Additive manufacturing (AM) offers the possibility to produce components in a resource-efficient and environmentally friendly way. AM can also be used to optimise the design of components in mechanical and physical terms. In this way, functionally integrated, lightweight, highly efficient, and innovative components can be manufactured with the help of additive manufacturing in terms of Industry 4.0. Furthermore, requirements in the automotive industry for drivetrain components are increasingly being trimmed in the direction of efficiency and environmental protection. Especially in electromobility, the topic of green efficiency is an essential component. Exhaust emission legislation and driving profiles for evaluating vehicles are becoming increasingly detailed. This offers the potential to apply the advantages of AM to vehicle types such as conventional, utility vehicles, and nonroad mobile machinery (NRMM), independent of the electrical drivetrain technology (hybrid or fully electrical). AM also allows for us to produce optimally adapted components to the respective requirements and use cases. In this review, the intersections of AM and electromobility are illuminated, showing which solutions and visions are already available for the different vehicle types on the market and which solutions are being scientifically researched. Furthermore, the potential and existing deficit of AM in the field of electromobility are shown. Lastly, new and innovative solutions are presented and classified according to their advantages and disadvantages.


We consider the Keller--Rubinow model for Liesegang rings in one spatial dimension in the fast reaction limit as introduced by Hilhorst, van der Hout, Mimura, and Ohnishi in 2007. Numerical evidence suggests that solutions to this model converge, independent of the initial concentration, to a universal profile for large times in parabolic similarity coordinates. For the concentration function, the notion of convergence appears to be similar to attraction to a stable equilibrium point in phase space. The reaction term, however, is discontinuous so that it can only convergence in a much weaker, averaged sense. This also means that most of the traditional analytical tools for studying the long-time behavior fail on this problem.
In this paper, we identify the candidate limit profile as the solution of a certain one-dimensional boundary value problem which can be solved explicitly. We distinguish two nontrivial regimes. In the first, the transitional regime, precipitation is restricted to a bounded region in space. We prove that the concentration converges to a single asymptotic profile. In the second, the supercritical regime, we show that the concentration converges to one of a one-parameter family of asymptotic profiles, selected by a solvability condition for the one-dimensional boundary value problem. Here, our convergence result is only conditional: we prove that if convergence happens, either pointwise for the concentration or in an averaged sense for the precipitation function, then the other field converges likewise; convergence in concentration is uniform, and the asymptotic profile is indeed the profile selected by the solvability condition. A careful numerical study suggests that the actual behavior of the equation is indeed the one suggested by the theorem.


BACKGROUND
District wellness policies provide an avenue to advance the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model. The extent to which wellness policies currently align with WSCC is unclear; to-date, tools have been unavailable to examine this issue.

METHODS
We reviewed written health-focused policies among 37 school districts in Los Angeles County in 2017 utilizing a 54-item tool designed to examine the quality of policies in the 10 WSCC domains. Descriptive analyses explored overall and domain-specific comprehensiveness and strength; simple negative binomial regression models examined differences in the policy quality and structure by legislated status.

RESULTS
Approximately half of expected policies were present in wellness policies (mean comprehensiveness score = 52.65, ±18.09), < 20% were strong (mean strength score = 16.97, ±8.05). Content in WSCC domains addressed by legislative mandates was significantly more comprehensive and stronger, and more frequently located within the wellness policies, relative to content in non-legislated domains.

CONCLUSIONS
Opportunities exist for better alignment of wellness policies with WSCC. Education and health practitioners can utilize the tool developed for this study to identify priority areas where policy support is needed in their jurisdictions. Additional efforts are needed to help schools facilitate and document practice gains around WSCC-aligned policies.


An efficient disparity estimation and occlusion detection algorithm for multiocular systems is presented. A dynamic programming algorithm, using a multiview matching cost as well as pure geometrical constraints, is used to estimate disparity and to identify the occluded areas in the extreme left and right views. A significant advantage of the proposed approach is that the exact number of views in which each point appears (is not occluded) can be determined. The disparity and occlusion information obtained may then be used to create virtual images from intermediate viewpoints. Furthermore, techniques are developed for the coding of occlusion and disparity information, which is needed at the receiver for the reproduction of a multiview sequence using the two encoded extreme views. Experimental results illustrate the performance of the proposed techniques.


In many applications, offset of the OP-AMPs should be canceled to high accuracy be accomplished. In this work, an asymmetrical differential input circuit with active DC offset rejection circuit was implemented to minimize the systematic offset of the amplifier. The proposed OP-AMPs show that the systematic offset voltages is less than 80 µV.


The purpose of this study was to compare the acoustic voice outcomes of children with cochlear implant to those of children with normal hearing. Participants were 41 children using unilateral cochlear implant (18 males and 23 females), and children with normal hearing from the same age and sex. Mean age of implantation was approximately 3 years old, mean duration of implant use was 4 years in CI group. Acoustic analyses were performed using MDVP of CSL. Speech samples were 3 sustained vowels, /a, i, u/. 9 parameters (F0, Fhi, Flo, Jitter, Shimmer, vF0, vAm, NHR, and SPI) were analyzed. Children with CI did not show the significant differences in those parameters after the vowel /a/ phonation. Meanwhile, there were significantly different results in F0, Fhi, vF0, and SPI after /i, u/ phonation. These results revealed that differences of voice characteristics in children with CI compare to children with NH persist regarding vowel context. It suggests that high vowels would recommend as speech samples for acoustic evaluation. Futhermore perceptual analysis and speech therapy for phonation control would be necessary for children with CI.


ABSTRACT The diary of Sione (John) Fekau 'Ofehemo'oni, covering the days from 18 January to 27 March 1887, gives an insight into the ordeals of a young man imprisoned, then sentenced to death, but reprieved, for the attempted assassination of the Reverend Shirley Baker, then premier to King George Tupou I. Fekau's diary thus offers a first-person account of what was, in the words of translator the late Mrs Sioana Faupula, 'a bad time in Tonga', when a Wesleyan schism resulted in deplorable violence, death, exile and controversy. The majority, that is the tau'ataina, supported the Free Church of Tonga, intended to be financially independent of the mission church and associated with Baker and Tupou I, but the minority, that is the fakaongo, supported the missionary church, of which Tupou College and its principal, the Reverend James Egan Moulton, were seen to be local advocates. This ecclesiastical division ended in 1924 under Queen Sālote. Both churches formed the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga. But the memory of the earlier split remains raw. The Pacific Manuscripts Bureau (PAMBU) made Faupula's translation informally available to researchers from 2004.


Background Antenatal care is one of the strategies for reducing maternal morbidity and mortality directly by affording increased chances of early detection of high-risk pregnancies. WHO recommends a minimum of four ANC visits. In order to make it effective, monitoring of the content and quality of the ANC is needed. However, a number of studies focus on the frequency of ANC, and evidence on core contents of the ANC was limited in this study area. The aim of this study was to determine factors associated with content of the ANC. Methods and Materials A cross-sectional study design was employed to collect data from a total of 432 respondents by using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data were entered in EpiData version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Both binary logistic regression and generalized linear regression with Poisson type were applied to determine factors associated with frequency of the ANC and core contents of ANC, respectively. Results The majority of the mothers (78.7%) visited first ANC lately, and 25.2% of mothers attended ≥4 ANC visits. Only 17.1% of mothers received all the eight selected elements of ANC services. Predictors of the core contents of the ANC were the frequencies of ANC (AOR: 0.84 (95%CI: 0.76–0.93), pre-pregnancy utilization of contraception (0.63 (95%CI: 0.55–0.72)), pregnancy desire (AOR: 0.82 (95%CI: 0.71–0.94), and birth preparedness and complication readiness (AOR: 0.90 (95%CI: 0.82–0.98). Conclusion This study found that low level of WHO minimum recommended ANC and core contents of the ANC. This study suggests that identifying pregnant mothers early increases frequency of the ANC, which improves core content of care.


The tumour suppressor p53 is a transcription factor that regulates multiple biological functions including metabolism, DNA repair, cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and senescence. About half of human cancers show a normal TP53 gene and aberrant overexpression of Mdm2. This fact promotes a promising cancer therapeutic strategy by inhibiting the interactions between p53 and Mdm2. Various inhibitors have been designed to achieve this novel approach for cancer therapy. However, the detailed competition mechanism between these inhibitors and the p53 molecule in their binding process to Mdm2 is still unclear. We investigate this competition mechanism between Nutlin3 and p53 using molecular dynamics simulations. It is found that Nutlin3 binds faster than the p53 molecule to Mdm2 to prevent p53 binding to Mdm2 when Nutlin3 and p53 have equal distance from Mdm2. Nutlin3 can also bind to the p53-Mdm2 complex to disturb and weaken the interactions between p53 and Mdm2. Consequently, p53 cannot bind to Mdm2 and its tumour suppression function is reactivated. These results provide the detailed competition mechanism between Nutlin3 and p53 in their binding to Mdm2. Because the binding site of most other inhibitors to Mdm2 is the same as Nutlin3, therefore this competition mechanism can extend to most inhibitors which target the p53-Mdm2 interaction.


Wolfgang Jeitschko, professor emeritus of the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, celebrates his 80th birthday on May 27th, 2016. Wolfgang Jeitschko is known for his numerous contributions to solid state chemistry in the fields of intermetallics (carbides, silicides, phosphides, aluminides), oxides (molybdates, rhenates and ruthenates), pnictide oxides and their magnetism, and transport properties. His ample scientific work is documented in 485 publications which have been cited more than 13 000 times. He still is an active writer and a member in the scientific board of the renowned international conference on Solid Compounds of Transition Elements (SCTE), meeting this year in Zaragoza, Spain. The editors, the publisher and the editorial team would like to express their deep respect to Wolfgang Jeitschko for his numerous achievements within the solid state community. As a homage his friends, former co-workers and colleagues have contributed their manuscripts to this special issue of Zeitschrift für Naturforschung B.


We identify a strong association between long-term acetaminophen use and offspring ADHD that is not explained by indications of use or familial ADHD. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the association between maternal use of acetaminophen during pregnancy and of paternal use before pregnancy with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring while adjusting for familial risk for ADHD and indications of acetaminophen use. METHODS: Diagnoses were obtained from the Norwegian Patient Registry for 112 973 offspring from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study, including 2246 with ADHD. We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) for an ADHD diagnosis by using Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: After adjusting for maternal use of acetaminophen before pregnancy, familial risk for ADHD, and indications of acetaminophen use, we observed a modest association between any prenatal maternal use of acetaminophen in 1 (HR = 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.96–1.19), 2 (HR = 1.22; 95% CI 1.07–1.38), and 3 trimesters (HR = 1.27; 95% CI 0.99–1.63). The HR for more than 29 days of maternal acetaminophen use was 2.20 (95% CI 1.50–3.24). Use for <8 days was negatively associated with ADHD (HR = 0.90; 95% CI 0.81–1.00). Acetaminophen use for fever and infections for 22 to 28 days was associated with ADHD (HR = 6.15; 95% CI 1.71–22.05). Paternal and maternal use of acetaminophen were similarly associated with ADHD. CONCLUSIONS: Short-term maternal use of acetaminophen during pregnancy was negatively associated with ADHD in offspring. Long-term maternal use of acetaminophen during pregnancy was substantially associated with ADHD even after adjusting for indications of use, familial risk of ADHD, and other potential confounders.


RESUMEN In this paper, the current scenario and challenges that crop improvement faces in response to the increasing world demand for food and biofuels is described. The fact that the rate of improvement in crop performance has plummeted in a number of important crops is discussed. To revert this situation, in my opinion, a truly interdisciplinary approach should be applied to the breeding process, making use of the vast amount of knowledge recently generated in the areas of genomics, ecophysiology, statistics, bioinformatics, etc.. Moreover, a special emphasis should be put on phenotyping which -in my opinionis the new bottleneck, considering the increasingly fast pace and continuously decreasing costs of genotypic data generation. In the meanwhile, a challenge needs to be faced on how to organize, compile and parse phenotypic data while making them available to the broad scientific community. In conclusion, an unprecedented opportunity for a quantum leap in crop improvement rests before us; now, a concerted effort needs to be done to truly integrate the massive amount of knowledge generated into better crops for the world.


Background Recent studies have validated and confirmed the great potential of nanoscale metal-organic framework (NMOF) in the biomedical field, especially in improving the efficiency of cancer diagnosis and therapy. However, most previous studies only utilized either the metal cluster or the organic ligand of the NMOF for cancer treatments and merely reported limited theranostic functions, which may not be optimized. As a highly designable and easily functionalized material, prospective rational design offers a powerful way to extract the maximum benefit from NMOF for cancer theranostic applications. Materials and Methods A NMOF based on hafnium (Hf) cluster and Mn(III)-porphyrin ligand was rational designed and synthesized as a high-performance multifunctional theranostic agent. The folic acid (FA) was modified on the NMOF surface to enhance the cancer targeting efficacy. The proposed "all-in-one" FA-Hf-Mn-NMOF (fHMNM) was characterized and identified using various analytical techniques. Then, in vitro and in vivo studies were performed to further explore the effects of fHMNM both as the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/computed tomography (CT)/photoacoustic imaging (PAI) contrast agent and as the photothermal therapy (PTT)/radiotherapy (RT) agent. Results A tumour targeting multifunctional fHMNM was successfully synthesized with high performance for MRI/CT/PAI enhancements and image-guided PTT/RT synergistic therapy properties. Compared with the current clinical CT and MR contrast agents, the X-ray attenuation and T1 relaxation rate of this integrated nanosystem increased 1.7-fold and 3–5-fold, respectively. More importantly, the catalase-like Mn(III)-porphyrin ligand can decompose H2O2 into O2 in tumour microenvironments to improve the synergistic treatment efficiency of PTT and RT. Significant tumour growth inhibition was achieved in mouse cancer models without obvious damage to the other organs. Conclusion This work highlights the potential of fHMNM as an easily designable material for biomedical applications, could be an effective tool for in vivo detection and subsequent treatment of tumour.


As different in approach and range as they undoubtedly are, these four books all share an interest in medieval representational practices out of which complex ideas and theories concerning bodies — indeed, out of which different bodies — emerge. Katharine Park's Secrets of Women is a wonderfully rich study of anatomy and dissection in northern Italy as it developed from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century; Carole Rawcliffe's Leprosy in Medieval England offers a dense and detailed examination of the treatment and theories surrounding leprosy in late medieval England; Nicola McDonald's wide-ranging collection of essays explores a plethora of medieval obscenities and related issues; and Patrizia Bettella's The Ugly Woman examines the role of this reviled figure in Italian poetry from the Middle Ages to the Baroque.


Previous studies have shown that, although the isolated structural domains of yeast phosphoglycerate kinase recover a quasi-native structure in vitro as well as in vivo, they do not reassociate nor generate a functional enzyme. The aim of this work was first to study the folding of complementary fragments different from structural domains and second to determine the requirements for their reassociation and functional complementation. The method used for producing rigorously defined fragments consists of the introduction of a unique cysteinyl residue in the protein followed by a specific cleavage by 5'5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoate)/potassium cyanide at this residue. Two pairs of complementary fragments were thus obtained, 1-96/97-415 and 1-248/249-415. The structure and stabilities of the different fragments were studied. The short fragments, i.e. 1-96 and 249-415 were found to contain some secondary structure, but to have a low stability. Each large fragment has a high structural content and a stability close to that of the corresponding domain. In contrast to that observed with the isolated domains, a weak but significant complementation was observed for the two pairs of fragments; the pair of fragments 1-248/249-415 recovered 8% of the activity of the native enzyme upon complementation. An independent refolding of the complementary fragments before reassociation decreased the yield of complementation for the pair of fragments 1-96/97-415, but did not affect the complementation for the other pair (1-248/249-415). From the present data and previous work on the isolated domains, it appears that the correct folding of the isolated fragments is not a prerequisite for their complementation.


1 This paper aims to bridge the gap between processes where shocks are permanent and those with transitory shocks by formulating a process in which the long run impact of each innovation is time varying and stochastic. Frequent transitory shocks are supplemented by occasional permanent shifts. The stochastic permanent breaks (STOPBREAK) process is based on the premise that a shock is more likely to be permanent if it is large than if it is small. This formulation is motivated by a class of processes that undergo random structural breaks. Consistency and asymptotic normality of quasi maximum likelihood estimates is established and locally best hypothesis tests of the null of a random walk are developed. The model is applied to relative prices of pairs of stocks and significant test statistics result.


The spectrum of the output of a half-wave rectifier is derived for an input which is the sum of random noise and two sinusoidal signals of different frequencies. The method used is the characteristic function method described by Rice. The components of the output spectrum are given as infinite series of hypergeometric functions. If both the input signals .are small compared with the noise, it is shown that the ratio of the output signal power at the difference frequency to the output noise power is proportional to the product of the input signal-to-noise power ratios at the two frequencies. If one of the input signals is very large compared with the noise, it is shown that the other signal and the noise are translated in frequency without alteration of the signal-to-noise ratio. A correction factor is obtained for the case where the large signal is not quite large enough. Finally, the output signal-to-noise ratio of a single-sideband detector is calculated as a function of the input signal-to-noise ratio, when the sideband amplitude is one-half the carrier amplitude.


Burned areas in boreal mixedwood forests usually include tree patches that partially or entirely escaped fire. Some of these post‐fire residual stands – called fire refuges – can escape several consecutive fires due to particular microsite conditions. Despite their potential importance as biodiversity hotspots, the long‐term forest dynamics of fire refuges is unknown. High‐resolution analysis of plant macroremains retrieved from forest organic matter profiles sampled in five fire refuges allowed us to describe up to 8000 years of forest dynamics. Our results display the importance of local conditions in forest dynamics. Wildfire was probably prevented by high moisture, as indicated by the presence of aquatic taxa and moisture‐tolerant tree species. Lack of stand‐replacing fire, coupled with organic matter accumulation, favored the millennial persistence of late‐successional tree species. Shifts from spruce/larch dominance to fir/cedar dominance were noted at different occasions during the Holocene, probably resulting from endogenous processes.


The Mexican American Association of Pharmacy Students (MAAPS) was organized at the University of Texas at Austin by a group of Hispanics of Mexican descent who shared common rofessional interests, values and cultural backgrounds. The memkn of this organization perform many activities for the College of Pharmacy including: assisting in recruiting, retaining qualified students who have been accepted into pharmacy school. broviding health care education to the community and maintaining open communication channels between the students and the College administration. The members benefit from the support they receive from each other and through their involvement in various service projects. Their activities make a difference in the community. One of the most important examples of these is "Project Mentorship." The objective here is to assist in the developmenl and retention of minority children in elementary school, especially those at high risk of failure. Mentors must devote at least thirty (30) minutes per w...


The relevance of the boundary concept to ecological processes has been recently questioned. Humans in the post-industrial era have created novel lateral transport fluxes that have not been sufficiently considered in watershed studies. We describe patterns of land-use change within the Potomac River basin and demonstrate how these changes have blurred traditional ecosystem boundaries by increasing the movement of people, materials, and energy into and within the basin. We argue that this expansion of ecological commerce requires new science, monitoring, and management strategies focused on large rivers and suggest that traditional geopolitical and economic boundaries for environmental decision making be appropriately revised. Effective mitigation of the consequences of blurred boundaries will benefit from a broad-scale, interdisciplinary framework that can track and explicitly account for ecological fluxes of water, energy, materials, and organisms across human-dominated landscapes.


A retrospective review was conducted of 20 consecutive patients (10 men and 10 women) with failed total knee arthroplasty (TKA) who underwent arthrodesis using an intramedullary rod. Average patient age was 70.5 years. One patient was lost to follow-up, and the remaining 19 patients were evaluated an average of 4.5 years postoperatively (range: 1-24 years). Three patients without infections achieved a solid arthrodesis without complications. In 16 patients, the indication for fusion was an infection, and 12 of these patients had an uncomplicated postoperative course and achieved a solid arthrodesis. Of the remaining 4 patients, 1 required revision for a nonunion, 1 a skin graft, and 2 had recurrence of their infections in the postoperative period. Both patients had positive cultures at attempted arthrodesis. One patient underwent debridement at 3 months, and a solid fusion was obtained. The other patient required rod removal and currently has a nonunion, uses a brace, and is on suppressive antibiotic treatment. An intramedullary rod is the ideal fixation choice for knee arthrodesis in patients with a failed, noninfected TKA; however, in patients with an infection, the infection must be eradicated prior to rod use.


This article takes the use of complementary medicine by a group of people living with HIV/AIDS as the starting point for exploring the options for living with chronic illness in contemporary western societies. Some authors have suggested that the situation of living with chronic illness may not be a significant departure from the process of negotiating choice that is theorised to be a defining feature of late-modern society and that there are now many ways of living with or 'doing' chronic illness. This article uses these theoretical concepts to explore the experiences of people who have lived with HIV/AIDS for a number of years. It is argued that while different options for managing chronic illness may exist, it is not always possible or desirable for individuals to put these choices into practice. The article is based on 18 qualitative interviews with people living with HIV/AIDS who were using complementary medicine.


Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between sleep duration and school adjustment of elementary-, middle-, high-school youth and to verify the mediating effects of parenting behavior. Methods: We analyzed the data from Wave 4 of the first-grade panel of elementary school and Waves 1 and 4 of the first-grade panel of middle school in Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS), including 1,703 fourth graders, 2,119 seventh graders, and 2,108 tenth graders. Multiple regression was used for the data analyses. Results: The results of this study were as follows. First, longer sleep duration was associated with a higher level of school adjustment in fourth grade. In contrast, longer sleep duration was associated with a lower level of school adjustment in seventh and tenth grades. Second, longer sleep duration was related to a higher level of discipline through reasoning in fourth grade. However, longer sleep duration was related to a lower level of parental monitoring in seventh and tenth grades. Third, the relationship between sleep duration and school adjustment was mediated by parenting behavior. Discipline through reasoning had a mediating effect in fourth grade, but the mediating effect of parental monitoring was found in seventh and tenth grades. Conclusion: These results suggest a differentiated approach on sleep duration in accordance with developmental stage and the need for parent education.


In scientific computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI), which both rely on massively parallel tasks, frameworks like the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) and the Open Computing Language (OpenCL) are widely used to harvest the computational power of accelerator cards, in particular of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). A few years ago, GPUs from NVIDIA were used almost exclusively for these tasks but meanwhile, AMD and Intel are increasing their shares of the GPUs market. This introduces many new challenges for code development, as the prevailing CUDA code can only run on NVIDIA hardware and must be adapted or even completely rewritten to run on GPUs from AMD or Intel. In this paper, we compare the different competing programming frameworks OpenMP, CUDA, OpenCL, and SYCL, paying special attention to the two SYCL implementations hipSYCL and DPC++. Thereby, we investigate the different frameworks with respect to their usability, performance, and performance portability on a variety of hardware platforms from different vendors, i.e., GPUs from NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel and Central Processing Units (CPUs) from AMD and Intel. Besides discussing the runtimes of these frameworks on the different hardware platforms, we also focus our comparison on the differences between the nd_range kernel formulation and the SYCL specific hierarchical kernels. Our Parallel Least Squares Support Vector Machine (PLSSVM) library implements backends for the four previously mentioned programming frameworks for a Least Squares Support Vector Machines (LS-SVMs). At its example, we show which of the frameworks is best suited for a standard workload that is frequently employed in scientific computing and AI, depending on the target hardware: The most computationally intensive part of our PLSSVM library is solving a system of linear equations using the Conjugate Gradient (CG) method. Specifically, we parallelize the implicit matrix-vector multiplication inside the CG method, a workload common in many scientific codes. The PLSSVM code, utility scripts, and documentation are all available on GitHub: https://github.com/SC-SGS/PLSSVM.


Managing the airway of patients with critical tracheal stenosis remains a formidable challenge to surgeons and anesthiologists. Various methods for controlling the airway have been established to solve this problem. This study describes the critical tracheal stenosis is managed by dilating and coring technique under direct vision with a rigid bronchoscope. From 2001 to 2003, 34 patients (23 malesy11 females) with critical tracheal stenosis ()90%) underwent 37 surgical interventions. The etiologies included 8 cases of post-intubation, 7 cases of post-tracheostomy, 5 cases of post-anastomotic, 14 cases of endotracheal tumor (4 primary, 10 secondary), and 3 cases (1 tuberculosis, 1 laser burn, and 1 idiopathic) of other etiologies. All procedures could achieve airway control with rigid bronchoscope. Other endoscopic procedures (laser, and stent placement) were required to achieve a patent airway and seven patients received airway reconstruction as a definite procedure. Rigid bronchoscopy could provide good results for controlling airway in patients with critical trachea stenosis.


The purpose of this study was to obtain an additional data base to determine the potential applications of NDT water-coupled ultrasonics. During previous research, several NDT methods were compared and water-coupled ultrasonics produced the most accurate and repeatable data for three-dimensionally positioning tire anomalies. For the continuation of the evaluation of water-coupled ultrasonics 75 recapped test tires were obtained, including bias, bias-belted and radial, and scheduled for 10,000 miles of highway durability. The tires, in general, only obtained one-third that mileage due to catastrophic failures and treadwear anomalies. These tires were NDT-inspected prior to test and after test to analyze the ability of water-coupled ultrasonics to differentiate between those tire anomalies which lead to degraded road performance and those which do not. Tires were cut at the end of test to verify the NDT results. The results showed that water-coupled ultrasonics can determine anomalies; however, the effectiveness of the device depends on the experience of the data analyst. Refinement of water-coupled ultrasonics NDT under this study has vastly improved the viability of the system. However, application will be limited until a data base is obtained such that anomalies can be appropriately identified.


Adjustment of pH from 6.4 to neutrality improved gelling ability and water-holding capacity of twice water-washed, minced chicken-breast muscle significantly at physiological ionic strength, at which the majority of the myofibrillar proteins, including myosin, are not soluble. A strain value of 2.2 was obtained at neutral pH. Myofibrils were the main components of the gel network at both pH 6.4 and 7.0; however, the myofibrillar distribution varied with the pH value. At pH 6.4, myofibrils formed a network of localized aggregates leaving large voids between, whereas at neutral pH, an evenly distributed network of myofibrils was formed. In addition, at neutral pH, a network of fine strands was found within the network of myofibrils. The network was much less developed at pH 6.4. The thin and thick filaments within each myofibrillar structure were disorganized at both pH values. The intramyofibrillar spaces were larger at neutral pH than at pH 6.4. It was proposed that adjustment of pH to neutrality increased electrostatic repulsion leading to a more even distribution of the myofibrillar proteins, a key factor responsible for the improved gel strength and water-holding capacity.


We investigate the evolutionary dynamics and the phase transitions of the island model which consists of subdivided populations of individuals confined to two islands. In the island model, the population is subdivided so that migration acts to determine the evolutionary dynamics along with selection and genetic drift. The individuals are assumed to be haploid and to be one of two species, X or Y. They reproduce according to their fitness values, die at random, and migrate between the islands. The evolutionary dynamics of an individual based model is formulated in terms of a master equation and is approximated by using the diffusion method as the multidimensional Fokker-Planck equation (FPE) and the coupled non-linear stochastic differential equations (SDEs) with multiplicative noise. We analyze the infinite population limit to find the phase transitions from the monomorphic state of one type to the polymorphic state to the monomorphic state of the other type as we vary the ratio of the fitness values in two islands and complete the phase diagram of our island model.


We report the first record of the genus Microcaecilia in Peru from lowland, primary rainforest in Loreto, adding to its previously known geographic range from northwestern Colombia; Ecuador through southern Venezuela to the Guianas and Sao Paulo, Brazil.  Two individuals of a species of this genus of small caecilians were found in deep leaf litter at the Reserva Forestal Santa Cruz, located approximately 30 km northeast of the city of Iquitos. We refer to these specimens as Microcaecilia sp because of the current difficulty in confidently determining their identity.


Planting cover crops after corn-silage harvest could have a critical role in the recovery of residual N and N from fall-applied manure, which would otherwise be lost to the environment. Experiments were conducted at the University of Massachusetts Research Farm during the 2004–2006 growing seasons. Treatments consisted of oat and winter rye cover crops, and no cover crop, and four cover-crop dates of planting. The earliest planting dates of oat and winter rye produced the maximum biomass yield and resulted in the highest nitrate accumulation in both cover-crop species. The average nitrate accumulation for the 3 years in winter rye and oat at the earliest time of planting was 60 and 48 kg ha–1, respectively. In 2004 where the residual N level was high, winter rye accumulated 119 kg nitrate ha–1. While initially soil N levels were relatively high in early September they were almost zero at all sampling depths in all plots with and without cover crops later in the fall before the ground was frozen. However, in plots with cover crops, nitrate was accumulated in the cover-crop tissue, whereas in plots with no cover crop the nitrate was lost to the environment mainly through leaching. The seeding date of cover crops influenced the contribution of N available to the subsequent crop. Corn plants with no added fertilizer, yielded 41% and 34% more silage when planted after oat and rye, respectively, compared with the no–cover crop treatment. Corn-silage yield decreased linearly when planting of cover crops was delayed from early September to early or mid-October. Corn-ear yield was influenced more than silage by the species of cover crop and planting date. Similar to corn silage, ear yield was higher when corn was planted after oat. This could be attributed in part to the winter-kill of oat, giving it more time to decompose in the soil and subsequent greater release of N, while the rapidly increasing C : N ratio of rye can lessen availability to corn plants. Early plantings of cover crops increased corn-ear yield up to 59% compared with corn-ear yield planted after no cover crop.


Legislation on plant breeders' rights – the Plant Breeders' Rights Act, 1976 (Act No. 15 of 1976) – currently is being reviewed by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. This legislation provides for farmers' privilege, which is one of the exceptions to plant breeders' rights. It allows farmers to save seed of protected varieties for their own use. Farmers' privilege, and particularly its impact on smallholder farmers in developing countries, is a widely debated issue. During the public consultation process, several comments proposing amendments to the farmers' privilege provision were received from various stakeholders. However, no comments were received from the smallholder farmers who may be directly impacted by this provision. This pilot study was undertaken to assess the understanding of the farmers' privilege concept by smallholder farmers from the historically disadvantaged communities and their current practices with regard to seed saving. The results showed that the majority of the smallholder farmers were not aware of the existence of the legislation on plant breeders' rights and therefore do not understand the farmers' privilege concept and its implications. They also did not know whether the varieties they were using were protected by plant breeders' rights or not. Little information has been published on the impact of plant breeders' rights in South Africa in general. We hope that this study might inform policy decisions on matters related to plant breeders' rights and the farmers' privilege.


Modern imaging has revealed that thoracic disc herniation (TDH) has a prevalence of 11–37% in asymptomatic patients. Pain, sensory disturbances, myelopathy, and lower extremity weakness are the most common presenting symptoms, but other atypical extraspinal complaints, such as gastrointestinal or cardiopulmonary discomfort, may be reported. Our objective is to make providers familiar with TDH's atypical symptoms to help avoid potential serious consequences created by a delay in diagnosis. We report the cases of two patients who each presented with atypical extraspinal symptoms secondary to a TDH. One patient presented with a chronic history of nausea, emesis, and chest tightness and MRI showed a large right paramedian disc herniation at T7-8. A second patient reported chronic constipation, buttock and leg burning pain, gait instability, and urinary frequency; an MRI of his thoracic spine demonstrated a central disc herniation at T10-11. TDH can present with vague extraspinal symptoms and unfamiliarity with these symptoms can lead to misdiagnosis with progression of the disease and unnecessary diagnostic tests and medical procedures. Therefore, TDH should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients with negative gastrointestinal, genitourinary, and cardiopulmonary system basic studies.


The immune system is of central interest for the life sciences, but its high complexity makes it a challenging system to study. Computational models of the immune system can help to improve our understanding of its fundamental principles. In this article, we analyze and extend the Celada-Seiden model, a simple and elegant agent-based model of the entire immune response, which, however, lacks biophysically sound simulation methodology. We extend the stochastic model to a stochastic-deterministic hybrid, and link the deterministic version to continuous physical and chemical laws. This gives precise meaning to all simulation processes, and helps to increase performance. To demonstrate an application for the model, we implement and study two different hypotheses about T cell-mediated immune memory.


This research studies the future perspectives for Malaysian space law. It aims at demonstrating the development of Malaysian outer space activities inclusive of her status with respect to United Nations space conventions and her membership of international and regional space-related organizations. On the basis of assisting Malaysia to develop her national space legislation, this study analyses the legal frameworks of selected national outer space legislations. It discusses some major aspects that Malaysia should consider while drafting the content of her space legislation and explains the reasons why the legislation is necessary. It proposes a number of significant clauses that need to be incorporated in the Malaysian Outer Space Act. The study concludes with proposing a feasible draft specimen of a Malaysian Outer Space Act with an expectation that it can become a guideline to rationalize the actual Malaysian Outer Space Act and will positively influence the Malaysian law makers. It ends with outlining various legal impacts on Malaysia, ASEAN and world space activities should the enactment of the Malaysian Outer Space Act become a reality.


Background

Esophageal diverticulum is rare and usually requires surgical treatment. Diverticular peroral endoscopic myotomy(D-POEM) is considered to be a novel technique that can be effectively used for septotomy in patients with esophageal diverticulum.
Case presentation:

A 73-year-old male patient was admitted to our hospital, complaining of recurrent dysphagia for more than 8 years and aggravated dysphagia for 2 months. Esophagogram revealed a sac in the anterior esophageal region and gastroscopy showed a giant diverticulum in the mid-esophagus. He was treated with D-POEM and had good clinical outcome. The patient was discharged 6 days after operation and has been doing well, and no recurrence was observed.
Conclusion

D-POEM is an effective and minimally invasive method for esophageal diverticulum, but long-term efficacy remains to be proved by more studies.


We present a bit-string quantum oblivious transfer protocol based on single-qubit rotations. Our protocol is built upon a previously proposed quantum public-key protocol and its practical security relies on the laws of Quantum Mechanics. Practical security is reflected in the fact that, due to technological limitations, the receiver (Bob) of the transferred bit-string is restricted to performing only "few-qubit" coherent measurements. We also present a single-bit oblivious transfer based on the proposed bit-string protocol. The protocol can be implemented with current technology based on optics. ∗email: firstname.lastname@example.com


The rare earth element erbium was implanted into various semiconductors. Photoluminescence of the erbium implanted layer is studied. The peak wavelength is centred at 1.54 =m wavelength and has about the same maximum intensity whatever the host material is. Results of cathodoluminescence from a scanning electron microscope revealed that the 1.54 =m emission is not uniformly dispersed at the surface. The 1.54 =m emission could be from microparticles of Er-rich compounds.


This paper described a wavelength-selective couplers dedicated to drop functionality (spectral-selective couplers dedicated to wavelength demultiplexing). It is consist of two Y junctions: an input two drop channels and an output. The Y-branches distributors of optical power were carried out by a specific geometry of Ti:LiNbO3 waveguides. Each Y junction is composed by two identical bends jointed at one with a weak inclination angle to decrease losses. On each arm of the Y-branches, a Bragg grating (BG) is etched by Focused Ion Beam (FIB) in order to extract a specific wavelength band. A two-channel configuration is adopted which demonstrate a drop functionality of two spectral bands centered at 1123 nm and 1527 nm. The complementary spectrum is avalaible at the coupler output.


Timing financing theory holds that when listed companies are overvalued, they will increase equity financing. Different from previous studies, this study explores the mechanism of timing financing theory in China from the perspective of financing efficiency. Through the empirical study of M & A cases of Listed Companies in China from 2007 to 2018, it is found that the timing financing behavior that increasing equity financing when overvalued reduces the positive impact of equity financing on M & A performance. Further research found that the mediating effect of the financing efficiency exists, that is, the timing financing behavior does no increase listed companies' financing efficiency, so it can not help listed companies create value through M & A.


The selectively implanted buried subcollector (SIBS) is a method to decouple the intrinsic and extrinsic C/sub BC/ of InP-based double-heterojunction bipolar transistors (DHBTs). Similar to the selectively implanted collector (SIC) used in Si-based bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) and HBTs, ion implantation is used to create a N+ region in the collector directly under the emitter. By moving the subcollector boundary closer to the BC junction, SIBS allows the intrinsic collector to be thin, reducing /spl tau//sub C/, while simultaneously allowing the extrinsic collector to be thick, reducing C/sub BC/. For a 0.35 /spl times/ 6 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ emitter InP-based DHBT with a SIBS, 6 fF total C/sub BC/ and >6 V BV/sub CBO/ were obtained with a 110-nm intrinsic collector thickness. A maximum f/sub T/ of 252 GHz and f/sub MAX/ of 283 GHz were obtained at a V/sub CE/ of 1.6 V and I/sub C/ of 7.52 mA. Despite ion implantation and materials regrowth during device fabrication, a base and collector current ideality factor of /spl sim/2.0 and /spl sim/1.4, respectively, at an I/sub C/ of 100 /spl mu/A, and a peak dc /spl beta/ of 36 were measured.


Reservoir behavior due to injection and circulation of cold fluid is studied with a shear displacement model based on the distributed dislocation technique, in a poro‐thermoelastic environment. The approach is applied to a selected volume of Soultz geothermal reservoir at a depth range of 3600 to 3700 m. Permeability enhancement and geothermal potential of Soultz geothermal reservoir are assessed over a stimulation period of 3 months and a fluid circulation period of 14 years. This study—by shedding light onto another source of uncertainty—points toward a special role for the fracture surface asperities in predicting the shear dilation of fractures. It was also observed that thermal stress has a significant impact on changing the reservoir stress field. The effect of thermal stresses on reservoir behavior is more evident over longer circulation term as the rock matrix temperature is significantly lowered. Change in the fracture permeability due to the thermal stresses can also lead to the short circuiting between the injection and production wells which in turn decreases the produced fluid temperature significantly. The effect of thermal stress persists during the whole circulation period as it has significant impact on the continuous increase in the flow rate due to improved permeability over the circulation period. In the current study, taking into account the thermal stress resulted in a decrease of about 7 °C in predicted produced fluid temperature after 14 years of cold fluid circulation; a difference which notably influences the potential prediction of an enhanced geothermal system.


Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia is characterized by a proliferation of cells of the reticuloendothelial system associated with a monoclonal increase in serum levels of gamma globulins of immunoglobulin M class. We report a case of lung cancer with Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia. A 68-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for abnormal mass shadow on chest X-P during chemotherapy for macroglobulinemia. Pathological diagnosis was small cell carcinoma by transbronchial lung biopsy. Right middle and lower lobectomy with mediastinal lymph nodes dissection were performed. Postoperative staging was stage II (t1n1m0). Chemotherapy for the lung cancer and plasmapheresis for hyperviscosity syndrome were carried out, after surgical treatment. This patient has been followed for three years and has no evidences of recurrence of the lung cancer.


Background and Purpose—Echo-planar gradient-echo T2*-weighted MR imaging (GRE-EPI) may detect hypointense lesions representing microhemorrhages with high sensitivity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of GRE-EPI for detecting old lacunar hemorrhages in hypertensive patients with stroke. Methods—GRE-EPI was performed with a 1.5-T MRI system in 198 hypertensive patients with stroke (130 patients with hemorrhagic stroke and 68 patients with multiple lacunar stroke) and 66 age-matched healthy elderly individuals. Results—Concomitant hypointense foci were found in 84 (66%) patients with hemorrhagic stroke, 46 (68%) patients with multiple lacunar stroke, and 3 (5%) healthy elderly individuals. These hypointense foci were noted in the lentiform nucleus in 61 (47%) patients with hemorrhagic stroke, in the caudate nucleus in 9 (7%) patients, in the thalamus in 54 (42%) patients, in the corticosubcortical region in 57 (44%) patients, in the brain stem in 40 (34%) patients, and in the cerebellu...


Biological composites are known to exhibit extraordinary mechanical properties, due to their complex, hierarchical internal structures composed of fibrous polymers, and other supra-molecular arrangements. While much is known about their quasi-static mechanical properties, the study of elastic wave propagation in biological structural materials is an almost pristine field. In this work, we investigate the phononic behavior of the anisotropic fibrillar network in micron-thick onion cell walls using laser-generated, sub-GHz guided acoustic waves. The measured dispersion curves reveal the presence of Rayleigh and Sezawa modes. By tracking their dispersion as a function of cell orientation, we find angular-dependent phase velocities due to mechanical anisotropy of the wall. Moreover, we show that the structural arrangement of the wall generates an anomalous low-frequency acoustic branch characterized by an ultra-slow group velocity. We demonstrate that this mode arises from the hybridization of modes guided within the wall and the resonance of subcell structures. Our findings pave the way to the design of new biologically-derived acoustic metamaterials.


The authors present a sapphire oscillator with a long hold-time cryostat and helium recovery system to overcome the inherent difficulty of using this liquid-helium-cooled frequency standard at a remote site. The oscillator has been used as a frequency reference for very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) radio astronomy observations. Data are presented which show that the performance of the oscillator is superior to a rubidium standard in this application. While laboratory data have demonstrated a fractional frequency stability of about 9*10-15 for integration times between 1 and 300 s the VLBI frequency stability measurements in this case are limited by the signal-to-noise ratio in the correlated data.


The control of sweating in humans has been described quantitatively in terms of skin and core temperatures (Tsk and Tcore, respectively). However, the precision with which features of the relationship between sweat rate and Tcore at a given Tsk can be reproduced in the short term is not known. We focused on the threshold Tcore. We held Tsk at 38 degrees C until sweating began for two periods separated by a period of cooling with Tsk at 32 degrees C in six men and three women. The esophageal temperature (Tes) at which sweating began was invariably lower in the second period of heating (average difference 0.09 degree C; maximum 0.17 degree C). Also, the rate of rise in Tes was invariably higher (average 148%) during the second period of heating. Thus, although a threshold cannot be reproduced within the error of Tes measurement, the consistency and small magnitude of the downward shift recommend our protocol as a practical method for evaluating other influences on thermoregulation, provided that the effects are big enough to be seen against a background of an expected small decrease. From the fundamental point of view, the consistency of the downward displacement has provocative implications, e.g., the rate of change in Tcore influences sweating or thermosensitive units in slow-responding thermal compartments contribute to the Tcore input signal.


Machine learning (ML) models are constructed by expert ML practitioners using various coding languages, in which they tune and select models hyperparameters and learning algorithms for a given problem domain. They also carefully design an objective function or loss function (often with multiple objectives) that captures the desired output for a given ML task such as classification, regression, etc. In multi-objective optimization, conflicting objectives and constraints is a major area of concern. In such problems, several competing objectives are seen for which no single optimal solution is found that satisfies all desired objectives simultaneously. In the past VA systems have allowed users to interactively construct objective functions for a classifier. In this paper, we extend this line of work by prototyping a technique to visualize multi-objective objective functions either defined in a Jupyter notebook or defined using an interactive visual interface to help users to: (1) perceive and interpret complex mathematical terms in it and (2) detect and resolve conflicting objectives. Visualization of the objective function enlightens potentially conflicting objectives that obstructs selecting correct solution(s) for the desired ML task or goal. We also present an enumeration of potential conflicts in objective specification in multi-objective objective functions for classifier selection. Furthermore, we demonstrate our approach in a VA system that helps users in specifying meaningful objective functions to a classifier by detecting and resolving conflicting objectives and constraints. Through a within-subject quantitative and qualitative user study, we present results showing that our technique helps users interactively specify meaningful objective functions by resolving potential conflicts for a classification task.


The measurement method and apparatus of cutting force by high speed milling is introduced. The high speed milling force of wrought aluminum alloy is measured and analyzed through separately examining the influences of various factors, such as cutting speed, cutting depth, milling width, feed per cutting tooth, down or up milling, cooling and lubricating. The results match with outcomes from other's tests and the theory of metal cutting, and are close to the calculated force values, so that the test can be regarded as positive. It is pointed out that high cutting speed, little cutting depth, properly great working engagement and feed per tooth, high feed rate, down milling and efficient cooling and lubricating should be used to reduce cutting force and deformation, to improve milling accuracy and efficiency, which can be helpful to the spread applications of High Speed Machining.


BACKGROUND
Acute pharyngitis is common in the ambulatory setting. The Modified Centor score uses five criteria to predict Group A Streptococcus (GAS) infection and can be used to guide management.

OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to describe the emergency department (ED) management (throat cultures, antibiotics and corticosteroids) of acute, uncomplicated pharyngitis by Centor score.

METHODS
This was a retrospective chart review of adult (>17 years) patients with an ED discharge diagnosis of acute pharyngitis from January 2016 to December 2018.

RESULTS
Of 638 patients included, 286 (44.8%) had a Centor score of 0-1, 328 (51.4%) had a score of 2-3 and 24 (3.8%) had a score of ≥4. Of those with a Centor score of 0-1, 83 (29.0%) had a throat culture, 88 (30.8%) were prescribed antibiotics, 15 (5.2%) were positive for GAS and 74 (25.9%) received corticosteroids. Of those with a Centor score of 2-3, 156 (47.6%) had a throat culture, 220 (67.1%) were prescribed antibiotics, 44 (13.4%) were positive for GAS and 145 (44.2%) received corticosteroids. Of those with a Centor score ≥4, 14 (58.3%) had a throat culture, 18 (75.0%) were prescribed antibiotics, 7 (29.2%) were positive for GAS and 12 (50.0%) received corticosteroids.

CONCLUSIONS
A higher Centor score was associated with a higher risk of GAS infection, increased antibiotic prescribing and use of corticosteroids. Many patients with low Centor scores were prescribed antibiotics and had throat cultures. Further work is required to understand clinical decision-making for the management of acute pharyngitis.


Background

Abediterol (LAS100977) is a novel, once-daily, LABA in development for the treatment of asthma and COPD. We investigated the PK and pharmaceutical interaction of mometasone furoate (inhaled corticosteroid) in combination with abediterol in healthy subjects.

Methods

In this Phase I, 4-way crossover study, healthy subjects were randomised to single doses of: fixed-dose combination (FDC) abediterol/mometasone 0.625/340 µg and 2.5/340 µg; free-dose combination abediterol+mometasone 2.5/340 µg; or mometasone 340 µg alone, via Genuair®/Pressair™, with ≥10-days washout. Endpoints included 36-hour PK parameters and safety and tolerability.

Results

24/28 subjects completed the study (N=22 male, mean age 33.0 years [SD±7.0]). Mometasone disposition kinetics were similar across all treatments; tmax: 1.7 – 2.3 hours; t½: 8.5 – 9.4 hours. Abediterol tmax was achieved within 30 minutes (all treatments). Estimated t½ for abediterol 2.5 µg: 23.8 hours (FDC); 24.3 hours (free-dose). See table for PK parameter comparisons. All treatments were safe and well tolerated; the most common treatment-emergent adverse events were headache (14%), myalgia (11%), diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and anxiety (each 7%).

Conclusion

Abediterol and mometasone co-administration (FDC or free-dose) has minimal impact on PK parameters of either drug within predicted therapeutic dose ranges.

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We investigate an efficient color-image quantization technique that is based on an existing binary splitting algorithm [ IEEE Trans. Signal Process. 39, 2677 ( 1991)]. The algorithm sequentially splits the color space into polytopal regions and picks a palette color from each region. As originally proposed, the complexity of this algorithm is a function of the image size. We introduce a fast histogramming step so that the complexity will depend only on the number of distinct image colors. Data structures are employed that permit the storage of a full-color histogram at moderate memory cost. In addition, we apply a prequantization step that reduces the number of initial image colors while preserving image quality along visually important color coordinates. Finally, we incorporate a spatial-activity measure to reflect the increased sensitivity of the human observer to quantization errors in smooth image regions. This technique preserves the quantitative and qualitative performance of the original binary splitting algorithm while considerably reducing the computation time.


Abstract The history, analysis, and use of the semi-synthetic dye indigo carmine is described by means of a study of historical sources including patents, dye identification using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the examination of dyed textiles. Indigo carmine, the acid dye 'Saxon Blue', was invented by Johann Christian Barth in 1743. Indigo carmine is a water-soluble blue acid dye with the advantage of an easy dyeing process. Its disadvantages are poor lightfastness and washfastness. For the identification of indigo carmine by HPLC, a gradient using water, methanol, and 0.5 mM tertiary butyl ammonium hydroxide can be used to give an unambiguous analytical result. Analyses of dated textile objects prove that indigo carmine was in use after 1770 until the beginning of the twentieth century. This study provides practising conservators with chemical, technological, and historical information which can help in the identification of textiles dyed with indigo carmine, and suggests ways of responding to poor washfastness.


Desired proteins excreted by animal cells usually reach rather low concentrations in the culture supernatant and have to be purified from an excess of serum proteins which are added to the animal cell culture to maintain its viability and/or productivity. Defined media offer among others the advantage of an easier purification procedure. In addition lysis of cells may contribute also to the complexity of the protein mixture encountered. If fetal calf serum or new born calf serum is used in cultivation, bovine serum albumin and globulins will be the most abundant protein in the supernatant. The interaction of albumin especially with hydrophobic proteins represents significant problems for the effective purification of minor constituent. Isolation of a desired protein follows the general scheme: concentration: by precipitation, ultrafiltration, batch adsorption or partition in aqueous phase system; enrichment: by chromatography or partition; high resolution purification: by chromatography and/or immuno adsorption; final concentration and finishing: pyrogen removal, sterilization, formulation. Biochemical engineering aspects of proteins purification are discussed using human interferon-beta produced in a recombinant mouse cell line as an example. The process developed encloses extraction of interferon-beta from the production medium in aqueous two-phase systems and subsequent recovery of interferon-beta from the top phase by high pressure liquid chromatography.


ABSTRACT Natural resource abundance, growth-oriented strategies and low environmental concern of post-Soviet states may exacerbate the consequences of climate change significantly. This study considers the relationship between CO2 emissions, economic development, foreign investment inflows, trade and energy use in 20 post-Soviet states between 1995 and 2017. A panel cointegration test reveals the long-term cointegrating relationship between the variables. Long-term elasticities are reported using Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares and Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares regressions, which yield quite similar results: GDP per capita, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, trade and energy use positively related to CO2 emissions per capita in the long term. A panel causality test, however, identifies unidirectional causality running from CO2 emissions to energy use at p<0.01. In other words, greater economic activity in terms of foreign capital inflows, larger trade shares, extensive energy use and economic development, harm the environment through increasing CO2 emissions and strengthen the need for greater environmental and climate change concerns. The study aims to contribute to this Special Issue through accounting for the role of foreign direct investment and foreign trade in the sustainable development of post-Soviet states.


Environmental perception obtained via object detectors have no predictable safety layer encoded into their model schema, which creates the question of trustworthiness about the system's prediction. As can be seen from recent adversarial attacks, most of the current object detection networks are vulnerable to input tampering, which in the real world could compromise the safety of autonomous vehicles. The problem would be amplified even more when uncertainty errors could not propagate into the submodules, if these are not a part of the end-to-end system design. To address these concerns, a parallel module which verifies the predictions of the object proposals coming out of Deep Neural Networks are required. This work aims to verify 3D object proposals from MonoRUn model by proposing a plausibility framework that leverages cross sensor streams to reduce false positives. The verification metric being proposed uses prior knowledge in the form of four different energy functions, each utilizing a certain prior to output an energy value leading to a plausibility justification for the hypothesis under consideration. We also employ a novel two-step schema to improve the optimization of the composite energy function representing the energy model.


This report was prepared at the completion of Phase I of the Strategic Transportation, Environmental and Planning Process for Urbanizing Places (STEP UP) environmental streamlining pilot project. This project was initiated by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization (NFRMPO) to evaluate procedures and tools that would result in improved transportation, land use and environmental planning. The report documents the efforts conducted under Phase I and provides recommendations for Phase II. As part of the project, a new model planning process was developed to incorporate environmental data and agency review at the earliest stages in transportation planning. An application was designed to provide a user-friendly interface to accomplish each step in the modified process and produce a reusable database of projects and environmental data. All environmental data should be based in a geographic information system (GIS) for display on maps within the application. A web-based collaborative application and statewide environmental database will be required in order to support the model planning process. Implementation of the STEP UP process will require short-term steps to test the model planning process and long-term steps to successfully implement the overall program at a statewide level. The outcomes from this process can be used by local, regional, state and federal agencies in their respective planning activities.


Background The pathogenesis of RA is not well understood, but genetic, environmental and immunologic factors are known to be involved in the development of the disease. The long pentraxin, pentraxin-3 (PTX-3), is an inflammatory marker and a member of pentraxin superfamily which contains CRP and serum amyloid P. There are some published studies showing the relationship between RA and PTX-3. (1–3). We investigated that PTX3, IL 6, fetuin- A, insulin and HOMA-IR might also have a role in the pathogenesis of RA. Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between disease severity and biochemical parameters such as pentraxin-3, fetuin-A, IL-6,insulin and HOMA-IR levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Methods This study included 60 patients with RA and 20 healthy controls. Serum pentraxin-3, fetuin-A, IL-6 and insulin concentrations were determined. Also, HOMA-IR values were calculated. Disease activity was assessed with Disease Activity Score (DAS28). Quality of life was evaluated by the use of the Health Assessment Questionnaire disability index. Results The serum values for ESR, CRP, pentraxin-3 and fetuin-A in patients with RA were elevated than control subjects (p values=0.001, 0.001, 0.000, 0.000, 0.01, 0.02, respectively) A positive correlation was evident between the DAS 28 score and IL6 levels (r =0.263, p=0.045). We found no correlation between the DAS28 score and HOMA-IR, the levels of pentraxin 3, fetuin A, insulin (p<0.05). Fetuin A levels was positively correlated with cumulative steroid dose (r=0.382, p=0.035). A statistically significant correlation was evident between presence of cardiovascular disease and HOMA-IR values in RA patients (r=0.437, p=0.032). In addition, DAS-28 score values were not in correlation with insulin, fetuin-A, HOMA-IR, IL-6 and pentraxin-3 levels (p>0.05). Conclusions Elevated levels of pentraxin-3, fetuin-A, CRP, ESR might play a role in the pathogenesis of RA. Levels of IL-6, fetuin-A, insulin HOMA-IR, pentraxin -3, CRP, ESR concentrations were not associated with clinical severity of the RA. References Dessein PH, Norton GR, Woodiwiss AJ, Joffe BI, Solomon A. Independent role of conventional cardiovascular risk factors as predictors of C-reactive protein concentrations in rheumatoid arthritis. J Rheumatol 2007;34:681–8. Hollan I, Nebuloni M, Bottazzi B, Mikkelsen K, Førre OT, Almdahl SM, Mantovani A, Fagerland MW, Aukrust P, Meroni PL; Feiring Heart Biopsy Study Group.Group. Pentraxin 3, a novel cardiovascular biomarker, is expressed in aortic specimens of patients with coronary artery disease with and without rheumatoid arthritis. Cardiovasc Pathol 2013 Sep-Oct;22(5):324–31. Klimek E, Skalska A, Kwaśny-Krochin B, Surdacki A, Sulicka J, Korkosz M, et al. Differential associations of inflammatory and endothelial biomarkers with disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis of short duration. Mediators Inflamm 2014;2014:681635. Disclosure of Interest None declared


A reconfigurable planetary rover system (RPRS) is presented, including the parent body and some child robots. The child robot composed with the arm part and the wheel part has two moving modes: locomotion mode and manipulation mode. According to the mechanical characteristics, we proposed the two methods for the motion planning of swerving locomotion. The results of experiments showed that the robot can achieve turn during locomotion by adjusting the arm's attitude. But the child robot's radius of left-hand turning motion during locomotion is bigger much than the radius of right-hand turning motion during locomotion and the effect is not obvious. The method of spot turning is presented by use of the difference between radial frictional force and tangential frictional force of ground and direction wheel, which is important for robot for autonomous locomotion.


Gamma ray spectra from the reaction Mn55(p, y) Fe56s have been measured at the isobaric-analogue resonances at Ep = 1769 ± 4 keV and 1806 ± 4 keV respectively with a 15 cm3 Ge(Li) dedector. Double correlation for the transition from the resonance level to the second excited state of Fe56 has been measured for the two cases. Proton elastic scattering was also studied at each resonance at the angle 150°. Analysis of the (p, y) and (p, p) works yields a Jπ assignment 4+ or 5+ and 3+ for the two mentioned resonance states, respectively, which are the isobaric-analogues of the 0.454 MeV and 0.486 MeV states of Mn56. The proton partial width and the total width for each resonance state were also determined.


Light-sheet imaging of 3D objects with high spatial resolution remains an open challenge because of the trade-off between field-of-view (FOV) and axial resolution originating from the diffraction of light. We developed acoustic light-sheet microscopy (acoustic LSM), which actively manipulates the light propagation inside a large sample to obtain wide-field microscopic images deep inside a target. By accurately coupling a light-sheet illumination pulse into a planar acoustic pulse, the light-sheet can be continuously guided over large distances. We imaged a fluorescence-labeled transparent mouse brain for the FOVs of 19.3 × 12.4 mm2 and 9.7 × 5.9 mm2 with resolved microstructures and single cells deep inside the brain. Acoustic LSM creates new opportunities for the application of light-sheet in the field of industry to basic science. One Sentence Summary An acoustic-optical method overcomes a trade-off between field-of-view and axial resolution in light-sheet microscopy.


A 10-day cumulative irritation test was conducted to evaluate whether or not test subjects 65 years of age and older would rank eleven test materials the same as subjects 18 to 45 years of age The test materials consisted of mild to moderately irritating chemicals. The test articles were ranked similarly for both groups of subjects. Statistical analysis indicated no significant difference between the groups of subjects. Thus older subjects should not necessarily be excluded in comparative studies of irritancy.


The Siwalik (Churiya) range is a fragile land system formed from sediments during the raising of the greater and lesser Himalaya. The area is considered one of the world's most important sources of the later tertiary fossils of mammals and provides a basis for much of our current knowledge about the evolution of fauna, especially primates and reptiles. The Siwaliks, ranging east to west, occupy an estimated 13; of Nepal's total land area. Recently the area has come under tremendous pressure from illegal encroachment, which has increased the degradation process, excerbated by modern infrastructure development. This document is a basline dataset for Ilam Siwalik's socio-economy, hydrology, agriculture, land use, forestry, fauna and flora and other environmental issues. It also briefly identifies specific policies to be adopted and action to be undertaken for the conservation of the entire Siwalik areas and Ilam district


Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rapidly fatal disease whose diagnosis, particularly through less invasive techniques such as analysis of pleural effusion, can be challenging. Currently, a commercially available diagnostic test based on microRNA expression patterns is purported to distinguish between mesothelioma and lung adenocarcinoma. Yet, the biological basis of this technology has not been reported in the literature, and little research has been aimed at determining how differential miRNA expression contributes to the differences in pathogenesis between these diseases, both of which can be caused by asbestos exposure. We sought to illuminate the molecular differences between mesothelioma and lung adenocarcinoma by using microRNA microarrays to identify patterns in the most differentially expressed microRNAs. From this, we identified a panel of microRNAs, including members of the miR-200 gene family, that were all downregulated in malignant pleural mesothelioma compared to lung adenocarcinoma. Using the more sensitive detection method of quantitative RT-PCR on an independent series of tumors, we validated the specificity of these alterations in 100 malignant pleural mesotheliomas and 32 lung adenocarcinomas. Further examination of the relationship between these microRNAs revealed that they are predicted to act as redundant regulators of wnt signaling, and suggests a role for this pathway in tumor progression. This research points to novel approaches utilizing miRNAs whose decreased expression is unique to mesothelioma as potentially suitable for rapid diagnosis, and reveals important new targets for the treatment of this deadly disease. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3001.


(1) Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is primarily characterized by the presence of fatty liver, hepatic inflammation and fibrogenesis eventually leading to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) or cirrhosis. Obesity and diabetes are common risk factors associated with the development and progression of NAFLD, with one of the highest prevalence of these diseased conditions in the West Virginia population. Currently, the diagnosis of NAFLD is limited to radiologic studies and biopsies, which are not cost-effective and highly invasive. Hence, this study aimed to develop a panel and assess the progressive levels of circulatory biomarkers and miRNA expression in patients at risk for progression to NASH to allow early intervention strategies. (2) Methods: In total, 62 female patients were enrolled and blood samples were collected after 8–10 h of fasting. Computed tomography was performed on abdomen/pelvis following IV contrast administration. The patients were divided into the following groups: Healthy subjects with normal BMI and normal fasting blood glucose (Control, n = 20), Obese with high BMI and normal fasting blood glucose (Obese, n = 20) and Obese with high fasting blood glucose (Obese + DM, n = 22). Based on findings from CT, another subset was created from Obese + DM group with patients who showed signs of fatty liver infiltration (Obese + DM(FI), n = 10). ELISA was performed for measurement of plasma biomarkers and RT-PCR was performed for circulating miRNA expression. (3) Results: Our results show significantly increased levels of plasma IL-6, Leptin and FABP-1, while significantly decreased level of adiponectin in Obese, Obese + DM and Obese + DM(FI) group, as compared to healthy controls. The level of CK-18 was significantly increased in Obese + DM(FI) group as compared to control. Subsequently, the expression of miR-122, miR-34a, miR-375, miR-16 and miR-21 was significantly increased in Obese + DM and Obese + DM(FI) group as compared to healthy control. Our results also show distinct correlation of IL-6, FABP-1 and adiponectin levels with the expression of miRNAs in relation to the extent of NAFLD progression. (4) Conclusion: Our results support the clinical application of these biomarkers and miRNAs in monitoring the progression of NAFLD, suggesting a more advanced diagnostic potential of this panel than conventional methods. This panel may provide an appropriate method for early prognosis and management of NAFLD and subsequent adverse hepatic pathophysiology, potentially reducing the disease burden on the West Virginia population.


This paper examines the effective strategic change management and Enterprise Resource Planning implementation under distinctive learning styles namely; diverging, converging, assembling, and accommodating learning styles through case of Burberry brand at Bicester Village, Cheshire Oaks, and Chatham Place. Additionally, paper investigates the strategic changes and organizational factors in relation with the ability to adopt change and successful ERP implementation. Total 87 respondents were approached through snowball, purposive, and convenience sampling. Findings revealed that accommodating learning style is the most influential learning style that significant positively affects the ERP implementation process. Interestingly, all learning styles (diverging, converging, assimilating, and accommodating) have statistically significant correlation with organizational change process. Additionally, complexity is the most critical organizational component affecting employees' ability to accept changes.


Abstract Politeness can be viewed as a theoretical construct existing at the intersection of cultural, social, cognitive, and linguistic processes. Because of this, an understanding of politeness requires an understanding of its social-cognitive underpinnings, and conversely, an understanding of many social-cognitive phenomena can be improved by considering the role played by politeness in those processes. In this article I review research on the social-cognitive underpinnings of politeness, focusing particularly on the concepts of face and face-work and the relationship between linguistic politeness and several social-cognitive variables. I also discuss the relevance of politeness phenomena for several research areas in social and cognitive psychology, including person perception and impression management, cross-cultural communication, and language comprehension.


Different chemical states of titanium oxide films were deposited on commercially pure Ti (CP Ti) by electron-beam evaporation at different oxygen flow rates to examine a possibility of their applications to endovascular stents. The surface morphology, chemical composition and crystal structure of the obtained titanium oxide films were analyzed by FE-SEM, XPS and XRD, respectively. As a function of the deposition parameters employed, the obtained titanium oxide films demonstrated different mixtures of anatase phase, Ti2O3 and TiO. By the formation of titanium oxide film on the CP Ti plate, the contact angle was decreased and the cellular activity of porcine aortic smooth muscle cells was increased. Post-deposition annealing was also found to be an important factor to achieve advantageous biocompatibility. When haemocompatibility was investigated by observing adhesion of blood platelets from platelet-rich plasma, less platelet adhesion was observed on titanium oxide films. These results indicated that titanium oxide film synthesized by e-beam evaporation could be applicable to coronary stents.


Introduction: Romiplostim (RMP) is a thrombopoietin-mimetic protein that enhances platelet production. RMP has already been approved in numerous countries for treatment of immune thrombocytopenia. We previously reported the efficacy and safety of RMP through a 1-year treatment period in patients with aplastic anemia (AA) that was refractory to immunosuppressive therapy (IST). In this study, we report the interim exploratory analysis of the influence of RMP after a 2-year treatment period (105 weeks) on the hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and progenitor cells, and on mesenchymal stromal cells, a specialized HSC niche, in patients with AA who were refractory to IST. Methods: This study is a multicenter, randomized, open-label, parallel, comparative, dose-finding study in South Korea (NCT02094417). Eligible patients with AA, refractory to prior IST, were randomized into 4 dose groups that received 1, 3, 6, or 10 μg/kg of RMP for the initial 8-week treatment. After the initial treatment, the dose was adjusted from 1 to 20 μg/kg to maintain their platelet response. After week 53, if the blood cell count improved and was maintained at a predefined range, the dose was tapered and the patient was considered to be in a "tapering-dose" status; if the dose was decreased to 0 µg/kg at this point, the patient was considered to be off the drug. The range was defined as follows: platelet count, > 50x109/L; hemoglobin concentration, > 10.0 g/dL; and neutrophil count, > 1.0x109/L. The blood cell response was defined based on the absolute cell count. To examine the association between cellular changes in the bone marrow in response to RMP and the clinical course of the patients with AA, the primitive HSC and progenitor cell subsets were analyzed by flow cytometry and the colony formation assay at the baseline and every 6 months after initiation of RMP. Further, changes in the mesenchymal stromal cells within the bone marrow were also analyzed by the CFU-F assay. Results: A total of 35 subjects were randomized; of these, 18 received RMP beyond 1 year, and 10 are still receiving it over 2 years. At week 105, the platelet response was observed in all 10 subjects, erythroid response in 9 subjects, neutrophil response in 5 subjects, and tri-lineage response in 5 subjects. Of the ongoing 10 subjects, 7 have achieved "tapering-dose" status, and 2 have achieved "off-the-drug" status. In addition, The RMP was suspended in 1 subject due to excessive increase in platelet-count (>400x109/L). This subject has also been exhibiting the tri-lineage response. At week 53, the median counts of all colony assays were higher in subjects with any blood cell response than in those without the response. When we compared the serial colony assays in the subjects with any blood cell response at week 53 up to week 105, the colony counts of BFU-E, CFU-E, CFU-M, and CFU-GM gradually increased until week 77 from the baseline, and then declined at week 105. Further, the colony counts of CFU-F also exhibited a similar pattern. The colony counts of CFU-G and CFU-MK increased until week 53, and then decreased. However, the CD34+CD38- cells steadily increased throughout up to week 105 from the baseline. Conclusion: These data indicate that RMP influences the stimulation of primitive HSC (CD34+CD38- cells) and bone marrow microenvironment (HSC niche), and enhances the differentiation of primitive HSCs to late progenitor cells resulting in hematologic response in the patients with AA. Although further follow up is ongoing the up to the end of 3-year study period, but this interim analysis may strongly implies that the RMP might be beneficial for patients with AA, refractory to IST. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Globalization is a key part of everyday lives, and sport itself is an increasingly global phenomenon. This book successfully brings the two together, locating the study of sports policy within a broader consideration of global processes, practices and consequences.

Drawing upon a range of empirical case studies, Palmer successfully illuminates issues that have not previously been discussed. Exploring the relationship between the local and the global, globalization and governance, new technologies, human rights, environment and corporate responsibility, Palmer sets out the ground for a new and refreshed understanding of policy making in sport and how this affects society moreover.

Original and timely, this book is a must for sports students on all levels. It will also be of immense use for students on courses that deal with public and social policy making.


This chapter provides a review of prevalence and trends of resistance in Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolated from humans in different parts of the world and a more thorough description of the mechanisms of resistance, origin, spread, and clinical consequences of resistance. Aminoglycosides exhibit rapid and significant bactericidal effects in vitro and should initially be included for the treatment of Campylobacter bacteremia in patients who appear very ill. The only mechanism of chloramphenicol resistance identified in Campylobacter occurs through modification of chloramphenicol by chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, which prevents its binding to the ribosome. The majority of contacts between Tet(O) and the ribosome are mediated by the rRNA, and one interaction with ribosomal protein S12. Most of the antimicrobials used in veterinary medicine are tetracyclines and macrolides, which result in high and continuous selective pressure for the animal-colonizing bacteria, ultimately resulting in the acquisition of antimicrobial resistance genes. Investigation into the mechanisms of action of antimicrobials, as well as the transfer of resistance determinants, is necessary to gain effective control of antimicrobial resistance. Epidemiological and microbiological studies show that poultry is the most important source for quinolone-susceptible and quinolone-resistant Campylobacter infections in humans. Trends over time for macrolide resistance show stable low rates in most countries, and macrolides should remain the drug class of choice for C. jejuni and C. coli enteritis.


Dipetalonema perstans is a filarial worm which is fairly widely distributed through Africa and South America. Most authors consider that the species is a commensal in man but others have long maintained that it may be pathogenic, causing allergic reactions which may be especially severe in the European patient. Until recently, no effective treatment has been available for D. perstans infections and diethycarbamazine has proved singularly ineffectual. The present paper reports on a long term study on the use of mebendazole alone at a .dose of 400 mg b.d. for 14 days and a combination of mebendazole 100 mg b.d. and levamisole 50 mg daily for 14 days on two European males.


Did this doctor violate her patient's last stated wish, or had those wishes changed? This story carries a powerful message.


5-Hydroxy-2-piperidino-4,5,6,7-tetrahydroindan (5) and a number of related tetrahydro and dihydro compounds were prepared by selective mono- and dihydroxylation of the dihydro products from the Birch reduction of various alkylaminoalkylindans, tetralins, benzenes, and isoindolines. Some of these compounds showed a remarkably selective inhibition of monosynatpic spinal reflex in the segmental cat preparation.


The approach used in establishing the predicted aerodynamic uncertainties and the process used in applying these uncertainties during the design of the Orbiter flight control system and the entry trajectories are presented. The flight test program that was designed to verify the stability and control derivatives with a minimum of test flights is presented and a comparison of preflight predictions with preliminary flight test results is made. It is concluded that the approach used for the Orbiter is applicable to future programs where testing is limited due to time constraints or funding.


We consider a multicast configuration with two sources, and translate the network code design problem to vertex coloring of an appropriately defined graph. This observation enables to derive code design algorithms and alphabet size bounds, as well as establish a connection with a number of well-known results from discrete mathematics that increase our insight in the different trade-offs possible for network coding.


Endothelial cell behaviour during blood vessel formation is highly complex and dynamic. Transgenic zebrafish have provided many new insights into these processes, due to their ability to provide detailed in vivo imaging. We here report a previously undescribed endothelial cell behaviour during zebrafish embryonic development. Endothelial cells of the cerebral vessels of 3-5d post fertilisation embryos extruded large membranous spherical structures. These were only found on the cerebral vessels, and did not detach from the parent vessel, instead regressing back into the endothelial cell. These structures did not communicate with the vessel lumen, exhibited periodic oscillations in size and shape, and were enriched with filamentous actin at their neck. Due to their unknown nature and spherical appearance we termed these structures kugeln (German for sphere). Pharmacological inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signalling significantly increased kugel number while Notch inhibition significantly reduced both kugel number and diameter. Kugeln contain little cytoplasm, but are highly positive for nitric oxide (NO) reactivity, suggesting they represent a novel NO containing organelle specific to the cerebral vessels.


Lameness related to growth plate lesions is an important problem in the beef industry. This article describes the macroscopic and microscopic lesions in the distal metatarsal physis of bulls from an association of farmers in northeastern Italy. The metatarsal bones of 62 bulls (12 with severe lameness and 50 without lameness), average age 16.44 ± 1.72 months, were examined at the abattoir. The animals came from the same geographic area and shared intensive husbandry practices and a diet based on maize starch. A total of 124 metatarsal bones were sectioned, and the distal metaphyseal growth plate was grossly examined. Twenty-three cases, including 12 lame and 9 nonlame animals with visible lesions on macroscopic examination, and 2 controls (a total of 46 physes) were examined microscopically. Eight of 12 bulls with severe lameness had a chronic purulent physitis in at least 1 limb. Segmental thickening of the hypertrophic zone, consistent with osteochondrosis (OC), was present contralaterally (n = 3 cases) and bilaterally (n = 3 cases) in 6 of these animals. In the group of nonlame bulls, 19 of 50 (38%) had similar segmental thickening of the physis consistent with OC. In the remaining bulls, minor findings included partial closure of the physis and a variable degree of metaphyseal hyperemia. A high incidence of OC was found in both lame and nonlame fattening bulls. It is likely that lame animals were clinically more severe due to secondary hematogenous implantation of bacteria, resulting in a purulent physitis and severe lameness that required emergency slaughter in some cases.


The teleoperation (telerobotic) systems often face two key challenges: the existence of communication delays between the master and slave site as well as the addition of force feedback to improve the user's sense of presence. The first goal of this paper is that the slave manipulator should track the position of the master manipulator and the second goal is that the environmental force acting on the slave, when it contacts a remote environment, be accurately transmitted to the master. For solving both problems we proposed the symmetric impedance matched teleoperation systems with a wave filter in feedback loop. Simulations results using a single-degree of freedom master/slave system are presented showing the performance of the resulting system.


To the Editor. —The article by Krupin et al, which appeared in the October issue of theArchives(92:312, 1974), presents data purporting to demonstrate that substantial quantities of dexamethasone sodium phosphate penetrate into the cornea and anterior chamber following its topical administration to the eye. The authors point out that their results differ from the data obtained in our laboratories. Krupin et al attribute these differences in experimental results to the presumed greater sensitivity of their system. We feel that the differences cannot be explained so lightly and that the discrepancies merit further discussion. Krupin et al question the sensitivity of our method and its ability to detect radioactive corticosteroid of the specific activity used in our experiments. They imply that radioactive steroids with a specific activity of less than 10 microcuries/mg cannot produce measurable drug levels in the eye. However, these authors appear to have ignored the difference


The incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has reached epidemic levels, and current trends indicate that its prevalence will continue to rise. The development of T2DM can be delayed by several years, and may even be prevented, by identifying individuals at risk for T2DM and treating them with lifestyle modification and/or pharmacological therapies. There are a number of methods available for assessing the insulin resistance (IR) that characterizes, and is the precursor to, T2DM. However, current clinical methods for assessing IR, based on measures of plasma glucose and/or insulin are either laborious and time-consuming or show a low specificity. IR manifests its earliest measurable abnormalities through changes in lipoproteins, and thus we propose that by examining lipoprotein subclass profile, it may be possible to alert physicians and patients to a heightened risk of developing diabetes. This will allow us to institute appropriate lifestyle changes and treatment potentially to delay the onset or possibly prevent the progression to diabetes.


Short‐term forecasting of wind gusts, particularly those of higher intensity, is of great societal importance but is challenging due to the presence of multiple gust generation mechanisms. Wind gust observations from eight high‐passenger‐volume airports across the continental United States (CONUS) are summarized and used to develop predictive models of wind gust occurrence and magnitude. These short‐term (same hour) forecast models are built using multiple logistic and linear regression, as well as artificial neural networks (ANNs) of varying complexity. A suite of 19 upper‐air predictors drawn from the ERA5 reanalysis and an autoregressive (AR) term are used. Stepwise procedures instruct predictor selection, and resampling is used to quantify model stability. All models are developed separately for the warm (April–September) and cold (October–March) seasons. Results show that ANNs of 3–5 hidden layers (HLs) generally exhibit higher hit rates than logistic regression models and also improve skill with respect to wind gust magnitudes. However, deeper networks with more HLs increase false alarm rates in occurrence models and mean absolute error in magnitude models due to model overfitting. For model skill, inclusion of the AR term is critical while the majority of the remaining skill derives from wind speeds and lapse rates. A predictive ceiling is also clearly demonstrated, particularly for the strong and damaging gust magnitudes, which appears to be partially due to ERA5 predictor characteristics and the presence of mixed wind climates.