Recent observational findings have suggested a positive correlation between the occurrence rates of inner super-Earths and outer giant planets. These results raise the question if the trend can be reproduced and explained by planet formation theory. Here, we investigate the properties of inner super-Earths and outer giant planets that form according to the core accretion picture. The aim of this research was to study mutual relations between these planet species in synthetic planet populations and to compare them to the observed exoplanet population. We invoke the Generation 3 Bern model of planet formation and evolution to simulate 1000 multi-planet systems. We then confront these synthetic systems with the observed sample, taking into account the detection bias that distorts the observed demographics. The formation of warm super-Earths and cold Jupiters in the same system is enhanced compared to the individual appearances, albeit weaker than proposed by observations. We attribute the discrepancy to dynamically active giant planets, which frequently disrupt inner super-Earth systems in the synthetic population. This result could be interpreted as an overestimation of the migration rates predicted by giant planet migration theory. We further find differences in the volatile content of planets in different system architectures and predict that high-density super-Earths are more likely to host an outer giant. This correlation can be tested observationally. Finally, super-Earth occurrence shows a negative correlation with metallicity in giant-hosting systems. The reason for this is that giant planets around high-metallicity stars are frequently dynamically active, which poses a threat to inner planetary systems.


Consumers often return a product to a retailer because they learn after purchase that the product does not match as well with preferences as had been expected. This is a costly issue for retailers and manufacturers---in fact, it is estimated that the U.S. electronics industry alone spent $13.8 billion dollars in 2007 to restock returned products [Lawton, C. 2008. The war on returns. Wall Street Journal (May 8) D1]. The bulk of these returns were nondefective items that simply were not what the consumer wanted. To eliminate returns and to recoup the cost of handling returns, many retailers are adopting the practice of charging restocking fees to consumers as a penalty for making returns. This paper employs an analytical model of a bilateral monopoly to examine the impact of reverse channel structure on the equilibrium return policy and profit. More specifically, we examine how the return penalty is affected by whether returns are salvaged by the manufacturer or by the retailer. Interestingly, we find that the return penalty may be more severe when returns are salvaged by a channel member who derives greater value from a returned unit. Also, the manufacturer may earn greater profit by accepting returns even if the retailer has a more efficient outlet for salvaging units.


To investigate molecular mechanisms and biological behaviors of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced rat erythroleukemia, we established 8 new culture cell lines from 7 primary erythroleukemias. We designated them KYD-10, 12, 17, 32, 38, 44A, 44B, and 49. Representative clones isolated from each cell line in early passage were analyzed cytogenetically and genetically. All cell lines except KYD-12 possessed the specific N-ras mutation at the 2nd base of codon 61. Four of them showed #2 trisomy (KYD-10, 32, 38, 44B), and the rest normal diploid karyotype (2n). KYD-32 cells showed Robertson type II #2 trisomy which had never been clonally isolated in vitro although it was reported in some DMBA leukemias in vivo. We further studied the genomic imbalance related to the N-ras allele using mutant-allele-specific amplification (MASA) method. Deletion of normal N-ras allele was found in 5 of 8 cell lines. KYD-32 and 38 retained the normal N-ras allele. The specific N-ras mutation and allelic loss of wild type N-ras were correlated with advanced cell proliferation in culture probably independent of #2 trisomy.


It is well known that a refrigerant-induced noise is caused by two-phase flow in the indoor unit of a heat pump air-conditioner. Especially when the flow pattern in a pipe is intermittent flow, the irregular noise occurs frequently. But it is very difficult to avoid this kind of the noise for the application of air-conditioner. Therefore, in this research, the flow patterns at two-phase flow state in a pipe of the indoor unit for the air-conditioner are researched using cycle simulator at typical cycle conditions. In order to find the relationship between refrigerant-induced noise and flow pattern, the noise patterns are investigated with respect to the estimated flow pattern from the various flow pattern maps. Base on the estimations of the flow patterns by those maps, the refrigerant-induced noise is evaluated as decreasing tube diameter, which can transit the flow pattern from slug to annular flow.


Abstract Taylor–Couette (TC) flow is used to probe the hydrodynamical (HD) stability of astrophysical accretion disks. Experimental data on the subcritical stability of TC flow are in conflict about the existence of turbulence (cf. Ji et al. (Nature, vol. 444, 2006, pp. 343–346) and Paoletti et al. (Astron. Astroph., vol. 547, 2012, A64)), with discrepancies attributed to end-plate effects. In this paper we numerically simulate TC flow with axially periodic boundary conditions to explore the existence of subcritical transitions to turbulence when no end plates are present. We start the simulations with a fully turbulent state in the unstable regime and enter the linearly stable regime by suddenly starting a (stabilizing) outer cylinder rotation. The shear Reynolds number of the turbulent initial state is up to $Re_s \lesssim 10^5$ and the radius ratio is $\eta =0.714$ . The stabilization causes the system to behave as a damped oscillator and, correspondingly, the turbulence decays. The evolution of the torque and turbulent kinetic energy is analysed and the periodicity and damping of the oscillations are quantified and explained as a function of shear Reynolds number. Though the initially turbulent flow state decays, surprisingly, the system is found to absorb energy during this decay.


Aniline/p-phenylenediamine copolymer [poly(ANI-co-p-PDA)] was prepared by chemical oxidative polymerization. FTIR and 1H-NMR analysis indicate that the poly(ANI-co-p-PDA) is oligomer with end-capped amino groups, which can cure epoxy resin. The anticorrosion performance of carbon steel (CS) samples coated by epoxy resin coating cured with poly(ANI-co-p-PDA) and epoxy resin coating cured with triethylenetetramine exposed to 5 wt % NaCl and 0.1 mol/L HCl aqueous solution is studied by the potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results show that the CS coated by epoxy resin coating cured with poly (ANI-co-p-PDA) has more excellent corrosion protection than that of epoxy resin coating cured with triethylenetetramine. Raman spectroscopy analysis indicates that the surface of CS coated by epoxy resin coating cured with poly(ANI-co-p-PDA) forms passive layer, which is composed of α-Fe2O3. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009


Absolute stereochemical control is employed in the synthesis of isosteres for dipeptide subunits (1; see Fig. 1) in which the amide linkage has been replaced by a trans carbon-carbon double bond. The synthesis affords access to the four stereoisomers of 1 in which R and R' = CH3, including the isostere for D-alanine-D-alanine (D-Ala-D-Ala), 2.


In Venezuela, the pig production systems is not common to market carcasses coming from pigs in spite of its multiple advantages. This is due to the concerns arisen by the detection of sensory defect called boar taint in an undetermined percentage of carcasses. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of sexual condition (non-castrated or boars and castrated males) and different weights at slaughter (83.8 ± 6.3, 95 ± 5.0 and 106 ± 6) on carcass characteristics and meat quality. In order to persue this objective 84 crossbred pigs [Dalland Tempo (B80) X F1 Yorkshire × Landrace], including 42 boars and 42 castrated males were used. Non-castrated male pigs had lower backfat than castrated ones (P <0.01). The loin eye area of boars was 12.86% greater of that of castrated males (P <0.01). Boars had a lower drip loss at 24h and a higher cooking loss and shear force than castrated males (P<0.01). The sensorial analysis showed that consumers were not capable of detecting the boar taint defect, which is a main disadvantage of the use of boar meat in the weight range evaluated in the present study. The use of boars is a good alternative for pig producers due to better carcass characteristics compared to castrated males, without detriment of its meat quality.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the clinical, serological and genetic features of Japanese patients with CREST syndrome.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Clinical features, autoantibodies and human histocompatibility leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing were studied in thirty patients with CREST syndrome, including 29 females and one male, with a mean age of 59.0 years (ranging from 40 to 76 years).

RESULTS
Interstitial pneumonia on chest X-ray and renal involvement were rare. Mitral regurgitation and tricuspid regurgitation were present in 56.7% and 76.7%, respectively. Sjören's syndrome (SS) and primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) were highly associated, however the positivity of the marker antibodies to those syndromes, such as anti-SSA, anti-SSB, anti-mitochondrial (AMA) and anti-smooth muscle autoantibodies were less frequent than that of primary SS and PBC without the other autoimmune diseases. The histological findings of PBC were all early stages in Scheuer's classification. HLA-Cw6 were associated with CREST-PBC overlap syndrome (p<0.05). However the HLA antigen was not correlated with CREST syndrome, and the frequency of HLA-DR2 between CREST syndrome with or without PBC was significantly different (p<0.01).

CONCLUSION
It was suggested that there was a genetic difference between CREST syndrome alone and CREST-PBC overlap syndrome and there were differences (the positivity of AMA and the severity of bile duct lesion) between PBC and CREST-PBC overlap syndrome.


A mono-layer sheet of 24 mm×24 mm and a multi-layer sheet of 12 mm×12 mm were fabricated as follows. Semiconducting BaTiO3 particles were packed between two electrodes of aluminum foil. As the particles and electrodes were enclosed in a plastic bag, evacuated and heat-sealed, they were fixed and compressed by atmospheric pressure. One layer is formed by the packed particles in the mono-layer sheet, and two to three layers are formed in the multi-layer sheet. The particles are semiconducting BaTiO3 for the mono-layer sheet and composite particles of semiconducting BaTiO3 and In for the multi-layer sheet. Indium particles always exist between the semiconducting BaTiO3 particles in the multi-layer sheet and lower the contact resistance between the semiconducting particles. The properties of the sheets are investigated and the following results are obtained. (1) Both the mono-layer sheet and the multi-layer sheet are flexible and show the PTC property. (2) The performance of the multi-layer sheets is almost the same with that of the mono-layer sheet. (3) The apparent resistance is higher than that of the sintered disk, because of the imperfect contact in the sheet. (4) The thickness is about 1.1 mm and it is thinner than commercial thin PTC plates.


Sound is a small fraction of the pressure wave spectrum. In terms of wavelength, we can hear far more than we can see: while deep red light has waves about twice as long as those of deep violet, the lowest-pitched sound waves we can hear are about ten times longer than the highest. 'Sound waves' explains infrasound, the lower frequencies detectable by touch rather than hearing, and the audio range, describing the fundamental differences between sound power and loudness, and frequency and pitch. It also considers sound underwater. Sonar systems can be passive systems that simply detect sounds, while active sonar transmits sounds and detects those that are reflected.


For assessing knee injuries, Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) examinations are commonly utilized. Developing an automatic interpretable detection mechanism is an essential task for automating the clinical diagnosis of knee MRI. The imbalanced dataset problem is generally an issue for learning models in which the distribution of classes in the dataset is asymmetrical. The MRI datasets are generally imbalanced in favor of categories with injuries because patients who have an MRI are more likely to suffer a knee injury. Hence, it can be a challenging task to train a machine learning algorithm that can automatically handle class imbalance. In this paper, we propose both a network architecture and a comparison of the handling imbalanced dataset techniques to detect the general abnormalities in knee MR images. A network architecture that consists of CNN and transformer-based layers is proposed. Six different configuration methods for imbalanced data training are developed and compared with evaluation metrics (ROCAUC score, specificity, sensitivity, accuracy). Augmentation of additional data to the under-represented class and use of focal loss yield better classification specificity and AUC.


Lone standing abutments or pier abutments have usually been restored with a conventional fixed partial denture (FPD) using a rigid connector between the pontics and the retainers. However, such fixed and rigid restorations have been associated with a higher rate of debonding, microleakage, caries, etc., The aim of the modern day prosthodontics is the preservation of what remains as given by M.M Devan. As a result, a non rigid connector (NRC) may be the connector of choice in situations of pier abutment. A NRC acts as a stress breaker so that the anterior and posterior segments can move independent of each other. This case report presents a simple method of rehabilitating a patient with a pier abutment in the upper right posterior region of the mouth. Rehabilitation was done by FPD with an inverted key-keyway type NRC. Follow up was done up to 11 months.


In this investigation an attempt has been made to identify and correlate the polarographic measurements with the observations of fluorescence kinetics to identify the target site present in photosystem (PSII) II catalyzed electron transport in the cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis. Oxygen exchange measurements using Clark type oxygen electrode have showed 35% loss in whole chain activity and 45% loss in PSII activity at 120 μM concentration of zinc sulphate. Further to identify the specific targets sites within the PSII photochemistry, the reaction mixture component water was replaced with hydroxylamine and the results indicated that there could be damage at water oxidation complex. PAM Chl a fluorescence kinetic measurements revealed the decrease in variable fluorescence and increase in Initial fluorescence indicating that light harvesting complex of PSII could be the target for zinc stress at 120 μM. Thus loss of manganese in water oxidation complex and alterations in light harvesting complex of PSII are responsible for the altered PSII photochemistry in the above cyanobacterium under zinc stress.


Semantic scene completion is the task of predicting a complete 3D representation of volumetric occupancy with corresponding semantic labels for a scene from a single point of view. Previous works on Semantic Scene Completion from RGB-D data used either only depth or depth with colour by projecting the 2D image into the 3D volume resulting in a sparse data representation. In this work, we present a new strategy to encode colour information in 3D space using edge detection and flipped truncated signed distance. We also present EdgeNet, a new end-to-end neural network architecture capable of handling features generated from the fusion of depth and edge information. Experimental results show improvement of 6.9% over the state-of-the-art result on real data, for end-to-end approaches.


Objective: To investigate the distribution of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) isoforms and soluble form of VEGF receptor 1 (sFlt-1) in the follicular fluid (FF) of in vitro fertilization (IVF) patients in relationship to age, body mass index (BMI), diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and their correlation with IVF outcomes. Design: Prospective study. Main Outcome Measures: VEGF 121 and VEGF165 isoforms were detected using Western blotting and pixel density analysis. The concentration of sFlt-1 was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In vitro fertilization outcomes measured included number of oocytes retrieved, fertilization rate, and clinical pregnancy. Statistical analysis used the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U test where appropriate. Results: There was a statistically significant association between higher VEGF165 levels and the diagnosis of PCOS, BMI ≥ 30, and age ≥40 years. In vitro fertilization cycles resulting in pregnancy were linked to statistically lower VEGF165 levels in the FF. No statistically significant trend was identified in levels of VEGF121 or sFlt-1 relative to patient characteristics or IVF outcomes. Conclusion: Our results suggest that elevated VEGF165 levels are associated with less favorable patient characteristics and clinical IVF outcomes.


This paper presents a novel approach for a remote activity and mobility rehabilitation monitoring system for transitibial amputees. The proposed system has the capability of monitoring ambulatory and mobility related activities such as standing, walking, sitting and walking on stairs. The design utilizes single channel inertial measurement signals to determine amputee performance. The methods involved in the system design include development of an embedded data acquisition system, data storage system, signal processing algorithm and the user interface. The final module of the system includes a data processing and presentation algorithm for clinical applications. Design parameters were based on normal human gait. The hardware and software for context-aware ubiquitous computing applications was developed. Subjects were tasked to perform random activities for three hours and the data was collected and analyzed. The system classified motions as walking, standing, laying, sitting and walking on stairs. The classification accuracy was 93.3%, due to challenges on classifying between walking upstairs and walking downstairs. The system error was 6.7%.


A general theory of fracture criteria for mixed dislocation emission and cleavage processes is developed based on Ohr's model. Complicated cases involving mixed-mode loading are considered. Explicit formulae are proposed for the critical condition of crack cleavage propagation after a number of dislocation emissions. The effects of crystal orientation, crack geometry and load phase angle on the apparent critical energy release rates and the total number of the emitted dislocations at the initiation of cleavage are analysed in detail. In order to evaluate the effects of nonlinear interaction between the slip displacement and the normal separation, an analysis of fracture criteria for combined dislocation emission and cleavage is presented on the basis of the Peierls framework. The calculation clearly shows that the nonlinear theory gives slightly high values of the critical apparent energy release rate G(c) for the same load phase angle. The total number N of the emitted dislocations at the onset of cleavage given by nonlinear theory is larger than that of linear theory.


This thesis extends recent scholarly interest in the practical processes of Late Antique Roman law and on the integration of the episcopate into Roman power structures in the fourth century, the first century of imperial patronage of Christian communities. It confirms the "minimalist" model of Roman governance and provides a non-medieval example of the persecution of minorities as a contingent effect of competing claims to authority.This thesis argues that fourth-century elite Roman men disputing episcopal status via the Roman courts led to a transformation of episcopal polity, and that this development has been obscured by a subsequent paradigm shift in the norms concerning episcopal use of Roman law towards the end of that century.This paradigm shift identified by this thesis has three important aspects:1. With the change in imperial dynasty from the Valentinians to Theodosians, imperial favour moved from non-Nicene to Nicene bishops. Disparity of access to imperial favour during the fourth century required Nicene-identified bishops to invent tools to succeed in spite of their poor position. After the Theodosian-Nicene takeover, the Nicene-identified bishops retained these tools while also inheriting the legal framework that the non-Nicene bishops had crafted during their mid-century period of patronage.2. The power structures through which imperial favour was granted also changed. The typical fourth-century use of Roman law to resolve inter-episcopal disputes was different from that which would become established as a more enduring precedent in the Theodosian era. 3. The episcopal rhetoric used in claiming imperial favour changed from a focus on affirming one's own privilege to a focus on the proscription of others. The terminology of orthodox versus heretical is significant but must be understood as relational: even once heretics were proscribed by law, orthodoxy remained a status granted by the emperor. The methodology of this thesis argues for the importance of interpreting the relevant fourth-century sources in the context of their own time and norms, rather than in the light of the significantly different fifth-century practice as previous scholarship has done.This thesis first discusses two case studies before the paradigm shift: in Chapter One, Athanasius of Alexandria, as an example typical of the fourth century, and in Chapter Two, Priscillian of Avila, as an example at the cusp of the transition in the 380s who still demonstrates conformance with earlier practice. The thesis then describes the transition to the Theodosian-Nicene mode with an extended focus on Ambrose of Milan. Chapter Three shows Ambrose, contemporary with Priscillian, refusing to engage with existing episcopal legal practices and inventing a new strategy to survive the threat of Roman law. Chapter Four shows how Ambrose further refined this strategy in other conflicts and in doing so created a new place for bishops within the power structures of the Roman Empire.


Objective: To develop prediction models for intensive care unit (ICU) vs non-ICU level-of-care need within 24 hours of inpatient admission for emergency department (ED) patients using electronic health record data. Materials and Methods: Using records of 41 654 ED visits to a tertiary academic center from 2015 to 2019, we tested 4 algorithms—feed-forward neural networks, regularized regression, random forests, and gradientboosted trees—to predict ICU vs non-ICU level-of-care within 24 hours and at the 24th hour following admission. Simple-feature models included patient demographics, Emergency Severity Index (ESI), and vital sign summary. Complex-feature models added all vital signs, lab results, and counts of diagnosis, imaging, procedures, medications, and lab orders. Results: The best-performing model, a gradient-boosted tree using a full feature set, achieved an AUROC of 0.88 (95%CI: 0.87–0.89) and AUPRC of 0.65 (95%CI: 0.63–0.68) for predicting ICU care need within 24 hours of admission. The logistic regression model using ESI achieved an AUROC of 0.67 (95%CI: 0.65–0.70) and AUPRC of 0.37 (95%CI: 0.35–0.40). Using a discrimination threshold, such as 0.6, the positive predictive value, negative predictive value, sensitivity, and specificity were 85%, 89%, 30%, and 99%, respectively. Vital signs were the most important predictors. Discussion and Conclusions: Undertriaging admitted ED patients who subsequently require ICU care is common and associated with poorer outcomes. Machine learning models using readily available electronic health record data predict subsequent need for ICU admission with good discrimination, substantially better than the benchmarking ESI system. The results could be used in a multitiered clinical decision-support system to improve ED triage.


This contribution aims to inspire teachers to teach their pupils some of the insights on ekphrasis that are presented in this volume. It presents an assignment that invites second year pupils 'to translate the verbal into the visual'.1 That is, they draw parts of the shield and attempt to construct it, on the basis of a Dutch translation of Vergil's text. This drawing will teach the pupils to analyse a literary translation of a classical text and they will learn that a Dutch translation also requires attentive reading and the use of reference books. Together with their teacher, they interpret the role of Aeneas' shield as a means for the narrator to keep his promise to Augustus to celebrate Rome, although it did not yet exist in Aeneas' time.


Inspired by the joint structure and actuation mechanism of spider legs, a novel pneumatic soft joint actuator is designed, which achieves joint rotation by mutual compression of two hyperelastic sidewalls under inflation pressure. For this type of extrusion actuation, a pneumatic hyperelastic thin plate (Pneu-HTP) based actuation modeling method is proposed. The two actuating surfaces extruded mutually of the actuator are considered as Pneu-HTPs, and mathematical models for their parallel extrusion actuation and angular extrusion actuation are derived. The finite element analysis (FEA) simulations and experiments were also performed to evaluate the model accuracy of the Pneu-HTP extrusion actuation. The results for the parallel extrusion actuation show that the average relative error between the proposed model and the experiment is only 9.27%, and the goodness-of-fit is greater than 99%. For the angular extrusion actuation, the average relative error between the model and the experiment is 12.5%, and the goodness-of-fit is greater than 99%. The parallel extrusion actuating force and rotational extrusion actuating force of the Pneu-HTP are also highly consistent with the FEA simulation results, which provides a promising method for the accurate modeling of extrusion actuation in soft actuator.


OBJECTIVES To show the value of mathematical modeling in simulating the spread of nosocomial pathogens in an intensive-care unit (ICU), to provide a framework for listing available knowledge; to predict the benefits of various control measures; and to supplement the epidemiological assessment of these measures. DESIGN Simulated outbreak of a nosocomial pathogen in an ICU, based on a deterministic compartmental model describing both person-to-person spread and indirect spread between patients through staff members. INTERVENTIONS Stimulation of three typical colonization control measures: effective handwashing compliance among staff members, ICU antimicrobial policy, and curtailing ICU admission of colonized patients. RESULTS In controlling colonization, effective handwashing compliance reduced staff member colonization, but only moderately limited patient colonization unless the ICU was isolated strictly by curtailing the admission of colonized patients. The impact of antibiotic policy was very slight. CONCLUSIONS In the field of nosocomial infection, mathematical modeling appears to be valuable tool that can be used to evaluate the magnitude of the expected effects of control strategies and to guide the selection of the best randomized clinical trials to pursue.


Leafcutter ants are one of the most important crop pests in the Neotropics. In the present study, several specimens were collected from four provinces in Argentina in order to determine the species of phorid flies parasitizing them. We report our findings on seven phorid species, Apocephalus neivai Borgmeier, Ap. noetingerorum Disney, Neodohrniphora unichaeta Disney, Myrmosicarius catharinensis Borgmeier, M. cristobalensis Disney, M. crudelis Borgmeier and M. gracilipes Borgmeier, over the leafcutter ants Acromyrmex ambiguus Emery, Ac. crassispinus Forel, Ac. heyeri Forel, Ac. lobicornis Emery and Ac. lundii Guérin. All the known hosts and geographic ranges for these seven phorids in Argentina are provided. The seven phorid species represent new records for all the provinces studied, expanding their geographical ranges; furthermore, we establish a total of eleven new host-parasitoid interactions. Our data expand the knowledge of this little studied system and provide important considerations for the potential use of these parasitoids as biological control candidates of the leafcutter ants.


The smooth Huber approximation to the nonlinear 1 problem was proposed by Tishler and Zang (1982), and further developed in Yang (1995). In the present paper, we use the ideas of Gould (1989) to give a new algorithm with rate of convergence results for the smooth Huber approximation. Results of computational tests are reported.


The storage, retrieval, and processing of geologic and engineering data by modern electronic computers present the geologist with a powerful tool in the solving of technical problems, but at the same time imposes upon him a requirement that he better organize his thoughts concerning the method of problem solution. A major factor in the economics of processing data by computer is the cost of transcribing the basic information into a machinable form. In order to reduce this cost factor, an increasing number of oil and gas companies are entering into agreements with service agencies who transcribe the information from well bores onto punch cards or magnetic tape. The machinable data prepared by any one of these groups is generally referred to as a "well-data system." The various "well-data systems" which have begun in the past several years may by the end of this decade incorporate much of the drilling information from wells in the United States and Canada. Proper use of a machinable well-data file can reduce the time and (or) cost of a particular study. The improper use of such a file, however, can have the opposite effect. Several uses of a machinable file are presented to illustrate the merits of the machine handling of data in different types of geologic and statistical studies. End_of_Article - Last_Page 523------------


Optimal conditions for the extraction and analysis of furanocoumarins from fruits of Archangelica officinalis Hoffm. have been determined. The following extraction methods were used: exhaustive extraction in a Soxhlet apparatus, ultrasonication at 25 and 60 degrees C, microwave-assisted solvent extraction in open and closed systems, and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE). In most cases the yields of furanocoumarins were highest using the ASE method. The effects of extracting solvent, temperature and time of extraction using this method were investigated. The highest yield of furanocoumarins by ASE was obtained with methanol at 100-130 degrees C for 10 min. The extraction yields of furanocoumarins from plant material by ultrasonication at 60 degrees C and microwave-assisted solvent extraction in an open system were comparable to the extraction yields obtained in the time- and solvent-consuming exhaustive process involving the Soxhlet apparatus.


Author(s): Cameron, Lindsay Ann | Advisor(s): Heyduk, Alan F | Abstract: The work described in this dissertation focuses on the rationale behind the design and synthesis of ligand-to-ligand (LL′CT) charge-transfer chromophores supported by redox-active ligands. The molecular chromophores reported herein are meant to interest scientists in materials chemistry, physics, and chemical engineering that wish to employ molecular photosensitizers in photovoltaics and/or in artificial photosynthetic systems. Chapter 1 provides background information on redox-active ligands, their role in non-innocent coordination compounds, the importance of photo-induced excited-states, and demonstrates the ability to tune excited-state properties through molecular design. Chapter 2 introduces four Ni(II) square-planar LL′CT chromophores that are a part of a larger group of square-planar Ni(II) complexes originally published together. These complexes posses HOMO and LUMO orbitals that are localized on the redox-active ligands and that their energies can be controlled independently through chemical modification to the catecholate donor and diimine acceptor. Chapter 3 describes new Ni(II) square-planar donor-acceptor (D-A) chromophores designed absorb near-IR photons and access excited-state oxidation potentials capable of electron injection into metal oxide (semiconductor) surfaces. Bipyridyl-type acceptor ligands are employed to maintain a LUMO at high energy. Incorporation of the strongly reducing amidophenolate donor ligand is meant to destabilize the HOMO energy and push the LLʹCT absorption into the NIR (λmax: 890 and 970 nm). According to the electro- and spectrochemical data the (amidophenolate)Ni(acceptor) dyes reported in herein are estimated to access excited-state oxidation potentials potent enough to populate the conduction band of TiO2 (-0.7 V vs. SCE). Chapter 4 details the investigation of two square-planar Ni(II) D-A LL′CT dyes from Chapter 3 that are equipped with carboxyl anchoring groups for tethering to metal oxide surfaces. Upon optical excitation, the dyes reported herein maintain their excited-state reductive potency. Preliminary binding studies on TiO2 thin films suggest successful dye adsorption but film degradation occurred once exposed to air. Although the air sensitivity of the dye-functionalized film is problematic, future precautions such as air-free studies can be made in order to test their efficacy to inject electrons into large band gap semiconductors. Chapter 5 introduces and investigates three six-coordinate D-A Ru(II) charge-transfer dyes with the general formula: (donor)Ru(N2N2q) [donor = 2 Cl–, (catB4)2– and (cat)2–]. The co-planar arrangement of donor and acceptor orbitals was achieved through the use of the tetradentate, redox-active, N,Nʹ-bis-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-4,5-dimethoxy-benzene-1,2-diiminoquinone, (N2N2q). These new octahedral D-A Ru(II) charge-transfer complexes demonstrate that the tetradentate N2N2q acceptor ligand, when coordinated to a d6 metal ion, allows for the co-planar installation of redox-active donor ligand. Furthermore, the lowest energy transitions of the complexes reported herein are heavily dependent on the identity of the donor ligand, suggesting it is LL′CT in nature. Thus far, our findings suggest that the optical and ground-state redox properties of dyes based on a d6 metal ion and the N2N2q ligand can be tuned through ligand modification. This may open up new areas of research where, instead of a precious heavy metal, such as ruthenium, the earth abundant Fe(II) ion could be used to realize a truly robust and tunable earth abundant charge-transfer photosensitizer.


List of illustrations Preface Notes on contributors Introduction Andrew Gordon and Bernhard Klein Part I. Contested Spaces: 1. Absorption and representation: mapping England in the early modern House of Commons Oliver Arnold 2. A map of Greater Cambria Philip Schwyzer 3. Britannia rules the waves?: images of Empire in Elizabethan England Lesley B. Cormack 4. Performing London: the map and the city in ceremony Andrew Gordon 5. Visible bodies: cartography and anatomy Caterina Albano Part II. Literature and Landscape: 6. The scene of cartography in King Lear John Gillies 7. Unlawful presences: the politics of military space and the problem of women in Tamburlaine Nina Taunton 8. Marginal waters: Pericles and the idea of jurisdiction Bradin Cormack 9. 'On the famous voyage': Ben Jonson and civic space Andrew McRae 10. Imaginary journeys: Spenser, Drayton, and the poetics of national space Bernhard Klein 11. Do real knights need maps? Charting moral, geographical and representational uncertainty in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene Joanne Woolway Grenfell Epilogue: 12. The folly of maps and modernity Richard Helgerson Select bibliography.


Purpose of the study . Perform a brief review of the published works devoted to the evaluation of the effectiveness and safety of drotaverine hydrochloride in the treatment of abdominal cramping caused by primary dysmenorrhea, and an analysis of the use of obtained data in the clinical obstetrician-gynecologist practice. Materials and methods . The authors performed PubMed searches to find foreign and domestic articles using the keywords "dysmenorrhea", "spasmolytic therapy", "drotaverine", "spasm", "pain". The analysis of the clinical studies showed the effectiveness of spasmolytic therapy of primary dysmenorrhea with drotaverin hydrochloride. Conclusion . Drotaverine hydrochloride can be recommended as an effective and safe first-choice drug to treat primary dysmenorrhea.


Aim: In this preliminary study, we aimed to investigate the effect of sulforaphane (SFN) warm ischemia in a non-heart beat rat liver model (NHBD). Materials and Methods: Livers taken from NHBD 15,30,60 min after warm ischemia were stored up at University of Wisconsin solution for 5 h at 40C [cold storage (CS)] and were, then, exposed to 2 h of machine reperfusion (MRP) at 370C. In the study group, SFN 5 mg/kg was intraperitoneal given 30 min before the introduction of NHB. Firstly, we divided the rats into the control and SFN groups. Then, each group was divided into three groups (n=10 in each) including control I, II, III and SFN I, II, III groups (15-, 30-, and 60-min warm ischemia period, respectively).Control and study groups at the same time of ischemia were compared with each other in terms of lactate, AST, ALT, IL-6, TNF-α and morphologically. Results: In the group treated with SFN, AST, ALT, TNF-α, IL-6, and lactate levels were lower, compared to the control group. Histopathologically, Bcl-2 staining intensity and percentages of staining were statistically significant, compared to the control and study groups during 15-min warm ischemia. Although not statistically significant, the intensity and percentage of staining were higher at 30 min and identical at 60 min. Conclusion: Our study results suggest that, despite prolonged warm ischemia time, SFN can biochemically and morphologically protect the liver from the hazardous effects of ischemia reperfusion in an experimentally-controlled NHB in rats, indicating an increased utilization rate of NHBDs.


As an important trace element, iron plays an essential role in many biology processes like cell proliferation, metabolism, and mitochondrial function. However, the disruption of iron homeostasis tends to cells death and human diseases due to it servers as mediator to promote the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this review, first we introduced the mechanism of complex iron-mediated ROS involved in apoptosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis and pyroptosis. Next, we discussed the controversial role of excess iron and iron deficiency in tumor. Finally, we discussed the anti-cancer effects of iron on both sides, and novel iron-related strategies. This review outlined the mechanisms and regulation of iron homeostasis and iron-mediated ROS in tumors, and discussed the iron-related treatments.


Soil tillage can affect the formation and stability of soil aggregates. The disruption of soil structure weakens soil aggregates to be susceptible to the external forces of water, wind, and traffic instantaneously, and over time. The choice of tillage system or land management changes the soil physical condition and soil organic matter content, which is an essential factor in building soil aggregates. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of different tillage systems on the rate of decay of different sizes of soil aggregate fractions and other associated properties over time as subjected to a continuous wetting process. This research was conducted on a long-term tillage study, established in 2002 at the Iowa State University Agronomy Research Farm near Ames, Iowa. The soil association in this study is Clarion-Nicollet-Webster (Clarion [fine-loamy, mixed, mesic, Typic Hapluduolls], Nicollet [fine-loamy, mixed, mesic, Aquic Hapluduolls], and Webster [fine-loam, mixed, mesic, Typic Endoaquolls]). The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with four replications. Main plot treatments were five tillage systems: moldboard-plow, chisel-plow, deep-rip, strip-till, and no-till. The cropping system was corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean (Glycine max L.) rotation. Wet aggregate stability was measured using the Wet Sieving Apparatus (Eijkelkamp, Agrisearch Equipment. Art no. 08.13). Soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil total nitrogen (N) were analyzed by dry combustion using CHN Analyzer (TruSpec CHN Version 2.5x). Results show no-till with the highest carbon (C) content and the highest macro- and microaggregate stability over time. The findings also show a strong relationship between the increase in SOC content and the stability of macro- and microaggregate under continuous wetting process. Furthermore, the findings suggest that aggregate stability and moisture content are highly correlated with SOC content, and the rate of decay of both aggregate sizes (macro and micro) is highly influenced by the intensity of tillage. The implication of this research is the importance of no-till not only in increasing the stability of micro- and macroaggregates and SOC storage, but also in its effect on increasing the stability of all aggregate fractions in continuous wet conditions for extended periods of time.


This study examined relationships between five personal traits and adolescents' creative activities and accomplishments in five domains—music, visual arts, creative writing, science, and technology. Participants were 439 tenth graders (220 males and 219 females) in China. The relationships were examined using confirmatory factor analysis. Openness to experience was related to activities in music, visual arts, and creative writing but not to science and technology. Creative self-efficacy was related to all but technology-related activities. Intrinsic motivation was related to visual arts and science creative activities. Conscientiousness and perceived intellectual ability were not associated with creative activities in any domain. Finally, none of the personality or motivational attributes were related to creative activities in the technology domain. Personal traits appear to introduce some variability in the developmental trajectory of potential talents in various domains.


Recently, ideas of color blending have brought the enlightenment for subsurface geobody imaging in petroleum engineering. In this paper, we present this approach of CMY color blending and its application in subsurface geobody characterization by using seismic attributes data. The first step is to calculate three types of seismic attributes based on the Hilbert transform algorithm, including envelop, instantaneous phase, and instantaneous frequency. Then scale the three attributes and combine them together using CMY color model in three-dimensional environment, with each attribute corresponding to one primary color channel. Adjust the scale and offset for each color component and then mix them optimally to create one color-blended volume. The blended volume in CMY mode has plenty of geological information coming from the three input attributes, resulting in high resolution and accurate image for subsurface geobodies. Applications show good performances in buried channels, caves, and faults imaging. Based on the blended slice, the geological targets can be easily but accurately interpreted and depicted.


IceCube analyses which look for an astrophysical neutrino signal in the southern sky face a large background of atmospheric muons and neutrinos created by cosmic ray air showers. By selecting starting events in the southern sky, atmospheric muons and neutrinos with accompanying muons are rejected, producing a sample with high astrophysical neutrino purity at lower energies than northern sky samples. Our new selection method looks for muon tracks from a neutrino interaction with a vertex contained inside the detector volume by using the good pointing resolution of the track morphology to create an event specific veto region in the detector to reject entering tracks. This starting track event selection has a high astrophysical neutrino purity above 10 TeV at declinations less than -30◦ which makes it ideal for use as a southern sky realtime neutrino alert stream. We will discuss neutrino point source searches using this event selection and look at the advantages of the starting track alert stream for multimessenger astrophysics.


The face load factor KH, which in rating equations represents the load distribution over the common face width in meshing gears, is one of the most important items for a gear strength calculation. In the international standard for cylindrical gear rating, the ISO6336-1 [1], using method C, some formulas are proposed to get a value for this factor. But as the formulas are simplified, the result is often not very realistic. Also AGMA 2001 (or AGMA 2101) [2] proposes a formula for KH, different from ISO6336, but again not always appropriate. Therefore a note in AGMA stipulates, that "it may be desirable to use an analytical approach to determine the load distribution factor".


Foster (1) and we agree about most, if not all, of the fundamental aspects of adaptive mutation in the Escherichia coli Lac system, most notably, that the data provide strong support for hypermutation (HM) models in which the mutation rate increases generally in response to stress. There are just a few small apparent discrepancies, clarification of which might be helpful. Whereas we state that 85% of point mutations require the special error-prone DNA polymerase DinB/Pol IV, Foster uses the figure of 50 to 80% (and thus attributes 50 to 20% of mutations to some other DNA polymerase, whereas we attribute only 15% to another polymerase). This discrepancy is caused partly by how each lab measures adaptive mutations. We measure point mutants separately from lac-amplified clones and have shown that 85% of point mutations require DinB/Pol IV whereas none of lac amplification does (2). Foster does not separate the point mutants and lac-amplified clones and therefore sees that the total number of Lac colonies is decreased less than 85% by loss of DinB—this is because the number of lac-amplified clones is not reduced. We note that Foster's proposal regarding the mechanism of antimutator activity of the dnaE915 allele was made previously in reference 2. As noted in both our (3) and Foster's (1) papers, there is not a consensus regarding whether all or some of Lac adaptive revertant cells arise from the cells in the demonstrated hypermutable subpopulation (the reasons are reviewed in reference 3). However, here we wish to point out the fundamental agreement articulated in Foster's paper that all Lac cells arise from cells experiencing higher mutation rates than "normal" cells. It is now articulated clearly that her model holds that both the "hypermutable subpopulation" and the remaining stressed cells are proposed to be more mutagenic per base pair replicated than growing cells. In this respect, her model diverges from that of Roth and Andersson (4). Thus, we both find that the data fit best with HM models.


Objective: To determine the frequency of accuracy of oxygen prescription in a teaching hospital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Methodology: This was a hospital based descriptive study performed in Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in May and June 2015. The study sample included a total of 110 admitted patients of either gender and of any age in various units (Medical and allied, Surgical and allied, Gynae/Obstetrics and Paediatrics), who were on oxygen therapy and the oxygen was prescribed on treatment charts. Data was collected regarding oxygen prescription, administration and monitoring. Accuracy of oxygen prescription was determined. Descriptive statistical analysis was employed utilizing SPSS version 21.0. Results: Of the 110 in-patients who were on oxygen therapy, 52 (47.3%) were males and 58 (52.7%) were females. Source of Oxygen (as centralized supply or oxygen cylinders) was not mentioned in 89 (80.9%) patients. Face mask was used for administration of oxygen in 95 (86.4%) of patients. Method of oxygen administration was not mentioned in 90.0% patients, duration of therapy not mentioned in 86.4%, oxygen flow rate not mentioned in 83.6% and signature of doctor or prescriber not found in 81.8% patients. Only 17 (15.5%) prescriptions stated all the required parameters and were considered as accurate. Conclusion: Accuracy of oxygen prescriptions based on required parameters were found only in a minority of prescriptions. Most frequent deficiency in oxygen prescriptions was lack of mention of FiO2 followed by method of oxygen administration, oxygen flow rate and signature of doctor or prescriber. Face mask was the most frequent device for administration of oxygen.


Anthropological research is qualitative, emergent, even intuitive. As Ingold proposes, in this regard, it has much in common with arts practice. Anthropologists often follow 'foreshadowed problems', joining in with the mundane, interconnected tasks of people's daily lives in the communities where they are based. Textiles, like other crafts, fit well here, often bringing in 'women's work', domesticity, stories of everyday life and extending across the traditional, the popular, the modern. What this brings (we hope) is texture, quality, a rich description and the voices of our field companions. Collaboration brings an extending and questioning of the boundaries. Where does standard participant observation end and collaboration and making textiles begin? When does practical engagement constitute an intervention? And does intervening, and thus changing local practices in the field, matter? How can collaboration affect the field-site, the textiles and their limits? Who writes the results, whose voices are heard? In my case, early fieldwork ranged from making felt textiles to mundane domestic tasks such as cooking and washing up. But as collaboration, it expanded into sending letters, making work together, cultural exchanges, even symposia. In this article, I draw on case studies from research in Kyrgyzstan and Scotland to explore how collaborations through textile work may (with rigour) enhance inter-community knowledge and communication and produce growth and cumulative understanding.


Previous research has extensively investigated the spectral properties of sibilant fricatives with little consideration to how these properties vary over time. To investigate such spectro-temporal variation, productions of English /s/ and /ʃ/ and of Japanese /s/ and /ɕ/ in word-initial, prevocalic position were elicited from adult native speakers. The spectral dynamics of these productions were analyzed in terms of a psychoacoustic measure of peak frequency: "peak ERBN number." Peak ERBN number was computed at 17 evenly spaced points across each fricative production. The resulting peak ERBN number trajectories were analyzed with orthogonal polynomial growth-curve models, to determine how peak frequency varied temporally within each fricative. Three analyses compared (1) the English sibilants to each other, (2) the Japanese sibilants to each other, and (3) English /s/ to Japanese /s/. The results indicated that, in both English and Japanese, the sibilant fricatives differ acoustically in terms of both static (i.e., overall level) and dynamic (i.e., shape) aspects of the peak ERBN number trajectories. Furthermore, English /s/ and Japanese /s/ exhibited language-specific differences in the shape, but not overall level, of peak ERBN number trajectories.


Are you having trouble keeping your network under control? Here is an introduction to NOCOL: the freeware network monitoring system which will help you keep instability at bay.


Patients with primary intrinsic brain tumors can experience neurological, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms that greatly affect daily life. In this review, we focus on changes in personality and behavior, mood issues, hallucinations, and psychosis, because these are either difficult to recognize, to treat, or are understudied in scientific literature. Neurobehavioral symptoms are common, often multiple, and causation can be multifactorial. Although different symptoms sometimes require a different treatment approach, we advise a comprehensive treatment approach, including pharmacological treatment and/or psychotherapy where appropriate. Further research is needed to obtain a better estimate of the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms in glioma patients, and the extent to which these affect everyday functioning and family life.


Male infertility has a complex etiology, and many times, the cause is unknown. While routine semen analysis provides an overview of basic semen parameters, such as sperm concentration, motility, viability and morphology, a significant overlap of these parameters has been reported in fertile and infertile men. Moreover, conventional semen parameters do not reveal the cellular or molecular mechanisms of sperm dysfunctions leading to infertility. Therefore, sperm functional parameters, including sperm chromatin integrity, are evaluated to provide information on subtle sperm defects that are not routinely identified. Incomplete or defective sperm chromatin condensation increases the susceptibility of the sperm DNA to oxidative damage or other factors. To evaluate sperm chromatin integrity, different methods with varying degrees of diagnostic and prognostic capabilities are available. Among these assays, SCSA, TUNEL and SCD assays are most commonly used. While these assays rather evaluate the DNA directly for damages, the aniline blue and chromomycin A3 stains test for the quality of chromatin condensation. Thus, this review discusses and compares different methods used to evaluate sperm chromatin integrity and condensation, and their inclusion in the routine evaluation of the male infertility.


Cooperative relay networks with multiple antennas at each node enable achieving both macro diversity and micro diversity in a wireless fading channel. Using beamforming along with space-time (ST) coding at the source and the relay of a cooperative relay network allows achieving both diversity gain and array gain. In this paper we propose novel distributed beamforming techniques for a space-time (ST) coded dual-hop cooperative multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) decode-and-forward (DF) relay network to minimize the pair-wise error probability (PEP), while maintaining the SNR at the relay node above a given threshold. Beamforming techniques for the availability of full-instantaneous channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT) as well as statistical CSIT are proposed. The source and the relay compute their own beamforming matrices based only its own CSIT subject to individual power constraints at each node. The simulation results show that the proposed beamforming techniques offer a significant performance enhancement over the performance of a relay network using ST coding only. Furthermore, the proposed beamforming techniques maintain their performance improvement throughout the possible spatial correlation factor range for the channel.


We explore the possibility that the price puzzle the positive response of prices to a negative monetary policy shockarises in the presence of unmoored expectations. Looking at the pre-Great Recession period, employing a VAR analysis, we compare the behavior of prices after a monetary policy shock in countries with clearly defined nominal anchors (Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, Switzerland and EMU) to their behavior in countries that, at that time, did not possess any such anchor (Japan and United States). While in this last group we find evidence of a price puzzle, in the first, starting from the period when this anchor was set, we do not find such a perverse dynamic. We argue that those countries characterised by clearly defined nominal anchors, having anchored inflation expectations, have managed to rule out the persistent increase in the price level.


This essay addresses rhetorical implications involved in naming national "heroes." I show that contemporary discourse holds narrow conceptions of heroism that limit who may be granted agency in social narratives and do so by examining one of the quintessential forms of heroism in the United States, namely, wartime heroism. Dominant constructions of "heroism" follow a melodramatic frame that privileges masculine, individualistic actors who rescue the weak by eliminating or conquering the enemy. By examining undertold stories of nurses interned in the Philippines during World War II, I explore rhetorical resources that might broaden this frame to help us envision a "healing heroism."


Modern low-latency and high-bandwidth interconnects like the Scalable Coherent Interface (SCI) deliver high communication performance for parallel and distributed systems. However, the performance of an SCI-based compute cluster with NUMA characteristics depends on the efficient use of local memory accesses. Therefore, programming and tool environments for such systems with distributed shared memory (DSM) should enable and exploit data locality. We present an event-driven hybrid monitoring approach for a SCI-based PC cluster with hardware supported DSM. The core of that concept is a hardware monitor which is able to observe the fine-grained nature of the communication in such a parallel system with minimal impact to the system. The hardware monitor delivers in real-time detailed information about the communication and runtime of an examined program. The monitoring system allows the user an optimal evaluation of the network behaviour and hence of the data locality of that parallel program.


In 40 patients (17 male, 23 female, median age 57 years) with the presumptive diagnosis of primary (essential) thrombocythemia (PTH) according to the diagnostic requirements of the Polycythemia-Vera-Study-Group (PVSG) a follow-up study and a histological evaluation of initial trephine biopsies of the bone marrow were performed. Thorough review of the hematological data during the lengthy course of disease (observation time ranging from 1.5-10.5 years) and the histomorphology of the bone marrow implied a discrimination into two groups of patients. Group I patients (n = 26; 10 male, 16 female) were compatible with PTH according to our follow-up studies. Group II patients consisted of 14 cases (7 male, 7 female) which suggested retrospectively early hyperplastic stages of agnogenic myeloid metaplasia (AMM) with concomitant thrombocytosis. In PTH (group I patients) there was a sustained elevation of the platelet count lasting for several years accompanied by stable other blood values. Early AMM (group II patients) was characterized by an insidious decline of the initially elevated thrombocyte count, starting in a few patients already 4-6 months after admission. In AMM there was further an increase in hepatosplenomegaly observable together with the level of LDH and the score of the leukocyte alkaline phosphatase, and finally an evolution of a leukoerythroblastic blood picture could be noticed. Initial histopathology of the bone marrow revealed a profound proliferation of a not severely dysplastic megakaryopoiesis in group I patients (PTH) and a normal content of reticulin fibers. In early thrombocythemic AMM (group II patients) conspicuous abnormalities of megakaryocytes were accompanied by a slight to moderate increase in argyrophilic fibers and a left-shifted neutrophilic granulocyto- as well as erythropoiesis. These differences of certain histomorphological features could be substantiated by morphometric analysis. Our findings suggest that even the rigid requirements for the diagnosis of PTH as proposed by the PVSG may not be sufficiently restrictive to exclude patients with early hyperplastic stages of thrombocythemic AMM.


The ISO 26262 is currently the dominant functional safety standard for electrical and electronic systems in the automotive industry. The Functional Safety Concept subphase in the standard requires the Preliminary Architectural Assumptions (PAA) for allocation of functional safety requirements. This paper justifies the need for, and defines a process ATRIUM, for consistent design of the PAA. ATRIUM is subsequently applied in an industrial case study for a function enabling highly automated driving at one of the largest heavy vehicle manufacturers in Europe, Scania CV AB. The findings from this study, which contributed to ATRIUMs institutionalization at Scania, are presented. The benefits of ATRIUM include (i) a fast and flexible way to refine the PAA, and a framework to (ii) incorporate information from legacy systems into safety design and (iii) rigorously track and document the assumptions and rationale behind architectural decisions under uncertain information. The contributions of this paper are (i) the analysis of the problem (ii) the process ATRIUM and (iii) findings and the discussion from the case study at Scania.


In response to the rapid increases in the costs of health care in the 1970s and early 1980s, the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) now places hospitals at financial risk for services provided to their Medicare patients. Although hospital boards and administrators can pursue a variety of steps to reduce the cost of care, the hospital must ultimately rely on its medical staff for fundamental change. This paper describes the incentive conflicts that face hospitals and physicians as a result of PPS and identifies a series of options with which hospitals and their medical staff members can resolve the conflict.


Abstract Functional traits related to regeneration responses to the environment are highly determinants of distribution patterns of plant communities. A large body of studies on seed traits suggests that regional climate may act as a strong filter of plant recruitment; however, few studies have evaluated the relative importance of seed traits and environmental filters for seed persistence at the population level. We tested the role of seed mass, water content and desiccation tolerance, as well as the germination time as proxies for seed tolerance to environmental filters (water deficit, heat shock and high temperatures) by comparing the response of tree species co-occurring in savannas located in different regions: Cerrado biome of Central Brazil and the Rio Branco savannas of northern Brazil. Seeds collected in savannas of Rio Branco showed a higher tolerance to environmental filters than those collected in savannas of the Cerrado. While the germination percentages largely varied in response to the treatments, the germination times were virtually unaffected by them, irrespective of seed origin, seed mass and water content. At the population level, the regional environment was a key determinant of seed tolerance to stress, irrespective of seed traits. Germination time was shown to represent a conservative seed trait and more linked to a species-specific germination strategy than to regional characteristics. Our results suggest that recruitment patterns of Cerrado savannas may be more impacted than Rio Branco savannas by the climate scenarios predicted for the future.


In this paper, driving drowsiness detection based on visual features offers a noninvasive solution to detect the driver's state. Fusion with lane and driver features is addressed in order to complement each other once any visual signs failed. Given uncertainty exists greatly, Dempster-Shafer theory is used to improve the accuracy of detection while reliability is given to present the data's robustness. Experimental results demonstrate that the performance of driving drowsiness vigilance is enhanced in the proposed framework and efficiently tolerates the failure of feature collection.


This book presents a new theoretical model of a media system called: the model of the precarious system of democratic transition. The latter is based on fifteen parameters that characterize the Haitian media system and the environment in which it evolves. This is a significant contribution to advancing knowledge in media studies and public communication in general. After carefully analyzing different models of media systems existing in the scientific literature, including the three models proposed by Halin and Mancini (2004), the author concludes that none of them applies to the typical Haitian case. His study confirms the limitations of media system models resulting from Halin and Mancini's comparative studies in the context of Western countries. It is a real reference document that gives an unprecedented reading grid to analyze the media systems of non-Western countries, particularly African or Latin American countries, which have characteristics similar to that of Haiti. Indeed, in his doctoral thesis, the author concluded that the Haitian media system has transformed over the past 60 years under the influence of three sets of factors: linguistics, democratic and technological. Nevertheless, he comes to the conclusion that the changes observed are only in the relations between the actors of the system without leading to a reconfiguration of the system. The main characteristics of the Haitian media system and its environment remained unchanged from 1957 to 2022. So, there is an inertia that keeps the system in an initial state.


The notion of "empire" in Hardt and Negri's political theory indicates a new postmodern sovereignty, able to lead the capital accumulation in the global market era. With the concept of "empire", Hardt and Negri want to overtake the imperialism doctrines, considered by the two authors unable to understand correctly the global world. The aim of this essay is to clarify the conceptual contraposition between "empire" and "imperialism" offering a brief description of the international debate raised by the publication of "Empire" by Hardt and Negri, in order to present the different positions and describe strengths, contradictions and aporias.


Abstract A palladium-catalyzed reaction for the synthesis of benzosultams from allenes and 2-iodobenzenesulfonamides in poly(ethylene glycol) medium is described. This route is compared with a second method involving an internal Heck reaction of alkene-functionalized 2-iodobenzenesulfonamides. Key products were characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the condylar bone metabolic activity in patients with temporomandibular joint health by measuring 99m Tc-MDP uptake using a single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) to establish reference values of the uptake difference between condyles and the ratio with respect to the clivus.

SETTING AND SAMPLE POPULATION
Eighty consecutive patients of both sexes who were admitted to a Nuclear Medicine Centre between 2017 and 2019 were included in the study.

METHOD
This was an observational cross-sectional study in patients with SPECT indications to evaluate pathologies other than those of the temporomandibular joint. The values of the total and normalised counts in a fixed region of interest of five trans-axial slides were obtained to assess the percentage difference between the sides and the uptake ratio. The reference values are expressed as median and 5th and 95th percentiles.

RESULTS
The sample included 53 women (66.25%) and 27 men (33.75%) aged 15 to 55 years. The percentage of uptake difference between condyles was 5.04% (0.46-14.78) for men and 5.17% (0.27-13.21) for women (difference not significant, p = 0.9). The uptake difference was below 10% in 85% of the subjects (n = 68). The ratio values for total counts in women (0.87, 0.46-1.33) were significantly different (p=0.0030) from those in men (1.08, 0.61-2.09). No significant correlation with age was found.

CONCLUSIONS
These new reference ranges are applicable to the diagnosis of unilateral and bilateral condylar hyperplasia.


Parabens, alkyl esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid, are widely used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, personal care products and as food additives to inhibit microbial growth and extend product shelf life. Consumers of these compounds are frequently exposed via the skin, lips, eyes, oral mucosa, nails, and hair. Parabens are estrogenic molecules but exert weaker activity than natural estrogens, which would imply a low risk. Consistent with this idea, a number of recent commission reports from different countries suggested that parabens pose a negligible endocrine-disrupting risk at the recommended doses. However, individuals are not routinely exposed to a single paraben, and most of the available paraben toxicity data, reviewed in these reports, are from single-exposure studies. Further, assessing the additive and cumulative risk of multiple paraben exposure from daily use of multiple cosmetic and/or personal care products is presently not possible based on current studies. In this review, current and recent studies of paraben exposure and public health policies as well as critical gaps in the knowledge are discussed and new research directions regarding multiple exposures and novel target cohorts are recommended.


This case study aimed to explore Saudi EFL students' attitudes towards learning writing by using blogging in practicing their writing activities and tasks. It also sought to measure the effectiveness of blogging as an effective approach to enhance student's writing abilities. The participants in this study were five students second-year undergraduate EFL students studying in the Department of English in Saudi university. The participants had completed a writing skills course as a compulsory course in their study program. A semi-structured interview was used to acquire data for this case study in order to learn about learners' blogging experiences. The semi-structured interview data were analyzed thematically. The findings showed that the learners' attitudes were positive toward using the class blog as a beneficial approach in EFL writing classes. Furthermore, they confirmed that their English writing skills improved as a result of blogging. Additionally, they mentioned that blogging enabled them to build an interactive learning environment in which they could share their experiences and perspectives with their peers and learn from one another. Finally, the study, emphasizes the importance of using blogging in EFL writing classes and recommends that blogging to be part of writing teaching curricula at the university level.


ABSTRACT This study examines the roles of individual and household characteristics in internal migration in Indonesia for the first time using the five waves of Indonesia Family Life Survey. Our analysis extends previous research by using a longer period to capture mobility behaviour, by comparing changing of residence across three spatial scales, by incorporating the interaction of relation to household head and gender, and by differentiating migration involving the interaction of Sumatra, Java, other regions and rural-urban areas. The multinomial logistic regression results are consistent with international observations relating to age, education, marital status, previous migration, dependents, family size, and income. Some unique features from this study are the results which show that the probability of migrating by gender varies according to one's relation to the household head, which highlights the importance of gender and family structure in migration decision-making. Residents of Java have lower probabilities of migrating, compared to non-Java residents for smaller spatial scale migrations, but are relatively likely to engage in inter-provincial migration. Urban-originating moves are more likely than rural-originating moves for all spatial scales except for Sumatra where its rural residents have a higher probability of migrating inter-provincially than its urban residents.


M-advertising is emerging as a new channel of marketing communication The present research study revealed that if advertising messages are sent to the mobile phones of the m-users after getting their permission their attitude would turn positive towards the mobile- advertising. M-users would like to receive the advertising message on their personal devices like mobiles phones if those messages are customized to their profiles. Results of the present investigation and finding of the prior studies on m-advertising exhibited that the m-users attitudes would take the positive shape if the message are creative and content is informative or entertaining. Therefore advertisers should keep these three factors in mind while using m-advertising. M-advertisers should develop the message contents according to the preferences of the m-users and should use creative ideas to attract the consumers' attention. M-advertisers should also keep user interface and mobile formats in mind while developing the m-ads to make m-advertising effective.


Purpose There is an increase in renal nitric oxide (NO) production in lupus nephritis (LN) that appears to be pathogenic, as pharmacologic inhibition of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) abrogates disease in mice. However, the mechanism through which iNOS activity is pathogenic in murine LN is not known. One mechanism may be via increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by iNOS. We investigated the effect of inhibiting iNOS activity in murine LN on ROS production. Methods Fifteen MRL/lpr mice having active LN were put into three treatment groups. Group one received distilled water (n = 6), group two NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) (a nonspecific iNOS inhibitor, n = 5) and group three N6-(1-iminoethyl)-L-lysine, dihydrochloride (L-NIL) (a specific iNOS inhibitor, n = 4). Following two weeks of treatment, 24-hour urine sample were collected from each group. Urine samples were analyzed for nitrate + nitrite (NOX) using a chemiluminescence NO analyzer. Urine 8-isoprostane F2α (8-iso PGF2α, a surrogate marker for systemic ROS production) was analyzed by isotopic dilution, immunoaffinity extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-negative ion chemical ionization. Results were reported as mean ± standard error. A one-way ANOVA was used to determine the effect of drug on 8-iso PGF2α excretion. Results The iNOS inhibitors significantly reduced urine NOX levels (control 10.4 ± 2.5, L-NMMA 1.3 ± 0.5 L-NIL 1.0 ± 0.4 μmoles/mouse/day respectively: p < .01 in all). INOS inhibitors also significantly reduced isoprostane levels (control 10.4 ± 0.1, L-NMMA 0.1 ± 0.05, L-NIL 0.1 ± 0.04 ng/mouse/day, p > .05 for all treatments vs. control). With iNOS inhibitor therapy, isoprostane levels were reduced in association with reductions in NOX levels (r = .85, p < .05). Conclusion These findings are consistent with a majority of ROS production in this murine model of LN occurring via iNOS activation. Future studies will compare the effect of iNOS inhibitors to that of potent antioxidants in reducing the severity of LN in murine models.


There are many different protocols that are critical to the communication of data in the Internet but are not readily visible to the end-users. These infrastructure protocols include the Domain Name System protocol, the various routing protocols, and the Simple Network Management Protocol. The infrastructure protocols were developed early in the history of the Internet, when the risk environment was much more benign, and are not protected against failure or attack. This has left the Internet vulnerable to failure resulting from attack on its infrastructure. Under DARPA sponsorship in the information survivability program, Network Associates has designed and implemented enhancements to critical infrastructure protocols, so as to enable the robust operation of the Internet. This paper describes our work on security enhancements to the domain name system, the Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) routing protocol, the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routing protocol, and the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).


Spanish food – an illustrated online dictionary. The question of equivalence has always created problems for lexicographers when we work with bilingual dictionaries. I have wondered whether information technology might offer a solution to this problem. The question that I have tried to answer is the following: "Can encyclopaedic information including illustrations rectify missing equivalence in bilingual, web-based dictionaries within cultural subject areas?" I have chosen to limit the subject to gastronomy, because this subject has a very culture-specific terminology. The target group of the dictionary is not limited to one particular group. Because of the hypertext structure that allows the user to work at various levels, the dictionary may meet the needs among Danish-speaking people with varying knowledge of Spanish. My conclusion is that the user of an online dictionary will have access to a lot more relevant information using an online encyclopaedic dictionary than it is possible to offer in a printed dictionary.


Human peripheral blood monocytes synthesize a low level of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) when cultured in vitro for six days. If cell-free bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from sarcoidosis patients was included with the monocytes during culture, the monocyte ACE level increased significantly in a dose dependent manner. In contrast, the cell-free bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from control subjects and patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis or hypersensitivity pneumonitis raised basal monocyte levels little, if at all. These results suggested that sarcoid lavage fluid contains a soluble ACE-inducing factor (AIF) that was absent or present in much lower concentrations in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of the other patients studied. Initial attempts to characterize this AIF indicated an apparent molecular weight of greater than 5000 daltons as determined by Amicon ultrafiltration. The AIF was stable to heating at 56 degrees for 1 hour. This finding demonstrated that lavage ACE was not responsible for the AIF activity since lavage ACE is inactivated under these conditions. Gamma-interferon (macrophage-activating factor) was also eliminated as the agent responsible for AIF activity since gamma-interferon decreased rather than increased monocyte ACE. In summary, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from sarcoid patients contains a soluble factor (AIF) that induces ACE in cultured monocytes. Action of this factor in vivo may be responsible for the increased ACE levels seen in the monocyte-derived epithelioid granuloma cells of sarcoidosis.


In this study the author seeks to explore a specific critical perspective related to the race, sexuality and gender articulation, understanding that gay pornography will be exemplary to show the production of a coordinated system of classifications and categories, stereotypes and representations built as a discourse that may be read as a socially produced inventory of fetichization for racialized sexual desire. In order to develop this view the author presents a short theoretical discussion on pornography, interrogated by the power/pleasure articulation and the reading of three hemic corpora of racial representation related to homosexual desire: blackness, whiteness and brazilianness.


The mathematics of uncontrolled growth are frightening. A single cell of the bacterium E. coli would, under ideal circumstances, divide every twenty minutes. That is not particularly disturbing until you think about it, but the fact is that bacteria multiply geometrically: one becomes two, two become four, four become eight, and so on. In this way, it can be shown that in a single day, one cell of E. coli could produce a super-colony equal in size and weight to the entire planet earth. M. Crichton (1969), The Andromeda Strain (Dell, New York, p. 247).


Using double-labeling techniques for both in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry some peptides and peptide receptors were studied quantitatively in a sensory and a sympathetic ganglion after axotomy. In the lumbar 5 dorsal root ganglion (DRG) normally no neuropeptide Y- and only a few galanin-positive cell bodies are seen. Following complete transection of the sciatic nerve around 60% of all neuropeptide Y (NPY) neuron profiles (NPs) were galanin positive (+) and 33-44% of all galanin NPs were NPY(+). A good agreement between immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization was observed for NPY and galanin. NPY Y1- and Y2-receptor (R) mRNAs were found in around 40% of all NPY mRNA(+) NPs, and more than half of the Y1-R mRNA(+) NPs and two-thirds of the Y2-R mRNA(+) NPs were NPY(+). In addition, more than one-third of the galanin mRNA-containing NPs showed colocalization with NPY receptor mRNAs and up to 70% of the Y2-R mRNA(+) NPs also expressed galanin mRNA. In the control superior cervical ganglion (SCG) 10% of the NPY(+) NPs were Y2-R mRNA(+), and 85% of the Y2-R(+) NPs were NPY mRNA(+), and the corresponding percentages after axotomy were around 35 and 45%, respectively. Following axotomy of the carotid nerves around half of all NPY(+) NPs were galanin(+), and conversely around 50% of all galanin NPs were NPY(+) at the mRNA level, whereas much lower percentages (15 and 9%, respectively) were observed with immunohistochemistry. These results demonstrate that double-labeling procedures are valid tools to quantitatively evaluate coexistence situations in sensory and sympathetic ganglia, showing a high degree of coexistence for NPY and galanin in axotomized neurons both in the lumbar 5 DRG and in the SCG. However, the immunohistochemical analysis in the SCG demonstrated much lower numbers of peptide-positive neurons than seen with in situ hybridization, suggesting that the latter technique is more sensitive. The fact that a considerable number of neurons express NPY together with Y1- and/or Y2-Rs indicates that both receptors may act as autoreceptors, the Y1-R presumably at the level of the cell body and the Y2-R on nerve terminals in the dorsal horn and/or the periphery. The present results also show that in both sensory and sympathetic neurons there is a strong upregulation of the Y2-R after nerve injury, suggesting a possible role in trophic and regenerative events.


Musculoskeletal tuberculosis (TB) accounts for approximately 10% of all extrapulmonary TB cases in the United States and is the third most common site of extrapulmonary TB after pleural and lymphatic disease. Vertebral involvement (tuberculous spondylitis, or Pott's disease) is the most common type of skeletal TB, accounting for about half of all cases of musculoskeletal TB. The presentation of musculoskeletal TB may be insidious over a long period and the diagnosis may be elusive and delayed, as TB may not be the initial consideration in the differential diagnosis. Concomitant pulmonary involvement may not be present, thus confusing the diagnosis even further. Early diagnosis of bone and joint disease is important to minimize the risk of deformity and enhance outcome. The introduction of newer imaging modalities, including MRI (imaging procedure of choice) and CT, has enhanced the diagnostic evaluation of patients with musculoskeletal TB and for directed biopsies of affected areas of the musculoskeletal system. Obtaining appropriate specimens for culture and other diagnostic tests is essential to establish a definitive diagnosis and recover M. tuberculosis for susceptibility testing. A total of 6 to 9 months of a rifampin-based regimen, like treatment of pulmonary TB, is recommended for the treatment of drug susceptible musculoskeletal disease. Randomized trials of tuberculous spondylitis have demonstrated that such regimens are efficacious. These data and those from the treatment of pulmonary TB have been extrapolated to form the basis of treatment regimen recommendations for other forms of musculoskeletal TB.


The time-dependent metabolism of 2-nitrofluorene (2-NF) in vivo has been studied after ip administration to rats. After hydrolysis with beta-glucuronidase/arylsulfatase, five hydroxylated 2-nitrofluorenes were isolated by HPLC and identified by a combination of data from NMR, UV, and MS experiments. These metabolites were characterized as 6,9-dihydroxy-2-nitrofluorene (I), 9-hydroxy-2-nitrofluorene (II), 6-hydroxy-2-nitrofluorene (III), 7-hydroxy-2-nitrofluorene (IV), and 8-hydroxy-2-nitrofluorene (V). The highest amounts of metabolites were found after 24 h of injection, and although the major ones were still present after 48 h, only traces of them could be found beyond that time. A unique feature of the present study was our ability to establish the position of the different hydroxylations that occur in vivo by NMR techniques and, thus, to observe the regioselectivity of the metabolism of the 2-NF in vivo. Furthermore, two conjugated metabolites were identified by 1H-NMR and ESI-MS as 6-[(hydroxysulfonyl)oxy]-2-nitrofluorene (2-nitrofluorene 6-sulfate) (VI) and 7-[(hydroxysulfonyl)oxy]-2-nitrofluorene (2-nitrofluorene 7-sulfate) (VII).


ABSTRACT Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes and styrene (BTEXS) are toxic pollutants that co-occur in wastewater effluents from petrochemical and chemical industries. Seeking effective and efficient treatments for these effluents is crucial in eliminating serious health and environmental issues that would otherwise arise from the anthropogenic release of BTEXS. This work examined the evolution in bacterial profiles under prolonged BTEXS enrichment and identified biomarkers associated with the enriched microbial community. The volatile suspended solids (VSS) increased by 24% within 15 months, indicating that the microbial community had evolved to assimilate BTEXS as an energy and carbon source. Six key biomarkers and three indicative biomarkers were identified at the bacterial order level. Rhizobales, Burkholderiales and Actinomycetales were identified as key biomarkers of the core BTEXS-degrading population while Sphingobacteriales, Flavobacteriales and Bacteroidales were identified as key biomarkers of the secondary BTEXS-degrading population. Xanthomonadales, Pseudomonadales and Clostridales may serve as indicative biomarkers of the operating conditions (i.e. BTEXS loading and oxygen levels). This new knowledge is beneficial to engineers in selecting seed inoculum and monitoring reactor stability. Furthermore, it potentially enables engineers to leverage on innate microbial characteristics to develop biological treatments for an effective and efficient remediation of BTEXS-laden wastewater effluents.


Bone diseases are commonly found in the fossil record, especially in mammals of the Pleistocene megafauna, which exhibit signs of overload in the articulations. However, pathologies that affect soft tissues are not usually reported, even due to the nature of fossilization that rarely preserves such materials. In paleoneurological research using CT scan and three‐dimensional reconstructions of Pleistocene sloths, an anomaly is discovered in the space that houses the pituitary gland, the sella turcica. The tomographic analysis of a Valgipes bucklandi skull revealed a great enlargement at the sella turcica, at the medial region in the body of the basisphenoid bone. The images delimit an enlarged dorsal–ventral projection, measuring approximately 15 mm height, at the tridimensional reconstructed endocranium. Taphonomic processes, such as the action of necrophagous agents, were discarded due to the shape and conditions of the structure, which also showed signs of bone remodeling. Thus, it is possible to affirm that a paleopathological process altered the size of the pituitary gland of the specimen MCT 3993‐M, being probably a pituitary tumor.


Codeswitching has become one of the most common occurrences across multilingual speakers of the world, especially in countries like India which encompasses around 23 official languages with the number of bilingual speakers being around 300 million. The scarcity of Codeswitched data becomes a bottleneck in the exploration of this domain with respect to various Natural Language Processing (NLP) tasks. We thus present a novel algorithm which harnesses the syntactic structure of English grammar to develop grammatically sensible Codeswitched versions of English-Hindi, English-Marathi and English-Kannada data. Apart from maintaining the grammatical sanity to a great extent, our methodology also guarantees abundant generation of data from a minuscule snapshot of given data. We use multiple datasets to showcase the capabilities of our algorithm while at the same time we assess the quality of generated Codeswitched data using some qualitative metrics along with providing baseline results for couple of NLP tasks.


In research for detecting vulnerability in binary executables, Fuzzing technology is commonly adopted and is effective for detecting vulnerabilities in binary executable. Because the test cases generation for Fuzzing technology is random, the efficiency of detecting vulnerability is very low. In this paper, we propose a predict analysis model for binary program vulnerability analysis, which is based upon the vulnerable factors that describe the complexity of the test binary executable. In order to improve the efficiency of vulnerability analysis, firstly, we predict the possible vulnerable positions in the binary executable, then we generate test cases to cover these possible vulnerable codes. The vulnerable factors defined in our predicting analysis model are the function Cyclomatic complexity, the function nest level, the loop number and the loop-write-memory instruction in the function. We extract the vulnerable factors of five large real-world binary programs, evaluate our vulnerability predicting analysis model on those five large real-world applications. The experimental results show that our predicting analysis can analyze the possible vulnerable factors which can cause the binary executable to occur exceptions and analyze the relations between the vulnerability of the binary program and the vulnerable factors. With the help of our predicting analysis model for binary program vulnerability analysis, we can generate targeted test cases to cover these possible vulnerabilities in binary executable.


A 37-year-old male was diagnosed with Fabry disease after renal biopsy. At first, his symptoms were proteinuria and mild kidney dysfunction, but several instances of organ damage, including left ventricular hypertrophy and lacunar brain infarction, opacified lens, and angiokeratoma, were found out after diagnosis. After treatment with alfa-galactosidase A the progression of renal dysfunction was restrained. Because enzyme replacement therapy in Fabry disease might be effective for stabilizing organ functions, it is important to start an early treatment. In the case of male patients who present mild proteinuria, we should pay attention to multiple manifestations.


Toxins TcdA and TcdB from Clostridioides difficile glucosylate human colon Rho GTPases. TcdA and TcdB glucosylation of RhoGTPases results in cytoskeletal changes, causing cell rounding and loss of intestinal integrity. Clostridial toxins TcdA and TcdB are proposed to catalyze glucosylation of Rho GTPases with retention of stereochemistry from UDP-glucose. We used kinetic isotope effects to analyze the mechanisms and transition-state structures of the glucohydrolase and glucosyltransferase activities of TcdB. TcdB catalyzes Rho GTPase glucosylation with retention of stereochemistry, while hydrolysis of UDP-glucose by TcdB causes inversion of stereochemistry. Kinetic analysis revealed TcdB glucosylation via the formation of a ternary complex with no intermediate, supporting an SNi mechanism with nucleophilic attack and leaving group departure occurring on the same face of the glucose ring. Kinetic isotope effects combined with quantum mechanical calculations revealed that the transition states of both glucohydrolase and glucosyltransferase activities of TcdB are highly dissociative. Specifically, the TcdB glucosyltransferase reaction proceeds via an SNi mechanism with the formation of a distinct oxocarbenium phosphate ion pair transition state where the glycosidic bond to the UDP leaving group breaks prior to attack of the threonine nucleophile from Rho GTPase.


ABSTRACT Background : The sacrum generally is composed of five vertebrae fused to form a triangular bony mass.  Numerous anatomical variations of the sacrum have been reported including many reports of sacralization of the fifth lumbar in different race. There has never been reported among Thais. Objective : To determine the incidence of sacralization of the fifth lumbar vertebra among Thais Design : Descriptive study based on numerical survey. Setting: Bone Collection Unit, Department of Anatomy, faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Thailand Subjects :  Included were 206 sacra from Thai skeletons, 114 males and 92 females between 26 and 90 years of age at death. Methods : An anatomical study was done on the sacrum.  The sacra consisting of six vertebrae, by incorporation of the fifth lumbar, were selected. To confirm the lack of a fifth lumbar  vertebra, we re-counted the lumbar vertebrae belonging to the same skeleton of the selected sacrum.  The specimens were then carefully examined and recorded. Results :  We found 9 (4.4%) specimens with the 5 th lumbar vertebra fused to the first segment of the sacrum, representing sacralization;  the incidence of which was 7 (6.1%) in males and 2 (2.1 %)  in females. The degree of sacralization varied: complete in four out of seven of the males and incomplete in the remaining three out of seven males and in the two females. Conclusions :  The present study shows that the incidence of sacralization of the 5 th lumbar vertebra among Thai is about 4.4 %.  The knowledge of this anatomical variation could be useful for the preliminary consideration in  patient with low back problems. Key words: Anatomic variation, Sacral foramina, Sacrum


The establishment of Indonesian Islamic Banking Accounting Standard in 2002 has indeed solved some accounting – related problems, nevertheless, many others are raising along with the socialization of such a standard. The major current accounting problems are usually related to the lack of understanding toward the "never seen before" theory of accounting. This article discusses one of the most controversial issues related to PSAK (Pernyataan Standar Akuntansi Keuangan/Statements of Financial Accounting Standards) No. 59 named "revenue sharing". The main purpose of this article is to reveal what was once unrevealed in PSAK No. 59's paragraphs of revenue sharing standard. This purpose is important in nature considering the reality that PSAK No. 59 is much too general to be directly implemented in real banking practice. This article analyzes revenue sharing by referring to some previously recognized theories of accounting including AAOIFI's. The other and most important mean to analyze the hidden meaning of PSAK No. 59's paragraphs in this article is PAPSI (Pedoman Akuntansi Perbankan Syariah Indonesia), the technical interpretation of PSAK No. 59. As the analysis goes through two directions; business and accounting, this article is strengthening the thought that accounting is never an exact science, because it is by nature that accounting is socially constructed. Keywords: Islamic Bank, PSAK No. 59, AAOIFI, PAPSI, return sharing, revenue sharing, profit sharing


The article is devoted to questions of formation of cultural identification of pupils, development of morals, spirituality, patriotism, active personal and civil qualities, integration of person and society. The educational environment of school is considered as the basic condition of development of personality; translation of national culture is supposed through all its structural components. The basic characteristics of the educational environment of school are resulted and there are investigated possible ways of formation of subject experience of personality relevant to national cultural values and senses, social skills and ways of behaviour, experiences and moral elections.


In the study of low-energy electron and positron scattering from atoms one of the most important interactions which must be taken into account is that due to the polarization of the target by the incoming particle. We present here a generalization of the polarized-orbital method, put forward originally by Stone and Reitz (1963), for the determination of polarization potentials to describe this interaction for both elastic scattering as well as excitation processes when the dipole polarizability of the atomic system is relatively large.


The emergence of a new scientific world-picture during the course of the 20thcentury has created the challenge to theology, as in the time of Aquinas, to act as the great integrating discipline, drawing upon the full range of knowledge to formulate a grand narrative of the evolving cosmos. First, key questions of the science-theology debate of the past three decades are outlined, with emphasis on the epistemic aspects. George Ellis's theistic cosmology is then presented briefly, as an example of a limited integration that brings together the realms of the physical and the moral. Using the same hypothetico-deductive approach, an axiomatic framework is proposed as a way of extending his model into a more comprehensive scheme - one that is based on a fundamental idea of trinitarian theology, the kenosis of God. This is then linked to the traditional triad of transcendental values - truth, goodness and beauty - with reference on the one hand to the neglect of beauty in modern culture, and on the other hand to the role of the Holy Spirit as the One who affirms particularity and inspires beauty.