasankar, V.; Raghavan, R.; Alavandi, S.V., and Vijayan, K.K. (eds.), BRAQCON 2019: World Brackishwater Aquaculture Conference. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 86, pp. 128-133. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The present study describes a new species of Myxobolus infecting the kidney tissues of farmed Chanos chanos from Alappuzha, Kerala, India. Of the 42 fishes screened, 27 were infected (prevalence 64.28%). The parasites appeared dispersed in the posterior kidney tissues in squash preparations, cysts measuring 56.82±4.13 µm × 51.11±1.40 µm were observed histologically. Oval, bivalvular spores with smooth shell valves, two unequal and elongate-oval polar capsules, and binucleate sporoplasm place the parasite under the genus Myxobolus. Mature spores measured 11.06±0.60 × 7.71±0.74 × 7.62±0.30 (7.35-8.12) µm. Unequal, elongate-oval polar capsules with pointed anterior ends were aligned obliquely to the longitudinal spore axis. Large polar capsule occupied two-thirds the spore length, measured 6.61±0.74 × 4.64±0.58 µm; possessed polar filament with four coils, measured 28.05 ±0.54 µm. Small polar capsule, reached half the spore length, measured 3.33±0.78 × 2.50±0.41 µm; with three coils of polar filament, measured 11.81±0.52 µm. Vegetative stages ellipsoidal, monosporic and dispersed in kidney tissues. A comparison of the present species with closely related forms showed that it differs morphologically and morphometrically from the others. In BLASTn analysis, the partial SSU rDNA (1239 bp) nucleotide sequence showed close identities with M. linzhiensi and Myxobolus sp. SKBU-RC1. In the molecular analysis, it exhibited 4.2% divergence with both M. linzhiensi and Myxobolus sp. SKBU-RC1. Neighbour Joining and Maximum Likelihood trees were topologically similar, and the present species stands out with M. linzhiensi and Myxobolus sp. SKBU-RC1 as sister branches. Gross pathological changes were not apparent in kidneys. However, the fibrous cyst encircling the parasite indicates host immune responses. Based on morphology, morphometry, molecular and phylogenetic analyses, tissue and host specificities along with geographic location, the present parasite is treated as new and is reported here as M. chanosi n. sp. This forms the second report of a myxosporean infection from C. chanos.


This article examines the rhetorical style of Augustus' Res Gestae. Ancient sources, including Suetonius (Life of Augustus 86), describe Augustus' style in terms of elegantia and temperantia. These qualities are indeed characteristic of the style of the emperor's private letters (of which some fragments survive) and the Res Gestae. Augustus' style was influenced by his great uncle Julius Caesar and his Greek teacher of rhetoric Apollodorus of Pergamon. There are striking parallels between the ancient descriptions of Augustus' style and the theories of style in Greek rhetorical treatises of Augustan Rome. In adopting a sober style, Augustus aimed at presenting himself with the authority of a moderate man, who was to be admired throughout the empire.


New communication technologies may be a mixed blessing for tropical African states. They could foster development, by promoting health, education, agriculture, entertainment, business and tourism; and also enhance international trade and regional cooperation. However, these technologies might accentuate the gap between the rich and poor, creating a society characterised by an information-rich elite and an information-poor under-class. In an age when information is power, this could devastate countries that are facing the problems of poverty, disease, hunger, and political instability. Ultimately, these technologies might also jeopardise the sovereignty, security, human rights, and, consequently, the development of countries in tropical Africa.


This qualitative descriptive research study looks at the services that community-based breast cancer support agencies provide to underserved and African American women who are at risk for or diagnosed with breast cancer in Memphis, Tennessee. We seek their understanding of breast cancer mortality disparities in Memphis. Data were collected using semi-structured in-depth focus groups with five breast cancer support agencies. Categories and patterns were established using thematic analysis and a deductive a priori template of codes. Thematic analysis is a method for identifying, analyzing, and reporting themes within the data. The main themes identified within support agencies for African American women with breast cancer who live in Memphis were barriers to the use of services, education, health system support, and emotional support. Numerous sub themes included cost of medications, support group supplemental programming, eligibility for mobile services, patient/provider communication, optimism about the future, and family advice. Procrastinating, seeking second options, fearfulness, insurance, childcare, and transportation were barriers to care. Community-based breast cancer support agencies play a critical role as connectors for women with breast cancer who live in medically underserved areas and must find their way within a fragmented medical care system.


Purpose This study aimed to describe the orofacial features of 26 unrelated Brazilian patients with mucopolysaccharidosis and to verify any possible associations between these findings and specific types of mucopolysaccharidosis. Methods Patients were diagnosed with mucopolysaccharidosis and clinically evaluated. Following consent, a clinical assessment form was completed. Facial and intraoral examination was performed by evaluating facial pattern, malocclusions, dental caries, and tooth identification. Results Midface deficiency, increased lower facial third, anterior open bite, convex profile, macroglossia, gingival enlargement, and spaced arches were the most frequently observed features. These findings did not allow a differential diagnosis among the different types of mucopolysaccharidosis, except for pitting enamel, which significantly associated with mucopolysaccharidosis IVA (P < .001). Open bite was associated with mucopolysaccharidosis types I, II, III, and VI; however, only one patient with mucopolysaccharidosis IVA expressed this feature (P = .043). Conclusions Our results suggest that pitted enamel in patients with mucopolysaccharidosis is most likely a feature of mucopolysaccharidosis type IVA; whereas, open bite is rarely observed in these patients. Orofacial features in mucopolysaccharidosis may help pediatric dentists recognize this disorder and minimize the delay between the initial signs/symptoms and diagnosis of the disease. Future studies should focus on the longitudinal manifestations, expression, and severity of mucopolysaccharidosis-associated orofacial anomalies.


The electrical properties of oligodendrocytes during their development in cell culture were analyzed by combining two techniques: cell identification with cell-type and stage-specific antibodies and the patch-clamp technique. The transition from the bipotential precursor cell, which can still develop into astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, into an oligodendrocyte results in a marked change in the ion channel pattern. During this developmental transition, voltage-activated Na+ and several types of K+ currents disappear, whereas a comparatively passive, inwardly rectifying K+ current becomes dominant. GABAA receptor-mediated Cl- currents and a pH-activated Na+ current are down-regulated at this transition but are still present at all developmental stages. In contrast, electrical coupling develops only in oligodendrocytes. This change in the channel repertoire could reflect the transition of a cell in a mobile, mitotic, plastic state (the glial precursor) to a more differentiated specialized state (the oligodendrocyte).


This paper examines the effect of changes in migration determinants on the skill level of undocumented immigrants from Mexico. We focus on the effect of changes in economic conditions, migrant networks, and border enforcement on the educational attainment of Mexicanborn men who cross the border illegally. Although previous research indicates that illegal aliens from Mexico tend to be unskilled relative to U.S. natives and that economic conditions, networks and border enforcement affect the size of illegal immigrant flows across the border, the interaction of these variables has not been investigated. Results from hazard models using data from the Mexican Migration Project indicate that improvements in U.S. and Mexican economic conditions are associated with relatively less-skilled undocumented immigrants. Stricter border enforcement is associated with higher skill levels. Access to a network of previous immigrants appears to lower the cost of migrating but has no differential effect by skill level. JEL classification: F22, J61


Background: Pre-hospital emergency personnel plays a critical role in providing communities with essential medical care during the corona pandemic. Emergency medical services (EMS) are at the forefront of the health care system, and they are the first treatment group associated with COVID-19 patients to transfer suspected and known COVID-19 patients to medical centers. This study aims to investigate the factors affecting COVID-19 preventive behaviors in pre-hospital emergency personnel in Fars province, Iran based on protection motivation theory.Methods: This cross-sectional, web-based survey was conducted on 650 pre-hospital emergency personnel in Fars province in 2020. Data were collected by a questionnaire consisting of demographic information, protection motivation theory, and COVID-19 preventive behaviors.Results: 650 employees of Fars pre-hospital emergency and emergency bases participated in the study. The average age of participants in the study 45.14±10.37 years. There was a positive and significant correlation between preventive behaviors and constructs of the PMT model, including perceived susceptibility, severity, response efficacy, self-efficacy, response cost, and protection motivation. The response cost and protection motivation (behavioral intention) had the lowest and highest percentage of the mean from the maximum obtainable score among structures of the model, respectively. Perceived vulnerability, perceived severity, self-efficacy, and protection motivation (behavioral intention) are the strongest predictor of behavior. The variables predicted 61.3% of the variance of coronavirus preventive behaviors.Conclusion: The results of this study confirm the role of protection motivation theory in adopting preventive behavior of pre-hospital emergency personnel, it is suggested that interventional training be held with this theory, and facilitating protective behaviors as a principle in education should be considered.


Those committed to addressing the political and moral crises of the day—voting rights, racial justice, climate change, economic inequality, and the lingering effects of the Covid pandemic—don't know where to turn. Federal legislative and regulatory pathways are choked off by senators quick to filibuster and by judges eager to strike down agency rules and orders. State pathways, in turn, are compromised by limited capacity, collective action problems, externalities, and scant economies of scale.This Article prescribes a third pathway: interstate agreements and compacts. Such arrangements—largely unnecessary when Washington is not pathologically dysfunctional—have a long and venerable constitutional pedigree and provide a legally sound and politically expedient "just-right" solution. Grouping clusters of states along the Pacific Coast Highway, the Amtrak Corridor, and the Rust Belt, we proffer four major compacts as cornerstones of a Blue New Deal. Beyond detailing these four strategic interventions, this Article makes the affirmative, normative case for interstate agreements and compacts playing a regular and prominent role in twenty-first century American governance—a case that sounds in democratic theory, administrative law, and political economy.


The major problem of this study is to elucidate the depression of Ruby Chadwick reflected in Anna King's Ruby Chadwick. The objectives of the study are; to analyse the structural elements of the novel and to analyse the character of Ruby Chadwick based on psychoanalytic perspective.
In conducting this study, the researcher uses qualitative research in which the data
are based on primary data, the novel Anna King's Ruby Chadwick itself. While
secondary data are Anna King's biography and other data which deal with the
research.

In analysing the data, he applies two approaches. Firstly, structural approach is used to analyse the elements of the novel. It consists of characterization, setting, point of view, plot, style and theme. Secondly, the psychoanalytic approach is used for analysing the depression of Ruby Chadwick that influences her daily activity and behaviour toward life. These approaches are applied in order to get the appropriate analysis and answer the problems. The writer finds that Ruby's depression leads her to an autonomous personality that has a great self confident in life when she has broken her problem of life.


The literature is lacking the description of a device and method for simulating and measuring shoe–turf interactions at loads and rates generated in situ by elite athletes during performance. A transportable device was built to quantify these interactions through three tests that reflect generic classes of tasks: 1) translation test; 2) rotation test; and 3) translation/drop test. All the three tests were performed using the cleated portion of a molded American football shoe on two types of natural grass surfaces. To assess repeatability of tests, we performed multiple trials of each test under the same testing conditions. To assess sensitivity of the device, the type of playing surface, temperature, and moisture level were varied. The variation among the results of repeated trials of a given set of testing conditions was less than that between the results of a given test under differing testing conditions, so the device and method were deemed to have acceptable levels of repeatability and sensitivity in the set of conditions considered.


Generative Diffusion Models (GDMs) have emerged as a transformative force in the realm of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI), demonstrating their versatility and efficacy across a variety of applications. The ability to model complex data distributions and generate high-quality samples has made GDMs particularly effective in tasks such as image generation and reinforcement learning. Furthermore, their iterative nature, which involves a series of noise addition and denoising steps, is a powerful and unique approach to learning and generating data. This paper serves as a comprehensive tutorial on applying GDMs in network optimization tasks. We delve into the strengths of GDMs, emphasizing their wide applicability across various domains, such as vision, text, and audio generation.We detail how GDMs can be effectively harnessed to solve complex optimization problems inherent in networks. The paper first provides a basic background of GDMs and their applications in network optimization. This is followed by a series of case studies, showcasing the integration of GDMs with Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL), incentive mechanism design, Semantic Communications (SemCom), Internet of Vehicles (IoV) networks, etc. These case studies underscore the practicality and efficacy of GDMs in real-world scenarios, offering insights into network design. We conclude with a discussion on potential future directions for GDM research and applications, providing major insights into how they can continue to shape the future of network optimization.


The resource mobilization (RM) theory has long discovered the significance of money for protests; yet can this insight be applied to nowadays' decentralized movements, characterized by the absence of organizational leadership and more creative and spontaneous participation from below? While the RM perspective is anchored in a political economy of organizational fundraising, it is time to bring in Viviana Zelizer's economic sociology to understand how participants utilize the role of donors, consumers, savers, and investors for the movement purpose. Focusing on Hong Kong's prodemocracy movement, this article theorizes the full panoply of 'monetary mobilization' to revise RM's narrow conception. By offering a safer and anonymous channel of expression, monetary mobilization emerges as a substitute for in-person participation for risk-averse citizens with financial means. Money is always loaded with symbolic meanings and ethical considerations so that it also functions as a vehicle of the moral outrage and utopian aspirations. Participants are keen to establish a proper relationship between sponsors and beneficiaries by exercising diligent oversight to prevent its corruption. Contrary to the instrumentalist conception, money is per se not a fully fungible and all-purpose resource.


Achievement motivation level among university students varies. Some are highly motivated and achieve success while others are lowly motivated and experience little success. This study examined the influence of gender and parents' educational qualifications on achievement motivation level of Covenant University students. The scope was limited to undergraduate students of the four Colleges in Covenant University, namely - College of Business and Social Sciences, Engineering, Science and Technology, and Leadership Development Studies. To achieve the objective of this study, two research questions and four hypotheses were raised and formulated respectively to guide the investigation of the study. The sample of the study consisted of three hundred (300) students comprising 206 males and 94 females randomly selected. Questionnaire forms were used for data collection. The study made use of the ex-post factor method which consists of survey and descriptive
designs. Results show that female students' achievement motivation level is stronger than that of the males at 1% level of significance (0.626). There is no significant correlation between father's highest educational qualification and students' achievement motivation level for both males and females at (0.064). However, there was a significant relationship between mother's highest educational qualification and students' achievement motivation level. (0.105). Based on the findings, it was
recommended that male students should be given the same level of attention as the females by parents. In addition, the university should introduce sustainable mentorship programmes with faculty as role models to motivate the male students.


Agriculture and agricultural research must play an essential role in the endeavor to eradicate poverty and hunger in the world. To this end the speaker provides her own contribution, and vision of prosperity through sustainable development, based on four related pillars: 1) revision of current challenges facing agricultural research; 2) partnerships and institutional arrangements needed in agricultural research and in policy-making to develop and meet the millennium challenges; 3) revision of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) approaches and structures, to adjust the overall vision for agricultural research to the challenges, and opportunities of the early 21st century; and, 4) actions Canada is undertaking through the Canadian International Development Agency in confronting these challenges and opportunities.


Building a graph neural network (GNN)-based recommender system without violating user privacy proves challenging. Existing methods can be divided into federated GNNs and decentralized GNNs. But both methods have undesirable effects, i.e., low communication efficiency and privacy leakage. This paper proposes DGREC, a novel decentralized GNN for privacy-preserving recommendations, where users can choose to publicize their interactions. It includes three stages, i.e., graph construction, local gradient calculation, and global gradient passing. The first stage builds a local inner-item hypergraph for each user and a global inter-user graph. The second stage models user preference and calculates gradients on each local device. The third stage designs a local differential privacy mechanism named secure gradient-sharing, which proves strong privacy-preserving of users' private data. We conduct extensive experiments on three public datasets to validate the consistent superiority of our framework.


Multipath effects are mostly regarded as a nuisance in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver measurements and it is of utmost relevance to expose the magnitude this error has on observations. The impact of multipath is characterized in the context of a given environment and application. In Malawi, Zomba geodynamics Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) is in a multipath prone environment. The GNSS observations for this station have been used in geodynamics studies in Malawi without an understanding of multipath affecting the positioning accuracy. Taking this as an advantage, this paper evaluated pseudorange multipath (MP) and signal noise ratio (SNR) on both L1 (MP1 and SNR1) and L2 (MP2 and SNR2) for the station. This was specifically addressed by computing the elevation mask with minimum and maximum multipath effects. In addition, the number of satellite vehicles (SVs) and their associated Geometric Dilution of Precision (GDOP) are also determined to define their relationship with respect to elevation angles. One week GNSS observations spanning a twenty-four hour interval for DOY 001 to DOY 007 in January 2018 were analysed in Translation Editing and Quality Check (TEQC) software at four (10º, 15º, 20º and 25º) cut-off angles. Results indicate high multipath effects for both MP1 and MP2 at 10º elevation mask among the four elevation masks. The least MP1 and MP2 multipath effects were detected at an elevation angle of 25º. In addition, MP1 multipath was worse than MP2 all the angles. Moreover, statistical results demonstrated an increase in both SNR1 and SNR2 with respect to elevation angle. For these days, L2 signal was more affected by noise than L1. Further to this, an assessment of SVs and GDOP for the CORS show that at least ten (10) satellites were observed in each day at 10º and 15º elevation cut-off. The number of satellites dropped to five (5) at the elevation angle of 25º resulting into a larger GDOP value of 4.5 (a decrease by about 38% from 1.7 at 10º and 15º elevation cut-off angles). Therefore, to increase both the number of satellites and precision, Zomba CORS may be upgraded to a multi-constellation CORS by including other navigation systems such as GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou. While it is possible to reject GNSS satellite observations below the horizon, it is recommended that post-processing of GNSS data for Zomba geodynamics CORS be done at elevation masks above 15º. Considering that multipath repeats itself every sidereal day, it is thus recommended to model or remove multipath affecting Zomba geodynamics CORS. In addition, the study also recommends that trees very close to Zomba CORS antenna be removed to reduce signal scattering.


With 7.3% of children under the age of 18 experiencing the death of a parent and more who experience a loss of a loved one bereavement is a common experience in the lives of children and youth. The current study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of an 8-week, school-based grief group treatment program in reducing symptoms of grief, dysregulation, and improving social support. A total of 296 children and youth (age 11-18) participated in the grief programming provided by a local hospice agency. With a retention rate of 76% the researchers identified a significant reduction in grief symptomology, frequency of emotion dysregulation, and a significant increase in perceived social support from pre- to post-8-week school-based grief programming. A reduction in intensity of dysregulation was not significant. Implications for school personnel and parental support of children and youth experiencing loss are discussed.


This paper outlines a new strengthening technique for concrete beams using externally unbended high-strength bars. The advantages of proposed method lie in speed and simplicity of construction compared to the alternative strengthening method. Externally unbended reinforcement retains many of the advantages over external unbended prestressed tendons. It eliminates time consuming stressing operations. Clearance requirements around anchorages are reduced as access is not required for prestressing jacks. Test results of eight specimens on reinforced concrete beams using different reinforcement materials such as carbon fiber sheet, steel plate and high-tension bar are reported. The beam strengthened by carbon fiber sheet showed a brittle failure mode due to the separation of fiber. As a result of draped profile of external bar, the maximum strength of the beam were increased by up to 212 percent and the deflections were reduced by up to 65 percent. Test results show that the beams reinforced with high-tension bar are superior to reference specimens, especially for the strength and deformation capacity.


Program Purpose The purpose of the Forest Legacy Program (FLP) is to protect environmentally important forest areas that are threatened by conversion to nonforest uses. Program Description The Forest Legacy Program is a partnership between participating States and the USDA Forest Service. These entities work together to identify important forest lands and protect them for future generations.Conservation easements are the primary tool used to achieve this goal. Priority is given to lands that have important scenic or recreational values; riparian areas; fish and wildlife values, including threatened and endangered species; or other ecological values.


Critical studies on Orientalism interrogates the hierarchies of power constructed between the East and the West. It has been stated that orientalist discourse has been instrumentalized by the West as a vehicle to sustain hegemony over the East. Approaching the notion of Orientalism from a national perspective, this article aims to critically analyze the manifestation of Turkey's center-perphery relations in the advertising discourse. For this purpose, this article undertakes a critical discourse analysis of two Turkish Airlines advertisements about the opening of Igdir and Ordu-Giresun Airports in Turkey's peripheral provinces. Accompanied by the discourses of nationalist and consumerist ideologies, this article argues that advertisements constitue an orientalist discourse that situates the peripheral other vis-a-vis the Western self, represented by the technological, modern, developed and civilizational values of Turkish Airlines.


Social determinants, such as culture, socioeconomic status, sex/gender, lifestyle and environment, and social media, heavily influence adolescent and young adult mental health in the United States and Europe. Racial and cultural minority groups are more likely to suffer from mental illness. African and Native Americans have expressed the most discrimination amongst minority groups in the United States, which may contribute to the increased prevalence of mental illness in these groups. College-aged Asian Americans have high rates of suicidality although they are less likely to receive a mental health diagnosis compared to Caucasian counterparts. Outside of race, low socioeconomic status is associated with poor coping skills and poor mental health. Sex/gender expression shows a discrepancy in suicidality, as girls attempt suicide more often, while boys are more likely to successfully complete suicide. This may be due to increased prevalence of internalizing mental disorders in females and externalizing mental disorders in males. Gender minorities have increased depression and anxiety, and a significant percentage report mistreatment by healthcare officials. Data regarding the effects of social media and mental health is varied, and no strong association has been demonstrated between social media use and mental health. Environmental outcomes such as noise pollution and disparity of healthcare workers have been shown to have a negative impact on mental health.


This paper proposes and demonstrates procedures to optimally design tensegrity structures actuation, based on closed loop shape control requirements, while at the same time a feasible path for realizing a desired shape is synthesized. The procedures are employing different optimization based formulations of a set of requirements needed for shape control. The specific procedure demonstrated is based on a mixed integer linear programming formulation, one of the simplest possible. It is possible to formulate the design problem more generally, but then the computations become more involved, inhibiting a real time implementation of the procedure. The demonstration is for a simple planar tensegrity, but the procedures can be applied to more general structures without modification.


This experiment was carried out in order to separate bovine colostral whey protein from Imsil province and to test the effect of immunological activity on RAW 264.7 cells. The colostral whey protein contained TGF-β 7, 475 pg/g in total. We first tested the effect of the colostral whey protein on the proliferation of RAW 264.7 cells and it demonstrated cytotoxicity at concentrations greater than 20 mg/mL. Therefore, the immunological activities of colostral whey protein were investigated in maximum concentration of 10 mg/mL on LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. Results indicated that colostral whey protein inhibited the LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in a dose-dependent manner. The colostral whey protein also suppressed the productions of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6) in a dose-dependent manner. In addition to the immunological activity, colostral whey protein led to the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in RAW 264.7 cells. In conclusion, colostral whey protein containing TGF-β inhibited the production of NO, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 via expression of HO-1.


Is research 'fit-for-purpose' for realizing sustainable development? More than two decades after the Brundtland report and UNCED Earth summit, the world has now adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Rather than a cause for celebration, this delay should encourage reflection on the role of research in society. Why is it so difficult to realize sustainability in practice? The answer lies in the fact that universities and research centres persist with 19th century methods of data gathering, scholarly analysis, and journal articles. Today's world needs science in real-time, whether to detect drought, confront Ebola, or assist refugees. Research needs to work faster and embrace 21st century practices including data science, open access, and infographics. A silent revolution is occurring in the ways of organizing and conducting research, enabled by new technology and encouraging work that tackles the key challenges facing society. A variety of new arrangements have come into existence that promote international collaboration, including Horizon 2020 with its emphasis on societal challenges, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which has inspired a family of grand challenges funds on health and development, and the Future Earth joint program of research for global sustainability. These arrangements not only control billions of dollars in research funding, they also influence the strategies of national research councils and international organizations. The result is no less than a transformation in the incentives that reward how researchers invest their time and effort. Why is a revolution needed? Within research, substantial growth in knowledge production coincided with fragmentation among disciplines. One can easily find expertise and publications in soil science or agronomy, yet integrated efforts on food security and climate adaptation remain scarce. Beyond research, society remains largely uninformed, as academics avoid engaging in public debate or policy advice. Research often fails to raise public awareness or inform practitioners regarding the issues facing society and the options for responding to them. For example, research on food security can and must go beyond quantifying how many people are hungry or undernourished. Society needs solutions that connect changes in farm-level production, to how the market mediates access to food, and the ultimate health outcomes among citizens. The emerging vision is one where research helps society understand and respond to global problems. Research that is 'fit-for-purpose' demonstrates an ability to bridge ingenuity gaps, address grand challenges, and foster social resilience. Ingenuity gaps concern the knowledge needed to address rising complexity and new vulnerabilities introduced by globalization and technological change. Grand challenges describe a shift in the scale, scope, and ambition of research objectives. Social resilience refer to society's ability to cope with stress and reinvent itself in response to shocks and pressures. In short, together these attributes describe an expectation that research helps society to 'mind the gap', 'think big', and 'bounce'. Research needs to speak back to society. While the journal article and scholarly publications remain important determinants of a research career, they are increasingly supplemented by attention to data visualization, social media, and research impact. Research still needs rigour: deep knowledge of theory and data, and how to uncover patterns and establish explanation. Scientists have a long history of using pie charts, line graphs, and network diagrams to communicate among themselves. Yet research also needs a keen sense of design: an appreciation for how to convey relationships, categories, and magnitude through the creative use of lines, colours, symbols, position and size. Evidence-based illustrations, or infographics, convey complex issues in greater depth than long reports or TV commentaries. Research tells a story: starting with a compelling problem or question, and using data to provide perspective. Rather than offer society potential solutions or policy recommendations, newer techniques allow anyone to interact with data to create their own visualizations and test hypotheses "on demand". In summary, there is a silent revolution in research for sustainability. Research is expected to help understand and address the problems facing society. The opportunities to engage in research are shifting, rewarding those who are embrace the practices of open science and data, those who are connected to international scientific networks, and those that help society to better understand and solve global problems. Bruce Currie-Alder Regional Director, Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Cairo


Three experiments were conducted with Simmental x Angus crossbred steers to determine the effects of energy source and level on performance of newly arrived feedlot calves. In trial 1, 68 steers (initial BW 215 +/- 9.4 kg) were used in a 2 x 3 factorial experiment to determine the effects of receiving diet and previous creep feed on performance. Diets were composed primarily of either corn silage, corn silage + alfalfa pellets + dry corn, or dry corn + alfalfa pellets. For the 41-d trial, calves fed the corn silage-based diet had greater (P < .05) ADG and feed efficiencies than calves fed the other two diets. In Trial 2, 60 steers (initial BW 212 +/- 4.6 kg) were used in a 28-d completely randomized design experiment to determine the effects of 16% CP receiving diets containing 70, 75, 80 or 85% concentrate on performance. There were no differences (P > .10) in ADG or feed efficiency due to dietary concentrate level. In Trial 3, 77 steers (initial BW 226.3 +/- 3.0 kg) were used in a 2 x 3 factorial experiment to determine the effects of dietary concentrate and protein levels on performance during a 28-d receiving period. The factors were concentrate level (70 vs 85% concentrate) and protein level (12.5%, 16%, or phase-fed at 23%, 17%, 14%, and 12.5% during wk 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively). During wk 1, calves fed the 85% concentrate diet had greater (P < .01) DMI, ADG, and feed efficiency compared with 70% concentrate. Calves fed the 16% CP and phase-fed protein diets had greater (P < .01) DMI, ADG, and greater (P < .02) feed efficiency than calves fed the 12.5% CP diets. Receiving diets containing at least 16% CP and > 70% concentrates are beneficial to calves during the first week after feedlot arrival.


Background: Computational models of speech recognition often assume that the set of target words is already given. This implies that these models do not learn to recognise speech from scratch without prior knowledge and explicit supervision. Visually grounded speech models learn to recognise speech without prior knowledge by exploiting statistical dependencies between spoken and visual input. While it has previously been shown that visually grounded speech models learn to recognise the presence of words in the input, we explicitly investigate such a model as a model of human speech recognition. Methods: We investigate the time-course of word recognition as simulated by the model using a gating paradigm to test whether its recognition is affected by well-known word-competition effects in human speech processing. We furthermore investigate whether vector quantisation, a technique for discrete representation learning, aids the model in the discovery and recognition of words. Results/Conclusion: Our experiments show that the model is able to recognise nouns in isolation and even learns to properly differentiate between plural and singular nouns. We also find that recognition is influenced by word competition from the word-initial cohort and neighbourhood density, mirroring word competition effects in human speech comprehension. Lastly, we find no evidence that vector quantisation is helpful in discovering and recognising words. Our gating experiments even show that the vector quantised model requires more of the input sequence for correct recognition.


Plasma amino acid concentrations were measured during fasting and after 3 days of enteral feeding in 16 trauma patients on a glutamine-supplemented diet and 14 patients on an isonitrogenous control diet. During fasting, total amino acids, including glutamine, were depressed by 50% and this was attributed to a reduction in both essential and nonessential amino acids. The essential amino acid concentrations increased in both groups after feeding. The nonessential amino acid concentrations also increased in the control group but not in the glutamine group during feeding. Repletion of the glutamine extracellular pool was not evident after an average intake of 27.1 g per day of glutamine for 3 days. Nitrogen balance was similar for the two groups during feeding. We conclude that in this study, enteral glutamine did not increase the glutamine plasma concentration. In addition, both formulas improved the hypoaminoacidemia of essential amino acids but only the control diet improved the nonessential amino acids plasma concentration.


Flower-like hierarchical nano-/meso-structures assembled from different kinds of materials have great application potential due to their advantages of high surface-to-volume ratios, high loading and adsorption capacities. These biomorphic superarchitectures are commonly obtained using inorganic, organic–inorganic hybrid and block copolymer (BCP) materials. However, the self-assembly of functional π-conjugated BCPs with weak intermolecular interactions has rarely been realized through a facile approach; moreover, the corresponding studies on how the polymer properties and assembly conditions influence the ultimate dimensionality and morphology of micelles are also scarce. Herein, we report the realization of inky flower-like hierarchical supermicelles taking advantage of the ultrashort corona block in the system of poly(2,5-di(2′-octyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene)7-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine)n (PPV7-b-P2VPn). The dimensionality and morphology are successfully controlled by altering the block ratio of BCPs and the polarity of the selective solvent. Then, the growth process of the flower-like supermicelles is observed from the initial flower heart to the final flower petals. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the formation of micelles is driven by the π–π interactions between the PPV7 blocks. Our study on constructing and regulating hierarchical supermicelles in a new functional π-conjugated system would be valuable to other BCPs-based assembly systems.


We determine the entropy rate of patterns of certain random processes including all finite-entropy stationary processes. For independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) processes, we also bound the speed at which the per-symbol pattern entropy converges to this rate, and show that patterns satisfy an asymptotic equipartition property. To derive some of these results we upper bound the probability that the nth variable in a random process differs from all preceding ones.


The objective was to evaluate fatty acids composition of the back fat in loin meat ( Longissimus muscle) from Nellore and Canchim young bulls. The animals were finished at feedlot and received sugar cane diets with two concentrate levels (40 and 60% of dry matter). The concentrates were formulated with sunflower grains, corn, soybean meal, dry sugar cane yeast, urea and mineral mixture. The experimental design was a completely randomized design with a 2x2 factorial arrangement (genetic group x concentrate level), and the results were submitted to the variance analysis and means compared by Tukey test at 5% probability, when the interaction was significant. The loin backfat of Nellore bulls had higher concentration of conjugated linoleic acids than Canchim bulls (0.86 and 0.59%, respectively). On the other hand, the loin back fat of Canchim bulls had higher concentrations of estearic (17.07%) and linoleic acids (2.40%) and polyunsaturated fatty acids than Nellore bulls, that showed values of 13.47 and 1.44, respectively. The Nellore and Canchim loin back fat presents significant amounts of beneficial fatty acids to human health. Levels of 40 and 60% of concentrate in the diet did not alter the fatty acids composition of loin backfat.


Abstract 3368 Translocation (8;21)(q22;q22) is the most common cytogenetic abnormality found in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), presenting in around 15% of all cases and is also reported in lymphoid leukemia. This subtype of AML has a favourable prognosis in contrast to other AML subtypes, however the mechanisms underlying this good response to treatment are not well understood. The translocation between AML1 (RUNX1) and the almost full-length ETO (RUNX1T1, MTG8) gene produces a 752 amino acid fusion protein and changes a transcriptional modulator essential for hematopoiesis into a constitutive repressor. When AML1/ETO ( AE ) is expressed in animal models, further mutations are required for the development of leukemia. AE has also been detected at a considerable frequency in the Guthrie cards of individuals who developed t(8;21) AML up to twelve years later, suggesting that AE + hematopoietic precursor cells can remain latent for many years before transformation. AE + cells have an activated p53 pathway, increased levels of p53 response genes and display an increased susceptibility to DNA damaging agents. AE also decreases the levels of DNA repair genes, including those involved in base-excision repair. This evidence predicts the existence of a pre-leukemic, AE -expressing hematopoietic precursor, which easily acquires additional mutations required for transformation, but that also responds well to treatment. There are multiple alternative forms of AE , the best described being AML1/ETO9a (AE9a), which codes for a truncated version of the protein lacking a significant proportion of ETO. AE9a has been found to be more leukemogenic than AE in mouse models by causing leukemia without the need for additional mutations. Our investigation aims to test the effect of cellular expression of AE or AE9a on mutation, cell death and transformation following exposure to leukemogens and to identify co-operating mutations involved in t(8;21) AML. TK6 lymphoblastoid cells are heterozygous for the TK gene and when exposed to mutagens, can lose their one functional copy and become TK -/- . These mutants can then be selected for and quantified. TK6 were lentivirally transduced with vectors containing EGFP and either AE or AE9a. AE was cloned into the pHR-SINcPPT-SIEW lentiviral transfer vector and a similar AE9a construct acquired. Virus was produced utilising the 293T cell line and TK6 were transduced by a spinfection technique. Expression was confirmed by flow cytometry, western blotting and qRT-PCR. Single clonal populations were generated and fusion gene expression levels of 28% ( AE ) and 40% ( AE9a ) relative to AE expression in Kasumi-1 (a t(8;21) AML patient-derived cell line) were achieved. We used these transduced cell line models to determine whether the presence of AE or AE9a affected cell viability and susceptibility to the acquisition of mutations. Spontaneous TK -/- mutants were first purged from the population by treatment with CHAT media. Two weeks post CHAT treatment, AE + TK6 were shown to acquire a greater number of mutations than controls, both spontaneously and when exposed to doxorubicin (Figure 1). AE + TK6 had a 2.2 fold higher background mutation frequency than controls, suggesting that AE promotes spontaneous acquisition of mutations. When treated with low-dose doxorubicin, AE + TK6 had a 2–3 fold higher mutation frequency (3.5 × 10 −5 ) in comparison to controls; wild-type TK6 and backbone transduced TK6 (1.4 × 10 −5 and 1.1 × 10 −5 respectively). High density SNP array analysis of AE -expressing TK6 has recently identified deletions at 10q25.1 and 3p24.3. The deletion at 3p24.3 potentially affects expression of SGOL1 , coding for a protein involved in sister chromatid segregation and PCAF , an acetyl transferase which has been implicated in the regulation of p53. The effect of the deletion on these genes is currently being evaluated. Our data show that TK6 expressing AE or AE9a have an enhanced sensitivity to the cytotoxic effects of the anthracycline doxorubicin. This contributes to the understanding of the relatively good prognosis of t(8;21) AML. We have shown that expression of AE in a cell system promotes the acquisition of more mutations than that of non-expressing cells. This provides further understanding as to how the pre-leukemic AE + hematopoetic clone transforms and results in leukemia. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


RNA interference (RNAi) has emerged as a powerful tool for developing novel management strategies for controlling insect pests. The 28‐spotted ladybeetle, Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata is one of the most important pests attacking solanaceous plants in Asia. In this study, the potential of dietary RNAi to manage H. vigintioctopunctata was investigated using both in vitro synthesized and bacterially expressed double‐stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) of HvvATPase A and HvvATPase E. The expression levels of HvvATPase A and HvvATPase E were higher in Malpighian tubules than in other tissue types. The silencing of HvvATPase A and HvvATPase E led to significant mortality in H. vigintioctopunctata larvae. In addition, the ingestion of HvvATPase A and HvvATPase E significantly deterred feeding behavior and subsequently arrested the development of H. vigintioctopunctata. Notably, the bacterially expressed dsRNAs consistently caused higher mortality in larvae and adults. Finally, the nontarget effects of the dsRNAs of H. vigintioctopunctata on the predatory ladybeetle Propylaea japonica were evaluated. P. japonica 1st instar larvae were administered vATPase A and vATPase E dsRNAs from H. vigintioctopunctata and P. japonica under the worst‐case scenario, in which dsGFP served as negative control. There were significant effects of dsHvvATPase A on P. japonica at the transcriptional level but not at the organismal level, whereas dsHvvATPase E did not effect P. japonica at either the transcriptional or the organismal level. Collectively, the results of the study suggest that HvvATPase A and HvvATPase E can act as novel molecular targets for the control of H. vigintioctopunctata.


BACKGROUND
Higher problem severity contraindicates moderation drinking in treatment samples, but has not been well investigated in natural recovery samples with more prevalent moderation outcomes, nor have single studies assessed multiple severity indicators. Therefore, we integrated five prospective studies of recent natural recovery attempts to identify multi-indicator profiles that distinguished moderation from abstinence or unstable resolution involving relapse. The study evaluated whether moderation was distinguished by a generalized lower severity profile, or whether more complex profiles better differentiated outcomes.

METHODS
Community-dwelling problem drinkers in the Southeastern U.S. (N = 616, 67% male, 65% white, mean age = 46.5 years) enrolled soon after stopping alcohol misuse without treatment were followed prospectively for a year. Outcome predictors assessed at enrollment included pre-resolution drinking practices, alcohol-related problems, alcohol dependence, and a behavioral economic measure of the reward value of drinking based on pre-resolution spending on alcohol vs. saving for the future.

RESULTS
Latent profile analysis of severity indicators supported a four-profile solution: (1) global low risk on all indicators, (2) global high risk on all indicators, (3) high risk limited to drinking practices only, and (4) high risk limited to alcohol dependence and alcohol-related problems only. Outcomes differed by profile membership (p < .01). Multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that the global low risk and heavy drinking risk only profiles were associated with stable moderation during the one-year follow-up. The high dependence-alcohol problems risk profile was associated with both abstinence and relapse during the follow-up (ps < .05).

CONCLUSIONS
Consistent with prior research, moderation was associated with lower alcohol dependence, problems, and reward value. Participants who simply drank heavily and did not have elevated risk on other indicators also had a higher probability of moderation. Results support using multi-dimensional severity indicators that encompass functional variables in addition to drinking practices to predict outcomes.


Measuring the amplitude, and absolute (i.e., temporal and initial) phase of a monochromatic microwave field at a specific point of space and time has many potential applications, including precise qubit rotations and wavelength quantum teleportation. Here we show how such a measurement can indeed be made using resonant atomic probes, via detection of incoherent fluorescence induced by a laser beam. This measurement is possible due to self-interference effects between the positive and negative frequency components of the field. In effect, the small cluster of atoms here act as a highly localized pick-up coil, and the fluorescence channel acts as a transmission line. 03.67.Hk, 03.67.Lx, 32.80.Qk


The effect of recombinant hirudin, which is the most powerful antithrombotic agent, on flaps with venous insufficiency was investigated. Oedema and congestion are frequent on flaps, causing necrosis unpredictably. Venous insufficiency and thrombosis are experimentally and clinically more frequent than arterial occlusion. Twenty-one adult New Zealand rabbits were used in this study. Skin flaps (3 × 6 cm) were elevated on a 1-cm-wide pedicle on rabbit ears. The artery, nerve, and vein were exposed and examined with the aid of a surgical microscope. Venous insufficiency was established by cutting the vein and nerve. In the control group, no additional surgical or medical procedures were performed and the ear flap was inset to its original location. Subcutaneous low molecular weight heparin (LMWH; 320 IU/kg) was administered to a second group of rabbits after the same surgery, and recombinant hirudin (2 μg) was administered via the pedicle artery 5 minutes after the vein and nerve were bound and cut in a third group of rabbits. Compared with control and LMWH groups on day 3 and 7, the hirudin-treated group had less hair loss, lower oedema scores and less haematoma formation. Furthermore, a lower size of necrotic areas and an increase in the circulating area on day 7 was found in the hirudin-treated group. In addition, angiography revealed new vessel development (neovascularisation) only in the hirudin group. On histologic sections, hirudin-treated animals had lower oedema, inflammation and congestion scores than animals in the other two groups. Thus, when administered into the ear flap through the pedicle as a pure recombinant preparation, hirudin increased flap survival by its antithrombotic effects and by accelerating neoangiogenesis. Recombinant hirudin may be used in clinical practice to treat flaps with venous problems and to increase survival rates.


Abstract: Summer fruitlet thinning is implemented as a routine orchard practice to produce apple fruits with good quality. However, its impacts on the dynamics of fruit quality metrics during the growing season and in the postharvest storage, remain unclear. In this study, summer hand thinning on fruitlets of Ambrosia™ apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) was conducted on two dwarfing rootstocks, Malling 9 (M.9) and Budagovsky (B.9), in an organic orchard and a conventional orchard under the semi-arid climate in Similkameen Valley, BC. Adequate thinning [(AT) in which 70% of fruitlets were removed] and light thinning [(LT) in which 30% of fruitlets were removed] were implemented in randomized plots in 8 wk after full bloom. Fruit development and dry matter content (DMC) were then monitored during the growing season; fruit quality was subsequently evaluated at harvest and after 4 mo of air storage at 0.5 °C. Relative to LT, AT enhanced fruit quality attributes in DMC, surface blush coverage and intensity, and soluble solids content (SSC) at harvest. The apples with higher DMC under AT also possessed higher compositional quality and lower incidences of fruit disorder in the postharvest stage. This study suggests that summer fruitlet thinning of Ambrosia apples can have significant impacts on fruit composition during subsequent on-tree fruit development, on the onset of ripening and eventually on the retention of quality and minimization of disorders over 4 mo of cold air storage. This effect is found for organic orchard (OG) and conventional orchard (CV) production systems and with both dwarfing rootstocks.


Current practical literature for HF NVIS communication places significant emphasis on foF2 as being the maximum frequency for vertical propagation. This, however, fails to consider the extraordinary wave. This paper presents the analysis of 5 MHz beacon data, showing the relevance of the extraordinary wave in the MUF calculation for NVIS propagation. The results are in full agreement with established scientific theory and ionospheric propagation prediction methods, the detail of which the HF NVIS user community may not be aware of.


In 342 singleton pregnancies in which the patients were undergoing chorionic villus sampling at 11 to 14 weeks of gestation, color Doppler sonography was used to obtain waveforms from the umbilical cord. The prevalence of pulsatile flow in the umbilical vein was higher in the 18 fetuses with trisomy 18 or 13 (16 of 18; 88.9%) than in the 18 fetuses with trisomy 21 (6 of 18; 33.3%) or the 302 chromosomally normal fetuses (73 of 302; 24.2%).


Farmers in the developing countries has the limited resources due to no subsidy on the agricultural inputs. Tillage is basic and essential tool for good soil preparation before sowing of any crop. Conservation and conventional tillage practices with soil surface mulch application in the postharvest rice field has notably influenced the crop yield of next wheat crop, and net return by decreasing the cost of intensive cultivation in south east Asia. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of different tillage methods and mulch materials in wheat (Triticum aestivum L. var. Sahar 2006) production. In 2009 to 2011, the field trial was set up with randomized complete block design in split plot arrangements having two factors: tillage methods (conventional tillage (CT), deep tillage (DT), zero tillage with zone disc tiller (ZDT) and happy seeder (HS)) and mulching materials (no mulch, rice straw (MRice), wheat straw (Mwheat), plastic sheet (MPlastic) @ 4 t ha-1, and natural mulch) in subplots. Significantly higher leaf area index, crop growth rate and grain yield were recorded in HS and DT compared with CT and ZDT. However, net assimilation rate was noticed substantially higher in CT comparison with other tillage treatments. Mulch treatment of MRice and MPlastic @ 4 t ha-1 were equally effective in promoting the measured crop characteristics, and thereby, improved the grain yield as compared to other mulch treatments during 2009-10 and 2010-11. Based on experimental results, the best management strategy is HS with MRice was concluded to be economically desirable for wheat cultivation.


Porosity plays an important role in the characterization of transport properties. However, it is quite difficult to predict the unknown porosity values only by some sparse hard data in the process of simulation based on current popular interpolation methods. Accuracy of simulated images can be improved using soft data and hard data together. Multiple-point geostatistics (MPS) is used to simulate statistical information of images, which allows extracting multiple-point structures from training images and then copies these structures to the regions to be simulated. To simulate the porosity values accurately, a porosity simulation method using soft data and hard data in MPS is proposed. Dimension reduction is made by filters to reduce the cost of CPU and memory. All similar training patterns fall into a cell in the filter score space, which is created by filters, to make a prototype. Finally, a training pattern is randomly drawn from a cell, and pasted back onto the simulation region. The experimental results show that, compared with the unconditional simulated image and the simulated image using hard data only, the structures of the image using soft data and hard data are more similar to those of the training image. Keywords-soft data; hard data; multiple-point geostatistics; simulation; porosity