Abstract: A total of 119 pigs were used to investigate the effect of slaughter weight (107, 115, and 125 kg), growth rate (fast vs. slow), and sex (barrows vs. gilts) on the longissimus muscle biochemical and sensory traits. Increasing slaughter weight to 125 kg resulted in greater postmortem activity of calpastatin (P = 0.01), lactate dehydrogenase (P = 0.01), and citrate synthase (P = 0.02). Pork toughness and juiciness at 6 d were affected by the interaction slaughter weight × growth rate × sex, with pork being tougher (P = 0.04) and juicer (P = 0.03) in slow-growing gilts slaughtered at 125 and 115 kg, respectively. Flavour was scored higher (P = 0.03) in pork from gilts than from barrows. Overall, based on the slight and likely undetectable differences by the average consumer in the meat sensory traits, it can be concluded that slaughter weight can be increased to 125 kg without appreciable effect on the sensory properties.


Magnetic structures are investigated by means of neutron diffraction to shine a light on the intricate details that are believed to be key to understanding the magnetoelectric effect in LiCoPO4. At zero field, a spontaneous spin canting of φ=7(1)∘ is found. The spins tilt away from the easy b-axis toward c. Symmetry considerations lead to the magnetic point group m′z, which is consistent with the previously observed magnetoelectric tensor form and weak ferromagnetic moment along b. For magnetic fields applied along a, the induced ferromagnetic moment couples via the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction to yield an additional fieldinduced spin canting. An upper limit to the size of the interaction is estimated from the canting angle.


We calculate the vacuum energy for the twisted SUSY D-brane on a toroidal background with constant magnetic or constant electric field. A numerical study of its behaviour for a toroidal D-brane (p = 2) in a constant electric field shows the presence of a stable minimum for untwisted or twisted versions of the theory. This indicates that such a background may be a reasonable ground state.


The aim of this study is to examine regulation of priority in the different teaching-learning process of science teachers format. Nine science teachers attendant in state schools with similar properties in Aksaray, constitute the working group's research. The data obtained through observation and interviews were analyzed descriptively.According to the results of teachers findings related to the preparation before the course examined three categories including content, learning environment, findings for students of different levels. All three groups of teachers said that they had made several preparations under this category before the course. The activities that took place in the introduction of class by teacher were examined in the form of reminders, class teacher attention, motivation, to notify the target and prerequisite information and it was determined that several variations based on priority in that category. According to the findings relating to the course of teacher workings, question-answer and lectures were used in three groups. The most diverse materials and teaching methods and techniques in the course belongs to teachers with priority between 11-20 years. While the priority of teachers increases student participation in the course decreases. 1-10 years from associating with everyday life; between the main and sub-points highlighting 11-20 years; making summaries are 21 and older teachers with seniority they left missing in the course of those points.


We propose a theory of the scope of the firm, and offer supporting evidence. The theory suggests that multi-business firms exist because they allow better deployment of factors that, because of sub-additive transactions costs, cannot be traded in fractions or rented for short periods. It predicts that the businesses making up multi-business firms are "neighbors" in a two senses: their service needs are correlated and factors specialized to one business are also productive in the other. We then look at a sample of acquisitions and document three regularities. First, input intensities of targets change to more closely resemble those of their acquirers. Second, the performance of targets improve but does not catch up to that of their acquirers. Third, acquirers tend to select targets in industries that are similar to their own.


Background Specific white-matter tract alterations in migraine remain to be elucidated. Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), this study investigated whether the integrity of white-matter tracts that underlie regions of the "pain matrix" is altered in migraine and interrogated whether the number of years lived with migraine modifies fibertract structure. Methods Global probabilistic tractography was used to assess the anterior thalamic radiations, the corticospinal tracts and the inferior longitudinal fasciculi in 23 adults with migraine and 18 healthy controls. Results Migraine patients show greater mean diffusivity (MD) in the left and right anterior thalamic radiations, the left corticospinal tract, and the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus tract. Migraine patients also show greater radial diffusivity (RD) in the left anterior thalamic radiations, the left corticospinal tract as well as the left and right inferior longitudinal fasciculus tracts. No group fractional anisotropy (FA) differences were identified for any tracts. Migraineurs showed a positive correlation between years lived with migraine and MD in the right anterior thalamic radiations (r = 0.517; p = 0.012) and the left corticospinal tract (r = 0.468; p = 0.024). Conclusion Results indicate that white-matter integrity is altered in migraine and that longer migraine history is positively correlated with greater alterations in tract integrity.


Reinvestigation of the late Archaean stromatolites of the Steep Rock Group has shown that a wide variety of forms is present, including domed and tabular bioherms and biostromes. Both columnar and noncolumnar structures are present. Branching is common in some columnar forms. Facing directions in the stromatolites are consistent with other field evidence showing that the base of the Steep Rock Group is an unconformity.


Aim: The aim of this in vitro study was to determine the effect of fiber reinforcement on the color changes of two different composite resins. Materials and Methods: A silorane-based composite (Filtek Silorane, A2 shade) and a methacrylate-based composite (Valux Plus, A2 shade) were used in this study. Three groups of samples (control group with no reinforcements, polyethylene fiber [Ribbond THM]-reinforced composite, and glass fiber [everStick® Net]-reinforced composite groups) were prepared from each composite (n = 8). The color change was calculated between baseline and 1 day (DE1) and between baseline, 7 days (DE2), and 21 days (DE3) with a spectrophotometer. The data were analyzed by ANOVA, Duncan's multiple-range tests and independent sample t-test. Results: Statistical analysis of variance presented the statistically significance difference between composite, fiber, and time for DE (P < 0.05). The Ribbond reinforced composite showed a similar color change to the control group (ΔE = 3.69), while the everStick reinforced composite showed the largest total color change (ΔE = 4.13). It was determined that the time is an effective factor on the color stability of reinforced composites (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The addition of fiber may lead to color change in composite resins. The amount of change may differ depending on the structural properties of the composite resin or the fiber and time.


Higher plant mitochondria mainly contain group II introns presenting a secondary structure with six helical domains linked to a central hub. Experimental evidence of functional elements in higher plant mitochondria introns is limited since they are unable to undergo self-splicing and the definition of functional domains is based on data obtained from yeast autocatalytic introns. Here we study the role of putative functional elements required for the splicing reaction. The exon-binding and intron-binding sites (EBS and IBS, respectively), and the domain 6, which is involved in lariat formation, were analysed by site-directed mutagenesis and transient expression in electroporated mitochondria. The data presented here demonstrate the role of EBS1-IBS1 and EBS2-IBS2 interactions and reveal a new secondary-structure interaction. The role of the C to U editing conversion in the IBS1 motif is discussed.


The SARS-CoV-2 virus caused a worldwide epidemic of respiratory disease (COVID-19). Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has been associated with severe COVID-19. Activation of neutrophils have been linked to ARDS in COVID-19. While emerging results indicate that SARS-CoV-2 leads to neutrophil activation, it remains unknown which components of the virus are responsible for this. We assessed in vitro how the spike (S) protein and anti-spike antibodies affect neutrophils. Human neutrophils were isolated from healthy donors. Different concentrations of recombinant S protein, a monoclonal antibody (mAb) produced against the S protein and their immunocomplex were used to stimulate neutrophils. Unstimulated and PMA-treated neutrophils were used as negative and positive controls. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was measured by Diogenes chemiluminescence, and cell death was measured by fluorescence. While no significant increase of cell death was observed, neutrophils responded with a dose-dependent increase in the production of ROS when stimulated with either the S protein or the mAb. Neutrophils produced significantly (p<0.05) more ROS when activated by 1,000 ng of the mAb. Immune complex stimulation (1,000 ng each component) of human neutrophils also lead to significantly (p<0.005) enhanced ROS production compared to stimulations by the protein or the mAb alone. Neutrophil cell death was also significantly enhanced when stimulated by the immune complex (500 ng and 1,000 ng each component) (p<0.05, p<0.005, respectively). Our work indicates that the S protein and its immune complex formed with mAb could stimulate neutrophils in vitro and contribute to neutrophil-mediated tissue damage in COVID-19 patients.
 Supported by grants from: Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, International Graduate Programme (PrInt FIOCRUZ-CAPES), University of Georgia and NIH.


It has been shown that Polycar prepared from sodium carbonate byproducts, intended for the treatment of potatoes before its storage, makes for an increase in solanine content, and a decrease in the level of ascorbic acid in potato. Such potato produces a toxic effect on the rat body. A conclusion has been made that Polycar could not be used as an agent for potato treatment.


Among a number of political ramifications, the recent UKIP by-election success in Clacton has raised tough questions about the organization of televised debates during the 2015 general election campaign. LSE's Nick Anstead looks to Germany and Canada for more inclusive models that the UK could follow.


A scientific hurdle in manufacturing solid films by drying colloidal layers is preventing them from fracturing. This paper examines how the drying rate of colloidal liquids influences the particle packing at the nanoscale in correlation with the crack patterns observed at the macroscale. Increasing the drying rate results in more ordered, denser solid structures, and the dried samples have more cracks. Yet, introducing a holding period (at a prescribed point) during the drying protocol results in a more disordered solid structure with significantly less cracks. To interpret these observations, this paper conjectures that a longer drying protocol favors the formation of aggregates. It is further argued that the number and size of the aggregates increase as the drying rate decreases. This results in the formation of a more disordered, porous film from the viewpoint of the particle packing, and a more resistant film, i.e. less cracks, from the macroscale viewpoint.


The tenderness of meat influences consumers' perceptions of its quality. Meat tenderness is a key quality characteristic that influences consumer satisfaction, repeat purchases, and willingness to pay higher prices for meat. Muscle fibers, connective tissues, and adipocytes are the main structural components of meat that contribute to its tenderness and texture. In the present review, we have focused on the role of connective tissue and its components in meat tenderness, specifically perimysial intramuscular connective tissue (IMCT) and its concept as an immutable "background toughness." The collagen contribution to cooked meat toughness can be altered by animal diet, compensatory growth, slaughter age, aging, and cooking. As well, progressive thickening of the perimysium leads to a progressive increase in shear force values in beef, pork, chicken, and this may occur prior to adipocyte formation as cattle finish in feedlots. Conversely, adipocyte accumulation in the perimysium can decrease cooked meat shear force, suggesting that the contribution of IMCT to meat toughness is complex and driven by both collagen structure and content. This review provides a theoretical foundation of information to modify IMCT components to improve meat tenderness.


Purpose: This study sought to determine if copy number variant (CNV) combined with other genetic variants in the glutatione S-transferase Mu class1 (GSTM1) promoter have an important impact on recurrence and overall survival in head and neck cancer patients after retinoid acid treatment. Experimental Method: This study included 441 head and neck patients treated with retinoid acid. Among these cases, 133 experienced recurrence of disease and/or a second primary tumor, while 308 have single primary disease. TaqMan real-time PCR and direct sequencing were used to determine genetic variants in GSTM1. Recurrence and secondary primary tumor (REC/SPT) were evaluated by logistic regression modeling and overall survival was estimated by Kaplan-Meier analysis using STATA. Results: Regression analysis revealed significantly decreased REC/SPT and increased overall survival in subjects with at least 2 copies of GSTM1 (OR=0.57; 95%CI=0.35-0.95) but not in those with 1 copy of the gene. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis also revealed longer overall survival in patients with at least 2 copies of GSTM1. Allele frequency analysis showed −498 C>G, −426 A>G, −339 C>T polymorphisms were significantly associated with REC/SPT in head and neck cancer patients a(OR 0.12 (0.02-0.87), 0.30 (0.11-0.80) and 1.87 (1.00-3.51), respectively. Further survival analysis demonstrated that the −498G, −426G and −339C alleles significantly increased the overall survival in head and neck cancer subjects. Conclusion: These results suggest the GSTM1 CNV combined with single nucleotide polymorphisms is a better predictor of REC/SPT and overall survival of head and neck cancer after retinoic acid treatment than just measuring the presence/absence of GSTM1. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 885.


While the stable model semantics, in the form of Answer Set Programming, has become a successful semantics for disjunctive logic programs, a corresponding satisfactory extension of the well-founded semantics to disjunctive programs remains to be found. The many current proposals for such an extension are so diverse, that even a systematic comparison between them is a challenging task. This is mainly caused by the completely different mechanisms applied in the approaches. In order to aid the quest for suitable disjunctive well-founded semantics, we present a systematic approach to a comparison based on level mappings, a recently introduced framework for characterizing logic programming semantics, which was quite successfully used for comparing the major semantics for normal logic programs. We extend this framework to disjunctive logic programs and present alternative characterizations for the strong well-founded semantics (SWFS), the generalized disjunctive wellfounded semantics (GDWFS), and the disjunctive well-founded semantics (D-WFS). This will allow us to gain comparative insights into their different handling of negation.


Primary viral infections of the lung induce potent effector CD8 T cell responses. To function in the influenza-infected airways, CD8 T cells must be able to resist cell death. The majority of the CD8 T cells in the airways and lung parenchyma expressed CD49a, the (cid:1) -chain of the type IV collagen receptor VLA-1, and these cells were highly activated, producing both IFN- (cid:4) and TNF- (cid:1) . In the airways, where type IV collagen is abundant, but not the spleen, the CD49a (cid:3) CD8 cells had reduced proportions of annexin V and caspase 8, and > 80% expressed the TNF- (cid:1) receptor II, while Fas, TNFR-I, and CD27 expression were similar to CD49a (cid:5) cells. Furthermore, the CD49a (cid:3) , but not CD49a (cid:5) , CD8 T cells from the airways were resistant to active induction of apoptosis in the presence of type IV collagen and TNF- (cid:1) in vitro. We propose that TNFR-II and the VLA-1 synergize to protect effector CD8 T cells in the infected airways from apoptosis during the acute infection. The Journal of Immunology, 2007, 179: 5054–5063.


In this paper, we illustrate the design of a cross layered MAC and routing solution for supporting the fast propagation of broadcast messages at intersections in a Vehicular Ad Hoc Network (VANET). One of the fundamental services in VANET is broadcasting, that is a challenging task due to different road topologies and network conditions. One of its challenges is broadcasting at intersections, because vehicles in different roads constituting an intersections can affect on broadcast process of other roads, message may not be propagated in some directions. In this paper we propose a cross layered method that by classifying vehicles based on their location and the road they move in, solves this problem. Our method is simulated in NS2, and simulation results show our cross layered method is better than method based on IEEE 802.11.


In systems where interactions couple a central degree of freedom and a bath, one would expect signatures of the bath's phase to be reflected in the dynamics of the central degree of freedom. This has been recently explored in connection with many-body localized baths coupled with a central qubit or a single cavity mode -- systems with growing experimental relevance in various platforms. Such models also have an interesting connection with Floquet many-body localization via quantizing the external drive, although this has been relatively unexplored. Here we adapt the multilayer multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree (ML-MCTDH) method, a well-known tree tensor network algorithm, to numerically simulate the dynamics of a central degree of freedom, represented by a $d$-level system (qudit), coupled to a disordered interacting 1D spin bath. ML-MCTDH allows us to reach $\approx 10^2$ lattice sites, a far larger system size than what is feasible with exact diagonalization or kernel polynomial methods. From the intermediate time dynamics, we find a well-defined thermodynamic limit for the qudit dynamics upon appropriate rescaling of the system-bath coupling. The spin system shows similar scaling collapse in the Edward-Anderson spin glass order parameter or entanglement entropy at relatively short times. At longer time scales, we see slow growth of the entanglement, which may arise from dephasing mechanisms in the localized system or long-range interactions mediated by the central degree of freedom. Similar signs of localization are shown to appear as well with unscaled system-bath coupling.


Abstract Security has evolved into an essential quality factor of software systems. However, security features in software applications are often time-consuming, error-prone and too complicated for common users. This is mainly due to a limited consideration and integration of usability. As a consequence, users either circumvent security features or do not utilize them at all. Usable security is an advanced quality topic and an important research area of software systems. This area combines usability and security with the objective of making the use of security features in software effective, efficient and satisfying. In order to meet this challenge, the research project USecureD aims at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in facilitating the selection and incorporation of usable security by developing, evaluating and collecting principles, guidelines, patterns and tools for merging usability and security engineering. During the initiation phase of the USecureD project, an online study (N = 118) in conjunction with 10 interviews and 2 workshops have been conducted in order to identify the relevance and requirements of usability, security and usable security with a specific focus on SMEs. The obtained results are presented and derived implications are discussed in this paper.


The importance of martensitic transformations has led to tremendous efforts to explore the microscopic martensitic transition paths. There are five possible transformation paths (for γ → α transition) known for Fe at present, and at an arbitrary activation energy, any of the five paths might be followed. It then becomes considerably difficult to monitor the microscopic phase transition mechanism in experiments. Therefore, it is helpful to realize only one of the paths in a physical process. Based on first-principles calculations, we show that at suitable activation energies the Nishiyama–Wassermann (N–W) transformation path can be realized without the involvement of the Bain path, since the condition ENW(θ) < E < EBain can be satisfied by pure Fe. E is the activation energy of the system, and ENW(θ) and EBain are the energy barriers for the N–W and Bain transformations, respectively. In particular, the potential energy surface (PES) for the N–W transformation has been calculated as being four-dimensional, i.e., E = E(a,b,c,θ), where (a, b, c) are the lattice constants and θ is the shear angle involved in the shear distortion of the N–W path.


Tuning the chemistry of materials often leads to discoveries of interesting phenomena that expand basic science and support practical applications. Here we show how different spin–orbit coupling in light and heavy lanthanides can be exploited to create complex magnetic ground states and thereby unusual spontaneous exchange bias (SEB), conventional exchange bias (CEB), and magnetic memory effects in almost ideally magnetically compensated Pr0.75Gd0.25ScGe, which is a representative of the PrScGe–GdScGe solid solution. We report the synthesis and detailed characterization of Pr0.75Gd0.25ScGe by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and magnetization measurements in magnetic fields up to 140 kOe. Partial substitution of a light lanthanide, Pr, with a heavy lanthanide, Gd, results in a complex magnetic ground state, which includes large spontaneous and conventional exchange biases reaching magnitudes of ∼1.7 kOe and ∼3.5 kOe, respectively, at T = 2 K, as well as shape dependent magnetic compensation and bias phenomena occurring in small external fields. Disciplines Materials Chemistry This article is available at Iowa State University Digital Repository: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ameslab_manuscripts/ 772


Abstract Nocturnal hypertension has been recognized as a significant risk factor for cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases. Blood pressure (BP) monitoring significantly increased our awareness of nocturnal hypertension and studies revealed its influence on target organ damage. Nocturnal hypertension is associated with nonphysiological 24-h BP patterns, which consider inadequate drop or even increment of nighttime BP in comparison with daytime BP (nondipping and reverse dipping). Nevertheless, investigations showed that nocturnal hypertension was a predictor of adverse outcome independently of circadian BP pattern. There are still many uncertainties regarding diagnosis, mechanisms and treatment of nocturnal hypertension. There is a small difference between American and European guidelines in cutoff values defining nocturnal hypertension. Pathophysiology is also not clear because many conditions such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity, sleep apnea syndrome, and renal diseases are related to nocturnal hypertension and nonphysiological circadian BP pattern, but mechanisms of nocturnal hypertension still remain speculative. Therapeutic approach is another important issue and chronotherapy provided the best results so far. There are studies which showed that some groups of antihypertensive medications are more effective in regulation of nocturnal BP, but it seems that the timing of drug administration has a crucial role in the reduction of nighttime BP and conversion of circadian patterns from nonphysiologic to physiologic. Follow-up studies are necessary to define clinical benefits of nocturnal BP reduction and restoring unfavorable 24-h BP variations to physiological variant.


We studied the degree to which alpine marmot (Marmota marmota L.) alarm calls function as communication about specific external stimuli. Alpine marmots emit variable alarm calls when they encounter humans, dogs, and several species of aerial predators. The first part of the study involved observations and manipulations designed to document contextual variation in alarm calls. Alarm calls varied along several acoustic parameters, but only along one that we examined, the number of notes per call, was significantly correlated with the type of external stimulus. Marmots were more likely to emit single-note alarm calls as their first or only call in response to an aerial stimulus, and multiple-note alarm calls when first calling to a terrestrial stimulus. This relationship was not without exceptions; there was considerable variation in the number of notes they emitted to both aerial and terrestrial stimuli, and a single stimulus type — humans — elicited a wide range of acoustic responses. The second part of the study involved playing back three types of alarm calls to marmots and observing their responses. Marmots did not have overtly different responses to the three types of played-back alarm calls. Our results are consistent with the hypotheses that: 1. Alarm calls do not refer to specific external stimuli; 2. Alarm calls function to communicate the degree of risk a caller experiences; and 3. Alarm calls require additional contextual cues to be properly interpreted by conspecifics.


Zero shot learning in Image Classification refers to the setting where images from some novel classes are absent in the training data but other information such as natural language descriptions or attribute vectors of the classes are available. This setting is important in the real world since one may not be able to obtain images of all the possible classes at training. While previous approaches have tried to model the relationship between the class attribute space and the image space via some kind of a transfer function in order to model the image space correspondingly to an unseen class, we take a different approach and try to generate the samples from the given attributes, using a conditional variational autoencoder, and use the generated samples for classification of the unseen classes. By extensive testing on four benchmark datasets, we show that our model outperforms the state of the art, particularly in the more realistic generalized setting, where the training classes can also appear at the test time along with the novel classes.


A review of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content within an accredited paramedicine degree curriculum was undertaken as part of major course review and ongoing evaluation of the program. The aim of which was to ensure the course content was appropriate and relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. All content and teaching activities were audited where specific content was explored and noted. Findings were presented to a review team where good practice was highlighted and areas for development were addressed. This has encouraged staff to seek opportunities to embed content in both clinical and non-clinical skills, knowledge teaching and experiences. In addition to encouraging further review of other diverse communities.


Chemical modification using thiol-directed agents and site-directed mutagenesis have been used to investigate the crucial role of an active site cysteine residue within the substrate-binding domain of human type I Ins(1,4,5)P3 5-phosphatase. Irreversible inhibition of enzymic activity is provoked by chemical modification of the enzyme by N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), 5,5'-dithio-2-nitrobenzoic acid, iodoacetate and to a much smaller extent by iodoacetämide. The alkylation reaction by NEM is prevented in the presence of Ins(1,4,5)P3. The results indicate that NEM binds at the active site of the enzyme with a stoichiometry of 0.9 mol of NEM per mol of enzyme. A single [14C]NEM-modified peptide was isolated after alpha-chymotrypsin proteolysis of the radiolabelled enzyme and reverse-phase HPLC. Sequence analysis of the active site-labelled peptide (i.e. MNTRCPAWCD) demonstrated that Cys348 contained the radiolabel. Furthermore two mutant enzymes were obtained by site-directed mutagenesis of the cysteine residue to serine and alanine respectively. Both mutant enzymes had identical UV CD spectra. The two mutants (i.e. Cys348-->Ser and Cys348-->Ala) show a marked loss of enzymic activity (more than 98% compared with the wild-type enzyme). Thus we have directly identified a reactive cysteine residue as part of the active site, i.e. the substrate-binding domain, of Ins(1,4,5)P3 5-phosphatase. This cysteine residue is part of a sequence 10 amino acids long that is well conserved among the primary structures of inositol and phosphatidylinositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatases.


With its exceptional charge transport properties, graphene has emerged as a potential replacement material in the electronics industry. For these applications, much effort has been devoted towards the synthesis of large defect-free graphene sheets. However, recent developments have enabled the efficient production of micrometer- and nanometer-sized graphene sheets in the solution phase. These suspensions have stimulated the development of novel materials and devices that more fully exploit the tunability and large specific surface area of pristine graphene. This review highlights advances in the understanding of the defect structure and properties of as-produced graphene as well as strategies for its chemical selection and modification that facilitates its use in functional materials and devices.


Since its development in the 1970s, the rechargeable alkali-ion battery has proven to be a truly transformative technology, providing portable energy storage for devices ranging from small portable electronics to sizable electric vehicles. Here, we present a review of modern theoretical and computational approaches to the study and design of rechargeable alkali-ion battery materials. Starting from fundamental thermodynamics and kinetics phenomenological equations, we rigorously derive the theoretical relationships for key battery properties, such as voltage, capacity, alkali diffusivity, and other electrochemically relevant computable quantities. We then present an overview of computational techniques for the study of rechargeable alkali-ion battery materials, followed by a critical review of the literature applying these techniques to yield crucial insights into battery operation and performance. Finally, we provide perspectives on outstanding challenges and opportunities in the theory and computation of rechargeable alkali-ion battery materials.


the meatal skin. The spontaneous nystagmus still faintly persists. The vomiting continues, but is less frequent. Patient still suffers from vertigo. The facial paralysis is unchanged. Leucocytes 8,000 per c.mm. June 17th.—The vomiting ceased three days ago, and has not returned. He still complains of vertigo. Nystagmus to right can still be plainly elicited. Facial paralysis unchanged. June 23rd.—There is still some slight vertigo. Spontaneous nystagmus cannot be elicited, and has now ceased after a duration of twelve days. The patient is now up and about, and the facial paralysis is his only complaint. July 9th.—The facial paralysis is slowly recovering. There is a moist eczernatous patch, the result of the herpes in the concavity of the coucha. There is desquamation and debris over the surface of the tympanic membrane, but no visible defect of the membrane. There is still some slight deafness of the middle-ear, type only. In conclusion, may the writer be permitted to emphasise separately the outstanding facts of the case ? First and foremost comes the alarming resemblance in the first few days of the disease to an acute intracranial complication. At this stage the patient was prostrated, and had the appearance of being very seriously ill. The herpes itself is the decisive factor in the diagnosis. In this case it made its appearance early, and lasted for eight days. The vomiting for the first three days was intense, frequent, and uncontrollable. It lasted altogether six days. It is a question whether or no this vomiting is really attributable to some ganglionic involvement of the vagus. The spontaneous nystagmus made its appearance on the third day. Its total duration was twelve days. The duration of the herpes was eight days. It followed an auriculo-temporal distribution. Throughout the attack the temperature was subnormal and the pulse slow. The leucocyte count was not raised. The spinal fluid was healthy.


Objective. Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) has emerged as a new biomarker of myocardial ischemia. Currently, no information is available on maternal IMA levels during normal and complicated pregnancy. Preeclampsia is associated with ischemia and increased formation of free radicals in the placenta. We therefore hypothesized that production of IMA may occur in women with preeclampsia. Methods. Serum IMA and albumin concentrations were assessed in 12 patients with preeclampsia, 12 normal pregnant controls, and 12 nonpregnant controls. IMA levels were compared between groups and corrected for albumin by multivariate regression analysis. Results. Mean IMA levels were elevated in normal pregnant controls (107.3 U/mL; 95% CI, 102.5 to 112.01), compared with nonpregnant controls (94.5 U/mL; CI, 89.4 to 99.6; p = 0.015). In patients with preeclampsia, IMA levels were similar to those in normal pregnant controls (109.7 U/mL; CI, 102.2 to 117.2; p = 0.65). Also, no difference in IMA levels was observed between women with preeclampsia who delivered small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants (99.0 U/mL; CI, 87.9 to 110.1; p = 0.13) and women with preeclampsia but without SGA. Conclusion. Serum IMA, which has been advocated as a clinical marker of cardiac ischemia, appears to be elevated during normal pregnancy. We found no significant relationship between IMA levels and preeclampsia, in women with or without SGA infants.


This paper seeks to explain and predict levels of regional integration worldwide. I theorize that the institutionalization regional integration increases under a power preponderance structural condition with higher levels of status quo satisfaction. In addition, there is a reciprocal effect between integration and the homogenization of domestic institutions. This latter association improves the level of status quo satisfaction. As a result integration cannot be explained nor predicted using a single equation but instead relies on a system of pathways. The paper reviews prior work on regional integration and then contributes to the scholarship by synthesizing the findings of the power transition and institutional schools. Tests utilizing autocorrelation corrected regressions with regional integration organizations (1970-2004) support the main hypotheses.


Operating distributed Scrubbing Centers (SCs) to mitigate massive Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) traic in large-scale networks faces critical challenges. The operator needs to determine the diversion rule installation and elimination in the networks, as well as the scrubbing resource activation and revocation in the SCs, while minimizing the long-term cost and the cumulative decision-switching penalty without knowing the exact amount of the malicious trafic. We model and formulate this problem as an online nonlinear integer program. In contrast to many other online problems where future inputs are unknown but at least current inputs are known, a key new challenge here is that even part of the current inputs are unknownwhen decisions are made. To łlearnž the best decisions online, we transform our problem via a gap-preserving approximation into an online optimization problem with only the known inputs, which is further relaxed and decoupled into a series of one-shot convex programs solvable in individual time slots. To overcome the intractability, we design a progressive rounding algorithm to convert fractional decisions into integral ones without violating the constraints. We characterize the competitive ratio of our approach as a function of the key parameters of our problem. We conduct evaluations using real-world data and conirm our algorithms' superiority over de facto practices and state-of-the-art methods.


After the first rays of dawn struck the tarmac of Solomon Islands Henderson International Airport on Thursday 24 July 2003, hundreds of soldiers, police and civilians from Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu stepped out from planes. Eventually totalling over two thousand personnel, these security forces came not in anger but rather with smiles and as friends determined to assist a neighbour who was in need. In what was to become a successful experiment in regional cooperation, RAMSI – the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands – "helpem fren" (help a friend) was born.


Infraoptic anterior cerebral artery (ACA) is an extremely rare congenital anomaly. This anomalous artery usually arises from the intradural internal carotid artery (ICA) near the level of the ophthalmic artery (OA) or rarely from the extradural ICA. This anomaly frequently harbors a cerebral aneurysm, and may involve other coexisting vascular anomalies. In the case of this anomaly, surgical treatment of the aneurysm at the proximal ACA or anterior communicating artery (ACoA) may sometimes be difficult, because the veiled proximal ACA by the optic nerve would make proximal control inconvenient and the vertical midline segment of the proximal ACA would frequently form a superiorly directing aneurysm with a relatively high position. We report on an extremely rare case of a ruptured aneurysm at the infraoptic azygous ACA, possibly having an extradural origin, accompanied by contralateral ICA agenesis, and also introduce a feasible method for treatment by Y-stent assisted coil embolization.


Augmenting science through art is a call for accepting and empowering art as voice for communicating scientific results. Naturally, science achieves credibility rather by use of terminology, unemotional intersubjectivity and talks limited to introverted circles than by entertaining. Art-science residencies are now an opportunity to fulfill the mandate of opening up towards the society. ©Journal of Professional Communication, all rights reserved.


This paper addresses an adaptive event-triggered consensus control problem for a class of second-order nonlinear multiagent systems (MASs) in an undirected communication topology. A novel adaptive distributed event-triggered consensus control scheme is presented for the MAS with unknown functions based on the definition of an auxiliary state, and the coefficient of the triggered function can be regulated adaptively with dependence on the auxiliary state error to ensure not only the control performance but also the efficiency of the network interactions. Furthermore, two self-triggered algorithms are developed for two cases, known functions and unknown ones, by the current state and information at the previous event time instant instead of the requirement for continuous monitoring auxiliary state errors. In theory, the stability of the resulting closed-loop system is rigorously investigated, and it is proven that all signals in the closed-loop system are bounded and the Zeno behavior is ruled out. Finally, two simulation examples, both real-time and numerical ones, are provided to verify the theoretical claims.


Electromagnetic tracking systems (EMTS) are increasingly used in computer assisted surgery systems, motion capture units and military systems. The main application in the medical domain represents the support of minimally invasive surgeries. However, those electromagnetic tracking systems suffer from low accuracy and systematic errors caused by conductive and ferromagnetic media. In this paper we present a method for the calibration of electromagnetic tracking systems, which could be adopted in the development of novel electromagnetic tracking devices. The proposed method was evaluated on an experimental setup of a tracking system.


Purpose

Training improves workers' competencies by eliminating or reducing mismatch between the levels of acquired and required skills. However, the question of who needs the training can be pertinently managed by training needs analysis (TNA). Thus, the purpose of this paper was to explore the training needs of Pakistani university librarians on collection management skills.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted on a randomly selected sample of Pakistani university librarians. Using survey questionnaire method, a five-point Likert scale was utilized to measure the acquired and required levels of collection management skills (CMS). A paired sample t-test was used to ascertain the significance of difference between the acquired and required skills. Further, descriptive statistics were used to perform TNA.

Findings

Results of the paired sample t-test showed a significant difference among all indicators of CMS. Further, findings of TNA specified more than 50 per cent of deficit (over-utilization), less than 50 per cent of surplus (under-utilization) and 20 per cent of job best-fit in terms of CMS. Based on these results, training and top-down allocation of tasks are suggested to the higher authorities to manage over and under-utilization of CMS and to produce more job best-fits.

Originality/value

These findings are significant to design training programs on CMS, to revise courses on collection management, to evaluate performance of collection managers and understand the causes of under and over utilization of CMS. Moreover, findings inform librarians to eliminate mismatch in the levels of acquired and required CMS through training programs that may further enhance job best-fits.


Determining the leak detection sensitivity for a particular system, or suggesting strategies to improve it are common challenges for leak detection professionals.As an alternative to statistical analysis, an empirical approach can be employed: use an offline hydraulic simulator to model the pipeline system, including all the inaccuracies due to the instruments and communication systems. Using such an approach the sensitivity can be inferred by running some scenarios representative of leak and non-leak conditions. Furthermore, not only can normal operating conditions be considered but also emergency and/or upset operating conditions can also be taken into account.Ecopetrol (the national Oil Company of Colombia) utilized this practical approach during the commissioning phase of a new pipeline allowing Ecopetrol to calculate the sensitivity prior to the commencement of operations. Analysis was also undertaken the results of which were recommendations on how to improve the system sensitivity.This paper describes the methodology; the construction of the hydraulic model; the assumptions made, and presents the final results. A discussion about the validity of the procedure and its generic application is also presented.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


We present the results of the development and characterization of the sideband separating (2SEt) SIS mixer for the APEX band 1, 211-275 GHz. All mixer components, except the 1F hybrid, are integrated into a single mixer block. The sideband separation is achieved by using a quadrature scheme where a local oscillator (LO) pumps two identical SIS mixers. The RF power is divided using a waveguide branch line coupler and directed with 90" phase difference to the ends of the substrate, where each path is coupled to the mixer chip through a waveguide to microstrip transition. Preliminary tests of this 2SB mixer show a sideband suppression ratio of about 12 dB and a typical SSB noise temperature of 80K. Index Terins-SIS mixer, sideband separating mixers, quadrature hybrid


Background

Training non-specialist workers in mental healthcare improves knowledge, attitude, skills, and confidence as well as clinical practice and skills. However, still little information is available on what type of mental health training is specifically associated with the improvement of such capacities. Japan reportedly has a poor quality of community mental health, and such information is crucial to improve the mental health service.
Methods

We studied web-based survey data of 495 public health workers in Japan to examine training types associated with knowledge/experience to support individuals with mental disorders. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the association between lack of knowledge/experience (outcome) and mental health training (exposure). We fitted three regression models. Model 1 evaluated unadjusted associations. Model 2 adjusted for age and sex. Model 3 adjusted for age, sex, years of experience, mental health full-time worker status, and community population.
Results

For all training types, the association between lack of knowledge/experience and mental health training attenuated as the model developed (i.e., Model 1 showed the smallest odds ratio). In Model 3, lack of knowledge/experience was significantly associated only with training about mental disorder and screening/assessment (OR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.33–0.90: and OR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.40–0.97, respectively).
Conclusions

We believe that the present study provides meaningful information that training about mental disorder and screening/assessment may lead to knowledge/experience of public health workers. Further studies should employ a longitudinal design with a larger sample.


The Rapid Cycling Medical Synchrotron is a second generation medical accelerator that it has been designed with a repetition frequency of 30 Hz. This repetition frequency is far above the typical repetition frequency used in medical accelerators. An elliptical beam pipe has been chosen for the RCMS design in order to win as much physical aperture as possible while keeping the magnet dimensions as small as possible. Rapid Cycling induces Eddy current in the magnets. Eddy currents and elliptical beam pipes generate sextupole components that might be necessary to consider. In this paper, the effects of these sextupoles components are evaluated, first by looking at the phase space of a bunch of particles that has been tracked for 62530 turns, and also by evaluating the dynamical aperture of the accelerator. The effect of the sextupoles component in the tuneshift is also evaluated. First results obtained with Marylie show that the width of a phase space ellipse of a bunch of particles is slightly affected by the sextupoles due to the Eddy currents.


Spinal cord injury often times is a catastrophic result of trauma. Delay in diagnosis may result in increased morbidity and mortality. Cross-sectional imaging is now increasingly used as a first-line diagnostic modality in the setting of trauma for recognition of spine fractures and ligamentous injuries that might be missed on routine radiographs. The learning objectives of this article are to review the anatomy of the spine and understand the mechanisms of injury in the cervical, thoracic, and lumbosacral column by applying easy and reproducible classification systems to guide clinical management.


We would like to congratulate Skidmore et al 1 for providing data to validate self-collected samples (SCS) for the detection of chlamydia. No doubt their study was undertaken within a busy and limited resourced genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic with little or no specific budget. They found that while there was a high (96%) concordance between specimens, SCS were significantly (12 vs 2, p = 0.004) more likely than endocervical samples to have unassessable results. As internal controls to assess the adequacy of collection of specimen were not reported, it was not possible to establish why unassessable results were more common in SCS. In general, studies show self-collected vaginal samples to have similar or lower numbers …


Smart environments are ecosystems, which seamlessly embed IT assets into physical world's objects and hold promise for improving the services we receive from our social and economic ecosystems. The management of smart environment assets in multi-partner, dynamic collaboration scenarios where different sets of assets are owned and operated by different partners is a non-trivial problem, due to restrictive asset sharing policies applied by collaborating partners. In this work we formalize, evaluate and compare two asset sharing policies, investigating their impact on MSTA-P, a policy-regulated version of an existing asset-task assignment protocol. The first sharing policy is based on a traditional asset ownership model while the second is based on an edge model allowing asset sharing among collaborating partnes through cross-partner team formations. We find that while the traditional ownership model allows slightly better performance, the difference is only marginal, so a team-sharing model offers a viable alternative sharing approach.


In a previous study we demonstrated that NK/LAK effectors are quickly induced in the peritoneal cavity of CD2F1 mice by a booster dose with inactivated Candida albicans (CA) cells or by the purified cell wall mannoprotein (MP), for a long time after CA sensitization. In this study we investigated the immunologic nature and kinetics of early events of the booster phenomenon. Intraperitoneal inoculation of CA in CD2F1 mice, 30 days after pretreatment with five doses of CA (2 x 10(7) cells/mouse) over a 2-week period (CA-5d treatment), elicited a very rapid recruitment of asialo GM1+ cells, L3T4+ cells, and Ly 2+ cells. Asialo GM1+ cells and Ly 2+ cells reached a maximum number 12 hr after the booster dose, while L3T4+ cells reached the maximum after 24 hr. The number of L3T4+ cells was about twofold greater than Ly 2+ cells at all times tested. A similar kinetic pattern was found after MP booster. In C57BL/6 mice we confirmed that CA and MP boosters induced LGL which express a NK antigen, detected by 3A4 mAb, and the activation marker CD25. The peak of non-MHC-restricted PEC cytotoxicity, which was reached 24 hr after MP or CA booster, did not correspond to the time (12 hr) for maximum number increase of asialo GM1+ cells and 3A4+ cells. Two hours after CA or MP booster in PEC there was a rapid and strong increase of IL-2 mRNA expression, which persisted at a high level 24 hr after booster. In CA-5d-pretreated mice, a persistent NK/LAK-like activity in the peritoneal cavity can be maintained by boosters with MP administered every 3 days. Such treatment, which we performed up to 15 days after CA sensitization, rendered the mice more responsive to further MP boosters. Effects of CA were not restricted to the peritoneal compartment because (a) there was a rebound of splenic NK activity about 10 days after CA-5d treatment by ip route and (b) CA given by iv route significantly increased splenic NK activity up to 15-20 days after CA-5d treatment. Recombinant human interleukin 2 (rhIL-2), given ip to mice (1000 U/mouse) in combination with CA during CA-5d treatment and with MP in the booster, strongly increased the level of peritoneal NK/LAK activity and PEC cellularity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


This paper presents a vision based localization system which can be used on a wide range of mobile vehicles. The principle of the algorithm developed is to merge the information given by a vision system with the data extracted from the moves of the vehicle. The image processing level is performed by using principal components analysis that allows low cost position estimation by using a representative set of images obtained during an initial exploration of the environment. This set of images makes it possible to represent the environment as a partially observable Markov decision process. The originality of this approach is the resulting data fusion process that uses both image matching and decision made by the robot in order to estimate the set of plausible positions of the robot and the associated probabilities. Furthermore, this stochastic localisation device shows better results compared with the classical methods such as static neighborhoods. The main characteristics of this localization device are its robustness, its accuracy and its low cost compared with usual localization methods.


Suction lipoplasty is considered to be a relatively safe procedure but is not without complications, some of which are lethal. Colonic injury after liposuction has not been reported so far, although small intestinal perforations are known to occur. We present a case of colocutaneous fistula after suction lipoplasty that was successfully managed nonoperatively. A 56-year-old man with history of abdominoplasty presented with feculent discharge from the abdominal wall 7 days after liposuction. A computed tomography scan of the abdomen showed free intraperitoneal air, with a suspected transverse colonic fistula to the skin. After drainage of abdominal wall abscess, he recovered and the fistula spontaneously closed. Abdominal wall hernias, abdominal operations, and immunosuppression are risk factors for abdominal and intestinal perforations after lipoplasty. Low output colocutaneous fistulae after lipoplasty may close spontaneously unlike small intestinal perforations.


Background: The lumbar spine's lumbrosacral transitional vertebrae (LSTV), a structural defect, have been variously linked to low back pain (LBP). Their presence can also lead to an incorrect pre-operative level identification. Objective: To examine the relationship between lumbosacral transitional vertebrae detected on plain radiographs and low back pain in patients. Study Setting: Department of orthopedics, Shifa international hospital, Islamabad Methods: The study design was prospective and descriptive. The study was conducted between July 2021 to December 2021. The radiographs of 100 patients with low back pain who met the inclusion/exclusion criteria were evaluated. The frequency of patients with low back pain and lumbosacral transitional vertebra (LSTV) was calculated using SPSS version 26. For the quantitative data presentation mean and standard deviation was utilized and for qualitative data frequencies were used. P value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: In a sample of 100 patients, 40 were men and 60 were women. 45 patients were diagnosed with axial type of lower back pain. The prevalence of LSTV was 27%, with males constituting the majority. No significant difference in the LSTV and Normal spine age distribution intervals was observed except, in the age interval of 51-60 years with a P-Value of <0.001. Conclusion: There is substantial evidence linking lumbosacral transitional vertebrae and low back pain.


The critical heat flux (CHF), at which a sudden degradation of heat transfer occurs without corresponding decrease in heat generation, is one of the limiting parameters for safe operation of nuclear reactors. Reactor operation beyond the CHF causes a rapid rise in fuel cladding temperature and thus should be avoided to maintain the fuel element integrity. Reactor power limits are therefore set so that a prescribed safety margin below the CHF is maintained. Two CHF correlations are evaluated for reactor core thermal hydraulic analysis: the Biasi correlation and the Columbia University correlation. The BODYFIT-2PE computer code is used for this assessment. The CHF predicted by the BODYFIT-2PE using the two correlations is compared with GE 3x3 rod bundle CHF experiment.


A strain sensor based on cascaded Sagnac loops with two polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fibers (PMPCFs) has been experimentally demonstrated. Air holes distributed on the cross section of PMPCF go through the whole fiber, which makes the special fiber more sensitive to ambient force compared with conventional optical fiber. The lengths of the two PMPCFs are close, but not the same, to form envelopes on the total output spectrum and then obtain high resolution to the detected parameter by the Vernier effect. The influences of the difference in length of the two PMPCFS on spectral envelopes are discussed. As the length of the PMPCF in reference loop increases, free spectrum range of the cascaded Sagnac loops (or envelope period) and magnification decrease. The sensitivities of this strain sensor are calculated by tracking upper and lower envelopes. Results reveal that its average sensitivity is up to 45.15 pm/<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \varepsilon $ </tex-math></inline-formula> and the corresponding resolution is <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.44~\mu \varepsilon $ </tex-math></inline-formula> as strain varies from 0 to <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2000~\mu \varepsilon $ </tex-math></inline-formula>. Compared with a single Sagnac loop, the sensitivity magnification is about 28.94. The sensing characteristics of a conventional polarization-maintaining fiber (PMF) are studied to compare with the PMPCF. Moreover, reversibility has also been proved to possess low error rate. In short, the fiber strain sensor possesses high sensitivity and great reversibility.


The overhead of copying data through the central processor by a message passing protocol limits data transfer bandwidth. If the network interface directly transfers the user's memory to the network by issuing DMA, such data copies may be eliminated. Since the DMA facility accesses the physical memory address space, user virtual memory must be pinned down to a physical memory location before the message is sent or received. If each message transfer involves pin-down and release kernel primitives, message transfer bandwidth will decrease since those primitives are quite expensive. The authors propose a zero copy message transfer with a pin-down cache technique which reuses the pinned-down area to decrease the number of calls to pin-down and release primitives. The proposed facility has been implemented in the PM low-level communication library on the RWC PC Cluster II, consisting of 64 Pentium Pro 200 MHz CPUs connected by a Myricom Myrinet network, and running NetBSD. The PM achieves 108.8 MBytes/sec for a 100% pin-down cache hit ratio and 78.7 MBytes/sec for all pin-down cache miss. The MPI library has been implemented on top of PM. According to the NAS parallel benchmarks result, an application is still better performance in case that cache miss ratio is very high.


The cyanide-bridged [CoFe] one-dimensional chain, [Co(II)((R)-pabn)][Fe(III)(Tp)(CN)3](BF4)·MeOH·2H2O, where (R)-pabn = (R)-N2,N(2')-bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)-1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diamine and Tp = hydrotris(pyrazolyl)borate, exhibits magnetic and electric bistabilities originating from an electron transfer coupled spin transition between Fe-CN-Co pairs. The use of L-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) in combination with L-edge X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) is explored for the investigation of the electronic structure and magnetization of Co and Fe ions separately, in both diamagnetic and paramagnetic states. It has been established from susceptibility results that the switching between diamagnetic and paramagnetic phases emanates from electron transfer between low spin Fe(II) and Co(III), resulting in low spin Fe(III) (S = 1/2) and high spin Co(II) (S = 3/2). The XAS and XMCD results are consistent with the bulk susceptibility measurements, where greater detail regarding the charge transfer process is determined. The Fe-CN-Co electron transfer pathway is highlighted by a strongly XMCD dependent transition to a cyanide back bonding orbital, giving evidence for strong hybridization with Fe(III) t2g orbitals. In addition to thermally induced and photoinduced switching, [CoFe] is found to exhibit a switching by grinding induced dehydration. Analysis of XAS shows that on grinding diamagnetic [CoFe], 75% of metal ions lock into the magnetic Co(II)Fe(III) phase. Density functional theory calculations based on the [CoFe] crystal structure in the magnetic and nonmagnetic phases aid the spectroscopic results and provide a complementary insight into the electronic configuration of the [CoFe] 3d shells, quantifying the change in ligand field around Co and Fe centers on charge transfer.


Heparin is an anticoagulant which has been widely used in various clinical settings, from thromboprophylaxis to the treatment of thromboembolism. Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a rare medical condition with severe complications if unrecognised, and it carries significant risks of co-morbidities and mortality. The incidence of HIT is relatively less common in low molecular weight heparin. HIT is more common in the venous system than the arterial circulatory system, and it is rare to see multi-vessel coronary artery thrombosis due to HIT. We hereby report a case of multi-vessel coronary thrombosis secondary to low molecular weight HIT, presenting as a case of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. We learned from the case that low molecular weight heparin can cause thrombosis secondary to HIT and HIT could be one of the differential diagnoses in those presenting with ST-elevation myocardial infarct and recent exposure to low molecular weight heparin.


A novel vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light source assembly (VUVLSA) for enhancing the ionization efficiency of photoionization mass spectrometer has been described. The VUVLSA composes of a Krypton lamp and a pair of disk electrodes with circular center cavities. The two interior surfaces that face the photoionization region were aluminum-coated. VUV light can be reflected back and forth in the photoionization region between the electrodes, thus the photoionization efficiency can be greatly enhanced. The performances of two different shaped electrodes, the coated double flat electrodes (DFE), and double conical electrodes, were studied. We showed that the signal amplification of coated DFE is around 4 times higher than that of uncoated electrodes without VUV light reflection. The relationship between the pressure of ionization chamber and mass signal enhancement has also been studied.


ABSTRACT Klebsiella pneumoniae is an important pathogen commonly associated with opportunistic infections. Here we report the genome sequence of a strain, HS11286, isolated from human sputum in 2011 in Shanghai, China. It contains one chromosome (5.3 Mb), three multidrug resistance plasmids (∼110 kb), including a carbapenemase producer, and three small plasmids (∼3 kb).


Concordance statistic (C-statistic), which is equivalent to the area under a receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), is frequently used to quantify the discriminatory power (the ability of the model to distinguish low and high risk patient) of a risk prediction model developed in the logistic regression framework. Several methods for estimating concordance statistics including both non-parametric and parametric have been proposed in the literature. Despite the several proposals of the C-statistic, it is still unclear to the practical users which approaches should be applied in practice. This paper reviewed and evaluated some commonly used C-statistics by illustrating them using two datasets with different prognostic abilities and an extensive simulation study and compared their results to make some practical recommendations. Several simulation scenarios were considered by varying the sample size, prevalence of the binary outcome, and distribution of prognostic index (or log-odds) derived from the model, to mimic the scenarios in practice. The results revealed that both non-parametric and Kernel-smoothing based methods showed comparable results in most simulation scenarios but performed better than the parametric approach particularly for small sample situation and skewed distribution of the prognostic index. Based on the findings of the study, some practical recommendations are discussed.


"My coinage of the term 'aesthetic imaginary' follows the line of a few thinkers in a field that I would like to call 'imaginary studies': Cornelius Castoriadis's social imaginary, Michele Le Dœuff's philosophical imaginary, and Marguerite La Caze's analytical imaginary. The space and the opportunity here do not grant me much room to explain what the different kinds of imaginary mean and potentially imply, and also descant on the points of engagement that aesthetic imaginary might have with them; this is something that I shall undertake to accomplish elsewhere. However, within the spatial restrictions of this paper, I will try to bring out the nature and philosophy of my proposition and expand on the intricacies that aesthetic imaginary produces in our understanding of the notion of the 'comparative.'"


This case study aims to embody the requirement of the make-to-order type manufacturer who wants to manage risks effectively when decisions are required to be taken under a risk. First, we present a method for choosing the risk factors that should be controlled for the make-to-order type manufacturer. Subsequently, those factors have been verified using statistical methods such as the ANOVA test. The process flows to be operated with the selected risk factors and the rules for an early warning system have been proposed. For a couple of factors, a prototype system has been developed to illustrate actual applications. Applications of the technique developed here for other types of manufacturers might be an interesting research problem.


In elastic recoil detection (ERD) one determines the yield and energy of particles ejected out of the surface region of samples under MeV ion bombardment. By application of this surface and thin film analysis technique one can obtain quantitative information concerning the depth distribution of light elements in a sample to be analysed. The quantitativity and the depth resolving power are based on knowledge of the recoil cross section and the stopping power of high-energy ions in matter. This paper reviews the fundamentals of this technique and the various experimental methods for recoil identification. Furthermore, important features for material analysis, such as detection limits, depth resolution and elemental range are discussed. Some emphasis is put on the conversion of the spectral contribution of the elements to atomic concentrations in the films for several representative cases. Throughout the review numerous examples are given to illustrate the features of ERD and to demonstrate empirically the accuracy of the quantification method.


Death Receptor 5 (DR5) agonists demonstrate anti-tumor activity in preclinical models but have yet to demonstrate robust clinical responses. A key limitation may be the lack of patient selection strategies to identify those most likely to respond to treatment. To overcome this limitation, we screened a DR5 agonist Nanobody across >600 cell lines representing 21 tumor lineages and assessed molecular features associated with response. High expression of DR5 and Casp8 were significantly associated with sensitivity, but their expression thresholds were difficult to translate due to low dynamic ranges. To address the translational challenge of establishing thresholds of gene expression, we developed a classifier based on ratios of genes that predicted response across lineages. The ratio classifier outperformed the DR5+Casp8 classifier, as well as standard approaches for feature selection and classification using genes, instead of ratios. This classifier was independently validated using 11 primary patient-derived pancreatic xenograft models showing perfect predictions as well as a striking linearity between prediction probability and anti-tumor response. A network analysis of the genes in the ratio classifier captured important biological relationships mediating drug response, specifically identifying key positive and negative regulators of DR5 mediated apoptosis, including DR5, CASP8, BID, cFLIP, XIAP and PEA15. Importantly, the ratio classifier shows translatability across gene expression platforms (from Affymetrix microarrays to RNA-seq) and across model systems (in vitro to in vivo). Our approach of using gene expression ratios presents a robust and novel method for constructing translatable biomarkers of compound response, which can also probe the underlying biology of treatment response.


An improved amperometric biosensor based on a solid binding matrix (SBM) composite transducer has been used for the determination of D-fructose in foodstuffs samples. The enzyme, D-fructose dehydrogenase (EC 188.8.131.52), was incorporated directly into a solid composite transducer containing both 2-hexadecanone as SBM and chemically modified graphite. Hexacyanoferrate(III) was used as a redox mediator and the current variation caused by the presence of D-fructose was measured amperometrically. The electrochemical properties and the characteristics of the composite fructose biosensors are described. The amperometric signals were fast, reproducible and linearly proportional to D-fructose concentrations in the range 50 × 10–6–10 × 10–3 mol l–1, with a correlation coefficient of 0.999. A set of measurements at +0.20 V versus SCE for 2 × 10–3 mol l–1D-fructose yielded a relative standard deviation for the steady-state current of 2.11%. The use of a chemically modified graphite by a mild oxidation step was shown to improve the biosensor selectivity against anionic interferents such as L-ascorbate. The biosensor proved to be stable for 6 months and the assay of D-fructose by this electrode was not influenced by the presence of sugars or other interferents commonly found in food samples. The biosensor was used for the determination of D-fructose in some food samples, and the results were consistent with those obtained with the commercially available D-fructose enzyme photometric kit.


UCLA is deploying a metropolitan-scale Wi-Fi mesh network near Downtown Los Angeles. It supports research in community-based urban participatory sensing, which focuses on how people can use their everyday mobile phones as sensors for data gathering on personal, community, and urban scales.  Moreover, we will use it to explore Cultural Civic Computing, a service-oriented urban computing model in which neighborhoods power the processes of imagining, specifying, and designing technology infrastructure for public places. This work provides infrastructure with which to explore the potential that a large scale Wi-Fi deployment offers multicultural communities in investigating and reclaiming their own environments, and creating healthy and livable cities.  It also enables public exploration of creativity and cultural identity, as well as the diverse histories of our cities and neighborhoods.


Experiments in which the divertor plates are biased with respect to the grounded vacuum chamber were conducted in the Tokamak de Varennes, with ohmic discharges and boronized walls. A comprehensive set of diagnostics was used and those effects relating to plasma-surface interactions and their consequences, namely recycling and impurity production, are reported here. The main conclusion is that the bias voltage actively controls the balance between the particle fluxes to the walls and the diverters, with a weak influence on the confinement. The quantities associated with plasma surface interactions, i.e. the impurity influx, the plasma contamination and the global recycling coefficient, increase as a function of the voltage applied between the plates and the wall. Typically, the quantities of interest vary by a factor of two or more in the range from -240 to 290 V. The poloidal fluxes to the upper or lower divertor are enhanced by negative or positive biasing, respectively, in agreement with the sign of the E*B drift. For negative biasing the reduction in the wall flux and increase in the poloidal flux combine to improve greatly the divertor efficiency: the divertor pressure and the impurity retention time are increased by factors of up to 5 and 8, respectively. The above effects, together with the SOL density profiles and the biasing current-voltage characteristic, are consistent with a model in which the radial transport in the SOL is limited by the ion mobility; a mobility of 0.04 m2/V.s is found. Besides allowing active density and impurity control, it is suggested that biasing could facilitate the attainment of a radiative divertor by injection of well retained impurities in the divertor


Nanodiamonds containing luminescent point defects are widely explored for applications in quantum bio-sensing such as nanoscale magnetometry, thermometry, and electrometry. A key challenge in the development of such applications is a large variation in fluorescence properties observed between particles, even when obtained from the same batch or nominally identical fabrication processes. By theoretically modelling the emission of nitrogen-vacancy colour centres in spherical nanoparticles, we are able to show that the fluorescence spectrum varies with the exact position of the emitter within the nanoparticle, with noticeable effects seen when the diamond radius, $a$, is larger than around 100 nm, and significantly modified fluorescence profiles found for larger particles when $a=200$ nm and $a=300$ nm, while negligible effects below $a=100$ nm. These results show that the reproducible geometry of point defect position within narrowly sized batch of diamond crystals is necessary for controlling the emission properties. Our results are useful for understanding the extent to which nanodiamonds can be optimised for bio-sensing applications.


The current research work discusses the concept of reinforcing alumina nanoparticulate to Al-12Si (wt.%) alloy using a unique casting technique known as centrifuge casting system established in-house at our advanced manufacturing centre. The resulting cast solid cylindrical specimen will be functionally graded along the length of the specimen containing higher percentage of primary silicon and alumina nanoparticulate at the top region than the bottom region, with a gradual transition in between the two regions. The microstructure of the functionally graded Al-12Si (wt.%) alloy, reinforced with 0.5, 1 and 1.5wt.% of alumina nanoparticulate was analysed using "Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)" and the elemental composition of the cast specimens were obtained using "Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX)". The outcomes of the EDX analysis confirmed the presence of alumina nanoparticulate in the cast specimens. Further, the mechanical properties of the cast Al-12Si (wt.%) alloy, reinforced with alumina nanoparticulate were studied, and it was found that the specimen with the addition of alumina nanoparticulate showed enhanced mechanical properties when compared with the Al-12Si (wt.%) alloy, without alumina nanoparticulate addition, cast under identical conditions.


The therapeutic usefulness of hyperbaric oxygenation in cerebral vascular disease was evaluated in 22 persons with recent neurologic deficits caused by cerebral embolism, thrombosis, hemorrhage, or arteriographic complications. Hyperoxygenation produced a significant elevation in content and tension of oxygen in blood and increased the reservoir of oxygen available for utilization by neurons. Remarkable and dramatic improvement in neurologic function occurred in four patients. The improvement persisted in two patients. In two others the neurologic deficit recurred a few hours after removal from the hyperbaric chamber; repeated exposure to high oxygen pressures was associated with only temporary improvement. In six other patients there was some evidence of clinical recovery immediately after onset of hyperoxygenation, but the neurologic deficit returned during decompression. The remaining 12 patients did not improve during hyperbaric oxygenation.These observations indicate that in some patients neuronal structures remain viable for some hours after loss of function in acute cerebral ischemia. In such instances an increase in oxygen delivery may reverse cellular ischemia and prevent death of cerebral tissues. Hyperbaric oxygenation may provide supportive therapy in some patients with acute cerebral ischemia, thereby permitting the removal of the occlusive lesion by surgery or other methods.


Abstract Lessons Learned. Induction chemotherapy with Genexol‐PM and cisplatin demonstrated modest tumor response in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Considering favorable toxicity profiles and promising survival data, further studies on this regimen are warranted in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Background. Genexol‐PM is a polymeric micellar formulation of paclitaxel without Cremophor EL. We investigated the efficacy and safety of Genexol‐PM plus cisplatin as induction chemotherapy (IC) in patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LA‐HNSCC). Methods. Patients received Genexol‐PM (230 mg/m2) and cisplatin (60 mg/m2) every 3 weeks as IC. After three cycles of IC, definitive treatment of either concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with weekly cisplatin (30 mg/m2) or surgery was performed. The primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR) after IC. Results. Of 52 patients enrolled, 47 completed three cycles of IC, and the ORR was 55.8% (95% confidence interval, 42.3–69.3). Although there was one treatment‐related death, toxicity profiles to Genexol‐PM and cisplatin were generally favorable, and the most common grade 3 or 4 toxicities were neutropenia (15.4%), anorexia (7.7%), and general weakness (7.7%). Fifty‐one patients received definitive treatment (CCRT [n = 44] or radical surgery [n = 7]). The rate of complete response following CCRT was 81.8% (36/44). After a median follow‐up of 39 months, estimates of progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) at 3 years were 54.3% and 71.3%, respectively. Conclusion. IC with Genexol‐PM and cisplatin demonstrated modest tumor response with well‐tolerated toxicity profiles for patients with LA‐HNSCC.


OBJECTIVE
This pilot study evaluates safety in terms of the occurrence of adverse events (AEs) as well as the efficacy in terms of complete wound healing rates of a blood clot product when applied to chronic neuropathic diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Participants were chosen from patients with DFUs visiting the wound care clinic. Up to 10 mL of blood drawn from each participant was injected into the product's clotting tray. Within 12 minutes, the blood clot product was formed, applied to the single DFU of each participant, and covered with primary and secondary dressings. Patients received up to 12 blood clot product applications every 5 to 9 days for up to 12 weeks.

RESULTS
Twenty patients were enrolled; 20 were analyzed in the intent-to-treat (ITT) population and 18 were in the per-protocol (PP) population. Thirty-two AEs occurred (only 2 were possibly device related). The mean AE rate for both the ITT and PP populations was 1.6. The proportion of wounds healed in the ITT and PP populations was 13 out of 20 (65%) and 13 out of 18 (72.2%), respectively. Percentage area reduction (PAR) for the ITT population at 4 and 12 weeks was 61.6% and 67.1%, respectively; the PARs for the PP population were 60.3% and 76.2% at 4 and 12 weeks, respectively. Mean times to wound healing were 59 days and 56 days in the ITT and PP populations, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrates that the blood clot product is safe and efficacious for treating DFUs.


Cytogenetic studies were performed on bone marrow aspirates from seven patients with acquired sideroblastic anemia. In one male patient a 45, X cell line was present in each of three bone marrow aspirates. The remaining six patients had a normal chromosome complement. The abnormal stem line in the bone marrow may be unrelated to the hematologic disorder or may indicate a neoplastic process still latent. The cytogenetic literature on sideroblastic anemia is reviewed.


Although the common 4G/5G polymorphism in the promoter of the PAI‐1 gene was suggested to be a risk factor for some of the thrombotic disorders, its significance in the development of thrombosis is still controversial. This study presents the data on a total of 357 patients with different types of thrombosis and 281 unrelated healthy controls. It was found that the 4G/4G genotype is associated with a higher risk of thrombosis (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1–2.5). Patients were divided into five distinct groups according to the site of thrombosis. Both 4G/4G and 4G/5G genotypes were associated with a higher risk of thrombosis development in a group of 69 patients with internal organ thrombosis (OR, 6.35; 95% CI, 2.5–16.1 and OR, 4.85; 95% CI, 2.0–12.1, respectively). Interestingly, this association was even stronger in a subgroup of 33 patients with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) and 4G/4G and 4G/5G genotypes conferred more than 10‐ and 6‐fold increases in the risk of developing PVT (95% CI: 2.3–47.1 and 1.4–28.8), respectively. No statistically significant association was found between 4G/4G genotype and the groups of deep vein thrombosis (126 patients), cerebral thrombosis (80 patients), retinal thrombosis (72 patients), and purpura fulminans (16 patients). Factor V Leiden or prothrombin G20210A mutations did not emerge as additional risk factors for thrombosis in any of the groups studied. To conclude, this study suggests that there may be an association between 4G/4G and 4G/5G genotypes and the thrombosis in vessels of internal organs especially in the portal veins. Am. J. Hematol. 71:89–93, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


State-space subspace system identification (4SID) has been suggested as an alternative to more traditional prediction error system identification, such as ARX least squares estimation. The aim of this note is to analyse the connections between these two different approaches to system identification. The conclusion is that 4SID can be viewed as a linear regression multistep ahead prediction error method, with certain rank constraints. This allows us to analyse 4SID methods within the standard framework of system identification and linear regression estimation. For example, it is shown that ARX models have nice properties in terms of 4SID identification. From a linear regression model, estimates of the extended observability matrix are found. Results from an asymptotic analysis are presented, i.e. explicit formulas for the asymptotic variances of the pole estimation error are given. From these expressions, some difficulties in choosing user specified parameters are pointed out in an example.<<ETX>>


Background. Morphological changes in the corpus callosum (CC) have been described in bipolar disorder, but with inconsistencies among the reports. We investigated the CC areas by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 12 first-episode patients with bipolar disorder and 12 controls. Method. Twelve medication-naive patients with bipolar I disorder (six males, six females; aged 28·2±6·5 years) with manic or mixed episodes and 12 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (six males, six females; aged 26·8±7·6 years) were recruited to the study. MRI scans was obtained using a 1.5-T GE Signa Excite high-speed scanner. Anatomical measurements were conducted on a computer workstation with the software Scion Image Beta-3b for Windows. Statistical analysis was performed using an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), the t test, χ2 and partial correlation analyses. Results. Bipolar patients had significantly smaller areas of total CC, anterior body posterior body and isthmus compared with healthy control subjects by ANCOVA, with age, gender and intracranial volume (ICV) as covariates. There was a negative correlation between total CC, posterior body and isthmus areas and Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) scores. Conclusion. The findings suggest that CC morphology may be associated with the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder.


A palladium (Pd)-based optical metamaterial has been designed, fabricated and characterized for its application in hydrogen sensing. The metamaterial can replace Pd thin films in optical transmission schemes for sensing with performances far superior to those of conventional sensors. This artificial material consists of a palladium–alumina metamaterial fabricated using inexpensive and industrial-friendly bottom-up techniques. During the exposure to hydrogen, the system exhibits anomalous optical absorption when compared to the well-known response of Pd thin films, this phenomenon being the key factor for the sensor sensitivity. The exposure to hydrogen produces a large variation in the light transmission through the metamembrane (more than 30% with 4% in volume hydrogen–nitrogen gas mixture at room temperature and atmospheric pressure), thus avoiding the need for sophisticated optical detection systems. An optical homogenization model is proposed to explain the metamaterial response. These results contribute to the development of reliable and low-cost hydrogen sensors with potential applications in the hydrogen economy and industrial processes to name a few, and also open the door to optically study the hydrogen diffusion processes in Pd nanostructures.


Geostatistical methods are well suited for analyzing the local and spatial uncertainties that accompany the modeling of highly heterogeneous three‐dimensional (3D) geological architectures. The spatial modeling of 3D hydrogeological architectures is crucial for polluted site characterization, in regards to both groundwater modeling and planning remediation procedures. From this perspective, the polluted site of Porto Marghera, located on the periphery of the Venice lagoon, represents an interesting example. For this site, the available dense spatial sampling network, with 769 boreholes over an area of 6 km2, allows us to evaluate the high geological heterogeneity by means of indicator kriging and sequential indicator simulation. We show that geostatistical methodologies and ad hoc post processing of geostatistical analysis results allow us to effectively analyze the high hydrogeological heterogeneity of the studied site.


Guided by uses and gratifications theory and prior research on cross-cultural adaptation (CCA), this paper examines the impact of ethnic Internet use on CCA. Based on surveys from 268 Chinese students in the U.S., our results show that Chinese students use the Internet primarily for information, entertainment and ethnic maintenance reasons. Entertainment and social involvement motives positively predict ethnic Internet use whereas assimilation attitude and length of stay are negative predictors of ethnic Internet use. More importantly, we found that heavy ethnic Internet users tend to show higher life satisfaction and less depression than do their counterparts. Implications of significant findings for CCA research are discussed.

 Key words: Ethnic Internet use, cross-cultural adaptation, uses and gratifications, Chinese students.


Databases are generally perceived in legal scholarship as static warehouses, storing up valuable facts and information. A database generally refers to an aggregate of information systematically arranged and fixed, either on paper or in any other form such as electronic media. While databases, like telephone directories, are, "compiled out of necessity in the ordinary course of business, the originators of many electronic databases take on the risks and tasks of gathering raw data," and organizing it through an efficient search engine for easy access to data. More than ever before, information equals economic power for today's business enterprises. With the advent of the E-Commerce in developed nations as well as in India, entire businesses are being built upon it and generating revenue streams from subscriber fees, royalties, or advertising. In order to recover the initial investment of time, money and skill put into it and to avoid parasitic competition, the database manufacturers protect their compilation efforts. Therefore without the ability to restrict access to and use of databases that it compiles, a company is effectively discouraged from participating in the information age. This paper discusses that, traditionally, databases are protected under copyright laws. Advances in information technology enable potential competitors and pirates to engage in market-destructive copying and on top of it the copyright and technology have always been in unfair terms. In many jurisdictions, the required level of originality has been in some state of flux in recent years, particularly in the US and Europe after the Fiest decision, as well as by the introduction of the Database directive the recent trend is to back away from an originality standard based purely on industrious collection, labor and expense, or other forms of sweat of the brow principles. Furthermore the European Database Directive ends up in granting overprotection to the databases via its sui generis rights and granting rights in perpetuity subjected to very meager restrictions, which may block dissemination of information and obstruct its flow into the public domain. Furthermore, this paper also discusses the position in India regarding the databases which is governed by the theory of rewarding investment in labour, time and money coupled with the very low requirement of creativity. The author concludes by adding a few guidelines which may be used developing a new law taking into account the best interests of the private and the public keeping in mind the primary objective of the intellectual property regime is to promote creativity and innovation and also to maintain a vigorous public domain.


An experiment was conducted in the Tissue Culture Laboratory of the Department of Horticulture, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Salna, Gazipur-1706 from March 2013 to February 2014 for in vitro shoot regeneration of mint using different explants and levels of benzylaminopurine (BAP) in full strength MS media. Three different types of explants viz. nodal segment, shoot tip and leaf were evaluated using three levels of BAP (1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 mg/l) along with control for shoot regeneration. Results revealed that shoot tip and nodal segments performed better than leaf as explants in almost all the characters studied. Shoot tip and nodal segments initiated shoot within the shortest time of 9.6 and 10.6 days, respectively with 1.0 mg/l of BAP. Regarding number of shoot per explant and number of node/shoot, shoot tip and nodal segments along with 1.0 mg/l of BAP performed superior at almost all days after inoculation. In case of interaction of explants and BAP, better performance was recorded in most of the studied parameters from shoot tip and nodal segments alongwith 1.0 mg/l BAP. Therefore, for in vitro shoot regeneration of mint, shoot tip or nodal segment may be used with 1.0 mg/l of BAP.Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 43(4): 703-716, December 2018


We formulate the flipped SU(5)×U(1)-GUT within a Lie-algebraic approach to non-commutative geometry. It suffices to take the matrix Lie algebra su(5) as the input; the u(1)-part with its representation on the fermions is an algebraic consequence. The occurring Higgs multiplets (24, 5, 45, 50-representations of su(5)) are uniquely determined by the fermionic mass matrix and the spontaneous symmetry breaking pattern to SU(3)C×U(1)EM. We find the most general gauge invariant Higgs potential that is compatible with the given Higgs vacuum. Our formalism yields tree-level predictions for the masses of all gauge and Higgs bosons. It turns out that the low-energy sector is identical with the standard model. In particular, there exists precisely one light Higgs field, whose upper bound for the mass is 1.45 mt. All remaining 207 Higgs fields are extremely heavy.


We observe monopole oscillations in a mixture of Bose-Einstein condensates, where the usually dominant mean-field interactions are canceled. In this case, the system is governed by the next-order Lee-Huang-Yang (LHY) correction to the ground state energy, which describes the effect of quantum fluctuations. Experimentally such a LHY fluid is realized by controlling the atom numbers and interaction strengths in a ^{39}K spin mixture confined in a spherical trap potential. We measure the monopole oscillation frequency as a function of the LHY interaction strength as proposed recently by Jrgensen et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 173403 (2018)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.121.173403] and find excellent agreement with simulations of the complete experiment including the excitation procedure and inelastic losses. This confirms that the system and its collective behavior are initially dominated by LHY interactions. Moreover, the monopole oscillation frequency is found to be stable against variations of the involved scattering lengths in a broad region around the ideal values, confirming the stabilizing effect of the LHY interaction. These results pave the way for using the nonlinearity provided by the LHY term in quantum simulation experiments and for investigations beyond the LHY regime.


Milk yield and composition in cattle are typical quantitative traitswhich are influenced by environmental factors and allelic variations. K-casein is a protein expressed in milk and, due to is polymorphism, may serve as a molecular marker for yield, composition and technological properties of milk . The objective of this study was to compare the relation between the genetic marker CSN3 (k-casein) and the observed milk traits in selected cattle groups. In our study we analyzed the milk traits of 32 Romanian Brown dairy cows and 54 Romanian Simmental dairy cows. The experiments described in this paper show clear evidence that -CSN3 genotype is involved in milk protein enrichment. The CSN3 gene of BB genotype showed a grate influence on protein yield. The relation between CSN3 genotype and milk protein was found to be significant in both cattle breed.


E-learning is becoming the new paradigm of learning and training, especially in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) around the globe. HEIs in developing countries are struggling to shift to this new paradigm that would facilitate accommodating increasingly more learners in their own places and with their own time constraint choices. E-learning is not gaining as much attention in developing countries as anticipated in the last decade. Moreover, very little work has been done in this area of research in developing countries like Pakistan. This study contributes to formulating a hierarchical model of the challenges affecting the integration of information and communication technology in Pakistan's HEIs. This study also contributes devised strategies and recommendations to overcome challenges by providing a roadmap for the implementation of e-learning systems in developing countries. An empirical-based research method was employed, with two surveys conducted on e-learning experts from different public universities. The factor analysis method was used to categorize challenges, while the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was utilized to prioritize the identified challenges. The findings revealed 17 critical challenges, which were then categorized into 5 dimensions. The study's implications in terms of research and practice, limitations and future research directions are also discussed.


Agents in a team must be in agreement. Unfortunately, they may come to disagree due to sensing uncertainty, communication failures, etc. Once a disagreement occurs we should detect the disagreement and diagnose it. Unfortunately, current diagnosis techniques do not scale well with the number of agents, as they have high communication and computation complexity. We suggest three techniques to reduce this complexity: (i) reducing the amount of diagnostic reasoning by sending targeted queries; (ii) using light-weight behavior recognition to recognize which beliefs of the agents might be in conflict; and (iii) grouping the agents according to their role and behavior and then diagnosing the groups based on representative agents. We examine these techniques in large-scale teams, in two domains, and show that combining the techniques produces a diagnosis process which is highly scalable in both communication and computation.


Recent functional and anatomical studies in nonhuman primates have elucidated the basic neural circuitry underlying delayed-response function in adult nonhuman primates. Thus circuitry includes connections of the principal sulcus with other areas of parietal association and limbic cortex and projections to the caudate nucleus, superior colliculus, and other premotor centers. Anatomical tracing in primate fetuses and in monkeys at various stages of postnatal development indicates that these various classes of cortical connections begin to form by the second trimester of pregnancy. Electromicroscopic studies of the principal sulcus and other areas of cerebral cortex show that the number and density of synapses in the cortex increase rapidly, reaching and maintaining higher than normal adult values between 2 and 4 months postnatally, before slowly declining over a period of years to stable adult levels. The capacity to perform delayed-response and/or AB at short delays emerges around 4 months of age, coinciding with the end of the period of highest synaptic density in the principal sulcus. These findings suggest that a critical mass of cortical synapses is important for the emergence of this cognitive function, and that fully mature capacity may depend upon the elimination of excess synapses that occurs during adolescence and young adulthood. Knowledge of the neural basis of normal cognitive development may prove useful both to social and educational purposes as well as to understanding developmental disorders of cognition.