In a networked virtual environment (NVE), participants exchange their information on the network by sending messages. When a message is generated, usually only part of the entities are interested in it, so it would be superfluous to other entities. In order to reduce the wastefulness of bandwidth, the system always employs a grouping scheme to divide the entities into groups and only sends messages to the groups that would be interested in them. In this paper, we describe two well-known grouping strategies: entity-based grouping and cell-based grouping, and propose the tracking-needless grouping strategy for reducing the overhead of message sending. The simulation results show that it facilitates designing an efficient and scalable NVE system. Finally, we evaluate the influence of cell size on two aspects: grouping overhead and bandwidth requirement.


In the present era, there is tremendous changes have taken place in beliefs and practices pertaining to the beginning of life. Family planning and birth control instead of being condemned are now accepted as a duty and responsibility. Now abortion is legal in certain circumstances, if abortion could be legal in certain circumstances, then why is there no euthanasia law for the people who have no hope of their life? All human beings have the fundamental right to live. However, there is always a dilemma involved in letting the suffering people die and killing the innocent patient under a false pretext. It can be argued that the issues involved in euthanasia have a significant implication for the individuals in society and to the policymakers. Many people pray that they will not outlive their usefulness and became a burden to their next kin, forcing them to spend large sums of money only to postpone inevitable. Euthanasia is a controversial topic and people are becomING increasingly aware of the issues attached to it. Evidence of this is the question and argument being orchestrated in a rising volume of publication seminars conferences, court decisions and legislative proposal. This work attempt to stimulate discussion and appropriate action in dealing with this present problem. This present work concentrates on the implications involved in the human rights to live especially in the field of medicine and also aims at expositing the issues of euthanasia from legal, social and ethical perspectives.


Religious authority and the viable role played by female ulama in a limited Islamic public sphere have always been a matter of concern. Unlike previous studies focused much on gender sensitive, this research will analyze crucial position of Islamic public sphere in which female santri of Ma'had 'Ali As'adiyah South Sulawesi can build and transform their authority. The research argues the decrease level of female authority is due to their lack of involvement in limited Islamic public sphere within and outside pesantren. Drawing on female santris' daily activities, particular attention will be given to how female As'adiyah achieve, harness, build and transform religious authority through mosque and classroom environment. This reveals that authority of female ulama has not exclusively to do with the mastering of classical Islamic knowledge, but also with the maximizing the use of a limited 'religious' public sphere which is represented in halaqah of mosque, preaching stage, and the production of hybrid knowledge within classroom environment.


Plant construction costs and manufacturing costs were estimmated for the production of solar-grade silicon by the reduction of silicon tetrachloride in a fluidized bed of seed particles, and several modifications of the iodide process using either thermal decomposition on heated filaments (rods) or hydrogen reduction in a fluidized bed of seed particles. Energy consumption data for the zinc reduction process and each of the iodide process options are given and all appear to be acceptable from the standpoint of energy pay back. Information is presented on the experimental zinc reduction of SiCl4 and electrolytic recovery of zinc from ZnCl2. All of the experimental work performed thus far has supported the initial assumption as to technical feasibility of producing semiconductor silicon by the zinc reduction or iodide processes proposed. The results of a more thorough thermodynamic evaluation of the iodination of silicon oxide/carbon mixtures are presented which explain apparent inconsistencies in an earlier cursory examination of the system.


Previous literature has identified sources of customer dissatisfaction in the forms of poor product performance, discrimination, and universal mistreatment (i.e., broad-based mistreatment of customers). This article proposes the existence of a fourth source of perceived customer dissatisfaction, termed transitory bias, which is based upon fleeting customer characteristics and actions. Using a critical incident approach, this exploratory study analyzes customer narratives of 230 negative experiences. After writing their narratives, consumer informants completed a quantitative survey pertaining to their experience. Some sources of transitory bias were found to be customer complaining, negotiation, special requests, and underpurchasing. Transitory bias was found to drive perceptions of negative customer experiences in 29.1 per cent of the narratives. This was fewer than the number of cases involving universal mistreatment (50%) but more than those involving poor product performance (18.3%) and discrimination (2.6%). Results showed that satisfaction, repeat purchase likelihood, recommendation likelihood, and word of mouth were similar to those found in narratives where universal mistreatment and discrimination were primary drivers of dissatisfaction. This article creates awareness of the transitory bias construct and allows academicians the opportunity to study it as a source of customer dissatisfaction. Retail and service establishments should be aware of customer perceptions of transitory bias because it impacts key performance metrics. Managers may wish to train employees to better identify and respond to sources of transitory bias. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


We assessed growth in subyearling chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) during the 1998 El Nino and 1999 La Nina in the Gulf of the Farallones, a region of the continental shelf off central California seaward of the Golden Gate and the southernmost ocean entry point for the species in North America. Juvenile salmon demonstrated greater growth during this strong El Nino, when water temperature anomalies of more than +3°C were recorded at local buoys, than during the similarly strong 1999 La Nina. Slopes of regressions of weight on length, length on age, and weight on age were all significantly greater for juvenile salmon during the 1998 El Nino compared with those in the 1999 La Nina. Daily otolith increment widths, an estimator of somatic growth, corroborated population data. Between June 1 and August 9, mean increment widths for juvenile chinook salmon in 1998 were 3.54 ± 0.03 μm, significantly larger than the 3.13 ± 0.03 μm found in juveniles during the same time interval in 1999. Condition factor for juvenile chinook salmon entering the ocean at the Golden Gate was the same in both years, but became significantly greater in ocean fish during the 1998 El Nino than in ocean fish during the 1999 La Nina. Energy storage was significantly greater in ocean juvenile salmon during the 1998 El Nino as well. Mean triacylglycerol/cholesterol ratios increased following ocean entry in 1998, whereas they declined in ocean juveniles during 1999. Thus, not only was growth better in the El Nino period compared with La Nina, but lipid accumulation was also better. Oceanographic data for 1998 indicated elevated temperatures, lower salinity, greater freshwater outflow from San Francisco Bay, northerly flowing coastal currents, and positive upwelling index anomalies. This combination of environmental factors resulted in greater zooplankton productivity that, in conjunction with higher temperatures, allowed metabolic processes to enhance growth. Although El Nino events have certainly produced large-scale, and often adverse, effects on ecosystems, the results of this study emphasize the importance of local oceanographic conditions to growth and other physiological and ecological processes.


OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of using local anesthesia during interval laparoscopic tubal ligation to control postoperative pain. DATA SOURCES: We searched MEDLINE, PubMed, and Cochrane databases and found additional articles from bibliographies of relevant studies. METHODS OF STUDY SELECTION: We included only randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials reporting postoperative pain after interval laparoscopic tubal ligation under general anesthesia (n=20). The trials compared the application of topical or injectable local anesthetic with placebo and used a visual analog scale (VAS) (scores 0–100) or the Modified McGill Pain Intensity Scale (subsequently converted to a VAS) to assess pain. TABULATION, INTEGRATION, AND RESULTS: Pain scores were evaluated at the following times after extubation: 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours, and 24 hours. The meta-analysis was based on random-effects methods for pooled data using RevMan. Postoperative pain decreased with the use of local anesthetic compared with placebo as follows (mean VAS decrease in millimeters, 95% confidence interval): 30 minutes 18.6 (11.7–25.5); 1 hour 16.6 (9.3–24.0); 2 hours 17.4 (9.6–25.2); 4 hours 12.5 (5.1–19.9); 8 hours 11.9 (6.7–17.1); and 24 hours 3.9 (−1.4 to 9.2). There was moderate heterogeneity in the data across studies (I2 statistic ranging from 55% to 75%). The effect size was similar for the following subgroups: pain scores reported as means or medians and use of McGill compared with VAS pain scales. A stratified analysis of trials including ring tubal ligation compared with clip tubal ligation showed the use of local anesthetic decreased pain substantially for both. No eligible studies assessed tubal ligation with cautery. CONCLUSION: Use of local anesthetic during laparoscopic tubal ligation substantially reduces postoperative pain up to 8 hours after surgery.


Platinum (Pt.) thin films have been deposited by Magnetron Sputtering Deposition method with 25 nm and 50 nm thickness by used power RF for deposited 5 nm Titanium (Ti) firstly then used DC for deposited Platinum (Pt) on Ni-Cr alloy substrate. SEM/EDX and Ellipsometry Spectroscopy have been used to investigate the morphology, element analysis, nanothickness and roughness of the thin films respectively. Electrochemical corrosion tests have been used to analyze the localized corrosion resistance by used cyclic polarization, Tafel extrapolation and open circuit potential (o.c.p) methods on artificial saliva solution at 37  ±1 oC. The results show the ability to deposit 5 nm of Ti before deposited of Pt. film to improve the adhesive of the films, nanostructure morphology of the Pt. film without defect or microcracks, nanocoatings thickness of Pt. film, and high localized corrosion resistance in artificial saliva corrosive media.


In recent studies on Complex Systems and Systems-of-Systems theory, a huge effort has been put to cope with behavioral problems, i.e. the possibility of controlling a desired overall or end-to-end behavior by acting on the individual elements that constitute the system itself. This problem is particularly important in the "SMART" environments, where the huge number of devices, their significant computational capabilities as well as their tight interconnection produce a complex architecture for which it is difficult to predict (and control) a desired behavior; furthermore, if the scenario is allowed to dynamically evolve through the modification of both topology and subsystems composition, then the control problem becomes a real challenge. In this perspective, the purpose of this paper is to cope with a specific class of control problems in complex systems, the "composability of security functionalities", recently introduced by the European Funded research through the pSHIELD and nSHIELD projects (ARTEMIS-JU programme). In a nutshell, the objective of this research is to define a control framework that, given a target security level for a specific application scenario, is able to i) discover the system elements, ii) quantify the security level of each element as well as its contribution to the security of the overall system, and iii) compute the control action to be applied on such elements to reach the security target. The main innovations proposed by the authors are: i) the definition of a comprehensive methodology to quantify the security of a generic system independently from the technology and the environment and ii) the integration of the derived metrics into a closed-loop scheme that allows real-time control of the system. The solution described in this work moves from the proof-of-concepts performed in the early phase of the pSHIELD research and enriches it through an innovative metric with a sound foundation, able to potentially cope with any kind of application scenarios (railways, automotive, manufacturing, ...). Key-Words: Complex Systems, Closed-loop, Dynamic Composability, E2E Security, Common Criteria, Attack surface metrics, Optimization WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on SYSTEMS Andrea Fiaschetti, Andrea Lanna, Martina Panfili Silvano Mignanti, Antonio Pietrabissa, Francesco Delli Priscoli Roberto Cusani, Gaetano Scarano, Andrea Morgagni E-ISSN: 2224-2678 187 Volume 14, 2015


An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) detected chlamydial antibodies in human sera. The assay antigen produced in cell cultures infected with Chlamydia psittaci was Formalin-fixed to microplates. Single convalescent-phase sera positive for chlamydial antibodies by a complement-fixation test were positive at even higher dilutions by ELISA. Paired sera with diagnostic rises in complement-fixing antibody showed seroconversion by ELISA also. Control sera from persons with no history of chlamydial infection were negative by both tests. Sera from patients with psittacosis or lymphogranuloma venereum were ELISA positive, indicating that the assay with the antigen used in this study is genus specific rather than species specific.


AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
To describe nurses' perceptions of evidence-based recommendations to prevent complications in a Malaysian intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND
Ventilator-associated pneumonia, catheter-related blood stream infection and pressure ulcer are three frequent adverse events in the intensive care unit. Implementing evidenced-based practice is critical in prevention of these complications.

DESIGN
A qualitative focus group study.

METHODS
Focus groups were conducted with nurses in the intensive care unit of a regional hospital in Malaysia following evidence-based interventions. Focus group transcripts were analysed using the method of thematic analyses.

RESULTS
Thirty-four nurses participated in eight focus groups. The main themes derived from the interviews: (1) nurses' knowledge impacts on the change process; (2) initial resistance, ambivalence and movement to acceptance; and (3) hierarchical organisational structure can hinder the change process.

CONCLUSION
Enhancing nurses' knowledge and attitudes of evidence-based practice, providing them with tools to monitor their clinical practice, and empowering them to change practice are likely to be important in influencing clinical outcomes. Increasing the emphasis on evidence-based practice in nursing curricula and engaging in cultural change processes in the workplace are necessary to improve clinical outcomes.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
These findings provide valuable information for implementing clinical practice improvement interventions.


We investigate impact-ionization processes in Si with use of a realistic band structure. The band structure and the corresponding wave functions, obtained with an empirical pseudopotential method, are used to evaluate the matrix elements for the ionization transitions. The matrix element includes the direct and the exchange terms with the umklapp terms associated with the periodic part of the Bloch function. It is shown that these ionization processes are IinherentlyP anisotropic and that it is crucial to take account of this anisotropy in analyzing the ionization processes. The anisotropy (wave-vector dependence) of the ionization probability is manifested through the strong restrictions imposed by energy and the momentum conservation during the transition under a realistic band structure.


Predicting the future of tundra plant communities is a major intellectual and practical challenge and it can only be successful if underpinned by an understanding of the evolutionary history and genetics of tundra plant species, their ecophysiology, and their responsiveness (both individually and as component parts of communities) to multiple environmental change drivers. This paper considers the types of experimental approaches that have been used to understand and to predict the future of tundra plant communities and ecosystems. In particular, the use of 'environmental manipulation' experiments in the field is described, and the merits and limitations of this type of approach are considered with specific reference to the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX) as an example to indicate the key principles. The approach is compared with palaeo-environmental investigations (using archives – or proxies – of past change) and the study of environmental gradients (so-called 'space-for-time substitution') to understand potential future change. Environmental manipulation experiments have limitations associated with, for example, short timescales, treatment artefacts, and trade-offs between technical sophistication and breadth of deployment in heterogeneous landscapes/regions. They do, however, provide valuable information on seasonal through decadal phenological, growth, reproductive, and ecosystem responses which have a direct bearing on ecosystem-atmosphere coupling, species interactions and, potentially, trophic cascades. Designed appropriately, they enable researchers to test specific hypotheses and to record the dynamics of ecosystem responses to change directly, thus providing a robust complement to palaeo-environmental investigations, gradient studies and ecosystem modelling.


ABSTRACT Despite the high rate of co-occurring eating disorders (EDs) and substance use disorders (SUDs) in women, there is a lack of integrated treatment. This study implemented the Women's Recovery Group (WRG), a gender-specific group therapy for women with SUDs, in an ED residential treatment program to assess the feasibility and satisfaction of the WRG for women with co-occurring SUDs and EDs. Women (N = 24) were enrolled in the study if they were aged 18 years or older and engaged in the WRG as part of their treatment. Patient and therapist satisfaction with the WRG were assessed post-treatment, and craving to use substances was measured at enrollment and post-treatment. Participants reported moderate satisfaction with the WRG, and therapists reported above average satisfaction with the WRG. Craving to use substances in the environment in which one previously used significantly decreased from enrollment to post-treatment. In its current form, the WRG was feasible to implement in ED residential treatment. Participants indicated that they would have liked more information on co-occurring EDs, self-image/self-esteem, shame and guilt, and maintaining sobriety at college. These results support the need for modifications to the WRG to better integrate treatment for women with co-occurring EDs and SUDs.


The goal of this contribution is twofold: (i) to introduce a generalized Lempel-Ziv parsing scheme, and (ii) to analyze second-order properties of some compression schemes based on the above parsing scheme. We consider a generalized Lempel-Ziv parsing scheme that partitions a sequence of length n into variable phrases (blocks) such that a new block is the longest substring seen in the past by at most b-1 phrases. The case b=1 corresponds to the original Lempel-Ziv scheme. In this paper, we investigate the size of a randomly selected phrase, and the average number of phrases of a given size through analyzing the so called b-digital search tree (b-DST) representation. For a memoryless source, we prove that the size of a typical phrase is asymptotically normally distributed. This result is new even for b=1, and b>1 is a non-trivial extension.


Besides source code, the fundamental source of information about open source
 software lies in documentation, and other non source code files, like README,
 INSTALL, or How-To files, commonly available in the software ecosystem. These
 documents, written in natural language, provide valuable information during
 the software development stage, but also in future maintenance and evolution
 tasks. DMOSS3 is a toolkit designed to systematically assess the quality of
 non source code content found in software packages. The toolkit handles a
 package as an attribute tree, and performs several tree traverse algorithms
 through a set of plugins, specialized in retrieving specific metrics from
 text, gathering information about the software. These metrics are later used
 to infer knowledge about the software, and composed together to build reports
 that assess the quality of specific features. This paper discusses the
 motivations for this work, continues with a description of the toolkit
 implementation and design goals. This is followed by an example of its usage
 to process a software package, and the produced report.


Studies of the electronic structure and of the chemical bond in non-stoichiometric binary compounds based on the transition metals of sub-groups IVa and Va are systematically reviewed. The main phenomenological models are examined, and the results of calculations by band and by cluster models of the distribution of electron density are compared; changes in the chemical bond caused by the presence of point vacancies in the metalloid and in the metal sub-lattice are discussed. Calculated results are compared with the results of studies of non-stoichiometric compounds by X-ray emission and photoelectron spectroscopy methods, and with various physicochemical properties. The relative merits of the two approaches (using band and cluster models respectively) in studies of electronic processes associated with the formation of point vacancies in crystals are discussed. 159 references.


Candida infections are increasingly being recognized as a major cause of septicaemia in neonatal intensive care units, and are associated with high morbidity (25%) and mortality (25-54%). Low birth weight pre-term infants are especially vulnerable to this devastating disease. The most frequently encountered fungal infections are caused by Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis and, rarely, by Candida tropicalis. Amphotericin B (with or without flucytosine) is the treatment of choice for Candida infections in neonates. Conventional amphotericin B use is often limited by its severe side effects, although these tend to be fewer in neonates than in adults. Possible alternatives to amphotericin B include triazoles (such as fluconazole) and lipid preparations of amphotericin B. Liposomal encapsulation of amphotericin B has been shown to decrease the toxicity of the drug while maintaining its antifungal activity. The liposomal formulation AmBisome has proved to be effective in the treatment of severe fungal infections in adult and paediatric immunocompromised patients who fail to respond to conventional amphotericin B. The experience with AmBisome in the treatment of fungal infections in neonates is limited, and the drug has been used mainly in infants either failing conventional amphotericin B or having intolerable toxicity. Pharmacokinetic studies have not yet been performed in neonates. Three uncontrolled studies published between 1997 and 1998 on AmBisome (dose range 1-7 mg/kg/day) in the treatment of neonatal candidosis revealed that the drug was effective and safe. New information is accumulating on the safe use of high-dose AmBisome (5-7 mg/kg/day) in very low birth weight infants, and successful use of the drug as first-line therapy of neonatal candidosis. These promising results suggest a potential role for AmBisome as an additional first-line treatment of systemic candidosis in neonates.


This article examines visual posters and symbols constructed and circulated transnationally by various political actors to mobilize contentious politics on the issues of immigration and citizenship. Following right-wing mobilizations focusing on the Syrian refugee crisis, immigration has become one of the most contentious political issues in Western Europe. Right-wing populist political parties have used provocative visual posters depicting immigrants or refugees as 'criminal foreigners' or a 'threat to the nation', in some countries and contexts conflating the image of the immigrant with that of the Islamist terrorist. This article explores the transnational dynamics of visual mobilization by comparing the translation of right-wing nationalist with left-wing, cosmopolitan visual campaigns on the issue of immigration in Western Europe. The author first traces the crosscultural translation and sharing of an anti-immigrant poster created by the Swiss People's Party (SVP), a right-wing political party, inspiring different extremist as well as populist right-wing parties and grassroots activists in several other European countries. She then explores how left-libertarian social movements try to break racist stereotypes of immigrants. While right-wing political activists create a shared stereotypical image of immigrants as foes of an imaginary ethnonationalist citizenship, left-wing counter-images construct a more complex and nuanced imagery of citizenship and cultural diversity in Europe. The findings show the challenges of progressive activists' attempts to translate cosmopolitan images of citizenship across different national and linguistic contexts in contrast to the right wing's rapid and effective instrumentalizing and translating of denigrating images of minorities in different contexts.


Abstract Seemingly consistent proportional differences in several palatal structures have been noted between Permian and Triassic anomodont therapsids for nearly a century. These patterns have been cited as evidence in support of a decline in atmospheric oxygen concentrations that may have contributed to end-Permian terrestrial extinctions. However, it is not known whether the observed differences are significant, or whether they stem from continued directional selection. If they are not significant, or if their timing does not match that proposed for the oxygen decline, support for the hypoxia-based extinction scenario would be weakened. We tested whether the internal nares and bony secondary palate, two palatal features proposed to be related to respiratory efficiency, are significantly larger in Triassic anomodonts, and whether the variation can be attributed to a long-term tendency for increase. Results based on raw data indicate that Triassic anomodonts have significantly larger secondary palates than Permian anomodonts. They also have significantly larger internal nares, but only when primitive, morphologically-divergent specimens are not considered. Although nares and palate size are correlated with stratigraphic occurrence, available data reject the hypothesis that the observed differences were the result of a long-term trend. Most of these findings are consistent with the predictions of the hypoxia scenario. However, removing the effects of body size and phylogeny causes some of the differences to break down, indicating that if selection for increased respiratory efficiency affected these characters, it was most likely not the only factor to do so. Therefore, the characters provide only weak evidence in support of the hypoxia scenario, and we recommend against their use for this purpose. Our results emphasize the need for caution when invoking presumed differences between Permian and Triassic vertebrates as support for hypoxia, or other extinction scenarios, without a rigorous study of the character(s) in question.


Coherent states possess a regularized path integral and give a natural relation between classical variables and quantum operators. Recent work by Klauder and Whiting has included extended variables, that can be thought of as gauge fields, into this formalism. In this paper, I consider the next step, and look at the roll of first class constraints. email: firstname.lastname@example.com


Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the major cause of death globally. Among them, heart failure (HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF) result in poor prognosis and quality of life. Standard methods for assessing AF and HF, through history and physical examination, have limited sensitivity and specificity, which lead to delayed diagnosis and high risk of mortality. The identification of biomarkers able to detect the early stages of disease and/or their progression is of great importance for improving the clinical outcome. As AF and HF often coexist, it would be of great importance to find a biomarker with diagnostic utility in predicting HF in AF patients. Soluble suppression of tumorigenesis-2 (sST2) is a part of the cardioprotective IL-33/ST2 signaling pathway and may serve as a candidate biomarker for HF and AF. We aimed to evaluate sST2 serum levels in patients with AF and HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and to explore potential relationships with traditional CVD risk factors and with novel biomarkers for vascular calcification such as undercarboxylated matrix Gla-protein (ucMGP). Materials and Methods: This study included 99 patients stratified into three groups: HFpEF (n=19), paroxysmal or persistent AF in sinus rhythm (n=33), and control group without CVD but at moderate-to-high CVD risk (n=47). Hemodynamic and anthropometric measures, coronary artery calcification (CAC), routine laboratory parameters, circulating ucMGP, and sST2 were measured. Results: sST2 levels were highly elevated in HFpEF patients. Significant positive correlation was found between sST2 and CAC-score (r=0.237, p=0.039), negative relations with serum lipids in AF patients, and positive association with serum C-reactive protein (r=0.609, p=0.018) in HFpEF patients. Soluble ST2 positively correlates with ucMGP in the entire studied population (r=0.252, p=0.006) and in the combined CVD group (AF+HFpEF) (r=0.254, p=0.036). Conclusions: sST2 levels emerge as a novel biomarker in CVD and may have prognostic importance for HF prediction in AF patients.


The purpose of random assignment is to produce equivalence on nuisance variables across experimental groups, even when the nuisance variables are unmeasured or of uncertain number. The effectiveness of random assignment, however, depends on sample size; as sample size increases, the likelihood of equivalence also increases. This article demonstrates that, although nonequivalence on a nuisance variable may be quite likely for small samples, the probability is quite low that nonequivalence will produce erroneous inferences. In fact, the probability of an erroneous inference in the absence of a true treatment effect is generally no greater than the nominal Type I error rate. Accordingly, it is unlikely that small samples have biased inferences drawn from past psychotherapy outcome research. However, small samples cause other problems that argue against their routine use.


Objective: Despite various strategies to help smokers with depressive disorders to quit, the smoking relapse rate remains high. The purpose of this pilot study was to estimate the effects of adding an exercise and counseling intervention to standard smoking cessation treatment for smokers with depressive disorders. We hypothesized that the exercise and counseling intervention would lead to improved abstinence, reduced depressive symptoms, and increased physical activity. Methods: Seventy smokers with current depressive disorders were randomly assigned to standard smoking cessation treatment plus exercise and counseling (n = 35) or standard treatment plus a time-to-contact control intervention on health education (n = 35). Both programs involved 10 sessions over 8 weeks. The primary outcome was continuous abstinence since the quit date and was measured at week 8 (end of the intervention) and again at 12-, 24-, and 52-week follow-ups. Results: Nearly 60% of participants were female (n = 41), 38 (52.3%) were single, 37 (52.9%) had education beyond high school, and 32 (45.7%) met criteria for major depressive disorder or dysthymia. Participants in the two treatment conditions differed at baseline only in marital status (χ2 = 4.28, df = 1, p =.04); and smoking abstinence self-efficacy, t(66) = -2.04, p =.04). The dropout rate did not differ significantly between groups and participants attended 82% and 75% of the intervention and control sessions, respectively. Intention-to-treat analysis showed that, at 12 weeks after the beginning of the intervention, continuous abstinence did not vary significantly between the intervention and control groups: 48.5% versus 28.5%, respectively, ORadj = 0.40, 95% CI [0.12–1.29], p =.12. There were no group differences in depressive symptoms, but the intervention group did outperform the control group on the 6-minute walking test (Mint = 624.84, SD = 8.17, vs. Mcon = 594.13, SD = 8.96, p =.015) and perceived physical control (Mint = 2.84, SD = 0.16, vs. Mcon = 2.27, SD = 0.18, p =.028). The sample was not large enough to ensure adequate statistical power. Conclusions: This finding, while preliminary, suggests that an exercise and counseling intervention may yield better results than health education in improving smoking abstinence. This study is registered at www.clinincaltrials.gov under # NCT01401569.


Structural analysis software for amorphous alloy has been developed. The structure factor, distribution function, the first coordination number, the first coordination radius, the correlation radius, the atomic number of cluster and the atomic average density of amorphous alloy can be gotten with this software. This software's runtime stability and calculated accuracy was verified by its practical application. Structure of amorphous Zr41Ti14Ni10Cu12.5Be22.5 alloy was exactly analyzed using this software, which proved that the design of the software is precise and the calculation is exact.


The urease from the picoplanktonic oceanic Prochlorococcus marinus sp. strain PCC 9511 was purified 900-fold to a specific activity of 94.6 micromol urea min(-1) (mg protein)(-1) by heat treatment and liquid chromatography methods. The enzyme, with a molecular mass of 168 kDa as determined by gel filtration, is the smallest urease known to date. Three different subunits with apparent molecular masses of 11 kDa (gamma or UreA; predicted molecular mass 11 kDa), 13 kDa (ss or UreB; predicted molecular mass 12 kDa) and 63 kDa (alpha or UreC; predicted molecular mass 62 kDa) were detected in the native enzyme, suggesting a quaternary structure of (alphassgamma)(2). The K:(m) of the purified enzyme was determined as being 0.23 mM urea. The urease activity was inhibited by HgCl(2), acetohydroxamic acid and EDTA but neither by boric acid nor by L-methionine-DL-sulfoximine. Degenerate primers were designed to amplify a conserved region of the ureC gene. The amplification product was then used as a probe to clone a 5.7 kbp fragment of the P. marinus sp. strain PCC 9511 genome. The nucleotide sequence of this DNA fragment revealed two divergently orientated gene clusters, ureDABC and ureEFG, encoding the urease subunits, UreA, UreB and UreC, and the urease accessory molecules UreD, UreE, UreF and UreG. A putative NtcA-binding site was found upstream from ureEFG, indicating that this gene cluster might be under nitrogen control.


In the last years we have witnessed to a substantial increase on the number of people in need of care services, especially among the elderly, a phenomenon related to population ageing. However, this is becoming not exclusive of the elderly, as diseases like obesity, diabetes, and blood pressure have been increasing amongst young adults. This is a new reality which needs to be dealt by the healthcare sector, specifically the public one. Given these new scenarios, the importance of finding new and cost-effective ways for health care delivery are of particular relevance, especially when it is believed that these new patients should not be removed from their natural, day-to-day life, environment. The evolution of the, so called, new technolo-gies may pay here a very important role as they may become part of the solution for this new problematic. Actually, they are already been used as, in recent years, several projects have raised in this relatively new area of work. These projects, although legitimate ones, were essential for delineating a path to pursue for others to come, as they were in some case, very simple ones (e.g. panic buttons), and, especially, reactive ones. In this paper, we are going to present how we are trying to evolve these projects a step further, through the introduction of proactiveness as a key factor, taking advantage of "new", as in applied to this areas, techniques of decision making, idea generation, argumentation and data quality, applied, not only to the in transit information, but also to the one provided by the several intervenient as well as themselves. In order to be able to pursue this delineated path, a new approach for knowledge representation, reasoning, and even for problem solving is proposed. To achieve these goals, the VirtualECare environment is presented, together with its sustaining infrastructure and architecture. Particular attention will be paidto how it may be used to simulate a virtual Assisted Living Environment in order to, later, bet-ter monitor real ones, attending to its customers' needs.


A new component of the benthic Thioploca mat microbial ecosystem on the Chilean continental shelf was detected by epifluorescence microscopy: filamentous, bacterial endobionts of 4-5-mum filament diameter and length sometimes exceeding 1 mm. These filaments were identified as growing within Thioploca sheaths located between the sediment surface and c. 5 cm depth. Their location coincided with maximal biomass and biovolume of Thioploca filaments in surficial sediments, and with maximal abundance and activity of sulfate-reducing bacterial populations near the sediment/water interface. FISH and environmental characteristics support the working hypothesis that these endobiont populations are members of the filamentous, sulfate-reducing bacterial genus Desulfonema. Found at several sampling stations over a decade-long interval (1994-2006), these populations appear to be a stable component of the Chilean Thioploca mat ecosystem.


Widespread woody encroachment is a prominent concern for savanna systems as it is often accompanied by losses in productivity and biodiversity. Extensive ecosystem-level work has advanced our understanding of its causes and consequences. However, there is still debate over whether local management can override regional and global drivers of woody encroachment, and it remains largely unknown how encroachment influences woody community assemblages. Here, we examined species-level changes in woody plant distributions and size structure from the late 1980s to the late 2000s based on spatially intensive ground-based surveys across Kruger National Park, South Africa. This study region spans broad gradients in rainfall, soil texture, fire frequency, elephant density, and other topographic variables. Species-level changes in frequency of occurrence and size class proportion reflected widespread woody encroachment primarily by Dichrostachys cinerea and Combretum apiculatum, and a loss of large trees mostly of Sclerocarya birrea and Acacia nigrescens. Environmental variables determining woody species distributions across Kruger varied among species but did not change substantially between two sampling times, indicating that woody encroachers were thickening within their existing ranges. Overall, more areas across Kruger were found to have an increased number of common woody species through time, which indicated an increase in stem density. These areas were generally associated with decreasing fire frequency and rainfall but increasing elephant density. Our results suggest that woody encroachment is a widespread but highly variable trend across landscapes in Kruger National Park and potentially reflects an erosion of local heterogeneity in woody community assemblages. Many savanna managers, including in Kruger, aim to manage for heterogeneity in order to promote biodiversity, where homogenization of vegetation structure counters this specific goal. Increasing fire frequency has some potential as a local intervention. However, many common species increased in commonness even under near-constant disturbance conditions, which likely limits the potential for managing woody encroachment in the face of drivers beyond the scope of local control. Regular field sampling coupled with targeted fire management will enable more accurate monitoring of the rate of encroachment intensification.


Objectives To investigate the rates of cesarean deliveries in two different hospitals, which serve different populations in Turkey. Methods The study was conducted at two centers, one of which is a university hospital in a rural area and the other a community hospital in capital city, for 5 years (1999–2003). The subjects were < 18 years old adolescent mothers. The adult controls ( ⩾ 18 years) were further divided in two age groups: 18–35 years and > 35 years. Results A total of 40,391 pregnant women were evaluated in both hospitals. Cesarean delivery rates in adolescent pregnancies were not higher than adults. Moreover, in community hospital, cesarean delivery rate in adolescents was significantly lower (17.12% vs. 28.84%). Conclusions We concluded that, the cesarean deliveries are not increased, and even decreased in adolescent pregnancies and biological immaturity is not a significant problem in adolescent pregnancy.


Recent development of the technique of computerized tomography has provided a new tool to produce two dimensional (i.e., in a vertical slice) images of electron density structure in the ionosphere by utilizing the data of total electron content (TEC) obtained by trans-ionospheric satellite beacon measurements. In this paper, a preliminary result of our simulation study on the application of three kinds of reconstruction algorithm, (1) the multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique (MART) as a typical iterative method, (2) a method on the principle of maximum likelihood estimation (MML), and (3) the spline function method (SFM), both as non-iterative method, is briefly described from the viewpoint of comparison with respect to characteristics, merits and disadvantages among the three. It should be noted that (1) MART will be a more reliable method if we can remove its shortcoming, i.e., lack of objectivity in the determination of the end of iteration, and (2) both MML and SFM will become useful, provided that we can solve, what is called, the problem of ill-conditioned matrix in the case of MML, and confirm the effectiveness of any information criterion that prescribes the optimum number of knots and the order of B-spline in the case of SFM.


Hospitals face the increasing challenge of balancing the need to provide quality care with that of being cost-effective. While guidelines and benchmarks for quality care exist in many areas within the hospital, those guidelines can be lacking for the acute (inpatient) dialysis setting. Nephrology nurses working in this setting may provide hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, continuous kidney replacement therapy, and apheresis treatments at the patient's bedside and in an acute dialysis unit. This article discusses the need to promote patient and nurse safety in acute dialysis settings through advocacy and collaboration.


Background

Africa contributed to one-third of the world's neonatal mortality burden. In the Sub-Saharan region, preterm birth complications are the leading, in which a neonate is a higher risk of developing respiratory distress syndrome that will require extra oxygen and help with breathing. When compared to other respiratory supportive methods for treating infants in respiratory distress, bubble continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) is a safe, and effective system that is appealing to many resource-limited neonatal units in low and middle income countries. However, despite of its benefit, the accumulation of condensate in the patient's circuit's exhalation limb during a bubble CPAP can significantly increase pressure delivered to the serious physical consequences that can potentially lead to respiratory failure. Currently, existing technology in developing nations is expensive, and they will not control the accumulation of condensate in the exhalation limb. This quietly increases the mortality rate of neonates. Therefore, the objective of this project was to design, and develop a bubble CPAP device that able to monitor and control pressure delivered to the infant.
Methods

In this project, a low-cost bubble CPAP machine with a pressure monitoring and controlling system has been developed. When the neonate expires, the pressure sensor inserted into the expiratory tube reads the instant positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP) and sends it to the microcontroller. The microcontroller decides whether to turn the relay (controls the electric power to the 2 - solenoid valve) to switch the way of expiration between the two expiratory tubes connected to the valves of two outlets. This depends on the pressure reading and the cutoff pressure value manually inserted by the physician.
Results

The prototype was built and subjected to various tests and iterations to determine the device's effectiveness. The developed prototype was tested for accuracy, safety, cost, ease of use, and durability. The prototype was accurate in 10 iterations that had been made to monitor and control the pressure. It was safe and provided accurate pressure for the neonate, and it was built for less than 193 USD.
Conclusion

The proposed design allows physicians, especially those in low resource settings, to easily monitor and control the accumulation of condensate in the exhalation limb of the CPAP machine accurately and safely. This helps to reduce the neonate mortality rate that may occur due to respiratory distress syndrome.


Abstract In this article, we exploit the relations of total belong and total non-belong to introduce new soft separation axioms with respect to ordinary points, namely t t tt -soft pre T i ( i = 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ) {T}_{i}\hspace{0.33em}\left(i=0,1,2,3,4) and t t tt -soft pre-regular spaces. The motivations to use these relations are, first, cancel the constant shape of soft pre-open and pre-closed subsets of soft pre-regular spaces, and second, generalization of existing comparable properties on classical topology. With the help of examples, we show the relationships between them as well as with soft pre T i ( i = 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ) {T}_{i}\hspace{0.33em}\left(i=0,1,2,3,4) and soft pre-regular spaces. Also, we explain the role of soft hyperconnected and extended soft topological spaces in obtaining some interesting results. We characterize a t t tt -soft pre-regular space and demonstrate that it guarantees the equivalence of t t tt -soft pre T i ( i = 0 , 1 , 2 ) {T}_{i}\hspace{0.33em}\left(i=0,1,2) . Furthermore, we investigate the behaviors of these soft separation axioms with the concepts of product and sum of soft spaces. Finally, we introduce a concept of pre-fixed soft point and study its main properties.


Blended and hybrid learning—in which a portion of instruction is delivered in the classroom, with supplementary online learning activities comprising as much, if not more than, the total course material—is now widespread in Western higher education, and some Vietnamese institutions have begun experimenting with it in fields such as business, graphic arts, and soft skills. The TESOL field, however, appears to lag behind other academic disciplines, with leading certifications such as the CELTA, and many masters programs, still lacking a dedicated session or course on best-practices in educational technology. This workshop will present 10 best practices for TESOL instructors hoping to incorporate aspects of blended learning into their courses. Topics covered will include a short primer on when to incorporate blended elements into a TESOL course, how to properly leverage a learning management system so that it allows students to engage in useful learning activities rather than serving as a sort of document repository, how to establish a good pace for online activities, and other best practices for running an effective hybrid course. Partipants will discuss the merits of blended learning, debate some of its use-cases, and participate in an activity that will see them reconceptualize one of the courses or lessons they teach so that it incorporates hybrid elements.


AIM
Vasogen's immune modulation therapy (IMT)* involves the ex vivo exposure of a sample of autologous blood to 3 oxidative stress factors (heat, an oxidative environment, and ultraviolet light), followed by intramuscular re-injection. The primary objective of this study was to assess the effect of Vasogen's IMT on skin blood flow in patients with symptomatic peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD).

METHODS
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study, 18 patients with moderately advanced PAOD were randomized to receive 2 courses each of 6 intramuscular injections of either saline or Vasogen's IMT over a 9-week period. Dorsal foot skin blood flow was assessed directly using laser Doppler fluxmetry (LDF) and indirectly using measurement of transcutaneous pO(2) (tcpO(2)). Key outcome measures of skin blood flow were, for LDF: resting values, peak postischemic values, and the total time to reach peak values following release from 4 min of total foot ischemia and, for tcpO(2): resting values and the time for tcpO(2) to reach 50% of the pre-ischemia value. Measurements were carried out at baseline, at weeks 3, 6, and 9, and at 2 months post-therapy.

RESULTS
No significant differences were detected between groups for resting or peak postischemic LDF values for dorsal foot skin blood flow. Patients randomised to IMT experienced a progressive decrease in the time to peak postischemic skin blood flow, reaching statistical significance at 2 months. Treated patients experienced a 26.1 s decrease in time to peak blood flow (p=0.026) vs a 7.9 s decrease in the placebo group (p=ns). Similar but less striking results were achieved for tcpO(2) recovery time to 50% of pre-ischemia values (treated group, p=0.035; placebo group, p=ns).

CONCLUSION
Vasogen's IMT improved recovery rates of postischemic dorsal foot skin blood flow in a group of patients with moderately advanced PAOD, probably due to improved endothelial function.


The focus of this study is on experimental investigation of the transient dynamics of an impulsively loaded linear oscillator coupled to a light-weight nonlinear energy sink. It is shown that this seemingly simple system exhibits complicated dynamics, including nonlinear beating phenomena and resonance captures. It is also demonstrated that, by facilitating targeted energy transfers to the nonlinear energy sink, a significant portion of the total input energy can be absorbed and dissipated in this oscillator.Copyright © 2005 by ASME


The relationship between electrophoretic mobility and molar conductivity has previously led to speculation on achieving quantitation in zone electrophoresis without calibration curves when using conductivity detection. However, little work in this area has been pursued, possibly because of the breakdown of simple sensitivity‐mobility relationships when working with partially protonated species. This topic is revisited with the aid of electrophoretic simulation software that produces facile predictions of analyte sensitivity relative to an internal standard. Calibration curve slopes for over 50 analyte/internal standard/BGE combinations were measured with both unbiased and electrokinetically biased injections using microchip electrophoresis with conductivity detection. The results were compared to theoretical expectations as computed with PeakMaster software. Good agreement was observed, with some systems being predicted with quantitative accuracy while others showed significant deviations. Some mechanisms that can lead to deviations from theory are demonstrated, but the causes for some discrepancies are still not understood. Overall, this work exhibits another useful application for simulation software, particularly for disposable devices where device‐specific calibration curves cannot be collected. It also serves as quantitative validation for some outputs of PeakMaster simulation software.


Reclaimed water irrigation is one of the potential ways of solving the shortage of water resources, and the pollution risk on migration behavior of heavy metals in the soil which are irrigated by reclaimed water and the related soil surface is still short of research. Through the experimental study of different kinds of water irrigation methods on vegetable, it can be concluded that compared with sewage irrigation and tap water irrigation, reclaimed water irrigation does not pollute the soil, and it greatly saves the cost of water resources, and even provides a large number of growth elements for vegetables. The results show that after leaching by reclaimed water for 60 days, Cr, Cd, As, Hg, Pb, Ni, Zn and Cu from reclaimed water are enriched in soil to a certain degree, but with the leaching time extending, concentrations of the heavy metal remain stable. The variation of heavy metal content in soil irrigated by reclaimed water is small in vertical depth, basically showing a horizontal trend. According to Soil Environmental Quality Standards (GB15618-1995), soil irrigated by reclaimed water does not exceed the standard, better than soil quality standard of planting vegetables.


Cooperative multi-agent multi-armed bandits (CMA2B) consider the collaborative efforts of multiple agents in a shared multi-armed bandit game. We study latent vulnerabilities exposed by this collaboration and consider adversarial attacks on a few agents with the goal of influencing the decisions of the rest. More specifically, we study adversarial attacks on CMA2B in both homogeneous settings, where agents operate with the same arm set, and heterogeneous settings, where agents have distinct arm sets. In the homogeneous setting, we propose attack strategies that, by targeting just one agent, convince all agents to select a particular target arm $T-o(T)$ times while incurring $o(T)$ attack costs in $T$ rounds. In the heterogeneous setting, we prove that a target arm attack requires linear attack costs and propose attack strategies that can force a maximum number of agents to suffer linear regrets while incurring sublinear costs and only manipulating the observations of a few target agents. Numerical experiments validate the effectiveness of our proposed attack strategies.


Issues relating to intermodal and multimodal transportation systems are introduced and defined. Intermodal and multimodal transportation solutions are assessed within the framework of legislative efforts such as Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (IS TEA) , Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA), and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Effects of the shift in federal funding priorities are discussed, and catalysts for intermodalism in the public and private sector are identified. Federal involvement in state intermodal transportation systems, and state responses to the growing intermodal and multimodal trends are also reviewed. Innovative intermodal and multimodal programs are studied. The roles and responsibilities of the Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) in the post-ISTEA world is examined and the impacts oflegislative mandates considered. As a case study, the workings of the Houston MPO are examined. Private sector intermodal and multimodal involvement is addressed, including issues in management, regulatory, financial, economical, environmental, and even physical constraints. Effects of regulation on private sector intermodalism are discussed, as are case studies in partnering and management. This report summarized the potential and the possibilities that intermodalism and multimodalism have at national, state, and local levels in both the public and private sectors, and concludes with a look at the possible future of intermodalism.


Regional Planning is also called Regional Development, but the conceptional difference between these two terms is not yet clear. This paper describes the concept of the region as the object of Regional Planning or Regional Development, followed by the entire framework of regional planning with the concept of planning itself.The concept of the region in Regional Science is based mainly on the concept as a method presenting region from a subjective view. However, the term region in Regional Planning is something existing on the limited surface of the earth which is a substantial concept itself. The author defines planning region, which is the object in regional planning, as follows: 'Region is a substantial concept which means limited spatial sphere and its contents, that is, the whole of social, economic and physical phenomena produced by human activities in natural and cultural environments.' Therefore, he proposes that 'region' should be defined as something 'living', which is formed by human beings.The concept of planning and development is also discussed in order to clarify the conceptional difference between Regional Planning and Regional Development. The concept of regional planning is grasped, in a broader sense, as an intentional impact of human beings for regional change. In a narrower sense, however, it is divided into regional planning and development. Specifically, regional planning means an 'objective' which motivates regional change, while regional development is grasped as a 'means' of the achievement of the purpose. Moreover, it is noticed that the term plan means not only 'future programme', but also 'map'. Thus, regional plan expressed on the map has a special meanning.The fundamental framework of regional planning contents is presented as a result of the above discussion. This divides broadly into two categories, Activities Plan related to production activities such as industry and agriculture, living activities and public activities, and Resources Plan or Comprehensive Plan, namely environmental planning, spatial planning, population and social planning, economic planning and physical planning. The framework of each planning is relatively the same relationships between warp and woof. Resources Plan has a special significance for environmental conservation and it is expected to make a total balance among the usage of resources by activities. Thus, regional development should be executed only by being based on the developmental orientation, regional planning, which directs to environmentally sustainable development. Therefore, regional development approach or strategy as a combination of means based on planning is an important subject for us to study.


A novel composite material consisting of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNTs)-molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for a tartrazine assay was synthesized by a surface molecular imprinting technique. The molecularly imprinted polymers were prepared with beta-cyclodextrins and [2-(methacryloyloxy) ethyl]trimethylammonium chloride (DMC) as bifunctional monomers. The MWNTs-MIPs were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Adsorption experiments showed that the MWNTs-MIPs exhibited a high capacity and favourable selectivity toward tartrazine, and the maximum adsorption capacity, qm, and distribution coefficient, kd, were estimated to be 135.15 mg g−1 and 14.72, respectively. A SPE-HPLC analytical method was developed and used to assay tartrazine in five drinks. The recoveries were in the range from 88.6–102.4% with a relative standard deviation below 5.0%. The tartrazine content was lower in all samples than the permitted maximum limit set by the European Commission and Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China. A t test demonstrated that this method had no significant difference to the Chinese standard method of GB/T 5009.35-2003 at P = 0.95.


This paper presents the optimization of fuel cost, emission of NOX, COX, and SOX gases caused by the generators in a thermal power plant using penalty factor approach. Practical constraints such as generator limits and power balance were considered. Two contemporary metaheuristic techniques, particle swarm optimization (PSO) and genetic algorithm (GA), have were simultaneously implemented for combined economic emission dispatch (CEED) of an independent power plant (IPP) situated in Pakistan for different load demands. The results are of great significance as the real data of an IPP is used and imply that the performance of PSO is better than that of GA in case of CEED for finding the optimal solution concerning fuel cost, emission, convergence characteristics, and computational time. The novelty of this work is the parallel implementation of PSO and GA techniques in MATLAB environment employed for the same systems. They were then compared in terms of convergence characteristics using 3D plots corresponding to fuel cost and gas emissions. These results are further validated by comparing the performance of both algorithms for CEED on IEEE 30 bus test bed.


The use of STS vignettes with class discussions is a popular way for science teachers to integrate STS in science courses. Two studies were conducted to test the effects of infusing short STS vignettes with periodic class discussions into the genetics unit of high school biology, on students' awareness of current STS issues, the importance students assign to current STS issues, and their achievement in the genetics unit. The nonequivalent control-group quasiexperimental design was employed in each study, with the frequency with which the vignettes and discussions were used during a six-week period differing across them. In neither study were the control groups exposed to the STS vignettes and discussions. The data did not allow the three null hypotheses to be rejected in either experiment. Recommendations are made on the use of STS vignettes by science teachers, and for further research.


beta-Adrenergic receptor expression and receptor mRNA levels are down-regulated by beta-adrenergic agonists and up-regulated by glucocorticoids. The interaction between these two opposing regulatory pathways was investigated at the levels of receptor and receptor mRNA in DDT1 MF-2 hamster vas deferens cells. Dexamethasone blunted a marked decrease in receptor expression induced by isoproterenol alone, as made visible by indirect immunofluorescence using antireceptor antibodies. Receptor mRNA levels were quantified by DNA-excess solution hybridization. Dexamethasone stimulated a sharp increase in receptor mRNA at 4 h following the addition of steroid in either the absence or the presence of isoproterenol. By 12 h, dexamethasone treatment resulted in a new steady-state level of receptor mRNA double that observed in untreated cells. Isoproterenol blunted the dexamethasone effect observed at 12 h. Cells treated with isoproterenol and dexamethasone in combination displayed a new steady-state level only 30% greater than untreated cells. Measured by nuclear run-on assays, transcription rates of the receptor gene were unaffected in cells challenged with isoproterenol alone. Dexamethasone, in contrast, stimulated a 4-fold increase in beta 2-adrenergic receptor gene transcription. Isoproterenol and dexamethasone in combination promoted a transcription rate comparable to dexamethasone alone. The half-life of receptor mRNA in untreated and dexamethasone-treated cells was 12 h. In contrast, beta-adrenergic receptor mRNA half-life declined to 5 h in cells that were treated with isoproterenol in the presence or absence of dexamethasone. Agonist-promoted destabilization and steroid-induced transcription provide mechanisms for the interplay of two opposing pathways controlling receptor mRNA levels.


The cell type-specific expression of key transcription factors is central to development. Brachyury/T/TBXT is a major transcription factor for gastrulation, tailbud patterning, and notochord formation; however, how its expression is controlled in the mammalian notochord has remained elusive. Here, we identify the complement of notochord-specific enhancers in the mammalian Brachyury/T/TBXT gene. Using transgenic assays in zebrafish, axolotl, and mouse, we discover three Brachyury-controlling notochord enhancers T3, C, and I in human, mouse, and marsupial genomes. Acting as Brachyury-responsive, auto-regulatory shadow enhancers, deletion of all three enhancers in mouse abolishes Brachyury/T expression selectively in the notochord, causing specific trunk and neural tube defects without gastrulation or tailbud defects. Sequence and functional conservation of Brachyury-driving notochord enhancers with the brachyury/tbxtb loci from diverse lineages of fishes dates their origin to the last common ancestor of jawed vertebrates. Our data define the enhancers for Brachyury/T/TBXTB notochord expression as ancient mechanism in axis development.


Most of the research on the incentive mechanism design in crowdsourcing has focused on how to allocate sensing tasks to participants to maximize the social welfare. However, none of them consider the coverage holes created by the uneven distribution of participants. As a result, most of the participants in some popular areas compete for tasks, while many tasks in unpopular areas cannot be completed due to the lack of participants. In this paper, we design a movement-based incentive mechanism for crowdsourcing, where participants are stimulated to move to the unpopular areas and complete the sensing tasks in these areas, which benefits both participants and the platform. We formulate a task allocation problem considering controlled mobility. Since the task allocation problem is NP-hard, we propose a greedy algorithm to solve it and design a critical payment policy to guarantee that participants declare their cost truthfully. Theoretical analysis shows that our proposed incentive mechanism satisfies the desired properties of truthfulness, individual rationality, platform profitability, and computational efficiency. Evaluation results show that the proposed movement-based incentive mechanism outperforms the existing solution under various conditions.


Software design patterns are an idea that is intuitively appealing and has found many advocates. However, as scientists we must be concerned about gathering hard evidence for the claims of bene cial consequences of design patterns. This article describes the major claims and derives the corresponding research questions. It discusses the methodology of a research programme for investigating these questions and sketches the practical constraints that make this research di cult. It then shortly summarizes three controlled experiments that were successfully carried out within these constraints and lists the main results and their consequences, such as: One should document design patterns when they are used and one must not apply design patterns without judgement of alternatives. Finally, design considerations of a fourth experiment are discussed. The contribution of this paper is a description of important methodological aspects of practical experimental work and how these relate to the results obtained. Understanding these relations will be important in future empirical software engineering research. 1 The design pattern


Peroxisomal biogenesis disorders (PBD) are groups of inherited neurometabolic disorders caused by defects in PEX genes. We report on a female infant, born to a consanguineous parents (first degree cousins), who presented with inactivity, poor sucking, and hypotonia early in the neonatal period. She had subtle dysmorphic features. Liver function tests were impaired with raised liver enzymes, conjugated and unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia. CT of the brain showed diffuse bilateral changes. She developed seizures with an abnormal EEG. Plasma very long chain fatty acid analysis showed high C26:0 levels and increasedC26:0/C22:0 and C24:0/C22:0 ratios, which is consistent with a PBD. Studies in fibroblasts including plasmalogen biosynthesis, peroxisomal fatty acid alfa and beta oxidation confirmed the diagnosis of PBD. Immunofluoresence microscopy revealed the absence of peroxisomes in fibroblasts. The patient was assigned to the PEX19 complementation group. Subsequent mutation analysis of the PEX19 gene revealed homozygosity for a c.320delA frameshift mutation. The patient had a stormy course with multiple admissions to the pediatric intensive care unit with pneumonia, liver impairment, sepsis, and epilepsy. At 1 year of age she developed metabolic acidosis with normal anion gap, proteinuria, aminoaciduria, and glucosuria consistent with a renal tubular defect. Abdominal ultrasound showed multiple gallstones. Other causes of gallstones like haemoglobinopathy were excluded. So far, only two siblings had been reported with mutations in the PEX19 gene. Our patient showed a previously unrecognized association of gallstones and a renal tubular defect with a PBD. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Long & Scott Farms, a 1200-acre vegetable farm in central Florida, celebrated its 50th anniversary in Feb. 2012. Its longevity is due in part to the innovative choices made over the last 10 years to diversify operations from a strictly wholesale producer of Zellwood sweet corn, cabbage, and pickling cucumbers to also include a local foods and agritourism oriented marketing strategy. The most successful of these alternative farm concepts is Scott's Maze Adventures, an annual fall corn maze that has an attendance of nearly 30,000 annually in recent years. A seasonal retail farm market and cafe have also been established, which is a hub for the consumer supported Produce Club, providing 55 members weekly baskets of freshly harvested local produce. Other additions to the farm operations have been a catch-and-release fishing pond, and holiday and special events that include hayride tours of the farm. The farm also has a web-based presence, www.longandscottfarms.com, and social media Facebook and Twitter, as well as an online monthly newsletter that allows them to market to new audiences.


We previously reported on the induction by vitamin A of gallstones, rich in calcium and phosphate, in hamsters. On the other hand, it has been reported that the phenolic antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) potentiates the hepatotoxicity of vitamin A. In the present work we have tested the effect of BHT on the lithogenicity of vitamin A and on bile composition. The urinary excretion of calcium and phosphate was determined to assess a possible asymptomatic bone resorption due to vitamin A toxicity, and/or an effect of BHT on the homeostasis of calcium and phosphate. Three groups of 18 male hamsters were fed with the following diets for 70 days: Group 1, Purina Nutricubes (DB); Group 2, DB + 25,000 IU% retinol acetate (DL); Group 3, DL + 500 mg% BHT. Vitamin A (Group 2) induced gallstones in 78% of the animals, increased bile flow and biliary phosphate and calcium concentrations, and reduced those of bile salt, cholesterol and phospholipid. BHT (Group 3) reduced gallstone frequency to 5.5%, and decreased biliary phosphate, calcium and lipids toward more normal concentrations. Vitamin A alone or with BHT did not significantly affect food intake or urinary excretion of calcium and phosphate.


Agriculture is one of the sectors most susceptible to changes in climatic conditions. The impact is even stronger in Africa, where rain-fed agriculture is vital for daily subsistence, but where adaptive capacity is low. It is therefore crucial to increase the understanding of the actual climate change dynamics on agricultural productivity. This study examined the effects of changes in climatic variables such as rainfall and temperature on maize production in the Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipality, Ghana. Regression, chi-square and trend analyses were used to establish the relationship between climate variables (rainfall and temperature) and maize yield in the study area. This was supplemented with participatory household interviews with 120 farmers to understand the perception of farmers on rainfall and temperature patterns. The results from the study respondents and trend analysis show that rainfall is shorter in terms of duration and less predictable, whilst temperature has increased. The findings suggest that the general relationship between rainfall, temperature and maize yield is such that maize yield increased with increasing rainfall of the right amount and distribution pattern and decreased with increasing temperature. The study concludes that climate variability and/or change is evident in the study area and its effect on maize yield is severe.


For over two centuries homeopathy has demonstrated its therapeutic properties, thus gaining more and more supporters worldwide. Many researchers opine that due to absence of a medicinal substance in a homeopathic preparation it is not necessary to study its healing effect. However, for the last few years our research was focused not only on understanding the mechanism(s) of homeopathic action in medical and veterinary practices but also on the effect of different homeopathic preparations on plants. The studies aimed to rule out the placebo effect from the homeopathic phenomenon, but also at identification of therapeutic effect on different plants. These studies allowed to extend the boundaries of practical use of homeopathy including its common use in the farming industry.
The efficacy of various homeopathic preparations was assessed for their use in plant growth through application techniques such as watering, spraying, soaking and sprinkling etc. Growth dynamics, duration of fruit ripening, crop yield were monitored and compared to reference plants. Homeopathic preparations for agricultural plants were carefully selected on the basis of their effect on the crop yield – the principal criterion for the selection.
Based on these criteria it was observed that the homeopathic picture of tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes is almost same within one variety, in all tested sorts, although, in case of fruit trees such as apple, pear the homeopathic similimum varied depending of the selection method.
Our results showed that, in case of trees, one-time application of homeopathic preparation during a season is preferable and sufficient. In case of vegetable cultures, application may not be more frequent than once a month as more frequent application results in diminishing of yield. For root plants single treatment at the time of planting was sufficient.
The performed studies showed that the growth and ripening indicators significantly prevailed in the vegetables, which had been treated with homeopathic preparations, as compared to common traditional way of plant handling (controls).
Thus the performed studies suggest the following:
a) Homeopathic effect on biological structures is not a placebo effect.
b) Obtained data are a categorical proof of the homeopathic preparation effect on plants causing higher yield in agricultural crops and therefore, have good potential for their use on the industrial scale in agriculture.
c) The potential of the homeopathic phenomenon practical use has not been fully explored yet and needs a follow-up study.


The TRQR program [1-4] simulates trajectories of charged particles (electrons or ions) in the electromagnetic field. TRQR is based on the Particle-In-Cell method whose basic guideline is the use of computational particles (called macro particles) that represent a large number of real particles of the same kind moving in the same direction. The program calculates particles charge density distribution and potential distribution for chosen ion sources, analyses particles behaviour in the electromagnetic field, describes the process of beams from the source extraction. A number of factors influences simulation results. In order to improve efficiency the program has been parallelized. This paper presents the process of converting chosen parts of the TRQR program into the multi-thread version. In the first step the program was moved from Fortran 77 to C++. Then it was parallelized using the Pthread library with the standard API for C++ contained in the POSIX IEEE 1003.1c standard. Each of threads has its own stack, set of registers, program counter, individual data, local variables, state information. All threads of particular process share one address space, general signal operations, virtual memory, data, input and output. The Mutex functions were used as a synchronization mechanism. This paper presents the analysis of a particular piece of main program that implements computations of particles density distribution. The paper presents execution time dependencies for different simulation parameters such as: the number of macro particles, size of the simulation mesh and the number of used threads.


A novel technique based on a low-temperature single-step solid state reaction of stoichiometric quantities of HgO and Ba2CuO3 to produce superconducting HgBa2CuO4+x samples has been developed. The 'as-prepared' polycrystalline Hg-1201 samples had a Tc of 95 K, as obtained by the diamagnetic onset and resistivity measurements. The crystal symmetry was tetragonal with lattice parameters a=3.876(1) AA, and c=9.509(4) AA in agreement with literature data. Sample morphology consists of grains (average dimension 30 mu m) larger than in previously published works and of a needle-like structure embedding the whole sample. These results were highly reproducible over several batches. The resistive transition in magnetic field up to 8 T and a set of magnetic measurements is presented. From these measurements we obtain information about the irreversibility line, the critical current field dependence and the presence of weak links.


The popularity of wearable devices is growing exponentially, with consumers using these for a variety of services. Fitness devices are currently offering new services such as shopping or buying train tickets using contactless payment. In addition, fitness devices are collecting a number of personal information such as body temperature, pulse rate, food habits and body weight, steps-distance travelled, calories burned and sleep stage. Although these devices can offer convenience to consumers, more and more reports are warning of the cybersecurity risks of such devices, and the possibilities for such devices to be hacked and used as springboards to other systems. Due to their wireless transmissions, these devices can potentially be vulnerable to a malicious attack allowing the data collected to be exposed. The vulnerabilities of these devices stem from lack of authentication, disadvantages of Bluetooth connections, location tracking as well as third party vulnerabilities. Guidelines do exist for securing such devices, but most of such guidance is directed towards device manufacturers or IoT providers, while consumers are often unaware of potential risks. The aim of this paper is to provide cybersecurity guidelines for users in order to take measures to avoid risks when using fitness devices.


Background : Dietary fiber mitigates cough and sputum in smokers. Intake of dietary fiber is associated with a better lung function and reduced prevalence of COPD. These effects may partially come from anti-oxidant capacity by dietary fiber. However, it has not been elucidated how dietary fiber changes the anti-oxidant capacity during exposure to cigarette smoke. Dietary fibers are metabolized to organic acids in the large intestine. We hypothesized that the changes in anti-oxidant capacity by dietary fiber may be partially related with those in organic acids levels in the gut and investigated whether a fiber-free diet changes the anti-oxidant capacity and organic acid levels. Methods: The anti-oxidant capacity as well as cecal levels of organic acids and population of micro-flora in the gut was measured after 4 months' exposure to cigarette smoke in mice fed with a fiber-free diet. Results: The anti-oxidant capacity was significantly suppressed by the fiber-free diet in the non-exposed mice. The suppression in the anti-oxidant capacity further declined following exposure to cigarette smoke. In the non-smoking groups the fiber-free diet significantly increased succinic acid levels in the cecum, while in the fiber-free diet groups cigarette smoke significantly decreased acetic acid levels. The anti-oxidant capacity was correlated inversely with the ratio of succinic acid to acetic acid levels. Conclusion: The fiber-free diet suppressed the anti-oxidant capacity in mice, and the suppression further decreased by exposure to cigarette smoke. These changes may be related with those of proportion of organic acids.


The rapid development of machine learning and deep learning algorithms in the recent decade has spurred an outburst of their applications in many research fields. In the chemistry domain, machine learning has been widely used to aid in drug screening, drug toxicity prediction, quantitative structure-activity relationship prediction, anti-cancer synergy score prediction, etc. This review is dedicated to the application of machine learning in drug response prediction. Specifically, we focus on molecular representations, which is a crucial element to the success of drug response prediction and other chemistry-related prediction tasks. We introduce three types of commonly used molecular representation methods, together with their implementation and application examples. This review will serve as a brief introduction of the broad field of molecular representations.


Objective:To investigate the correlation between three viral load assays for circulating recombinant form (CRF)_BC. Design:Recent studies in HIV-1 molecular epidemiology, reveals that CRF_BC is the dominant subtype of HIV-1 virus in mainland China, representing over 45% of the HIV-1 infected population. The performances of nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA), branched DNA (bDNA) and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were compared for the HIV-1 viral load detection and quantitation of CRF_BC in China. Methods:Sixteen HIV-1 positive and three HIV-1 negative samples were collected. Sequencing of the positive samples in the gp41 region was conducted. The HIV-1 viral load values were determined using bDNA, RT-PCR and NASBA assays. Deming regression analysis with SPSS 12.0 (SPS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA) was performed for data analysis. Results:Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of env gene (gp41) region of the 16 HIV-1 positive clinical specimens from Guizhou Province in southwest China revealed the dominance of the subtype CRF_BC in that region. A good correlation of their viral load values was observed among three assays. Pearson's correlation between RT-PCR and bDNA is 0.969, Lg(VL)RT-PCR = 0.969 * Lg(VL)bDNA + 0.55; Pearson's correlation between RT-PCR and NASBA is 0.968, Lg(VL)RT-PCR = 0.968 * Lg(VL)NASBA + 0.937; Pearson's correlation between NASBA and bDNA is 0.980, Lg(VL)NASBA = 0.980 * Lg(VL)bDNA - 0.318. Conclusion:When testing with 3 different assays, RT-PCR, bDNA and NASBA, the group of 16 HIV-1 positive samples showed the viral load value was highest for RT-PCR, followed by bDNA then NASBA, which is consistent with the former results in subtype B. The three viral load assays are highly correlative for CRF_BC in China.


Recently, interest for vehicle safety system and applications, which supports drivers can drive safely and easily via V2X Communications, is increasing. Generally, FOTs (field operational tests) method is performed in order to verify and evaluate vehicular safety system or applications and it requires driving test in real road environments. FOTs method, however, costs huge human and material resources due to building test-bed. Therefore, organizations such as school, companies and laboratories, which cannot afford to build test-bed, need reliable test-bed that show similar results compared to FOTs. Also, in many researches, evaluation and verification of basic performance of vehicular safety system and applications were performed using integrated VANET simulator which coupled traffic and network simulators before testing in real road environments. In this thesis, we developed V2XREF (V2X runtime emulation framework), which is efficient method of coupling network and traffic simulators, for building test-bed. Also, we applied characteristic of real road environment such as mobility and channel model. We adjusted network simulator communication stack according to IEEE 802.11p and WAVE (wireless access in vehicular environment) protocol stack. In addition to that, we analyzed work flow and performance of V2XREF with making performance evaluation safety scenarios.


Specimens received from Australia during 1961 and 1962 included types of attachment additional to those described in part VI (Thoday 1961). In particular Diplatia maideni from the Northern Territory, on species of Acacia, had formed longitudinally running haustorial strands in the outer phloem of the host. From these parallel strands, slender branches penetrated radially, with further ramifications, reaching the host cambium in many places and forming 'sinkers' grafted into the wood. On some hosts the parasite had formed strands upwards as well as downwards. Another species of Diplatia, D. grandibractea, had formed on Eucalyptus microtheca a large attachment bearing a group of shoots. The parasite extended downwards as a haustorial strand longitudinally against the host wood. Between the dark surface tissues of the parasite and the smooth pale bark of the Eucalyptus was a zone marked by transverse fissures and ridges where host and parasite tissues were interlocked, the parasite having formed marginal tongues growing out actively into the host, with some response on the part of the host. In the strands of D. maideni, groups of stone cells and xylem are differentiated and the prominent xylem strands increase radially by an external meristematic layer. Parenchymatous rays are formed in the process and in them stone-cell masses are differentiated, supplementing the larger masses formed in the rest of the strands. These strands together form a tangential zone in the outer part of the host, which with the xylem becomes increasingly prominent, so that the surface becomes ribbed and in parts fissured by the resulting tension. Some additional examples of longitudinal strands against the host wood were also included among the specimens, as well as of tangential flange formation. Specimens of Amyema sp. increased the range of attachment structure in that genus. A. pendula had longitudinal strands against the host wood. A. gibberula in particular was noteworthy as comparable with Diplatia maideni, but with coarser strands in Grevillea striata. Longitudinal strands against the wood were also found in A. congener on Alphitonia excelsa, Acacia cunninghamii, Acacia fasciculifera, Casuarina littoralis and Geijera parviflora, but not on Acacia melanoxylon or Flindersia australis; also, less regularly, in A. lucasii on Flindersia sp. and sometimes in A. quandang, on Acacia harpophylla and Acacia kempeana. Other specimens of A. pendula had formed them on Eucalyptus melliodora, E. propulnea, hemiphloia and haemastoma, but not on E. Stuartiana or Acacia dealbata.


In North-West Glasgow, between economically depressed Maryhill and upmarket Kelvinside, a 1.4 hectare plot of land has become the site of a local controversy. Depending on your point of view, this is either the Clouston Street Pitches or the North Kelvin Meadow: a space which served as playing fields from the 1940s until the 1990s when, falling into decay, it was earmarked for development by the council. Since then the rhythms of global capital have seen schemes for building on the land emerge and fade away. The red blaes pitches changed character. Mature trees grew up on the tennis court; the clay playing surface was seeded with grass by local residents; flower bulbs were planted. Changing rooms that had reportedly been taken over by drug users were renovated into a community shed. An orchard is showing its first blossom.


1 We are very grateful to Sanjeev Goyal, Matt Jackson and especially Parikshit Ghosh for helpful comments on an earlier version of the paper. Chatterjee wishes to thank the Human Capital Foundation for its support of the Penn State Department of Economics.


Before the democratisation of South Africa in1994, blacks were overwhelmingly excluded from political and economic rights, while the politics of whites, who were enfranchised, revolved around identity as well as racial exclusivity. Necessarily, therefore, the democratic settlement was involved with accommodating racial and ethnic differences. The article argues that even though the agreed constitution formally espoused non-racialism in response to the racist oppressions of apartheid, it rested upon an informal but widely understood 'racial bargain'. In other words, while the white minority would concede political power, they would (for the moment at least) retain control over major sectors of the economy. Even so, although the economy would be run on deracialised market principles, it would provide for greater levels of black participation and ownership in order to overcome the racially polarised nature of South African society. However, it was to be the slow pace of social and racial change which resulted from reliance upon the market which led to the state effectively renegotiating the bargain by implementing an increasingly assertive programme of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE). It is proposed that South Africa's racial bargain cannot be understood unless it is located in the context of decolonisation. This is illustrated by comparative reference to the nature of related decolonising racial bargains in Zimbabwe, Kenya and Malaysia which were shaped, variously, by history, demography and other dynamics. These diverse experiences indicate that while racial bargains can be broken (Zimbabwe), albeit at considerable cost, their essence is that they are continuously being renegotiated in accord with changing political dynamics. It is concluded that progress towards substantive racial equality is the rock upon which the democratic right of individuals belonging to racial minorities is founded.


Ethylene-induced formation of isocoumarin was characterized in relation to ethylene-enhanced respiration in whole or cut carrots (Daucus carota L.). Ethylene concentrations (0.1 to 5 ppm) and temperatures (1 to 15C) that increased respiration also favored a more rapid formation of isocoumarin (8-hydroxy-3-methyl-6-methoxy-3,4-dihydro-isocoumarin). Exposing mature carrots to 0.5 ppm C 2 H 4 for 14 days at 1 or 5C resulted in isocoumarin contents of 20 and 40 mg/100 g peel, respectively. These levels were easily detected as a bitter flavor in the intact carrot roots. Immature carrots formed higher levels of isocoumarin than mature carrots; 180 mg/100 g peel were detected in young carrots stored 14 days at 5C in air containing 0.5 ppm C 2 H 4 . Freshly harvested carrots exposed to 5 ppm C 2 H 4 accumulated 4-fold higher isocoumarin levels than those formed by carrots stored 30 days at 5C before exposure to C 2 H 4 . An atmosphere of 100% O 2 potentiated the effect of C 2 H 4 on isocoumarin formation, resulting in a 5-fold increase over that found in carrots treated with C 2 H 4 in air. A storage atmosphere of 0.5 ppm C 2 H 4 in 1% O 2 resulted in isocoumarin levels about one-half those attained in 0.5 ppm C 2 H 4 in air. Sliced, cut, or dropped carrots exposed to C 2 H 4 showed greater isocoumarin accumulation rates than intact uninjured carrots. Peeled baby carrots, however, had little capacity to form isocoumarin. In general, the more rapid the respiratory rise in response to C 2 H 4 , the more rapidly isocoumarin accumulated. The greater the respiratory response to ethylene, the higher the level of isocoumarin formed.


The p-V-T behaviour of the octane—1-chlorobutane system was investigated at temperatures 298.15 K, 308.15 K, 318.15 K, and 328.15 K and in the pressure range of 0.1—40 MPa with an accuracy in density of ±1x10−4 g cm−3. An apparatus for p-V-T measurements of liquids and liquid mixtures the main part of which is a high-pressure vibrating-tube densimeter working in a static mode was used. Excess molar volume were calculated from the data and tted using the Redlich—Kister equation.


Although not yet fully understood, reduced sensitivity of tree growth to temperature at high northern latitudes during the last ˜ 40 years is often linked to concurrent anthropogenic changes of atmospheric composition and global warming. The idea that a temporal localization of the problem could improve its understanding initiated a search for erratic growth-patterns in earlier periods of high quality dendrochronological archives.

An extensive network of maximum latewood density (MXD) measurements from northern Fennoscandia likely represents one of the most reliable regional summer-temperature reconstructions. The strong coherence between proxy and instrumental data is, however, interrupted by a short, but significant correlation decrease from ˜ 1900 till 1925, a period of distinct summer-temperature warming. Here we analyze this early 20th century divergence period (EDP). We therefore use long instrumental station records and tree-ring density chronologies including 878 Pinus sylvestris and 126 Picea abies samples. Our results indicate that EDP was accompanied by a simultaneous decline of inter-site and inter-station correlations. This could be ascribed to substantially reduced inter-annual summer temperature variability from 1905–1919. Stable correlations of the MXD network with high-pass filtered sea level pressure and precipitation records imply tree-growth to be additionally controlled by other factors, e.g. light conditions, in periods of low summer temperature variability. Within the scope of this study, the causes for EDP could be confined to a limited area and a short period. Calibration of proxy data and reconstruction skills thus remain unaffected in this case of divergence.


: The exponential technological revolution has had a positive impact on industrial companies, providing them with plenty of opportunities to improve their production flows and optimize their costs. This revolution has led to contemporary computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) that consists of linking the shop floor systems to the high business layer. And in order to do that, there has been some research to define a reference architecture to cover all the use cases. This paper presents a literature review of CIM architectures. The purpose of this review is to enumerate the different aspects covered by the different architectures in the literature and the approaches proposed to handle them.


To evaluate the suitability of some chemicals to act as bases for antigens for patch tests, patch tests were performed with these agents in patients having contact dermatitis. Propylene glycol'used as such produced positive reactions in 25 (50%) patients of which 12 were 2 + or more, polyethylene glycol 200 produced positive reactions in 9 (18%) cases of which 4 cases were 2 + or more, a mixture of liquid paraffin and hard paraffin gave rise to positive reactions in 10 (10%) cases 3 of these being 2 +, a mixture of liquid paraffin and bees wax was positive in 14 (14,Yo) cases 3 of these being 2 +, yellow petrolatum was positive in 4 (8%) cases, one of which was 2 +, white petrolatum was positive in S (6%) cases all of these being + reactions only, and glycerol gave rise to a I + reaction in only one (2%) caw. In tropical countries, water should be as base for as many antigens as possible for others, a control test with the b must be included.


Isospin invariant boson models, IBM-3 and IBM-4, applicable in nuclei with neutrons and protons in the same valence shell, are reviewed. Some basic results related to these models are discussed: the mapping onto the shell model, the relation to Wigner's supermultiplet scheme, the boson-number and isospin dependence of parameters, etc. These results are examined for simple single-j shell situations (e.g. f7/2) and their extension to the fp shell is investigated. Other extensions discussed here concern the treatment of odd-mass nuclei and the classification of particle-hole excitations in light nuclei. The possibility of a pseudo-SU(4) supermultiplet scheme in fp-shell nuclei is discussed.


In the 1990s a sampling team from the Surgery Department of Saint Luc Clinic in Louvain Brussels, published a study showing that single aortic infusion is as safe as classic, standard infusion (aortic and portal) but the attempt was not fully accepted. Also, some recent studies recommend the safe use of single aortic infusions in the case of multiple organ sampling from the brain-dead donor. In order to test the effectiveness of this method we made a retrospective study between 2017 and 2019 at the Center for General Surgery and Liver Transplantation of the Fundeni Clinical Institute, Bucharest, Romania. First of all, we performed a comparative analysis between the single aortic sampling group and the group in which we used the standard sampling. We also analyzed the impact of singular aortic sampling on cases with anatomical arterial variants.