Large-scale RNA interference screens have indicated that BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines are dependent upon BRAF expression for proliferation. However, small molecule RAF inhibitors, such as vemurafenib, have so far failed to exhibit robust activity in clinical trials of patients with CRC, with a response rate of only 5%. Commensurate with this, CRC cell lines demonstrate intrinsic resistance to RAF inhibitors. Therefore, we designed an RNA interference screen to identify loss of function events that could synergize with pharmacologic RAF inhibition. We transduced a pooled lentiviral library encoding 90,000 shRNAs targeting over 16,500 genes into RAF-inhibitor-resistant RKO CRC cells. The shRNA-infected population was divided into two experimental arms, one treated with DMSO, the other treated with PLX4720. Following 16 population doublings, the abundance of each hairpin was assessed by PCR amplification of barcoded hairpin DNA, followed by massively parallel paired-end sequencing. The log-fold change in shRNA abundance between the PLX4720- and DMSO-treated controls was determined and RNAi gene enrichment (RIGER) used to rank individual shRNAs and nominate candidate genes that were required for survival of RKO cells exposed to PLX4720. We validated the 40 top-ranking genes that displayed synthetic lethality with RAF inhibition in an arrayed secondary screen. shRNAs targeting MET scored highly, consistent with recent reports implicating HGF-MET signaling in resistance to BRAF inhibition, validating our approach. Furthermore, we describe the characterization of additional genes that sensitize cells to inhibition of BRAF, suggesting novel therapeutic opportunities. By integrating these findings with other genomic and functional studies we aim to identify clinically actionable events that cause RAF-inhibitor resistance in colorectal cancers. Citation Format: Steven R. Whittaker, Flora Luo, Jessica Hsiao, Glenn S. Cowley, David E. Root, Levi A. Garraway. Probing synthetic lethal interactions with RAF inhibition in BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Precision Medicine Series: Synthetic Lethal Approaches to Cancer Vulnerabilities; May 17-20, 2013; Bellevue, WA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(5 Suppl):Abstract nr B27.


This introduction provides a theoretical framework for investigating the effect of gender on national-level executive branch leadership. Currently, there is no consensus as to what is expected of a woman who occupies her country's highest office. The article argues that this disagreement is due to the assumption of an idealised 'woman leader'. Adopting an intersectional approach to studying gender and executive leadership, it is argued that it is possible neither to identify a single 'female chief executive style' nor to a priori identify a set of 'female' policy positions. Because gender norms differ within and across countries, we must determine 'what kind' of a female politician we are studying to determine how her particular gender might impact on her governance. The article then considers what might be expected of a German Bundeskanzlerin who is also a Protestant CDU member trained as a natural scientist and raised in the GDR.


Regular drinkers from the general public whose drinking behavior was known to be unaffected by a previous antidrug advertising campaign were involved in a field experiment to assess the impact of a television commercial based on controlled-drinking principles. In a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of exposure to the advertising campaign (advertisement, no advertisement) and exposure to a letter announcing the campaign (letter, no letter), 96 subjects from two cities in tropical North Queensland provided baseline and posttreatment details of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related attitudes. Baseline measures were taken approximately 12 months prior to the start of the campaign, and posttesting occurred 3 weeks after the campaign. Results were consistent with the proposition that the advertisement reduced intake provided that subjects also received the standard letter alerting them to the start of the campaign.


A 70-year-old woman previously exposed to hyaluronidase during ophthalmic surgery had excision of hypertrophic bulbar conjunctival tissue in the right eye. Hyaluronidase was added to the peribulbar anesthetic agent. Five days postoperatively, the patient presented with proptosis in the right eye, extraocular muscle restriction, and decreased visual acuity. She was apyrexial with a normal white cell count; computed tomography of the orbits showed a diffuse increase in soft tissue density. Clinical features were unchanged after 24 hours of intravenous antibiotics, but subsequent administration of high-dose oral steroids led to clinical improvement.


Confessional scholarship—like the confessions themselves—had a tumultuous experience during the Soviet era. In contrast to burgeoning scholarship on religious history in the West, Soviet historians ignored the religious dimension, at most marginalizing and demonizing religious institutions and believers. Although some Western works sought to fill this gap, the result—quantitatively, not to mention empirically and analytically—could not compensate for the shortfall in the Russia itself. From the mid-1980s, however, that grim picture began to change: politics in the USSR (perestroika) and the "cultural turn" in the West (revalorizing religion and rejecting the theory of "secularization") generated a revolution in the empirical depth, thematic diversity, and intellectual sophistication of research on confessional history.


Abstract The shear instability occurring at the interface between a slow water layer and a fast air stream is a complex phenomenon driven by momentum and viscosity differences across the interface, velocity gradients as well as by injector geometries. Simulating such an instability under experimental conditions is numerically challenging and few studies exist in the literature. This work aims at filling a part of this gap by presenting a study of the convergence between two-dimensional simulations, linear theory and experiments, in regimes where the instability is triggered by the confinement, i.e. finite thicknesses of gas and liquid streams. It is found that very good agreement between the three approaches is obtained. Moreover, using simulations and linear theory, we explore in detail the effects of confinement on the stability of the flow and on the transition between absolute and convective instability regimes, which is shown to depend on the length scale of the confinement as well as on the dynamic pressure ratio. In the absolute regime under study, the interfacial wave frequency is found to be inversely proportional to the smallest injector size (liquid or gas).


Myelin basic protein (MBP) is considered to be essential for the maintenance of stability of the myelin sheath. Reduction in cationicity of MBP, especially due to conversion of positively charged arginine residues to uncharged citrulline (Cit), has been found to be associated with multiple sclerosis (MS). Here, the interactions of an anionic phosphatidylserine/monosialoganglioside-G(M1) (4:1, w:w) lipid monolayer with 18.5-kDa MBP preparations from age-matched adult humans without MS (no Cit residues), with chronic MS (6 Cit), and with acute Marburg-type MS (18 Cit) were studied by transmission and ultralow dose scanning transmission electron microscopy under cryogenic conditions. Immunogold labeling and single particle electron crystallography were used to define the nature of the complexes visualized. These electron microscopical analyses showed that the three different MBP charge isomers all formed uniformly sized and regularly shaped protein-lipid complexes with G(M1), probably as hexamers, but exhibited differential association with and organization of the lipid. The least cationic Marburg MBP-Cit(18) formed the most open protein-lipid complex. The data show a disturbance in lipid-MBP interactions at the ultrastructural level that is related to degree of citrullination, and which may be involved in myelin degeneration in multiple sclerosis.


A technique is described whereby measurement of the mass absorption coeficients of minerals can be used to give an estimation of the mineral composition. Direct measurements of &srxo on chemically analyzed plagioclases demonstrates the applicability of the method. The straight line regression so derived Irom 41 plagioclase samples gives the following equation: L\ a/o:25.27 rs,x.164.66, with a standard deviation of | 6l a/6 Ln. The method can be extended to other solid solution series, such as olivine, orthopyroxene and zincblende series, and calculated values of ps"6. for different members of these series are presented. By judicious selection of the wavelengths of the absorbed X-ray beam the effects of interfering elements can be reduced to a minimum. Although the experimentai work reported in this paper was done using an X-ray spectrograph, measurements of p can be made using a difiractometer. The advantage of this method over other indirect methods for determining mineral compositions is that the measured values of p are directly related to the chemical compositions of the samples.


The optical rectification (OR) susceptibility of an asymmetric rectangular CdTe/ZnCdTe/ZnTe quantum well (QW) structure is investigated. The asymmetry effect of the potential profile is shown to be barely noticeable on the ground level, however its effect is much stronger in the first excited state. The behavior of OR coefficient M212(M22 − M11) gradually decreases with increasing well width or x composition because of the reduced asymmetry. Also, the OR the coefficient decreases very rapidly with increasing well width because the term M212(M22−M11) decreases with increasing well width Lw. The OR coefficient decreases with increasing composition x and its peak energy is blueshifted. If very large OR coefficients are to be obtained, the use of thin well widths with smaller composition x is desirable.


In order to increase customer satisfaction and competitiveness, manufacturing systems need to combine flexibility with Just-in-Time (JIT) production. Until now, research on JIT scheduling problems has been mostly limited to high volume assembly lines rather than job-shop-like systems, due to their combinatorial complexity. In this paper, we propose a generic strategy for dynamically controlling task schedules by coupling genetic algorithms and distributed arrival-time control to optimise JIT performance. We explore two such hybrid approaches: a sequential approach where the two algorithms work separately and an integrated approach where the distributed arrival time control is embedded into the genetic algorithm. Performance of these approaches is benchmarked with quadratic linear programme solutions to get a gauge of their relative strengths in a static environment. Results from applying these approaches to a job-shop-like automated cell verify their effectiveness for JIT manufacturing under realistic dynamically changing environment.


Ecosystem engineers play fundamental ecological roles by modifying habitats in ways that affect a multitude of other species and by creating refugia with novel microclimates. We hypothesize that burrow‐creating organisms may facilitate climate change adaptation by providing refugia from extreme and fluctuating temperatures found aboveground. We support this hypothesis by showing that large burrow‐dwelling tortoises, Gopherus polyphemus, likely depend upon burrows for thermoregulation. By exploiting the varied thermal conditions within burrows, tortoises avoided lethal temperatures and extreme fluctuations in body temperature, maintained moderate and stable body temperatures on hot days, and maintained relatively warm temperatures overnight. Climate change is predicted to increase maximum air temperatures throughout the geographic range of this species, with impacts most severe in Florida, US, where the range of future conditions could be above that of current maxima. This implies that environmental temperatures will be above lethal thermal limits more often, highlighting the importance of refugia from extreme conditions. Large burrowing animals (e.g. aardvarks, pocket gophers, rabbits, seabirds, tortoises, wombats) are widely distributed globally and could provide similar thermal refugia for countless commensal taxa. Burrows and the animals that create them are in urgent need of conservation, which will help ensure the widespread availability of refugia that offer protection from extreme temperatures under climate change.


Using RT-PCR and a semiquantitative method to detect relative differences in mRNA expression, we examined uterine smooth muscle from both pregnant and non-pregnant women for the expression of members of weak inwardly rectifying 2-pore potassium channel family (TWIK), TREK and TRAAK. We show for the first time that TRAAK transcript is present in uterine smooth muscle, albeit at relatively low levels. The expression of TREK is far more robust. Trek-1 but not TREK-2 was expressed in both pregnant and non-pregnant myometrium. Comparison of TREK-1 expression in several hysterectomy samples relative to 18S ribosomal mRNA suggested that expression may be regulated or could vary from subject to subject since expression was not see in some women. A similar result was obtained in pregnant samples. When all samples expressing TREK-1 were compared, a significant increase in TREK-1 expression was seen in pregnant term tissues from women not in labor.


IFNγ-producing bovine γδ T cells are the major cell population responding in recall responses to Leptospira during the first month following vaccination. The responsive cells bear a subset of the co-receptors known as WC1 which are PRR in the SRCR CD163 superfamily. Annotation of the bovine genome showed there were 13 WC1 molecules coded for by individual genes which are distributed among cells to form a number of γδ T cell subsets. RNA silencing has shown that WC1 co-receptors contribute to the γδ T cell response to leptospira and that the responsive are found within the serologically-defined WC1.1+ γδ T cell subpopulation. Since our data indicate that the WC1 molecules expressed act as pattern recognition receptors interacting directly with bacterial components, we have now evaluated the variegated gene expression of the individual WC1 molecules by specific subsets of gamma delta T cells. We have found that individual cells express more than one WC1 gene product but only a restricted subset of the available 13, generally expressing only 2 or 3. Thus the expression of the WC1 molecules is likely to direct the response by the γδ T cells to pathogens in conjunction with the TCR which is particularly interesting given that the various subsets defined by their WC1 expression also differ functionally with some being pro-inflammatory while others express cytokines consistent with regulatory functions.


Background: Africa will double its population by 2050 and more than half will be below age 25. The continent has a unique opportunity to boost its socioeconomic welfare. This systematic literature review aims to develop a conceptual framework that identifies policies and programs that have provided a favorable environment for generating and harnessing a demographic dividend. This framework can facilitate sub-Saharan African countries' understanding of needed actions to accelerate their demographic transition and capitalize on their demographic dividend potential. Methods: The search strategy was structured around three concepts: economic development, fertility, and sub-Saharan Africa. Databases used included PubMed and EconLit. An inductive approach was employed to expand the reference base further. Data were extracted using literature records following a checklist of items to include when reporting a systematic review suggested in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Statement. Results: The final review consisted of 78 peer-reviewed articles, ten reports from the gray literature, and one book. Data were categorized according to relevant demographic dividend typology: pre-dividend and early-dividend. The results from the literature review were synthesized into a framework consisting of five sectors for pre-dividend countries, namely 1) Governance and Economic Institutions, 2) Family Planning, 3) Maternal and Child Health, 4) Education, and 5) Women's Empowerment. An additional sector, 6) Labor Market, is added for early-dividend countries. These sectors must work together to attain a demographic dividend. Conclusions: A country's demographic transition stage must guide policy and programs. Most sub-Saharan African countries have prioritized job creation and employment for youth, yet their efforts to secure a productive labor market require preliminary and complementary investments in governance, family planning, maternal and child health, education, and women's empowerment. Creating a favorable policy environment for generating and capitalizing on a demographic dividend can support their stated goals for development.


Threat modeling, which is the process of identifying, quantifying and analyzing potential threats of computer-based systems, has become a significant consideration towards designing secure software systems. Despite the previous methods adopted for threat modeling, there are still many systems that are probable to attack. In this work, a fuzzy logic-based threat modeling technique is designed. The technique involves the fuzzification of input variables that is based on six major categories of threats (STRIDE- Spoofing, Tampering, Repudiation, Information Disclosure, Denial of Service, and Elevation of Privilege), rule evaluation, and aggregation of the rule outputs. The design is based on Mamdani-style inference system which is very good for the representation of human reasoning and effective analysis. The implementation is done using MATLAB fuzzy logic tools. Using the design to test five computer systems, the result shows a tool that can be effectively used to analyze potential threats to computer-based systems.


We report large effects of Parisi replica permutation symmetry breaking (RPSB) on elementary excitations of fermionic systems with frustrated magnetic interactions. The electronic density of states is obtained exactly in the zero-temperature limit for (K = 1)-step RPSB together with exact relations for arbitrary breaking K, which lead to a new fermionic and dynamical Parisi solution at K = ∞. The Ward identity for charge conservation indicates RPSB effects on the conductivity in metallic quantum spin glasses. This implies that RPSB is essential for any fermionic system showing spin glass sections within its phase diagram. An astonishing similarity with a neural network problem is also observed.


The term Islamic garden has been defined in various ways considering different aspects and values. These definitions draw a broader perspective to Islamic garden, a key feature of Islamic civilization throughout the history. This paper aims to analyze these views and compare them in order to reach toward a holistic definition for Islamic gardenits origin, evolution, principles and essence. Also searching for a way to revitalize the original essence and application of Islamic gardens in the contemporary societies are discussed in a brief way.


Recently, the concept of near-infrared sensitization is successfully employed to increase the light harvesting in large-bandgap polymer-based solar cells. To gain deeper insights into the operation mechanism of ternary organic solar cells, a comprehensive understanding of charge transfer-charge transport in ternary blends is a necessity. Herein, P3HT:PCPDTBT:PCBM ternary blend films are investigated by transient absorption spectroscopy. Hole transfer from PCPDTBT-positive polarons to P3HT in the P3HT:PCPDTBT:PCBM 0.9:0.1:1 blend film can be visualized. This process evolves within 140 ps and is discussed with respect to the proposed charge-generation mechanisms.


The accuracy of a heterodyne interferometer is often limited by the periodic nonlinearity that arises mainly from imperfect separation of the two optical frequencies. This paper describes a new method for compensation of the nonlinearity in the heterodyne laser interferometer using the quadrature mixing technique for the phase measurement. The compensation technique is based on the elliptical fitting of two phase-quadrature signals obtained by a lock-in amplifier. The brief analysis and compensation scheme of the nonlinearity in the heterodyne interferometer, and the experimental result using a Zeeman stabilized He-Ne laser, have been presented. The results show that the suggested method can compensate for the nonlinearity of the heterodyne interferometer with sub-nanometre accuracy.


Taxes are important sources of public revenue. Value Added Tax (VAT) is VAT is a tax on consumer expenditure. It is collected on business transactions and imports. A taxable person can be an individual, firm, company, as long as such a person is required to be registered for VAT. Even if VAT is one of the most important sources of revenue and its implementation in Ethiopia is infant. This study tried to explore the major problems and prospects of Value-Added Tax (VAT) implementation in Mekelle City Administration. By considering the population size and availability of large numbers of VAT registered business firms, a total of 150 respondents from VAT collectors (registered business firms) and 50 respondents from VAT payers (consumers) were considered. The data gathered from both business tax payers and ultimate consumers were analyzed using soft ware package of Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) version 16. The result of the study indicated that significant number of business community felt that the government is the sole beneficiary of VAT, the willful registration of the businesses has not yet come to the desired level, there is negative perception about the fairness of the payment across the businesses, significant decline in the number of the customers following the implementation of VAT has been observed, many consumers believe that VAT has been the very reason for business firms to impose higher price on products or services delivered and failure to give VAT & to tear down receipts.


The development of UMKM in the process does not always go smoothly, sometimes the business also has obstacles, including being entangled by moneylenders. Therefore, the Assistant Team of Al 'Ula Islamic Financial Institution of STAI Miftahul Ula Nglawak partnered with the NU LKK Nganjuk and Cooperative-UMKM Office of Nganjuk provides capital assistance without interest for MSME community through literacy programs. By using the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) method, this study aims to provide financial management assistance for UMKM Community who were entangeled by moneylenders.  The results of the study indicate social change as follows: (1) awareness increases the productivity and work ethic; (2) the emergence of financial management skills through financial literacy; (3) financial literacy, which is the emergence of financial inclusion, financial passport, and financial access issues; (4) the emergence of efforts optimization to empower financial management capabilities; (5) able to make strategic planning to improve the level of the business community; (6) the emergence of new assistants;  (7) there is a partnership between the assistant team and stakeholders.


We derive analytical predictions for the variance and kurtosis of the equilibrium distribution of allelic effects under stabilizing selection and drift, and for any value of the kurtosis of the distribution of the mutational effects. Numerical results relative to the equilibrium genetic variance are compared with other analytical predictions and with simulation results from the literature. Our prediction is superior for relatively weak selection (or relatively low variance of the mutational effects) and not to small population sizes, where previous methods overestimate the equilibrium genetic variance. The behavior of the equilibrium kurtosis is also illustrated.


Compressive Sensing (CS) suggests that, under certain conditions, a signal can be reconstructed using a small number of incoherent measurements. We propose a novel video CS framework based on Multiple Measurement Vectors (MMV) which is suitable for signals with temporal correlation such as video sequences. In addition, a CS circulant matrix is employed for fast reconstruction. Furthermore, the proposed framework allows the number of CS measurements associated with each frame to be chosen in the decoder rather than the encoder offering robustness compared to the multi-scale approaches. Experimental results on two video sequences exhibiting fast motion and occlusions, show the advantages of the proposed method over the current state-of-the-art in video CS.


Abstract Grubs of the scarabaeid Cyclocephala hirta infected with the milky disease bacterium, Bacillus popilliae (Bp), were more susceptible to the entomopathogenic nematodes Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and Steinernema glaseri than healthy grubs. Increased susceptibility was due to greater ease of nematode penetration through the midguts of Bp-infected insects and occurred after > 10 days exposure to B. popilliae spores. By that time, the bacterium was proliferating rapidly in the insect hemolymph and possibly stressed the insect by physiological starvation. Attraction of the nematodes to the insects and cuticular penetration by the nematodes were ruled out as possible reasons for the enhanced susceptibility of Bp-infected grubs. In greenhouse pot trials, S. glaseri killed more Bp-infected grubs than healthy grubs, whereas no differences were noted with H. bacteriophora. Thus, to achieve the best grub control in the presence of B. popilliae, application of S. glaseri is recommended. The compatibility of B. popilliae and entomopathogenic nematodes in the field is ensured by the existence of a diseased insect class with a low level of susceptibility to the nematode, the presence of B. popilliae in grubs not interfering with nematode progeny production, and the ability of B. popilliae spores to survive invading nematodes and their associated bacteria.


This paper reports on a study of 30 white, middle-class American women who have suffered severe losses in household income as the result of divorce. It argues that subjective interpretations of "downward mobility" following divorce differ for women from two different cohorts or generations. These differences are explained in terms of the dynamics of the domestic cycle that distinguish the two cohorts and in terms of variations in symbolic systems each group maintains as a result of historically specific experiences. The concept of symbolic dialects is developed to analyze these variations. The paper also identifies different adaptive strategies of adjustment to income loss and the ways these affect relations between children and divorced mothers. [American culture, symbolic analysis, income loss, life cycle, divorce, women's studies]


Abstract
PURPOSE: To investigate whether applications of current technology, such as cryolathe and excimer laser, might improve outcomes and increase use of lamellar keratoplasty. METHODS: Six studies were performed, beginning with animals and progressing to human subjects. The first study compared cryolathed with hand-dissected rabbit corneas to ascertain which created a smoother donor interface. The second animal pilot study was done to determine whether thickness of donor cornea resection could be accurately predicted with the cryolathe. A prospective animal trial was then undertaken to compare lamellar keratoplasty outcomes using cryolathed versus hand-dissected tissue. The fourth work extrapolated previous animal findings to lamellar keratoplasty in human disease. Finally, two ongoing studies are described. The first explores the possibility of sutureless lamellar keratoplasty. The second utilizes the excimer laser to dissect the recipient stromal bed. RESULTS: The initial animal pilot study demonstrated a clearer stromal surface in cryolathed versus hand-dissected corneal tissue. The second pilot showed that plano-powered donor tissue could be generated to predetermined thickness. The prospective animal trial revealed that clear grafts of intended thickness could be obtained with cryolathing. Human studies suggested that lamellar keratoplasty using cryolathe-prepared donor tissue may offer superior results to free-hand dissection. Finally, one ongoing study indicates that sutureless lamellar keratoplasty is untenable, and the other shows that clear grafts can be obtained by combining cryolathed donor tissue with recipient photoablation. CONCLUSION: This body of work demonstrates that use of new lamellar keratoplasty technology may offer expanded scope and better outcomes than traditional lamellar keratoplasty techniques.


Specific in vitro glucocorticoid uptake and binding activity of spleen and splenic leukocytes were examined in adult (2- to 3-month-old) and senescent (24- to 28-month-old) male, adrenalectomized Sprague-Dawley and Wistar rats. No significant differences in these parameters were evident between young and old animals of either strain. Moreover, cortisol inhibition of [5-3H]-uridine uptake and the total number of glucocorticoid binding sites of spleen and its leukocytes were found to be similar in these two age groups. It was concluded that age has no effect on the glucocorticoid responsiveness of the splenic tissues of the two strains of male rats studied.


Lipoid pneumonia is a rare form of pneumonia caused by inhalation or aspiration of fat-containing substances like petroleum jelly, mineral oils, certain laxatives, etc. It usually presents as an insidious onset, chronic respiratory illness simulating interstitial lung diseases. Rarely, it may present as an acute respiratory illness, especially when the exposure to fatty substance(s) is massive. Radiological findings are diverse and can mimic many other diseases including carcinoma, acute or chronic pneumonia, ARDS, or a localized granuloma. Pathologically it is a chronic foreign body reaction characterized by lipid-laden macrophages. Diagnosis of this disease is often missed as it is usually not considered in the differential diagnoses of community-acquired pneumonia; it requires a high degree of suspicion. In suspected cases, diagnosis may be confirmed by demonstrating the presence of lipid-laden macrophages in sputum, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, or fine needle aspiration cytology/biopsy from the lung lesion. Treatment of this illness is poorly defined and constitutes supportive therapy, repeated bronchoalveolar lavage, and corticosteroids.


Application of nanotechnology in agriculture especially in the form of nano agrochemicals is increasing nowadays. Agrochemicals such as fertilizers, soil amendments, soil conditioners, pesticides and plant growth promoting hormones have both pros and cons. To overcome the constraints of conventional agrochemicals researchers are focusing on nano agrochemicals. Apart from the high potential and effectiveness these chemicals also have some threats to the human health, environment and ecological balances. With proper assessment of risks associated to these nano agrochemicals threats can be minimised and the potential of nanotechnology in agriculture can be explored to the greater extent. After assessment the risks could be managed by applying three thumb rules as risk prevention, risk mitigation and risk communication. In depth research is required to explore the potential of nanotechnology in agriculture.


The gastroenterology annual/2 Edited by F Kern Jr, and A L Blum. (Pp. 416; illustrated; $55) Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1984. This is the second volume in the series The gastroenterology current annuals, the aim of which is to provide 'thoughtful, critical, timely and thorough reviews' of important developments in gastroenterology on an annual basis. The current volume reviews papers published between July 1982 and July 1983, and contains 11 chapters by 27 authors (none from the UK). The topics covered and the number of references given for each are:the oesophagus (103 references); stomach and duodenum (348); pancreas (278); absorption and malabsorption (67); intestinal electrolyte transport and diarrhoeal disease (130); hormones and neuropeptides of the gut (68); immunology; (80); inflammatory bowel disease (142); vascular physiology and pathophysiology (135); basic gastrointestinal oncology (235); paediatric gastro-enterology (385). But the volume is not merely a compendium of the papers published in the period under review. Without exception I think the reviewers have covered their topics well, offering critical analysis of methodology and interpretation of papers covered, providing links between one paper and another, identifying conceptual developments as they have occurred and drawing attention to gaps in knowledge. There are of course differences in style and approach between the different groups of authors. I liked in particular the thoughtful chapter on stomach and duodenum (Koelz, Malinowska, and Muller-Lissner), the authoritative chapter by Sarles and colleagues on the pancreas, the pellucid contribution by Makhlouf on hormones and neuropeptides of the gut, the gutsy (pun intended) chapter by Singleton on inflammatory bowel disease, and above all the outstanding review on basic gastrointestinal oncology by Bresalier and colleagues this is a mine of information. The volume meets the aims of the editors and would provide a very useful resource for everyone who wishes to keep abreast of the rapid developments in gastroenterology. I warmly recommend it. If the standards of this volume are maintained in the future, Gastroenterology current annuals are assured of a wide readership.


Transcatheter closure of ventricular septal defect (VSD) has been widely used worldwide. Despite high success rate and minimal operative mortality, arrhythmia during and post‐operation has been frequently observed. However, sustained ventricular tachycardia following deployment of occluder has not been reported. In this present case, we present one rare case of late‐onset sustained ventricular tachycardia, which developed 71 hr after deployment of an Amplatzer‐type occluder for perimembranous VSD (PmVSD) in a 3‐year and 5‐month‐old boy. The sustained ventricular tachycardia was successfully corrected with the administration of lidocaine, amiodarone, and dexamethasone. The reoccurrence of ventricular tachycardia was not observed in the most recent follow‐up at 6 month. In summary, the current case indicated that sustained ventricular tachycardia could occur following deployment of Amplatzer‐type occluder for PmVSD, which could be corrected with antiarrhythmic drugs. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


MOTIVATION
Mammalian genomes contain many 'genomic fossils' i.e. pseudogenes. These are disabled copies of functional genes that have been retained in the genome by gene duplication or retrotransposition events. Pseudogenes are important resources in understanding the evolutionary history of genes and genomes.

RESULTS
We have developed a homology-based computational pipeline ('PseudoPipe') that can search a mammalian genome and identify pseudogene sequences in a comprehensive and consistent manner. The key steps in the pipeline involve using BLAST to rapidly cross-reference potential "parent" proteins against the intergenic regions of the genome and then processing the resulting "raw hits" -- i.e. eliminating redundant ones, clustering together neighbors, and associating and aligning clusters with a unique parent. Finally, pseudogenes are classified based on a combination of criteria including homology, intron-exon structure, and existence of stop codons and frameshifts.


The study was made of marker distribution of 17 hereditary polymorphism systems in 493 patients with myocardial infarction (MI) and 422 healthy subjects. The prognostic system for determination of predisposition or resistance to MI development has been designed in accordance with marker occurrence in the patients and healthy subjects basing on Bayer's method. When the sum of the prognostic ratios of all the markers is +5 scores and more there is a high risk of MI, when this sum is -6 scores and less the resistance to its genesis is predicted. The proposed prognostic system makes it possible to predict predisposition to myocardial infarction at an early age and, therefore, to take preventive measures.


PURPOSE
Hepatotoxicity is one of the most important side effects of the statins therapy as lipid-lowering agents. However, the mechanism(s) of hepatotoxicity induced by these drugs is not clearly understood yet, and no hepatoprotective agent has been developed against this complication.

METHODS
The protective effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) against statins-induced cytotoxicity was evaluated by using freshly isolated rat hepatocytes. Hepatocytes were prepared by the method of collagenase enzyme perfusion via portal vein. This technique is based on liver perfusion with collagenase after removal of calcium ion (Ca2+) with a chelator (ethylene glycol tetra acetic acid (EGTA) 0.5 mM). The level of parameters such as cell death, ROS formation, lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in the statins-treated hepatocytes were determined. Additionally, the mentioned markers were assessed in the presence of NAC.

RESULTS
Incubation of hepatocytes with the statins resulted in cytotoxicity characterized by an elevation in cell death, increasing ROS generation and consequently lipid peroxidation and impairment of mitochondrial function. Administration of NAC caused reduction in amount of ROS formation, lipid peroxidation and finally, cell viability and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were improved.

CONCLUSION
This study confirms that oxidative stress and consequently mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the mechanisms underlying the statins-induced liver injury and treating hepatocytes by NAC (200 μM) attenuates this cytotoxicity.


Activin A, a ligand that belongs to the BMP/TGFß family, functions in BMP signaling in two distinctly different ways: it binds to its cognate type II receptors – ACVR2A, ACVR2B, and BMPR2 – and the resulting complex either engages the type I receptor ACVR1B to activate Smad2/3 signaling or binds with the type I receptor ACVR1 to form a non-signaling complex. In order to set the stage for exploring potential biological roles of the non-signaling complex, we engineered Activin A variants that retain their ability to activate ACVR1B but are unable to generate the Activin A•type II receptor•ACVR1 non-signaling complex. This was accomplished by designing Activin A muteins wherein type I-binding regions were replaced with those of Nodal, a BMP/TGFß family member that utilizes ACVR1B but not ACVR1 as its type I receptor. Of the resulting muteins, an Activin A utilizing the finger 2 tip loop of Nodal (Activin A.Nod.F2TL) fulfilled our specifications; it failed to generate the non-signaling complex, yet activated ACVR1B akin to wild type Activin A. Furthermore, a single amino acid, D406, appears to be a main driver of this interaction, as its deletion results in a mutein that is similar in activity to Activin A.Nod.F2TL. These results define a region of Activin A that is important for the formation of the non-signaling complex and set the stage for engineering knock-in mice where the role of the non-signaling complex can be explored.


Experience-dependent synaptic plasticity is important for learning and memory and regulated by the functions of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) glutamate receptors. Glucocorticoids have been shown to augment synaptic potentiation processes during stress, however the underlying mechanisms have not been fully described. In this study, we have investigated the role of the Adenylyl cyclases in glucocorticoid enhancement of synaptic potentiation. We report that stress-induced glucocorticoid secretion augments phosphorylation and postsynaptic localisation of GluA1. These effects were reproduced in adrenalectomised rats treated with a stress-equivalent dose of corticosterone; and blocked by pre-treatment with the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) antagonist RU-486. Selective pharmacological inhibition of adenylyl cyclase activity with SQ22536 ablated the glucocorticoid-induced increase in phosphorylated GluA1, and reversed glucocorticoid-dependent LTP enhancement. Glucocorticoid exposure also induced induce a rapid increase in translation of hippocampal adenylyl cyclases 1 and 8, indicating a further potential role in mediating the longer-term consequences of stress. These data support a key role for adenylyl cyclases in facilitating the modulatory actions of glucocorticoid hormones on AMPA receptor regulation of learning and memory; initially as an acute mediator of the hormonally induced stress increase in LTP, then potentially in mediating adaptive changes for subsequent stress effects.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
The association of esophageal motility and gastroesophageal reflux symptoms with respiratory symptoms is not well established in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of this work is to study the abnormalities of esophageal function in COPD patients and study its relation to smoking index, body mass index and indices of hyperinflation.

METHODOLOGY
This study included 40 male COPD patients and 10 healthy controls. The patients and controls were subjected to spirometry, body plethysmography, esophageal manometry and 24hr pH-metry.

RESULTS
Upper gastrointestinal symptoms were found in 55% of patients, hypotensive upper esophageal sphincter pressure in 65% of patients and hypotensive lower esophageal sphincter pressure in 52.5% of patients. Pathological acid reflux was found in 35% of patients. The severity of GERD increased with increased age, smoking index and body mass index, p<0.005. There was negative correlation between LESP and UESP compared with indices of hyperinflation, p<0.001.

CONCLUSIONS
There was high prevalence of esophageal motility disorders in COPD patients, LESP and UESP were significantly negatively correlated to indices of hyperinflation. There was a high prevalence of GERD in COPD patents especially elderly, severe stage of COPD, high smoking index and high body mass index (BMI).


Today, in the traditional musical performances, performers play notes and make music according to conductor's instructions. This is a usual situation for all. Especially concerts which we went to as an audience, when we have pieces down pat or recognize, it leads us to think less. Thus, it also ensures that we engage in an event of a single-sided audience. Soundpainting is the multidisciplinary live composing sign language for Musicians, Dancers, Actors and Visual Artists created by Walter Thompson in Woodstock, New York 1974. Presently (2015) the language comprises more than 1500 gestures that are signed by the Soundpainter to indicate the type of the material desired by the performers. The creation of the composition is realized through the parameters of each set of signed gestures. The Soundpainter (the composer) standing in front (usually) of the group communicates a series of signs using hand and body gestures indicating specific and/or aleatoric material to be performed by the group. The Soundpainter develops the responses of the performers, molding and shaping them into the composition then signs another series of gestures, a phrase, and continues on this process of composing the piece. Soundpainting is a useful tool to create dialogue between not only Soundpainter and performers but also soundpainter and audience. Soundpainters' signs gesture to community and at the same time he can sign gestures to audience and then they respond in sound. Then Soundpainter determines the next instruction based on the response. By this way Soundpainting brings audience into the active component of the performance as communicate among Soundpainter, performers and audience. This research is a qualitative study and data was obtained by literature


The multiplication operation is present in many parts of a digital system or digital computer, most notably in signal processing, graphics and scientific computation. With advances in technology, various techniques have been proposed to design multipliers, which offer high speed, low power consumption and lesser area. Thus making them suitable for various high speeds, low power compact VLSI implementations. These three parameters i.e. power, area and speed are always traded off. This thesis work is devoted for the design and simulation of Radix-8 Booth Encoder multiplier for signed-unsigned numbers. The Radix-8 Booth Encoder circuit generates n/3 the partial products in parallel. By extending sign bit of the operands and generating an additional partial product the signed of unsigned Radix-8 Booth Encoder multiplier is obtained. The Carry Save Adder (CSA) tree and the final Carry Look ahead (CLA) adder used to speed up the multiplier operation. Since signed and unsigned multiplication operation is performed by the same multiplier unit the required hardware and the chip area reduces and this in turn reduces power dissipation and cost of a system. Verilog coding of multiplier for signed and unsigned numbers using Radix-4 booth encoder and Radix-8 booth encoder for 8X8 bit multiplication and their FPGA implementation by Xilinx Synthesis Tool on Spartan 3 kit have been done. The output has been displayed on LED of Spartan 3 kit.


The aim of this study was to investigate the Correlations between the Simulated Military Tasks Performance and Physical Fitness Tests at high altitude. This research is part of a project to modernize the physical fitness test of the Colombian Army. Data collection was performed at the 13th Battalion of Instruction and Training, located 30km south of Bogota D.C., with a temperature range from 1oC to 23oC during the study period, and at 3100m above sea level. The sample was composed by 60 volunteers from three different platoons. The volunteers start the data collection protocol after 2 weeks of acclimation at this altitude. The main results were the identification of a high positive correlation between the 3 Assault wall in succession and the Simulated Military Tasks performance (r = 0.764, p<0.001), and a moderate negative correlation between pull-ups and the Simulated Military Tasks performance (r = -0.535, p<0.001). It can be recommended the use of the 20-consecutive overtaking of the 3 Assault wall in succession as a good way to estimate the performance in operational tasks which involve: assault walls, network of wires, military Climbing Nets, Tarzan jump among others, at high altitude.


Abstract The focus of this article is the emergent and potential indications of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). Emergent applications of CEUS techniques include extravascular and intracavitary contrast-enhanced ultrasound, quantitative assessment of microvascular circulation for tumor response assessment, and tumor characterization using dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US). Potential indications for microbubble agents include novel molecular imaging and drug and gene delivery techniques, which have been successfully tested in animal models. "Comments and Illustrations of the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (EFSUMB) Non-Liver Guidelines 2011" which focus more on established applications are published in the same supplement to Ultraschall in der Medizin (European Journal of Ultrasound).


This paper presents a pioneer study of speech prosody and musical prosody in modern popular music, with a specific attention to music where the voice is closer to speech than to sing. The voice in music is a complex system in which linguistic and musical systems are coupled and interact dynamically. This paper establishes a new definition of the musical prosody in order to model the specific relations between the voice and the music systems in this kind of music. Additionally, it presents a methodology to measure the musical prosody from the speech and music signals. An illustration is presented to assess whether the speech prosody and the musical prosody can characterize the phonostyle of a speaker, by comparison of three American-English rappers dating from the beginning of the 2000's. The main finding is that not only the rappers can be characterized and distinguished by their speech prosody, but also by their musical prosody, i.e. by the degree of synchronization between their lyrics with the musical system.


Ultrafine terbium-doped Lu2Hf2O7/Tb phosphor powders are prepared by a solution combustion process using glycine and urea as fuel. Phase evolution of the synthesized powder is determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. Single-phase cubic Lu2Hf2O7/Tb crystalline powder is obtained by calcining the amorphous materials at 800oC and no intermediate phase is observed. Transmission electronic microscope (TEM) morphology shows that the resultant Lu2Hf2O7/Tb powders have uniform size and good homogeneity. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of Tb3+ substituted for Lu3+ in Lu2Hf2O7 with different content has been measured on samples calcined at 1000oC.


ABSTRACT A methodology for enabling the implementation of the Digital Twins (DTs) of industrial robots and complex machines is presented. The enabled DT can provide a series of benefits, for instance when combined with the degradation curves of critical health indicators can allow predicting the robots' RUL. This paper suggests a systematic and generic methodology to address challenges such as (1) the definition of the physics-based model parameters for accurate DTs, (2) selection of the parameters to tune and the frequency of their tuning to capture the physical changes in the digital world, (3) calculation of new modeling parameters values based on the collected filed data and their automated propagation to the digital model. A software module to implement these functionalities was developed, whereas the testing and validation of the module were held for an industrial robotic manipulator for a manufacturing application. The results prove that the methodology is generic to accommodate the desired granularity per case, and that the tuning of the digital model ensures realistic DTs, which sets the foundation for physics-based predictive maintenance tools.


Daily life microlevel processes, assessed with Ambulatory Assessment (AA) have recently shown to contribute to a better understanding of macrolevel syndromes and constitute potential AA-phenotypes influencing onset and course of recurrent depression. Further, cognitive risk factors, such as rumination, have been shown to be linked to impaired attentional processes in remitted depressed (rMDD) individuals, presumably resulting in an increased risk of relapse. Mindfulness-Based Interventions aim to improve attentional processes in rMDD individuals and effectively reduce relapse risk in recurrent depression. Based on a longitudinal investigation (Study 1) and a Randomized Control Trail (RCT, Study 2) the present thesis investigated cognitive and affective AA-phenotypes as predictors for the long-term course of recurrent depression and examined effects of a Mindfulness-Based Attention Training (MBAT) on respective daily life processes.
Study 1 aimed to investigate the impact of cognitive and affective AA-phenotypes on the long-term symptom course in 57 recurrently depressed individuals during a three-year follow-up interval. Level and instability of baseline AA variables were aggregated and used as predictors for time to relapse, chronicity, and maintenance of depressive symptoms thereby combing AA data with longitudinal macrolevel outcomes. Results of Study 1 indicate that daily life affective instability predicts time to relapse, while instability of daily life rumination appears to influence persistence of depressive symptoms over a three-year interval in recurrently depressed individuals. These findings support the assumption that cognitive and affective daily life processes may represent important AA-phenotypes that are prospectively linked to clinical outcomes in depression.
Study 2 investigated short-term effects of a four-week Mindfulness-Based Attention Training (MBAT) compared to an active control training (Progressive Muscle Relaxation – PMR) on cognitive and affective AA-phenotypes in a new sample of 78 remitted depressed (rMDD) individuals. Both trainings were highly standardized and AA-outcomes (positive and negative affect, rumination and self-acceptance) were assessed three days before and after trainings each with 10 assessments per day. The RCT study identified significant intervention effects demonstrating a beneficial influence of MBAT compared to PMR on all AA-outcomes with reduced negative affect and rumination and increased positive affect and self-acceptance. The beneficial effects of MBAT were particularly evident in those individuals with more previous episodes and therewith those at highest vulnerability for relapse. Thus, respective changes in cognitive and affective states may reflect potential mechanisms of action in mindfulness-based intervention research.
Both studies offer new insights into the understanding of daily life cognitive and affective AA-phenotypes as potential vulnerability factors of recurrent depression and their changeability through appropriate interventions.


Introduction Watermelon is a fruit that is usually produced in large scales in many reigns of Iran. The annual production of watermelon in Iran is more than 3 million tons. Watermelon not only is a rich source of some vitamins and essential minerals, but also it contains considerable levels of secondary materials such as antioxidants. More than 25% of watermelon is skin and most of nutrients and secondary substances that present in whole watermelon, can be find in watermelon skin. In our country we usually do not use in all circumstances and change to garbage and discharge to environment and increase the environmental problems. As, watermelon skin is a valuable source of some essential nutrients and secondary substances and has low price, so it thought that using it in broiler diets not only can improve their performance and body health status, but also can solve some of environmental problems. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different levels of watermelon skin powder with and without using enzyme on performance, carcass traits, blood biochemical parameters and immunity system of broilers.
Materials and Methods This experiment was conducted as a (4*2) factorial arrangement included 4 levels (0, 2, 4 and 6% watermelon skin) and two levels (0 and 0.025% enzyme) with 384 Ross-308 broilers in 8 treatments, 4 replicates and 12 chicks in each replicate in two experiment period (grower from 11 to 24 days and finisher from 25 to 42 days) in a completely randomized design. Chicks were fed from 1 to 10 days with a common starter diet that recommended by Ross company. During experiment birds had free access to water and feed. Measuring of weight gain and feed intake were done at the end of experiment periods and feed conversion ratio was calculating by dividing the amount of feed intake to the amount of weight gain.
Results and Discussion Different levels of watermelon skin powder and enzyme had significant effects on performance of broilers (P>0.05). Use of watermelon skin in 2% in diet increased the amounts of daily weight gain and final live weight of chicks and improved their feed conversion ratio (P>0.05). Different levels of watermelon skin powder had no effects on the amount of daily feed intake (P>0.05). Feeding enzyme in diet increased the amount of chicks final live weight (P>0.05). Different levels of watermelon skin powder and enzyme had no significant effects on carcass traits and immune condition (P>0.05). Watermelon skin could not significantly change the values of blood biochemical parameters, but using enzyme in diet, significantly reduce the amount of blood low density lipoprotein( LDL) (P>0.05). Without LDL, other blood biochemical parameters did not significantly change by using watermelon powder (P>0.05) Improving of performance by using watermelon skin powder can be having some reasons. As previously mentioned, watermelon skin is a valuable source of essential nutrients such as vitamins and minerals and useful secondary substances such as antioxidants. These matters can supply sufficient amounts of essential nutrients those need for health and growth of broilers and upgrade body health condition. Watermelon skin is a main source of diet potassium. Potassium is an effective nutrient in heat stress. As, the present study was done in summer, so this element may be had good effects on broiler performance. As watermelon skin contain highly amount of crude dietary fiber and birds especially broilers cannot tolerate highly level of crude fiber in their diets, so, using enzyme in broiler diets can degrade the crude fiber physical structure and improve the digestion efficiency of broilers. As seen in the present study, enzyme with watermelon skin in contrast to diets did not contain enzyme, improved the amounts of daily weight gain, final live weight and feed conversion ratio of broilers and reduced the amount of feed price for one kilogram of body weight gain.
Conclusion The overall results showed that in broilers, using 6% of watermelon skin not only do not make any adverse effects on broiler performance, but also in contrast to diet with no watermelon skin, can improve some of them. However in absent of enzyme, the best result was obtained with diet contained 2% watermelon skin powder. More than 2% increased the amount of feed price for one kilogram of weight gain. Using enzyme with watermelon skin not only reduced the feed price, but also improved the final weight of chicks.


Handover performance is very important when evaluating IP mobility protocols. If not performed efficiently, handover delays, jitters, and packet loss directly impact application performance. We propose a new architecture for providing efficient handover, while being able to coexist with other protocols. We propose a paradigm for multicast-based micromobility (M&M), where a visiting mobile is assigned a multicast address to use while moving within a domain. The multicast address is obtained using algorithmic mapping, and handover is achieved using multicast join/prune mechanisms. This paper outlines a framework for the design and evaluation of micromobility protocols. We define a suite of protocols (called candidate access router set) to enable multiple-access routers to receive traffic for the mobile node. By changing the number of such routers, timing, and buffering parameters, the protocol may be fine-tuned for specific technologies (e.g., 802.11) and handover scenarios. Extensive NS-2 simulations are used to compare M&M with other micromobility schemes-cellular Internet protocol (CIP) and handoff-aware wireless access Internet infrastructure (HAWAII). For proactive handover scenarios, our results show that M&M and CIP show lower handover delay and packet reordering than HAWAII. M&M, however, handles multiple border routers in a domain, where CIP fails. Also, for scenarios of reactive handover and coverage gaps M&M clearly outperforms CIP and HAWAII.


Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC

Amplification of MYC is one of the most common genetic alterations in lung cancer, contributing to a myriad of phenotypes associated with growth, invasion and drug resistance. Murine genetics has established both the centrality of somatic alterations of Kras in lung cancer, as well as dependency of Kras-dependent tumors on c-Myc function. Unfortunately, drug-like small-molecule inhibitors of KRAS and c-Myc have yet to be realized. The recent discovery in hematologic malignancies that bromodomain inhibition impairs MYC expression and MYC-dependent transcriptional function prompted the possibility of targeting KRAS-driven NSCLC with a potent, prototypical BET bromodomain inhibitor, JQ1. Here, we report that NSCLC cells harboring the KRAS mutation are sensitive to JQ1 while NSCLC cells with concurrent mutant KRAS and LKB1 mutations are resistant to JQ1. In sensitive NSCLC models, JQ1 treatment results in the coordinate downregulation of the MYC-dependent transcriptional program. Furthermore, we evaluated JQ1 in transgenic mouse lung cancer models expressing mutant kras or concurrent mutant kras and lkb1. We found that JQ1 treatment produces significant tumor regression in mutant kras mice. As predicted, tumors from mutant kras and lkb1 mice did not respond to JQ1. Together, these data provide a compelling rationale for the study of BET bromodomain inhibitors in a common, genetically-defined population of patients with aggressive NSCLC.

Citation Format: Takeshi Shimamura, Zhao Chen, Margaret Soucheray, Julian Carretero, Eiki Kikuchi, Jeremy H. Tchaicha, Yandhi Gao, Katherine A. Cheng, Travis J. Cohoon, Jun Qi, Esra A. Akbay, Alec C. Kimmelman, Andrew L. Kung, James E. Bradner, Kwok Kin Wong. Efficacy of BET bromodomain inhibition in Kras-positive non-small cell lung cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1126. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-1126


The medical management of stroke is often a dynamic process. While treatment regimens have been established, practitioners and patients are constantly searching for new techniques to improve patient outcomes. The use of treatments not traditionally taught in medical schools has begun to gain popularity. Reports suggest that up to 40% of adults living in the United States and elsewhere have used some form of Complimentary and Alternative Medicine to treat a health problem (Astin et al. 2000). Physicians and researchers are also using standard interventions in new ways to treat difficult medical complications. New applications for medications and technologies are regularly being evaluated. In this review, we examine the use of miscellaneous treatments as they relate to patients who have suffered a stroke. Evidence regarding complimentary and alternative medicine, medications used for the treatment of motor and language recovery, and new technological therapies are evaluated. Alternative therapies include acupuncture, traditional Chinese patent medicine, Reiki, and massage therapy. Medications include those specifically used to aid in motor and language recovery. New technological therapies assessed are hyperbaric oxygen therapy, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, and motor cortex stimulation.


Differential mortality as a function of birth weight was studied in Japan in the years 1969, 1974 and 1984. During the 15-year interval of observation a progressive equalization of mortality in the birth weight classes near the mean was found both for perinatal mortality as a whole and for its two components, stillbirth and mortality within the 1st week of life. The relaxation of selection on this metric trait is confirmed by the analysis of the variation over time of intensity of selection. A comparison of the Japanese population with other populations so far studied is also presented.


The objective of this study was to examine the effect of taxpayers willingness and financial performances of the banking companies on compliance behavior of corporate taxpayers mediated by optimal tax reporting, by referring to stakeholder theory, cognitive behavior theory, ability to pay theory, willingness to pay theory, and performance benchmarking method. The population was 42 active banking companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange during the period of 2013-2015. A total of 33 samples of the banking companies was collected using the purposive sampling method. The analysis method used was Partial Least Square (PLS). Data were collected by using the technique of documentation taken from the audited banking companies' financial statements of 2013-2015 and from the summary of financial statement listed on the Indonesian Capital Market Directory. The results of the study found a significant effect that the optimal tax reporting mediated the effect of taxpayers willingness and banking companies' financial performance on the compliance behavior of the corporate taxpayers (extending the theory of willingness to pay). But, the financial performances of the banking companies did not have a significant effect on the compliance behavior of the corporate taxpayers (rejecting the theory of ability to pay). Keywords: Willingness, Banking, Financial Performances, Tax Reporting, Compliance Behavior, Indonesia Stock Exchange.


Article reviews the International Scientific Conference, devoted to 80 th anniversary of Tuvan written language, held in Kyzyl, Tuva on July 1-4, 2010.


The interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy multi-attribute decision making problems are investigated, in which the decision information is expressed as interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy decision matrices, and the information about attribute weights is incomplete. The score matrix of the interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy decision matrix is constructed. Based on the score matrix and the given attribute weight information, several optimization models are established to generate optimal weights for attributes. Furthermore, a procedure is developed to identify the best alternative(s). Finally, a global supplier selection example is used to illustrate the developed procedure.


Myocardial ischemia and peripheral vascular disease persist as significant clinical problems despite improved medical, surgical, and endovascular therapies. Advances in our understanding of the biological mechanisms that govern capillary neovascularization and collateral artery growth have enabled molecular therapies for revascularizing ischemic tissues. Generally known as therapeutic angiogenesis, this review summarizes the essential pre-clinical research and the major clinical trials of molecular therapies for ischemic disease. Early clinical experience has established the proof of principle, however, inconsistent and modest improvements in clinical outcomes have exposed the complexity of neovascularization and problems with transitioning basic science to clinical applicability.


Concept similarity has been intensively researched in the natural language processing domain due to its important role in many applications such as language modeling and information retrieval. There are few studies on measuring concept similarity in visual domain, though concept based multimedia information retrieval has attracted a lot of attentions. In this paper, we present a scalable framework for such a purpose, which is different from traditional approaches to exploring correlation among concepts in image/video annotation domain. For each concept, a model based on feature distribution is built using sample images collected from the Internet. And similarity between concepts is measured with the similarity between their models. Hereby, a Gaussian mixture model (GMM) is employed to model each concept and two similarity measurements are investigated. Experimental results on 13,974 images of 16 concepts collected through image search engines have demonstrated that the similarity between concepts is very close to human perception. In addition, the entropy of GMM cluster distributions can be a good indication of selecting concepts for image/video annotation.


The purpose of the study for this thesis is to look into the status and issues of government office building since the self-government policy through comparing and analyzing government office buildings, between domestically and to provide improvement plans of the citizen cultural space and with the self-government budget, enhance the utility and efficiency of the government office buildings and to take a role of a reference in the future when citizen cultural space is formed in the government office buildings. As the result of the study, the space planning characteristics of government office building`s citizen cultural space in terms of cultural administration is as follows. First, percentage of room to strengthen the sense of community is small. Therefore, the place where resident can argue there is a need. Second, it is necessary to expand the venue and art collection that are missing in public government buildings. Third, since the lecture room for lack of civic education, it should be taken into account when making cultural space for the citizens. Fourth, thread observatory and souvenir shops, providing information is not enough, it is to be further expanded. Fifth, rented facility for public is hall be provided with a diversity.


The internal solvent-filled cavity of a singlewalled spherical phospholipid vesicle must be at essentially the same pressure as the aqueous medium outside the vesicle. Whether or not the bilayer itself is under elevated pressure cannot at present be determined.


The variable sampling rate (VSR) schemes for detecting the shift in process mean have been extensively analyzed; however, adding the VSR feature to the control charts for monitoring process dispersion has not been thoroughly investigated. In this research, a novel VSR control scheme, sequential exponentially weighted moving average inverse normal transformation (EWMA INT) at fixed times chart (called (SEIFT) chart), which integrates the sequential EWMA scheme at fix times with the INT statistic, is proposed to detect both the increase and decrease in process dispersion. Moreover, the sample size at each sampling time is also allowed to vary. The Markov chain method is used to evaluate the performance of this new control chart. Numerical analysis reveals that this SEIFT chart gives significant improvement on detection ability than the fixed sampling rate schemes. Compared with other control schemes, the good properties of the INT statistic makes this SEIFT chart easy to design and convenient to implement. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


UNLABELLED
To investigate the possible association between serum uric acid levels, serum C-Reactive Protein (CRP), and age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). A total 232 patients of the eye department at Hospital Tuanku Ja'afar, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia were recruited over 9 weeks. Participants were divided into ARMD (Non-Neovascular ARMD, and Neovascular ARMD) and control groups. 107 participants with non-neovascular ARMD, 6 with neovascular ARMD, and 119 controls participated in the study. The control patients had a similar average Serum Uric Acid level to the average of all patients with ARMD (P = 0.617).

CONTROL GROUP
mean 299.19 micromol/l +/- std dev. 89.847 micromol/l. ARMD group: mean 302.53 micromol/l +/- std dev. 80.794 micromol/l. The average serum uric acid levels were higher in patients with neovascular ARMD (median = 397 mean +/- std dev = 389.67 +/- 38 micromol/l) than in the non-neovascular ARMD group (288.5 micromol/l, 297.86 +/- 80.26 micromol/l), and control group (295.5 micromol/l, 299.19 +/- 89.95 micromol/l). Comparing the standardised serum uric acid levels in the control group (Median = 0.5) against the two ARMD groups separately, there was no significant difference to the non-neovascular group (P = 0.448) but there was a difference significant to the neovascular ARMD group (P = 0.044). The neovascular and non-neovascular ARMD groups had median CRP value of 0.25 mg/l and were not significantly different. There is no association between serum uric acid levels and ARMD as a whole. There is potentially an association between serum uric acid and neovascular ARMD, an association needs to be established further. There is no association between serum CRP and ARMD.


This study describes the development and psychometric properties of the Dutch brief form of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ-BF-NL). Representative samples from the Netherlands (N = 1,055) and the United States (N = 1,153) and a Dutch student sample (N = 987) were used for development, cross- and external validation, respectively. The authors' strategy for item selection and scale validation replicated the development of the U.S. brief form (MPQ-BF). Internal consistencies were generally good and comparable to the U.S. version, as were correlations with the U.S. full-length scales and higher order structure. Moreover, convergent and divergent patterns were consistent with prediction, with Positive Emotionality related to social and activating behavior, Negative Emotionality to anxiety, and Constraint to reversed impulsivity and externalizing behaviors. In sum, the MPQ-BF-NL provides the Dutch-Flemish language area with a personality inventory well suited for both psychopathology research and clinical practice and offers new opportunities for fundamental and cross-cultural studies on personality.


The objective of present experimental work was to optimize processing parameters of ocular liposomes using artificial neural network (ANN) as an optimization tool. The human eye is easily accessible site for topical dosing of drugs intended for local action or in the interior of the eye. Ganc iclovir (GCV) is a synthetic analogue of 2' - deoxy - guanosine used in treatment and prevention of cytomegalovirus infections and in treatment of ocular herpes infection (orphan disease). The poor bioavailability (5 - 9 %) of this drug has lead development of ocular liposome to improve the bioavailability and enhance therapeutic effectiveness. GCV loaded liposomes were prepared by classic al rotary flask evaporation method using HSPC/DSPG as lipid part and cho lesterol as vesicle stabilizer. Box - B ehnken design was applied on the selected processing parameters i.e. flask speed (X1), hydration volume (X2) and hydration te mperature (X3) whereas the formulation variables were kept constant. The feed forward back propagation neural network (BP NN ) method was optimized using experimental data and validated for accurate prediction of dependent variables. The obtained root mean square value of the tr a ined ANN model was 0.00004 , which indicated that the optimal model was reached. T he predicted data from ANN and the experimental data were compared by chi square test which showed no significant difference. The results conclude that the ANN model provides accurate prediction and should be further explored in optimization of novel pharmaceutical formulations.


This study was conducted to determine if third grade reading performance improved as a result of first year implementation of the Scott Foresman Reading Street program, obtain the overall satisfaction level of the certified instructional personnel using the new curriculum, and identify predictors that may improve future student performance. Reading performance was measured using the Stanford Achievement Test-10 (SAT-10). Although slight improvements in student outcome data were noted during the initial implementation year, no statistically significant differences between the performance of third grade participants before and after the implementation of Reading Street were found. A literature review revealed that it is common for reading achievement to remain the same or decrease following curriculum change. These findings appear characteristic of the reported curvilinear nature of reading curriculum implementation. Questionnaire data indicated that educators were very satisfied with Reading Street , and no specific predictors that may improve future performance within the participating population were revealed.


Couching the constitutional inquiry in cases like Bakke and VMl in the context of integration also puts in perspective the diversity justification. Affirmative action policies are constitutional because they integrate state programs. Integration on the basis of race and sex also diversifies state programs. In contrast, attempts to justify sex-segregation in state programs by arguing the policy promotes diversity is irrelevant to an equal protection analysis. Voluntarily created all-female schools should be constitutional because they promote the equal citizenship of women without damaging the equal citizenship stature of men. This is true for voluntarily race-segregated programs for minorities; as well. Similarly, the diversity justification offered by Virginia merely highlights the inequality perpetuated by the exclusively-male policy. Equal protection does not protect the privileged citizenship stature of men at the expense of the equal citizenship rights of women. Moreover, the implicit suggestion that a male-only policy could pass constitutional muster if adopted with the actual purpose of promoting diversity undermines that part of the opinion that strikes down Virginia's second justification that the policy is necessary to create "citizensoldiers" out of the male cadets. VMI's policy is unconstitutional because it denies women equal citizenship. This rationale alone is sufficient to invalidate the policy and would also be sufficient to invalidate a similar white-only policy in a state program like VMI. In short, cases like Bakke and VMl are about integration, not diversity. Diversity is the red herring of equal protection analysis.


Using the work of Manuel Castells as a starting point, this article explores the ambivalent relationship between globalization and European integration and the variety of ways in which the mainstream political science of the EU has attempted to deal with this issue. The analysis here suggests that various 'mainstreaming' disciplinary norms induce types of work that fail to address fully the somewhat paradoxical and counter-intuitive range of possible relationships between globalization and European integration. The article explores critically four possible analytical ways out of this paradox—abandonment of the concept of globalization, the development of definition precision in globalization studies, the reorientation of work to focus on globalization as discourse, and inter- and post-disciplinarity. The argument suggests that orthodox discussions of the relationship require a notion of social geography that sits at odds with much of the literature on globalization and while greater dialogue between disciplines is to be welcomed, a series of profound epistemological questions need to be confronted if studies of the interplay between global and social process are to be liberated from their disciplinary chains.


The recent proliferation of various smart devices like the smartphone, tablet PC, and smart TV enables consumers to download various applications from the network and to access private files stored in their desktop server at any time and at any place. The trend of ubiquitous access seems to have become stronger and more diversified toward a ubiquitous network computing environment with the aggressive deployment of commercial cloud services. Recently, many Korean network service providers launched commercial B2C public cloud services, which were widely adopted by smart device users. They include Daum cloud, N drive, ucloud, and uplus box, mostly provided by major Korean telecom companies and portals. This paper aims to explore consumers` adoption behaviors toward the B2C public cloud services that were recently deployed in the Korean market. In order to achieve the goal, we identified key influencing factors that affect the consumers` adoption behaviors, based on an extension of the technology acceptance model (TAM). Several hundred smart device users were surveyed to test the generic regression model with the extended set of TAM variables.


The study analysed the relationship between high counts of common naevi and numbers of atypical naevi (AN) in sites differing in exposure to the sun. A series of 90 subjects with 100 or more common naevi (cases) and 92 controls was investigated by means of a case‐control study. A striking association between high numbers of common naevi and prevalence of AN (whole body) was found. The adjustment for phenotype and phototype did not obscure this association. Similar findings were obtained after exclusion of subjects with familiarity for melanoma. Cases had more AN than controls in all the body sites, except for the buttocks, where sun exposure can be considered minimal or absent: in this site, an excess of common naevi but not of AN was found. The present study suggests that subjects with high common naevi counts show a higher prevalence of AN independently of their complexion, sunburn history and family history of melanoma. Phenotypic expression of AN seems to be enhanced by direct sun exposure.


Influencer marketing is used to allude to a certain experience or feeling, and with numbers of social media and internet users rising all across the world, the potential influence and usefulness of influencer marketing continues to rise (Ranga & Sharma, 2014). While the choice of influences often follows the conventional persuasion theories, trust theories also play an immense role in determining how believable and 'influential' the influencer, their message and by extension the company, is. Upon integrating the trust and persuasion theories, this study developed four propositions. A total of 30 observations with power influencers were extracted by using the phenomenographic interpretive approach (Atwater et al., 2008). This study found that three most influential attributes were authenticity, likeability, and authority. Targeting was emerged as an important factor of effectiveness of the influencer marketing. Moreover, most of influencers were shifted from celebrity to non-celebrity.


A Shropshire trust has offered qualified nursing jobs to all its students who finished training this year because it does not want to waste its investment in their education.


A systematic study has been conducted to investigate the role of hydrogen in the etching reaction of graphene films grown on copper foils. The results at 825 °C and 500 mTorr showed no evidence of graphene etching by purified ultrahigh purity (UHP)-grade hydrogen, whereas graphene films exposed to unpurified UHP-grade hydrogen were considerably etched due to the presence of oxygen or other oxidizing impurities. This finding reveals not only the major impact of oxidizing impurities in the graphene etching reaction, but also entails understanding and controlling the graphene chemical vapor deposition mechanism on copper substrates.


OBJECTIVES: Examine changes in the quality of sexual life of men with morbid obesity offered by a reduction in body weight following Fobi-Capella gastroplasty. METHOD: A quantitative, prospective, longitudinal, cross-sectional study was carried out on 21 men with morbid obesity between March 2005 and March 2007. Inclusion criteria were: aged 20 to 50 years, body mass index (BMI) = 40 kg/m2 and failure in attempts of clinical treatment for obesity in the previous two years. Data collection from clinical records and the administering of a specific questionnaire on issues relating to sexual function was performed prior to and six months following surgery. Scores were analyzed with the help of the Epi-Info 6 program, using the Student's t-test for paired samples. RESULTS: The total score increased at the six-month post operative in 76.19%; remained unaltered in 14.29%; and decreased in 9.52%. Scores in areas related to erectile function and sexual relations increased in 71.42%; sexual desire increased in 52.38%; and orgasms increased in 28.57%. General sexual satisfaction increased in 57.14%. The average total score and scores on the domains of the questionnaire prior to and six months following surgery revealed statistically significant differences, except those relating to sexual desire and orgasm. CONCLUSION: The quality of sexual life in morbid obese men improves following Fobi-Capella surgery. Favorable changes occurred in sexual function after these individuals underwent this type of bariatric surgery.


Daratumumab is a human CD38‐directed monoclonal antibody approved in the United States as monotherapy for patients with multiple myeloma (MM) who have received ≥3 prior lines of therapy (LOTs), including a proteasome inhibitor (PI) and an immunomodulatory agent (IMiD) or who are double refractory to a PI and an IMiD, and in combination with lenalidomide/dexamethasone or bortezomib/dexamethasone for patients with MM who have received ≥1 prior LOT. This study compared the efficacy of daratumumab monotherapy versus historical controls through adjusted treatment comparison. Patient‐level data were pooled from two daratumumab monotherapy studies (16 mg/kg; GEN501 and SIRIUS) and two independent US databases (IMS LifeLink and OPTUM), which reflect treatments used in real‐world patients with MM who received ≥3 prior LOTs or were double refractory to a PI and an IMiD. Using a multivariate proportional hazards regression model, the relative treatment effect of daratumumab versus historical controls was estimated, adjusting for imbalances in characteristics between cohorts. Baseline characteristics that differed between patients treated with daratumumab (N = 148) and historical control (N = 658) were prior treatment with pomalidomide (55% vs 15%) or carfilzomib (41% vs 28%) and triple/quadruple refractory status (64% vs 14%). The adjusted overall survival–hazard ratio (OS‐HR) for daratumumab versus historical control was 0.33 (95% confidence interval, 0.24‐0.46) compared with 0.46 (0.35‐0.59) for unadjusted HR. Impact of adjustment was mainly driven by refractory status and prior pomalidomide/carfilzomib exposure. This adjusted treatment comparison suggests that daratumumab demonstrates improved OS compared with historical control data in heavily pretreated and highly refractory MM patients.


This paper presents a new type of 4-degree-of-freedom (DOF) robotic surgical instrument for a minimally invasive surgical robot system. The forceps wrist mechanism was designed here on the basis of the 3-DOF parallel structure with three prismatic-spherical-revolute kinematic chains. The pitch and yaw motions of the moving platform generated the wrist rotational motions of the forceps. The axial translation of the parallel mechanism was converted into the forceps grasp motion by an inversion of the slider-crank mechanism. Furthermore, for a more dexterous movement of the forceps, a full revolution of the forceps for the axial rotation is also possible with the instrument. While the proposed instrument realized all the required DOFs of a forceps, the parallel structure of the wrist and the driving mechanism that was designed using only rod elements made the proposed instrument more reliable and rigid than other wire-driven instruments. The kinematic constraints and inverse kinematics of the proposed instrument were derived. Furthermore, the screw-based Jacobian was formulated geometrically, and the static force relation and the linear constraints on a twist were derived. Finally, a prototype of the proposed instrument with a diameter of 8 mm was introduced, and the performance of the prototype was verified through several experiments.


This study, based on AC and DC flashover tests of porcelain, glass and composite insulators under the conditions of low air pressure and pollution, discusses the differences between AC and DC flashover performance and discharge process of ice-covered insulators. Results of the study indicate that the influence of air pressure on ice-covered insulator string's AC flashover voltage is greater than that on DC flashover voltage, whereas the influence of pollution on both AC and DC flashover voltage is almost the same. Good agreement is achieved between experimental results and the equivalent electrical circuit model proposed previously. Moreover, n (characteristic index of the influence of air pressure on ice-covered insulators' flashover voltage) differs slightly when calculated with the icing-water-conductivity method and solid-layer method, respectively, and the duration from the occurrence of local arc to flashover is longer under the condition of AC than DC. Although arc floats are more seriously under the condition of DC.


A one-pot synthesis in quantitative yield is described to construct a composite of the amino-derivative Zr carboxylate metal–organic framework (MOF) and silica gel (UiO-66-NH2@silica). The silica gel was utilized as a porous solid support to enable enhanced column packing efficiency and increase the sorbent–solute contact time. The control experiment conducted on bare silica unambiguously established the active role of the amino-functionalized MOF as the ion-exchange element in the novel composite. The column prepared from this composite shows excellent hexavalent chromium uptake (Cr2O72− uptake of 277.4 mg g−1). Remarkably, this ion exchange column is capable of eliminating Cr(VI) ions even in the presence of competing anions including chloride, bromide, nitrate and sulphate, thus indicating its potential for applications in municipal as well as industrial waste water treatment.


Context. Galaxy clusters are luminous tracers of the most massive dark matter haloes in the Universe. To use them as a cosmological probe, a detailed description of the properties of dark matter haloes is required.
Aims. We characterize how the dynamical state of haloes impacts the dark matter halo mass function at the high-mass end (i.e., for haloes hosting clusters of galaxies).
Methods. We used the dark matter-only MultiDark suite of simulations and the high-mass objects M > 2.7 × 1013 M⊙ h−1 therein. We measured the mean relations of concentration, offset, and spin as a function of dark matter halo mass and redshift. We investigated the distributions around the mean relations. We measured the dark matter halo mass function as a function of offset, spin, and redshift. We formulated a generalized mass function framework that accounts for the dynamical state of the dark matter haloes.
Results. We confirm the recent discovery of the concentration upturn at high masses and provide a model that predicts the concentration for different values of mass and redshift with one single equation. We model the distributions around the mean values of concentration, offset, and spin with modified Schechter functions. We find that the concentration of low-mass haloes shows a faster redshift evolution compared to high-mass haloes, especially in the high-concentration regime. We find that the offset parameter is systematically smaller at low redshift, in agreement with the relaxation of structures at recent times. The peak of its distribution shifts by a factor of ∼1.5 from z = 1.4 to z = 0. The individual models are combined into a comprehensive mass function model, which predicts the mass function as a function of spin and offset. Our model recovers the fiducial mass function with ∼3% accuracy at redshift 0 and accounts for redshift evolution up to z ∼ 1.5.
Results. This new approach accounts for the dynamical state of the halo when measuring the halo mass function. It offers a connection with dynamical selection effects in galaxy cluster observations. This is key toward precision cosmology using cluster counts as a probe.


The formulas of capacitances of the electrical equivalent circuit of a quartz-crystal tuning fork at resonance were derived only for free-free bar model in consideration of the electric field distribution and the potential ratio in the section of its arm using conformal mapping method and Fourier series in Ref. [1]. We analyzed the same problem for both free-free and clamped-free bar models and compared the calculated values with measured values of capacitances of the electrical equivalent circuit of the quartz crystals which were available in practical wrist watch application.


Demands for participatory processes in forest related decision-making have grown with the shift from government to new modes of governance. However, conflicts between participants occur due to that they hold different interests and expertise. There is uncertainty about the value and function of experts in participatory processes. There exist many studies of case studies of different participatory processes but few have had a focus on the role of experts in forest-related participatory processes. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the role of experts in forest-related participatory processes in Europe and explore what influence they bring into the phases of policy formulation and management planning. This study presents a systematic literature review of 30 articles published during year 2006-2018. Results indicate that experts' values and functions are: Provision of knowledge-base; Supportive attitude towards participatory decision-making; Identified roles as facilitator, organiser and observer; Contribution of social contacts and network. Governmental experts from the top of the hierarchy are evident because the stage of policy formation focus on a future envision. And, in the management planning phase, experts primarily are requested to cooperate with local authority and professionals. Moreover, administratively based experts and scientists are the most identified types of experts. Especially, researchers are frequently recognised as facilitators when participatory processes are assisted by decision-support tools. Expert-facilitator play the multifunctional role to sort technical problems, advise in complex debates and bridge the relations among participants. During the coding process, the textual interpretation of identifying experts was time consuming due to inadequate explanation and description of the role. The suggestion for future research is a more detailed elaboration of the roles will result a better later analysis.


We identify and validate from a large corpus constraints from conjunctions on the positive or negative semantic orientation of the conjoined adjectives. A log-linear regression model uses these constraints to predict whether conjoined adjectives are of same or different orientations, achieving 82% accuracy in this task when each conjunction is considered independently. Combining the constraints across many adjectives, a clustering algorithm separates the adjectives into groups of different orientations, and finally, adjectives are labeled positive or negative. Evaluations on real data and simulation experiments indicate high levels of performance: classification precision is more than 90% for adjectives that occur in a modest number of conjunctions in the corpus.


Data sharing among multiple sampling tasks significantly reduces energy consumption and communication cost in low-power wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Conventional proposals have already scheduled the discrete point sampling tasks to decrease the amount of sampled data. However, less effort has been expended for applications that generate continuous interval sampling tasks. Moreover, most pioneering work limits its view to schedule sampling intervals of tasks on a single sensor node and neglects the process of task allocation in WSNs. Therefore, the gained efforts in prior work cannot benefit a large-scale WSN because the performance of a scheduling method is sensitive to the strategy of task allocation. Broadening the scope to an entire network, this article is the first work to maximize data sharing among continuous interval sampling tasks by jointly optimizing task allocation and scheduling of sampling intervals in WSNs. First, we formalize the joint optimization problem and prove it NP-hard. Second, we present the COMBINE operation, which is the crucial ingredient of our solution. COMBINE is a 2-factor approximate algorithm for maximizing data sharing among overlapping tasks. Furthermore, our heuristic named CATS is proposed. CATS is 2-factor approximate algorithm for jointly allocating tasks and scheduling sampling intervals so as to maximize data sharing in the entire network. Extensive empirical study is conducted on a testbed of 50 sensor nodes to evaluate the effectiveness of our methods. In addition, the scalability of our methods is verified by utilizing TOSSIM, a widely used simulation tool. The experimental results indicate that our methods successfully reduce the volume of sampled data and decrease energy consumption significantly.


The influence of a delay time at the maximum temperature on the number of cycles before the macrocrack initiation for two thermal loading programs was investigated for single-crystal nickel-based superalloy VZhM4. An analytic approximation of a delay time influence was proposed. Comparison of the computational results and analytic formula on the basis of constitutive equations with the experimental data was performed for various single-crystal nickel-based superalloys and showed a good accuracy. The influence of crystallographic orientation of the corset sample on the thermal fatigue durability with delay times was investigated for various thermal loading programs and single-crystal nickel-based superalloys.


When the Second World War started on 1 September 1939, neutrality was the obvious choice for Sweden. Sweden had not been to war since 1814. During the First World War, Sweden was neutral. Historical experience made no other choice than neutrality possible. It was not only the choice of the government, but also the choice of the Swedish electorate. Sweden's government was a coalition comprised of the Social Democratic Party and the smaller Farmers' Party. The Chairperson of the Social Democrats, Per Albin Hansson, was Prime Minister. Hansson reassured the public that Sweden could defend itself if attacked, but in fact, Sweden was not ready for war. Many conscripts lacked basic military training and the army was not ready for winter operations. The government realized that it could not rely on the armed forces to enforce Sweden's neutrality; instead, it had to negotiate the terms of its neutrality with the belligerents. For example, Stockholm had to convince the representatives of the warring great powers to accept that Sweden would continue to trade with both sides. For a vulnerable neutral such as Sweden, negotiating trade and other issues with the great powers, especially when Germany was the ascendant military power, was always a risky business, fraught with unpleasant choices and compromises.