This study explores to what extent selective exposure to political messages can produce political (in)tolerance among authoritarians and non-authoritarians. Drawing on a selection-exposure experiment embedded within an online survey conducted in the United States (N = 1978) and Canada (N = 1673), we explore how authoritarians and non-authoritarians react to framing around civil liberties controversies. Participants were randomly assigned to receive a message about a controversial group. In the forced-choice condition, participants were randomly assigned a political or non-political message. In a second condition, participants were given a choice of which message to read more about. The results show that authoritarians who are politically knowledgeable generally avoid messages that promote free speech by consuming non-political information. While messages about the dangers of free speech have the potential to produce more intolerance among authoritarians, we found that this effect was limited to those who are the least likely to consume them when given a choice. By contrast, we found that messages about the risk posed by free speech produced intolerance among non-authoritarians for whom threat-related cognitions were already chronically accessible. The effects of pro-civil liberties messages were limited to unthreatened non-authoritarians. Hence, we conclude that in the contemporary information environment selective exposure can increase polarization around a civil liberties controversy by producing attitude change but this occurs mainly among non-authoritarians.


Roderick Chisholm addressed the issue of the necessary a posteriori on at least three occasions and, characteristically, modified his views over time. He first advanced a three-stage argument that concluded that no necessary truths are known a posteriori. Without abandoning that argument, he later weakened its conclusion, claiming only that not all knowledge of necessary truths is a posteriori. In the main, this paper is a detailed critical exposition of Chisholm's arguments. However, it also picks up on some suggestive remarks of Chisholm's, draws them out, and explores them.


In Reply. —Dr Jacobson correctly points out that unmeasured factors can act as confounders in observational research by accounting for both the exposure (in our study, the development of renal failure) and the outcome (the associated increase in mortality). He suggests that a preliminary analysis should have focused on identifying the causes of renal failure, which could then be evaluated as potential confounders. The apparent causes of renal failure in our index subjects were advanced age, diabetes, sepsis, liver disease, congestive heart failure, and hypotension. These factors, which have been noted to predispose patients toward the development of acute renal failure in other studies, 1-3 were more common in our study's index subjects than in their matched counterparts without renal failure. Each of these factors was examined as a potential confounder in the analysis. Many other known causes of acute renal failure, such as pigment injury or aminoglycoside exposure, occurred too infrequently


The idea of a purgatorial journey to the Ten Kings of the Ten Hells is a distinctive feature of funerals and ancestral worship in Chinese Buddhism and Chinese popular religions. In Indian Buddhism ideas emerged of chief deities presiding over others in a few of many heavens and of various hells with different tortures governed by Yama and his messengers, yet the idea that each hell was governed by a 'king' is not found in early Indian Buddhist sources. This article examines what is probably the earliest enumeration of hell-kings, in the Sūtra on Questions on Hells. This very early example derives from an extraordinary story about how King Bimbisāra and his eighteen ministers became Yama and kings of eighteen hells after a disastrous defeat in battle. My analysis will illustrate how this account was probably consciously formulated by an author familiar with two sources: (i) the story of the Buddha's concern about the fate of his followers in the Shenisha jing (闍尼沙經; Janavasabha Sutta), and (ii) the popular Chinese belief in sacrificial cults of 'defeated armies and dead generals'.


Background: Since tumor requires excessive oxygen and nutrients due to their rapid growth, tumor is generally vascular. However, tumor vasculature is not physiologic but leaky, dilated, and tortuous. The inefficiency of tumor vessels in terms of perfusion induces hypoxic stress that makes the tumor more aggressive. Here, we investigated the role of a novel endothelial stabilizer SAC-1004 on tumor vascular normalization and its effects on tumor growth in prostate cancer. Methods: Human vascular endothelial cell (HUVEC) was used to evaluate the effects of SAC-1004 on endothelial cells. Immunocytochemical staining and immunofluorescent confocal imaging was performed for E-cadherin expression in HUVECs. MTS assay was performed to assess cell proliferation of HUVECs and PC-3 cells after SAC-1004 treatment. Immunohistochemical staining with anti-CD31 and anti-SMA antibodies was performed to assess vasculature in vivo. PC-3 subcutaneous xenografts were developed to evaluate the effects of SAC-1004 on tumor vasculature and tumor growth in prostate cancer. Magnetic resonance images were taken to assess vascular perfusion in xenografts. SAC-1004 was administrated via tail vein once a day for 7 days. Docetaxel was administrated intravenously once a week. Results: SAC-1004 restored junction protein E-cadherin in vitro in endothelial cells and significantly reduced VEGF-induced retinal vascular leakage. SAC-1004 promoted proliferation of HUVECs in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. However, proliferation of cancer cells was not significantly affected by SAC-1004 treatment. Reduced vascular leakiness was found in PC-3 xenografts treated with SAC-1004 treatment and magnetic resonance imaging after SAC-1004 treatment for 7 days confirmed improved perfusion in the PC-3 xenografts treated with SAC-1004 compared with control. Interestingly, SAC-1004 treatment suppressed tumor growth in PC-3 xenografts but SAC-1004 followed by intravenous docetaxel treatment showed the most potent tumor suppression compared with control in PC-3 xenografts. Conclusions: SAC-1004 restored abnormal leak vasculature of tumor by restoring endothelial cell junction in prostate cancer. Vascular normalization by SAC-1004 induced tumor regression and combination with docetaxel following vascular normalization potentiated anti-tumor effects of docetaxel in prostate cancer. Citation Format: Yoo Hyun Kang, Jun Hyeok Heo, Hyun A Jin, Ki Chung Park, Sung Joon Hong, Kyung Seok Han. Endothelial stabilizer SAC-1004 normalizes tumor vasculature and potentiates docetaxel chemotherapy in prostate cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Tumor Angiogenesis and Vascular Normalization: Bench to Bedside to Biomarkers; Mar 5-8, 2015; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2015;14(12 Suppl):Abstract nr B12.


Although caloric restriction (CR) has been shown to increase lifespan in various animal models, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon have not yet been revealed. We developed an in vitro system to mimic CR by reducing glucose concentration in cell growth medium which excludes metabolic factors and allows assessment of the effects of CR at the cellular and molecular level. We monitored cellular proliferation of normal WI-38, IMR-90 and MRC-5 human lung fibroblasts and found that glucose restriction (GR) can inhibit cellular senescence and significantly extend cellular lifespan compared with cells receiving normal glucose (NG) in the culture medium. Moreover, GR decreased expression of p16INK4a (p16), a well-known senescence-related gene, in all of the tested cell lines. Over-expressed p16 resulted in early replicative senescence in glucose-restricted cells suggesting a crucial role of p16 regulation in GR-induced cellular lifespan extension. The decreased expression of p16 was partly due to GR-induced chromatin remodeling through effects on histone acetylation and methylation of the p16 promoter. GR resulted in an increased expression of SIRT1, a NAD-dependent histone deacetylase, which has positive correlation with CR-induced longevity. The elevated SIRT1 was accompanied by enhanced activation of the Akt/p70S6K1 signaling pathway in response to GR. Furthermore, knockdown of SIRT1 abolished GR-induced p16 repression as well as Akt/p70S6K1 activation implying that SIRT1 may affect p16 repression through direct deacetylation effects and indirect regulation of Akt/p70S6K1 signaling. Collectively, these results provide new insights into interactions between epigenetic and genetic mechanisms on CR-induced longevity that may contribute to anti-aging approaches and also provide a general molecular model for studying CR in vitro in mammalian systems.


Development of the Colombian Middle Magdalena Valley Basin (MMVB) was determined by late Cretaceous-early Eocene uplift of the Central Cordillera to the west, and subsequent transferal of deformation to the Eastern Cordillera to the east. These phases are separated in the tectono-stratigraphic record by a major unconformity, the Middle Magdalena Valley unconformity (MMVU). Paleocene coastal to alluvial facies underneath the MMVU were deposited in a foreland basin coupled to Central Cordillera kilometer-scale uplift. The middle Eocene to Neogene continental strata that onlap the MMVU document transformation of the MMVB into an interior basin due to Eastern Cordillera deformation recorded by growth strata in seismic lines and changing provenance and paleoflow patterns. Exhumation histories of the MMVB bounding ranges are further constrained by apatit-fission-track and vitrinite reflectance thermochronology and volcanic ash chronology. This study indicates that the MMVB is fundamentally related to evolution of the entire Andean margin of South America.


Secondary currents are a characteristic feature of flow in open-channel bends. Besides the classical helical motion (centre-region cell), a weaker and smaller counter-rotating circulation cell (outer-bank cell) is often observed near the outer bank, which is believed to play an important role in bank erosion processes. The mechanisms underlying the circulation cells, especially the outer-bank cell, are still poorly understood, and their numerical simulation still poses problems, not least due to lack of detailed experimental data. The research reported herein provides detailed experimental data on both circulation cells in an open-channel bend such as found in nature. Furthermore, the underlying dynamics are investigated by simultaneously analysing the vorticity equation and the kinetic energy transfer between the mean flow and the turbulence. This shows that turbulence plays a minor role in the generation of the centre-region cell, which is mainly due to the centrifugal force. By accounting for the feedback between the downstream velocity profile and the centre-region cell, a strongly simplified vorticity balance is shown to yield accurate predictions of the velocities in the centre region. For strong curvatures, however, a fully three-dimensional flow description is required. Due to the non-monotonic velocity profiles, the centrifugal force favours the outer-bank cell. Moreover, terms related to the anisotropy of the cross-stream turbulence, induced by boundary proximity, are of the same order of magnitude and mainly enhance the outer-bank cell. Both mechanisms strengthen each other. The occurrence of the outer-bank cell is shown to be not just due to flow instability, like in the case of curved laminar flow, but also to kinetic energy input from turbulence.


Air pollution is one of the most crucial public health concerns over the globe. Car fumes are major component of the pollution burden, and thought to modulate the methylation landscape of the exposed people. In the present investigation, 199 blood samples were collected from male traffic workers belonging to the Traffic Department, Ministry of Interior in Egypt. Global DNA methylation was quantified using real time PCR, and the obtained results indicated a hypermethylation in the outdoor group compared to the indoor group. Transforming growth factor (TGF-β) gene expression was assessed using real time PCR as an indicator for the transformation of cells from the normal to the malignant state. Data indicated that the outdoor group had an elevated level of TGF-β expression as normalized by β actin compared to the indoor group. Blood glucose was also reported an increased level in the outdoor compared to the indoor group. These data could be considered as a preliminary study to a larger one to underlie the risk of exposure to car fumes on traffic workers, especially the outdoor workers.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
The outcome of advanced gallbladder carcinoma is dismal despite aggressive surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the surgical outcome and prognostic factors for patients with gallbladder carcinoma and to identify patients who may benefit from radical surgery.

METHODOLOGY
Fifty-six patients who underwent surgical resection of gallbladder carcinoma were retrospectively reviewed. Their tumor markers, operative management, pathological factors and survival were analyzed.

RESULTS
The serum carcinoembryonic antigen level was elevated in 9 of 51 patients (18%) with data available as was the serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 level in 14 of 47 patients (30%). Univariate analysis showed that jaundice, serum carcinoembryonic antigen and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 levels, the number, size, macroscopic type, and histological grade of the tumor, the depth of tumor invasion (pT), pathological stage, lymph node metastasis (pN), lymphatic invasion, vascular invasion, perineural infiltration, curability of lymph node dissection and surgical margins have prognostic significance for survival. Multivariate analysis revealed jaundice, high histological grade, pT3 or pT4, and surgical margins were independent prognostic factors for survival.

CONCLUSIONS
Preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 levels are potential predictors and informative for survival. There are still difficulties to treat gallbladder carcinoma infiltrating beyond subserosa or revealing jaundice.


This chapter discusses theory and research on small groups from the functional perspective. We define, present the underlying theoretical assumptions of, and review seven representative areas of research from the functional perspective. The seven areas include group decision-making, social combination approach, groupthink, collective information sharing, group brainstorming, conflict management, and an external view of groups. Our review of research from the functional perspective also covers how group composition, projects, structures, and ecology affect group interactions and outcomes. The functional perspective is strong in predicting and explaining task-oriented group performance but is more limited in predicting and explaining the behavior of groups with socioemotional or multiple goals outside normative boundaries. We present other debates and challenges to the functional perspective and suggest future research directions.


Between 1962 and 1965, 78 cases of allergy to topically administered medicaments were documented in the author's private practice. In 60 of the 78 patients the allergy had been responsible for causing or aggravating a dermatitis. Antimicrobials, antihistamines, and anesthetics were the most prominent allergens with neomycin being the single most frequent sensitizer. Topically administered medicaments that commonly sensitize should be avoided unless their use provides clear-cut therapeutic benefits.


The study was initiated to assess the implementation of student-centered teaching of Mathematics and Natural Science subjects in three selected schools in Jimma and the surrounding towns. To this end, classroom observation method was utilized. Accordingly, 40 lessons of 24 teachers were observed. The observation result depicts that teachers were effectively utilizing prior knowledge of learners in starting their lessons. They were also active in making question rich learning environment. On the contrary, they were rated as poor in making classroom environment conducive for group learning. Utilization of learning materials and activities was also rated as low. Subject, school and grade wise comparison put relatively teachers teaching in Jimma University Community school, Chemistry subject and grade nine students on the top but the rest on the other end of the spectrum although there is no statistically significant differences. Based on these findings, recommendations for action including area for further research were forwarded.


A business direction can suddenly change course based upon the current and emerging market conditions leaving a workforce over-supplied with declining skill sets and under-supplied with emerging skills. The reactive urge to quickly implement a framing blitz without competencies and skills data must be resisted. In order to meet this challenge, the necessary skills need to be systematically identified and assessed for gaps. This process includes defining those skills in a measurable and objective manner (What is it they need to know, and how do we know they know it?) and assessing the prioritized gaps quantifiably. Only then, can the plans be identified to address the gaps. Once learning resources are identified, gaps are addressed through various methods including but not limited to training. Optimization of this process can be achieved through the use of an automated tool which assesses skills, analyzes and identifies gaps. The tool also maintains records of assessments, automatically generates an individual development plan (IDP), and provides management reports on organizational training health. This paper presents a case study of one quality and reliability business group's holistic approach to adapt to the business direction change and supply the emerging skills to the existing workforce, including data and cost savings realized. This includes the methods and tools used to identify skills, assess the organization, prioritize the expertise gaps, and then close the gaps.


AIM
The purpose of this review is to explore how to increase utilization of dental sealants to reach the national 50% sealant objective as stated in the Healthy People 2010 document.

BACKGROUND
Dental decay is the most common chronic childhood disease. A simple, cost-effective preventive measure to manage this disease is through sealant application.

REVIEW
Although dental sealants are effective in reducing the risk of having dental decay, their rate of utilization among children and adolescents is below the objective set forth by the Healthy People 2010 document. This is related to the lack of public awareness, patient education, and inadequate reimbursement for sealants served by third-party insurers.

CONCLUSION
Dental decay is the most common chronic childhood disease. Dental sealants are a simple, cost-effective preventive measure to manage this disease. In order to meet the national 50% sealant objective of the Healthy People 2010 document, public awareness and the education of consumers about the benefit of having dental sealants must be improved. Third-party insurers must improve the benefits for subscribers seeking dental sealant services. Using these approaches, the utilization of dental sealants will improve the oral health among the next generation of Americans.


The p21CKI forms a physical complex with the retinoblastoma protein (pRb) both in vitro and in vivo. The A/B pocket region of pRb and the N-terminal region of p21 were indispensable for this interaction. Among p21 family members, p57, but not p27, associated with pRb. Overexpression of cyclin D1, Cdk4, and E2F1 in the cells expressing pRb and p21 did not perturb the interaction between p21 and pRb. Coexpression of p21 in cells expressing pRb, cyclin D1, and Cdk4 prevented pRb hyperphosphorylation by cyclin D1/Cdk4. On the other hand, hyperphosphorylation of pRb by an excess amount of cyclin/Cdk disrupted pRb/p21 complex formation in vitro. These findings suggest that pRb may be dynamically regulated by the relative binding and activities of p21 and Cdks.


The influence of fluid thermal sensitivity on the centrifugal flow instabilities in pressure-driven (Dean) and drag-driven (Taylor–Couette) Newtonian shear flows is investigated. Thermal effects are caused by viscous heating or an externally imposed temperature difference between the outer and inner cylinders, $\uDelta T^{ \ast }$, or a combination of both. In all cases considered, the maximum temperature difference within the gap is small enough such that the base-state velocity profile and consequently the distribution of angular momentum are practically unchanged from those in the isothermal flow. The base-state temperature gradient can be approximated as a linear superposition of $\uDelta T^{ \ast }/d$, where $d$ is the gap width, and that caused by viscous heating. Numerical linear stability analysis shows that when $\uDelta T^{ \ast }\,{=}\, 0$, viscous heating causes the critical Reynolds number, Re$_{c}$, to be greatly reduced when the Nahme number, defined as the product of the Brinkman number, Br, and the dimensionless activation energy associated with the fluid viscosity, $\varepsilon $, is $O(\alpha^{2}/\hbox{\it Pr})$ where $\alpha $ and Pr denote the dimensionless critical axial wavenumber and Prandtl number respectively. Since $\alpha^{2}$ is $O(10)$ and typical Pr values for thermal sensitive liquids could be $O(10^{4})$, appreciable flow destabilization occurs even when Na is $O(10^{ - 3})$. In the absence of viscous heating, an externally imposed temperature gradient can lead to significant reduction in Re$_{c}$ when $S \,{ \equiv}\,(\varepsilon\uDelta T^{ \ast })/T_{1}^{\ast }\,{ <}\, 0$ and $\vert S\vert $ is $O(\alpha^{2}/\hbox{\it Pr})$, where $T_{1}^{\ast }$ denotes the temperature of the inner cylinder. The numerical linear stability analysis results are explained based on a simplified model derived from the linearized governing equations by invoking the narrow-gap approximation. This model shows that the thermo-mechanical coupling, arising from the convection of the base-state temperature gradient by radial velocity perturbation, amplifies the temperature fluctuations within the flow by a factor proportional to Pe/$\alpha^{2}$ where Pe denotes the Péclet number. This results in the reduction of local viscosity. Hence, the rate of dissipation of the velocity perturbations decreases causing the centrifugal instability to occur at lower values of the Reynolds number compared to the isothermal flow. Thermo-mechanical destabilization caused by vis- cous heating for $\uDelta T^{ \ast }\,{=}\, 0$ can be quantified by a scaling law of the form $\Lambda \,{=} [1+ \hbox{\it Pr}\,c_{1}$ Na/$\alpha^{2}]^{ - 1 / 2}$ where $\Lambda $ is the ratio of the critical Reynolds number of the non-isothermal flow to that of the isothermal one and $c_{1}$ is a flow-dependent constant. Similarly, in the absence of viscous heating and for $\uDelta T^{ \ast }\,{<}\, 0$, $\Lambda\,{=}\, [1\,{+}\,\hbox{\it Pr}c_{2} S/\alpha^{2}]^{ - 1 / 2}$, where $c_{2}$ is a flow-dependent constant. When $\uDelta T^{ \ast }\,{>}\, 0$ and viscous heating are present, a numerical linear stability analysis shows that $\Lambda\,{\propto}\,\hbox{\it Na}^{k}$ where $k \,{<}\,0$ and it is dependent on $\uDelta T^{ \ast }$ and the flow type. Finally, we perform a nonlinear stability analysis for the Dean flow which shows that the bifurcation is supercritical for both stationary and time-dependent modes of instability.


In vitro reaction of DNA with N-acetoxy-7-ethyl-N-acetylaminofluorene (N-AcO-EtAAF is compared to that with N-acetoxy-N-acetyl-2-aminofluorene. Introduction of an ethyl group at the position 7 of the fluorene ring is found to induce an increase of reactivity of this (model) metabolite of carcinogen N-acetoxy-2-aminofluorene (2-AAF) toward DNA and its constituents. Spectroscopic methods (u.v. absorption and circular dichroism) are used to characterize the DNA reacted with N-AcO-EtAAF (DNA-EtAAF). Our results point out some conformational similarities between native DNA-EtAAF and DNA-AAF such as the presence of destabilized regions around the bound carcinogen and of stacking interactions between these residues and the adjacent nucleotides. Quite important differences seem to exist between adducts or modified sequences in native as compared to denatured DNA (contrary to DNA-AAF and DNA bearing covalently bound-2-aminofluorene.


Abstract. Analyzing a dynamical system describing the global climate variations
requires, in principle, exploring a large space spanned by the numerous
parameters involved in this model. Dimensional analysis is traditionally
employed to deal with equations governing physical phenomena to reduce the
number of parameters to be explored, but it does not work well with
dynamical ice-age models, because, as a rule, the number of parameters in
such systems is much larger than the number of independent dimensions.
Physical reasoning may, however, allow us to reduce the number of effective
parameters and apply dimensional analysis in a way that is insightful. We
show this with a specific ice-age model (Verbitsky et al., 2018), which is a
low-order dynamical system based on ice-flow physics coupled with a linear
climate feedback. In this model, the ratio of positive-to-negative feedback
is effectively captured by a dimensionless number called the "V number",
which aggregates several parameters and, hence, reduces the number of
governing parameters. This allows us to apply the central theorem of the
dimensional analysis, the π theorem, efficiently. Specifically, we show
that the relationship between the amplitude and duration of glacial cycles
is governed by a property of scale invariance that does not depend on the
physical nature of the underlying positive and negative feedbacks
incorporated by the system. This specific example suggests a broader idea;
that is, the scale invariance can be deduced as a general property of ice
age dynamics if the latter are effectively governed by a single ratio
between positive and negative feedbacks.


We describe a novel method for searching 3D model collections using free-form sketches within a virtual environment as queries. As opposed to traditional Sketch Retrieval, our queries are drawn directly onto an example model. Using immersive virtual reality the user can express their query through a sketch that demonstrates the desired structure, color and texture. Unlike previous sketch-based retrieval methods, users remain immersed within the environment without relying on textual queries or 2D projections which can disconnect the user from the environment. We show how a convolutional neural network (CNN) can create multi-view representations of colored 3D sketches. Using such a descriptor representation, our system is able to rapidly retrieve models and in this way, we provide the user with an interactive method of navigating large object datasets. Through a preliminary user study we demonstrate that by using our VR 3D model retrieval system, users can perform quick and intuitive search. Using our system users can rapidly populate a virtual environment with specific models from a very large database, and thus the technique has the potential to be broadly applicable in immersive editing systems.


Despite controversial debates about the social acceptability of its nationalist program, the rightwing populist AfD has recently entered all state parliaments as well as the federal parliament in Germany. Although professed AfD voters faced a likely risk of social stigmatization, electoral support followed a clear upward trend. In order to explain these dynamics, we analyze the impact of information shocks with respect to aggregate-level AfD support on individual party choices. Unexpectedly high aggregate support for a populist party may indicate a higher social acceptance of its platform and reduce the social desirability bias in self-reported party preferences. Consequently, the likelihood to reveal an AfD preference increases. We test this mechanism in an event-study approach, exploiting quasi-random variation in survey interviews conducted closely around German state elections. We define election information shocks as deviations of actual AfD vote shares from pre-election polls and link these to the individual disposition to report an AfD preference in subsequent survey interviews. Our results suggest that exposure to higher-than expected AfD support significantly increases the individual probability to report an AfD vote intention by up to 3 percentage points.


Linsidomine or SIN-1, a vasodilator of epicardial arteries, is the active metabolite of Molsidomine which is regularly used for intracoronary injection. Although its vasodilatory action has been demonstrated on the large coronary vessels, it is not known whether this molecule can vasodilate epicardial coronary arteries which have been vasoconstricted with acetylcholine. Twelve patients with left anterior descending artery (LAD) disease were studied. Intracoronary flow velocity was measured with a Doppler catheter (Millar) placed in the proximal segment of the LAD and the diameter of the artery was evaluated by quantitative angiography. After recording the basal haemodynamic parameters, 12 mg of papaverine were injected into the left main coronary artery. After regaining the basal state, three incremental doses of acetylcholine (5 x 10(-7), 1(-6) and 5 x 10(-6) M) were selectively injected into the LAD over a 3 minute period for each injection. Then, during continuous infusion of 5 x 10(-6) of acetylcholine, 1 mg of SIN-1 was injected in a bolus into the left coronary ostium. After the papaverine, the coronary flow velocity increased by 199 +/- 8% associated with a vasoconstrictive tendency in the proximal and distal segments of the LAD (NS). In response to acetylcholine a dose-dependent vasoconstriction vas observed attaining 50 +/- 21% at the last injection in the distal segment of the LAD (p < 0.001). After an initial increase in coronary flow velocity of 46 +/- 11% (p = 0.004) and of 26 +/- 11% (p < 0.05) after the first two doses of acetylcholine, it decreased after the final injection to close to basal values (NS).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Ancient fluvial successions often act as hydrocarbon reservoirs. Sub‐surface data on the alluvial architecture of fluvial successions are often incomplete and modelling is performed to reconstruct the stratigraphy. However, all alluvial architecture models suffer from the scarcity of field data to test and calibrate them. The purposes of this study were to quantify the alluvial architecture of the Holocene Rhine–Meuse delta (the Netherlands) and to determine spatio‐temporal trends in the architecture. Five north–south orientated cross‐sections, perpendicular to the general flow direction, were compiled for the fluvial‐dominated part of the delta. These sections were used to calculate the width/thickness ratios of fluvial sandbodies (SBW/SBT) and the proportions of channel‐belt deposits (CDP), clastic overbank deposits (ODP) and organic material (OP) in the succession. Furthermore, the connectedness ratio (CR) between channel belts was calculated for each cross‐section. Distinct spatial and temporal trends in the alluvial architecture were found. SBW/SBT ratios decrease by a factor of ca 4 in a downstream direction. CDP decreases from ca 0·7 (upstream) to ca 0·3 (downstream). OP increases from less than 0·05 in the upstream part of the delta to more than 0·25 in the downstream delta. ODP is approximately constant (0·4). CR is ca 0·25 upstream, which is approximately two times larger than in the downstream part of the delta. Furthermore, CDP in the downstream Rhine–Meuse delta increases after 3000 cal yr BP. These trends are attributed to variations in available accommodation space, floodplain geometry and channel‐belt size. For instance, channel belts tend to narrow in a downstream direction, which reduces SBW/SBT, CDP and CR. Tectonics cause local deviations in the general architectural trends. In addition, the positive correlation between avulsion frequency and the ratio of local to regional aggradation rate probably influenced alluvial architecture in the Rhine–Meuse delta. The Rhine–Meuse data set can be a great resource when developing more sophisticated models for alluvial architecture simulation, which eventually could lead to better characterizations of hydrocarbon reservoirs. To aid such usage of the Rhine–Meuse data set, constraints for relevant parameters are provided at the end of the paper.


In this paper we take a historical perspective to examine the effects of managed care and hospital competition on hospital cost and revenue growth during managed care's boom period (1990-1994), mature period (1995-1999), and backlash period (2000-2003). We find that while higher managed care presence, in particular, HMOs, was effective in slowing down hospital cost and revenue growth during the boom and the mature periods, its cost containment effect diminished during the backlash period. This result is stable under different specifications and sensitivity analyses. Hospital competition effects, however, remain strong throughout the three periods. It appears that hospital competition effects were initially the result of aggressive selective contracting in the high managed care markets, but were later fueled by the less saturated, but growing managed care markets that seemed to catch up with the more developed markets.


The investigations on the effectiveness of the turn signal in motorcyclists understanding of motorists' potential intentions in potentially dangerous car–motorcycle interactions and on the relationships among some variables that could influence the perception of rear and front turn signal status are examined in this paper. The investigations have been based on data pooled from the answers of a survey of 136 motorcycle riders, with special regards to the correct detection of turning indicators. Experimental videos have been realized during in-situ simulations, both in urban and suburban areas, recording vehicular interactions in three-leg road intersections, able to potentially generate crash risks, through a 360-camera mounted on a motorcyclist's helmet. The blinkers detection rate has been combined with other factors related to motorcyclist's characteristics and test context (e.g., age, gender, location of the test site, presence of a car behind tester vehicles and if the motorcyclist are also habitual car or bicycle drivers) in a stepwise logistic regression that modelled the odds of detecting the turn signal turned on as a function of significant factors. Within the limits of the proposed methodology, the results highlight the low percentage of correct sighting of the turn indicators and confirm the existence of a relation between the detection of the turn indicators aspect and some of the variables considered (e.g., age, being habitual cyclist or car driver and the presence of a car occluding the views), suggesting the opportunity to further investigate the phenomenon through the use of ad-hoc simulations, in order to highlight connections among the factors that can influence the perception of turning indicators in potentially dangerous contexts for cars and motorcycles.


The SERVQUAL measure was developed by A. Parasuraman, L. Berry, and V. Zeithaml (1988) to measure perceptions of service quality, originally in the retailing sector. However, libraries and other educational institutions are also service providers. Librarians in particular have increasingly become interested in measuring quality of service as the ultimate assessment of library performance, as against more traditional measures of performance such as counts of various holdings. This study explored SERVQUAL score validity in the library service context using data from 596 users representing 3 user groups with measurement at 3 times over 6 years. Second-order factor analysis provided mixed results with regard to the psychometric integrity of SERVQUAL scores applied within the library service context. (Contains 3 tables and 34 references.) (Author/SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. cookhigh.wp1 1/23/00 Higher-Order Factor Analysis as a Score Validity Evaluation Tool: An Example with a Measure of Perceptions of Library Service Quality Colleen Cook Bruce Thompson Texas A&M University PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND 0/ DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS CNI BEEN GRANTED BY CO CD 11)004 pS On Ce) CD 2 TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES 1 INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Texas A&M University and Baylor College of Medicine U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southwest Educational Research Association, Dallas, January 27, 2000.


Cleft lip and palate (CLP), the most common of all craniofacial anomalies, has an incidence about 2 per 1000 births in the Scandinavian countries. The Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in Malmo has been a regional centre in southern Sweden for the treatment of patients with CLP since 1954 with about 40 new cases of clefts each year. Speech and facial growth are important objectives in the treatment for CLP and these are thought to depend on the primary surgery during infancy. Between 1954 and 1976 we operated on the lip using Millard´s technique and the palate was repaired early according to von Langenbeck's technique (L-group). From 1976 to 1996, the lip was repaired by a two-stage procedure – the Johansson-Randall concept. Palate repair was postponed to about 18 months of age and performed using Wardill's technique (W-group). Hence, there was a unique opportunity to study two long periods during which different strategies of primary repair were used according to standardized protocols. Altogether 97 adult patients were investigated for this long term follow-up. The first two studies describe the outcome in patients with unilateral CLP (UCLP) regarding speech (I) and facial growth (II). Only slight speech quality differences were observed between the two groups. The findings possibly favour the L-groups, though at the expense of an increased need for a complementary speech improving operation. The L- and W-groups showed similar results regarding facial growth. Studies III and IV describe similarly the long-term outcome in patients with bilateral CLP (BCLP), respectively. Also in patients with BCLP, only minor differences were noted between groups L and W. However, as in UCLP, the outcome regarding speech possibly favoured the L-group. Concerning facial growth, the results were again compatible. UCLP is generally associated with the better results regarding speech and facial growth, in the long-term perspective. BCLP is associated with the more marked deviation of facial morphology, and the rate of complementary operations, including those intended to improve speech, is more frequent. (Less)


Lipid peroxide (LPO) in rat liver was detected by malondiadehyde (MDA) colorimetry. The effect of manganese, zircon and lithium alone on lipid peroxidation in rat liver was also studied. The results showed that manganese and zircon at the doses of (9.862-1.972) x 10(-4) and (0.1972-9.862) x 10(-5) nmol/L respectively decreased LPO in rat liver(P < 0.01). Lithium inhibited lipid peroxidation at the dose of (19.72-1.972) x 10(-4) nmol/L, and induced lipid peroxidation at higher concentration.


The electroactive properties of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) are a direct consequence of its crystalline phases. Although poorly understood, nanostructuring PVDF in confined geometries can drastically change its crystallization behavior. Therefore, we synthesized a variety of PVDF-based triblock copolymers to gain a better understanding of the melt crystallization and explore how crystallization is affected by the morphology and chemical nature of the amorphous block. Differential scanning calorimetry, small-/wide-angle X-ray scattering, and transmission electron microscopy gave us excellent insights into the morphology and the corresponding crystalline phases. We find that crystallization of PVDF inside spherical nanodomains occurs via a homogeneous nucleation mechanism leading to a large undercooling and the formation of the thermodynamically favorable ferroelectric β-phase. On the contrary, when confined crystallization occurs inside a lamellar morphology, or in the case of breakout crystallization, a heterogeneous nucleation process leads to the formation of the nonferroelectric α-phase. Furthermore, favorable melt interactions between both blocks induce crystallization into the polar γ-phase at moderate cooling rates.


CD44 is a cell surface HA-binding glycoprotein that is overexpressed to some extent by almost all tumors of epithelial origin and plays an important role in tumor initiation and metastasis. CD44 is a compelling marker for cancer stem cells of many solid malignancies. In addition, interaction of HA and CD44 promotes EGFR-mediated pathways, consequently leading to tumor cell growth, tumor cell migration, and chemotherapy resistance in solid cancers. Accumulating evidence indicates that major HA-CD44 signaling pathways involve a specific variant of CD44 isoforms; however, the particular variant almost certainly depends on the type of tumor cell and the stage of the cancer progression. Research to date suggests use of monoclonal antibodies against different CD44 variant isoforms and targeted inhibition of HA/CD44-mediated signaling combined with conventional radio/chemotherapy may be the most favorable therapeutic strategy for future treatments of advanced stage malignancies. Thus, this paper briefly focuses on the association of the major CD44 variant isoforms in cancer progression, the role of HA-CD44 interaction in oncogenic pathways, and strategies to target CD44-overexpressed tumor cells.


Recently, adjustable-speed AC drive systems have been employed successfully for blowers, pumps, table rollers etc. in steel plants instead of the more conventional DC drives. In processing lines many drives require speed and tension control. To confirm the suitability of an AC drive for tension control, the tension reel of an existing pilot processing line has been equipped with an adjustable-speed AC drive. An AC drive system for tension reel control, its characteristics and performance are described and compared with a DC tension control.


The cleavage of inter- and intramolecular linkages is a crucial but complicated issue for isolation and depolymerization of lignin in lignocellulosic biomass to produce biofuel. Herein, a Na2CO3–H2O–tetrahydrofuran system was adopted for studying the cleavage of these linkages in corncob residue. Almost all ether, ester and hydrogen bonds between lignin and cellulose were broken by Na2CO3 at 140 °C, resulting in 94.6% dissolution of lignin, meanwhile the C–O bond in the β-O-4 linkage and the Cα–Cβ bond in the aliphatic side-chain of lignin could be broken to obtain aryl aldehydes. At 300 °C, the CAr–Cα bond could be broken down, bringing about high selectivity to monophenols without substituted alkyl groups, and the total yield of monophenols reached up to 26.9 wt% without additional hydrogen. Na2CO3 could also inhibit the formation of a Cα-oxidized side-chain product and the elimination reaction of an –OH group on Cα forming p-coumaric acid. G and H units in the corncob residue were mostly connected by a β-O-4 linkage, whereas S units were possibly linked by an α-O-4 linkage. The hydrogen bonds at –OCH3 groups in S and G units in lignin could be disrupted by Na2CO3 to facilitate the dissolution and degradation of lignin.


Background: Peripartum Cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a pregnancy assosciated myocardial disease. It is a rare disease with unknown etiology. Certain characteristics are risk factors for the disease. Recognition of its risk factors is important for prevention and treatment. Objectives: To determine clinical characteristics, echocardiographic profile and in hospital outcome of patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy. Methods: This is a descriptive retrospective study. All patients files with the diagnosis of peripartum cardiomyopathy from 1 st November 2009 to 30 th December 2014 were studied. Demographic data, echocardiogram and in hospital outcome of patients were reviewed. Results: Sixty five patients were diagnosed with PPCM during the study period. Mean age was 28 ± 6.5yrs. Fifty eight patients (89%) were multigravida and only seven (11%) were primigravida. Only two patients had twin pregnancy. Fourty four (68%) presented after delivery and twenty one (32%) presented during pregnancy. Most of the patients 57 (88%) were in NYHA class III and IV. Fifty seven (88%) patients had moderate to severe Left ventricle systolic dysfunction. Five (8%) had preeclampsia, four (6%) had eclampsia and two developed gestational hypertension. Two patients were diabetic. None of the multiparous patients had history of PPCM. No maternal mortality was there. Fetal outcomes were good with all resulting live births and most were appropriate for gestational age.


Interpretability aspects of fuzzy models have received quite some attention in recent years and may be obtained by using transparent rule-structures and well characterized fuzzy membership functions. Moreover, model compactness is important for the interpretability and is related to the number of rules and fuzzy sets. Besides these two criteria, the model accuracy should always be taken into account. In this way, several criteria appear in fuzzy modeling and then multi-objective evolutionary algorithms are suitable to capture several nondominated solutions in a single run of the algorithm. For fuzzy modeling, we describe a multi-objective neuro-evolutionary algorithm that considers all three objectives. The algorithm applies an accuracy criterium and a transparency criterium, based on fuzzy set similarity, while compactness is achieved by a specific technique, incorporated ad hoc within the evolutionary algorithm. Results are shown for an approximation problem studied before by other authors.


OBJECTIVE
To observe the relation between the expression of CTNNAL1 and the airway resistance in rats with airway hyperresponsiveness.

METHODS
Thirty Wister rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: a normal control group, a 2 d ozone attack group, a 4 d ozone attack group, a 6 d ozone attack group, and a 6 d ozone attack+2 d dexamethasone treatment group (6 rats in each group). The distribution of CTNNAL1 was observed by in situ hybridization; the expression of CTNNAL1 was detected by fluorescence quantitative RT-PCR; the airway resistance was detected in by Buxco pulmonary function analysis system; and the relevance of the expression of CTNNAL1 and the resistance of respiratory tract in rat with airway hyperresponsiveness were analyzed.

RESULTS
CTNNAL1 was distributed in bronchial epithelial cells, goblet cells, endothelial cells, and the alveolar wall. With the increase of the ozone attack, the expression of CTNNAL1 mRNA gradually reduced, the airway hyperresponsiveness was aggravated, and the airway resistance was increased.

CONCLUSION
During airway hyperresponse, the reduction of CTNNAL1 mRNA can increase the airway resistance. There is a negative correlation between the reduction of CTNNAL1 mRNA and the airway hyperresponsiveness. CTNNAL1 is an adhesion molecule related to airway hyperresponsiveness susceptibility.


In limited overs cricket, the team batting first sets a target for the team batting second. The latter team may win the match, draw the match or lose it by not reaching the target. Various scenarios of losing are possible; e.g. simply not reaching the target, or some form of choking after being in a strong position. In this study we consider the situation where a team batting second in a limited overs cricket match needs to score only a few more runs with many balls still to be bowled, but is bowled out. This phenomenon is called 'strangling' because the bowling team succeeded in bowling their opponents, who were in a strong batting position, all out – they have strangled them. A criterion is proposed to measure the severity of strangling. The measure is based on the strength of the batting team just before this disaster struck.


Objective: A syringe filter method (SFM) was compared with instant thin-layer chromatography (ITLC) for radiochemical purity analysis of '"Tc-MAA. Methods: MAA kits from two manufacturers were radiolabeled. Technetium-99m-MAA preparation (0.2 ml) was drawn through a 5-micron or 0.45-micron pore-size filter into an attached 3-ml syringe, followed by a saline and air rinse where possible. Percent radiochemical impurities (% RCI) was determined by comparison of filtrate and total syringe activity. Radiochemical analysis of filtrate was performed by ITLC. Low-particle number '"Tc-MAA (-l '"Tc-MAA-LPN) was also tested by the SFM and ITLC at time points up to 60 min post-preparation. Results: Percent RCI by the SFM was sometimes significantly different from, but never lower than, ITLC. The 5micron filter detected significantly higher % RCI than the 0.45-micron filter in certain cases. Filtrate analysis revealed the ability of the SFM to quantify radiocontaminants. Tests on '"Tc-MAA-LPN preparations revealed high correlation (r > 0.93) between % RCP determined by the SFM and ITLC. Conclusion: The SFM was fast and accurate for quality control analysis of '"Tc-MAA preparations. The 5-micron syringe filter is preferred because of its accuracy and ease of use.


Background: Gastrostomies are important adjuncts in maintaining nutrition in head and neck cancer patients undergoing treatment. This study aims to investigate outcomes in head and neck cancer patients managed with gastrostomies.
 Methods: A retrospective chart review of patients with mucosal head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) treated with non-surgical therapy, receiving gastrostomies between 2010 to 2015. The primary outcomes were complications following gastrostomy insertion stratified by insertion technique and classified with the Clavien-Dindo classification. Secondary outcomes included re-admission rates, weight changes and gastrostomy dependency.
 Results: A total of 103 patients were identified, consisting of 81% males with a mean age of 58 years. A total of 59 complications occurred in 42% of patients following gastrostomy insertions. Radiological gastrostomies were associated with higher grade complications (15%) requiring surgical intervention under general anaesthesia. Mucositis and acute pain requiring supportive management were the most common indications for readmission. Patients treated with gastrostomies were found to have a median weight loss of 5 kg. Prophylactic gastrostomies demonstrated shorter period of gastrostomy dependency compared to reactive insertions (174 vs. 249 days).
 Conclusions: Radiological gastrostomy insertions were associated with higher grade complications requiring surgical intervention. Higher pre-treatment weights were associated with higher post-treatment weights.


MINERνA is a neutrino scattering experiment at the NuMI beamline of FNAL, which began data taking in fall 2009. MINERνA is a high resolution, fully active detector designed to study the interaction of neutrinos with nuclei. The active volume of the detector consists of 3 tons of plastic scintillator. In addition, targets of 4He, C, H2O, Fe, and Pb will allow detailed studies of the A dependence of neutrino cross sections. Some of the objectives of MINERνA are to measure the axial form factor of the neutron with unprecedented precision, measure nuclear shadowing of F2 and compare with muon scattering, study quark-hadron duality with neutrino scattering in comparison with electron scattering, and measure coherent pion production. We present an overview of the physics objectives, estimated uncertainties of the measurements, along with a description of the detector and a sample of the first measurements.


It is well known that parallel mechanisms have several advantages, namely high power, rapidity and high stiffness. However, their workspace is limited due to interference of each chain. In our previous work, to expand the workspace of Delta mechanisms, ball bearings were employed instead of ball joints. Although this allowed a relatively wide workspace to be achieved, the clearance gap of the ball bearings introduced undesirable flexibility, while mechanical limitations persisted. In this paper, to tackle these problems, a novel parallel mechanism with wire-pulleys is proposed. The basic structure of the new mechanism is the same as that of the conventional Delta mechanism, but wire-pulleys are employed instead of a parallel four-bar mechanism. The key feature of the wire-pulleys is its lack of mechanical limitations. A prototype has been designed and developed, which achieves a wider workspace and reduced backlash. In addition, the total parts quantity has declined by more than 25%. Fundamental experiments show its potential.


The standard afterglow model neglects the presence of the GRB prompt radiation ahead of the blast wave. In fact, the blast wave is dramatically influenced by the leading gamma-ray front which preaccelerates the ambient medium and loads it with electron-positron pairs. The front sweeps the medium outward with a high Lorentz factor and results in a spectacular effect: the GRB ejecta moves freely in a cavity behind its own radiation front. When the front expands sufficiently and gets diluted, a blast wave develops, and it does it differently from the standard model used before. The afterglow should initially appear as a steep rise of soft emission (from infrared to soft X-rays) at a time comparable to the prompt GRB duration and then the emission should quickly evolve to a normal X-ray afterglow. This may explain the prompt optical flash observed in GRB 990123 and allows one to infer the ejecta Lorentz factor in this burst: \Gamma=200. The effect of the gamma-ray front on the afterglow emission is especially pronounced if the GRB has a massive progenitor and the blast wave propagates in the progenitor wind. We emphasize the importance of early afterglow observations in soft bands, as they will allow one to test different progenitor models.


The potential ability of micromechanical/nanomechanical silicon resonators with thicknesses of 500 and 146 nm to detect mass and charge in an ion attachment is investigated in vacuum. Low-energy ions are generated by an ionizer and filtered by a quadrupole mass filter. The vibration of the resonator is measured using a laser Doppler vibrometer, which self-oscillates at its fundamental resonant frequency by feedback-controlled electrostatic actuation. The vibration amplitude is kept at a constant with the auto gain control of the feedback loop. The attachment of ions on the one side of the resonator induces the surface stress, resulting in the change of the resonant frequency. Also the feedback gain that keeps the amplitude at a constant changes due to the charge deposition. The measurement of the mass-induced stress of 9.7×10−7N∕m that resulted from a mass attachment smaller than 69 Zg is demonstrated using the 146-nm-thick silicon resonator.


Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary malignant brain tumor, and currently chemotherapeutic options for GBM are very limited. Given the poor prognosis, the development of novel anti-GBM agents is quite urgent. Using two human glioma cells (U87 and A172 cells), we demonstrated that Icariside II (ICA II), an active flavonoid compound derived from Epimedium koreanum, could inhibit GBM cell growth in a dose dependent manner. Wound healing data suggested that ICA II also inhibited the migration of human glioma cells. Mechanistically, ICA II induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, and this cytotoxic effect was dependent on the reduction of Forkhead box O3a(FOXO3a) phosphorylation mediated by Akt and the enrichment of nuclear FOXO3a, which initiated the transcription of p21/p27. Importantly, the cytotoxic effect induced by ICA II could be reversed by silencing the expression of FOXO3a, suggesting the critical role of FOXO3a in this process. Taken together, we propose ICA II as a potential novel anti-GBM candidate with a mechanism of inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis through suppressing Akt activation and potentiating FOXO3a activity.


The circuit origins of aggression in autism spectrum disorder remain undefined. Here we report Tac1-expressing glutamatergic neurons in ventrolateral division of ventromedial hypothalamus (VMHvl) drive intermale aggression. Aggression is increased due to increases of Ube3a gene dosage in the VMHvl neurons when modeling autism due to maternal 15q11-13 triplication. Targeted deletion of increased Ube3a copies in VMHvl reverses the elevated aggression adult mice. VMHvl neurons form excitatory synapses onto hypothalamic arcuate nucleus AgRP/NPY neurons through a NRXN1-CBLN1-GluD1 transsynaptic complex and UBE3A impairs this synapse by decreasing Cbln1 gene expression. Exciting AgRP/NPY arcuate neurons leads to feedback inhibition of VMHvl neurons and inhibits aggression. Asymptomatic increases of UBE3A synergize with a heterozygous deficiency of presynaptic Nrxn1 or postsynaptic Grid1 (both ASD genes) to increase aggression. Targeted deletions of Grid1 in arcuate AgRP neurons impairs the VMHvl to AgRP/NPY neuron excitatory synapses while increasing aggression. Chemogenetic/optogenetic activation of arcuate AgRP/NPY neurons inhibits VMHvl neurons and represses aggression. These data reveal that multiple autism genes converge to regulate the VMHvl-arcuate AgRP/NPY glutamatergic synapse. The hypothalamic circuitry implicated by these data suggest impaired excitation of AgRP/NPY feedback inhibitory neurons may explain the increased aggression behavior found in genetic forms of autism. One Sentence Summary A feedback circuit in the hypothalamus that inhibits aggression is impaired by converging autism genetic defects.


The combined high-resolution ultraviolet (uv) absorption spectrum of 160D and "OD was obtained. State selective measurements of the transitions from the electronic ground state to the first excited electronic state, k'Z+ - d211, in the O-O vibronic band were performed by means of a narrow bandwidth dye laser system. Evaluation of these transition frequencies in wavenumbers yielded molecular constants as well as rotational term values for each of the isotopic species. A computer program based on a linearized least-squares procedure was used to determine the molecular constants and term values. The term value formulas which were employed for this purpose, take into account the A splitting and the centrifugal distortion of the diatomic species. The transitions, recalculated from the semiempirically determined term values agree with the measured absorption lines to better than 0.1 cm-'. The following molecular constants are reported: B, D, H, the rotational constants of the *II and *Z+ states; O,, PO, Q,,, the constants of the A splitting of the 211 state; A and A,; the constants of the spin-orbit coupling of the 211 state; and yO, the constant of the p doubling of the ?Z+ state. Futhermore, term values up to J" and J' of 25.5 and the corresponding uv transitions are given.


- This study examined the population dynamics to urban spaces needs in one of Africa's biggest cities, Abuja the Federal Capital City of Nigeria. It analyzed urban spaces in the city and examined the pull factors into the city center, in order to replicate functionality in surrounding environment and satellite towns instead of concentrating activities at the center. Materials and methods include primary data got from physical measurement technique, personal observations and physical trace while secondary data were obtained from National Population Commission, Federal Capital Development Authority, Journals and documents from the internet. Data collection and data analysis techniques used for this study includes; remote sensing imagery, geographic information system software, pictures, percentage statistics, frequency statistics and descriptive statistics. Results revealed that the Federal Capital Territory's (FCT) projective population growth overtime has increased more than its estimated target in the Abuja Municipal Area Council, with the implication of possible future crisis on social, economic, human and environmental development.. Statistical analysis reveals that about 55% of population activities takes place within the Municipal area, while observations shows that the Capital City witness continuous pressure on transport route leading into the Capital from Karu, Airport and Kubwa axis; causing productive hours spent on the road and exposed commuters to criminals' nefarious activities during the traffic gridlocks andstress on transport infrastructure. It is on these bases that the study recommends that development planners and city administrators should create alternative land-use model for the remaining Area Councils within the FCT, embark on strategic re-location of part of defense and agricultural ministries and other agencies to more spacious environment, making other Area Councils perform more functional features to growth and development and a creation of standard that will accommodate the various complex data, as population, migrants' data, housing data as well as socio-economic indices of the people that will aid the functionalities of the FCT.


We propose to analyze the determinants of consumers' brand decision within a retailer store using a multinomial mixed logit approach. For the consumers' choice, national brands compete with private labels (both me-too product and high quality store brand). We first find that the standard private label (me-too), independently of the price effect, performs better than all national brands in terms of consumers' utility. Second, the high-quality private label does not reach its target yet in term of consumers' acceptance due to a poor product characteristics perception. Last, it appears that households' objective socioeconomic variables (income, education and household size) do not play any role in private label perception, whereas objective consumption behaviour (store loyalty) clearly favours store brand perception. We find that consumers have a lower private label demand elasticity than the low store loyal ones.


The hypothesis was tested in 30 newborn piglets that the effects of a low dose of endotoxin (1 µg i.v. bolus; Salmonella abortus equi) would impair autonomic nervous system function. Two tests of autonomic function were performed following external warming (pre-endotoxin) and during endotoxin-generated thermogenesis: (1) analysis of heart rate variability in the time and frequency domains and (2) baroreflex sensitivity measured following intravenous injection of the vasoactive drugs nitroprusside and phenylephrine. Beat-to-beat heart rate variability (SDΔRR) fell by 2.2 ms from 7.0 ms before fever (p < 0.05). Low-frequency spectral power fell by 2.4 ms2 from 4.1 ms2 before fever (p < 0.05). The sensitivity of the baroreflex to changes in blood pressure induced by the vasoactive drugs decreased during fever by 0.72 ms/mm Hg for the nitroprusside test (p < 0.0005) and by 0.31 ms/mm Hg for the phenylephrine test (p < 0.005). These results indicate that in the piglet the balance of autonomic tone is altered and autonomic responsiveness reduced during the thermogenic phase of a fever. These findings are consistent with known risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome.


Many studies have shown sympatric plants with similar floral structures to have flowering periods separated in time, and this is usually interpreted as a selective response to competition for pollination. In highly seasonal habitats, however, the time available for flowering may be highly constrained, and many species often flower together. Under such conditions, one alternative to temporal partitioning on a seasonal scale is for species to flower simultaneously, but with pollen release (dehiscence) structured on a diurnal timescale. Here we provide evidence for such diurnal partitioning of both floral resources and pollinator visitation in an African Acacia community. Temporal separation is enhanced by differences in the rewards offered by Acacia species to their pollinators: species producing nectar as well as pollen receive flower visits from insect groups absent from acacias offering only pollen. In contrast to competition for pollination, this situation may promote mutualistic maintenance of shared pollinators by the Acacia species.


No vaccine is a substitute for good management and diligent biosecurity in an aquaculture facility. It is always important to ensure the best water quality possible, provide quality nutrition, avoid overcrowding of tanks and raceways, remove dead fish to prevent pathogen buildup and spread, and reduce or eliminate unnecessary stress on fish. Use of a preventive medicine vaccine program and improved management can help ensure good health in a fish population and reduce the industries' use of therapeutic agents.


Abstract In the project I-CARE a technical system for tablet devices is developed that captures the personal needs and skills of people with dementia. The system provides activation content such as music videos, biographical photographs and quizzes on various topics of interest to people with dementia, their families and professional caregivers. To adapt the system, the activation content is adjusted to the daily condition of individual users. For this purpose, emotions are automatically detected through facial expressions, motion, and voice. The daily interactions of the users with the tablet devices are documented in log files which can be merged into an event list. In this paper, we propose an advanced format for event lists and a data analysis strategy. A transformation scheme is developed in order to obtain datasets with features and time series for popular methods of data mining. The proposed methods are applied to analysing the interactions of people with dementia with the I-CARE tablet device. We show how the new format of event lists and the innovative transformation scheme can be used to compress the stored data, to identify groups of users, and to model changes of user behaviour. As the I-CARE user studies are still ongoing, simulated benchmark log files are applied to illustrate the data mining strategy. We discuss possible solutions to challenges that appear in the context of I-CARE and that are relevant to a broad range of applications.


40 ABSTRACT Most of the sensitive information in the data communication has latent security problems. The algorithm method of AES, DES, 3DES and RC2 which were widely used are not suitable for the coding of advanced language tools. Therefore, we proposed the mixed encryption algorithm based on bit shifting and matrix calculation to solve the problem. Our method is easy to adopt the coding of advanced language and is safe enough. The security mechanism uses some algorithms to scramble data into unreadable text which can be only being decoded or decrypted by party those know the secret key. The proposed algorithms consume very less amount of computing resources such as CPU time, memory and battery power [18]. Our implementations also showed the highest throughputs for all type of files and file size and comparison has been conducted with AES, DES, 3DES,RC2 [1] and result shows the effectiveness and speed of our algorithm.


ABSTRACT The view propounded vigorously by Mohammad Habib that workers, artisans and craftsmen were not allowed to live within the city walls prior to the establishment of Turkish rule in India is examined. On the basis of primary archaeological sources, especially excavation reports and epigraphic data, this paper argues that diverse occupational groups, whose services were essential for the growth and development of towns, lived within the city precincts. Manufacturers and merchants both worked and lived together in the same town. The segregation theory, therefore, is rejected.


Material of Pycnogonida was collected by scuba diving and snorkelling in the eastern Mediterranean Sea from the Aegean Sea to northern Cyprus in 1995–2002; some additional samples were taken in 2006 (mainly in Gencelli Cove, Turkey). This yielded the first record of Ammothella appendiculata for the region. A. longioculata and Callipallene spectrum are newly recorded for Turkey. A hitherto undescribed and tiny species of Anoplodactylus was found. The insufficiently known adult stage of Ammothella uniunguiculata is figured by SEM photograph.


Thousands of new experimental datasets are becoming available every day; in many cases, they are produced within the scope of large cooperative efforts, involving a variety of laboratories spread all over the world, and typically open for public use. Although the potential collective amount of available information is huge, the effective combination of such public sources is hindered by data heterogeneity, as the datasets exhibit a wide variety of notations and formats, concerning both experimental values and metadata. Thus, data integration is becoming a fundamental activity, to be performed prior to data analysis and biological knowledge discovery, consisting of subsequent steps of data extraction, normalization, matching and enrichment; once applied to heterogeneous data sources, it builds multiple perspectives over the genome, leading to the identification of meaningful relationships that could not be perceived by using incompatible data formats. In this paper, we first describe a technological pipeline from data production to data integration; we then propose a taxonomy of genomic data players (based on the distinction between contributors, repository hosts, consortia, integrators and consumers) and apply the taxonomy to describe about 30 important players in genomic data management. We specifically focus on the integrator players and analyse the issues in solving the genomic data integration challenges, as well as evaluate the computational environments that they provide to follow up data integration by means of visualization and analysis tools.


Beulah Reservoir on the north fork of the Malheur River in northeastern Oregon provides irrigation water to nearby farms and ranches and supports an adfluvial population of bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Water management in Beulah Reservoir results in seasonal and annual fluctuations of water volume that may affect forage availability for bull trout. Because no minimum pool requirements currently exist, the reservoir is occasionally reduced to run-of-river levels, which may decimate forage fish populations and ultimately affect bull trout. We sampled fish and aquatic insects in Beulah Reservoir in the spring, before the annual drawdown of 2006, and afterward, in the late fall. We also collected samples 1.5 years after the reservoir was dewatered for three consecutive summers. Overall, the moderate drawdown of 2006 (32 percent of full pool) did not drastically alter the fish community in Beulah Reservoir. We did document, however, decreases in abundance and sizes of chironomids in areas of the reservoir that were frequently dewatered, increased catch rates of fish with gillnets, and decreases in population estimates for smaller fishes after drawdown. In 2006, after the dewaterings of 2002–04, species composition was similar to that prior to the dewaterings, but the size distributions of most species were biased toward small juvenile or subyearling fishes and larger fishes were rare. Our results indicate that repeated reservoir drawdown reduces aquatic insect forage for bull trout and probably affects forage fish populations at least temporarily. The high catch rates of juvenile fishes 1.5 years after consecutive dewaterings suggests good reproductive success for any remaining adult fish, and shows that the fish community in Beulah Reservoir is resilient to such disturbances. There is, however, a period of time after serious drawdowns before significant numbers of juvenile fishes start to appear in the reservoir. Because Beulah Reservoir experiences a wide variety of drawdown scenarios in consecutive years, the forage fish community may never reach a state of equilibrium.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Prostate cancer commonly metastasizes to bone, generating incurable mixed lesions that are both osteolytic and osteogenic. To identify new therapeutic targets we performed gene expression analysis and found that matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3), also known as stromelysin-1 was highly expressed in the prostate tumor-bone microenvironment. In keeping with the literature, immunohistochemical analysis of human bone metastases revealed MMP-3 was largely localized to the stromal compartment. To test whether stromal/host derived MMP-3 contributed to prostate cancer progression in bone, we generated immunocompromized MMP-3 null mice.

Using an in vivo intratibial model of prostate to bone metastases (PaIII), we found that tumor growth, as measured by luminescence, and tumor-induced bone remodeling (μCT, histomorphometry) were significantly mitigated (p<0.05) in MMP-3 null mice compared to wild type controls. Using a candidate approach to examine potential mechanisms, we focused on parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP), a powerful regulator of osteoblast behavior in the vicious cycle. We identified that MMP-3 processes mature PTHrP1-36 to yield unique PTHrP1-17, PTHrP18-26, and PTHrP27-36 fragments in vitro. To test the biological significance of the fragments we focused on testing their impact on stromal cell behavior. Using Boyden chamber migration assays, we observed a significant increase in migration of murine MSCs and MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts in response to 10nM PTHrP1-17 compared to that of PTHrP1-36. Further analysis via confocal microscopy revealed a reduction in actin stress fibers as well as variations in lamellipodia and vinculin organization of pre-osteoblasts and primary osteoblasts treated with PTHrP1-17, and live cell microscopy indicated that these effects were transient with the cells reverting to the usual phenotype in a 24-hour period. Reduced phosphorylation of Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) substrates such as the myosin light chain suggest that PTHrP1-17 may mediate pre-osteoblast migration by modulating ROCK activity.

Our data demonstrate that host MMP-3 contributes to prostate tumor growth and tumor induced changes in bone remodeling in vivo. Further, we have identified that mature PTHrP1-36 is subject to cleavage by MMP-3 resulting in PTHrP1-17, PTHrP18-26, and PTHrP27-36 fragments of which PTHrP1-17 significantly stimulates migration of murine MSCs and MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts. Collectively, these data indicate that specific inhibition of MMP-3 and/or targeting MMP generated neo-epitopes would be efficacious for the treatment of prostate to bone metastases.

Citation Format: Jeremy Steven Frieling, Lizzie Atomi Pamen, Shengyu Yang, Conor C. Lynch. MMP-3 generates a novel PTHrP peptide that impacts osteoblast behavior and contributes to metastatic tumor growth in bone. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 4877. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-4877


Sommerlad BC, Fenn C, Harland K, Sell D, Birch MJ, Dave R, Lees M, Barnett A. Submucous cleft palate: a grading system and review of 40 consecutive submucous cleft palate repairs. Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 2004;41:114–123. ''In submucous cleft palate patients, nothing but normal speech should be accepted'' (Abyholm, 1976). The article by Sommerlad et al. (2004) highlights again the difficulty in managing this perceived minor variety of the secondary palatal cleft (Moss, 1989). However, certain questions inevitably arise from this article, which add to the debate:


This paper studies the performances and behaviors of BERT in ranking tasks. We explore several different ways to leverage the pre-trained BERT and fine-tune it on two ranking tasks: MS MARCO passage reranking and TREC Web Track ad hoc document ranking. Experimental results on MS MARCO demonstrate the strong effectiveness of BERT in question-answering focused passage ranking tasks, as well as the fact that BERT is a strong interaction-based seq2seq matching model. Experimental results on TREC show the gaps between the BERT pre-trained on surrounding contexts and the needs of ad hoc document ranking. Analyses illustrate how BERT allocates its attentions between query-document tokens in its Transformer layers, how it prefers semantic matches between paraphrase tokens, and how that differs with the soft match patterns learned by a click-trained neural ranker.


When COVID-19 caused a full season of book events to be cancelled in spring 2020, the MIT Press decided immediately to take its author events online instead. This article describes the process of making a swift transition from festivals, book tours, launches, and conferences to a fully digital events landscape.


A fuzzy boundary modular neural network (FBMNN) is proposed for the chaotic time series prediction. First,the reconstructed phase space is divided into several subspaces and the divided points are evaluated by genetic algorithms. Then a fuzzy membership function is defined and the fuzzy boundary is set on the border according to the fuzzy membership. Through this fuzzy treatment,the jumping problem of the predicted data near the divided points are solved. Finally the data points of each module and its fuzzy boundary are input to a recurrent neural network for training and the output predicted points are synthesized by a synthesis forecast module. The effectiveness of FBMNN is evaluated by using three benchmark chaotic time series data sets:the Mackey-Glass series,Lorenz series,and Henon series. The simulation results show that FBMNN improves the performance of chaotic time series prediction.


Within 30 years the world will be supplying food for an additional 2.5 billion people, most of whom will live in developing countries. Developing countries in meeting future challenges will need to implement sound and stable macroeconomic and sector policies. The World Bank is providing analysis, policy dialogue, and financial support in specific countries for opening up agricultural markets globally. Developing countries need to enhance food supplies by encouraging rapid technological change, increasing the efficiency of irrigation, and improving natural resource management. Agricultural and income growth in developing countries is dependent upon transfer of the breakthroughs in agricultural technology to the millions of small farms in the developing world. People currently use about 70% of available fresh water for irrigation, and competition for water resources with urban and industrial users has increased. Agriculture and other sectors must increase the efficiency of water use. Natural resource planning and comprehensive water and natural resource management that rely on a community-based approach have proven successful. Developing countries need to improve access to food by strengthening markets and agribusinesses, providing education and health services to both boys and girls, investing in infrastructure, and fostering broad participation. The major challenge ahead is to ensure food security for the hundreds of millions of families living in poverty. This large and complex task involves increasing agricultural output worldwide, reducing poverty, and improving health and nutrition. Progress has been made in the past 25 years in improving living conditions, but not everyone has benefitted. Almost 75% of the poor live in rural areas without access to land, and 25% are urban poor without jobs. Most of the poor live in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The World Bank mandate is to reduce poverty and hunger through revitalized rural development.


The mammalian MAGI proteins play important roles in the maintenance of adherens and tight junctions. The MAGI family of proteins contains modular domains such as WW and PDZ domains necessary for scaffolding of membrane receptors and intracellular signaling components. Loss of MAGI leads to reduced junction stability while overexpression of MAGI can lead to increased adhesion and stabilization of epithelial morphology. However, how Magi regulates junction assembly in epithelia is largely unknown. We investigated the single Drosophila homologue of Magi to study the in vivo role of Magi in epithelial development. Magi is localized at the adherens junction and forms a complex with the polarity proteins, Par3/Bazooka and aPKC. We generated a Magi null mutant and found that Magi null mutants were viable with no detectable morphological defects even though the Magi protein is highly conserved with vertebrate Magi homologues. However, overexpression of Magi resulted in the displacement of Baz/Par3 and aPKC and lead to an increase in the level of PIP3. Interestingly, we found that Magi and Baz functioned in an antagonistic manner to regulate the localization of the apical polarity complex. Maintaining the balance between the level of Magi and Baz is an important determinant of the levels and localization of apical polarity complex.


The state of chaos exhibited in nonlinear system may appear through various roots. However, for mostly one dimensional system, it appears through period doubling roots. Phenomena of bifurcations, drawn by varying certain parameter of the system, explain clearly regular as well as chaotic evolution of the system. As a measure of chaos, the most suitable tools to be considered are: Lyapunov characteristic exponents (LCE) and topological entropies. Though the plots of both of the LCE's and topological entropies are similar, but both have certain limitations. LCE would not work for systems having relativistic considerations but the topological entropy can work. In fact, topological entropy can nicely provide the measure of complexity of the system in the sense that the more complexity in the system means more topological entropy it will have. A chaotic system exhibits a chaotic set, strange attractor, having fractal property. Calculation of correlation dimension is required to obtain the dimension of such attractor. The work presented here explains the appearance of chaos through bifurcation in some nonlinear one dimensional discrete system. The stability of the steady state, (i.e. fixed points), have been examined for each system and then plots of Lyapunov exponents and topological entropies for their evolution have been


This paper demonstrates the extent to which married women's labor supply elasticities have changed over the past quarter century. Estimates from March Current Population Survey data suggest that these elasticities have decreased substantially, by 60 percent for the hours wage elasticity (from 0.36 to 0.14), 70 percent for the hours income elasticity (from -0.053 to –0.015), 95 percent for the participation wage elasticity (from 0.66 to 0.03), and 60 percent for the participation income elasticity (from –0.13 to –0.05). Changing demographic characteristics explain little of the drop in these elasticities, suggesting that preferences toward work have changed across birth cohorts.


Abstract The production of Turkey red dyed and printed cottons was a major industry in the west of Scotland, particularly in the mid- to late nineteenth century. Although the extensive works were pulled down in the second half of the twentieth century, our knowledge of this industry is significantly aided by the survival of approximately 200 pattern books, now housed in the National Museums Scotland. These pattern books, examined along with business papers, exhibition catalogues and the Board of Trade Design Registers, are the foundation for a new study into the wider Scottish decorative textile industry. The ongoing examination of these pattern books has shown the variety and longevity of Turkey red dyed and printed patterns, as well as providing insights into wider aspects of the textile industry, including issues of design, manufacture and trade.


Brain-specific homing and direct interactions with the neural substance are prominent hypotheses for brain metastasis formation and a modern manifestation of Paget's "seed and soil" concept. However, there is little direct evidence for this "neurotropic" growth in vivo. In contrast, many experimental studies have anecdotally noted the propensity of metastatic cells to grow along the exterior of pre-existing vessels of the CNS, a process termed vascular cooption. These observations suggest the "soil" for malignant cells in the CNS may well be vascular, rather than neuronal. We used in vivo experimental models of brain metastasis and analysis of human clinical specimens to test this hypothesis. Indeed, over 95% of early micrometastases examined demonstrated vascular cooption with little evidence for isolated neurotropic growth. This vessel interaction was adhesive in nature implicating the vascular basement membrane (VBM) as the active substrate for tumor cell growth in the brain. Accordingly, VBM promoted adhesion and invasion of malignant cells and was sufficient for tumor growth prior to any evidence of angiogenesis. Blockade or loss of the β1 integrin subunit in tumor cells prevented adhesion to VBM and attenuated metastasis establishment and growth in vivo. Our data establishes a new understanding of CNS metastasis formation and identifies the neurovasculature as the critical partner for such growth. Further, we have elucidated the mechanism of vascular cooption for the first time. These findings may help inform the design of effective molecular therapies for patients with fatal CNS malignancies.


This paper investigates English grammar errors made by advanced Arab Open University students majoring in English Language and Literature at Kuwait-Branch. A representative sample of 25 students' Tutor Marked Assignments (TMAs) comprised the corpus of the study. These TMAs (take-home assignments) are long essays whose length ranges between 1,500 words for ordinary assignments, and 4,000-5,000 words for the final projects. The corpus is based on assignments for a senior level, 16-credit-hour course entitled E300: English Language and Literacy. This course is the last language course studied by students before graduation. It was selected because the study is aimed at finding residual errors made by senior English majors who had previously passed courses meant to eradicate their more discrete language errors. The data were analyzed, tabulated and interpreted to mark the learning difficulties which persisted in the grammatical structure of the target students. The research findings are expected to help teachers and syllabus designers to be more informed about the areas that need to be addressed and the most adequate teaching methods to be adopted. .


In the midst of a desert, Tau, a sort of giant larva, is dying. Around this agony a variety of little creatures enter into conflict.


Existing architectures for imitation learning using image-to-action policy networks perform poorly when presented with an input image containing multiple instances of the object of interest, especially when the number of expert demonstrations available for training are limited. We show that end-to-end policy networks can be trained in a sample efficient manner by (a) appending the feature map output of the vision layers with an embedding that can indicate instance preference or take advantage of an implicit preference present in the expert demonstrations, and (b) employing an autoregressive action generator network for the control layers. The proposed architecture for localization has improved accuracy and sample efficiency and can generalize to the presence of more instances of objects than seen during training. When used for end-to-end imitation learning to perform reach, push, and pick-and-place tasks on a real robot, training is achieved with as few as 15 expert demonstrations.


Neutrophilic eccrine hidradenitis (NEH), first described as a rare, transient, and benign complication of various chemotherapy regimens for acute leukemia, has also been observed in other conditions, including three HIV‐positive patients and even in otherwise healthy individuals (1–3). A similar histological pattern was described after intradermal bleomycin injections into normal human skin (4). We report the first case of NEH in a hemophilic HIV infected patient treated with stavudine, a new reverse transcriptase inhibitor.


Release of cytochrome c from mitochondria to cytosol is a critical step in the mitochondrial-dependent signaling pathways of apoptosis. The authors have reported that manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) attenuated cytochrome c release and apoptotic cell death after focal cerebral ischemia (FCI). To investigate downstream to the cytochrome c-dependent pathway, the authors examined caspase-9 activation after transient FCI by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting in both wild-type and Sod2 −/+ mice. Mice were subjected to 60 minutes of middle cerebral artery occlusion followed by 1, 2, 4, or 24 hours of reperfusion. Two hours after reperfusion, cytochrome c and caspase-9 were observed in the cytosol and significantly increased in Sod2 −/+ mutants compared with wild-type mice as shown by Western blotting. Immunofluorescent double labeling for cytochrome c and caspase-9 showed cytosolic cytochrome c 1 hour after transient FCI. Cleaved caspase-9 first appeared in the cytosol at 2 hours and colocalized with cytochrome c. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated uridine 5′-triphosphate-biotin nick and labeling (TUNEL) showed significant increase of positive cells in Sod2 −/+ mice compared with the wild-type in the cortex, but not in the caudate putamen. The current study revealed Mn-SOD might affect cytochrome c translocation and downstream caspase activation in the mitochondrial-dependent cell death pathway after transient FCI.


In this paper, we assess Bayesian model averaging (BMA) techniques for dynamic linear models (DLMs) with variance matrix discounting. In previous research, the discount factors for the variance matrices and the auto-regressive lag have typically been pre-determined and held constant over time. Using posterior model probabilities, we average DLMs employing different discount rates and lag parameters, allowing flexibility in the weights on these parameter values. We also include an additional discount factor for previous model likelihoods to emphasize the most relevant data and make the averaging process more inclusive. We apply this model averaging and extension to the daily prices of nine exchange rates, two commodities, and two stock indices, evaluating fiveday forecasts and portfolio returns. Afterward, we apply the same model to the series of realized returns of the averaged models to create a "fund of funds" portfolio. We find that there is shifting of model probabilities over time across both discount factors and lags, and the inclusion of likelihood discounting leads to higher portfolio returns.


The paper considers a homogeneous product market where, given capacities, boundedly rational firms compete repeatedly in prices aiming to maximiz e each period's expected profits. This is done in a context in which the Bertrand outcome obtains at an equilibrium of the static price game, which in turn is shown to require just a small amount of excess capacity if the one-firm concentration ratio is sufficiently small. A convergence result is established for the n-firm oligopoly case: prices are shown to converge in finite time to marginal cost under a very general condition on the learning process by which beliefs about rivals' prices are formed, a condition that is self-ful filling over the entire adjustment process.


Thick (>150 μm) beryllium coatings are studied as an ablator material of interest for fusion fuel capsules for the National Ignition Facility. DC magnetron sputtering is used because of the relative controllability of the processing temperature and energy of the deposits. However, coatings produced by DC magnetron sputtering leak the fuel gas D_2. By using ion-assisted DC magnetron, sputtered coatings can be made that are leak-tight. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies revealed microstructural changes that lead to leak-tight coating. Ultrasmall angle x-ray spectroscopy is used to characterize the void distribution and volume along the spherical surface along with a combination of focused ion beam, scanning electron microscope, and TEM. An in situ multibeam optical stress sensor was used to measure the stress behavior of thick beryllium coatings on flat substrates as the material was being deposited.


Patterns of habitat use by murid rodents were examined in lowland grasslands in Taiwan. Fifteen grassland sites were live-trapped in 1990, and 16 microhabitat variables were measured at each of 539 trap stations in the sampling sites. Mus caroli, Apodemus agrarius, Rattus losea, and Bandicota indica were captured regularly during the sampling. Rattus norvegicus and Nivivenrer coxingi were captured infrequently. The analysis focused on the four common species.

Mus caroli, R. losea, and B. indica have been considered to be commensals of humans and to be largely dependent upon agricultural crops. However, these species were captured in natural habitats, often far from agricultural areas. M. caroli and R. Iosea were by far the most abundant species.

Vertical stratification of the habitat did not increase the number of species or overall rodent abundance. Rather, sites with well-developed grass cover and little vertical development of vegetation above the grass layer had the highest overall densities of rodents.

Use of habitat was very similar among the four common species and was concentrated in areas with dense grass cover. Overlap in habitat use was particularly extensive in the core areas of greatest occupancy. Relative population abundances (number of individuals captured per trap station) of the four species were related weakly to the microhabitat variables. These variables were better predictors of capture probabilities of M. caroli and R. losea at individual trap stations, as revealed by multiple logistic regression. Abundances and capture probabilities did not appear to be affected by the presence or abundance of other species.

It is suggested that body size differences may facilitate coexistence of these four species of ecologically similar murids. Beginning with the smallest species (M. caroli), body masses of each subsequent species in the series differ by at least a factor of two. These grassland communities may be somewhat resistant to invasion by more similar-sized species of murids.


Tomato is mainly cultivated in monocrops, by intensive use of chemical products. It is an activity with economic, social and environmental risks. The intercropping has been used as a form to reduce these risks. In this work the yield of tomato in sole crop and intercropping with Foeniculum vulgare, Mentha piperita, Ocimum basilicum and Ruta graveolens was evaluated. The monocrop of tomato and its intercropping was evaluated with aromatic plants in a complete randomized design, with five treatments and four blocks. We evaluated height, canopy area, production, yield and land equivalent ratio. On the population density adopted, the F. vulgare (fennel) presented greater height and canopy area, and caused significant reduction on total production of tomato, from 12.23 kg, in monocrop, to 7.88 kg, when intercropped with fennel. However, intercropping with fennel contributed to a lesser loose caused by fruits borer (24%). The greatest loose caused by fruits borer occurred in monocropping and in intercropping with M. piperita (peppermint). Intercropping with Ruta graveolens (rue) resulted significant increase of commercial production of fruits, about 26%. The relative yield of tomato was greater in intercropping with rue (13.6 t ha-1), followed by intercropping with peppermint (9.8 t ha-1) and with O. basilicum (basil) (9.1 t ha-1), and lesser on intercropping with fennel (6.4 t ha-1). These results showed that the intercropping with rue was more advantageous than others producing more fruits. Among the studied aromatic plants, basil presented the highest yield (96.5 t ha-1). The tomato intercropping with aromatic cultures permits better use of land and higher yield, mainly when intercropping with rue. All aromatics plants evaluated represent an alternative source of gain.


The author addresses the spatial coherence of high-frequency acoustic signals that have been forward scattered from the sea surface. The Fresnel-corrected Kirchhoff approximation is applied to derive closed-form expressions for the spatial coherence. These expressions are used to study the influence of geometrical and environmental factors on the coherence. An application of the theory involving the rejection of the surface image of a source by a vertical adaptive line array is presented. The author concludes that the environment has a strong impact on the array processing of surface-scattered fields through its influence on both vertical and horizontal spatial coherence. >