Modern requirements for extended operations in aviation, transportation, the military, and industry have led to extensive research on countermeasures to mitigate the adverse effects of fatigue. The goals of this research were to (a) summarize and integrate existing research on naps as a fatigue countermeasure using metaanalysis, (b) identify the strength and significance of the effects of naps on performance and feelings of fatigue, and (c) identify factors that may moderate the effects of napping as a fatigue countermeasure. The results of these analyses can be used to predict nap efficacy as a function of length of the nap and the postnap interval. The results of these analyses also suggest an approach to work design that takes into account the optimal effects of naps as a fatigue countermeasure. Actual or potential applications of this research include the development of optimal work schedules to minimize fatigue and increase safety.


We have previously shown that adult female rats exposed to intra-uterine malnutrition were normophagic, although obese and resistant to insulin-induced hypophagia. The present study aimed at examining aspects of another important catabolic component of energy homeostasis control, the hypothalamic serotonergic function, which inhibits feeding and stimulates energy expenditure. Pregnant dams were fed ad libitum or were restricted to 50 % of ad libitum intake during the first 2 weeks of pregnancy. Control and restricted 4-month-old progeny were studied. The restricted rats had increased body adiposity with normal daily food intake but failed to respond with hypophagia to an intracerebroventricular injection of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT). Stimulation, by food ingestion, of extracellular levels of serotonin in medial hypothalamus microdialysates was more pronounced and lasted longer in the restricted than in the control rats. In the restricted group, hypothalamic levels of 5-HT2C receptor protein tended to be reduced (P = 0·07) while the levels of 5-HT1B receptor and serotonin transporter proteins were significantly elevated (36 and 79 %, respectively). In conclusion, female rats undernourished in utero had normophagic obesity as adults but had an absence of serotonin-induced hypophagia and low hypothalamic levels of the 5-HT2C receptor. Compensatory adaptations for the functional serotonergic impairment were evidenced, such as an enhanced release of serotonin in response to a meal allied to up-regulated hypothalamic 5-HT1B and transporter expression. Whether these compensations will persist in later life warrants further investigation. Moreover, it cannot be ruled out that the serotonergic component of energy expenditure was already impaired, thus contributing to the observed body-fat phenotype.


Process management literature is skeptical about creating legitimacy and a sense of partnership when implementing concessional Public-Private Partnerships. Within such organizational arrangements, managerial interaction often resembles zero-sum games. To explore the possibility to (re)create a sense of partnership in concessional PPPs, we developed the "3P challenge" serious game. Two gaming sessions with a mixed group of practitioners and a team of public project managers showed that the game cycle recreates adversarial situations where players can enact contractual obligations with higher or lower levels of subjectivity. When reflecting on the gaming experience, practitioners point out that PPP contracts can be creatively enacted by managers who act as brokers of diverse interests. While becoming aware of each other stakes they can blend contractual dispositions or place brackets around some contractual clauses for reaching agreement. By doing so, they can (re)create a sense of partnership, clarity, and fairness of the PPP contract.


Objectives: This study was designed to develop and assess the mechanical properties of an experimental bioactive glass fiber post by the reinforcement of bioactive cement. Study Design: An in vitro study. Material and Methods: surface treated unidirectional E-glass fiber were impregnated and implanted with a triple cure, self-adhesive ACTIVA Bioactive resin cement to fabricate an experimental bioactive glass fiber post using hand lay-up molding technique and clear cylindrical split mold with a 2mm diameter. Each specimen ensures 3min for self-cure setting, then light-cured for the 40s. The cylindrical shape post specimens (n=8) were prepared at room temperature for one day before subjected to fatigue test, A custom made three-point bending machine, loading at 90° angle and a frequency of 2 Hz was utilized for fatigue test. The machine was set for two million cycles or until failure of the fiber post. The results were compared with the EXACTO post. Statistical analysis used: Statistical analysis performed by independent variable t-test performed by using IBM-SPSS program version 22. Results: Statistically increased flexural strength was recorded of experimental material compared to the virgin Active Bioactive. The flexural fatigue test revealed statistically significant differences between the two posts. The experimental post performed better than EXACTO post. Conclusions: Reinforcement of the bioactive cement comprises rubberized ionic resin was enhanced flexural strength with a promising modulus of elasticity and exhibited a higher fatigue resistance, suggesting its possibility as new bioactive post material.


NF-kappaB activation is an important mechanism of mammalian UV response to protect cells. UV-induced NF-kappaB activation depends on the casein kinase II (CK2) phosphorylation of IkappaBalpha at a cluster of C-terminal sites, but how it is regulated remains unclear. Here we demonstrate that beta-arrestin2 can function as an effective suppressor of UV-induced NF-kappaB activation through its direct interaction with IkappaBalpha. CK2 phosphorylation of beta-arrestin2 blocks its interaction with IkappaBalpha and abolishes its suppression of NF-kappaB activation, indicating that the beta-arrestin2 phosphorylation is critical. Moreover, stimulation of beta2-adrenergic receptors, a representative of G-protein-coupled receptors in epidermal cells, promotes dephosphorylation of beta-arrestin2 and its suppression of NF-kappaB activation. Consequently, the beta-arrestin2 suppression leads to promotion of UV-induced cell death, which is also under regulation of beta-arrestin2 phosphorylation. Thus, beta-arrestin2 is identified as a phosphorylation-regulated suppressor of UV response and this may play a functional role in the response of epidermal cells to UV.


BACKGROUND
The role of resistin, a "new" white adipose tissue hormone, still needs to be established. Its linkage to insulin sensitivity and body mass was controversial in previous studies.

MATERIAL/METHODS
Twenty obese patients (BMI: 32.1+/-6.9 kg/m2 ) with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) (Apnoea-Hypopnoea Index: 48.6+/-19.1, underwent measurements of resistin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), CRP and the insulin sensitivity index (ISI) by hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic clamp before, 2 days and 2 months after onset of CPAP treatment.

RESULTS
Resistin remained unchanged during CPAP-therapy and was negatively correlated to ISI (r=-0.359; p=0.006), the latter was significantly improved by CPAP (p<0.001). In a correlation matrix, IL-6 and ICAM-1 were significantly (p=0.001) correlated to resistin (p=0.614 and 0.427). Changes of inflammatory markers under CPAP treatment were related to AHI, as well as resistin changes.

CONCLUSIONS
In agreement with previous investigations, we could only demonstrate a weak linkage between ISI and resistin. However, at least in obese patients with OSAS, there is a close relation to subclinical inflammation (IL-6) and endothelial activation (ICAM-1).


Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged economies, health systems, and lives globally. Concerns surrounding near total economic collapse, loss of livelihood and emotional complications ensuing from lockdowns and commercial inactivity, resulted in governments loosening economic restrictions. These concerns were further exacerbated by the absence of vaccines and drugs to combat the disease, with the fear that the next wave of the pandemic would be more fatal. Consequently, integrating disease surveillance mechanism into public healthcare systems is gaining traction, to reduce the spread of community and cross-border infections and offer informed medical decisions. Methods: Publicly available datasets of coronavirus cases around the globe deposited between December, 2019 and March 15, 2021 were retrieved from GISAID EpiFluTM and processed. Also retrieved from GISAID were data on the different SARS-CoV-2 variant types since inception of the pandemic. Results: Epidemiological analysis offered interesting statistics for understanding the demography of SARS-CoV-2 and helped the elucidation of local and foreign transmission through a history of contact travels. Results of genome pattern visualization and cognitive knowledge mining revealed the emergence of high intra-country viral sub-strains with localized transmission routes traceable to immediate countries, for enhanced contact tracing protocol. Variant surveillance analysis indicates increased need for continuous monitoring of SARSOpen Peer Review


Flow control in a mobile ad hoc network (MANET) must face many new challenges such as frequent rerouting and bandwidth variation of the wireless links. TCP's implicit AIMD flow control performs poorly in this environment, because it often cannot keep up with the dynamics of the network. This paper explores the potential utility of explicit flow control in the MANET domain. To this end, we propose an end-to-end rate-based flow control scheme (called EXACT), where a flow's allowed rate is explicitly conveyed from intermediate routers to the end-hosts in each data packet's special control header. As a result, EXACT reacts quickly and precisely to re-routing and bandwidth variation, which makes it especially suitable for a dynamic MANET network and also discusses several supporting mechanisms required for such a scheme at the MAC and the transport layers. By ns-2 simulations, we show that EXACT outperforms TCP in terms of fairness and efficiency, especially in a highly dynamic MANET environment.


Helper T cell subsets have evolved to respond to different pathogens, and upon activation secrete distinct sets of cytokines. The discovery and identification of Th17 cells, which develop via a unique lineage from Th1 and Th2 cells, have provided new insights into aspects of immune regulation and host defense that were previously unclear. A key early signaling event upon Ag recognition is elevation of intracellular free Ca2+, and cytokine expression can be differentially induced depending on the duration, amplitude, and pattern of Ca2+ signaling. Th1 and Th2 cells can be distinguished by their Ca2+ profiles, and we provide in this study the first report regarding Ca2+ signaling in Th17 cells. Th17 cells have a distinct Ca2+ signaling profile from Th1 and Th2 cells with intermediate sustained Ca2+ levels and increased oscillations compared with Th2 cells. Elevated intracellular Ca2+ has been shown to inhibit T cell motility, and we observed that Th17 cells, like Th1 cells, are less motile than Th2 cells. Analysis of NF-AT nuclear localization revealed that Th1 and Th17 cells have significantly higher levels at later time points compared with Th2 cells. Thus, these findings show that Th17 cells, in addition to their distinct cytokine response from Th1 and Th2 cells, display unique patterns of intracellular Ca2+ signaling and Th1-like motility behavior and nuclear localization of NF-AT.


Our retrospective analysis of growth and pubertal development includes 109 children and adults with meningomyelocele (MMC) (52 M, 57 F) aged 3.2‐21.0 years (median 8.9 years). Anthropometric data, growth‐retarding factors and data on pubertal development were analysed in comparison to the normal population using standards from Prader et al. (1). The results (mean ± SD) were as follows. Fifty patients (46.8%) had short stature (height SDS for chronological age (SDS CA)< ‐2). The supine length was influenced by the level of the lesion (height SDS CA: ≥ L2 ‐3.13 ± 1.62, ≤ S2 ‐0.46 ± 1.27), ambulatory status, skeletal deformities and pubertal stage. The mean adult height (n= 15, age 16.1–21.0 years) measured 141.3cm for women (height SDS CA ‐3.83 ± 1.79) and 159.2 cm for men (height SDS CA ‐2.27 ± 1.81). In 82.6% of the subjects (n= 90), arm spans were within the normal range. Reduced arm spans (SDS < ‐2) as found in 19 patients (17.4%) with short stature (mean height SDS CA ‐3.29 ± 1.29) may be caused by factors other than neurological lesions and skeletal deformities, and require further endocrinological studies. Out of 27 pubertal patients, central precocious puberty was diagnosed in five girls. The stages of puberty in MMC girls developed earlier than expected for the age‐related group.


Evaluation instigates learning and teaching and is central to them. All elements in the educational process have to be evaluated, including the evaluation of exams and related exam methods. This study aimed at evaluating the Egyptian GCSE English exam and exam method against GCSE curriculum goals and stakeholders' (i.e. teachers' and students') perceptions of the exams. The study adopted a qualitative approach: a fixed alternative questionnaire and a semi-structured E-interview both administered to participant experts and practitioner teachers (n 50 and 5, respectively), and it also incorporated designing and using another questionnaire (in two versions) administered to GCSE graduates: 50 for the school year 2020-2021 and 100 for the 2021-2022. Results revealed that certain curriculum language skills and elements were absent, and the vast majority of them were under-represented and improperly addressed. Even, the curriculum novel content was covered inappropriately. It was then found out that the exams had few strengths and many weaknesses, regarding the question type, language skill and language element representation/coverage, exam nature and appropriateness for students, incompliance with curriculum and OBD. Other exam implications were covered. Plans and recommendations for intervention included inclusion of performance-based questions for three language skills and the translation element, coverage of grammar and vocabulary, inclusion of language functions and idioms, variation of question types appropriate for language skill/element, and commitment to the OBE approach in the exams as well as to research.


Post-remission options were compared in a population of 262 relapsing and refractory acute myeloid leukemia patients achieving complete remission (CR) after the same re-induction according to etoposide - mitoxantrone - cytarabine (EMA) trials. The selection of post-remission therapy depended on trial recommendations, age, performance status, and availability of an HLA-identical sibling. One hundred and thirty patients received chemotherapy consolidation courses, 50 received autologous stem cell transplantation (SCT), and 43 underwent allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT), while 39 did not receive any additional therapy. The preliminary analysis identified 3 favorable prognostic factors correlated with event-free survival (EFS): M3 subtype, previous CR duration > 1 year, and transplantation. Three year EFS was 68 vs. 23% with autologous SCT and allogeneic BMT in M3 patients and, respectively, 41 vs. 20% in non-M3 patients. Three year probabilities of treatment-related mortality were 11 and 47%, respectively. A statistical model was conceived with adjustment on prognostic factors and post-remission option. In the multivariate analysis, autologous SCT appeared significantly better than allogeneic BMT (P < 0.01) or chemotherapy (P = 0.001), while allogeneic BMT was not statistically different than chemotherapy. This indicates a high treatment-related toxicity with allogeneic BMT in patients re-induced by highly intensive chemotherapy, and therefore a tendency for a better outcome with autologous SCT as post-remission treatment in those patients.


The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of mindfulness and interpersonal stressors on physical and verbal aggressive behaviors. Participants included 107 undergraduate and graduate students. A multiple regression analysis showed that mindfulness significantly reduced the promotive effects of interpersonal stressors on verbal aggressive behavior; however, the same was not evident in the case of physical aggressive behavior. These findings may have important implications for the prevention of aggressive behaviors.


Abstract Objective Rollover crashes, which occur when the vehicle's side or roof makes impact with the ground, present particularly serious injury risk. Higher rollover risk has been found for high riding vehicles – those with a relatively high center of gravity compared to the width of the wheel track. Electronic Stability Control (ESC), which automatically applies brakes to individual wheels and reduces engine power to help drivers regain control when traction is lost, has been shown to be effective in preventing a proportion of rollovers. A newer safety technology, Roll Stability Control (RSC), uses similar technology aimed specifically to reduce rollover risk. This study sought to estimate rollover crash rates associated with the fitment of RSC compared to non-fitment for high center of gravity (CG) light passenger vehicles using an induced exposure analysis. Methods Police-recorded Australasian crash data were studied for the years 2008-2017. A quasi-induced exposure analysis was restricted to vehicles already equipped with ESC as vehicles fitted with RSC always have ESC fitted. Rollover risk associated with RSC fitment was assessed, controlling for year of crash, speed limit at crash location, year of vehicle manufacture, vehicle market group, driver age, driver gender and jurisdiction identifier. Results The analysis found a statistically significant rollover risk ratio of 0.76 (95% CI 0.62-0.93), representing a 24% reduction in rollover risk, associated with RSC fitment for vehicles manufactured between 2008 and 2017. Analysis by particular market groups found significant risk ratio reductions for commercial utilities and large SUVs, but not for the other high CG market groups individually. Conclusions These results suggest that RSC is a highly effective safety feature for high CG vehicles. Fleet data from Australia and New Zealand showed declining rates of RSC fitment over recent years for SUVs, meaning the potential road safety benefits of the technology are not being fully realized.


Muscle satellite cells are indispensable for muscle regeneration, but the functional diversity of their daughter cells is unknown. Here, we show that many Pax7+MyoD− cells locate both beneath and outside the basal lamina during myofiber maturation. A large majority of these Pax7+MyoD− cells are not self-renewed satellite cells, but have different potentials for both proliferation and differentiation from Pax7+MyoD+ myoblasts (classical daughter cells), and are specifically marked by expression of the doublecortin ( Dcx ) gene. Transplantation and lineage-tracing experiments demonstrated that Dcx-expressing cells originate from quiescent satellite cells and that the microenvironment induces Dcx in myoblasts. Expression of Dcx seems to be necessary for myofiber maturation because Dcx-deficient mice exhibited impaired myofiber maturation resulting from a decrease in the number of myonuclei. Furthermore, in vitro and in vivo studies suggest that one function of Dcx in myogenic cells is acceleration of cell motility. These results indicate that Dcx is a new marker for the Pax7+MyoD− subpopulation, which contributes to myofiber maturation during muscle regeneration.


The political tsunami that occurred on 8 March 2008 sent shock waves throughout Malaysia. It was an unexpected turn of events that many thought of as a dream or nightmare, depending on who was having the dream. Thus, this study looks into how the politicians from all parties used the media to convey messages across to the media consumers in order to influence the public to vote for them. Specifically, this study considers the issues that were raised by the politicians and picked up by the media. The investigation of the present study is undertaken using the theoretical framework of Agenda Setting. A quantitative analysis using Content Analysis is proposed to examine the issues that were brought up by the politicians and picked up by the Malaysian daily, The Star, as reflected in the news reports on the days leading to the general election.


The isotope ratio RI=D/(H+D) was measured during ohmic discharges in the magnetically diverted tokamak TdeV, using spectroscopy (Halpha and Dalpha ), gas analysis (H2, HD and D2), mass analysis of charge exchange neutrals, and detection of H and D in a collector probe, in the course of four different experimental phases: (I) 'dynamical' isotope switchover of the fuelling gas during a discharge, (II) shot-to-shot evolution with pure D2 fuelling, (III) same with walls conditioned by D2 glow discharge, and (IV) 'dynamical' switchover combined with divertor biasing and pumping. The different values obtained for RI are compared and analysed in terms of the particle recycling properties of the device. The dynamical scenario (phase I) revealed a lack of equilibrium between the edge and core isotopic composition that is an indication of the degree to which the particle flux is amplified by recycling in the vicinity of surfaces. The phase II results were fitted to a model which yielded an estimate of the magnitude of the wall inventory available for recycling. In phase III, the effectiveness of conditioning was assessed. Phase IV revealed an even more pronounced disequilibrium than phase I, and demonstrated the power of divertor biasing and pumping in exhausting the wall inventory and controlling the isotope ratio.


Elderly patients admitted to urological hospitals and departments with increasing frequency have the disease complicated with age-specific and associated circulatory and respiratory affections. Occasionally, these complications are not clinically evident, but may acquire unwanted decompensated course. Subclinical forms of circulatory and respiratory insufficiency can be managed using relatively simple methods of functional assessment applicable in outpatient setting. Recommendations are provided on operative preparations which can be made at home or in outpatient department thus reducing the cost of hospital stay.


Current characterization methods of the so‐called Bulk Heterojunction (BHJ), which is the main material of Organic Photovoltaic (OPV) solar cells, are limited to the analysis of global fabrication parameters. This reduces the efficiency of the BHJ design process, since it misses critical information about the local performance bottlenecks in the morphology of the material. In this paper, we propose a novel framework that fills this gap through visual characterization and exploration of local structure‐performance correlations. We also propose a formula that correlates the structural features with the performance bottlenecks. Since research into BHJ materials is highly multidisciplinary, our framework enables a visual feedback strategy that allows scientists to build intuition about the best choices of fabrication parameters. We evaluate the usefulness of our proposed system by obtaining new BHJ characterizations. Furthermore, we show that our approach could substantially reduce the turnaround time.


Colloidal silica can be prepared by various methods and starting materials including ion exchange of aqueous silicates, hydrolysis and condensation of silicon compounds, direct oxidation of silicon, and milling and peptization of silica powder. Various silica sols having particle sizes of 10-60 nm prepared by these methods and the preparation methods have been compared on the basis of their shape, size uniformity, sphericity, stability against pH variation, cation concentration, and price, etc. Silica sol prepared from tetraethoxysilane affords uniform size control and growth, and high purity, despite the relatively high costs. Silica sol prepared from liquid silicates affords relatively easy size and shape control; however, it is difficult to lower the alkali content to a level that is appropriate for carrying out semiconductor chemical mechanical polishing processes; in addition, the waste water treatment carried out for recovering the ion exchange resin gives rise environmental consideration. The properties of colloidal silica prepared from fumed silica powder by milling and dispersion depend on the starting silica source and it is relatively difficult to obtain monodispersed particles using this method. Colloidal silica prepared from silicon by direct oxidation has a monodispersed spherical shape and purity control with reasonable prices. It generates less waste water because it can be directly produced in relatively high concentrations. The cation fraction located in the particle relative to the free cation in the fluid is relatively lower in the silica sol prepared by the direct oxidation than others. A careful comparison of colloidal silica and the preparation methods may help in choosing the proper colloidal silica that is the most appropriate for the application being considered.


The effect of sowing date (three sowing dates viz., S1= 01 November, S2= 15 November and S3= 30 November) and phosphorus levels (four phosphorus fertilizer levels viz., P0= Control, P1= 35 kg P ha-1, P2= 45 kg P ha-1 and P3= 55 kg P ha-1) on growth, seed yield and quality of fenugreek was investigated at Horticulture Farm, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, during 10 October 2020 to April 2021. Growth-related data was maximum on S1 (01 November) treatment but S2 (15 November) treatment showed the best result in case of seed yield. In case of growth characters, P3 (55 kg ha-1) revealed the best result but in case of seed yield, P2 (45 kg ha-1) treatment showed the best effect. Under this investigation, it was revealed that the maximum growth was obtained by S1P3 (01 November with 55 kg P ha-1) and the minimum growth was obtained by S3P0 (30 November with control) treatment combination. The maximum pods per plant (52.61), seeds per pod (12.87), weight of individual pod (147.11 mg), the weight of seeds per plant (7.67 g) and weight of 1000-seed (13.86 g), seed yield per plot (306.72 g), seed yield per hectare (2.13 t) and vigor index (570.27) was observed from the treatment combination S2P2 (15 November with 45 kg P ha-1). It was concluded that the combination of sowing date S2 (15 November) along with phosphorus application P2 (45 kg P ha-1) were given the better performance of all the yield contributing parameters and seed yield of fenugreek. So, S2P2 (15 November with 45 kg P ha-1) treatment combination can be repeated in different agro-ecological zones of Bangladesh.


BACKGROUND
Parenting factors may be important to the development of attributional style in adolescence, which in turn relates to depression symptoms. These relationships have mainly been considered in terms of social risk mechanisms, and little is known about the role of genetic influences.

METHOD
Self-reported measures of attributional style, depression symptoms and parental disciplinary styles were administered to over 1300 adolescent twin and sibling pairs. Model-fitting techniques were used to examine the role of genetic and environmental influences.

RESULTS
Moderate genetic influences on attributional style were demonstrated, and furthermore, its association with depression reflected considerable genetic effects. Familial factors were implicated in the association between attributional style and punitive parenting, although genetic from shared environmental causes could not be distinguished.

CONCLUSIONS
Our results demonstrate that attributional style is influenced by genetic, as well as social factors. Implications for aetiological pathways integrating cognitive, genetic and social factors on adolescent depression are discussed.


Watermarking is a potential method for copyright protection and multimedia data authentication in the internet. The watermarking process can be considered as a communication task. In this paper, a novel watermarking scheme using code division multiple access (CDMA) modulation is proposed to achieve a superior performance in terms of robustness and imperceptibility. In the proposed scheme, every three watermark bits are modulated into a five bit MCDMA code. Then the MCDMA code is concealed in the coefficients of a DCT block.To demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed scheme, simulations under various conditions are conducted. The empirical results show that our proposed scheme can stand up against most common attacks including JPEG compression, rotating, resizing, cropping, mosaicking, noising and blurring etc.


The goal of this essay is to set forth the ethical teaching of al-Fārābī and of Ibn Sina. However, because their writings and their philosophy are not well-known to us, it seems appropriate to move towards what is unknown by starting from what is known. The writings and philosophy of Plato and Aristotle being generally well-known to us, the essay begins by setting forth the main points of their ethical teaching and then moves to the main points of Fārābī's and Avicenna's ethical teaching. This method commands itself for another reason as well : Fārābī and Avicenna were quite familiar with the thinking of Plato and Aristotle, so familiar that they cast many of their own ideas in the idiom of their Greek predecessors or drew attention to their differences with them. This procedure leads to the basic conclusion that ethics is less important for Plato, Aristotle, and Fārābī than virtue - a point on which Avicenna presents a rather unique argument. For all of our authors except Aristotle, virtue is to be understood as subordinated to theoretical understanding. And a number of other conclusions are drawn, all serving to suggest that the current understanding of ethics is at odds with the traditional view and is unable to account adequately for political life.


This paper aims to provide a heroism mythological reflection on the journey of researchers. This study uses the qualitative case study to obtain the comprehension of researchers' metaphor journeys through Monomyth on their research experiences. The documentary analysis is used in this qualitative study with the reflexive narrative because the reflection on experience can help the reader to gain insight into the researcher and their approach during the journey. 15 researcher's literacy narratives chosen in this study which consists of 8 published literacy narratives and 7 literacy narratives task from participants. Research itself often considered as a journey that extends the existing knowledge and also develops new knowledge of the researcher while wandering in the wilderness of knowledge. Along the way, the researchers with their literacy narratives in this study unconsciously have a similar mythical pattern story as like as the mythical heroes which Campbell (1949) term it as 'Monomyth' pattern. The result presented in this paper may facilitate the literate improvements in which to motivate, to help the novice researcher to understand their own hero's journey and to educate them about the stages that they will experience such as their new transition of conducting their new research.


How does language refer to objective reality and relate to speakers? Davidson's truth-conditions theory provides a method of interpretation and, notwithstanding difficulties in relating artificial languages to natural languages, articulates the true structure of all of natural language whilst simultaneously furnishing a theory of logical form. But how does language refer to the world. Davidson's scientific realism abandons any assumed foundational basis in extra-linguistic reality; hence, reference to facts is otiose. Only via the truth-conditions structure of language can the true structure of reality be described. From within language, reality is reconstructed as extensional reference to simultaneously-postulated entities. Yet reference to Davidson's abstracta and the internal causal structure of such events is problematic. Nevertheless, in languages of normal expressive-power, we must refer- even if it proves possible to eliminate an unwanted ontology. Convention (t), however, allows scope for alternative theories discriminating reality. Reference to objective reality being a linguistic action, cognizance must be taken of background features of a speaker's psychological reality guiding and constraining such use. Any foundational basis is again rejected:Davidson's analysis of 'A believes that p' (etc.) abjures reference to Fregean propositions (or to sentences). Furthermore, extra-linguistic Gricean intentions are unacceptable. Only via true, structured, elements of language can the true, structured intensional and intentional elements be described. Thus,beliefs (etc. ) are analyzed within the extensional metalanguage. But Davidson's extensional reconstruction of postulated attitudes, and also reference to 'reasons' as causes, are contentious. Still, it is argued, we must refer to such independent 'reasons', despite shortcomings in Davidson's account. Hence, reference to objective reality and the background attitudes of speakers are all reconstructed within the truth-conditions structure of language as theoretical postulations. Reality is immanent within language, but,crucially, the disclosures of its structured network of interpretants must refer to the structured, true being of a reality beyond itself.


Many issues remain unresolved about antipsychotic drugs. Their therapeutic potency scales with affinity for dopamine D2 receptors, but there are indications that they act indirectly, with dopamine D1 receptors (and others) as possible ultimate targets. Classical neuroleptic drugs disinhibit striatal cholinergic interneurones and increase acetyl choline release. Their effects may then depend on stimulation of muscarinic receptors on principle striatal neurones (M4 receptors, with reduction of cAMP formation, for therapeutic effects; M1 receptors for motor side effects). Many psychotic patients do not benefit from neuroleptic drugs, or develop resistance to them during prolonged treatment, but respond well to clozapine. For patients who do respond, there is a wide (>ten-fold) range in optimal doses. Refractoriness or low sensitivity to antipsychotic effects (and other pathologies) could then arise from low density of cholinergic interneurones. Clozapine probably owes its special actions to direct stimulation of M4 receptors, a mechanism available when indirect action is lost.


ABSTRACT The calcineurin A (CaNA) subunit was identified as a novel binding partner of plasma membrane Na+/H+ exchanger 1 (NHE1). CaN is a Ca2+-dependent phosphatase involved in many cellular functions, including cardiac hypertrophy. Direct binding of CaN to the 715PVITID720 sequence of NHE1, which resembles the consensus CaN-binding motif (PXIXIT), was observed. Overexpression of NHE1 promoted serum-induced CaN/nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) signaling in fibroblasts, as indicated by enhancement of NFAT promoter activity and nuclear translocation, which was attenuated by NHE1 inhibitor. In neonatal rat cardiomyocytes, NHE1 stimulated hypertrophic gene expression and the NFAT pathway, which were inhibited by a CaN inhibitor, FK506. Importantly, CaN activity was strongly enhanced with increasing pH, so NHE1 may promote CaN/NFAT signaling via increased intracellular pH. Indeed, Na+/H+ exchange activity was required for NHE1-dependent NFAT signaling. Moreover, interaction of CaN with NHE1 and clustering of NHE1 to lipid rafts were also required for this response. Based on these results, we propose that NHE1 activity may generate a localized membrane microdomain with higher pH, thereby sensitizing CaN to activation and promoting NFAT signaling. In cardiomyocytes, such signaling can be a pathway of NHE1-dependent hypertrophy.


Neddylation is a ubiquitylation-like pathway that is critical in various cellular functions by conjugating NEDD8 to target proteins. However, the roles of neddylation in stroke, remain elusive. Here, we report that NEDD8 conjugation increased after ischemic stroke and was abundantly present in neutrophils, whereas cullin-1, a key substrate of neddylation, was upregulated in endothelium. Inhibition of neddylation by MLN4924, inactivated cullin-RING E3 ligase (CRL), reduced brain infarction and improved functional outcomes. MLN4924 treatment induced accumulation of the CRL substrate NF1. Knockdown of NF1 abolished MLN4924-dependent inhibition of neutrophil trafficking. These effects were mediated through activation of endothelial P-selectin and ICAM-1. Moreover, NF1 silencing blocked MLN4924-afforded BBB protection and neuroprotection through activation of PKCδ, MARCKS and MLC in cerebral microvessels. Our results demonstrate that increased neddylation promoted neutrophil trafficking and thus exacerbated injury of the BBB and stroke outcomes. We suggest that the neddylation inhibition may be beneficial in ischemic stroke.


Mean-variance efficient portfolios constructed using sample moments often involve taking extreme long and short positions. Hence practitioners often impose portfolio weight constraints when constructing efficient portfolios. Green and Hollifield (1992) argue that the presence of a single dominant factor in the covariance matrix of returns is why we observe extreme positive and negative weights. If this were the case then imposing the weight constraint should hurt whereas the empirical evidence is often to the contrary. We reconcile this apparent contradiction. We show that constraining portfolio weights to be nonnegative is equivalent to using the sample co-variance matrix after reducing its large elements and then form the optimal portfolio without any restrictions on portfolio weights. This shrinkage helps reduce the risk in estimated optimal portfolios even when they have negative weights in the population. Surprisingly, we also find that once the non-negativity constraint is imposed, minimum variance and minimum tracking error portfolios constructed using the sample covariance matrix perform as well as those constructed using covariance matrices estimated using factor models and shrinkage estimators.


This paper proposes a new active noise control (ANC) system for canceling broadband noise. The proposed ANC system is designed based on the multiband-structured delayless subband adaptive filter (MDSAF), which has advantages of fast-convergence speed and higher noise reduction performance by eliminating the aliasing and band-edge effects caused by band-partitioning. The simulation results show that the proposed ANC system has faster convergence speed as compared to the conventional ANC systems and effectively reduces the wideband noise.


Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Dr Clapham's findings. First let me say I do not doubt his results but I disagree with the conclusions he has drawn. I also wish describe my technique in greater detail and to draw attention to the important differences between my work and Dr Clapham's study. With the lower dose of pancuronium (005 mg/kg) Dr Clapham found that muscle movement was still detectable 20 minutes after cuff deflation, a fact which I would suggest supports my findings of sufficient muscle power to allow detection of awareness; however, because more relaxant was required for the surgical procedure, Dr Clapham abandoned the technique instead of reinflating the cuff and administering an increment of relaxant. If he had continued with the isolated forearm technique then surgical relaxation would have been assured, while muscle power would have been retained in the isolated forearm for at least a further 20 minutes. Provided the incremental dose of pancuronium is kept to a minimum, then muscle power in the isolated forearm will probably not diminish on deflation of the cuff 20 minutes later. I cannot be absolutely sure of this since I do not use pancuronium because of its markedly cumulative nature and slow recovery index.' The single most important factor in the effective use of the modified isolated forearm technique is the judicious use of nondepolarising relaxants. I use alcuronium 0.2 mg/kg as the initial dose and not more than 2.5 mg for incremental doses. Dr Clapham does not say what supramaximal stimulus he used, but whatever it was, he waited 20 minutes after cuff deflation before applying it. I use several short tetanic bursts as this is more physiological than a single twitch stimulus. These tetanic bursts are applied two or three times every five minutes, starting from the initial dose of relaxant. They serve a dual purpose; they confirm that muscle power is still available but, equally important they speed up recovery from any nondepolarising block present, provided the plasma concentration of the relaxant is low.' Thus had Dr Clapham applied regular tetanic stimuli he would have found a lesser degree of block. The modified isolated arm technique depends on a low circulating level of free relaxant when the cuff is deflated, and thus the initial dose and increments must be kept to a minimum. Pancuronium may be a poor choice of relaxant for this technique since it appears that, in h o , it is not protein-bound to any great extent; in fact, recent work suggests that at least 900,, of the pancuronium remains in the plasma is unbound.2 This may account for some of its cumulative properties. In conclusion, I would say that for moderate doses of relaxants, Dr Clapham's limited study supports my findings that by isolating the arm for 15-20 minutes sufficient power remains to detect wakefulness during surgery. I have used this technique for procedures in excess of four hours with no problems or adverse comments from the surgeons.


I analyze observed choice between lotteries from an outcome-oriented point of view in the framework of choice between random variables. I characterize a choice maker, who faces a choice situation between lotteries, by (1) a surmising process that associates, with a pair of lotteries, a set of well-defined choice situations between random variables, and (2) a choice set that is a collection of well-defined choice situations. I give a partial axiomatic foundation of the theory. The theory is applied to explain the well-known paradoxes in expected utility theory.


Frequency response is necessary to stabilize interconnection and island frequency following the loss of load or generation. Frequency response is therefore important for interconnected power systems reliability. Interconnected operations services (IOS) describe those services necessary to maintain reliable power system interconnection operation. A proposed North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) Policy 10, which is under development, defines IOS and associated responsibilities for suppliers, operating authorities, and customers. This document presents NERC policy developments related to IOS treatment of frequency response. The need for, and format of, a frequency response requirement is presently being debated. This document contains some suggestions on how the frequency response requirement could be defined.


The announcement that there is to be an ESRC
funded Third Sector Research Centre and associated
centres across the country would appear to be good
news for the voluntary and community sector. In particular, for those (like ARVAC and its founders) who
have a commitment to enhancing the research skills,
expertise and capacity of the sector the establishment of such a centre should be welcomed. I would
like to explore a different take on such a development
and want to suggest that although it is an answer it is
not one which addresses the really basic question


For music information retrieval tasks, a nearest neighbor classifier using the Kullback-Leibler divergence between Gaussian mixture models of songs' melfrequency cepstral coefficients is commonly used to match songs by timbre. In this paper, we analyze this distance measure analytically and experimentally by the use of synthesized MIDI files, and we find that it is highly sensitive to different instrument realizations. Despite the lack of theoretical foundation, it handles the multipitch case quite well when all pitches originate from the same instrument, but it has some weaknesses when different instruments play simultaneously. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate that a source separation frontend can improve performance. Furthermore, we have evaluated the robustness to changes in key, sample rate, and bitrate.


A method is described for the determination of the antitumour drug cyclophosphamide and six stable metabolites in plasma of cancer patients, namely dechloroethyl-cyclophosphamide, 4-keto-cyclophosphamide, carboxy-phosphamide, alcophosphamide, nor-nitrogen mustard and the N-chloroethyl-1,3-oxazolidine-2-one, as methyl and/or trifluoroacetyl derivatives by single ion monitoring gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, mostly in the electron capture chemical ionization mode. The isolation of most metabolites was performed by solid-phase C-18 extraction in weakly acidic medium. The phosphoramide mustard isolated under these conditions decomposes readily to the nor-nitrogen mustard during derivatization. The original nor-nitrogen mustard and the chloroethyl-1,3-oxazolidine-2-one were isolated by liquid extraction with ethyl acetate in alkaline medium. Recoveries of 75-99% were measured using spiked blank plasma samples. Quantitation of metabolites in patient plasma samples was performed using two sets of calibration curves for the concentration ranges of 1-100 ng and 0.1-10 micrograms of metabolite per millilitre of original plasma.


Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. It is believed that many humans develop cancers in their lifetime, but the immune system kills these cells without the need for outside treatments. In cancer progression, however, tumor cells may evade the immune system. The mechanism is not fully understood. Natural killer cells (NK) are one of many immune cells capable of tumor cell lysis. Specifically, the natural cytotoxicity receptors NKp46, NKp44 and NKp30, and the c-type lectin receptor NKG2D on NK cells, are crucial in lysing tumor cells. MHC Class-1 related chain A (MICA), one of several possible activating ligands for NKG2D, is broadly expressed on human tumor cells of epithelial origin. MICA, in combination with various matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), appears to be involved in both tumor elimination and tumor growth. Tumor growth tends to increase in the presence of soluble MICA but decreases when high levels of MICA bind to a tumor cell. MMPs have been implicated in the shedding of MICA from the tumor surface. A mathematical model was developed to simulate the interactions between NK cells and tumor cells in the presence of MMPs. A set of twelve continuous partial differential equations were created based on data from published literature and solved. These simultaneous equations describe the relationship between twelve state variables and various parameters which will be determined through experimentation. Results of model simulations with three different initial concentration values of MMPs show how this biochemical affects the ability of NK cells to attack tumor cells.


Engineering plays an unmistakable job in serving and progression of social insurance. With the overall rise in population of over eight billion globally all  around  the  world  which  still  continues  to  grow.  With such growing population rates, there arises a universal demand for long living along with healthy and active lifestyle.
To meet these requirements of human race there is a strict requirement of such a discipline which makes the interaction of engineering with the human body possible. This is provided by one of the quickest developing fields of designing known as Biomedical Engineering. Biomedical Engineering is an interdisciplinary methodology. It is a broad field which involves an immense range of controls.
Biomedical specialists (likewise called bioengineers) utilize their sound information   on   maths   and   science   to   tackle   wellbeing   related   issues. Materials, devices and procedures are created by biomedical specialists that aides in avoidance or treatment of ailments or restore patients. The field of biomedical     designers     incorporates     specialization     for     biomaterials; bioinstrumentation; biomechanics; medicinal imaging; restoration; and cell, tissue, and hereditary building as indicated by the Biomedical Engineering Society.
In   this   paper   we   will   discuss   various   introductory   terms   related   to biomedical   engineering   and   health   care   industry   which   are   actually amalgated together. We will further discuss the pros and cons of biomedical engineering on health care industry. Devices and instruments which are used in biomedical engineering are also discussed in this paper.
This   paper   mainly   focuses   on   some   of   the   latest   medical   devices, instruments and technologies like biosensors, biomedical signal processing, biomedical imaging and image processing, bioinformatics and computational   biology,   health   informatics,   biomechanics,   bio   robotics, diagnostic, cardiopulmonary systems engineering, and therapeutic systems, neural  engineering,  rehabilitation  engineering,  variable  and  implantable technologies,   micro   and   nano   technologies,   tissue   engineering   and regenerative  medicine,  biomedical  engineering  in  education  industry  and society.
A  case  study  has  also  been  included  to  support  the  understanding  of  the above  technologies  viz. a case study on image-guided interventions.  The discussion   has   been   concluded   with   the   observation   that   biomedical engineering  can  be  deeply  integrated  with  healthcare  and  various  devices and  instruments  can  be  designed  in  order  to  cure  various  diseases.  These devices are ergonomically designed.
The  Future  extent  of  biomedical  designing  in  medicinal  services  is  being discussed in this paper. Medical diagnostic tools nearly triple every year as with biomedical Engineering, every new advancement taking place to cure various diseases.  Biomedical engineers are developing advanced tools for various   health diseases.  Consequently,   there   is   an   immense   extent   of Biomedical Engineering in Healthcare.


Background: Cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) are important component of the cell cycle machinery. D-type cyclins are positive regulators of cell cycle and a known target of Wnt/β-Catenin signaling. Cyclin D1 and cyclin D3 play a prominent role in differentiation and proliferation and is highly upregulated in many cancers. Recent studies also showed frequent upregulation of regenerating (Reg) gene 4 expression in many human gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies including colorectal cancer (CRC). We further observed a Reg4-mediated increase in β-Catenin expression and its subsequent nuclear translocation. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that Reg4 induces the expression of D-type cyclins and associated kinases to induce the mitotic division of human CRC cells. Methods: Real time RT-PCR and western blot analyses were performed to determine the effects of Reg4 treatments on the expression of D-type cyclins and associated kinases. Mitotic and MTT assays were performed to determine its association with regulation of mitotic division and proliferation of human CRC cells. Results: Following real-time RT-PCR and western blot analyses we observed a time-dependent increase in cyclin D1 and D3 expression following the addition of recombinant human Reg4 (rhR4) to the cultures of HCT116 and HT29 human CRC cells. Furthermore, addition of rhR4 to the cell cultures also led to an increased expression of CDK4 and CDK6, the known kinase partners of cyclin D. We previously observed the involvement of Akt kinase, GSK-3β, and β-Catenin activities in mediating Reg4-signaling. Therefore, in the present study we utilized a specific Akt inhibitor as an antagonist and SB216763, an inhibitor of GSK-3β as an agonist of Reg4-signaling and examined their effects on expression of D-type cyclins and mitotic index of human CRC cells. Treatments of specific Akt inhibitor (10 μM) to the human CRC cells significantly inhibited the expression of cyclin D1 and D3, and subsequently inhibited their mitotic index. Furthermore, an addition of rhR4 (200 nM) to the cultures of human CRC cells pretreated with specific Akt inhibitor (10 μM) did not increase the expression of these cyclins, hence the mitotic index of human CRC cells. In addition, the treatments of SB216763 (10 μM) positively modulated the Reg4-signaling and led to significant increases in the expression of D-type cyclins, hence mitotic index of human CRC cells. Conclusions: These results suggest that Reg4 is a potent regulator of mitotic division of human CRC cells and involves Akt kinase and GSK-3β as important mediators to induce the expression of D-type cyclins. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1940. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-1940


Tissue Engineering has proven to be one of the latest technology for maintaining the tissue viability and organ integrity.
Over the recent years, tooth tissue /stem cell engineering has gained maximum popularity and has thought to be a promising way to
replace, and or regenerate the diseased tooth. Dental pulp due to its high vascularity and regenerating capacity, establishes evidence
to be a source of stem cells. Scientific advancements in the regenerative technology, with the inclusion of dental pulp stem cells,
tissue scaffolds and cell signaling molecules and harvesting of dental stem cells from sources like extracted teeth, periodontal
ligament, deciduous teeth, etc. Biobanking provides the basis for the introduction of latest advancements in dentistry. The purpose
of this article is to highlight the use of dental stem cells in biological procedures to develop the regenerative procedures in field of
medicine and dentistry.


Objective To investigate the temporal association between sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and clinical variables prior to and during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Methods ECMO survivors treated for neonatal respiratory failure at Children's Hospital Los Angeles were identified between 1987 and 1991. Developmental follow-up, including a hearing evaluation, was available in 48 patients and is the focus of this study. To minimize bias, one investigator (M.M.) reviewed the clinical data and was blinded to the outcome of audiological testing. Relevant clinical variables were collected. Patients were categorized into normal hearing (NH) and SNHL groups. Continuous variables were tested by t-test. For categorical and continuous variables recorded into ordinal measures, the distribution or proportion of patients between groups were compared by Fisher's exact test. Cox proportional-hazard regression was used to take into account the variable length of follow-up and assess the independent effect of each risk factor for SNHL. Results During the study period, 126 neonates survived ECMO. Complete follow-up information was available from 48/126(38%) infants. Eight of the 48 patients (17%) were found to have SNHL. There were no differences between the SNHL group and NH group in regards to birth weight, gender, Apgar scores at 1 minute, primary diagnosis, age at ECMO initiation, or type of ECMO support (VA vs VV). A significant difference between SNHL and NH groups was found in median 5-minute Apgar scores (6 vs 8, p = .02), mean ECMO duration (191 vs 137 hr, p = .04), proportion of infants with pre-ECMO CO2 < 3O mm Hg (100% vs 61%, p = .04), pre-ECMO use of Lasix (75% vs 12%, p = .03), mean total dose of muscle relaxant (6.4 ± 16.9 vs 0.52 ± 0.8 mg/kg, p < .01). Factors associated with proportional-hazards regression analysis showing a significant association with the occurrence of SHNL were pre-ECMO clinical seizure (hazard ratio of 13.3) and duration of ECMO (hazard ratio of 1.01). Conclusion In infants who undergo ECMO therapy, clinical seizure activity prior to ECMO and the duration of ECMO therapy are significantly associated with SNHL. We speculate that these results indicate an important independent contribution of pre-ECMO CNS injury in the pathogenesis of SNHL.


We present a new shape prior formalism for the segmentation of rectified facade images. It combines the simplicity of split grammars with unprecedented expressive power: the capability of encoding simultaneous alignment in two dimensions, facade occlusions and irregular boundaries between facade elements. We formulate the task of finding the most likely image segmentation conforming to a prior of the proposed form as a MAP-MRF problem over a 4-connected pixel grid, and propose an efficient optimization algorithm for solving it. Our method simultaneously segments the visible and occluding objects, and recovers the structure of the occluded facade. We demonstrate state-of-the-art results on a number of facade segmentation datasets.


In the thirteenth century, Italian merchant and explorer Marco Polo traveled from Venice to the far reaches of Asia, a journey he chronicled in a narrative titled Il Milione, later known as The Travels of Marco Polo. While Polo's writings would go on to inspire the likes of Christopher Columbus, scholars have long debated their veracity. Now, there's new evidence connected to this historical puzzle: a very curious collection of fourteen little-known maps and related documents said to have belonged to the family of Marco Polo himself. In The Mysteries of the Marco Polo Maps, historian of cartography Benjamin B. Olshin offers the first credible book-length analysis of these artifacts, charting their course from obscure origins in the private collection of Italian-American immigrant Marcian Rossi in the 1930s; to investigations of their authenticity by the Library of Congress, J. Edgar Hoover, and the FBI; to the work of the late cartographic scholar Leo Bagrow; to Olshin's own efforts to track down and study the Rossi maps. Are the maps forgeries, facsimiles, or modernized copies? Did Marco Polo's daughters - whose names appear on several of the artifacts - preserve in them geographic information about Asia first recorded by their father? Or did they inherit maps created by him? If the maps have no connection to Marco Polo, who made them, when, and why? Regardless of the maps' provenance, Olshin's tale takes readers on a journey into Italian history, the age of exploration, and the wonders of cartography.


An experimental campaign on a thermo-plastic copolymer of polypropylene/polyethylene (PP/PE) serves to investigate the rateand temperature-dependence of the material. Isothermal tensile and shear experiments for four different constant displacement-rates and temperatures ( −10 ◦C 120 ◦C) are conducted, monitored by means of a Digital Image Correlation (DIC) system. The tensile experiments are carried out within the large deformation range, where localization phenomena are observed. This requires the application of a full-field deformation analysis system to develop stress-stretch (strain) diagrams, which are necessary with regard to aspects of constitutive modeling. In addition to these experiments, a modified three-rail shear tool was designed in order to investigate the shear behavior of PP/PE. Apart from the rate-dependence, the relaxation behavior is investigated for both tensile and shear load conditions by means of multi-step relaxation tests at different temperatures in order to obtain indications about the equilibrium stress state of the material.


Composting is a complex biological process which, when engineered and controlled, can deliver a high quality product which returns nutrients to the soil and improves its structure. This chapter looks at the fundamental processes which drive the composting process and then the key features which the process needs to deliver a quality product.The biological degradation process can be represented by a series of exponential decay terms, each one representing a different component of the feedstock. Researchers have found that, in practice, the decay of most material mixtures can be represented by using two components, one of which has a 'fast' rate, e.g. starch and sugars, and the other having a 'slow' rate, e.g. cellulose. The decay of typical wastes used in composting, such as domestic refuse and mixtures of sewage sludge and woodchips, can be represented by using two rate constants. The degradation releases heat, the use of which is the key to effective composting, producing pile core temperatures in the 55 to 70°C range. The elevated temperature serves two purposes, firstly to sanitise the material (kill off most of the pathogens) and secondly to maximise the rate of degradation. Each 10°C increase in temperature, up to around 55°C, effectively doubles the reaction rate, making the process far more rapid than if it occurred at ambient temperatures. The key requirements to produce these conditions in a practical situation, i.e. pile structure (to facilitate aeration), available nutrients (primarily the C : N ratio) and the appropriate moisture content, are considered.


Most cultures are fixated on women's bodies and the things those bodies do.We subject them to strict personal status laws; commercialize and sensationalize them in film, advertising, and the internet; and regulate their rhythms and treat their failures with medicines and surgeries. The desire to improve women's lives is only one motivation driving such activity. All too often, the codified laws, social norms, and dominant discourses that inform how women perceive, and how others treat, their bodies serve other agendas. States, religious groups, capitalist enterprises, and social movements frequently use women's bodies as instruments to support the glory of the nation, the expansion of state power, the growth of profit, and the honor of a particular family. Even breastfeeding, one of the ways that women's bodies have sustained the human race, has been coopted. As Courtney Jung shows in her terrific new book called Lactivism, breastfeeding in the contemporary United States has been captured by diverse constituencies including the Christian Right, environmentalists, feminists, experts working in public health and global development, the government, and for-profit corporations. Thanks to these groups, breastfeeding has come to mean much more than merely holding an infant to suckle at your breast. Today, it is an indicator of class status, evidence-based parenting, and a "moral marker" to identify good parents and punish bad ones. Jung argues that these trends shame women and limit their choices. Lactivism is directed at a large audience. It is brilliantly written, insightfully argued, and often hilarious. Jung draws on historical narratives, interviews with key figures, government documents, medical research, and her own life experiences to expose the passions, hypocrisy, sexism, and denial that runs through national discourse on breastfeeding. Jung explains that she is not against breastfeeding (indeed, she testifies that she breastfed both of her children for years, and that it was easy for her). Rather, she opposes the zealotry of "lactivism." Lactivism, which includes "compulsory breastfeeding" and "breastfeeding as a moral crusade" (p. 7), has come to characterize much of breastfeeding advocacy. Lactivists, who believe that "breastfeeding is the best choice for everyone," have bolstered racial and class hierarchies in the contemporary United States and have legitimized coercive interventions into the lives of poor and minority women (p. 209). The consensus around breastfeeding is less than a generation old. Most people born in the 1960s and 1970s, like I was, were fed by formula. It was seen as the "modern" and "scientific" thing to do. But today, people who otherwise disagree about almost everything come together to endorse breastfeeding. Jung remarks that "for feminists it is an act of female empowerment; for Christians a symbol of womanly submission; for yuppies an affirmation of class status; and for hipsters a way to reduce the carbon footprint" (p. 71). She observes that Americans across the political spectrum love breastfeeding so much, that "to be against [it] is almost sacrilegious" (p. 50). Jung is concerned that many of us are forced to breastfeed, and that we beat ourselves up trying to do it, even when we aren't good at breastfeeding or when circumstances make it difficult. She claims that we have been intimidated by pamphlets, websites, and advice from doctors and nurses, all of which exaggerate the "proven" benefits of breastfeeding on a range of diseases, conditions, and characteristics (like IQ). These medical studies, Jung contends, are frequently deployed to justify "heavyhanded policies" to promote breastfeeding. For middleand upper-class women, it is one thing to suffer public criticism and personal torment once the formula and the bottle come out: usually, we can just turn away, or compensate our babies by reading them an extra story that night. But for disadvantaged women, punishment for not breastfeeding is more pernicious, for it can affect the shape of our welfare benefits and our relationship with government personnel. Jung blasts guidelines of the U.S. government's Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which offer breastfeeding mothers "enhanced food packages" denied to non-breastfeeders, and allow them to stay on the program for a longer period of time. Breastfeeding campaigns focusing on African-American


Since uranium carbide (UC) fuel has higher thermal conductivity and uranium density than UO2 fuel, good inherent safety and economy can be achieved by UC dispersion fuel. This paper focuses on the research of UC phase control during sol-gel preparation of UC ceramic microsphere. Using nano-carbon black powder as carbon source, UC ceramic microspheres were prepared by sol-gel process combined with carbothermal reaction process. Specific amount of carbon black was uniformly added into the glue solution, which was then dispersed to prepare carbon ADU gel spheres. With heat treatment of carbon ADU gel spheres subject to carbothermic reaction, ceramic microspheres containing UC phase were obtained. During the experiment, the effects of different carbon black addition ratio, thickener addition level and dispersion process on the chemical composition, sphericity and surface morphology on UC ceramic microspheres were investigated. The effects of heat treatment temperature, atmosphere and pressure on the preparation of UC microspheres were also studied during the carbothermic experiment. The process parameters for UC phase control were determined through the experiment and XRD, and the ceramic microsphere samples containing the UC phase were obtained as well. Analysis results show that crack-free UC microspheres with smooth surface can be obtained after drying when sol solution C/U is 2.5∼6.0 and thickener addition level is 1.2∼2.0 kg/kgU. By reaction treatment at high temperature, ceramic microspheres with good sphericity, compact structure and UC phase composition were obtained. A preparation method of UC ceramic microspheres was developed as a result.


In the efforts to modernize the electrical power grid, data communication over existing power lines is emerging as an important new application. This paper introduces an -parameters model for a 3-phase transmission line. Such a model does not exist in the literature at present. The model reduces to that of a conventional 2-port network if only one phase is used for data communication. Testing of a 115 kV, 100 km-long transmission line have confirmed the theory. Furthermore, the bit error rate was found to be suitable for data communications under normal circumstances, except in the presence of adverse atmospheric conditions (e.g., lightning).


The e ect of operation variables, such as the H2/CO molar feed ratio, gas hourly space velocity (GHSV), temperature, and pressure, on the catalytic performance of the Co/Mn/TiO2 catalyst prepared at the Research Institute of the Petroleum Industry (RIPI) was investigated, and optimum reactor conditions were obtained to produce the maximum amount of light ole ns. The catalyst was prepared by co-precipitation of Co and Mn phases in the presence of commercial TiO2 with maximum selectivity for ethylene and propylene production. It was found that the [H2]/[CO]=2/1, space velocity (GHSV) of 1800 h􀀀1, 280C temperature and 4 bar pressure were optimum operating conditions for the modi ed catalyst for the conversion of Synthesis Gas(SG) to light ole ns. The results were interpreted in terms of the structure of the catalyst. Characterizations of catalysts were carried out using XRD, SEM and BET speci c surface area.


On the 30th of April 2010, BP merged several of its European organizations into a European Company (SE), BP Europa SE, registered in Hamburg, Germany. This SE is not a holding company, but rather one company which operates in several different countries. The creation of this SE inter alia allowed BP to reduce the number of seats on the supervisory board considerably and to 'Europeanise' employee representation on the board


The purpose of this research was to identify the importance of social competence in early childhood, age 3 to 5, by examining the relationship between the children's variables such as gender, age, and temperament, with that of their mothers' emotionality, and the social competence. 72 children in the early childhood age bracket were surveyed. Three major findings were established. Firstly, there were no gender differences in relation to social competence. Children's adaptability and social activity were related to their pro-social behavior and the ability to internalize/externalize problems. Secondly, children exhibited pro-social behavior only when their mother's emotional reactivity was positive. hirdly, children's social competence was influenced by individual variables and their mothers' emotionality. Prosocial behavior, a lower ranking domain, was influenced by children's adaptability and mothers' emotional reactivity. The children's ability to internalize problem was influenced by adaptability. In contrast, The ability to externalize problem was influenced by the range of activities they were involved in. Overall, children's social competence was influenced by their age.


This paper studied the effects of Cu2+ , Zn2+ and Cd2+ on the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of Litopenaeus vannamnei hepatopancreas, gill and blood. The results showed that the SOD activity changed significantly with prolonged exposure of these ions (P < 0.05). The SOD activity of all test objectives changed with a single peak under the exposure of 0.1 - 1 mg Cu2+ x L(-1), that of hepatopancreas and of hepatopancreas and gills was inhibited obviously under 10 mg Zn2+ x L(-1) and 0.5 mg Cd2+ x L(-1), respectively, while 0.25 mg Cd2+ x L(-1) had no significant effect on that of gill. The SOD activity of hepatopancreas, gill and blood all increased first and then decreased under the prolonged exposure of < 10 mg Zn2+ x L(-1) and < 0.25 mg Cd2+ x L(-1). There was an obvious dose-time response relationship between test metal ions and SOD activity. The SOD activity was decreased in order of hepatopancreas > gill > blood, while the toxicity of test metal ions was in order of Cd2+ > Cu2+ > Zn2+.


During the past decade, wastewater reduction and water conservation are becoming increasingly more important issues in process industries. Process integration technology has been viewed as one of the most important methodology for overcoming these problems. Two key branches of process integration can be recognized as: Energy integration and Mass integration. Mass integration is a systematic methodology that provides a fundamental understanding of the global flow of mass within the process and employs this understanding in identifying performance targets and optimizing the allocation, separation, and generation of streams and species.. In the context of wastewater minimization, a mass integration problem involves transferring mass from rich process streams to lean process streams in order to achieve their target outlet concentration, while minimizing waste production and utility consumption (including freshwater and external mass separating agents). In this paper water-pinch technology, a type of mass integration involving water-using operations is presented. Water pinch is a systematic technique for analyzing water networks and reducing water costs for processes. It uses a graphical design method to identify and optimize the best water re-use, regeneration and effluent treatment opportunities. Theoretical background of water pinch technology is illustrated by dephenolization problem in oil-recycling plant.


Although the kinetics of crystallization under isothermal annealing conditions in glassy materials is fairly well understood by the Kolmogorov–Johnson–Mehl–Avrami (KJMA) formalism, there is still a matter of debate on its applicability. By introducing a fractal geometry and the Meyer–Neldel rule on thermally activated processes into the KJMA theory, we can overcome some of the difficulties with the classical KJMA mode, with maintaining its intuitive simplicity. Very reasonable physical parameters are deduced from the extended KJMA theory


While decades of research have identified molecular pathways inducing and promoting stages of prostate cancer malignancy, studies addressing dynamic changes of cancer-related regulatory factors in a prostate tumor progression model are limited. Using the TRAMP mouse model of human prostate cancer, we address mechanisms of deregulation for the cancer-associated transcription factors, Runx1 and Runx2 by identifying microRNAs with reciprocal expression changes at six time points during 33 weeks of tumorigenesis. We molecularly define transition stages from PIN lesions to hyperplasia/neoplasia and progression to adenocarcinoma by temporal changes in expression of human prostate cancer markers, including the androgen receptor and tumor suppressors, Nkx3.1 and PTEN. Concomitant activation of PTEN, AR, and Runx factors occurs at early stages. At late stages, PTEN and AR are downregulated, while Runx1 and Runx2 remain elevated. Loss of Runx-targeting microRNAs, miR-23b-5p, miR-139-5p, miR-205-5p, miR-221-3p, miR-375-3p, miR-382-5p, and miR-384-5p, contribute to aberrant Runx expression in prostate tumors. Our studies reveal a Runx/miRNA interaction axis centered on PTEN-PI3K-AKT signaling. This regulatory network translates to mechanistic understanding of prostate tumorigenesis that can be developed for diagnosis and directed therapy.


BACKGROUND
Cell interactions, adherence, and osseointegration at the bone-implant interface can be directly influenced by the surface properties of the titanium implant.

PURPOSE
To characterize osseointegration of Neoss® implants with conventional (control group) and hydrophilic (test group) surface treatments.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Six Labrador dogs received Neoss implants with conventional and hydrophilic surfaces. The bone-implant interfaces were evaluated 1 and 4 weeks after implantation, and osseointegration was evaluated using histological, histomorphometric, fluorescence, and resonance frequency analyses. The surfaces were also subjected to topographic and hydrophilicity analyses.

RESULTS
The topographic analyses revealed increased surface roughness in the test group compared with the control group (surface area roughness 0.42 and 0.78 μm, respectively, for control and test group surfaces; p ≤ .05). The wettability values were higher in the test group (contact angles 67.2° and 27.2° for the control and test group surfaces, respectively; p ≤ .05). Implants in the test group also exhibited better stability, more bone-implant contact, and increased bone area compared with implants in the control group.

CONCLUSION
Neoss implants in the test group improved bone formation in the early stages of osseointegration compared with implants in the control group.


Fragmentation of support/catalyst particles during propylene bulk polymerization is analyzed by means of a mathematical model including energy and mass balances, with chemical reaction. The rupture phenomenon is specifically considered by the model and analyzed as it proceeds along time. Model predictions concerning the effects of fragmentation on polymerization are discussed. The influence of mass-transfer resistances at the macroparticle and microparticle level, as well as the microparticle nucleus-size effects over the polymerization process, are analyzed. Macroparticle mass-transfer resistance affects both the rate of fragmentation and temperature excursions. Microparticle nucleus-size exerts a strong influence over the whole polymerization process. A small micronucleus-size produces both a delay in the fragmentation process and a greater value of she final catalyst yield. The effects of major critical parameters are evaluated via model simulation, and the results are discussed. The analysis shows that fragmentation depends on the combined effect of the parameters studied. Modeling of the process considering all parameters simultaneously is the proper way of predicting the fragmentation sequence for a given support/catalyst particle. Crystallinity of the produced polymer affects the rate of fragmentation, either increasing or decreasing the rupture rate depending on macroparticle porosity and compactness. Heat transfer conditions in the liquid-phase system make the temperature runaway problem easy to predict and control, in spite of high polymer yields. The design of "tailor-made" support/catalyst macroparticles in accordance with catalytic activity is necessary in order to obtain high yields and controlled process temperatures.


We build the complete supersymmetric version of a 3-4-1 gauge model using the superfield formalism. We point out that a discrete symmetry, similar to the R-symmetry in the minimal supersymmetric standard model, is possible to be defined in this model. Hence we have both R-conserving and R-violating possibilities. We also discuss some phenomenological results coming from this model.


We all know that stories create culture and that law creates culture; it may well follow (this is only a probabilistic judgment) that the stories that one finds in judicial opinions might be especially powerful in creating culture. There are two problems with the thesis that judicial storytelling can be powerful. The first problem is that ordinary citizens do not read these stories and could only hear about them through the mediation of television and the newspapers. This objection is factually correct; judicial opinions do not speak directly to the average citizen. However, the objection errs in supposing that the indirect is less powerful than the direct. In family life, the indirect influence of parental example is more important than the direct influence of parental instruction. So also in school, the direct instruction about proper conduct is far less important than the indirect absorption of the unspoken mores. Why could not the same be true for judicial opinions? This journal article is available in Law Text Culture: http://ro.uow.edu.au/ltc/vol5/iss2/11 Discovering a Judicial Story


We quantify the barriers to the economic integration of immigrants using an occupational choice model with natives and immigrants of multiple types subject to wedges that distort their allocations. We show that key parameters, including wedges, can be estimated to match the distribution of employment and earnings across individuals and occupations. We find sizable output gains from removing immigrant wedges in the U.S., accounting for 7 percent of immigrants' overall economic contribution. These gains arise from increased labor force participation and from reallocation from manual toward cognitive jobs. We show that the model-implied elasticities are consistent with empirical estimates and that immigrant wedges affect the impact of alternative immigration policies. Finally, we use harmonized microdata across 19 economies and find substantial cross-country differences in the estimated immigrant wedges. Differences in immigrant labor force participation and the correlation between wedges and productivities account for the heterogeneous gains from removing the wedges.


Hyperhidrosis is an idiopathic condition of exaggerated sweat production resulting in dramatic impairments of daily activities, social interactions and occupational activities. The aim of the present study was to evaluate correlation between a subjective (Dermatology Life Quality Index) and an objective (Minor test) criterion and to assess difference in their levels over time in patients affected by axillary hyperhidrosis treated with botulinum toxin type A. Nineteen patients received injections of 50 U of botulinum toxin type A per axilla. Patients were observed for 9 months after treatment. All patients showed great improvement of hyperhidrosis by Minor test and Dermatology Life Quality Index following treatment with botulinum toxin type A, with the effect persisting for 6-9 months. All patients demonstrated direct relationship between objective improvement documented by Minor test and quality of live improvement documented by Dermatology Life Quality Index after treatment with botulinum toxin type A.


Summary In Macaca mulatta , infection with the Trinidad strain of VEE virus produced a benign, febrile illness with no clinical evidence of CNS involvement. Histologic alterations in the brains of these animals were limited to lymphocytic perivascular cuffing and to focal infiltration with glial cells. Morphologic evidence of neuronal injury was rare and, when seen, was limited to cells within the glial nodules. Both of these inflammatory responses were markedly suppressed by the administration of cortisone acctate, but only when the drug was given for the first time during the period of secondary fever. When cortisone was begun prior to inoculation and continued during the febrile period suppression of the inflammatory responses did not occur. In neither instance was drug administration found to modify the clinical disease nor to modify materially the eventual antibody response.


Women to preterm or term preeclampsia also abnormal LV remodeling concentric remodeling and concentric hypertrophy. Women destined to develop preterm preeclampsia show evidence of LV mild diastolic dysfunction (30%) and segmental impaired myocardial relaxation This diastolic impairment is associated with increased afterload and adverse LV remodeling as demonstrated by significantly higher mean arterial pressure, total vascular resistance index, relative wall thickness, and LV concentric


OF THE THESIS NUTRIENT REMOVAL FROM MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER: A COMPARISON OF TREATMENT METHODOLOGIES by Adrian Brene American Public University November 2015 Charles Town, West Virginia Professor, Dr. Elizabeth D'Andrea. Thesis Professor Treatment of municipal wastewater has become a global concern, and is expected to increase as water scarcity continues to increase. The efficient and effective treatment of wastewater is increasingly a subject of debate and contention. The present research statistically compares algal, aerobic, and anaerobic treatment methods, as based on data from prior research, to determine which are more efficient in removing certain nutrients from municipal wastewater. Chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) removal data was acquired from various contemporary studies and analyzed using ANOVA tests and T-Tests to determine if there was a statistically significant difference in the removal of those nutrients between the 3 treatment categories. While some tests proved inconclusive, it was found that the aerobic treatment method generally removed COD more quickly and effectively than the other methods, while the algal treatment method generally removed TN and TP more quickly and effectively than the other treatment methods. Nutrient Removal From Municipal Wastewater 1


false Helios G4 PFIB CXe Datasheet Helios G4 PFIB delivers unmatched capabilities for large volume 3D characterization, Ga+ free sample preparation and precise micromachining. Helios G4 PFIB CXe is part of the fourth generation of the industry leading Helios DualBeam family. It combines the new PFIB 2.0 co


Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) ranks one of the major causes of mortality worldwide. Inflammation is greatly involved in the pathogenesis of COPD. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP1) has been implicated to play an important role in the inflammatory response of various pathological processes. Methods In this study, we conducted a hospital-based case-control study in a Chinese population, aiming to evaluate the potential associations of genetic polymorphisms of the MCP1 gene (rs1024611, rs2857656, and rs4586) and circulating level of MCP1 with COPD risk. Results We found that rs1024611 (OR=1.37; 95% CI=1.11–1.69; P-value=0.004) and rs4586 (OR=1.33; 95% CI=1.09–1.63; P-value=0.006) were significantly associated with increased COPD risk. In the dominant model, both rs1024611 (OR=1.46; 95% CI=1.11–1.92; P-value=0.006) and rs4586 (OR=1.56; 95% CI=1.18–2.07; P-value=0.002) were significantly associated with increased COPD risk. Genotypes of rs1024611 and rs4586 with minor alleles had a significantly higher circulating level of MCP1 (P<0.001). Meanwhile, a circulating level of MCP1 was significantly associated with increased COPD risk (OR for per quartile increment=1.35, 95% CI=1.21–1.52, P<0.001). Conclusion Our study indicated that genetic polymorphisms of the MCP1 gene and circulating level of MCP1 contributed to the COPD risk in the Chinese population. MCP1 contributed importantly to the pathophysiological process and occurrence of COPD.


Abstract The Gaia astrometric mission holds the promise for crucial contributions to almost every subject of astrophysics and astronomy, including planetary systems astrophysics. We focus on the potential of the Gaia mission as perfect tool for a complete screening of nearby stars in search for exoplanets. We build our dissertation on the most recent results of the satellites astrometric payload performances and data reduction capabilities. We put the identified capabilities in context by illustrating the outstanding contribution to planetary sciences, in combination with nowadays and next decade exoplanets search programs, as a complement to other indirect and direct methods for the detection and characterization of planetary systems. We conclude by highlighting the crucial improvements in the optimization of the target lists of future dedicated observatory projects.


The painless needle insertion technique, summarized by Professor WU Lian-zhong during his decades of acupuncture clinical practice is introduced in this article, which is characterized as soft, flexible, fast, plucking and activating antipathogenic qi. The Sancai (three layers) lifting and thrusting manipulation technique is adopted by Professor WU for getting the qi sensation. And features of 10 kinds of needling sensation such as soreness, numbness, heaviness, distension, pain, cold, hot, radiation, jumping and contracture are summarized. Finger force, amplitude, speed and time length are also taken as the basis of reinforcing and reducing manipulations. Moreover, examples are also given to explain the needling technique on some specific points which further embodies Professor WU's unique experiences and understandings on acupuncture.


PURPOSE
To assess the intra and postoperative difficulties, the anatomical and functional results after intravitreal phacoemulsification during pars plana vitrectomy for retained intraocular lens fragments.

METHODS
Retrospective, non-comparative case series of 48 eyes who underwent vitrectomy for posterior dislocated lens fragments during phacoemulsification between January 2000 and January 2010. In 11 cases the vitrectomy was performed immediately, within 24 hours, and in 37 cases it was delayed 2 to 10 days after cataract surgery. During pars plana vitrectomy the lens fragments were separated of vitreous strings and then phacoemulsification was performed into the center of vitreous cavity. All cases were performed under local anesthesia by the same surgeon. During vitrectomy PFCL was used in 5 cases to protect central retina. Cases were followed-up at least 6 months. Statistical analysis was performed using Wilcoxon and chi square tests.

RESULTS
Mean age in the study group was 65.38% 9.49 years (ranging 52-82 years). The mean visual acuity improved from 0.12% 0.07 (0.04-0.3) preoperatively to 0.3% 0.2 (0.05-0.6) postoperatively (p < 0.01). Mean intraocular pressure decreased postoperatively from 26.24% 9.3 mmHg (16-48 mmHg) to 15.95% 3.69 mmHg(12-24 mmHg) (p < 0.01). In all cases corneal edema and intraocular inflammation ceased after vitrectomy. In those 11 cases operated immediately the intravitreal phacoemulsification time was longer, as well as greater number of intraoperative complication (corneal edema, corneal leakage). In 4 out of these 11 cases (36.36%) severe postoperative retinal complications were noticed (2 cases of retinal detachment, 1 case of choroidal detachment and 1 case of choroidal hematoma). In the delayed group the only postoperative complication was cystoid macular edema in 9 out of 37 cases (24.32%).

CONCLUSIONS
Removal of retained intraocular lens fragments suspended the intraocular inflammation and normalized intraocular pressure in all cases. Our results are in favor of delayed procedure that might be safer and easier.


The main purpose of this study was to examine the level of stress among the parents of children with learning disabilities (LD children). The data were obtained from a survey using the Perceived Stress Scale that involves 264 parents. The results revealed that a total of 99 (37.6%) parents experiencing stress at low level (M = 1.00 – 2.33) and they were in the state of normal. Whilst 138 (52.3%) of the parents were suffering moderate level of stress (M = 2.34 – 3.66) which is considered as mild. Furthermore, the analysis indicated that only 27 (10.1%) of them experienced high level of stress (M = 3.67 – 5.00) which is classified as severe. The findings indicated that mothers of LD children was associated with higher stress and were significantly experienced more stress than fathers. In terms of ethnicity, the findings showed that Chinese parents are experiencing more stress than the Malay and Indian parents. Accordingly, parents of high SES were reported experiencing greater stress than parents of middle and low SES. In contrast to the findings on parents of different religious groups whereby they were at moderate level of stress and the result also showed that there is no significant difference between the Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and Hindus with regard to parenting stress. Keywords: Stress, LD children, Ethnic JEL Classifications: C610, C623, I23


The observation of a new particle consistent with the Standard Model Higgs boson by the ATLAS and CMS experiments in 2012 heralded a new era in the understanding of the Standard Model. To date, the direct couplings of the Higgs boson to the bosonic and leptonic sectors of the Standard Model have been observed with a significance of at least 5 standard deviations. With a mass of 125~GeV, the largest decay mode of the Higgs boson is predicted to be to a pair of bottom-quarks, H→bb, accounting for approximately 58% of all decays. A search for the Standard Model H→bb decay has been conducted in the VH→Vbb production channel, with V corresponding to either a W or Z boson, using 36.1 fb^{-1} of Run-2 pp collisions, recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Three channels are considered to target each of the leptonic decays of the vector boson, Z→νν, W→lν and Z→ll, known as the 0-lepton, 1-lepton and 2-lepton channels, respectively. The identification of the H→bb candidate is a vital aspect of the analysis, with techniques known as b-tagging algorithms used to identify the b-quark content of jets. Understanding the performance of b-tagging algorithms in collision data is necessary to correctly model the performance in simulated processes. A measurement of the b-jet tagging efficiency in data has been conducted using a likelihood fitting procedure in ttbar events. Multivariate analysis techniques have been implemented to reduce the dominant systematic uncertainties in the measurement of the b-jet tagging efficiency, which improved the sensitivity of the VH→Vbb analysis. To enhance the VH→Vbb analysis, studies have been carried out to improve the understanding of the modelling of background processes in the 1-lepton channel, with the development and implementation of a dedicated control region for events where a $W$ boson is produced in association with a b- or c-quark. A boosted decision tree has been trained to improve the signal sensitivity of the VH→Vbb analysis in the 1-lepton channel, and numerous cross-checks have been carried out to improve the performance. From the analysis of the Run-2 dataset, an observed signal significance of 3.5 standard deviations for the VH→Vbb process over the background-only model, compared to an expectation of 3.0 standard deviations, is measured. This corresponds to a ratio of the signal yield to the Standard Model expectation of 1.20 ^{+0.24}_{-0.23} (stat.) ^{+0.34}_{-0.28} (syst.). The combination of this result with the Run-1 analysis yields an observed signal significance of 3.6 standard deviations, compared to an expectation of 4.0 standard deviations, with the ratio of the measured signal yield to the Standard Model expectation is equal to $0.90 ± 0.18 (stat.) ^{+0.21}_{-0.19 (syst.)$. This result is the first single-experiment evidence for the H→bb decay and the VH production mode.


In solid ferromagnetic parts of magnetic circuits, eddy currents occur during changes of the magnetic flux. Magnetic circuits of real devices may often be decomposed into parts having approximately rectangular or circler cross sections. As the solutions for phenomena in infinite configurations of such cross sections are known, we can use these for solving phenomena in more complicated arrangements. The method described in this paper is based on the use of Duhamel's integral. This method enables one to solve phenomena in such magnetic circuits, which are composed of both parts made of solid ferromagnetic materials and parts made of materials in which no eddy currents may occur. The method is convenient for transient phenomena but may also be used for cases with periodic non-sinusoidal exciting currents. Some examples are given.


Properties of blogging networks are derived from a model where bloggers devote attention to others, produce content for others, and exchange attention with content within their network of relations. The predictions from the model are tested with a novel dataset from LiveJournal, a major blogging community. The activity of a blogger is found to be related to the size of, and level of aggregate reciprocation within that blogger's relational network. Bloggers who do not adhere to reciprocity norms are found to have less readers than their activity might otherwise have predicted. JEL Classifications: D63, D85, H41, L17, L82, L86, Z13.


This research work entails a novel approach to generate future image frames for a given sequence of images by tracking positions of pixels of selected past frames using optical flow. The corresponding pixels' tracks are viewed as a time series and are modeled using an Autoregressive Model. The resulting model is used to generate future tracks which in essence are the future positions of the respective pixels. To generate future images, the last known intensity values of respective pixels are mapped to their future position. The proposed approach is applied on a fighter plane image sequence and on a moving car sequence. In both cases, we have successfully generated 20 future image frames using a sequence of 50 image frames in the training set. Quality assessment is done using Canny edge detection based Image Comparison Metric (CIM) and Mean Structural Similarity Index Measure (MSSIM). The results and assessment values obtained are appreciable.


The authors report both theoretical and experimental studies of the effects on signals from flowing blood due to the application of the rephasing gradient both before and after the 180 degrees refocusing pulse by considering combined time-of-flight and intravoxel phase dispersion effects. They demonstrate that signal losses can occur because of destructive phase cancellations between spin populations of different uniform velocities without turbulence even for relatively slow flows. These effects support the notion that flow compensation gradients are needed to reduce intravoxel phase dispersion effects even for laminar flows.


Circular hydraulic jump (CHJ) due to normal impingement of a free liquid jet of water and ethylene glycol on stationary horizontal plate is numerically simulated for the prediction of radius of the CHJ and for the film thickness of the radially spreading flow by solving continuity and momentum equation using volume-of-fluid method. The Froude number measured just after the jump is observed to be constant and independent of the flow rate and kinematic viscosity of the liquid. CHJ is also investigated both experimentally and numerically by making a small hole in the impingement region of the target plate such that the central core of the impinging jet drains out through the hole. The effect of this modified impingement region flow is observed to be insignificant as far as the radius of the jump and outer Froude number is concerned.