Globally, indigenous knowledge (IK) has been shown to be a critical factor in economic growth and sustainable development and is as important as scientific knowledge. However, when it comes to the African narrative, IK research still seems to fall short, even with the great recognition and interest it is attracting. IK has always been underprivileged and marginalized, treated as an unsubstantiated type of knowledge that cannot provide any scientific solutions. Consequently, the aim of this paper is to provide an insight into the importance of IK research from a comparative African perspective from 1990 to 2020. The paper used a combination of bibliometric analysis and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) protocol to provide a comprehensive view of IK research. The VOSviewer software was used to provide a visualization of the bibliometric analysis through network maps. The findings suggest that while IK is a globally recognized concept, the African narrative is missing and not told by Africans. Most researched studies on IK in Africa are on ethnobotany, customs, traditions, agroforestry, and agriculture. Moreover, most of the IK research is from Southern Africa. There is a need for the integration of IK and scientific knowledge to develop well-informed approaches, methodologies, and frameworks that cater to indigenous communities and resilient ecological development. The research outcomes provide valuable insights for future research trends; they further highlight opportunities for building research partnerships for strengthening policy generation and implementation.


Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus are two of the commonest bacteria isolated from corneal ulcers. The aim of the current investigation was to determine the frequency of potentially pathogenic traits in the two staphylococcal species. Strains of both species, some isolated from eyes during active corneal inflammation, were screened for their ability to degrade a variety of proteins and hyaluronic acid and the production of cytotoxins. S. aureus produced more tissue-destructive enzymes than the S. epidermidis. S. aureus strains more commonly synthesized the cytotoxin, alpha-toxin. The production of elastase was more common among S. aureus strains isolated from ulcerative events. The production of alpha-toxin was inversely correlated with isolation from keratitis. This study has demonstrated that S. aureus is better equipped with a range of potentially damaging enzymes and toxins than S. epidermidis and that S. aureus elastase may be involved in the production of corneal ulcers.


Many teachers who educate students with significant intellectual disabilities struggle with the requirements for teaching academics linked to the Extended Common Core State Standards (ECCSS, 2010) while also balancing the need to teach functional skills. This article provides a practical way of creating thematic units that focuses on functional skill topics to teach both academics linked to the ECCSS (2010) and functional skills in small groups. A detailed description on how to collaborate with all stakeholders to create a thematic unit about a functional skill topic to teach both academics and functional skills are provided. The article also includes examples of: (a) a lesson plan, (b) vocabulary words, (c) task analysis of a functional skill, (c) systematic instruction plan, and (d) data collection sheets.


The authors present the importance of stroboscopy in the larynx examination. They insist to prove the functional modifies of the voice specially at the singers also all patients who use the voice more frequently. This method permits to make a differential diagnosis between the inflammatory and tumoral diseases of the larynx.


In "Living Letters of the Law", Jeremy Cohen investigates the images of Jews and Judaism in the works of medieval Christian theologians from Augustine to Thomas Aquinas. He reveals how - and why - medieval Christianity fashioned a Jew on the basis of its reading of the Bible, and how this hermeneutically crafted Jew assumed distinctive character and power in Christian thought and culture. Augustine's doctrine of Jewish witness, which constructed the Jews so as to mandate their survival in a properly ordered Christian world, is the starting point for this illuminating study. Cohen demonstrates how adaptations of this doctrine reflected change in the self-consciousness of early medieval civilization. After exploring the effect of twelfth-century Europe's encounter with Islam on the value of Augustine's Jewish witnesses, he concludes with a new assessment of the reception of Augustine's ideas among thirteenth-century popes and friars. Consistently linking the medieval idea of the Jew with broader issues of textual criticism, anthropology, and the philosophy of history, this book demonstrates the complex significance of Christianity's 'hermeneutical Jew' not only in the history of antisemitism but also in the broad scope of Western intellectual history.


In spontaneous conversational speech there is a large amount of variability due to accents, speaking styles and speaking rates (also known as the speaking mode) [3]. Because current recognition systems usually use only a relatively small number of pronunciation variants for the words in their dictionaries, the amount of variability that can be modeled is limited. Increasing the number of variants per dictionary entry is the obvious solution. Un-fortunately, this also means increasing the confusability between the dictionary entries, and thus often leads to an actual performance decrease. In this paper we present a framework for speaking mode dependent pronunciation modeling. The probability of encountering pronunciation variants is de(cid:12)ned to be a function of the speaking style. The probability function is learned through decision trees from rule based generated pronunciation variants as observed on the Switchboard corpus. The framework is successfully applied to increase the performance of our state-of-the-art Janus Recognition Toolkit Switchboard recognizer signi(cid:12)cantly.


When defining an object-oriented extension to VHDL, the necessary message passing is one of the most complex issues and has a large impact on the whole language. This paper identifies the requirements for message passing suited to model hardware and classifies different approaches. To allow abstract communication and reuse of protocols on system level, a new, flexible message passing mechanism proposed for Objective VHDL is introduced.


HIV-1 infection is associated with B-cell abnormalities, such as hypergammaglobulinemia, poor immunization responses, and loss of serologic memory. To determine whether altered expression of chemokine receptors and their ligands may play a role in B-cell dysfunctions during HIV-1 infection, the expression of CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4), CXCR5, and CC chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) and their respective ligands on CD19(+) B cells were examined in HIV-1-infected patients and controls. We report a decreased CXCR5 expression on B cells from patients (P < .05), a phenomenon associated with a low CD4 T-cell count (< 350 cells/microL). Interestingly, an increased expression of CXC chemokine ligand 13 (CXCL13), the ligand for CXCR5, was found in peripheral B cells from HIV-1-infected patients. Moreover, on B-cell activation in vitro, CXCL13 was secreted in culture. CXCL13(+) B cells were also found in the lymph nodes of HIV-1-infected patients, but not in control tissue. B-cell migration toward CXCL13, CXCL12, and CC chemokine ligand 21 (CCL21), ligands for CXCR5, CXCR4, and CCR7 was also evaluated. In patients with a low CD4 T-cell count, migration toward all ligands was increased. Our findings indicate that altered expression of the chemokine receptor-ligand pair, CXCR5/CXCL13, may participate in the establishment of B-cell dysfunctions during HIV-1 infection.


The issues confronting the modeler of metals kinetics are somewhat different from those with which the modeler of organic chemical behavior is faced. Particularly important features of metals kinetics include metal-protein binding and metal-metal interactions. Reduction, and for some metals oxidation, is frequently an intrinsic part of metal metabolism. Alkylation/dealkylation reactions may or may not render the metal less active, and the behavior of alkylated or dealkylated metabolites must often be included in a complete kinetic model. Despite these complexities, the kinetics of metals are as amenable to the techniques of physiologically based modeling as are the kinetics of organic chemicals. Like all models, those for metals kinetics have the potential to organize a variety of observations, sometimes including apparently inconsistent observations, into a coherent framework of behavior, to identify needs for more complete experimental information, and to assist the risk assessor in making judgments concerning dose-response relationships. Development of physiologically based models of the kinetic behavior of metals is in its very early stages. The kinetics of only four metals, arsenic, chromium, mercury, and lead, have been modeled with any degree of completeness. Of these, the lead model is the most fully realized at the present time. The chromium and mercury models are still in the process of development, and experimental data are being gathered to support further development and refinement of the arsenic model. We may expect to see continued progress made on these models and their practical applications, as well as the development of new models for other toxicologically significant metals such as cadmium, manganese, nickel, and aluminum.


Nanocrystalline diamond(NCD) coated aluminium plates were prepared and applied as heat sinks for LED modules. NCD films were deposited on 1 mm thick Al plates for times of 2 - 10 h in a microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition reactor. Deposition parameters were the microwave power of 1.2 kW, the working pressure of 90 Torr, the CH4/Ar gas ratio of 2/200 sccm. In order to enhance diamond nucleation, DC bias voltage of �90 V was applied to the substrate during deposition without external heating. NCD film was identified by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The Al plates with about 300 nm thick NCD film were attached to LED modules and thermal analysis was carried out using Thermal Transient Tester (T3ster) in a still air box. Thermal resistance of the module with NCD/Al plate was 3.88 K/W while that with Al plate was 5.55 K/W. The smaller the thermal resistance, the better the heat emission. From structure function analysis, the differences between junction and ambient temperatures were 12.1 o C for NCD/Al plate and 15.5 o C for Al plate. The hot spot size of infrared images was larger on NCD/Al than Al plate for a given period of LED operation. In conclusion, NCD coated Al plate exhibited better thermal spreading performance than conventional Al heat sink.


Introduction: Ghana's multi-sectoral approach towards the management of HIV and AIDS has resulted in many community-level activities and programs aimed at stopping HIV infections and reducing the impact of HIV and AIDS. This study seeks to investigate whether Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) officers in Ghana will be willing to join in an electronic learning platform which is web-based as a means of building M&E capacity. Methods: 123 out of 130 participants were involved in the study. Continuous and categorical variables were analysed using means and proportions. Structural equation Modelling technique was used to determine the factors associated with acceptability/intention to use. Results: The results showed that Attitude toward usage had a positive significant influence on acceptability/intention to use (AITU). In addition, experience with online learning and Internet discussion also had a positive influence on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use respectively. The overall model shows 71% of variation of M&E officers' attitude toward usage on acceptability/intention to use online M&E platform as observed by the covariates in the model. Conclusions: Attitude toward usage was observed to be the strongest determinant of the AITU online HIV/AIDS M&E platform for monitoring and evaluation activities.


The Mogok metamorphic belt in central Myanmar is composed mainly of high–temperature paragneisses, marbles, calc–silicate rocks, and granitoids. The garnet–biotite–plagioclase–sillimanite–quartz and garnet–cordierite– sillimanite–biotite–quartz assemblages and their partial systems suggest pressure–temperature (P–T ) conditions of 0.60–0.79 GPa/800–860 °C and 0.65 GPa/820 °C, respectively, for the peak metamorphic stage, and 0.40 GPa/620 °C for the exhumation stage. Ti–in–biotite and Zr–in–rutile geothermometers also indicate metamorphic equilibrium under upper amphibolite– and granulite facies conditions. Comparison of these estimates with previously described P–T conditions suggests that (1) the metamorphic conditions of the Mogok metamorphic belt vary from the lower amphibolite– to granulite facies, (2) metamorphic grade seems to increase from east to west perpendicular to the north–trending extensional direction of the Mogok belt, (3) granulite facies rocks are widespread in the middle segment of the Mogok belt, and (4) the granulite facies rocks were locally re–equilibrated at lower amphibolite facies conditions during the exhumation.


The question whether ethical behavior is biologically determined may refer either to the capacity for ethics (i.e., the proclivity to judge human actions as either right or wrong), or to the moral norms accepted by human beings for guiding their actions. I herein propose: (1) that the capacity for ethics is a necessary attribute of human nature; and (2) that moral norms are products of cultural evolution, not of biological evolution. Humans exhibit ethical behavior by nature because their biological makeup determines the presence of three necessary conditions for ethical behavior: (i) the ability to anticipate the consequences of one's own actions; (ii) the ability to make value judgments; and (iii) the ability to choose between alternative courses of action. Ethical behavior came about in evolution not because it is adaptive in itself, but as a necessary consequence of man's eminent intellectual abilities, which are an attribute directly promoted by natural selection. That is, morally evolved as an exaptation, not as an adaptation. Since Darwin's time there have been evolutionists proposing that the norms of morality are derived from biological evolution. Sociobiologists represent the most recent and most subtle version of that proposal. The sociobiologists' argument is that human ethical norms are sociocultural correlates of behaviors fostered by biological evolution. I argue that such proposals are misguided and do not escape the naturalistic fallacy. The isomorphism between the behaviors promoted by natural selection and those sanctioned by moral norms exist only with respect to the consequences of the behaviors; the underlying causations are completely disparate.


: 1,1-diboryl alkenes are versatile building blocks in organic synthesis and medicinal chemistry. 8 There have been only a small number of established methods to prepare this class of compounds and 9 most of them used transition metal catalysts, which are undesirable in the preparation of bioactive 10 compounds. Herein, we report an unprecedented application of P 1 - t Bu as an organocatalyst to 11 promote 1,1-diboration reactions of unactivated aromatic as well as electron-deficient terminal 12 alkynes. The strong basicity of this phosphazene enables the activation of reaction substrates while its 13 steric bulk allows for high regio- and stereo-selectivity to be obtained. A combination of experimental 14 and computational studies suggests interesting mechanistic insights for these phosphazene-catalyzed 15 diboration reaction, which are also discussed in detail.


Transit traffic represents a huge and potential tourism market. Stopover tourism is a new type of tourism based on
partnerships between airlines, airports, and tourism organizations. This study focuses on the mutual influences between the aviation
industry and stopover tourism, the motivation of stopover tourists in Bangkok, the constraints and challenges of development
of stopover in Bangkok, and the tourism opportunities and attractiveness of stopover to better understand the importance and
determine the development prospects of it by qualitative analysis methods, semi-structured in-depth interviews with specific four
groups of 19 people highly relevant to stopover during February-March 2020, then applied content analysis methods to encode,
identify, filter, logically transform, summarize, analyze, and draw conclusions. This study finds that the rapid development of
Bangkok's air transport industry and outbound tourism of developing countries have laid a solid foundation for the establishment
of stopover tourism.


International organizations firmly ratifying the human right to water though neoliberal reforms have pushed for increasing commodification and marketization of water. Accelerated urbanization in cities of the Global South have intensified problems associated with access to water and innovative solutions such as water kiosks are seen as the future of water access in underserved areas. This paper studies access to potable water in four resettlement colonies of Delhi with a focus on the water kiosks which operate in these colonies. Tracing the broader reforms which have been initiated in the public utility (Delhi Jal Board), the paper investigates the model of water kiosk of these colonies and the extent to which access to water has been impacted by the introduction of the water kiosks. Based on the processes of changes and continuities in the waterscapes of formal yet marginal spaces in the city and concomitant reconfigurations in urban governance, the paper argues that water kiosks serve to reproduce the uneven power relations embedded in the process of neoliberal urbanization.


This paper describes various techniques for achieving interactive direct volume rendering of nonrectilinear data sets using fast projection (splatting) methods. The use of graphics hardware, rendering approximations, parallelization and reduced resolution meshes &re discussed. Results from the use of these techniques are presented in the form of color photos and comparative timings.


Compaction ratio is highly dependent on the density of the wood materials used in the production of particleboard. Lower density wood materials will produce particleboard with higher compaction ratio and is believed to give better properties. The objective of this study was to evaluate the properties of threelayer particleboard made from rubberwood and oil palm trunk with different bulk density as the core layer, while the rubberwood fine particles served as surface layers for both types of particleboard. This study also investigated the effect of shelling ratios on the mechanical and physical properties of the threelayer particleboard. Melamine-fortified urea formaldehyde (UF) resin was used as the binder. The modulus of rupture (MOR), internal bond strength (IB) and thickness swelling (TS) of the particleboards were evaluated based on the Japanese Industrial Standard for particleboard (JIS A 5908:2003). The results showed that both species and shelling ratios are variables that influenced the mechanical and physical properties of the particleboard. Despite its lower compaction ratio, particleboard made from rubberwood alone had better strength properties and dimensional stability than particleboard made from a mixture of rubberwood and oil palm trunk.


A solid-phase sequencing technique was applied to quantify the mitochondrial A3243G mutation in three families with maternally inherited diabetes and deafness. A correlation between the level of heteroplasmy and age at onset was found. The fluctuation of the heteroplasmy levels of the A3243G mutation was monitored from 4 to 18 years, in three female patients. Using the minisequencing method, the level of heteroplasmy was found to decrease over time in endothelial cell samples from all three patients. With a similar strategy, the heteroplasmy levels of two neutral polymorphisms in the non-coding region of the mtDNA in healthy individuals were monitored. It has recently been suggested that heteroplasmy occurs frequently at neutral nucleotide positions in the control region of mtDNA and that the heteroplasmy level changes with age. The level of heteroplasmy of the neutral polymorphisms was found to remain unchanged over a time period of up to 25 years in four individuals. Wilson disease (WD) is caused by mutations in the ATP7B gene that encodes a mitochondrial copper-transporting ATPase. The worldwide prevalence of WD has been estimated to 1 in 30 000. Based on the number of diagnosed patients the estimated prevalence in the Swedish population would be 1 in 300 000. The prevalence of WD in Sweden was estimated indirectly by quantitative minisequencing analysis of two WD-causing mutations in pooled DNA samples. In addition, the population frequencies of eight SNPs in the ATP7B gene were determined. Our results confirmed that WD is truly more rare in Sweden than in other populations. A previously nondetectable diversity of alleles at the KIT locus, determining the coat color of pigs, was found by using three quantitative methods, minisequencing, pyrosequencing and the "TaqMan" 5' exonuclease assay. A splice-site mutation and a duplication of the KIT gene, encoding the mast/stem cell growth factor receptor causes the allelic diversity. Despite of a strong selection for white color dating from the medevial era, the desired phenotype has not been fixed. This study provides tools for genotyping the complicated KIT locus in pigs, which may be used for the purpose of breeding true for white color.


Light-weight processes, threads, are fast vehicles for concurrent/parallel execution in a single program. There are two thread models: kernel-level thread model; and user-level one. Although the kernel-level threads are more light-weight than UNIX processes; it have observed that they are less light-weight than we expected. Therefore, the user-level thread model has attracted attention of researchers. There have been many user-level thread libraries. However, theses do not seem to support both of portability and parallelism, which are important aspects of software engineering and parallel processing. Parallel Pthread Library (PPL), we are developing, aims at supporting the both. In this paper, we describe PPL. Furthermore, through implementing the first version of PPL on two operating systems and hardware architectures, we compare the basic performance of it with that of other existing user-level thread libraries.<<ETX>>


Noam Chomsky revolutionized the study of linguistics when his book Syntactic Structures was published in 1957. This book gave birth to the idea of generative grammar, which is a theory about language structure. This grammar made a distinction between deep structure and surface structure, something like what Saussure called langue and parole. Chomsky claimed that language structure is innate or genetically inherited. Consequently, structure is to be found inside the organism and the hypothesis is that we learn language because we are born with a Universal Grammar (hereafter referred as UG) in our head. This study aims to find out if UG is real or just an invention. In order to find the strengths and weaknesses with such a controversial statement, this paper will compare Chomsky's theories when it comes to language acquisition to the behaviorists' and the modern cognitive linguistics' approach to the problem. But before the comparison this paper will explain in detail about the shift of focus in the approach to problems of language. Then, it will present an overview of how language and, in particular, language acquisition was explained by the structuralists and by Chomsky.


To the Editor.— Thank you for your recent letter containing the reprint and note from Drs. Biro and Maday of Budapest. I have been unable to obtain a translation of this reprint as yet, but the photographs do show excellent results from the surgical treatment of familial chronic pemphigus. Needless to say, my co-authors and I were not aware that an article dealing with the surgical treatment of this disease had been published in 1966 in The Dermatological Journal of Budapest . This is approximately the same time that our patient was undergoing treatment and our research was being done into the historical background of this problem, and this article may well have not been listed in Index Medicus at that time. There are few times when one can truly claim a surgical first, and I am sure that if the truth were known there would be other cases antedating both


Interest rate swaps are the most popular financial derivatives used by US firms. In this paper, the effects of swap usage on corporate financing decisions are empirically examined. Based on a dynamic capital structure theoretical model, a seemingly unrelated regression model with a heteroscedasticity-consistent covariance estimator to estimate these effects is employed. The empirical results show that the firms with higher effective tax rates reduce their optimal debt ratio range when they use interest rate swaps. It was also found that the swap users may enlarge the influence of firm size on corporate dynamic debt policy, though it was not clear that it helped reduce or increase the optimal debt ratio range. No effect of swaps usage on the optimal debt ratio range was found related to bankruptcy costs and the volatility of income. The findings imply that the use of swaps can help firms stick to an initial high debt ratio and make more use of the large tax benefits of debts on debt financing decisions.


Specific non-methane hydrocarbon concentrations in ambient air have been measured in two urban regions: New York City and the Albany/Troy/Schenectady TriCity area. In each region two elevated sites were also used. This report contains quantitative data on twenty compounds; a total of forty three hydrocarbons were identified via gas chromatography. Sampling periods and schedules are given. Information on ozone concentrations was obtained simultaneously or gathered from cooperating agencies. A series of studies were conducted to investigate stability of ambient hydrocarbons in plastic bags. Some of the ambient sampling results were coupled with emission inventory information to generate a hydrocarbon source reconciliation to relate automotive and stationary source emissions to ambient air quality. Models that relate hydrocarbons and nitric oxide to ozone formation were reviewed in order to evaluate how best to utilize the ambient air quality information obtained above and how to assess its impact on transportation control strategies.


I believe it is a valid assumption that most students applying to medical schools wish to become physicians because they look forward to caring for the sick with empathy and compassion and to be of benefit to mankind. In their altruism, they view their future role as healers who endeavor to provide comfort and support to those in need. Unfortunately, in the last three or four decades and perhaps even earlier, those goals and aspirations seem to diminish and even disappear as students traverse their medical education and training. And as they emerge as bona fide physicians and finish their residencies, it is often hard to detect signs of their original altruism.


In this paper, we investigate lower bounds of optical-signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) for three types of electronic digital-signal-processing (DSP) receivers, which are used for an intensity-modulated and direct-photo-detected optical transmission link. Target is to determine the performance bound of this transmission link if equalization and/or forward error correction (FEC) are used. The investigated DSP methods are hard-input FEC decoding, soft-input FEC decoding, and sequence detection. The impact of chromatic and polarization mode dispersion, as well as the effect of code rate on the bounds, is shown. Signal statistics are computed analytically. Several implementations of coding and detection schemes, such as Reed-Solomon (RS) and low-density parity-check (LDPC) decoding as well as Turbo equalization, are investigated, and we show the distance of their performances to the derived bounds in quite some detail.


Networked control system (NCS) is a completely distributed and networked real-time feedback control system. In NCS, the network-induced delay is inevitable, which is the major cause of the deterioration of system dynamic performance and potential system stability. In this paper, a new robust f H filter is designed for the networked control systems with random time-delays based on linear matrix inequality (LMI). The paper's principal results show that designing the robust filter can be posed as the f H performance analysis for the augmented model. Both the sufficient condition and corresponding design method are also analyzed for the proposed robust f H filter. The simulation results also demonstrate that the proposed method is effective.


This study was carried out to determine the optimum extraction conditions for Ishige okamurai by comparing the yields, total phenolic compound content (TPC), and antioxidant properties of its 95%, 70%, 50% fermented ethyl alcohol and water extracts. Additionally, the effects of heat and pH treatments on the antioxidant properties of the extracts were evaluated by their TPC and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) radical scavenging capabilities. The yields of the extracts were greatest in the order of water > 50% > 70% > 95% fermented ethyl alcohol, and the TPC of the 70% (26.18%) and 50% fermented ethyl alcohol (27.56%) extracts were higher than those of the others. However, in terms of DPPH radical scavenging and ferrous-reducing power, the 70% fermented ethyl alcohol extract of Ishige okamurai showed the highest antioxidant effects. Additionally, in the results for the heat and pH treatments, the antioxidant properties of the 70% fermented ethyl alcohol extract were not influenced by the treatment conditions except at pH 10.


Abstract : This historical analysis provides an intellectual basis and a resource for informed debate on matters relating to the formation and organization of an operational level headquarters such as the Headquarters Joint Operational Command. The experiences gained in the formation and development of a variety of headquarters and theatre campaigns are discussed and lessons learnt are established. While the emphasis is on the experience gained in WWII, examples are drawn from earlier eras and from campaigns conducted since WWII. Other relevant matters such as definitions and the nature of command and control are addressed and unique Australian experiences gained as a partner in theatre operations are discussed.


Chiral, self-supported, polytopic imidazoline–pyridine ligands were designed and synthesized for use in Cu catalysis. The tripodal imidazoline–pyridine L6-Cu(BF4)2 complex catalyzed the asymmetric p-(tert-butyl)benzoylation of meso-hydrobenzoin to give the adduct in up to 85 % ee. After completion of the asymmetric benzoylation reaction, the self-supported tripodal imidazoline–pyridine–Cu catalyst could be easily recovered as a precipitate by adding hexane, and the recovered catalyst could be reused several times while maintaining the catalyst activity and selectivity.


Preface 1. Gravity on Earth: the inescapable force 2. And then came Newton: gravity takes center stage 3. Satellites: what goes up doesn't always come down 4. The Solar System: a triumph for Newtonian gravity 5. Tides and tidal forces: the real signature of gravity 6. Interplanetary travel: the cosmic roller-coaster 7. Atmospheres: keeping planets covered 8. Gravity in the Sun: keeping the heat on 9. Reaching for the stars: the emptiness of outer space 10. The colors of stars: why they are black (bodies) 11. Stars at work: factories for the Universe 12. Birth to death: the life cycle of the stars 13. Binary stars: tidal forces on a huge scale 14. Galaxies: atoms in the Universe 15. Physics near the speed of light: Einstein stands on Galileo's shoulders 16. Relating to Einstein: logic and experiment in relativity 17. Spacetime geometry: finding out what is not relative 18. Einstein's gravity: the curvature of spacetime in the Solar System 19. Einstein's recipe: fashioning the geometry of gravity 20. Neutron stars: laboratories of strong gravity 21. Black holes: gravity's one-way street 22. Gravitational waves: gravity speaks 23. Gravitational lenses: bringing the Universe into focus 24. Cosmology: the study of everything 25. Big Bang: the seed from which we grew 26. Einstein's Universe: the geometry of cosmology 27. Ask the Universe: cosmic questions at the frontiers of gravity Appendix A. Useful constants: values used in this book Appendix B. Background: what you need to know before you start.


This paper investigates the use of a generic piece of software, the Copernic Summarizer (www.copernic.com) as a language learning tool and considers two discrete pedagogical approaches used as part of its integration within the context of teaching and learning a foreign language. Firstly, this paper will present a brief overview on the emerging field of automated summary writing and its importance and relevance for language learners today. A description of our empirical study is then presented which concentrates on the integration of this tool within a third level classroom environment. Basically, this particular classroom context involved the use of two separate control groups; each one was introduced to and employed the Copernic Summarizer (CS) at different stages during the CALL integration process. In order to examine the students' application of this tool to their L2 learning, we examine the data from both learner-produced summaries and written commentaries in order to assess whether or not this software has been successfully established as part of the students' long-term integration strategies. As such, we will provide examples of the L2 benefits experienced in the summary writing task in order to consider how learners mapped these particular issues onto their adaptation of the tool.


The present invention provides a method of and apparatus for controlling internet browsing and computer readable medium storing a computer program carrying out the method of the present invention. The present invention provides a database storing worthwhile keywords. When a worthwhile keyword is included in contents or information from the Internet, a user is allowed to browse such contents or information even if a forbidden keyword is included.


Summary Gestational hypertriglyceridemia-induced pancreatitis is associated with significant maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. We report a case of gestational hypertriglyceridemia-induced pancreatitis in a primigravida at 31-weeks gestation, complicated by impending preterm labor and metabolic acidosis requiring hemodialysis. This was successfully managed with therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE), followed by i.v. insulin, low-fat diet, and omega-3. Triglyceride levels stabilized after TPE and the patient underwent an uncomplicated term delivery. In pregnancy, elevated estrogen and insulin resistance exacerbate hypertriglyceridemia. Management is challenging as risks and benefits of treatment options need to be weighed against fetal wellbeing. We discuss management options including a review of previous case reports detailing TPE use, dietary optimization, and delivery timing. This case emphasizes the importance of multidisciplinary care to optimize maternal and fetal outcomes. Learning points Gestational hypertriglyceridemia-induced pancreatitis has high morbidity. A multidisciplinary team approach is a key as maternal and fetal needs must be addressed. Rapid lowering of triglycerides is crucial and can be achieved successfully and safely with plasma exchange. A low-fat diet while ensuring adequate nutrition in pregnancy is important. Timing of delivery requires consideration of fetal maturity and risk of recurrent pancreatitis.


IoT-based deployments in smart cities raise several challenges, especially in terms of interoperability. In this paper, we illustrate semantic interoperability solutions for IoT systems. Based on these solutions, we describe how the FP7 VITAL project aims to bridge numerous silo IoT deployments in smart cities through repurposing and reusing sensors and data streams across multiple applications without carelessly compromising citizens' security and privacy. This approach holds the promise of increasing the Return-On-Investment (ROI), which is associated with the usually costly smart city infrastructures, through expanding the number and scope of potential applications.


Lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease that affects primarily women and whose cause is unknown. The diagnosis arises from a patient that may show singular signs or signs of a multisystem disease; there is a presence of autoantibodies, and other diseases with similar properties are ruled out. Two main forms of the disease exist; the discoid and the disseminated forms. Hippocrates was the first to document symptoms consistent with that of lupus erythematosus in the year 400 BC. Many physicians have studied and added to the current day knowledge of lupus erythematosus. The history of lupus erythematosus is divided into three categories: the classical period, the neoclassical period, and the modern period. Each period is marked with important discoveries that have allowed a better understanding of this disease.


SARS-CoV-2 replicon systems that have been reported up to date were unsuccessful in deriving stable cell lines harboring non-cytopathic replicons. The transient expression of viral sgmRNA or a reporter gene makes it impractical for industry-scale screening of large compound libraries using these systems. ABSTRACT The development of antivirals against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been hampered by the lack of efficient cell-based replication systems that are amenable to high-throughput screens in biosafety level 2 laboratories. Here we report that stable cell clones harboring autonomously replicating SARS-CoV-2 RNAs without spike (S), membrane (M), and envelope (E) genes can be efficiently derived from the baby hamster kidney (BHK-21) cell line when a pair of mutations were introduced into the non-structural protein 1 (Nsp1) of SARS-CoV-2 to ameliorate cellular toxicity associated with virus replication. In a proof-of-concept experiment we screened a 273-compound library using replicon cells and identified three compounds as novel inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 replication. Altogether, this work establishes a robust, cell-based system for genetic and functional analyses of SARS-CoV-2 replication and for the development of antiviral drugs. IMPORTANCE SARS-CoV-2 replicon systems that have been reported up to date were unsuccessful in deriving stable cell lines harboring non-cytopathic replicons. The transient expression of viral sgmRNA or a reporter gene makes it impractical for industry-scale screening of large compound libraries using these systems. Here, for the first time, we derived stable cell clones harboring the SARS-CoV-2 replicon. These clones may now be conveniently cultured in a standard BSL-2 laboratory for high throughput screen of compound libraries. Additionally, our stable replicon cells represent a new model system to study SARS-CoV-2 replication.


A power system stabilizer (PSS) for a wind turbine employing a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) is presented. It is shown that this PSS can significantly influence the contribution that a DFIG-based wind farm can make to network damping. A simple, generic test network that combines synchronous and wind farm generation is used to demonstrate system performance contributions. The results of both eigenvalue analysis and time response simulation studies are presented to illustrate contributions to network dynamic and transient performance that the DFIG controller with its PSS can make. Performance capabilities superior to those provided by synchronous generation with automatic voltage regulator and PSS control are demonstrated.


Various abiotic and biotic factors that caused ragged edges and holes in leaves of trees and shrubs are sometimes difficult to diagnose. When insects are responsible for such injury, a chewing species is not always involved. Perforated foliage may result from feeding by sucking insects and leafminers and from egg laying or oviposition. Common examples of such activity on shade trees and ornamentals are discussed.


More than 27 outbreaks per year of food poisoning caused by consuming horse meat were reported in Kumamoto Prefecture (including Kumamoto City) from January 2009 to September 2011. It was found that the causative agent of the outbreaks was a protein with a molecular weight of 15 kDa that had originated from bradyzoites of Sarcocystis fayeri parasitizing the horse meat. Rabit ileal loop tests showed that pepsin treatment of homogenates of frozen horse meat containing the cysts of S. fayeri induced loss of toxicity, presumably by digestion of the proteinous causative agent(s). Slices of horse meat containing the cysts were frozen at below -20°C for various periods. The cysts were collected after thawing the slices, then treated in an artificial stomach juice containing pepsin. The bradyzoites of the cysts kept at -20°C for 48 hr or more completely disappeared. Simultaneously, the 15 kDa protein also disappeared in the frozen cysts. After notifying the public and recommending freezing treatment of horse meat, no subsequent cases of food poisoning were reported. This indicates that freezing of horse meat is effective to prevent the occurrence of food poisoning caused by consuming raw horse meat containing S. fayeri.


On behalf of the Organizing Committee and the Czechoslovak Microscopy Society, it is our pleasure to invite you to participate in 8MCM. The congress is a continuation in a series of seven successful international congresses, organized by six regional societies for microscopy (Austrian, Croatian, Czechoslovak, Hungarian, Italian, and Slovene Societies). The congresses are organized in a close collaboration with the European Microscopy Society and 8MCM will be held as an EMS extension.


Self-regulation is a sacred cow of the Canadian legal profession. The authors question this assumption on several levels and ask whether, in a liberal democratic society such as Canada, self-regulation really is in the public interest. The advantages and disadvantages of self-regulation are discussed in the context of other Commonwealth nations who have moved away from this type of regulatory structure. Though the self-regulation debate has been traditionally viewed as a "one way or the other" argument, calibrated regulation seems to be a possibility in Canada and, in fact, steps have already been taken in this direction. Devlin and Heffernan conclude by proposing the creation of a Task Force — The Sponsors' Table on the Regulation of the Legal Profession — to reconsider the present state and future possibility of recalibrated regulation in Canada.


INTRODUCTION • The fast pitch softball player relies on speed to reach a base successfully. The purpose of this study was to determine the mechanical variables which contribute to the success of the player on the base paths. METHODS -Thirty-nine female NAIA and Division 11 softball players served as subjects. Subjects were tested with a battery attests based on the theoretical model proposed earlier. Subjects were also videotaped in the sagittal view running from home plate to first base. The video images were captured, transformed, smoothed, and graphed with the Arie! Performance Analysis System (APAS). Data were statistically determined with regression analysis to determine which variables would predict speed. RESULTS • The dependent variable was fly 40 time and the independent variables age, wgt, hgt, percent body fat, sit and reach, sit-ups, leg press, stat 40 times, stride length. cog displacement x, trunk inc1ination, and angular displacement at the hip, knee, and ankle. The demographie data were presented previously. The kinematic data are displayed in the table below The variable with the highest regression coefficient to the fly 40 times was leg press (r=.8692). Stat 40 time was highly correlated to fly 40 times (r=.7354). CONCLUSIONS• The kinematic variables selected did not aid in the prediction process. Because of this the model may be revised and/or different variables selected for interpretation.


This special issue of Portal Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies explores the relationship between taste, choice and social stratification in contemporary China. It is premised on the observation that the past thirty years of accelerated Reform policies have initiated a system of authoritarian capitalism, which fosters a network of social values, focussed on opportunity and struggle figured through financial achievement and consumption, and given affective meaning through nationalism. Not all Chinese enjoy the full gamut of these experiences, although most partake in struggle in some form. Opportunity arises mainly from the cultural capital, financial and social position of one's parents, and, to some degree, from innate talent and hard work, an urban upbringing, and national provisions for educational advantage. Pre-existing forms of influence and power—local networks, Party membership, sufficient funds for education—are the strongest determinants of sustained success. In some cases, the opportunity for wealth creation has allowed some social mobility for entrepreneurial minds, whilst also re-establishing privilege amongst those whose status was already high through long term political or intellectual activity.


The impact of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis on different biological cascades can rapidly change dependent on the rate of NO formation and composition of the surrounding milieu. With this perspective, we used diaminonaphthalene (DAN) and diaminofluorescein (DAF) to examine the nitrosative chemistry derived from NO and superoxide (O\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} \begin{equation*}_{2}^{-}\end{equation*}\end{document}) simultaneously generated at nanomolar to low micromolar per minute rates by spermine/NO decomposition and xanthine oxidase-catalyzed oxidation of hypoxanthine, respectively. Fluorescent triazole product formation from DAN and DAF increased as the ratio of O\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} \begin{equation*}_{2}^{-}\end{equation*}\end{document} to NO approached equimolar, then decreased precipitously as O\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} \begin{equation*}_{2}^{-}\end{equation*}\end{document} exceeded NO. This pattern was also evident in DAF-loaded MCF-7 carcinoma cells and when stimulated macrophages were used as the NO source. Cyclic voltammetry analysis and inhibition studies by using the N2O3 scavenger azide indicated that DAN- and DAF-triazole could be derived from both oxidative nitrosylation (e.g., DAF radical + NO) and nitrosation (NO+ addition). The latter mechanism predominated with higher rates of NO formation relative to O\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} \begin{equation*}_{2}^{-}\end{equation*}\end{document}. The effects of oxymyoglobin, superoxide dismutase, and carbon dioxide were examined as potential modulators of reactant availability for the O\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} \begin{equation*}_{2}^{-}\end{equation*}\end{document} + NO pathway in vivo. The findings suggest that the outcome of NO biosynthesis in a scavenger milieu can be focused by O\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} \begin{equation*}_{2}^{-}\end{equation*}\end{document} toward formation of NO adducts on nucleophilic residues (e.g., amines, thiols, hydroxyl) through convergent mechanisms involving the intermediacy of nitrogen dioxide. These modifications may be favored in microenvironments where the rate of O\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} \begin{equation*}_{2}^{-}\end{equation*}\end{document} production is temporally and spatially contemporaneous with nitric oxide synthase activity, but not in excess of NO generation.


Internet of Things platforms for Smart Cities are technologically complex and deploying them at large scale involves high costs and risks. Therefore, pilot schemes that allow validating proof of concepts, experimenting with different technologies and services, and fine-tuning them before migrating them to actual scenarios, are especially important in this context. The IoT platform deployed across the engineering schools of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid in the Moncloa Campus of International Excellence represents a good example of a test bench for experimentation with Smart City services. This paper presents the main features of this platform, putting special emphasis on the technological challenges faced and on the solutions adopted, as well as on the functionality, services and potential that the platform offers.


The use of antimicrobial agents in swine production at subtherapeutic concentrations for the purpose of growth promotion remains controversial due to the potential impact on public health. Beginning at weaning (3 weeks), pigs received either nonmedicated feed or feed supplemented with subtherapeutic levels of either tylosin (11-44 ppm) or chlortetracycline (5.5 ppm). After only 3 weeks, pigs given feed supplemented with tylosin had significantly higher levels of tylosin-resistant anaerobes (P < 0.0001) compared with the control group, increasing from 11.8% to 89.6%, a level which was stable for the duration of the study, even after a 2-week withdrawal prior to slaughter. Tylosin-fed pigs had a higher incidence of detection for erm(A), erm(F), and erm(G), as well as significantly (P < 0.001) higher concentrations of erm(B) in their feces. The continuous administration of chlortetracycline-supplemented feed, however, had no significant effect on the population of chlortetracycline-resistant anaerobes in comparison with nontreated pigs (P > 0.05). The resistance genes tet(O), tet(Q), and erm(B) were detected in all pigs at each sampling time, while tet(G), tet(L), and tet(M) were also frequently detected. Neither chlortetracycline nor tylosin increased the growth rate of pigs.


This paper seeks to outline the implications for pupils and teachers of Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) of the use of communication and information technologies (C&IT). It is based on the experiences of one of the school/university partnerships involved in the BT Initial Teacher Training Communication Technologies Initiative, begun in the autumn term of 1996. By examining examples of projects undertaken with minimal training, it will establish some principles for further development in an area that is manifestly innovative for the majority of those involved in secondary schools. DOI: 10.1080/0968776970050305


tral and did no t take he r questions as "foundational." Here again, her own theological s tandpoint shines through. Similarly, if the field is religious education, and there can be no education without learning, why are there questions about curr iculum and teaching but n o n e about learning and learners? Still, this is a more comprehensive and knowledgeable survey than any other currently available. It is worth reading.


This Article interprets the debate about abortion and the debate about embryonic research and therapeutic cloning as aspects of a larger history of ideas. The Article suggests that embryos increasingly stand for different truths in discourse about abortion on the one-hand and about embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic cloning on the other. More specifically, the Article suggests that the contemporary debate about the meaning of the embryo in the context both of abortion and of embryonic research bespeaks a widespread transformation in Western, and especially American, society during the last three or four decades. At base, that transformation involves displacement of an understanding of personhood, particularly in domestic settings that depended on the submersion of individualism with an understanding of personhood that values autonomous individuality and that envisions community as the consequence of individuals' distinct choices rather than as a pre-existing, hierarchically structured whole.


In this paper we report for the first time the occurrence of Parablennius sanguinolentus in mainland Portuguese waters. Since this species is common in the Mediterranean and in the Bay of Biscay, there appears to be a distributional gap along the Portuguese coast. The present finding, together with recent data on the occurrence of several other blenniids in the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula, formerly supposed to be Mediterranean endemics, stresses the urgent need for detailed zoogeographical investigations on the inshore fish fauna of south-west Europe. Parablennius sanguinolentus (Pallas, 1811) is widespread in the Mediterranean (Zander, 1986). On the Atlantic coast of Europe, however, it was known only from the Bay of Biscay where it is abundant in some places (Motos & Ibañez, 1979), from the north-west coast of Spain (Devesa et al., 1979) and recently from the Atlantic coast of Andalucía (Spain) (Rubio, 1991). It is also very common in the Azores, Madeira and Canary Islands if one assumes that P. parvicornis (Valenciennes, 1836) belongs to the same species, but this is as yet an unresolved issue (Zander, 1979; Almeida & Harmelin-Vivien, 1983; Bath, 1990; Santos, 1992). Although Zander (1986) presented a distributional map that includes the mainland Portuguese coast, no report on the occurrence of this species was known for this area. In a survey of the literature on the blennioid fishes occurring in Portuguese waters, we could not find a single citation that could possibly be ascribed to P. sanguinolentus for mainland Portugal (Oliveira et al., 1992).


Asexual Dugesia dorotocephala planaria continuously exposed to 50 micrograms/beaker of Aroclor 1254 (A1254) and cadmium (Cd) developed tumors after 11 days of continuous exposure to 0.65 or 1.3 mg/liter Cd and after 23 days to 0.13 mg/liter Cd. The tumor rate at 14 days averaged 53% for the survivors in both 0.65 and 1.3 mg/liter Cd + A1254 and 40% at 0.13 mg/liter Cd + A1254. Other groups were either preexposed or coexposed to L-buthionine-S,R-sulfoximine (BSO), a specific inhibitor of glutathione synthesis. In the presence of A1254 (50 micrograms/beaker), animals continuously exposed to BSO and 0.13 mg/liter Cd first developed tumors at 18 days, with a tumor yield equal to 41% of the survivors. Tumors developed by 6 days at 0.65 mg/liter Cd, with a yield equal to 75% of survivors. At 1.3 mg/liter Cd, BSO did not change the rate or frequency of planarian tumor production. Continuous BSO always produced high mortality over 20 days. In contrast, a 24-h preexposure to BSO caused little mortality. In these groups, tumor yields increased with cadmium concentration (0.13, 0.25, 0.65 mg/liter), and the large cocarcinogenic effect of A1254 was clearly evident. No tumors developed in animals exposed only to 50 micrograms/beaker of Aroclor 1254 or continuously only to 1 mM BSO.


The genus Veronica is characterized by its contents in iridoid glycosides (1). The Egyptian Flora contains 10 species of Veronica (2). Therefore, it was of interest to investigate the iridoid constituents of various species belonging to the genus Veronica and growing wild in Egypt. In this work, we describe the isolation, characterization, and structure elucidation of various iridoid glycosides present in V. anagallis-aquatica var. anagalloides Schinz et Thell.


An increasing number of embedded devices are connecting to the Internet at a surprising rate. Those devices usually run firmware and are exposed to the public by device search engines. Firmware in embedded devices comes from different manufacturers and product versions. More importantly, many embedded devices are still using outdated versions of firmware due to compatibility and release-time issues, raising serious security concerns. In this paper, we propose generating fine-grained fingerprints based on the subtle differences between the filesystems of various firmware images. We leverage the natural language processing technique to process the file content and the document object model to obtain the firmware fingerprint. To validate the fingerprints, we have crawled 9,716 firmware images from official websites of device vendors and conducted real-world experiments for performance evaluation. The results show that the recall and precision of the firmware fingerprints exceed 90%. Furthermore, we have deployed the prototype system on Amazon EC2 and collected firmware in online embedded devices across the IPv4 space. Our findings indicate that thousands of devices are still using vulnerable firmware on the Internet.


We report on our experience with 9 cystine-lithiasis patients who were treated with large doses of ascorbic acid (5 g/day) for periods ranging from 6-27 months. We observed recidive lithogenesis in only 3 patients during this time. The influence of ascorbic acid on the excretion of cystine and oxalate in the urine is discussed. A lack of side effects and the significantly lower frequency of recidivation justify the further use of ascorbic as an alternative medication in cystine lithiasis.


A small liquefier/refrigerator is a powerful equipment for people using liquid helium in their experiments. In this paper, the fundamental thermodynamics and some crues are reviewed for the one having a plan to install the equipment. The required High Pressure Gas Reuration is briefly mentioned.


This article describes a moment in time. The author surveyed ninety-nine ARL websites to determine whether the library had a mobile website, how that mobile website was accessible, and what the mobile website included. Examined also were the database lists of the regular library websites to determine whether those lists indicated databases that have mobile websites. Finally, the author looked at all the parent ARL institutions to see if they have mobile websites, and if their mobile websites link to their libraries. With all the interest in the development of mobile websites for both institutions and their libraries, a current snapshot provides benchmarks for further development of mobile websites in academic libraries.


Plants are one of the most important sources of medicines. Basil (Ocimum basilicum Linn.) is one such plant which symbolizes all that is wondrous in nature because, the whole plant has been used as traditional medicine for household remedy against various human ailments from antiquity. The objective of this paper is to review the literature regarding Ocimum basilicum, specifically for its chemical properties, therapeutic benefits and scientific studies. This review consists of all publications relevant to Ocimum basilicum that were identified by the authors through a systemic search of major computerized medical database. Studies indicate Ocimum basilicum to possess analgesic, anti inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti ulcerogenic, cardiac stimulant, chemomodulatory, CNS depressant, hepatoprotective, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, immunomodulator and larvicidal activities. The drug was also searched for its folkloric claims. It is used in traditional medicine as a tonic and vermifuge, and Basil tea taken hot is good for treating nausea, flatulence, and dysentery. The oil of the plant has been found to be beneficial for the alleviation of mental fatigue, cold, spasm, rhinitis, and as a first aid treatment for wasp stings and snakebites. Preliminary studies have found various constituents of Ocimum basilicum to exhibit a variety of therapeutic effects. These results are very encouraging and indicate that this drug should be studied more extensively to confirm these results and to find other potential therapeutic effects.


Two catalytic methods have been developed to remove the NOx emissions from diesel vehicles and comply with the emission regulations: the NOx storage and reduction process (NSR) and the reduction of NOx with NH3 (SCR). Advanced systems combining these two methods for an optimum efficiency are now studied. SCR catalysts are subjected alternating lean and rich conditions as well as to high temperatures in rich conditions during deSOx of the LNT material. The purpose of the present work is therefore to determine the response of a Cu/SSZ-13 to several aging treatments at 800°C involving rich and/or lean exposure. Deactivation was observed after all types of aging. However strong differences in deactivation degree exists between aging procedures. Lean aging, for 8h at 800°C, was the most moderate aging tested although it brought about significant activity loss below 250°C. Alternating between long lean periods and short rich periods caused slightly stronger deactivation, which was most significant at 200°C. However, the switching frequency between lean and rich had negligible influence on subsequent activity. As shown in Figure 1, SCR activity after 8h exposure in H2 was outstandingly low. It increased monotonically with temperature to reach a maximum of 58% NO conversion. Further investigation pertaining to the rich treatment was performed. The aging time was reduced to 2h and, for direct comparison, a 32h cycling aging was performed, implying a total rich time of 2h. Both samples were severely impacted over the whole temperature range. It revealed that 2h in rich conditions led to stronger deactivation than 8h in lean and lean/rich conditions, emphasizing the deterioration power of H2. Aging caused by rich conditions was so dominant that additional 30h in lean has negligible influence on SCR below 300°C. However, the long additional exposure to lean conditions lowered significantly the SCR activity between 400 and 500°C.


The potential use of 13C multilabeled substrates has been studied in biological applications using in vivo and in vitro proton and 13C NMR spectroscopy. In 13C NMR spectroscopy, multilabeled compounds allow the simultaneous observation of several nuclei or increase distinctly the signal to noise ratio due to a higher degree of enrichment. Contiguous labeling of substrates leads to homonuclear 13C‐13C spin couplings and provides a simple means to distinguish between endogenous stores of metabolites and metabolites derived from added substrates.


This paper studies the optimal transmission policy for a Gilbert-Elliott Channel. The transmitter has two actions: sending aggressively or sending conservatively, with rewards depending on the action chosen and the underlying channel state. The aim is to compute the scheduling policy to determine which actions to choose at each time slot in order to maximize the expected total discounted reward. We first establish the threshold structure of the optimal policy when the underlying channel statistics are known. We then consider the more challenging case when the statistics are unknown. For this problem, we map different threshold policies to arms of a suitably defined multiarmed bandit problem. To tractably handle the complexity introduced by countably infinite arms and the infinite time horizon, we weaken our objective a little: finding a (OPT − (∈ + δ))-approximate policy instead. We present the UCB-P algorithm, which can achieve this objective with logarithmic-time regret.


A lacunar infarct is defined as the occlusion of a single perforating artery. Certain researchers have proposed that patients with lacunar infarcts can be classified into two clinically distinct entities: patients with a single, symptomatic lacunar infarct, and patients with multiple lacunar infarcts together with hypertension and leukoaraiosis. The present study attempted to delineate the characteristics of lacunar infarcts and evaluate the validity of the aforementioned hypothesis. A total of 130 consecutive patients with first-time symptomatic lacunar infarct were studied. All patients were dichotomized into two groups according to two different kinds of models as follows. Model-1: patients with a single lacune and patients with multiple lacunes; and Model-2: patients with large lacune and patients with small lacune. Associated factors for the multiple lacune group compared with the single lacune group as well as the large lacune group compared with the small lacune group, were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Associated factors included age, sex, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, smoking, extracranial and intra-cranial vascular lesions, extent of lacunes and white matter lesions, progression status and blood pressure in the acute stage, and coagulation markers such as fibrinogen, thrombin-antithrombin complex, D-dimer, beta-thromboglobulin, platelet factor 4. Results for Model-1: hypertension (age-and sex-adjusted OR: 2.58, p = 0.017) and elevated systolic blood pressure (>160mmHg for the mean value during the first post-ictal week; OR: 2.55, p = 0.016) were significantly associated with the multiple lacune group. Large lacunes (>10mm in diameter) were negatively associated with the multiple lacune group (OR: 0.38, p = 0.017). Association between confluent white matter lesions and the multiple lacune group approached significance (OR: 2.16, p = 0.056). Results for Model-2: female sex (OR: 0.39, p = 0.021), mild stenosis of intracranial and extracranial arteries (<25%) (intracranial; OR: 5.42, p = 0.0042, extracranial; OR: 3.30, p = 0.016), progressing stroke (OR: 6.77, p<0.0001), and high levels of TAT (>3ng/ml) (OR: 2.80, p = 0.039) were significantly associated with the large lacune group. Multiple lacunes (OR: 0.38, p = 0.016) and confluent white matter lesions (OR: 0.28, p = 0.007) exhibited a significant negative association with the large lacune group. In conclusion, underlying vasculopathy in the presence of multiple lacunes may correspond to lipohyalinosis resulting from hypertension. Moreover, large lacune may correspond to microatheroma at the orifice of penetrating arteries.


A monchromator controller has been built to drive directly by a personal computer. This controller gives better conveniency and accuracy on spectroscopic experiment when a monochromator has deficient driver. This controller consists with simple electronic circuit and control program. The original spectroscopic precision is retained by using stepper motor. The rate changing method is adopted for short slew time. And the scanning is synchronized with spectrum recording device. Because the controller includes electronic counting ciruit, other program can be executed on personal computer during monochromator scanning.


There is a growing interest in developing numerical tools to investigate the onset of physical instabilities observed in experiments involving viscoelastic flows, which is a difficult and challenging task as the simulations are very sensitive to numerical instabilities. Following a recent linear stability analysis carried out in order to better understand qualitatively the origin of numerical instabilities occurring in the simulation of flows viscoelastic fluids, the present paper considers a possible extension for more complex flows. This promising method could be applied to track instabilities in complex (i.e. essentially non‐parallel) flows. In addition, results related to transient growth mechanism indicate that it might be responsible for the development of numerical instabilities in the simulation of viscoelastic fluids. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


An important approach to abstract argumentation is the labeling-based approach, in which one makes use of labelings that assign to each argument one of three labels: in, out or und. In this paper, we address the question, which of the twenty-seven functions from the set of labels to the set of labels can be represented by an argumentation framework. We prove that in preferred, complete and grounded semantics, eleven labeling functions can be represented in this way while sixteen labeling functions cannot be represented by any argumentation framework. We show how this analysis of labeling functions can be applied to prove an impossibility result: Argumentation frameworks extended with a certain kind of weak attack relation cannot be flattened to the standard Dung argumentation frameworks.


Modelling multiple network data is crucial for addressing a wide range of applied research questions. However, there are many challenges, both theoretical and computational, to address. Network cycles are often of particular interest in many applications, such as ecological studies, and an unexplored area has been how to incorporate networks' cycles within the inferential framework in an explicit way. The recently developed Spherical Network Family of models (SNF) offers a flexible formulation for modelling multiple network data that permits any type of metric. This has opened up the possibility to formulate network models that focus on network properties hitherto not possible or practical to consider. In this article we propose a novel network distance metric that measures similarities between networks with respect to their cycles, and incorporate this within the SNF model to allow inferences that explicitly capture information on cycles. These network motifs are of particular interest in ecological studies. We further propose a novel computational framework to allow posterior inferences from the intractable SNF model for moderate sized networks. Lastly, we apply the resulting methodology to a set of ecological network data studying aggressive interactions between species of fish. We show our model is able to make cogent inferences concerning the cycle behaviour amongst the species, and beyond those possible from a model that does not consider this network motif.


Background An increase of some tumor associated antigens (TAAs) has been reported in Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) and interstitial lung diseases (ILD), and SSc patients had higher risk of cancer compared to general population. Objectives The aim of our study was to evaluate the serum levels of TAAs in patients with SSc and ILD and to correlate these levels to the severity and the progression of lung disease and their role during follow-up. Methods Data from 80 consecutive SSc-patients with evidence of ILD on high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and/or restrictive lung disease on pulmonary function test (PFTs), were retrospectively collected. TAAs including CEA, CA19.9, Ca15.3, CA125, Cyfra21.1 and enolase were determined. PFTs values and HRCT scores performed after 2 years were available from database.A period of 4 years follow-up for each patient was available in order to investigate the occurrence of any malignancy. Results 43.7% patients presented an increase of at least one TAA. Among the different TAAs, 28.7% had an increase of CA15-3, 17.5% of CA19.9, 15% of Cyfra21.1, 12.5% of TPA, while CEA, enolase and CA125 were above the cut-off value in 8 patients. The increase of at least one TAA was associated with the diffuse skin involvement and with anti-Scl70 positivity. SSc patients with an increase of any TAA presented lower FVC values, higher interstitial score and higher alveolar score at baseline compared with SSc patients without TAAs increase (p<0.01 for all comparisons).The levels of CA15-3 and CEA inversely correlated with FVC (R=-0.2,p≤0.04 for both correlations) and directly correlated with the alveolar score (R=0.43, p<0.0001; R=0.24, p=0.04; respectively) and interstitial score at baseline (R=0.47, p<0.0001; R=0.31, p=0.007, respectively). After two years, 20 patients (25%) presented a decrease of FVC>10% and 18 patients (22.5%) a worsening of HRCT scores. Patients with worsening of interstitial score presented at baseline higher levels of CA15-3 and of CA125 with respect to patients with a stable interstitial score (p=0.01 and p=0.002, respectively). During the follow-up, 7 patients developed a cancer and all of them had already an increase of at least one TAA at baseline (despite the negative baseline screening for neoplasia), while none of the patients without increasing of TAAs at baseline developed malignancies during the follow-up (p=0.003). Considering the 60 patients in which at least another determination of TAAs was available during follow-up, values of specific TAA (CA15.3, CA19.9 and CEA) increased over time in patients who developed cancer, while TAAs levels tended to remain stable in others. At multivariate analysis, CEA upper the cut-off value emerged as an independent predictor of development of malignancies [RR 25.2 (CI: 29.0-220.0), p=0.004]. Conclusions TAAs can be elevated in the sera of SSc patients. CA15.3 and CEA correlate with the functional and radiological lung damage suggesting a possible role as "severitiy biomarkers", while their prognostic significance in ILD is not clear. A close follow-up is necessary in SSc patients because of the increased risk of cancer, overall in patients with increased TAAs. Disclosure of Interest None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.4487


In this paper, we present TeleShop, the teleassistance module of ShopMobile 2, our mobile accessible shopping system for visually impaired (VI) and blind individuals that we have been developing for the past several years. TeleShop enables its users to obtain help from remote sighted guides by transmitting images and voice from their smartphones to the guides' computers or phones. We have successfully tested TeleShop in a laboratory study in which a married couple (a blind husband and a sighted wife) used it to retrieve grocery products and read nutrition facts from


: We present the images of ultrasound, magnetic resonance and histology of a patient with suggestive findings of xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis. Gallbladder cancer cannot be completely ruled out until the histological study of the surgical sample is performed.


—Even with advances in materials science, fundamental limits in heat and power distribution are preventing higher CPU clock frequencies. Industry solutions for increasing computation speeds have concentrated on raising the number of computational cores available, leading to the wide-spread adoption of so-called "fat" nodes. However, keeping all the computation cores busy doing useful work is a challenge because typical high performance computing (HPC) workloads require reading and writing a steady stream of data from memory – contention for memory bandwidth becomes a bottleneck. Many commodity platforms have therefore embraced non-uniform memory access (NUMA) architectures that split up and distribute memory to be close to the cores. High-performance Message Passing Interface (MPI) implementations must exploit these architectures to provide reliable performance portability. NUMA architectures not only require specialized MPI point-to-point messaging protocols, they also require carefully designed and tuned algorithms for MPI collective operations. Multiple issues must be taken into account: 1) minimizing the number of copies required, 2) minimizing traffic to "remote" NUMA memory, and 3) carefully avoiding memory bottlenecks for "rooted" collective operations. In this paper, we present a kernel assisted intra-node collective module addressing those three issues on many-core systems. A kernel level inter-process memory copy module, called KNEM, is used by a novel OpenMPI collective module to implement several improved strategies based on decreasing the number of intermediate memory copies and improving locality to reduce both the pressure on the memory banks and the cache pollution. The collective topology is mapped onto the NUMA topology to minimize cross traffic on inter-socket links. Experiments illustrate that the KNEM enabled OpenMPI collective module can achieve up to a threefold speedup on synthetic benchmarks, resulting in a 12% improvement for a parallel graph shortest path discovery application.


Bexarotene is a selective retinoid X receptor agonist of utmost clinical importance. The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved this drug for its effects on cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Bexarotene has shown great potential, demonstrating enhanced therapeutic activity against a plethora of tumor types, both as a single agent and as an adjuvant with other targeted agents. Despite its potential, bexarotene has turned out to be a nostrum, and formulation-related studies that explore its use have not received much emphasis. Poor aqueous solubility and low bioavailability are challenges in developing an appropriate formulation of this drug. In this review, we aim to provide insights into recent research conducted on formulation development, recent pharmacological findings, patents, and future research requisites of bexarotene, based on the literature gathered from authentic web resources and research articles. Bexarotene is a diamond in the rough, as many researchers have not yet recognized its multipotentiality. The incorporation of bexarotene into nanoformulations can surmount the current drawbacks and efficiently enhance its anticancer activity. In conclusion, this drug is a potentially effective and broad-spectrum anticancer drug for treating malignancies; therefore, extensive research is required to confirm its potential.


We investigated the predictive value of geriatric assessment (GA) on overall survival (OS) for older adults with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Consecutive patients ≥ 60 years with newly diagnosed AML and planned intensive chemotherapy were enrolled at a single institution. Pretreatment GA included evaluation of cognition, depression, distress, physical function (PF) (self-reported and objectively measured), and comorbidity. Objective PF was assessed using the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB, timed 4-m walk, chair stands, standing balance) and grip strength. Cox proportional hazards models were fit for each GA measure as a predictor of OS. Among 74 patients, the mean age was 70 years, and 78.4% had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score ≤ 1. OS was significantly shorter for participants who screened positive for impairment in cognition and objectively measured PF. Adjusting for age, gender, ECOG score, cytogenetic risk group, myelodysplastic syndrome, and hemoglobin, impaired cognition (Modified Mini-Mental State Exam < 77) and impaired objective PF (SPPB < 9) were associated with worse OS. GA methods, with a focus on cognitive and PF, improve risk stratification and may inform interventions to improve outcomes for older AML patients.


Essential oils (EOs) are volatile natural organic compounds, which possess pesticidal properties. However, they are vulnerable to heat and light, limiting their range of applications. Encapsulation of EOs is a useful approach to overcome some of these limitations. In this study, a novel emulsification technique is utilized for encapsulation of thymol (TY) and eugenol (EU) (EOs) within microcapsules with an unmodified cellulose shell. Use of low cost materials and processes can be beneficial in agricultural applications. In the encapsulation process, unmodified cellulose was dissolved in 7% aqueous NaOH at low temperature, regenerated to form a dispersion of cellulose hydrogels, which was rigorously mixed with the EOs by mechanical mixing followed by high-pressure homogenization (HPH). Cellulose:EO ratios of 1:1 and 1:8 utilizing homogenization pressures of 5000, 10,000 and 20,000 psi applied in a microfluidizer were studied. Light microscopy, high-resolution cryogenic scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed successful fabrication of EO-loaded capsules in size range of 1 to ~8 µm. Stability analyses showed highly stabilized oil in water (O/W) emulsions with instability index close to 0. The emulsions exhibited anti-mold activity in post-harvest alfalfa plants, with potency affected by the cellulose:EO ratio as well as the EO type; TY showed the highest anti-mold activity. Taken together, this study showed potential for anti-fungal activity of cellulose-encapsulated EOs in post-harvest hay.


This paper presents a video processing system that can track a human target across multi-cameras. The user can browse video clips from the system. When a target is identified by the user, the system can automatically track the target across different cameras. There are three main parts in the system. The first part is object segmentation by a Bayesian model. The second part is object tracking. The mean-shift algorithm is used here to track the interested target in the current camera. The third part is cross-camera tracking. When the target is diminishing or moves out of the shooting range of the current camera, the system looks for the target in the neighboring camera. This part is repeated until the target is out of the shooting range of the multi-camera system. When initializing the system, the user can set up the relative positions and shooting angles of the cameras. The developed system is suitable for analyzing video clips from multiple surveillance cameras to track possible crime suspects. Experimental results on three outdoor surveillance cameras are presented and the results show that our approach is useful.


Entangled ring polymers, along with blends of ring and linear polymers, continue to be a topic of great interest and debate due to the conflicting experimental results in the literature as well as the difficulty of producing entangled synthetic rings devoid of linear contaminants. Here, we create blended solutions of entangled ring and linear DNA with varying mass fractions of linear DNA. We use optical tweezers microrheology to measure the linear and nonlinear viscoelastic response of these blends. Our measurements reveal a strong non-monotonic dependence of linear viscoelastic properties on linear DNA fraction, with a pronounced maximum when the mass fraction of rings and linear chains are comparable, suggestive of pervasive threading of rings by linear chains. We observe a similar non-monotonicity in the nonlinear regime; however, a comparatively higher fraction of linear chains (0.5-0.7) is required for a substantial increase in resisitive force and slowing of relaxation dynamics to emerge. This nonlinear response also appears to be rate dependent, which we argue arises from force-induced de-threading of rings at high strain rates. Our results fill a longstanding gap in knowledge regarding the microrheology and nonlinear response of ring-linear polymer blends. Moreover, the uniquely strong mechanical response that ring-linear blends exhibit, along with the ability to finely tune these blends by varying the blend composition, provides new materials design principles.


Starting with Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction in 1831, electric (electromagnetic) machines have been developed ever since as "assembles" of electric and magnetic coupled circuits that convert mechanical to electrical energy (in generators) and vice versa (in motors), via magnetic energy storage. Generators and motors are reversible. The Maxwell four equations (laws) later in 19th Century have prompted the rapid development of all basic (DC. brush and travelling field AC machines by 1900. Then by 1930 AC (alternating current) power (energy) systems evolved by connecting in parallel electric synchronous generators (with voltage boost and buck electric transformers for efficient AC power transmission lines) of rather constant frequency and voltage, driven by turbines (prime movers) that harness fossil (coal, gas or nuclear fuels), thermal or hydro energy. The last 50 years have witnessed a dramatic extension of generators power/unit, renewable energy generators and of variable speed AC motor drives in applications with variable output such as ventilators, pumps compressors, conveyors, orr-mills, electric transport (mobility), industrial automation, robotics, home appliances and info — gadgets. This formidable development, required by the need of more but cleaner energy, was mainly driven by power electronics, better materials, better modeling, design methodologies and digital control. This humble inaugural overview attempts to combine a brief history of electrical generators and motors with recent progress and trends in their design and control, for representative applications.


In cancer, clonal evolution is characterized based on single nucleotide variants and copy number alterations. Nonetheless, previous methods failed to combine information from both sources to accurately reconstruct clonal populations in a given tumor sample or in a set of tumor samples coming from the same patient. Moreover, previous methods accepted as input all variants predicted by variant-callers, regardless of differences in dispersion of variant allele frequencies (VAFs) due to uneven depth of coverage and possible presence of strand bias, prohibiting accurate inference of clonal architecture. We present a general framework for assignment of functional mutations to specific cancer clones, which is based on distinction between passenger variants with expected low dispersion of VAF versus putative functional variants, which may not be used for the reconstruction of cancer clonal architecture but can be assigned to inferred clones at the final stage. The key element of our framework is QuantumClone, a method to cluster variants into clones, which we have thoroughly tested on simulated data. QuantumClone takes into account VAFs and genotypes of corresponding regions together with information about normal cell contamination. We applied our framework to whole genome sequencing data for 19 neuroblastoma trios each including constitutional, diagnosis and relapse samples. We discovered specific pathways recurrently altered by deleterious mutations in different clonal populations. Some such pathways were previously reported (e.g., MAPK and neuritogenesis) while some were novel (e.g., epithelial-mesenchymal transition, cell survival and DNA repair). Most pathways and their modules had more mutations at relapse compared to diagnosis.


Currently, the existing ultraviolet (UV) pasteuriser cannot achieve the FDA standard which is 5 log10 reductions of microorganisms in tropical fruit juice because of the high soluble content in the tropical fruit juice. Therefore, a new ultraviolet pasteuriser was designed which it was able to inactivate microorganisms in tropical fruit juice up to 5 log10 reduction. This study aims to develop an ultraviolet pasteuriser which able to inactivate microorganisms with at least 5 log10 reductions in pineapple fruit juice and maintain the quality attributes of juice for SME industry. A new designed UV pasteuriser was developed based on Dean Vortex technology with an additional UV light to give extra UV radiation to the juice. The experiment was conducted using the UV pasteuriser which the UV lamp was not enclosed with quartz glass (UV pasteuriser (without quartz)) and UV pasteuriser that UV lamp was enclosed with quartz glass (UV pasteuriser (with quartz)). For both pasteurisers, two difference frequencies was tested which are at 30 Hz and 40 Hz to investigate the effect of difference flow rate on quality of pineapple juice based on the physico-chemical and the microbial analyses. The result showed the UV pasteuriser (with quartz) at frequency of 30 Hz (flow rate of 0.00153 L/s) and UV-C dosage of 64.11 mJ/cm2 was showed better quality based on physico-chemical results and able to inactivate Salmonella typhimurium up to 5.91 log CFU/ml. The UV pasteuriser (without quartz) was slightly affected the quality of juice because none installation of quartz glass at the UV-C lamp was affected the quality attributes of juice. The lightness (L-value) and total soluble solid (TSS) of juice after treated with UV pasteuriser (with quartz) at 30 Hz was not significantly changes comparing to untreated juice. Meanwhile, the Chroma, hue angle and ascorbic acid content were significantly changes compare to the untreated juice. However the range of ascorbic acid was fall in slightly noticeable range thus, it can be negligible. The turbidity of juice treated with UV pasteuriser (with quartz) was significantly difference than untreated juice. During 9 weeks of storage, the TSS, L-value, hue angle, Chroma, ascorbic acid content and turbidity of untreated and UV pasteurised (with quartz) juice were give a significant decreased whereas their titratable acidy (TA) were not significantly decreased during storage. There is no significant increase of pH of untreated and UV pasteurised (with quartz) juices during storage. Regarding the microbiological analysis, count of Salmonella typhimurium was significantly increased after nine weeks of storage at 4±1°C. Other than that, the pineapple juice that was treated by ultraviolet pasteuriser (with quartz) was able to extend the shelf life of pineapple juice from 2 weeks to 5 weeks longer. Therefore, these results on physico-chemical and microbiological analysis was demonstrate the effectiveness of UV pasteuriser (with quartz) in preserving the nutritional attributes and inactivate microorganisms in pineapple fruit juice which achieved the FDA standard.


Reactive oxygen species (ROS) damage DNA which appears to represent the major target involved in mutagenesis, carcinogenesis, and aging cell responses. Various DNA modifications are generated by ROS, but 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxoG) has retained a lot of attention in the last few years. Therefore, numerous methods have been developed to detect and quantify the extent of 8-oxoG in DNA, most of them requiring a significant amount of DNA that might be limiting in the case of biological samples. 8-oxoG is repaired in Escherichia coli by a specific glycosylase, the Fpg (formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase) protein, in a reaction that requires a covalent intermediate favored under reducing conditions. We set up a new assay based on the capture of plasmid DNA into sensitized microplate wells. DNA damaged by photoactivation of methylene blue was adsorbed on a polylysine-treated plastic well. Then the Fpg protein was added, allowed to fix on the damage by taking advantage of minimized glycosylase activity at low temperature and the reductive trapping of the covalent intermediate, yielding to a stable DNA-protein interaction. The trapped protein was subsequently recognized by a specific antibody. A secondary antibody coupled with horseradish peroxidase was used to detect the complex and the measurement was carried out by chemiluminescence. This new assay offers various potentialities, specifically in the field of technology of ROS producers.


Thirteen electrophoretic bands of lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme activity were detected in the serum of a 69-year-old Negro woman who died of pseudomonas pneumonia. No evidence of tumor was found at necropsy, and additional studies of the enzymatic activity of crude extracts of liver, lung, spleen, kidney, brain, skeletal muscle, lymph node, and heart revealed 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 separate isoenzyme bands for lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively (a total of 15 isoenzyme bands). Serum and erythrocyte hemolysate from one of two healthy daughters displayed a similar pattern of multiple isoenzyme bands in isoenzymes 2 and 3. The observed pattern is consistent with the heterozygous form of a mutation of the genetic locus controlling synthesis of the M monomer such that two differently charged monomeric proteins are produced, each of which apparently combines with H chains with equal facility, leading to the multiband enzymatic specificity seen.


In this paper, we propose a Parallel evolutionary computing model, called CLA-EC. This model is a combination of a model called cellular learning automata (CLA) and the evolutionary model. In this new model, each genome is assigned to a cell of cellular learning automata to each of which a set of learning automata is assigned. The set of actions selected by the set of automata associated to a cell determines the genome's string for that cell. Based on a local rule, a reinforcement signal vector is generated and given to the set learning automata residing in the cell. Based on the received signal, each learning automaton updates its internal structure according to a learning algorithm. The process of action selection and updating the internal structure is repeated until a predetermined criterion is met. This model can be used to solve optimization problems. To show the effectiveness of the proposed model it has been used to solve several optimization problems such as real valued function optimization and clustering problems. Computer simulations have shown the effectiveness of this model.


This study examined the correlation of the expression of interleukin-36 (IL-36), a novel member of interleukin-1 (IL-1) family, with p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathways in psoriasis vulgaris skin lesions. The expression levels of IL-36α, IL-36β, IL-36γ, phosphorylated p38 MAPK, and NF-κBp65 were detected in the skin tissues of 38 psoriasis patients and 17 healthy control subjects by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting. The cytokine expression levels were compared between the psoriasis group and the control group. A correlation analysis between cytokine proteins was performed in the psoriasis group. Results showed that the expression levels of IL-36a, IL-36β, IL-36γ, phosphorylated p38 MAPK and NF-κBp65 in the psoriasis group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.001). In the psoriasis group, the IL-36 cytokine expression was positively correlated with phosphorylated p38 MAPK and NF-κBp65 expression (P<0.05). A significant positive correlation was also found between the phosphorylated p38 MAPK and NF-κBp65 expression (P<0.01). It was concluded that the increased IL-36 expression is correlated with p38 MAPK and NF-κB pathways in psoriasis vulgaris skin lesions. All the three factors may be jointly involved in the pathogenesis and local inflammatory response of psoriasis.


We study a worst-case scenario in generalization: Out-of-domain generalization from a single source. The goal is to learn a robust model from a single source and expect it to generalize over many unknown distributions. This challenging problem has been seldom investigated while existing solutions suffer from various limitations. In this paper, we propose a new solution. The key idea is to augment the source capacity in both input and label spaces, while the augmentation is guided by uncertainty assessment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to (1) access the generalization uncertainty from a single source and (2) leverage it to guide both input and label augmentation for robust generalization. The model training and deployment are effectively organized in a Bayesian meta-learning framework. We conduct extensive comparisons and ablation study to validate our approach. The results prove our superior performance in a wide scope of tasks including image classification, semantic segmentation, text classification, and speech recognition.


Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis and high mortality. At present, vaccination with tumor cell lysate (TCL) loaded dendritic cells (DC) has been shown to be an effective therapy against HCC. However, the ability of promoting the specific T cell immune response is rather weak, influencing the antitumor response. Thus, it is necessary to find a strategy to improve the antitumor effect of TCL-loaded DC. Activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) significantly inhibits antitumor immune response and DC maturity. Nifuroxazide, an antidiarrheal agent, has been proved to directly inhibit STAT3 activation. Thus, we investigated whether nifuroxazide could improve the antitumor immune response in mice vaccinated with TCL-loaded DC. The study provides the theoretical and experimental basis for developing an effective adjuvant for DC vaccine to treat HCC. Our results showed that the administration of nifuroxazide and DC-loaded TCL could significantly improve the survival rate, inhibit the tumor growth, and prompt the antitumor immune responses in mice with orthotopically implanted hepatocarcinomas, thus, possibly providing a new combination strategy to treat HCC.


Machine translation has been around for years. This application is now used frequently in social media with texts which are usually short and simple and found in daily lives. The machine translation has undergone a great progress from the time it was introduced to public in early 2000's. However, there has been no research to see the performance of the machine translation work.The present research is intended to analyse the works of machine translation with the objects which are complicated scientific texts as found in journal articles. It is intended to see if the result of machine translation is comprehensible, accurate and reliable in translating documents. The result suggests that the works of machine translation are found to be comprehensible and reliable for obtaining the meaning of the translated texts, but it does not conform to the standards for publishable criteria. Further works are needed if the translated texts are aimed for publication.