Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are noncoding RNAs that have recently been demonstrated to have an important role in tumor metastasis. Mir-106b family is reported to promote the proliferation of cancer as an oncogene. However, whether mir-106b has roles in breast cancer metastasis and EMT remains unknown. Therefore, functional characterization of mir-106b in breast cancer cells would potentially facilitate our understanding of the development of breast cancer.Methods: Mir-106b expression and location in primary breast cancer samples from patients with metastasis were compared to the samples without metastasis by in situ hybridization analysis. Differentially expressed miRNAs in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line were quantified by qRT-PCR and Northern Blot followed by scratch assays, migration assay, Boyen chamber assay and invasion assay to determine the significance of mir-106b in metastasis. Lentivirus-mediated miRNA transduction was used to determine the significance of mir-106b function. Target scan and luciferase reporter assay were used to identify the targets of mir-106b. Mir-106b targets9 gene expression (BRMS1 and RB) was determined by qRT-PCR and western blot. The expression of E-cadherent by immunofluorescence and Western Blot were used to determine the regulation of mir-106b on the effect of TGF- β induced EMT.Results: Mir-106b was dramatically increased in primary breast cancer samples from patients with metastasis compared to the samples without metastasis, which is negatively correlated with patients9 prognosis. MDA-MB-231 cells transfected with lentivirus-mir106b had a higher ability of invasion and migration. Conversely, transfecting mir-106b ASO into MDA-MB-231 cells decreased the invasion and migration ability in vitro. Silencing BRMS1 (breast cancer metastasis suppressor 1) and RB (retinoblastoma), which were proved to be new targets of mir-106b by luciferase assay, showed the similar results with mir-106b over-expressing. Furthermore, the expression of mir-106b in MCF10A cells was increased during TGF-βinduced EMT, while TGF-β-induced EMT was inhibited in MCF10A cells transfected with mir-106b ASO. Furthermore, we found that mir106b-expressing MDA-MB-231 cells gave rise to more tumors and metastasized more frequently in vivo.Conclusion: mir-106b can promote breast cancer invasion and metastasis by targeting BRMS1 and RB. Mir-106b mediates TGF-β-induced EMT, which is an early process of tumor metastasis. Therefore, mir-106b may be an effective maker to predict prognosis of breast cancer patients, and a new targets to treat breast cancer. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 6157.


This paper describes a coupled finite element analysis for the eddy current and the structure. A formulation is presented considering the effect of the large deflection of shell structures by the total Lagrangian formulation. Both matrix equations for the eddy current and the structure are solved simultaneously using coupling sub-matrices. A coupled problem of a cantilever bending plate is analyzed. Based on the analysis results, the influence of the large deflection on the coupling effect is discussed. The condition that the large deflection analysis is required is examined through some parametric analyses.


We discuss the peculiar properties of binary waveguide arrays composed of identical photonic crystal waveguides with nonuniform spacing. Coupled-mode theory is used in order to demonstrate that, as a result of the excitation of the individual waveguides's modes, two different array modes characterized by opposite transverse velocity can propagate. Approximated expressions for the evaluation of the diffraction curves and the percentage of energy carried by each array mode are calculated and tested through numerical examples.


Money number recognition refers to the money of the currency, the currency and authenticity recognition. Money number recognition system is the kernel module of selfservice system, and the major applied range is cash-related equipments. In this paper we design a kind of money number recognition system. The quick positioning of money number is achieved based on gray value accumulation. The edge line of money number area is detected using the least square method. Using geometrical rotation method and gray adjacent interpolation method to realize the number of tilt correction. Based on the character structure characteristic and the imaginary line and character of the point of intersection features, formation recognition judgment tree, realized the character recognition. The simulation experiment indicates that this algorithm has a high recognition accuracy under the condition of rejection.


Juvenile dermatomyositis is a rare autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation of the muscle skin and other organs. Although localized edema is a common feature of juvenile dermatomyositis generalized edema has been reported infrequently. We describe a patient with dermatomyositis and anasarca and present a brief review of the literature.


Historically, because of the obvious influence of soils on plant develop ment, the "edaphic factor" always had a place in plant environmental litera ture. The effect of soil was seen either as predominantly chemical or as purely physical. Some 135 years ago an extensive analysis of silicate flora versus the flora on calcareous substrate in the Tirolean Alps suggested chemical causes for species distribution. Even the generation of new species was ascribed to differences in soil chemistry. A few years afterwards, the opposite view was held, viz that soil texture and organic matter were the main factors in plant distribution. For almost a century the chemical versus physical soil theory controversy dominated the discussion of plant distribu tion and association. It was not until the introduction of colloid chemistry that physical and chemical soil characteristics were combined and provided a new basis for plant ecology. Base saturation of humus and clays explained much of the differences in plant growth as well as of profile formation. Thus causal rela tionships between floral and all soil characteristics were established. The physical, chemical, and colloid theories of early plant ecology con sidered soil as an independent environmental factor that determined subse quent vegetation. Today's system ecology views soil neither as the beginning nor as the end product of vegetation but as a compartment in a network of interactions among soil, flora, fauna, and man with his agriculture and in dustry. And because there seldom is a steady state, "soil" is only a phase in a succession of stages of build-up or deterioration. Stages of build-up of soils, of net increase of minerals and humus, usu ally take place under natural ecosystem succession. Annual increments of minerals from substrate weathering and atmospheric input, including N fix ation, are at least in part immobilized by colloids and biota. Thus there is a gradual increase in soil fertility because of the gradually increasing pool of available nutrient elements.


Objective To evaluate tacrolimus as therapeutic option for diabetic nephropathy (DN) based on molecular profile and network-based molecular model comparisons. Materials and Methods We generated molecular models representing pathophysiological mechanisms of DN and tacrolimus mechanism of action (MoA) based on literature derived data and transcriptomics datasets. Shared enriched molecular pathways were identified based on both model datasets. A newly generated transcriptomics dataset studying the effect of tacrolimus on mesangial cells in vitro was added to identify mechanisms in DN pathophysiology. We searched for features in interference between the DN molecular model and the tacrolimus MoA molecular model already holding annotation evidence as diagnostic or prognostic biomarker in the context of DN. Results Thirty nine molecular features were shared between the DN molecular model, holding 252 molecular features and the tacrolimus MoA molecular model, holding 209 molecular features, with six additional molecular features affected by tacrolimus in mesangial cells. Significantly affected molecular pathways by both molecular model sets included cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions, adherens junctions, TGF-beta signaling, MAPK signaling, and calcium signaling. Molecular features involved in inflammation and immune response contributing to DN progression were significantly downregulated by tacrolimus (e.g. the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF), interleukin 4, or interleukin 10). On the other hand, pro-fibrotic stimuli being detrimental to renal function were induced by tacrolimus like the transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFB1), endothelin 1 (EDN1), or type IV collagen alpha 1 (COL4A1). Conclusion Patients with DN and elevated TNF levels might benefit from tacrolimus treatment regarding maintaining GFR and reducing inflammation. TGFB1 and EDN1 are proposed as monitoring markers to assess degree of renal damage. Next to this stratification approach, the use of drug combinations consisting of tacrolimus in addition to ACE inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, TGFB1- or EDN1-receptor antagonists might warrant further studies.


This paper compares the economics of the abonera maize production system, in which maize is grown in rotation with a green manure crop (velvetbean, Mucuna deeringiana), with traditional bush-fallow cultivation of maize in the Atlantic Coast area of Honduras. A probabilistic cost-benefit analysis of introducing velvetbean into the existing maize cropping pattern is carried out for the field, farm, and regional level. The probabilistic approach allows for a more comprehensive assessment of economic profitability, one which recognizes that farmers are interested in reducing production risk as well as obtaining increases in average net benefits. The analysis reveals that the abonera system provides significant returns to land and family labor over the six-year life cycle. The abonera is not only more profitable than the bush-fallow system but reduces the variability in economic returns, making second-season maize a less risky production alternative. Although the labor requirement per unit of land is smaller in the abonera system than that in the bush-fallow system, the larger area allocated to maize implies a net increase in labor requirements at the farm level. At the regional level, widespread adoption of the abonera system appears to have increased the importance of the second season in total maize production. Although a causal link to adoption of the abonera system cannot be established conclusively from the data, adoption of the system remains a likely explanation for the changes observed in aggregate maize production in the Atlantic Coast region. Land rental prices for sowing second-season maize also reflect the widespread impact of the abonera system.


Livestock production models prevailing in Colombian Andes are simplified treeless pastures for extensive ranching, with the consequent reduction of environmental services, such as seed dispersal, due to lack of primary dispersers, scarcity of adequate sites for seedling establishment and competition with grasses. This study evaluated if, in these harsh environments, ants can promote the colonization of arboreal species through directed dispersion of seeds towards the nests. Ten seeds of each species were offered to ants in six grazing pastures. Ants removed 25% of the seeds (1827) in 48 hours. Preference for arillated and small-to-medium sized seeds, such as Pithecellobium dulce, and Guazuma ulmifolia, was observed. Cyphomyrmex major, Ectatomma ruidum, Solenopsis geminata and Atta cephalotes were the key ant species in seed removal. It was concluded that functional ant groups present in the pastures could contribute to secondary dispersion of seeds with potential for restoration.


This paper examines two things, which is Jesus' statement about Himself in the Gospel of John and a statement that begins with: "I ..." (Greek: eγω eιμι = ego eimi). These two statements come out the phrase "I am the door" and "I am the good shepherd." Theologically, especially Christology, this emphasizes His personality as God, who can be an example of leadership in the church. The purpose is to describe Jesus' declaration that He is the door and the Good Shepherd in John 10: 1-18 and its implications for the ministers as church leaders. The methodology in this research is descriptive analysis. As a result, the two statements of Jesus in John 10: 1-18 reflect the example of Jesus as the Good Shepherd.


Antiwear and antitear properties of mycelial waste from production of antifungal antibiotics i.e. levorin, nystatin, mycoheptin, amphotericin B and griseofulvin were studied. It was shown that the waste mycelium from griseofulvin production had the best antiwear and antitear characteristics due to a higher percentage of phosphorus and sulphur in it as compared to the mycelial waste from production of the other antibiotics.


MQSI is a Fortran 2003 subroutine for constructing monotone quintic spline interpolants to univariate monotone data. Using sharp theoretical monotonicity constraints, irst and second derivative estimates at data provided by a quadratic facet model are reined to produce a univariate C 2 monotone interpolant. Algorithm and implementation details, complexity and sensitivity analyses, usage information, a brief performance study, and comparisons with other spline approaches are included.


Data services provided by many public clouds files, queues, tables high performance, streaming friendly cardio services not yet included. Considering the data constantly coming in from the 1.4 million smart meters in homes, there is an urgent need to constantly analyze it to identify the maximum power consumption that is coming in the smart power grid and to inform the utility to respond by increasing or decreasing the additional power sources. Load. Measures to reduce demand. The IoT Workflow Framework, which supports this data model variation, including streaming data, structured archives and files, currently lacks the ability to perform reliable and measurable work on elastic computing platforms such as the cloud. In this paper, we address this by proposing a scientific workflow framework that supports the various data models required for these emerging scientific applications and assesses its performance and reliability on desktop and cloud platforms. Key Terms: IoT, Spark Flow, Data Streaming, Stream Manager, Cloud Platforms


Impact tests at low temperatures were carried out, aimed at comparing the response of five spheroidal graphite (SG) cast iron with different microstructures and to analyze the influence of the solidification structure size. "Y" blocks with two different thicknesses (13 and 75 mm) were cast using the same industrial melt. The following matrix microstructures were obtained by applying different heat treatments: pearlitic–ferritic (as-cast condition), fully ferritic (sub-critical annealing), fully pearlitic (normalizing) and two ausferritic matrices (ADI grades 2 and 4). Charpy impact tests were performed on unnotched specimens at temperatures ranging from -100°C to +200°C. The results showed a little variation of the upper and lower shelf energy values with the solidification structure size for each matrix type. However, there was a strong displacement in the transition temperature towards increasing temperatures as the solidification structure size enlarged. This effect is also related to the matrix microstructure. The highest impact energy values were obtained on ADI grade 2 samples, and the lowest ones on the samples with pearlitic matrix.


development in the preschool years birth to age five is available in our digital library an online access to it is set as public so you can download it instantly. Our book servers spans in multiple locations, allowing you to get the most less latency time to download any of our books like this one. Merely said, the development in the preschool years birth to age five is universally compatible with any devices to read.


Objective: Several investigators have linked periodontal disease progression and low skeletal bone mineral density in postmenopausal women. However, little is known about whether self-reported periodontal status is the reflection of skeletal bone mineral density. We investigated whether self-reported poor periodontal status is associated with low skeletal bone mineral density in postmenopausal women. Design: Relationships among self-reported periodontal status, number of teeth remaining, and bone mineral density of the lumbar spine and the femoral neck were evaluated in 253 Japanese postmenopausal women (mean ± SD, 56.6 ± 7.7) recruited from the patients who visited our clinic for bone mineral assessment between 1997 and 2003. Self-reported periodontal symptoms included gingival swelling, gingival bleeding, purulent discharge, and tooth mobility at the time of bone mineral assessment. Results: Analysis of covariance adjusted for age, height, weight, years since menopause, duration of estrogen use, and regular oral care revealed that subjects without periodontal symptoms had significantly higher BMD of the lumbar spine than did those with periodontal symptoms (mean ± SEM, 0.962 ± 0.014 vs 0.921 ± 0.013; P = 0.038); however, there were no significant differences in the number of remaining teeth and bone mineral density of the femoral neck between them. The odds of low spine bone mineral density in subjects with periodontal symptoms was 2.01 (95% CI = 1.15 to 3.50). Conclusion: Our results suggest that self-reported poor periodontal status may be associated with low bone mineral density of the lumbar spine in postmenopausal women.


Some men with high levels of prostate-specific antigen don9t have prostate cancer, leading to unnecessary biopsies, and some with low PSA levels do. PSA testing is routine in some places, yet large clinical trials in the United States and Europe are questioning how big an impact it has on reducing cancer deaths. This week, a group in Iceland suggests a new way to assess PSA results: Acknowledge that under normal circumstances some men produce more (and some produce less) PSA, and individualize healthy and high levels for each man tested by focusing on genetic variants that affect PSA levels.


Subadult scurvy is not well documented in archeological human remains despite the existence of many biomedical references indicating that bone changes do occur in some cases and, because of this, should be observable in human burials. There are several potential reasons for this gap in our knowledge of scurvy. Not all children who suffered from scurvy died of the disease or from other causes when they had scurvy. Scurvy may not leave characteristic bone changes in every case of the disease. Some of the pathological conditions associated with scurvy have been known for many years, but these features may be rare or difficult to differentiate from other pathological conditions. Recently a lesion of the skull has been described that is probably pathognomonic for scurvy, specifically porous and sometimes hypertrophic lesions of the greater wing of the sphenoid. This lesion is bilateral and highly associated with evidence of inflammation at other anatomical sites in the skull. A survey of subadult skulls (N = 363) in the human skeletal collection from Peru at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, reveals a prevalence of 10% of skulls that exhibit plausible evidence of scurvy. Some cases of scurvy also have cribra orbitalia that has been attributed to anemia. In most of the Peruvian scurvy cases, anemia is an unlikely possibility because there is no evidence of marrow hyperplasia. This highlights the need for caution in using lesions of the orbit as an indicator of anemia when there is no other evidence of this disease elsewhere in the skeleton. Anatomical evidence of scurvy offers the potential of providing new and important evidence of diet in archeological human populations.


This essay discusses the anatheist option of returning to God after the atheistic critique of the traditional God of ontotheology. It begins by reviewing the contributions that Levinas and Derrida have made toward this position and the atheistic criticisms of Freud and Nietzsche. The work of Paul Ricoeur is then discussed, showing how the atheist critique is a necessary moment in the development of genuine faith that involves a renunciation of fear and dependency as well as a reaffirmation of life and a return to existence. Kearney goes on to discuss how this return to God is possible, considering the ethical position that makes it possible, the reinterpretations of biblical traditions that it entails, the relationship between the anatheist philosopher and the theologian, and revival of God as an enabling God.


We have reported that cigarette smoking at the time of hire is associated with elevated rates of accidents, injuries, absence, discipline, and firing among US postal workers. We followed this cohort of 2537 for a second year to assess whether these associations would change with time in a workplace with active smoking cessation programs. Smokers' elevated risks for accidents, injuries, and discipline decreased after the first year. Risk for involuntary turnover was slightly higher in the 2-year analysis. The elevation in the rate of absence for smokers remained comparable in both periods. Although it is possible that the decline in the relative risk of accidents, injuries, and discipline may reflect changes in smoking status, we were unable to obtain follow-up data on smoking status to test this hypothesis.


The Economics Algorithmic Repository and toolKit (Econ-ARK) aims to become a focal resource for computational economics. Its first 'framework,' the Heterogeneous Agent Resources and Toolkit (HARK), provides a modern, robust, transparent set of tools to solve a class of macroeconomic models whose usefulness has become increasingly apparent both for economic policy and for research purposes, but whose adoption has been limited because the existing literature derives from idiosyncratic, hand-crafted, and often impenetrable legacy code. We expect future Econ-ARK frameworks (e.g., for analysis of the transmission of beliefs through agents' social networks) will draw heavily on key elements of the existing HARK framework, including the API, the structure, and documentation standards.


The sub-Saharan region of Africa is home to more of the ills of mankind than any other region on earth. Nowhere is the aggregate of disease, political turmoil, inadequate resources and a crumbling infrastructure so completely packaged in a seemingly "escape proof" pod as in sub-Saharan Africa. This continent is a kaleidoscope of people and problems derived from artificial boundaries drawn by European colonial powers, resulting in a litany of problems that have flourished for many decades. In the immediate postcolonial era, there was some oversight by the departed powers, but this has changed recently with decreasing interest in African affairs and only episodic worldwide news coverage because of other world events that overshadow Africa and its problems. The end of the cold war also eliminated the attention Africa received when the superpowers were courting nations. The American Medical Team for Africa has conducted medical missionary work throughout Africa for over a decade and, through its observations, has developed recommendations that are germane to all of sub-Saharan Africa. The organization thinks that this might warrant the attention of governments, international pharmaceutical houses, foundations, the United Nations and all international aid agencies concerned about the plight of healthcare in Africa. These recommendations should enable these countries to re-establish an affordable, efficient and sustainable infrastructure for basic hospital services so that they can diagnosis, monitor, treat and manage disease populations. In some areas, Africa needs to be retrofitted with technology from the past, while in others it needs to be fast-forwarded into the future. The purpose of this manuscript is to try putting the various healthcare challenges into one of these two categories.


This paper introduces a framework for real‐time simulation and rendering of crowds navigating in a virtual environment. The solution first consists in a specific environment preprocessing technique giving rise to navigation graphs, which are then used by the navigation and simulation tasks. Second, navigation planning interactively provides various solutions to the user queries, allowing to spread a crowd by individualizing trajectories. A scalable simulation model enables the management of large crowds, while saving computation time for rendering tasks. Pedestrian graphical models are divided into three rendering fidelities ranging from billboards to dynamic meshes, allowing close‐up views of detailed digital actors with a large variety of locomotion animations. Examples illustrate our method in several environments with crowds of up to 35 000 pedestrians with real‐time performance. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Biological materials used in reconstruction of the ear (1982 JRSM 75,691-698) From Mr W M S Ironside Consultant Otolaryngologist Huddersfield, West Yorkshire Dear Sir, The suggestion put forward by Mr Akle (January Journal. p 82) that human amniotic membrane be used to repair the tympanic membrane is most interesting. With its poor immunogenicity it might be a most useful material, providing its presentation is simple and its handling characteristic suitable. It would have the advantage, as do some other materials already in use, of obviating the incisions required to obtain autologous fascia or periosteum. However, like autologous fascia, periosteum, finely-sliced cartilage, Zenoderm and other tried materials, it would not replace the use of the homograft tympanic membrane for total replacement of the tympanic membrane, as there is a need of an annulus and also, in most instances, an attached ossicular chain, cotnplete or in part. Yours faithfully


The galvanising industry is generally characterised by significant consumption of energy.  Over 75% of South African plants in the galvanising sector use electric furnaces, an approach was originally prompted by the previous low price of electricity. The biggest challenge now is that from year 2008, electricity prices have risen considerably. It is against this background that an energy assessment was conducted on a batch hot-dip galvanising plant in order to identify potential opportunities for the reduction and more efficient use of electrical energy. The methodology which was adopted commenced with an evaluation of the organisation in terms of its awareness to energy management and commitment to improving on energy efficiency. The methodology also entailed compiling a detailed electrical energy balance and identifying the most significant energy users of electricity. An assessment of the results revealed that the galvanising kettle was the most significant energy user. A heat loss calculator was then used for evaluating energy saving initiatives for the significant energy users after which recommendations were made for reducing the energy consumption of the galvaniser.


Cage-chiral tetra-tert-butyl-P5-deltacyclene is accessible as a pair of highly enriched enantiomers and . The only secondary phosphorus atom P1 of the cage can be selectively oxidized by reaction with t-BuOOH. The P1-oxo species and , allow the direct determination of their ee values. Oxidation occurs with the complete retention of the optical activity of the compounds. The chiroptical properties of and are strongly dominated by their cage chirality, the oxygen atom does not contribute significantly. Elemental sulfur and selenium oxidize P5 with high preference to yield P5-thio- and P5-seleno-P5-deltacyclenes and of the intact cages again. Longer reaction time and more than stoichiometric amounts of selenium, leads to tri-seleno-P5-tetracycloundecane , a partially opened oxidized rearrangement product. The ligand properties of racemic were determined. Diphosphetane phosphorus atom P2 of is the active donor center to bind a Cr(CO)5 fragment, but a tautomerization of takes place if [(benzene)RuCl2]2 is added. A hydrogen atom migrates from P1 to the oxygen atom to form a phosphinous acid ligand. The lone pair of P1 is regenerated and acts as the active ligand function of the cage in this case. As for , the base n-BuLi induces an efficient cage rearrangement reaction of , where P1 and the neighboring carbon atom C4 containing its t-Bu substituent change places. C4 moves to its new position without breaking the bond with P5, this way forming the novel P1-oxo-P5-norsnoutene cage in a highly diastereoselective process.


The physical states of frozen fish (muscles and oils) was analysed in the temperature range between -150.0 and 20.0 °C. The information of the glass transition temperature, the end of freezing point, the amount of unfrozen water, the amount of liquid fraction of oil was obtained by the method of Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Five commercial fish species were investigated: Atlantic Cod, Atlantic Herring, Atlantic Mackerel, Atlantic Salmon and Rainbow Trout. The glass transition was detected in the temperature range between -84.2 °C and -67.7 °C in fish muscles. The amount of unfreezable water was calculated in the range between 5.1 and 8.6 %. A significant fraction of fish oil (between 40.0 and 60.0%) remained unfrozen at ultra-low temperatures. The packaging materials with medium barrier properties were considered to be of a great importance for the long-term storage of fatty fish due to a high amount of liquid fats at these temperatures. The two temperatures provided the high quality storage were proposed: below -35 °C and below -86 °C.


Equivalent circuit parameters of transformers are related to the condition of their windings. Information concerning winding deformations, failures, and temperature can be acquired by monitoring these parameters. Methods used for the determination of electrical parameters generally require disconnection of the transformer from the power system. In this paper, a novel method which uses real-time data of the transformer to determine its parameters is presented. Therefore, this method eliminates the need for the disconnection of the transformer from the power system. In the method, winding parameters are obtained by applying the differential equation algorithm to the fundamental frequency components of transformer data. Fundamental frequency components of the currents and voltages are computed by using the discrete cosine transform. Transformer core parameters are also computed via core losses and the polynomial curve-fitting method with the least squares error method. The proposed method has been tested and validated by simulations and experiments.


Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are continuously being developed for use as therapeutic agents for inflammatory diseases. The NSAI agents are commonly used in the control of pain by their effects on suppressing the inflammatory reaction. Pain and edema are universal complications following the surgical extraction of impacted third molars. Felden (piroxicam) and Tilcotil (felden) were used in this study for comparing the antiinflammatory effects of two different chemical agents on the control of pain and inflammation following the surgical extraction of bilaterally impacted mesio-angullary positioned lower third molars. A total of 10 patients aged from 20 to 24 attending our clinic for the extraction of third molars voluntarily were chosen. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of two different NSAI drugs on the control of inflammation following the surgical extraction of third molars by MR imaging obtained on the pre-operative 1st and post-operative 3rd days. The statistical analyses were carried out by using the t-test in paired series (t=0.02, p<0.05). No statistical difference was found between the two NSAI drugs regarding their effects on the control of post-operative inflammation.


Let a lattice gas of constant density, described by the symmetric simple exclusion process, be brought in contact with a "target": a spherical absorber of radius R. Employing the macroscopic fluctuation theory (MFT), we evaluate the probability P(T) that no gas particle hits the target until a long but finite time T. We also find the most likely gas density history conditional on the nonhitting. The results depend on the dimension of space d and on the rescaled parameter ℓ=R/√[D(0)T], where D(0) is the gas diffusivity. For small ℓ and d>2, P(T) is determined by an exact stationary solution of the MFT equations that we find. For large ℓ, and for any ℓ in one dimension, the relevant MFT solutions are nonstationary. In this case, lnP(T) scales differently with relevant parameters, and it also depends on whether the initial condition is random or deterministic. The latter effects also occur if the lattice gas is composed of noninteracting random walkers. Finally, we extend the formalism to a whole class of diffusive gases of interacting particles.


Life stress is a major predictor of the course of bipolar disorder. Few studies have used laboratory paradigms to examine stress reactivity in bipolar disorder, and none have assessed autonomic reactivity to laboratory stressors. In the present investigation we sought to address this gap in the literature. Participants, 27 diagnosed with bipolar I disorder and 24 controls with no history of mood disorder, were asked to complete a complex working memory task presented as "a test of general intelligence." Self-reported emotions were assessed at baseline and after participants were given task instructions; autonomic physiology was assessed at baseline and continuously during the stressor task. Compared to controls, individuals with bipolar disorder reported greater increases in pretask anxiety from baseline and showed greater cardiovascular threat reactivity during the task. Group differences in cardiovascular threat reactivity were significantly correlated with comorbid anxiety in the bipolar group. Our results suggest that a multimethod approach to assessing stress reactivity-including the use of physiological parameters that differentiate between maladaptive and adaptive profiles of stress responding-can yield valuable information regarding stress sensitivity and its associations with negative affectivity in bipolar disorder. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).


A novel feedforward controller is derived in this paper for asymptotic decoupling of measurable conf disturbances and asymptotic tracking of conf setpoints, when the process is non-minimum phase. The resulting controller, which provides necessary amplitude phase precompensation, is a finite impulse response (FIR) filter and hence the problem of non-minimum phase zero cancellation is avoided. The controller can be designed by solving a diophantine identity, in which the parametric model of the process and the model of the conf signal are involved. However, in the presence of process model uncertainties, the controller can instead be designed by using only the frequency response of the process at the frequencies defined by the conf signals. The proposed controller can be useful in a two-degree of freedom controller design, to avoid the introduction of the internal model of the conf signal in the feedback loop which may give rise to stability robustness problems.


Working memory is a limited capacity storage system where information is retained and manipulated for a brief period of time. It is susceptible, however, to interference from corresponding sensory stimuli.
Irrelevant background sound is consistently demonstrated to detrimentally interfere with the serial recall of visually presented items, however there remains debate for which properties of audio elicit the effect.
The current study assessed the impact of familiarity with background music, along with speech, using variations of a familiar and unfamiliar song. A sample of 24 undergraduate students (11 males, aged M = 23, SD = 3.61) were opportunistically recruited. Six conditions were employed; silence, white noise, original track, otherwise equivalent instrumental music, recorded spoken lyrics and spoken lyrics over instrumental music.
All participants were exposed to each condition in a pseudo-random order, while completing serial recall tasks. A significant main effect was found for sound (p <.01), and familiarity (p <.01), while speech over the instrumental music elicited the worst recall performance. The results suggest that fluctuation in acoustic properties is not the sole determinant of the irrelevant sound effect, but familiarity and speech may play a critical role in the degree of interference that unattended auditory stimulus provokes.
Extensive analysis of which features in speech, and differing levels of familiarity, is required in order to reach definitive conclusions.


We investigate the collective behavior of a globalized society under the influence of endogenous mass media trends. The mass media trend is a global field corresponding to the statistical mode of the states of the agents in the system. The interaction dynamics is based on Axelrod's rules for the dissemination of culture. We find situations where the largest minority group, possessing a cultural state different from that of the predominant trend transmitted by the mass media, can grow to almost half of the size of the population. We show that this phenomenon occurs when a critical number of long-range connections are present in the underlying network of interactions. We have numerically characterized four phases on the space of parameters of the system: an ordered phase; a semi-ordered phase where almost half of the population consists of the largest minority in a state different from that of the mass media; a disordered phase; and a chimera-like phase where one large domain coexists with many very small domains.


This paper presents a novel Model Predictive Control strategy for input-saturated nonlinear systems having a polynomial structure. The method is based on algebraic geometry and viability theory arguments for computing the sets of states that can be steered in a finite number of steps, via a general control law, to a given robust positive invariant set. A first key aim is to present Sum-of-Squares conditions under which off-line controlled-invariant sets for nonlinear polynomial systems can be derived and their relevant properties analyzed. Then, a second relevant contribution is to describe an online MPC strategy that leads to less conservative performance w.r.t. most existing methods based on global linearization approaches. Finally, an illustrative example is provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed SOS-based algorithm.


Peritoneal encapsulation syndrome (PES) is a rare cause of small bowel obstruction (SBO) in patients with no prior history of abdominal surgery. First described by Cleland in 1868, PES is a congenital condition characterised by small bowel encasement in an accessory, but otherwise normal peritoneal membrane. 1 2 A result of abnormal rotation of the midgut during early development, the condition causes fibrous encapsulation of the intestines, thus preventing bowel distention.3 While preoperative diagnosis is difficult, several case reports have described clinical and imaging signs that can help clinicians with not only recognising the condition but also preparing appropriately for perioperative discovery of anatomical variants. 3 4


Zero-phonon-line (ZPL) emission of nitrogen vacancies (NVs) is coupled to the guided modes of solid- and hollow-core nanodiamond-doped photonic-crystal fibers (PCFs). Both types of PCFs are tailored toward enhancing ZPL emission coupling to the fiber modes. In solid-core PCFs, this involves enhancing the evanescent field of the waveguide modes supported by an ultrasmall fiber core. In hollow-core PCFs, the NV emission spectrum is matched with the transmission band of the fiber, controlled by the photonic bands of the fiber cladding.


The spodic (Bh) horizon of Spodosols with Al, Fe, and C accumulations usually has a high P sorption capacity. However, the Bh horizon of prevalent Spodosols in the Lake Okeechobee basin of Florida is subject to a fluctuating watertable that could change the dynamics of P in these soils under alternating aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Further, the Bh horizon of this basin is often impacted by P moving vertically following heavy surface application of dairy manure. Our objectives were to relate the P retention capacity of the Bh horizons of the Lake Okeechobee basin to other soil parameters, and to evaluate P retention of manure-impacted Bh horizons under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. High watertable decreased the P retention capacity for the majority of the soils in this study. High manure-impacted areas have Bh horizons with high P concentrations as a result of P movement from the surface A horizon through the eluted E horizon. The P appeared to be temporarily retained and could be released upon prolonged contact with water. This P is likely to move horizontally above the Bh horizon to drainage ditches and eventually into the lake, causing eutrophication. The equilibrium P concentrations and water soluble P concentrations of Bh horizon soils that did not receive high rates of manure application (native soils and pasture soils) are low and it is unlikely that P would move laterally out of such systems, above the Bh horizon.


Shrinkage causes both the appearance & dimension defects of the injected plastic lens. We have built up a model of state equations with the help of finite element analysis program to estimate the volume change (shrinkage and swelling) under the combinations of injection variables such as pressure and temperature etc., then the personal computer expert system has been build up to make that knowledge conveniently available to the user in the model design, process planning, process operation and some other work. The domain knowledge is represented by a R-graph (Relationship-graph) model which states the relationships of variables & equations. This model could be compare with other models in the expert system. If the user has better model to solve the shrinkage problem, the program will evaluate it automatically and a learning file will be trigger by the expert system to teach the user to update their knowledge base and modify the old model by this better model. The Rubin's model and Gilmore's model have been input to the expert system. The conflict has been solved both from the user and the deeper knowledge base. A cube prism and the convex lens examples have been shown in this paper. This program is written by MULISP language in IBM PC-AT. The natural language provides English Explaination of know why and know how and the automatic English translation for the equation rules and the production rules.


This paper investigates whether there is a different impact from changes in 'new' and 'old' economy stock valuations on private investment for seven OECD economies. A vector autoregressive model is estimated for each individual country, using quarterly data over the period 1990–2000. It is found that the impact from changes in valuations of new economy stocks to investment is roughly the same in North America and in the United Kingdom as in continental Europe. By contrast, the impact from changes in old economy stock valuations on investment is, in general, larger in North America and in the United Kingdom than in continental Europe. Finally, the results suggest that in continental Europe the impact on investment from changes in the valuation of new economy stocks is bigger than for old economy stocks, whereas for North America and the United Kingdom, the impact is more similar.


Interactive entertainment poses particular regulatory challenges. More specifically, the democratization of technology and creativity has meant that there is no capacity for a governmental agency to effectively regulate the spread, and enjoyment, of allegedly problematic expressions. This article will explore this by contrasting the regulation of non-interactive entertainment (including Dada art and punk music) with more recent forms of (at times) transgressive expression (amateur pornography, video games and fake news). The analysis will be carried out in terms of the different motivations of the range of parties involved in the process (including creators, distributors, consumers and the broader public) and of the different conceptions of the consumer that are implicit in different modes of regulation. The complexity of the interactions means that there is no single regulatory solution; the historical exploration of the issue, nonetheless, suggests that interactivity may be no worse for society than the earlier forms of expression that were, at the time, deemed to be a threat to its moral fabric.


Neurons regulate the distribution of signaling components across an extended tree-like cellular structure, using both local and global feedback control. This is hypothesized to allow homeostatic control of the electrical activity of a neuron and at the same time enable normalization of distribution of inputs received from other cells. The performance and robustness of these mechanisms are poorly understood, and are subject to nonlinearities, making analysis difficult. We show that tree morphology places a severe constraint on the performance and stability of a global controller that is alleviated by local action. However, local action reduces the ability of the system to normalize distributed inputs, resulting in a trade-off between stability and flexibility of regulation.


Obstructive sleep apnea in children with syndromic craniosynostosis is a well-documented entity, and airway management in these group of children is difficult, with well-documented cardiorespiratory and neurodevelopment consequences. Numerous well-documented techniques are available for airway management in this group of children. In our center, the nasopharyngeal airway (NPA) is the first-line treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the improvement in health-related quality of life in this group of children using the Glasgow Children's Benefit Inventory.We conducted a retrospective postal study of 24 patients with craniofacial disorders who had an NPA inserted as part of their airway management. A 79.2% (n = 19) response rate was obtained. Mean (SD) age was 5.8 (4.1) years. Patients were classified into 3 main groups: Crouzon (n = 11), Apert (n = 6), and Pfeiffer (n = 2) syndromes.There was improvement in 3 of the 4 domains, namely, learning (P = 0.006), vitality (P = 0.003), physical (range, −3 to 8; mean, 2; P = 0.005). There was significant improvement in the sleep study parameters; however, no correlation was found between this and the Glasgow Children's Benefit Inventory findings. Parents also preferred an NPA as opposed to a tracheostomy when given a choice.Our study shows that NPA confers significant improvement not only in health-related quality of life but also in severity of obstructive sleep apnea as judged by sleep study parameters. The NPA is also well tolerated by patients and is much preferred by parents for airway management for their children as opposed to having a tracheostomy. We think that this should be considered in other centers as first-line management in children with syndromic craniosynostosis.


BACKGROUND & AIMS
Fontan surgery for single ventricle congenital heart disease leads to Fontan-associated liver disease (FALD). Typical laboratory tests, imaging, and histopathology cannot predict clinical severity in FALD. HepQuant SHUNT is a proprietary serum test of hepatic function and physiology that has not yet been evaluated in FALD.

METHODS
Fourteen adult FALD patients at a single urban tertiary care center who underwent a Fontan procedure in childhood received HepQuant SHUNT testing between September 2015 and April 2018. The HepQuant SHUNT disease severity index (DSI) assesses global liver function and physiology from systemic and portal hepatic filtration rates (HFRs, clearances adjusted for body mass) of orally and intravenously administered cholates labeled with deuterium or 13C. The SHUNT parameter of the test measures portal systemic shunting from the ratio of Systemic HFR to Portal HFR. Chart review included laboratory tests, imaging, and clinical findings. Data from FALD patients were compared with data from healthy controls.

RESULTS
The average DSI and SHUNT values for the FALD patients were 17.5% and 36.1%, respectively, compared to 9.2% and 24.1%, respectively, for controls. Twelve (85.7%) FALD patients had a DSI >15 (upper limit of normal). Seven (50.0%) FALD patients had SHUNT values >30% (upper limit of normal), while three FALD patients (21.4%) had SHUNT values >49%. One FALD patient with preoperative SHUNT of 69%, who underwent a combined heart-liver transplant, had confirmed cirrhotic morphology within the liver explant.

CONCLUSIONS
This pilot study demonstrated that most FALD patients had hepatic impairment detected by abnormal DSI, with a smaller number having markedly elevated SHUNT values >49% suggesting intrinsic liver disease. The HepQuant SHUNT test may be useful in detecting and quantifying liver disease severity in FALD patients.


The prevalence and characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from bulk and composite milk and from cattle handlers on dairy farms in Trinidad were determined. S. aureus strains were isolated from all 175 bulk milk samples tested (100%) while 280 of 287 composite milk samples (97.6%) yielded S. aureus. The mean counts of S. aureus in bulk milk ranged from 5.9 x 10(3) to 1.2 x 10(5) CFU/ml compared with mean S. aureus counts in composite milk which ranged from 2.4 x 10(3) to 3.0 x 10(4) CFU/ml. Of the 105 strains of S. aureus from bulk milk tested, 45 (42.9%) were enterotoxigenic elaborating staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA), SEB, SEC, SED, or a combination compared to 69 of 146 strains (47.3%) recovered from composite milk which were enterotoxigenic, but the difference was not statistically significant (P > = 0.05; chi 2). Twenty-two of 42 bulk milk samples containing enterotoxigenic S. aureus (52.4%) had counts of the organism which exceeded 10(4) CFU/ml. For S. aureus strains isolated from cattle handlers, 66 of 146 (45.2%) were enterotoxigenic. Prevalence of resistance to nine antimicrobial agents tested was 18.7% and 12.9% among bulk milk and composite milk isolates, respectively, compared to 49.3% and 69.5%. among isolates from human anterior nares and hand swabs, respectively. Resistance to ampicillin and penicillin was highest among both milk (12.2%) and human (53.6%) isolates of S. aureus, and the difference was statistically significant (P < or = 0.001; chi 2). It was concluded that bulk milk containing relatively high counts of enterotoxigenic S. aureus may constitute a health hazard to consumers.


A good marginal adaptation of a restoration can be measured by the absence of microleakage at the interface area. Resin composite undergo contraction during polymerization which may result in microleakage The purpose of this study was to analyze the microleakage of class I cavity preparations that were filled with sonic-activated bulk-fill resin composite, bulk-fill resin composite without sonic activation, and composites that were filled incrementally Standardized class I cavities were prepared in 27 extracted human upper premolars and randomly assigned to three groups. The first group was filled with sonic-activated bulk-fill resin composite; the second group was filled with bulk-fill resin composite without sonic activation; and the third group was filled incrementally. The specimens were subjected to: thermocycling; immersion in 1% methylene blue dye for 24 hours; sectioning longitudinally; evaluation of microleakage under a 12 x magnification stereomicroscope; and scoring on an ordinal scale (0–4). Statistical analysis was performed with a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. There were no statistically significant differences among the three groups. Class I cavity preparations that were filled with resin composites incrementally have less microleakage compared to both sonic-activated bulk-fill and bulk-fill without sonic activation.


Effective wildlife monitoring and management are reliant on unbiased estimators of population parameters. Most standard survey approaches ignore spatial pattern in the data although spatial relationships can be leveraged to produce more efficient designs for future surveys, thereby reducing project cost. Landscape‐scale surveys for brown bears are notoriously expensive and difficult to complete, leading to the development of a non‐invasive mark–resight aerial survey approach as a practical alternative to more commonly employed approaches for estimating brown bear density across large areas.

Here we extend that model to accommodate spatial covariate information and explicitly model residual spatial autocorrelation. Using brown bear survey data from northwestern Alaska, USA from 2015 to 2021, we demonstrate how our extension can be useful in exploring ecological factors related to spatial variation in bear density and detection probability.

We found that detection probability was higher in more rugged terrain, and occurrence probability was higher at mid‐elevations where denning habitat was more prevalent and in areas with more salmon streams. The descriptive model of residual autocorrelation confirmed that additional unmeasured factors were associated with bear distribution. While these findings were not unexpected, they are very useful when considering future survey effort.

Using this information, we explored a hypothetical redesign of the 2021 brown bear survey that removed 50% of the survey subunits with elevation values below the mean, where bears were least likely to occur. We demonstrated that the resulting estimates were unbiased, suggesting that adopting the spatial approach to analysis could reduce overall project costs by ~20%–30% going forward.

Overall, our work indicates that directly accounting for spatial pattern within the non‐invasive mark–resight framework has substantive advantages over the original non‐spatial approach and may be useful in increasing the amount of information available for brown bear populations.


The development of new materials is ultimately associated with requirements such as strength, lightness, low production cost, and raw materials from renewable sources, seeking to meet the needs, research, and development of new technologies, which value the qualification of materials from vegetable sources as natural fibers.

In this context, this study aimed to characterize the main physicochemical properties of the natural raffia fiber and its flammability and thermo-acoustic characteristics. These characterizations were performed using several techniques, such as chemical composition analysis, density, moisture adsorption, SEM-EDS, FTIR, and TGA/DTG.

The results showed that the morphology of the raffia fiber presents a similar shape to the beehive. The Elemental analysis of the natural fiber of raffia shows that carbon and oxygen contents are predominant, representing a proportion of more than 90%. Furthermore, the results suggest that the fiber is composed of lignin, hemicellulose, cellulose, tannin, and extractives, with cellulose in a proportion of 80%.

TGA presents a profile similar to large parts of untreated vegetable fibers. The acoustic test showed excellent sound absorption coefficient (α) values at high frequencies, while the flammability test showed that natural raffia fiber is a good flame retardant.


Thauvin-Robinet-Faivre syndrome (#617107) is a rare autosomal recessive overgrowth syndrome characterized by intellectual disability, facial dysmorphism, macrocephaly, and variable congenital malformations. It is caused by homozygous or compound heterozygous FIBP gene mutations. The FIBP gene is located on the 11q13.1 region and codes the acidic fibroblast growth factor intracellular binding protein, which is involved in the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling pathway. FGF signaling is required for neurogenesis and neuronal precursor proliferation. The FGF controls cell proliferation, differentiation, and migration in embryonic development and in adult life. Overgrowth syndromes consist of a wide spectrum disorders characterized by prenatal and postnatal excess growth in weight and length, often associated malformations, intellectual disability, and neoplastic predisposition. Embryonic tumors are especially common in these syndromes. Thauvin-Robinet-Faivre syndrome is a recently described overgrowth syndrome with typical facial dysmorphic and clinical features. To date, only four patients have been reported with this disorder. Herein, two new cases of Thauvin-Robinet-Faivre syndrome are reported with overgrowth, intellectual disability, typical dysmorphic signs in one dysplastic kidney, and a novel homozygous FIBP gene variant. Exome sequencing analysis showed that both affected siblings share the same homozygous c. 412-3_415dupCAGTTTG FIBP gene variant. Reporting two new cases with this rare autosomal recessive overgrowth syndrome with a novel FIBP gene variant will support and expand the clinical spectrum of Thauvin-Robinet-Faivre syndrome. Also discussed will be the function of FIBP in tumorigenesis and the possible renal tumor susceptibility in heterozygous carriers will be emphasized.


An in vitro biocompatibility study was performed with the pharmaceutical formulation of the investigational, marine-derived anticancer agent kahalalide F developed for early clinical studies. The pharmaceutical formulation consists of a lyophilized product containing 150 micrograms kahalalide F, 3 mg citric acid, 3 mg polysorbate 80, and 150 mg of sucrose per dosage unit, to be reconstituted with 3 mL of a mixture composed of Cremophor EL, ethanol, and water (5/5/90% v/v/v), resulting in a solution of pH 3 and to be further diluted in normal saline for infusion. The reconstituted product, infusion solutions, and Cremophor/ethanol (CE) vehicle were tested for hemolytic potential and buffer capacity. No significant hemolysis due to the kahalalide F formulation as well as the CE vehicle was found using both a static and dynamic test model. FB-ratio's (ratio of formulation solution (F) and volume of blood simulant (B) necessary to maintain physiological pH) as a measure of the buffer capacity of the kahalalide F infusion solutions examined indicated that no vascular irritation due to pH effects is expected in the intended administration schedule in the forthcoming Phase I study.


This paper is based upon the results from a contracted research project which was undertaken by the University of So. California for the Office of Hazardous Materials, Department of Transportation, on the subject topic and which included the three tasks, namely: (1) Development of a conceptual model for risk analysis; (2) demonstration of the practicability of risk determinations by examples; and (3) demonstration of the practicability of evaluating special permit petitions. In this paper a risk analysis model is developed which is provided with input from existing data bases with some minor extensions and revisions and is logically consistent and satisfying. The risk model considers the risk alternatives based upon both likelihood and cost from four different kinds of accidents resulting in varying degrees of severity and causing loss (i.e., death, bodily injury or property damage). A common dimension, cost, is used to add all these losses, when a single figure is required. Conversion factors for all loss kinds to dollars are put forth, but each loss class can also be considered separately and by each party at risk. A total cost factor provides the basis for practical consideration. /Author/


Due to abuse by insiders or penetration by outsiders, network systems usually suffer various security issues. In order to achieve high dependable and low cost monitoring, this paper proposes a dependable monitoring mechanism combining static threshold-based and dynamic anomaly detection. Firstly, the performance metrics of host and network are collected through different methods. In static threshold-based detection phase, the secondary metrics are combined to several group items. When any group item exceeds its threshold, dynamic detection methods are adopt to further detect anomaly. In dynamic detection phase, PCA, joint Gaussian distribution, and Bayesian classification are combined to achieve low cost and efficient anomaly detection. Experimental results in a campus-wide network system show that the proposed dependable monitoring mechanism achieves low false negative (FN) rate and low false positive (FP) rate. The proposed monitoring mechanism outperforms PCA & Bayesian, and grouping detection methods.


Although most reptiles have polygynous mating systems without long-term pair bonds, one lineage of large scincid lizards in Australia is exceptional in this respect. Reports of complex sociality in the genus Egernia led us to conduct the first radiotelemetric field study of a species within this group. Land mullets ( Egernia major ) are large (60 cm total length), viviparous lizards from rainforest habitats in south-eastern Australia. To document the spatial ecology and social organization of this species, we captured 12 adult lizards in the Barrington Tops area of eastern New South Wales and implanted them with miniature radiotransmitters. The lizards were released at their sites of capture and located daily for the next 6 weeks. All of the radiotracked lizards had discrete home ranges of approximately 10 000 m 2 , based around well-defined core areas (approximately 2000-3000 m 2 ). Females tended to move further, and to range over wider areas, than did males. All of the radiotracked lizards lived in social groups consisting of one or more adult males and females plus juveniles of all age classes. Subgroups were apparent within one group of five radio-tagged lizards: individual animals consistently shared their shelter sites and home ranges with one or more specific individuals. Male/female pairings were more frequent than expected under the null hypothesis of random association among individuals. The data in the present study support anecdotal reports of pair bonds in E. major and support suggestions that the social systems of species in this genus are more complex than those of previously studied reptiles.


20 male and 20 female Ss were tested individually and orally on the Taylor MAS, MMPI K scale, and MMPI L scale by a layman. The same layman dressed as a Roman Catholic priest tested 20 more males and 20 more females. A Roman Catholic priest dressed both as a priest and a layman, also tested 80 Ss. Analyses of the data indicated that E and the layman-priest variables were not relevant; however, "true-role" and "simulated-role" analyses resulted in some significant performance differences by the two sexes on the MAS and L scales.


Mobile code distribution relies on digital signatures to guarantee code authenticity. Unfortunately, standard signature schemes are not well suited for use in conjunction with program transformation techniques, such as aspect-oriented programming. With these techniques, code development is performed in sequence by multiple teams of programmers. This is fundamentally different from traditional single-developer/ single-user models, where users can verify end-to-end (i.e., developer-to-user) authenticity of the code using digital signatures. To address this limitation, we introduce FLEX, a flexible code authentication framework for mobile applications. FLEX allows semi-trusted intermediaries to modify mobile code without invalidating the developer's signature, as long as the modification complies with a "contract" issued by the developer. We introduce formal definitions for secure code modification, and show that our instantiation of FLEX is secure under these definitions. Although FLEX can be instantiated using any language, we design AMJ--a novel programming language that supports code annotations--and implement a FLEX prototype based on our new language.


Inhibition of return (IOR) is an attentional mechanism that previously has been reported to be either intact or blunted in subjects with schizophrenia (SCZ). In the present study, we explored the neural mechanism of IOR in SCZ by comparing the target-locked N1 and P1 activity evoked by valid-cued trials with that evoked by invalid-cued trials. Twenty-seven schizophrenia patients and nineteen healthy controls participated in a task involving covert orienting of attention with two stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs: 700 ms and 1200 ms) during which 64-channel EEG data were recorded. Behavioral reaction times (RTs) were longer in response to valid-cued trials than to invalid-cued ones, suggesting an intact IOR in SCZ. However, reduced N1 amplitude elicited by valid-cued trials suggested a stronger inhibition of attention from being oriented to a previously cued location, and therefore a relative inhibition of perceptual processing at that location in SCZ. These results indicate that altered N1 activity is associated with the preservation of IOR in SCZ and could be a sensitive marker to track the IOR effect.


Background: Accelerated step-up or anti–tumor necrosis factor (TNF) before first remission is currently not recommended in pediatric Crohn's disease. Methods: Five-year follow-up data from a prospective observational cohort of children diagnosed with Crohn's disease in Belgium were analyzed. Disease severity was scored as inactive, mild, or moderate to severe. Remission or inactive disease was defined as sustained if lasting ≥2 years. Univariate analyses were performed between anti-TNF–exposed versus naive patients and anti-TNF before versus after first remission and correlations assessed with primary outcomes average disease severity and sustained remission. Results: A total of 91 patients (median [IQR] age 12.7 [10.9–14.8] yrs, 53% male) were included. Disease location was 12% L1, 23% L2, and 64% L3 with 76% upper gastrointestinal and 30% perianal involvement. Disease severity was 25% mild and 75% moderate to severe. Of 66 (73%) anti-TNF–exposed patients, 34 (52%) had accelerated step-up. Anti-TNF use was associated with age (13.1 [11.5–15.2] versus 11.8 [8.7–13.8] yrs; P < 0.05), L2 (29% versus 8%; P = 0.04), and average disease severity (1.7 [1.4–1.9] versus 1.4 [1.3–1.6]; P < 0.001). Duration of anti-TNF correlated with average disease severity (r = 0.32, P = 0.002). Accelerated step-up was also associated with age (13.3 [12.1–15.9] versus 12.5 [10.2–14.1]; P = 0.02) and average disease severity (1.8 [1.6–1.9] versus 1.6 [1.3–1.8]; P = 0.002). Duration of sustained remission was similar in all patients, and no serious infections, cancer, or deaths were reported. Conclusions: Anti-TNF therapy and accelerated step-up in older patients with more severe disease leads to beneficial long-term outcomes.


Learning Management Systems (LMSs) are improving learning processes and are widely used in higher education institutions. There are available various types of LMSs used by pedagogues to manage eLearning and to deliver course materials to students.Nowadays, LMSs have become essential tools that affect the quality of learning and teaching in higher education. In this article, we introduce LMSs and we choose Moodle as a tool to present an information system that is used in ouruniversity.Moodle is an online learning environment that supports classroom teaching. We will focus on the advantages of LMSs and why we choose Moodle as the best open source LMSs.


Using rich data from roughly half a million 15-year-olds across 72 countries and economies participating in PISA 2018, this paper examines the predictors of adolescent subjective well-being (SWB) from a cross-cultural angle. Life satisfaction and affective well-being are found to be most strongly related to perceived meaning in life, self-efficacy, relationship quality, and peer SWB. Analyses by world region reveal several culture-specific explanations for interregional well-being gaps. In particular, low life satisfaction among academically high-performing students from Confucian East Asia is found to be associated with low meaning in life, low self-efficacy, low peer well-being, as well as with high emotional interdependence. In contrast, high life satisfaction among Latin American students can be explained by high peer well-being, high meaning in life, as well as low peer wealth. Limited evidence is also found for a negative relationship between academic performance and life satisfaction. Meanwhile, competition and cooperation among students does only affect life satisfaction of students in collectivistic societies.


The incidence of Jassid, whitefly and tobacco caterpillar was recorded from the South-Western districts of Punjab i.e. Muktsar, Faridkot and Ferozepur during cotton season in 2007. Correlation coefficients were calculated between number of whitefly, jassid, tobacco caterpillar and meteorological parameters. The incidence of jassid and tobacco caterpillar was low as compared to whitefly in all the districts. All the meteorological factors contribute in determining the incidence of different pests, but rainfall has definitely negative impact on the jassid and whitefly population.


To ensure trust in AI models, it is becoming increasingly apparent that evaluation of models must be extended beyond traditional performance metrics, like accuracy, to other dimensions, such as fairness, explainability, adversarial robustness, and distribution shift. We describe an empirical study to evaluate multiple model types on various metrics along these dimensions on several datasets. Our results show that no particular model type performs well on all dimensions, and demonstrate the kinds of trade-offs involved in selecting models evaluated along multiple dimensions.


A new methods to constrain brain MRI(Magnetic Resonance Imaging) registration, and perform experiments evaluating the alignment of manually-traced structures, reduction of intersubject variance, and morph metric results using group wise registration is compared against traditional MRI.In multistructure diffeomorphic registration to brain registration, where a set of initial segmentations is used as structures along with the MRI. By using image registration, it restrict the scope of structures to those that can be represented volumetrically as images, such as MRI volumes or anatomical segmentations, or those that can be interpolated on a volumetric grid.This method uses Mean Shift algorithm to efficiently segment the gray and white matter . Index Terms —Atlases morphometry, brain registration, diffeomorphisms, MRI.


Popularity of mobiles devices increasing day by day due to the advantages like portability, mobility and flexibility.There are many advantages of small size mainly we can carry it with comfort, but the limited size gives very less interactive surface area. So we need a large interactive area to use but we want to easily carry it in our pocket. We cannot just make the device large without losing benefit of small size. A novel approach is presented in this paper which solves the size problem. We can use our skin which is largest part of our body as an input surface. Human body produces different vibrations when individual tap on different body parts. With the help of this unique property of human body, this technology uses different locations as different functions of small devices like mobile phones or music players. When user tap on itsbody part, some mechanical vibrations propagates through the body, those vibrations are captured by sensor array. The sensor array is mounted on armband which is interfaced with microcontroller. Microcontroller processes the data and finds the tapped location. Microcontroller is interfaced with mobile phone with the help of Bluetooth module. So according to the tapped location, desired operation is performed. This approach provides an always available, naturally portable, large, and on-body finger input system. Keyword-Acoustic, Human Computer Interface, Mobile Phones, Skin Input, SVM.


PXI FPGA Peripheral Modules by National Instruments are meant to be used in LabView even without any previous knowledge of Hardware Description Languages (HDL) and let users to hardware-accelerate their own test and measurement setups. However, designers fluent in HDL languages avoid such closed technology targets due to impossibility to include third-party designs or the needed over-effort to implement large and complex architectures into it, such as soft-core based systems. In this paper a partially automated workflow to benefit of the PXI environment allowing advanced HDL engineers to implement complex architectures is presented with reference to two successful use-case examples.


Wildland firefighters must be able to maintain situational awareness to ensure their safety. Crew members, including lookouts and crew building handlines, rely on visibility to assess risk and communicate changing conditions. Geographic information systems and remote sensing offer potential solutions for characterizing visibility using models incorporating terrain and vegetation height. Visibility can be assessed using viewshed algorithms, and while previous research has demonstrated the utility of these algorithms across multiple fields, their use in wildland firefighter safety has yet to be explored. The goals of this study were to develop an approach for assessing visibility at the handline level, quantify the effects of spatial resolution on a lidar-driven visibility analysis, and demonstrate a set of spatial metrics that can be used to inform handline safety. Comparisons were made between elevation models derived from airborne lidar at varying spatial resolutions and those derived from LANDFIRE, a US-wide 30 m product. Coarser resolution inputs overestimated visibility by as much as 223%, while the finest-scale resolution input was not practical due to extreme processing times. Canopy cover and slope had strong linear relationships with visibility, with R2 values of 0.806 and 0.718, respectively. Visibility analyses, when conducted at an appropriate spatial resolution, can provide useful information to inform situational awareness in a wildland fire context. Evaluating situational awareness at the handline level prior to engaging a fire may help firefighters evaluate potential safety risks and more effectively plan handlines.


Students take assessment methods designed to examine their command of the English language in all four skill domains – reading, writing, speaking, and listening, as outlined by individual states. There has been much debate on whether multiple choice questions or essay compositions are valid in assessing students' English language proficiency. This paper aims to determine whether multiple-choice tests or written compositions are more reliable in gauging students' English competence. The author underlines that multiple choice tests could be successfully employed to test grammar, listening or reading skills. This research incorporated a qualitative methodology by utilizing deductive content analysis. The results of this study demonstrate that using multiple-choice questions is valid because they help students develop abilities for independent learning and raise their level of English proficiency. The deductive approach began with developing a theory that multiple choice questions are the most valid method of assessing a learner's proficiency in the English language. The author then found relevant and credible articles that address the research question. A hypothesis was then developed that teachers who use multiple choice questions can assess learners' English language proficiency compared to those who use compositions. Conclusions about the validity of the multiple choice questions are drawn and future research directions are also proposed.


"This dissertation uncovers the origins of the word womanhood in the fourteenth-century works of Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower. It then traces the evolution of the term and concept through the fifteenth century, combining philology with feminist readings. Although many feminist medieval projects have analyzed female characters, the underlying idea of womanliness has received little attention. I argue that post-plague social and economic shifts created a linguistic gap: new ideas about women's roles necessitated new vocabulary. Chaucer invents several terms to address this gap, including femininity and wifehood, but womanhood becomes particularly significant and its meanings evolve through various late medieval texts. Womanhood does consistently involve two issues: whether it is primarily interior or exterior (and, by extension, whom it includes or excludes) and whether it restricts or enables feminine forms of power. . . . While Chaucer focuses on its internal virtues, Gower imagines womanhood as embodied and performed; Chapter Three explores his divergent usage in the Confessio Amantis.


Objectives: To determine the urothelial carcinoma and its association with age and gender. Study Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Pathology department of Liaquat university of Medical and Health Science. Period: One year from January 2016 to December 2016. Material and Methods: Four micrometer thick paraffin-embedded and formalin-fixed sections were prepared from transurethral resection6of bladder6tumor (TURBT) samples of urothelial carcinoma patients and were examined. Histological grading was categorized as low and high grades. All the data was collected by self-made proforma. Data was analyzed by SPSS version 20. Results: Total 83 cases were enrolled in current study; their mean age was 49.19+12.33 years. Males were found in the majority 51(61.4%) and females were 32(38.6%). Most common age group was 46-60 years 36(43.4%). According to the histological grading high grade was most common as 65.10%, and low grade urothelial carcinoma was 34.90%. There was no significant difference according to age of histological grading. Male gender was most common, while progression of disease was higher among females in contrast to males as high grade carcinoma was significantly higher among females, p-value 0.014. Conclusion: It was concluded that male gender is the contributing factor of urothelial carcinoma, but disease progression significantly high among females. No significant association has been found according to age.


In the post-1945 Cold War framework, "psychological warfare" became central to the worldwide competition for "the minds and wills of men". Thus the Truman and Eisenhower cultural offensive relied on information networks, oftentimes CIA-funded and relaying State Department policy, which projected abroad a carefully designed image of the United States. Cast against the shortcomings of the Soviet model, this myth-creating reflection of America alternately glorified People's Capitalism and the American Way of Life, mass culture and scientific achievements, "Atoms for Peace" or the American Revolution.


Globalization had overtaken the world system in the last few decades. It has made the world smaller as people and market becomes more accessible to one another. Individuals had become affected not just by their local community, but, by economic, political, and cultural processes or forces that operate worldwide. In music, American and European pop-culture in addition to diminutive movies, dress fad, western styled beds, toilets, showers and restaurants, had overtaken or subsumed Nigerian Music. A closer look at the wealth of resources in Nigeria music shows clearly that, it is sociologically and aesthetically dishonest to assume that any other cultural area or time has an obligation to transplant the musical power, or spirit, or quality from Europe (Dominique-Rene, 1974. This paper submits that "great masters" of European music rose up from their cultural milieu to give impetus to ideals present in the concepts of the time they lived. It amounts to cultural racism to continually utilize Western music yardsticks as the platform upon which Nigerian music must should be established or evacuated. This paper exposes the wealth of music education resources available in Nigeria and propounds a sketchy model of systematized music education that is home grown. The abundance of resources is adequate to give impetus to a full-scale body of knowledge hat is fully Nigerian. With conscientious implementation and propagation, Nigeria music has the capacity to develop global perspective.


In this paper, we introduce a new tongue-training system that can be used for improvement of the tongue's range of motion and muscle strength after dysphagia. The training process is organized in game-like manner. Initially, we analyzed surface electromyography (EMG) signals of the suprahyoid muscles of five subjects during tongue-training motions. This test revealed that four types tongue training motions and a swallowing motion could be classified with 93.5% accuracy. Recognized EMG signals during tongue motions were designed to allow control of a mouse cursor via intentional tongue motions. Results demonstrated that simple PC games could be played by tongue motions, achieving in this way efficient, enjoyable and pleasant tongue training. Using the proposed method, dysphagia patients can choose games that suit their preferences and/or state of mind. It is expected that the proposed system will be an efficient tool for long-term tongue motor training and maintaining patients' motivation.


As optical networking becomes a promising choice to meet the ever-increasing demands on bandwidth, constructing multicast wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) switching networks with cheap components and low complexity is a key issue. On the basis of four-stage Clos network, we propose an optimal model of wide-sense nonblocking multicast (WSNBM) WDM optical switching networks. Our analysis shows that the proposed model reduces hardware complexity compared to existing architectures. In addition, the new model has a very simple routing algorithm and does not require multicast capability for the switches in the input stage and the second middle stage. Therefore, our model is much more cost-effective and thus practical for both optical circuit-switching and optical packet/burst switching.


H01 The haematoxylin and eosin stain: from piracy to pathology E. Butt and I. Ashraf City Hospital, Birmingham, UK and Solihull Hospital, Solihull, UK When the microscope was first invented by Zacharias Janssen in 1595, little was known about the intricate details of the skin and its diseases. Fresh tissue was cut by hand and examined unstained. It was almost 300 years later that the haematoxylin and eosin stain became established in histopathology. Haematoxylin originates from the natural logwood tree Haematoxylum campechianum, native to Central America and discovered by Spanish explorers of the Yucat an Peninsula in 1502. It was originally used as a clothing dye by Aztecs and Mayans, and later adopted by the Spanish, who enjoyed the transition of their garments from toneless rags to colourful fabrics. The new-found dye became an increasingly profitable source for Europe, meaning that Spanish ships harbouring the new logwood dye were lucrative targets for pirates and English attack. Spain even gained a monopoly over the dye, leading to increasing trading conflict culminating in the Seven Years' War (1756–63) between the Spanish, French and English. In 1803, Thomas Andrew Knight (1759–1838), an eminent British botanist and horticulturalist, was the first to use the logwood dye to highlight vessels in plants. This translated into histology, when the founder of the Royal Microscopical Society, John Thomas Quekett (1815–1961), suggested using the haematoxylin stain on translucent material to aid visualization of structures under the microscope. Wilhelm von WaldeyerHartz (1836–1921) successfully dyed neuronal axons in the 1860s and discovered that this stain darkened material inside nuclei. He called this dark material 'chromosome' and consolidated the neuron theory with his newly discovered dye. The properties of haematoxylin further evolved in 1865, when aluminium was used as a mordant, allowing the dye to be made stronger and more stable. A more precise nuclear stain was developed by zoologist Paul Mayer (1848–1923) in 1891, by purifying haematoxylin into its active oxidized form, haematein. By 1876, eosin was used as the preferred acidic counterstain, establishing the foundations of today's haematoxylin and eosin stain. An increasing variety of stains was developed by Paul Ehrlich (1854–1015), with the use of aniline dyes, allowing further diseases to be examined microscopically. The German father of dermatopathology, Paul Gerson Unna (1850–1929), examined the skin with these stains, and developed his own elastin 'orcein' stain. He authored his Histopathology of Skin Diseases in 1892, which – once translated in 1896 – became the first English book on dermatopathology. Today, the natural haematoxylin and eosin stain remains the most common and most versatile staining method used in dermatopathology. H02 The myth of the dhobie itch R.I. Yesudian and P.D. Yesudian University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK and Wrexham Maelor Hospital, Wrexham, UK Dhobie itch is widely considered as a fungal infection (tinea cruris) and was presumed to arise from unsanitary laundering practices in 'dhobie ghats'. This link was made as far back as 1905 by Castellani, an eminent Italian dermatologist, who is best known for the antifungal Castellani's paint. However, to this day, there is no evidence to support this association. Rather, clinical signs and patch testing point to an acute contact dermatitis caused by allergens in the Semecarpus anacardium nut. The extract of this nut was used by dhobies for marking clothes, to ensure they were returned to the correct owner. Dhobies are a caste group in India whose traditional occupation is washing clothes. They laboriously wash by hand, soaking the clothes in soapy water and beating them on flogging stones, followed by drying and ironing. Unfortunately, dhobies suffer discrimination in society, being classed as one of the 'untouchable' castes. Some scholars suggest that the stigma of 'uncleanliness' surrounding their profession may stem from contact with women's menstrual clothes, which are considered impure by some religious groups in India. There is little evidence to support that 'dhobie itch' is caused a by fungal infection. Castellani himself conceded that he 'never succeeded in finding the fungus in clothes newly received from the dhobie, either microscopically or by inoculating small portions of linen in sugar media'. Arthur Whitfield, the British dermatologist famous for his antifungal ointment, suggested that ringworm infection was transmitted when washermen stood on the clothes. The most comprehensive source for the aetiology of 'dhobie itch' comes from a JAMA article published by an American army major, Livingood, in 1943. While in India, he noted there was no significant difference in the incidence of fungal infections in those who employed dhobies compared with those who did not. He observed that there was precise localization of dermatitis where skin was in contact with the dhobie mark on the clothes. He discovered that dhobies used nuts from S. anacardium trees (locally known as the bhilawanut tree) to mark clothes as the marks resisted several cycles of washing. Patch testing conducted by Livingood confirmed an allergic contact dermatitis to the marking nut. It is inaccurate to use the terms 'dhobie itch' and tinea cruris interchangeably, as they are completely unrelated diseases. A more appropriate name might be 'dhobie mark dermatitis', which Livingood himself suggested in 1943. This would go some way to preventing the stigmatization of an entire occupation. A long overdue apology is required for this dermatologically perpetuated ignominy.


ABSTRACT Amebiasis is caused by the protozoan Entamoeba histolytica. Extraintestinal amebiasis manifestation includes liver abscess and other rare manifestations involving the lungs, heart and brain. Liver abscess is the most common extraintestinal manifestation. Only few cases of amebic splenic abscess and two cases of gall bladder abscess have been reported. Typhoid fever is an infection caused by Salmonella typhi. It can cause extraintestinal complications such as myocarditis, endocarditis, pneumonia, empyema, osteomyelitis, arthritis, cholecystitis, spleen abscess and liver abscess. Choledocal cyst is a congenital dilation of the biliary branch. If left untreated, it can cause morbidity from cholangitis, cyst perforation, liver failure and malignancy. Until now, there is no publication about double infection of amebic and salmonella infection in a child with choledocal cyst.


Relationships among the four content domains assessed by the Communication Profile for the Hearing Imparied (Demorest & Erdman, 1986, 1987) were examined in two samples (N = 433 and N = 486) drawn from the Aural Rehabilitation Program at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Communication performance was weakly related to communication environment, communication strategies, and personal adjustment (average canonical r = .34). However, strong associations were observed among the latter three areas (average canonical r = .59). Eight specific relationships were identified. The nature of these relationships and implications for clinical intervention are discussed.


We work within the framework of the Alpha-Theory introduced by Benci and Di Nasso. The Alpha-Theory postulates a few natural properties for an infinite "ideal" number $\alpha$. The formulation provides an elementary axiomatics for the methods of abstract ultra-Ramsey theory.
The main results are Theorem 10, Theorem 57, Theorem 67 and Theorem 73. Theorem 10 is an infinite-dimensional extension of the celebrated Ramsey's Theorem. We show that corollaries of this result include the Galvin-Pirky Theorem, the Silver Theorem and the $\vec{\alpha}$-Ellentuck Theorem. We prove that, under the assumption of the $\mathfrak{c}^{+}$-enlarging property, the $\vec{\alpha}$-Ellentuck Theorem is equivalent to the Ultra-Ellentuck Theorem of Todorcevic.
Theorem 57 is an abstraction of Theorem 10 to the setting of triples $(\mathcal{R},\le,r)$ where $\mathcal{R}\not=\emptyset$, $\le$ is a quasi-order on $\mathcal{R}$ and $r$ is a function with domain $\mathbb{N}\times \mathcal{R}$. We use Theorem 57 to develop the Abstract $\vec{\alpha}$-Ellentuck Theorem, Theorem 67, and the Abstract Ultra-Ellentuck Theorem, Theorem 73, extending the Abstract Ellentuck Theorem along the same lines as the $\vec{\alpha}$-Ellentuck Theorem and Ultra-Ellentuck Theorem extend the Ellentuck Theorem, respectively. We conclude with some examples illustrating the theory and an open question related to the local Ramsey theory developed by Di Prisco, Mijares and Nieto.


In this work I have investigated the possible role of gene reiteration, amplification or deletion, as a means of regulating the expression of the globin gene during tissue differentiation in the mouse. This has employed a probe of complementary DNA (CDNA) prepared by copying reticulocyte 9S RNA using avian myeloblastosis virus reverse transcriptase. Since this RNA contains the messenger RNAs for alpha and beta globin, the cDNA produced is complementary to the alpha and beta globin genes. The fidelity of this cDNA said its use as a probe for globin sequences in DNA and RNA are rigorously justified. The rates of hybridisation of this probe to whole mouse embryo DNA, mouse erythroid DNA from 14 day foetal livers, and mouse germ line DNA from sperm are compared. The small corrections required for the size differences of the hybridising molecules, said the slight mismatching in the cDNA are estimated. The study demonstrates that there are 1-2 copies of the globin alpha and beta genes in all tissues studied, and thus mechstnisms other than gene amplification or deletion are required to explain the control of globin gene expression. The existence of post-transcriptional mechanisms by which this regulation may occur was then investigated. The first of these is the translational role of the poly(A) segment found on the 3' of eukaryotic mRNAs. This segment was removed from reticulocyte 9S RNA, using polynucleotide phosphorylase . Several experiments were performed to demonstrate the absence of the poly(A) sequence from the mRNA. The ability of this mRNA to code for alpha and beta globin chain synthesis in several cell-free protein synthesising systems was compared with intact mRNA. The results demonstrate that the poly(A) segment is not required for efficient initiation, elongation, termination or reinitiation of protein synthesis in a cell-free system. The role of the poly (A) sequence in determining the nuclear metabolism of globin RNA was then investigated. Low levels of globin RNA sequences were detected using cDNA in the nucleus of several non-erythroid tissues, adult mouse brain and liver, and a cultured lymphoma cell line, L5178Y. Very much lower levels of globin RNA sequences were detected in the cytoplasm of these cells. In contrast, in the erythroid 14 day foetal mouse liver, the amounts of globin RNA sequences found in the cytoplasm were very much higher than that in the nucleus. This indicates the operation of a post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism, whereby the nuclear said cytoplasmic levels of globin RNA sequences are regulated independently. However, this mechanism appears not to be mediated through association of nuclear globin RNA sequences with poly(A) since in both erythroid and non-erythroid tissues, where the fraction of total cell globin RNA sequences in the cytoplasm varies considerably, the proportion of polyadenylated nuclear globin RNA sequences is the same. At the present time, the possible functions of this low-level transcription of the globin gene in non-erythroid tissues are unclear.


Perspective-taking is an essential competency because it enables a better understanding of complex issues or conflicts with various actors and different points of view involved. However, no competency model for perspective-taking has been provided in geography education to date, which is why a respective model was developed in this study. The model was then applied by analysing 28 articles from four practice journals of geography education from German-speaking countries. This analysis focused on the dimensions of the perspective-taking competencies that were required by respective tasks within the lesson concepts. The results show that the tasks hardly promoted competence-oriented geography teaching in terms of perspective-taking. Therefore, the competency model could be a suitable tool for analysing and developing teaching materials that implement perspective-taking.


We study a lossy source coding problem for an arbitrarily varying remote source (AVRS) which was proposed in a prior work. An AVRS transmits symbols, each generated in an independent and identically distributed manner, which are sought to be estimated at the decoder. These symbols are remotely generated, and the encoder and decoder observe noise corrupted versions received through a two-output noisy channel. This channel is an arbitrarily varying channel controlled by a jamming adversary. We assume that the adversary knows the coding scheme as well as the source data non-causally, and hence, can employ malicious jamming strategies correlated to them. Our interest lies in studying the rate distortion function for codes with a stochastic encoder, i.e, when the encoder can privately randomize while the decoder is deterministic. We provide upper and lower bounds on this rate distortion function.


Objectives
Researchers and practitioners are becoming increasingly aware that domestic and sexual violence (DSV) can be addressed at the community level by involving bystanders (or actionists, a term used to specify third parties who help as opposed to those who stand by). Since most research on DSV actionists has been conducted in secondary and higher educational contexts, little is known about actionist behaviors in towns and neighborhoods among adults. The current study examines how groups of actionists with differing levels of proactive and reactive behaviors related to DSV prevention vary in their community perceptions.

Methods
We surveyed 1,623 adults (age range = 18 and over; 95% White; 52% female) across four rural communities in New England using direct mail methods. We asked participants about their perceived opportunities for taking action in the face of acute DSV risk and about any such actions they had taken in their communities during the past year. We also asked about participants' perceptions of community prevention-related social norms. From this data, we calculated prevention action ratios that resulted in three groups of actionists: non-responders, occasional responders, and frequent responders.

Results
Individuals who more consistently responded to DSV reported positive perceptions of community social norms and processes. The most involved group of actionists had stronger perceptions of injunctive community norms.

Conclusions
Results suggest that prevention strategies that aim to change social norms among adults may enhance prevention outcomes in communities.


The release of chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) agents by terrorists or rogue states in a North American city (densely populated urban centre) and the subsequent exposure, deposition, and contamination are emerging threats in an uncertain world. The transport, dispersion, deposition, and fate of a CBRN agent released in an urban environment is an extremely complex problem that encompasses potentially multiple space and time scales. The availability of high-fidelity, time-dependent models for the prediction of a CBRN agent's movement and fate in a complex urban environment can provide the strongest technical and scientific foundation for support of Canada's more broadly based effort at advancing counter-terrorism planning and operational capabilities. The objective of this paper is to report the progress of developing and validating an integrated, state-ofthe-art, high-fidelity multi-scale, multi-physics modeling system for the accurate and efficient prediction of urban flow and dispersion of CBRN materials. Development of this proposed multi-scale modeling system will provide the real-time modeling and simulation tool required to predict injuries, casualties, and contamination and to make relevant decisions (based on the strongest technical and scientific foundations) in order to minimize the consequences of a CBRN incident based on a pre-determined decision making framework.