Nitrogen fixation in soybean (Glycine max Merr.) is especially sensitive to soil drying. The basis of this sensitivity appears to be related to the fact that ureides are transported from the nodules, and the ureide concentrations increase with water deficits in leaves resulting in an apparent feedback to nodules involving ureides that inhibit activity. Therefore, sustained ureide catabolism in the leaves under water deficit appears to be critical for N fixation tolerance. Recently, eight plant introduction lines were identified that expressed substantial N fixation tolerance of water deficits. The focus of this study was to explore the basis for the tolerance previously observed in the eight lines. Specifically, the objective of this study was to evaluate in these genotypes the dependence for ureide catabolism on allantoate amidinohydrolase, which in other cultivars appears to be related to N fixation tolerance of water deficits. Since allantoate amidinohydrolase does not require Mn as a co-factor in contrast to the alternate enzyme for allantoic acid catabolism, ureide accumulation was measured in leaves of these genotypes after the plants were fed allantoic acid following growth on low Mn hydroponic solutions. This treatment confirmed that ureide accumulation was independent of Mn nutrition level in six of the eight tolerant lines. Ureide accumulation in PI 429328 was consistently the most insensitive to Mu nutrition level. Overall, these results indicated that ureide catabolism independent of Mn is active in six of the eight plant introduction lines identified to express N fixation tolerance to soil drying.


Article discusses the nomination of the forest in Tuvan and other Turkic languages as a reflection of the world picture of a particular ethnic group.


We report our systematic studies of the environmental effects on the photoluminescence (PL) from colloidal CdSe nanocrystals (NCs) embedded in polymer thin films. The highly luminescent bare-core CdSe NCs were significantly more robust than the core/shell CdSe/ZnS NCs against photoannealing under inert environments, while the core/shell NCs are more resistant to photooxidation. For the case of bare-core NCs, we show the importance of the initial photoactivation as the proper treatment for subsequent studies, a step that is basically irrelevant in the case of core/shell NCs. By measuring the PL wavelength shift, PL line width, and PL intensity, we investigated the dynamic changes of the emission properties of these NCs under different environments, including argon, oxygen, air, water vapor, and wet oxygen, and under different excitation conductions to reveal the photoinduced nature of the interactions between the nanocrystal surface and the environment. Mechanisms related to photoactivation, photooxidation...


AIM
The aim of the study was to identify whether the presence of diabetes may in some way condition the evolution of acute pancreatitis.

METHODS
The study included 16 patients who had been admitted to hospital following an acute episode of pancreatitis. Eight subjects were diabetic and eight formed the control group. The mean age of patients was 44.07+/-16.97. All patients were monitored for a period of 10 days, during which serum amylase and lipase levels were controlled. Patients with other pathologies were excluded from the study.

RESULTS
The results showed that the levels of these two enzymes peaked in diabetic patients, not within the first 24 hours as in the control group, but within approximately 48 hours. Moreover, after day 5-6, the serum levels of the two enzymes in diabetics fell below the values found in non-diabetic patients. Enzyme levels in alcoholic patients were lower compared to non-alcoholic patients, and this reduction was even greater in those with diabetes. Another finding observed in the four patients who died is the negative prognosis of persistent hyperamylasemia and hyperlipasemia beyond the sixth day.

CONCLUSIONS
From an analysis of the results we can hypothesise that either diabetics present a functional deficiency of the exocrine pancreas resulting in the extension of so-called pancreatic mutism, or the presence of microangiopathic complications causes vasal sclerosis that, in addition to diabetic neuropathy, leads to reduced and delayed levels of circulating enzymes.


This paper presents a new decoupled-quadratic load flow (DQLF) approach for adjustment of parameters of static VAr compensator (SVC). The DQLF model can calculate effectively the SVC susceptance and resulting firing angle using a simple quadratic equation derived using real and reactive power injections at the SVC bus. The resulting quadratic equation, in terms of bus voltage magnitudes can easily evaluate system voltage stability margin. The model makes use of conventional fast decoupled load flow (FDLF) algorithm for calculation of voltage phase angle corrections. The bus voltage magnitudes at all load buses are calculated using a quadratic equation derived using real and reactive power injections at the buses. The proposed approach eliminates the formation and modification of B" matrix in FDLF models and offers considerable saving in the execution times. It is found to be very reliable for Q-adjusted studies and ill-conditioned cases. The DQLF model offers 50% faster convergence than FDLF model, when applied to large systems, having a large number of generator buses (DQLF model is tested on IEEE 118 bus system). The validity of the proposed algorithm for SVC parameter adjustment is tested on IEEE 14 bus system. The stability margins are evaluated using the proposed quadratic equation, and compared with traditional Q-V sensitivity model. The 14/sup th/ bus is found more prone to instability. An effort is made to control the bus voltage at 1.06 pu. The final parameters B/sub svc/ and firing angle /spl alpha/ obtained using DQLF model are compared with those obtained using Newton Raphson (NR) and FDLF models and found to be same.


A case study of mesoscale snowfall with polar low signature during 25~26 December 2010 in South Korea is presented. The data used for analysis include surface and upper level weather charts, rain gauge, sea surface temperature, satellite imagery, sounding, and global 1° × 1° reanalysis data. The system initiated with a surface trough near the bay of Bohai but quickly intensified to become a polar low within 12 hours. The polar low moved southeastward bringing snowfall to southwestern Korea. There was strong instability layer beneath 800 hPa but baroclinicty was weak and disappeared as the low progressed onto land. Shortwave at 500 hPa and the surface trough became in-phase which hindered the development of the polar low while it approached Korea. However, there were strong tropopause folding (~500 hPa) and high potential vorticity (PV), which allowed the system to maintain its structure and dump 20.3 cm of snow in Jeonju. Synoptic, thermodynamic, dynamic, and moisture analyses reveal that polar low developed in an area of baroclinicity with strong conditional instability and warm air advection at the lower levels. Further, the development of a surface trough to polar low was aided by tropopause folding with PV advection in the upper level, shortwave trough at 500 hPa, and moisture advection with low-level jet (LLJ) of 15 m s ? ¹ or more at 850 hPa. Maximum snowfall was concentrated in this region with convection being sustained by latent heat release.


Introduction/Background Uterine Carcinosarcomas (UCs) are composed of both malignant epithelial and mesenchymal components, account for <5% of all gynecological neoplasms and have a highly aggressive clinical course. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the recurrence patterns as well as the clinical and histopathological characteristics of UCs. Methodology We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and pathology data from 46 patients who underwent surgery between 2012 and 2018 and obtained a diagnosis of UCs. Data analysis included histologic subtype, grade, presence of homologous/heterologous elements, depth of myometrial invasion (MI), disease - free interval (DFI), site of recurrent disease, and overall survival (OS). Data was analyzed using Cox-regression and Kaplan - Meier survival analyses. Results The median age of our patient sample was 69.9 (range 35–91 years), and median tumor size was 6.4 cm. MI >50% was observed in 68.7%, LVI in 45.6%, and lymph node (LN) metastasis in 19.5%. 60.8% of the patients were diagnosed with stage I disease, 10.8% with stage II, and 28.2% with stage III disease. Serous carcinoma was the predominant carcinomatous component (56.5%), while heterologous elements (43.4%), particularly rhabdomyoblastic differentiation (RMB) (85%) was the most common sarcomatous component. 28% and 65% of patients received adjuvant radiotherapy or chemotherapy, respectively. Median DFI and OS were 10 and 16 months respectively. LN metastasis, tumor size >5 cm, MI >50%, LVI, advanced stage and positive cytology correlated with shorter DFI and worse 3 year OS (p<0.5 respectively). Recurrence developed outside the abdomen in 56.5%. Patients with tumors with sarcomatous histology upon recurrence and predominant sarcomatous component in primary tumor (≥50%) had shorter DFI (p< 0.5%). Conclusion UCs represent a distinct subtype of uterine malignancy, where, according to our data, LN metastasis, tumor size, MI, stage and sarcomatous (RMB in particular) component have a significant prognostic role. Disclosure Nothing to disclose.


Inertial sensors suffer from different types of errors that cause drift in the attitude measurement. Gyroscopes are subject to thermal drift that will cause the attitude to drift over time due to the integration of sensor error by the attitude algorithm. The gyroscope drift, named as offset, can be estimated using Extended Kalman Filter (EKF). In strapdown systems, the direction of gravity measured by accelerometers is used to correct the drift. However the tilt measured by the accelerometers is corrupted by the vehicle dynamics when turning or accelerating. Vision systems are not vulnerable to the vibration and can provide a good attitude reference. This paper investigates the attitude and the dynamic gyroscope offset estimation using an quaternion-based EKF using the attitude reference from a panoramic Ultra Violet (UV) vision system and an inertial based Attitude Heading Reference System (AHRS). The results of the proposed methods are validated against an AHRS.


An extraordinary progress has been made over the last two decades on understanding the components and mechanisms governing plant innate immunity. After detection of a pathogen, effective plant resistance depends on the activation of a complex signaling network integrated by small signaling molecules and hormonal pathways, and the balance of these hormone systems determines resistance to particular pathogens. The discovery of new components of hormonal signaling pathways, including plant nuclear hormone receptors, is providing a picture of complex crosstalk and induced hormonal changes that modulate disease and resistance through several protein families that perceive hormones within the nucleus and lead to massive gene induction responses often achieved by de-repression. This review highlights recent advances in our understanding of positive and negative regulators of these hormones signaling pathways that are crucial regulatory targets of hormonal crosstalk in disease and defense. We focus on the most recent discoveries on the jasmonate and salicylate pathway components that explain their crosstalk with other hormonal pathways in the nucleus. We discuss how these components fine-tune defense responses to build a robust plant immune system against a great number of different microbes and, finally, we summarize recent discoveries on specific nuclear hormonal manipulation by microbes which exemplify the ingenious ways by which pathogens can take control over the plant's hormone signaling network to promote disease.


The TEXAS (Traffic EXperimental Analytical Simulation) Model for Intersection Traffic has been revised and released as Version 3.2. The new Version 3.2 provides nine new features, including: separate diamond interchange u-turn lanes, exact percentages of generated driver-vehicle units, sight-distance checking options in the user interface, NEMA dual-ring traffic signal controllers, volume-density traffic signal controllers, user choice options for diamond interchange traffic phase numbering, output statistics in graphical form, generic plotter-driver output routines and interfaces, and automation of the replicate simulation run process. The basic look and feel of earlier versions of the model has been retained to minimize needs for additional user training. The progress of each individually characterized vehicle moving through a simulated intersection or interchange is displayed in real-time or in stop-action on a microcomputer or workstation-driven graphics screen. This allows the user to study the overall traffic performance or to examine the behavior of any selected vehicle(s) in great detail. With Version 3.2 of the TEXAS Model that is described in this report, alternative intersection or diamond interchange designs and traffic-control schemes can be evaluated quickly and accurately in a timely and cost-effective manner.


The objective of this work is to quantify, with a simple and robust measure, the distance between historical varieties of a language. The measure will be inferred from text corpora corresponding to historical periods. Different approaches have been proposed for similar aims: Language Identification, Phylogenetics, Historical Linguistics or Dialectology. In our approach, we used a perplexity-based measure to calculate language distance between all the historical periods of a specific language: European Portuguese. Perplexity has also proven to be a robust metric to calculate distance between languages. However, this measure has not been tested yet to identify diachronic periods within the historical evolution of a specific language. For this purpose, a historical Portuguese corpus has been constructed from different open sources containing texts with close original spelling. The results of our experiments show that Portuguese keeps an important degree of homogeneity over time. We anticipate this metric to be a starting point to be applied to other languages.


his article presents an analysis of the corporate culture of the organization. The authors analyze the positions of Russian and foreign scientists on this issue, and consider the nature and structure of this concept. The process of formation and de-velopment of corporate culture in the enterprise deserves special attention, because it is possible to regulate the employees' behavior on the basis of values, that are relevant to the organization. The study was carried out in a construction company in the city of Novy Oskol (Belgorod Region). The analysis revealed the fact, that the corporate culture was not well developed, it was on an average level and required improvement. Based on the study, the authors offer some recommendations for the development of corporate culture of the company. As one of the recommendations, it is offered to consider the introduction of a corporate newspaper in the company. The main purpose of the newspaper is informing the employees' on the company's activity, its success and challenges, strengthening trust to its leaders.


Paper aging and protection are of crucial interest for improving the preservations of library collections and archives. Highly aging-resistant cellulose fiber sheets were obtained by treatment with magnesium hydroxide nanoparticles (Mg(OH)2). The procedure was tested on the sheets made of bleached (B) and refined unbleached (UB) pine cellulose fibers as well as their 50%/50% mixture (M). The mor and structural properties of the obtained sheets were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) methods. Stress–strain, smoothness and pH measurements were employed to determine the changes in physical-chemical characteristics of the sheets after mixing two types of the fibers and subsequent treatment with Mg(OH)2. It has been shown that the sheets made of the fiber mixture show a higher tensile index and smoothness. The modification with Mg(OH)2 nanoparticles induces an increase in the pH of the sheets to slightly basic values (around pH 8), facilitates the inter-fiber bonding and additionally enhances the smoothness of the sheets. Finally, by exposing the sheets to thermo-hygrometric accelerated artificial ageing, it was found that the physical properties of the treated sheets were not significantly dependent on the environmental factors.


Modulation of cognitive functions supporting human declarative memory is one of the grand challenges of neuroscience, and of vast importance for a variety of neuropsychiatric, neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases. Despite a recent surge of successful attempts at improving performance in a range of memory tasks, the optimal approaches and parameters for memory enhancement have yet to be determined. On a more fundamental level, it remains elusive how delivering electrical current in a given brain area leads to enhanced memory processing. Starting from the local and distal physiological effects on neural populations, the mechanisms of enhanced memory encoding, maintenance, consolidation, or recall in response to direct electrical stimulation are only now being unraveled. With the advent of innovative neurotechnologies for concurrent recording and stimulation intracranially in the human brain, it becomes possible to study both acute and chronic effects of stimulation on memory performance and the underlying neural activities. In this review, we summarize the effects of various invasive stimulation approaches for modulating memory functions. We first outline the challenges that were faced in the initial studies of memory enhancement and the lessons learned. Electrophysiological biomarkers are then reviewed as more objective measures of the stimulation effects than behavioral outcomes. Finally, we classify the various stimulation approaches into continuous and phasic modulation with open or closed loop for responsive stimulation based on analysis of the recorded neural activities. Although the potential advantage of closed-loop responsive stimulation over the classic open-loop approaches is inconclusive, we foresee the emerging results from ongoing longitudinal studies and clinical trials to shed light on both the mechanisms and optimal strategies for improving declarative memory. Adaptive stimulation based on the biomarker analysis over extended periods of time is proposed as a future direction for obtaining lasting effects on memory functions. Chronic tracking and modulation of neural activities intracranially through adaptive stimulation opens tantalizing new avenues to continually monitor and treat memory and cognitive deficits in a range of brain disorders. Brain co-processors created with machine-learning tools and wireless bi-directional connectivity to seamlessly integrate implanted devices with smartphones and cloud computing are poised to enable real-time automated analysis of large data volumes and adaptively tune electrical stimulation based on electrophysiological biomarkers of behavioral states. Next generation implantable devices for high-density recording and stimulation of electrophysiological activities, and technologies for distributed brain-computer interfaces are presented as selected future perspectives for modulating human memory and associated mental processes.


Personalized retrieval models aim at capturing user interests to provide personalized results that are tailored to the respective information needs. User interests are however widely spread, subject to change, and cannot always be captured well, thus rendering the deployment of personalized models challenging. We take a different approach and study ranking models for user intent. We exploit user feedback in terms of click data to cluster ranking models for historic queries according to user behavior and intent. Each cluster is finally represented by a single ranking model that captures the contained search interests expressed by users. Once new queries are issued, these are mapped to the clustering and the retrieval process diversifies possible intents by combining relevant ranking functions. Empirical evidence shows that our approach significantly outperforms baseline approaches on a large corporate query log.


Nekketsu shōnen constitutes one of the most famous and widespread genres of Japanese manga. This genre corresponds to a particular narrative structure rather than a register or setting, allowing it to include fantasy stories as well as realistic ones. Our hypothesis here is that the unity of this genre relies in the values it displays, which can be compared to sports values. In this paper, we analyze the main traits of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball and compare it to other masterpieces of this genre in order to stress how, despite apparent diversity, all these manga display the same ideal of hard-working and ever-progressing sportsmen fighting their own self rather than enemies, in stark contrast with classical American or European comics heroes and avengers. These works hence propose an emancipation of sports from its classical frames towards fantasy, but keeping its essential characteristics.


It is not well understood how privacy concern and trust influence social interactions within social networking sites. An online survey of two popular social networking sites, Facebook and MySpace, compared perceptions of trust and privacy concern, along with willingness to share information and develop new relationships. Members of both sites reported similar levels of privacy concern. Facebook members expressed significantly greater trust in both Facebook and its members, and were more willing to share identifying information. Even so, MySpace members reported significantly more experience using the site to meet new people. These results suggest that in online interaction, trust is not as necessary in the building of new relationships as it is in face to face encounters. They also show that in an online site, the existence of trust and the willingness to share information do not automatically translate into new social interaction. This study demonstrates online relationships can develop in sites where perceived trust and privacy safeguards are weak.


Recent efforts in the area of joint object matching approach the problem by taking as input a set of pairwise maps, which are then jointly optimized across the whole collection so that certain accuracy and consistency criteria are satisfied. One natural requirement is cycle‐consistency—namely the fact that map composition should give the same result regardless of the path taken in the shape collection. In this paper, we introduce a novel approach to obtain consistent matches without requiring initial pairwise solutions to be given as input. We do so by optimizing a joint measure of metric distortion directly over the space of cycle‐consistent maps; in order to allow for partially similar and extra‐class shapes, we formulate the problem as a series of quadratic programs with sparsity‐inducing constraints, making our technique a natural candidate for analysing collections with a large presence of outliers. The particular form of the problem allows us to leverage results and tools from the field of evolutionary game theory. This enables a highly efficient optimization procedure which assures accurate and provably consistent solutions in a matter of minutes in collections with hundreds of shapes.


The initial stages of fullerene and endohedral metallofullerene (EMF) synthesis in carbon-helium plasma at 1500 K and 2500 K have been simulated with quantum chemical molecular dynamics (MD) based on density-functional tight-binding (DFTB). The cases of formation of large (>100 atoms) sp2-carbon clusters with scandium atoms inside were observed. These clusters are considered as precursors of fullerenes or EMFs, and thus it is shown that formation of EMFs can be explained within the framework of "shrinking hot giant" mechanism. Also, the dependence of formation rates on plasma parameters, including temperature, buffer gas and metal atoms concentrations, has been studied.


This article combines relational perspectives on gender identity with social network structural perspectives on health to understand men's sexual functioning. The authors argue that network positions that afford independence and control over social resources are consistent with traditional masculine roles and may therefore affect men's sexual performance. For example, when a heterosexual man's female partner has more frequent contact with his confidants than he does—which the authors refer to as partner betweenness—his relational autonomy, privacy, and control are constrained. Analyses of data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) show that about a quarter of men experience partner betweennessa and that these men are 92% more likely to report erectile dysfunction. Partner betweenness is strongest among the youngest men in the sample, which may reflect changing conceptions of masculinity in later life. The authors consider several explanations for these findings and urge additional research on the links between health, gender, and network structure.


In this paper, we present a novel non-data aided method for phase recovery in both square and cross quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) communication systems, based on characteristic function. The proposed method is independent of noise distribution added to the rotated signal. After estimating the gain multiplied to the received signal and compensating its effect, we will estimate the phase offset. The key innovation lies in the use of characteristic function rather than the traditional higher order statistics. We use characteristic function and its estimate (Empirical Characteristic Function-ECF), in order to perform phase estimation. The analytical evaluation of the estimation is provided. Monte Carlo simulation provides feasibility of our new approach.


BACKGROUND
Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is a measure of the combined rate of filtration of all functional nephrons in the kidney. Measurement of GFR is used in the clinic to detect, stratify, and monitor progression of kidney dysfunction, and also serves as a prognostic tool for staging chronic kidney disease (CKD). The gold standard method for measuring GFR is by plasma or urine clearance of exogenous filtration markers, but this is not feasible in routine clinical practice. The most commonly used method to assess GFR is using equations for estimated GFR (eGFR).

CONTENT
Addition of a race factor to eGFR equations has been recommended to optimize performance for Black individuals. Here, we review the basis of the race-based equation and assess its utility and widespread applicability.

SUMMARY
Although evidence supporting the performance of a race factor exists in the unique populations in which these estimation equations were derived, more studies are needed to assess the need, or lack thereof, for race factors for all ethnicities. Furthermore, ethnicity is complex and likely cannot be qualified with a 2-level descriptor.


Abstract The question of the universality of philosophy is highlighted when seen from a crosscultural perspective, for it reveals the tension between particularity and universality, as well as the connotations of the universality of philosophy. In terms of philosophical activities concerned with the content of Chinese life experience, the universality of philosophy, the particularity of Chinese thought, and the uniqueness of Chinese expression together constitute a persistent theoretical tension. We distinguish the universality of philosophy from universal philosophy; the former stems from the universal presupposition of rational capacity and points to the richness and pluralism of the empirical world while maintaining a dynamic balance between universality and pluralism in normative attitudes of discourse practice and conceptual activity. From the perspective of cultural subjectivity, it is necessary to avoid misleading views that equate the universality of philosophy with Western philosophy; moreover, normativity cannot be understood as specific censorship rules. The universality of philosophy requires a sense of boundaries and a normative attitude that will ensure that people from different contexts can enter into dialogue on the basis of rational ability and construct a space for dialogue and understanding. The concern for diverse objects based on the richness of experience gives philosophical concepts and arguments pluralist differences that encompass cultural differences and autonomy at the level of expression. All in all, it is only on the basis of the universality of philosophy that we can understand the normative requirements of philosophical activities and the pluralism of cross-cultural philosophical reflection.


Bayesian network has been used extensively in data mining. The Privacy-Preserving data mining algorithm based on quantum ant colony optimization is proposed in this paper. The algorithm is based on distributed database. The algorithm is divided into two steps. In the first step, the modified quantum ant colony optimization algorithm is used to get the local Bayesian network structure. The purpose of the second step is getting the global Bayesian network structure by using local ones. In order to protect the privacy, the secure sum is used in the algorithm. The algorithm is proved to be convergent on theory. Some experiments have been done on the algorithm, and the results proved that the algorithm is feasible.


In this paper, we study the geometry associated with Schroedinger operator via Hamiltonian and Lagrangian formalism. Making use of a multiplier technique, we construct the heat kernel with the coefficient matrices of the operator both diagonal and non-diagonal. For applications, we compute the heat kernel of a Schroedinger operator with terms of lower order, and obtain a globally closed solution to a matrix Riccati equations as a by-product. Besides, we finally recover and generalise several classical results on some celebrated operators.


Intervention with small loans for micro-entrepreneurs is crucial for the establishment and growth of their businesses. Intervention of this sort, however, induces changes in behaviour and attitude to risk depending on the repayment mechanisms in place.  From the entrepreneurial point of view, after obtaining the loan, the borrowing agents are likely to make decisions that are associated with higher risk than would have been otherwise.  But the argument is that, if the repayment mechanisms are so draconian, the opposite can occur, making micro-entrepreneurs more risk averse. Such entrepreneurs are likely to maintain the status quo and strive to be able to service the loan in terms of meeting the repayment requirements.  Using the case of Morogoro and Mvomero districts in Morogoro region, the study found that the repayment motive outweighs the entrepreneurial acumen induced by the loan, making operators who have borrowed more risk averse than potential borrowers.  Those in rural areas are even more risk averse. We found that this hinders initiatives to go for larger loans in the subsequent rounds and retards the expansion and growth of micro-enterprises. This finding points to the need for new repayment mechanisms that reduce the trade-off between the maximization of repayment rates and further development of the entrepreneurial spirit.


In this paper, a new method has been proposed to introduce an extra parameter to a family of lifetime distributions for more flexibility. A special sub-case has been considered in details namely; two parameters Weibull distribution. Various mathematical properties of the proposed distribution, including explicit expressions for the moments, quantile, moment generating function, residual life, mean residual life and order statistics are derived. The maximum likelihood estimators of unknown parameters cannot be obtained in explicit forms, and they have to be obtained by solving non-linear equations only. A simulation study is conducted to evaluate the performances of these estimators. For the illustrative purposes, two data sets havebeen analyzed to show how the proposed model work in practice.


Dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS) measures the complex dielectric response of a sample to an applied oscillating electric field as a function of the field frequency in the microwave (GHz) region. The basic methodology of DRS was developed over 50 years ago but the technique has been largely ignored by solution chemists. Making use of advances in measurement and related technologies, modern DRS can provide important insights into the nature of the species present in electrolyte solutions. DRS has a unique sensitivity for detecting solvent-separated ion pairs in solution. In many cases DRS can provide detailed information about the thermodynamics, kinetics and sometimes even structures of ion pairs. Analysis of the solvent contributions to DR spectra yields data on the solvation of the ions. This talk will briefly describe modern DRS and will illustrate its capabilities for understanding the nature of electrolyte solutions using recent measurements from the authors' laboratories.


We comment on the paper [Song et al., J. Comput. Chem. 2009, 30, 399]. and discuss the efficiency of the orbital optimization and gradient evaluation in the Valence Bond Self Consistent Field (VBSCF) method. We note that Song et al. neglect to properly reference Broer et al., who published an algorithm [Broer and Nieuwpoort, Theor. Chim. Acta 1988, 73, 405] to use a Fock matrix to compute a matrix element between two different determinants, which can be used for an orbital optimization. Further, Song et al. publish a misleading comparison with our VBSCF algorithm [Dijkstra and van Lenthe, J. Chem. Phys. 2000, 113, 2100; van Lenthe et al., Mol. Phys. 1991, 73, 1159] to enable them to favorably compare their algorithm with ours. We give detail timings in terms of different orbital types in the calculation and actual timings for the example cases. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Objective: Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) report using cannabis to self-manage chronic pain and spasticity. However, its safety and efficacy are not well understood. As more women with SCI are pursuing motherhood, clinicians must consider the possibility of maternal cannabis use and its impact on fetal development. Moreover, due to the lack of current evidence for cannabis, it is important to characterize the perceptions and knowledge of physicians towards both recreational and synthetic cannabinoids. Design: Two anonymous surveys (10-items each) were conducted. Setting and Participants: Women with SCI (n = 20) completed an anonymous, online survey regarding cannabis use. Physicians at a Canadian SCI rehabilitation center (n = 15) completed a survey on their knowledge of recreational and synthetic cannabinoids among individuals with SCI. Outcome measures: Survey 1 evaluated cannabis use patterns and perceptions before/after SCI in women, including during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The aim of Survey 2 was to understand the perception and current knowledge of physicians regarding recreational cannabis and synthetic cannabinoid use by patients with SCI. Results: At the time of survey, 7 women with SCI reported use of cannabis, only 4 of them used prior to injury. Managing tone/spasticity (n = 5) was the major reported benefit of cannabis use. Women used cannabis during pregnancy and/or breastfeeding as a sleep aid or relief for morning sickness (n = 1 pregnancy, n = 1 breastfeeding, n = 1 both). The most-reported challenge with cannabis use was difficulty obtaining consistent, desirable effects (n = 5). Almost all physicians (n = 13) described their knowledge on recreational cannabis products as "none, very little or poor", with greater overall comfort and knowledge of synthetic cannabinoids. Conclusion: Due to the reported use of cannabis during pregnancy/breastfeeding and current impoverishment of physicians' knowledge (particularly regarding recreational cannabis products), it is imperative to further investigate the safety and efficacy of cannabis use in women with SCI.


In this paper, we evaluate the impacts of monetary and fiscal shocks on fluctuations of macroeconomic variables. Due to the importance of the financial sector in transmitting the effects of economic policies, the banking system and its current features such as fixed asset accumulation and NPLs has been added to the baseline model. Calibration of the parameters according to the quarterly data of Iran economy during 1990-2014 shows that the model fits the data quite satisfactory. We find that a negative shock to required reserve ratio results in slight output growth and moderate inflation. Moreover, a positive shock to government development payments results in inflation and output growth. Overall, the results indicate that incorporating banking system in macroeconomic modeling provides policymakers with more information for analyzing business cycles due to considering the interactions of balance sheet effect of banking system and the real sector, which is not available in competing models.


Evaluation of interspecific derivatives of groundnut was carried out under field and laboratory conditions for stem rot caused by Sclerotium rolfsii during rainy and post-rainy seasons from 2005-2008. Disease incidence was higher during rainy compared to post-rainy season. During initial screening of interspecific derivatives for stem rot under sick plot, 42 lines were found to be promising with no disease incidence. Advanced screening of these promising lines was carried out in concrete block with sick soil under field conditions and earthen pot with sick soil under lab conditions. Interspecific lines NRCGCS-47, NRCGCS-99, NRCGCS-131 and NRCGCS-319 were found promising against stem rot during early stages and later stages of crop growth. Out of which interspecific line NRCGCS-319 was found to be most stable one with comparatively lower pooled disease incidence over concrete block and laboratory conditions.


Background
 In Ph+ALL patients, prophylactic/maintenance administrations of TKI are used after the protocol treatment. Unlike Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), after TKI stopped, there is no consensus about how often to monitor to detect molecular relapse. In the current study, from clinical data of 31 patients we tried to determine the optimal frequency of MRD monitor for better prognosis using a mathematical model.
 Methods
 Doubling time (DT) and Growth rate (GR) were retrospectively calculated by the increase of BCR-ABL from 99 kinetic data from 31 patients with Ph+ALL at molecular relapse. Measurement of amount BCR-ABL was performed by RQ-PCR. Mimicking CML, we defined BCR-ABL/ABL ratio of 0.1% as "MR3 (Major molecular response)" and undetectable levels of BCR-ABL transcript as "MR5 (Complete molecular response)". In order to investigate the relationship between tumor burden (BCR/ABL) at the time of MRD detection and prognosis, it was divided into 3 groups, BCR/ABL<0.1% (MR3), 0.1%<BCR/ABL<1% (MR2) and BCR/ABL>1% (MR1). This study was approved by the institutional review committee.
 Results
 The doubling time was 1.3 days (GR 0.7%/day) to 95.4 days (70.8%/day) with a median of 12.3 days (5.8%). The rate of increase was compared by three groups of tumor burden. The DT among patients in MR1 was shorter than those in MR3 and MR2 (7.7 days vs 15.2 days in median, t-test p<0.01). There were no differences of DT in sex, age, treatments and BCR/ABL mutation. Most patient had multiple kinetic data and the smallest amount of BCR/ABL was used in each patient. Among 8 patients who showed MR3 (MR3pt) and 11 who showed MR2 (MR2pt), 14 are alive at this analysis, while among 10 patients who showed MR1 (MR1pt), only 1 patient is alive.(Log-rank test, p<0.1) (Figure) Median survival time is 882 days, 330 days and 16 days in MR3pt, Mr2pt and MR1pt, respectively. All patients died of progression of the disease. Finding molecular relapse before MR2 may related to better results.
 Optimal interval of MRD detection
 We set several hypotheses to determine the optimal frequency to detect early recurrence of leukemia. We estimated that patients with MR2 and MR5 have 1010 and 107 Ph+ cells in body, respectively. We defined "MR2" and "MR5" as "optimal intervention threshold" and "detection threshold". From our clinical data, we tentatively determined that doubling time of leukemia growth is distributed between 1 day (GR 100%/day) and 100days (0.7%). Also, we assumed that single cell has a relapse potency and the GR is constant during observation in each patient. The number of Ph+ cells in a MR5 patient who would potentially relapse might be distributed between 1 cell and 1 x 107 (MR5). "Success" was defined as if molecular relapse is detected between M5 and MR2 and "Failure" was defined as if detected more than MR2.
 According to the daily clinical practice, the optimal examination interval is tentatively every 7 days, every 14 days, every 28 days, every 56 days, every 84 days, every 6 months, and every year. First, in order to calculate the growth rate that would be successful at 7-day intervals, the rate of 168%/day for 1 cell to increase 107 (MR5) in 7 days was calculated. This rate is faster than the maximum rate of 100%/day in this study, so an interval of 7 days is good for the initial period. Similarly, at 14-day intervals, 68%/day is calculated, and in this case, it requires 32 days to increase 107 (MR5) from 1 cell. As a result, after 32.7 days, 14-day intervals are acceptable. Similarly, the calculated results for 28 days, 56 days, 84 days, 6 months, and 1 year are shown in the Table. MRD can be found before M3 (success) with 28-day intervals after 65 days, 56-day intervals after 131 days, 84-day intervals after 196 days, 6-month intervals after 419 days and 1-year intervals after 852 days.
 Conclusion
 Taken together, soon after stop of TKI, more frequent monitoring of MRD than in "treatment free remission" in CML is needed. The interval can be prolonged with the passage of time. In several patients, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) was possible due to early intervention by changing TKI and chemotherapy. After HSCT, TKI combined with rapid reduction of immune-suppressants and donor lymphocyte infusion successfully related with long term survival. (data will be shown in ASH) Thus, the tight monitoring according to the mathematical model is important. The current strategy may be applied to other leukemia in which MRD monitoring by PCR is established.

 Miyamura: Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Ltd.:Honoraria;Celgene Co., Ltd.:Honoraria;Daiichi-Sankyo Co., Ltd.:Honoraria;Otsuka Co., Ltd.:Honoraria;Pfizer Co., Ltd.:Honoraria;Novartis Co., Ltd.:Honoraria.Goto:Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd:Honoraria;Novartis Pharma Co., Ltd.:Honoraria.Morishita:Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Ltd.:Honoraria.Ozawa:Novartis Co., Ltd.:Honoraria.


This article examines disability accommodation policies for faculty at 42 Canadian universities. Although universities in Canada are legally required to accommodate disabled employees, fewer than half of all universities have a written disability accommodation policy available. The search for disability accommodation policies revealed that there is a lack of consistency in policy implementation as well as language and content. The analysis revealed that disability accommodation policies contain overtly medical language and provisions that work to isolate disabled faculty by reinforcing the notion of competency as able-bodiedness and emphasizing the entanglement between disability, health and medicine. This article encourages universities to acknowledge their role in establishing accessible and inclusive workplaces and concludes with recommendations aimed at addressing some of the gaps and inconsistencies in disability accommodation policies.


Identification of the parathyroids may present some difficulties at the time of thyroid surgery, or during neck explorations for parathyroid tumors. Fat, lymph nodes, and thyroid adenomas have been confused with parathyroid tissue. Toluidine blue, a phenothiazine dye, has been used in cases of cyanide and carbon monoxide poisoning and in some types of bleeding because of its antagonistic action to heparin. Recently, it has been shown to stain oral cancer.1 Moe, in 1964, attempted to stain the corpus of the stomach in animals in which toluidine blue was injected intravenously and found that the pancreas and parathyroids stained as well. Klopper and Moe2reported a more detailed investigation of parathyroid staining in 1966 in which toluidine blue was injected into the femoral veins of dogs (10 mg/kg of body weight over a 10-to-20-minute period). Oral administration had been shown to be ineffectual. Good staining of the parathyroid


Objective: The objective of this retrospective longitudinal study was to evaluate short- and long-term results of the application of the Liou Alt-RAMEC (alternate rapid maxillary expansion and constriction) technique, a late orthopedic maxillary protraction technique, with intraoral anchorage, in patients with cleft. Materials and Methods: Twenty-six patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) were consecutively treated with the Alt-RAMEC technique. The average age of the patients was 11.7 years (10.3-13.2 years) before protraction and 18.3 years (17.4-21.1 years) at long-term follow-up. A sample of nontreated patients with UCLP was used as a control group. It was matched for sex, skeletal class III, and age (11.3 years). The control sample had records at the end of growth (18.7 years). Results: The sagittal advancement of A-point, after the application of the technique, was 5.7 (2.17) mm. Some mandibular dentoalveolar and positional adaptation was noted. The position of the maxilla was stable in the long term. On the other hand, the UCLP control group showed hardly any growth at the maxillary level during the long-term follow-up period. Conclusion: Our results showed that the Alt-RAMEC technique, performed at the correct time, with a double-hinged expander, followed by class III spring or elastic traction, 24 hours per day, allows for satisfactory maxillary protraction, with, at this stage, apparently stable long-term results. Nevertheless, as only 50% of the patients had long-term follow-up data, we are still unable to predict the percentage of patients which will not eventually need orthognathic surgery.


Objective. In cities situated at high-altitude, the measured x-ray spectra are required to calculate the absorbed dose to water in radiobiology and medical dosimetry because of the air-density effect. This work aims to measure, in a high-altitude city, a set of x-ray spectra from an x-ray tube with tungsten anode generated at potentials of the M-series x-ray beams from NIST in the range of 20 and 150 kV as well as other beam qualities that have been characterized and used for dosimetry study in our group called W-series. To also measure some spectra of mammography interest in the energy range of 25 and 35 kV using additional filtration of rhodium (Rh), molybdenum (Mo) and silver (Ag). Approach. A tungsten anode x-ray tube with potential between 10 to and 160 kV was used. A high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector associated with a DSPEC Jr 2.0TM digital signal processing module has been used for the spectra measurements. Prior the spectra measurements, the HPGe detector has been characterized and calibrated using several radioactive sources. Main results. The M80 spectrum was compared to a mathematically filtered beam from Physicalisch Technische Bundesanstalt corresponding to the same potential finding a difference of 0.7% in the average energy. So, the mathematically filtered beam from PTB matches very well our M80 beam. The beams M80, M100 and M120 were also compared with calculations for the corresponding kilovoltage from an executable that calculates x-ray spectra from tungsten anode x-ray tubes in the energy range between 40 to 300 kV called SpekCalc. The SpekCalc reproduces qualitatively the experimental spectra, but not quantitatively, mainly for M100 and M120 beams. Significance. These spectra can be used to simulate the patient dose as well as image quality using Monte Carlo (MC) codes or to evaluate the absorbed dose in dosimetry studies


Objective The study aimed to investigate the mental health and emotional reaction of physicians working during phase 1 of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. Methods A total of 458 Italian Health Care Workers (HCWs) working during phases 1 of the COVID-19 outbreak were voluntarily enlisted in the study and recruited with the snowball technique through an online survey. We examined our variables with the General Health Questionnaire – 12 and with Visual Analog Scales. Results The sample has a high level of psychological distress 21.26 (SD = 4.46), the emotional reaction was characterized by high level of fear for family members and cohabitants (M = 77.67, SD = 27.16) and patients (M = 67.16, SD = 27.71). Perceived control, fear for patients, and for family members and cohabitants, feeling alone and anger all contribute to a decreased mental health in Italian physicians (R2 = 0.285, p < 0.001). Conclusion Italian HCWs' mental health and emotional reaction have to be considered to prevent high risk of burnout and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It becomes pivotal in the next months to implement a tailored psychological intervention to take care of HCWs and to prevent costly consequences for them, patients, and the healthcare system.


An obligately anaerobic strain, designated as A2931T, was isolated from oropharyngeal abscess puncture fluid of a patient sampled during routine care at a hospital and further characterized both phenotypically, biochemically and genotypically. This Gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium was moderately saccharolytic and proteolytic. Phylogenetic analyses of full-length 16S rRNA gene and whole-genome sequences revealed it to be best placed in the genus Prevotella, but to be only comparatively distantly related to recognized species, with the closest relationship to Prevotella baroniae (average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values both well below the generally accepted thresholds). Strain A2931T had a genomic DNA G+C content of 47.7 mol%. Its most abundant cellular long-chain fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0, iso-C15 : 0 and C16 : 0. Taken together, this polyphasic data suggests strain A2931T to represent a novel species within the genus Prevotella, for which the name Prevotella illustrans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is A2931T (=DSM 108028T=CCOS 1232T=CCUG 72806T). Interestingly, we found strain A2931T to correspond to the oral taxon Prevotella HMT-820 in the Human Oral Microbiome Database, as supported by overall genome relatedness index analyses >99 %. Thus, our work not only closes one of the gaps of knowledge about hitherto unnamed species isolated from humans, but also will facilitate identification of this taxon both in the clinical microbiology context and in research alike.


The objectives of the present study were to compare the growth curve models for their ability to describe the growth of Turkish Norduz sheep, and to estimate the growth curve parameters by the selected growth model. The data were collected from 93 male lambs and 86 female lambs from birth to 198 day of age. Five different nonlinear models, Brody, Gompertz, Logistic, Bertalanffy and Negative exponential, were compared using coefficient of determination (R), asymptotic mature weight (BWA), residual standard deviation (RSD) and coefficient of correlation (r) between the observed and estimated growth curves. The Logistic growth model was observed to be appropriate for explaining the growth of Norduz female and male lambs. Male lambs grew faster and attained larger mature weight than female lambs showing that sex is the main factor affecting the growth of Norduz lambs. Type of birth had no effect on the growth of the lambs.


We evaluated 30 patients with cervical myelopathy before and after decompressive surgery and compared them with 42 healthy controls. All were asked to grip and release their fingers as rapidly as possible for 15 seconds. Films recorded with a digital camera were divided into three files of five seconds each. Three doctors independently counted the number of grip and release cycles in a blinded manner (N1 represents the number of cycles for the first five-second segment, N2 for the second and N3 for the third). N1 [corrected] N2 and N3 of the pre-operative group were significantly fewer than those of the control group, and the post-operative [corrected] group's results were significantly fewer [corrected] than those of the pre-operative group. In the control group, the numbers decreased significantly with each succeeding five-second interval (fatigue phenomenon). In the pre-operative myelopathy group there was no significant difference between N1 and N2 (freezing phenomenon). The 15-second test is shown to be reliable in the quantitative evaluation of cervical myelopathy. Although it requires a camera and animation files, it can detect small changes in neurological status because of its precise and objective nature.


The Yasawi Shrine was built by Timur in 1397 to honour Khawaja Ahmad Yasawi 230 years after his death in Turkestan. Today when you visit the city of Turkestan (Yasi) in Kazakhstan, you can sense a feeling of eternity inspired by the gigantic building. The structure's significance comes from the importance attributed to the Sufi Sheikh Khawaja Ahmad Yasawi. This building symbolises both the spiritual power of Yasawi and the worldly reign of Timur and the Eurasian steppes. The subject of this paper is the doorknockers on the entrance door of this shrine. The aim of this study is not only to examine the doorknockers but also to expose their place in Timurid art. Accordingly, the doorknockers will be analyzed from an artistic perspective, and the iconographic descriptions will illustrate how Timur understood symbolism in art. As an integrative and comparative study, this paper examines several sources of Timur's political and art history, the iconography of Buddhism and Islam which were dominant in the region, Yasawi Sufi thought and Ahmad Yasawi's poetry. Also included are comparisons of the miniatures, wooden artworks and architecture. This research shows Timur's artistic powerful and far-reaching influence as it was reflected in the massive Ahmad Yasawi Shrine and in its smallest art works like the doorknockers.


This study assesses the influence of managerial responses to online customer reviews on product sales. We leverage a natural experiment provided by two online travel agencies. Both agents allow customers to post reviews on hotels, but only one of the travel agents allows hotel management to post managerial responses. Using a difference-in-difference approach, we find that managerial responses have a significant impact on hotel bookings. A hotel that provides managerial responses receives 60% more online bookings than an equivalent hotel without managerial responses. Our result highlights the importance of managing and responding to online customer reviews.


In this paper, a study on the end-to-end performance of multihop non-regenerative relaying over independent and identical generalized-gamma fading channels is presented. Novel closed-form bounds for the cumulative distribution function, the moments, and the moment generating function (MGF) of the end-to-end signal-to-noise ratio are presented. Using the MGF-based approach, closed-form expressions for the amount-of-fading, the outage probability, and the average bit error probability for binary differential phase shift keying are derived. In order to validate the accuracy of the proposed mathematical analysis, various numerical and computer simulation results are presented and compared to the analytical ones.


Background and aim Airflow limitation may be found in patients with both asthma and COPD and is often associated with more symptoms and poorer outcome. We aimed to identify factors associated with airflow limitation in a well-characterized, population-based sample of adults. Methods From the Health2006 cohort, we selected participants aged ≥35 years at enrolment (n=2,959). Airflow limitation was defined as FEV1/FVC < lower limit of normal. Participants with (cases) and without (controls) airflow limitation were compared with regard to self-reported symptoms, medical history, atopy, lung function and exhaled nitric oxide. Between-group differences were analyzed using Chi-square and Mann–Whitney U tests, and effect size was estimated by logistic regression (reported as OR and 95% CI). Results We identified 313 cases, majority of which were female, reported poor overall health, physically inactivity and experienced respiratory symptoms within the previous year. The presence of airflow limitation was associated with BMI (OR 3.1 for overweight, P<0.001, CI 1.97–4.78), age (OR 2.3, P<0.001 for age 55+, CI 1.7–3.2), tobacco exposure (OR 1.6, P=0.01, CI 1.1–2.32, and OR 1.76, P=0.019, CI 1.2–2.3 for former and current smokers, respectively), sex (OR 1.6 for being female, P=0.002, CI 1.2–2.2), presence of specific IgE to common aeroallergen(s) (OR 1.4, P=0.041, CI 1.2–2.0), and ever being diagnosed with asthma (OR 1.6, P=0.003, CI 1.3–2.0). Conclusion Apart from tobacco exposure and age, the presence of airflow limitation was associated with being overweight, female, sensitized to common aeroallergens or ever having a diagnosis of asthma.


Externalizing Behavior Disorders are one of the most common mental health problems among adolescents, and they have a severe impact on family, school, and social settings. The purpose of this study was to compare adolescents from the general population without an externalizing behavior diagnosis with adolescents from a clinical sample in a series of variables identified as predictors of externalizing behavior. The study included adolescents aged between 12-15 years from the Region of Murcia. A cross-sectional, descriptive, analytical design was used with a sample of 327 adolescents, who were distributed as follows: (a) Clinical Group, made up of 59 participants, and (b) General Group, made up of 268 adolescents. The results of this study indicate that externalizing behavior is mainly related to Impulsivity, although modulated by factors related to the adolescent's family and cultural socialization. The adolescents of the clinical sample described the parental styles they received as more authoritarian and less inductive than those of the adolescents from the general population.


Cancer extracellular vesicles (EVs) mainly exert pro-tumoral functions by changing the phenotypes of stromal cells to the benefit of tumor growth and metastasis. They shuttle to distant organs and fertilize pre-metastatic niches facilitating subsequent seeding by circulating tumor cells. The levels of tumor secreted EVs correlate with tumor aggressiveness, however, the link between EV secretion mechanisms and their capacity to form pre-metastatic niches remains obscure. Here, we show that GTPases of the Ral family control, through the phospholipase D1, multi-vesicular bodies homeostasis and thereby tune the biogenesis and secretion of pro-metastatic EVs. RalA and RalB promote lung metastasis in a syngeneic mouse model. Importantly, EVs from RalA or RalB depleted cells have limited organotropic capacities in vivo and, as a consequence, are less efficient in promoting lung metastasis. RalA or RalB modulate the EV levels of the adhesion molecule MCAM/CD146, which mediates lung colonization. Finally, RalA and RalB, but also MCAM/CD146, are factors of poor prognosis in human breast cancer patients. Altogether, our study identifies Ral GTPases as central molecules linking the mechanisms of EVs secretion, cargo loading to their capacity to disseminate and induce pre-metastatic niches.


Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems control and monitor industrial and critical infrastructure functions, such as electricity, gas, water, waste, railway, and traffic. The main objective of this work is to develop SCADA simulation model for packaging system in dry ice plant. Dry ice is an important refrigerant for keeping foods cold and preventing bacterial growth during shipment. Dry ice used for cooling or freezing foods must be very clean and considered food grade to ensure that food it may touch will not be contaminated. Some recent developments for its use include using the pellets in blasting or cleaning and its increasing use in transporting medical specimens, including hearts, limbs, and tissues, for reattachment and transplantation. The manufacturing process of dry ice has not changed significantly in many decades and is a relatively simple process of pressurizing and cooling gaseous carbon dioxide. But because of its growing demand, packaging becomes vital. An attempt has been made to develop and automate LOGIXPRO based SCADA simulations for dry ice plant to improve packaging and extensively reduce operating labor costs.


Abstract : This work completes a series of detailed experiments of boundary layers undergoing transition to turbulence with the major effort directed toward the most important issue facing the understanding of fundamental causes of transition, i.e., the receptivity to freestream disturbances. This problem is reviewed in detail by Saric et al. (1994). The present effort concentrates on leading-edge receptivity and receptivity of two-dimensional roughness. The effects of large-amplitude freestream noise is considered with the effort directed toward determining the limits of linear receptivity. Single-frequency and broad-band sound waves are used along with 2-D roughness elements to determine how the unstable waves are initiated. New data are presented on leading edge-receptivity that clarify some difficulties with previous experimental work. Comparisons with recent DNS are excellent. Data are also presented for nonlinear receptivity of 2-D roughness elements. It is shown that there is little difference between the single-frequency excitation and white noise in that the response is still keenly triggered by the amplitude of the individual mode. Thus a single frequency at 120 dB is more dangerous than white noise at 120 dB where the energy is distributed of many modes.


Background: Iron metabolism and immune response to SARS-CoV-2 have not been described yet in intensive care patients, although they are likely involved in Covid-19 pathogenesis. Little is known about clinical management of severe forms of Covid-19. Methods: we performed an observational study during the peak of pandemic in our intensive care unit, serially dosing D-dimer, C-reactive protein, Troponin T, Lactate Dehydrogenase, Ferritin, Serum iron, Transferrin, Transferrin Saturation, Transferrin Soluble Receptor, Lymphocyte count and NK, CD3, CD4, CD8, B subgroups of 31 patients during the first two weeks of their ICU stay. Correlation with mortality and severity at the time of admission was tested with Spearman coefficient and Mann-Whitney test. Trend over time were tested with Kruskall-Wallis analysis. Results: All patients show hyperferritinemia, and its dosage might be helpful in individuating patients developing hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (we observed 1 case). Lymphopenia is severe and constant, with a nadir on day 2 of ICU stay (median 0.555 109/L; interquartile range (IQR) 0.450 109/L); all lymphocytic subgroups are dramatically reduced in critically ill patients, while CD4/CD8 ratio remains normal. Neither Ferritin nor lymphocyte count follow significant trends in ICU patients. Transferrin Saturation is extremely reduced at ICU admission (median 9%; IQR 7%), then significantly increases at day 3 to 6 (median 33%, IQR 26.5%, p-value 0.026). The same trend is observed with serum iron levels (median 25.5 µg/L, IQR 69 µg/L at admission; median 73 µg/L, IQR 56 µg/L on day 3 to 6) without reaching statistical significance. D-dimer is constantly elevated and progressively increases from admission (median 1319 µg/L; IQR 1285 µg/L) to day 3 to 6 (median 6820 µg/L; IQR 6619 µg/L), despite not reaching significant results. We describe trends of all the above mentioned parameters during ICU stay and provide a narrative review of our clinical experience about critical Covid-19 patients. D-dimer is constantly elevated in our ICU population and increases from admission to a maximum on day 3 to 6 of ICU stay (median 6820 µg/L; IQR 6619 µg/L) Conclusions: iron metabolism and lymphopenia are key clinical features of Covid-19 patients in the ICU setting and have been specifically described in this paper. Keywords – MeSH repository (3-10): Iron, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Coronavirus, Critical Care, Lymphocytes, Lymphopenia, Ferritins, Immunity, Coagulation.


Background Laryngeal cancer (LC) is a prevalent head and neck malignancy; however, the essential pathophysiological mechanism underlying its tumorigenesis and progression remains elusive. Due to the perduring scarcity of effective targeted drugs for laryngeal cancer, insights into the disease's pathophysiological mechanisms would substantially impact the treatment landscape of laryngeal cancer. Methods To ensure quality consistency, 10 tumor and 9 non-tumor samples underwent proteomic analysis on a single mass spectrometer using a label-free technique. Subsequently, gene expression variations between laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and normal tissues were analyzed using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Immunohistochemical expressions of insulin-like growth factor 2 receptor (IGF2R), fibronectin (FN), vimentin, and α-smooth muscle actin (SMA) in LC tissues and normal tissues were determined. Results In the tumor group, significant variations were detected for 433 upregulated and 61 downregulated proteins. Moreover, the heatmap revealed that the expressions of RNA translation-related proteins and proteins involved in RNA metabolism, such as IGF2R, tenascin C (TNC), periostin (POSTN), proteasome 26S subunit ATPase 4 (PSMC4), serpin family A member 3 (SERPINA3), heat shock protein family B (small) member 6 (HSPB6), osteoglycin (OGN), chaperonin containing TCP1 subunit 6A (CCT6A), and chaperonin containing TCP1 subunit 6B (CCT6B), were prominently elevated in the tumor group. Nonsense-mediated RNA decay (NMD), RNA translation, and protein stability were significantly altered in LC tumors. IGF2R was remarkably upregulated in LC tumors. In the TCGA database, the IGF2R mRNA level was significantly upregulated in LSCC tissues. Additionally, IGF2R mRNA expression was lowest in clinical grade 1 samples, with no significant difference between grades 2 and 3. In LSCC patients, a significant positive correlation between IGF2R expression and the stromal score was detected using the ESTIMATE algorithm to estimate the immune score, stromal score, and tumor purity in the tumor microenvironment. Lastly, immunohistochemical analysis revealed that IGF2R is overexpressed in LC. Conclusion These results demonstrate the vital role of IGF2R in LC carcinogenesis and progression and may facilitate the identification of new therapeutic targets for the prevention and treatment of LC.


Recently, we reported that melanoma risk in redheads is linked not only to pale skin, but also to the synthesis of the pigment – called pheomelanin – that gives red hair its color. We demonstrated that pheomelanin synthesis is associated with increased oxidative stress in the skin, yet we have not uncovered the chemical pathway between the molecule pheomelanin and the DNA damage that drives melanoma formation. Here, we hypothesize two possible pathways. On one hand, pheomelanin might generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) that directly or indirectly cause oxidative DNA damage. On the other hand, pheomelanin synthesis might consume cellular antioxidant stores and make the cell nucleus more vulnerable to other endogenous ROS. Uncovering the mechanistic pathway between pheomelanin and oxidative DNA damage will be an important step in developing strategies to lower melanoma risk in redheads.


Public health nutrition occupies a paramount position in the overarching domains of health promotion and disease prevention, setting itself apart from nutritional investigations concentrated at the individual level [...].


Solid organ transplantation has increased steadily in recent years, as well as the number of candidates. This treatment is reserved for terminal illness of the implicated organs and, therefore, performed in patients who already have high morbidity and mortality rates. The transplantation process is complex and entails huge risks and challenges for patients, which are obviously a great source of enormous distress for themselves and for their relatives. Supported on current evidence, the International Society of Transplantation recommends that candidates' selection for a transplant list should include psychosocial criteria and stands for integration of Psychiatry in transplant teams as an important advantage to achieve favorable clinical endpoints. The psychiatrist' role is, on the one hand, the identification and intervention in psychosocial factors that might somehow affect the outcome of transplant procedure and, secondly, to provide psychiatric care to transplanted patients. In this paper, the authors briefly review of the intervention areas of Psychiatry in solid organ transplantation, particularly, in heart and lung transplantation. recommendations are presented, but also the controversies and difficulties that arise in selection and psychosocial screening of candidates, pre-transplant care, as well as the identification and treatment of psychiatric disorders in the post-transplant period. KEY-WORDS: OrgAN TrANSPlANTATION; heArT, luNg; PATIeNT SelecTION; PSychIATry


Let G be a locally compact group. We prove that the augmentation ideal in L1(G) is (algebraically) finitely-generated as a left ideal if and only if G is finite. We then investigate weighted versions of this result, as well as a version for semigroup algebras. Weighted measure algebras are also considered. We are motivated by a recent conjecture of Dales and Żelazko, which states that a unital Banach algebra in which every maximal left ideal is finitely-generated is necessarily finite-dimensional. We prove that this conjecture holds for many of the algebras considered. Finally, we use the theory that we have developed to construct some examples of commutative Banach algebras that relate to a theorem of Gleason.


Most T cell–based immunotherapies of cancer depend on intact antigen presentation by HLA class I molecules (HLA-I). However, defects in the antigen-processing machinery can cause downregulation of HLA-I, rendering tumor cells resistant to CD8+ T cells. Previously, we demonstrated that a unique category of cancer antigens is selectively presented by tumor cells deficient for the peptide transporter TAP, enabling a specific attack of such tumors without causing immunopathology in mouse models. With a novel combinatorial screening approach, we now identify 16 antigens of this category in humans. These HLA-A*02:01 presented peptides do not derive from the mutanome of cancers, but are of "self" origin and therefore constitute universal neoantigens. Indeed, CD8+ T cells specific for the leader peptide of the ubiquitously expressed LRPAP1 protein recognized TAP-deficient, HLA-Ilow lymphomas, melanomas, and renal and colon carcinomas, but not healthy counterparts. In contrast to personalized mutanome-targeted therapies, these conserved neoantigens and their cognate receptors can be exploited for immune-escaped cancers across diverse histological origins.


Abstract Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are among the most active and studied catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline electrolytes. However, previous studies have generally either focused on a small number of LDHs, applied synthetic routes with limited structural control, or used non‐intrinsic activity metrics, thus hampering the construction of consistent structure–activity‐relations. Herein, by employing new individually developed synthesis strategies with atomic structural control, we obtained a broad series of crystalline α‐MA(II)MB(III) LDH and β‐MA(OH)2 electrocatalysts (MA=Ni, Co, and MB=Co, Fe, Mn). We further derived their intrinsic activity through electrochemical active surface area normalization, yielding the trend NiFe LDH > CoFe LDH > Fe‐free Co‐containing catalysts > Fe‐Co‐free Ni‐based catalysts. Our theoretical reactivity analysis revealed that these intrinsic activity trends originate from the dual‐metal‐site nature of the reaction centers, which lead to composition‐dependent synergies and diverse scaling relationships that may be used to design catalysts with improved performance.


Quantum key distribution (QKD) allows two users to communicate with theoretically provable secrecy by encoding information on photonic qubits. Current encoders are complex, however, which reduces their appeal for practical use and introduces potential vulnerabilities to quantum attacks. Distributed-phase-reference (DPR) systems were introduced as a simpler alternative, but have not yet been proven practically secure against all classes of attack. Here we demonstrate the first DPR QKD system with information-theoretic security. Using a novel light source, where the coherence between pulses can be controlled on a pulse-by-pulse basis, we implement a secure DPR system based on the differential quadrature phase shift protocol. The system is modulator-free, does not require active stabilization or a complex receiver, and also offers megabit per second key rates, almost three times higher than the standard Bennett-Brassard 1984 (BB84) protocol. This enhanced performance and security highlights the potential for DPR protocols to be adopted for real-world applications.


In this study, we evaluated a new aspect of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) as an analytical tool for pharmacokinetic studies. Twenty‐one patients with soft tissue defects scheduled to receive NPWT were included in this study. Concomitant to NPWT, all patients received intravenous moxifloxacin (MX). At different time intervals, blood plasma levels of MX were sampled and compared with synchronous concentrations of MX in the exudate obtained from the NPWT drainage system. Serial measurements were performed upon initiation of the therapy as well as in the steady state (after 5 days). At steady state, wound tissue was obtained intraoperatively. High‐performance liquid‐chromatography (HPLC) was used for analysis. At 1 hour post‐administration, the exudate/plasma levels (mg/L) were 1.92/3.07; at 12 hours, 0.80/1.14; at 24 hours, 0.26/0.43; and at 120 hours (steady state), 0.42/0.47. There was a correlation between exudate and plasma levels reaching approximately 0.75. Until now, methods for pharmacokinetic studies concerning interstitial fluid are difficult to apply in the clinical context. The presented method showed limitations, but we believe that, after methodological improvements, measurements of substances in the interstitial fluid by means of NPWT are feasible.


This case study examines knowledge activated in in-service and preservice teachers discourse in relation to the implementation of ITCs for pedagogical purposes. Analysis based on the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model (Koehler & Mishra, 2008) indicates that both in-service and pre-service teachers activate primarily technological and pedagogical knowledge, and little disciplinary knowledge. Further research should focus on the development and analysis of TPACK-derived instruments for initial and continuing training.


Attempts to explain the intuitive wrongfulness in alleged 'wrongful life' cases commonly do so by attributing harmful wrongdoing to the procreators in question. Such an approach identifies the resulting child as having been, in some sense, culpably harmed by their coming into existence. By contrast, and enlarging on work elsewhere, this paper explores the relevance of procreative motivation, rather than harm, for determining the morality of procreative conduct. I begin by reviewing the main objection to the harm-based approach, which arises out of Derek Parfit's analysis of the non-identity problem and its implications for preconception cases. Most attempts to avoid the non-identity objection adopt either an impersonal harm approach or draw on some version of a metaphysical modal counterpart theory to defend a person-affecting harm account. But here I develop an alternative view. The proposed account construes the wrongness in the considered cases as 'evil' rather than harm, and the type of evil in question as being of a non-grievance, welfare-connected, collective kind. Understanding the wrongness in this way offers a basis for the view that it matters morally why we procreate, and not just whether or how we do so.


A film provides inexperienced spectacles for audiences, and they watch the film to gain new experience. Moviemakers have made an effort to survive in many forms of mass media. The effort has been developed more progressive than other media. First, they actively embrace new technology to differentiate themselves from the other media, and present entertaining and interesting shows. The virtual, digital technology visualizes new time and space elaborately, providing audience the spectacle experiences. It consists of Computer Graphic, which visualizes the virtual world as reality, and new digital technology, which produces entertaining show. The new digital technology, which is adopted from the early Hollywood's blockbuster movies, now plays key role in contemporary movies beyond the realm of spectacles. Virtual, digital technology, combined with cinematic imagination and new technology, not only contribute to entertainment, but also influences on the narrative of movie. The audience reacts mostly to the visualization of digital technology. This study examines how digital technology is used for GUI (Graphical User Interface) in movie. To analyze the GUI pattern that works in Hollywood's blockbuster movies after "Minority Report", which presents the new interaction between human and computer, the blockbusters are reviewed by GUI type that is visualized in the movies. Furthermore, it gives us the knowledge about the visual media that affects audience with visual elements. As the new and visual technology is developed and attracts audience, it will contribute us to understand why our society clings to the appearance.


An intractable fistula caused by idiopathic esophageal rupture is a rare but severe condition. In the present case, a 69‐year‐old man had been treated conservatively at another hospital for esophageal rupture but had developed an abscess in the left thoracic cavity due to an intractable fistula at the rupture site. He was referred to our hospital for treatment 19 months after the esophageal rupture. On admission, the intractable fistula was found to be continuous with an abscess in the left thoracic cavity. Preoperative continuous enteral nutrition was administered to improve the patient's nutritional status, and drainage was performed to reduce the size of the abscess. Then, to minimize the invasion of the intractable fistula, thoracoscopic subtotal esophagectomy was performed via a right thoracic cavity approach 20 months after the esophageal rupture. Preoperative management and thoracoscopic surgery via an opposite chest cavity approach was found to be safe and feasible for the intractable fistula caused by idiopathic esophageal rupture.


It has been said that Australian GST has no time of supply rules, but this view stems from a misunderstanding of the role of time of supply rules in other jurisdictions. A comparative approach reveals that such rules are simply attribution rules, responsible for allocating the payment of tax to particular tax periods, and Australia does have such attribution rules. Moreover, other jurisdictions frequently determine the status of a supply by reference to the real time of supply in the real world. Identifying the time at which a supply is made is of fundamental importance for a tax on transactions because the tax treatment of a transaction is determined at that time by reference to a range of features, which may include the character of the supply, the status of the supplier, the location and status of the recipient, and/or the location of goods. Two areas where the interaction between attribution time of supply rules and the real time of supply is significant are the treatment of transactions which span the entry into or exit from a GST group, and the treatment of cancelled transactions. Recent United Kingdom case law on VAT avoidance schemes provides a good illustration of the former, while recent New Zealand case law on land transactions deals with the latter. These cases reveal that Australia is not alone in its lack of legislative guidance on the real time of supply. The article concludes with some suggestions for real time of supply rules for Australian GST.


The poor quality of life and material impoverishment that is the situation for the majority of tribal citizens within the United States is unacceptable, especially in light of the U.S. policies that have created the poverty conditions faced by generations of Native Americans. This Article will examine the tribal quality of life and what laws, policies, and values have led to the contemporary situation. Part II will discuss the prosperity enjoyed by tribal peoples prior to the European invasion of mid-North America. In Part III, the historic causes of poverty will be examined as the British colonies gave way to the formation of the United States. By reviewing the historical factors that condemned tribal citizens to such intergenerational poverty, the contemporary circumstances facing tribal governments and their citizens will be brought into sharp focus. Part IV will examine the U.S. Indian policy of holding tribal lands in trust status and this policy's devastating consequences on tribal peoples. Part IV will also provide that returning full tribal jurisdiction over tribal lands without federal or state interference would remedy those consequences. To help readers understand fully the consequences of the federal trustee model over tribal resources, Part V will explore the abject intergenerational poverty experienced by Native Americans. Material poverty is not the only standard upon which to assess the quality of life for tribal citizens. In Part VI, the cultural wealth of tribal citizens will be examined to explain the tenacity and endurance that has allowed tribes to endure through the imposition of material impoverishment by the United States as trustee of tribal resources. This Article provides that within the Tribalist Economic framework tribal governments and citizens must continue to draw upon cultural wealth, tribal leadership values, and bicultural education to regain prosperous material quality of life. In conclusion, Part VII calls for realignment of the treaty partnership between tribal governments and the United States along with a return to the values embodied in Tribalist Economics for a return to cultural and material prosperity in Indian Country.


Campylobacter is the leading cause of bacterial foodborne gastroenteritis in many countries. Source attribution studies unequivocally identify the handling or consumption of contaminated poultry meat as the primary risk factor. One potential strategy to control Campylobacter is to select poultry with increased resistance to colonisation. We conducted genomic and transcriptomic analyses of commercial pedigree broilers exposed to Campylobacter to examine persistent colonisation of the caecum as a quantitative trait. 3,000 broilers were genotyped using a 50K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array and imputed to 600K SNPs. Genotypes were analysed for associations with the number of viable Campylobacter in the caeca. Heritability of the trait was modest but significantly greater than zero (h2=0.11 ± 0.03). Genome-wide association analyses confirmed quantitative trait loci (QTL) on chromosomes 14 and 16 previously identified using the progeny of crosses of inbred lines differing in resistance, and detected two additional genome-wide significant QTLs on chromosomes 19 and 26. RNA-Seq analysis of the transcriptome of caecal tonsils from birds at the low and high extremes of C. jejuni colonisation phenotype identified differentially transcribed genes, mainly located within the QTL on chromosome 16 and proximal to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) locus. We also identified strong cis-QTLs located within the MHC suggesting the presence of cis-acting variation in both MHC class I, class II and BG genes. Multiple other cis-acting variants were identified in association with key immune genes (COPS3, CCL4, CR1L, C4BP, PLGR) in the other QTLs. Pathway and network analysis implicated cooperative functional pathways and networks in colonisation, including those related to antigen presentation, innate and adaptive immune responses, calcium, and renin-angiotensin signalling. While co-selection for enhanced resistance and other breeding goal traits is feasible, the frequency of resistance-associated alleles was high in the population studied and non-genetic factors significantly influence Campylobacter colonisation in poultry. Author summary Campylobacter infection is estimated to cause 95 million illnesses in people worldwide each year. Human infections mostly involve gastroenteritis, but can have severe complications. The handling or consumption of contaminated poultry meat is a key risk factor for human campylobacteriosis. The bacteria reach high numbers in the intestines of chickens reared for meat (broilers) and are frequently found on carcasses after slaughter. Effective vaccines against Campylobacter are not yet available, and treatments to reduce carcass contamination (e.g. chlorination) are not acceptable in some markets. One alternative is to breed for chickens with improved resistance to Campylobacter colonisation. To test the feasibility of this option in commercial birds, we analysed the genetic make-up of 3,000 pedigree broilers and determined the number of Campylobacter in their gut. There were associations between specific regions of the chicken genome and resistance to Campylobacter. Within some of these regions, expression of certain genes differed between birds at the low and high extremes of Campylobacter colonisation, providing a potential explanation for genetic variation in resistance. Selection of poultry with increased resistance to Campylobacter colonisation may be a complementary strategy to improved biosecurity, management, handling and processing procedures to reduce the burden of Campylobacter on human health.


Abstract This research uses 23 in-depth interviews of Filipina/o Americans seeking out treatment for drug use to understand the role of ethnicity as they experience drug use, recovery, and attempts to integrate back into society. Past literature has focused on the role of ethnicity as a buffer against drug use in host societies, with highly acculturated groups more prone to at-risk behavior. Such scholarship usually relies on static notions of ethnic culture. By contrast, using a social constructionist approach to ethnicity, I argue that meanings of ethnicity to the users go beyond homeland traditions and, in this case, reflect racialized police profiling of users in their neighborhoods and also their understanding of the methamphetamine epidemic in the Philippines. The interviewees affiliate their ethnic experiences with larger social conditions that point to neocolonialism in the homeland, racialization in the host society, and the war on drugs in both countries. This has implications for treatment programs that use culturally-appropriate services for addiction programs, so that providers complicate acculturation and assimilation models of ethnicity to understand social factors that affect the meaning of ethnic identity for Filipina/os.


Recently, soft actuators have attracted considerable interest owing to their biomimetic performance. Unfortunately, it remains a great challenge to fabricate multi-stimuli-responsive soft actuators by a facile but low-cost method. Herein, a thermoplastic film with bilayered architecture was designed and fabricated by a one-step method. This bilayered thermoplastic film can act as a soft actuator, demonstrating versatile shape-programmable performance in response to acetone vapor exposure and temperature change. Interestingly, diverse biomimetic devices including a worm-like self-walker, crawler-type robot and soft gripper can be realized, which highlights its promising applications in biomimetic robots, artificial muscles and automatic devices. Considering the one-step preparation process and the low-cost raw materials, this approach can be cost-effectively scaled up for practical production.


We present network intrusion detection (ID) mechanisms that rely upon packet snooping to detect aberrant behavior in mobile ad hoc networks. Our extensions, which are applicable to several mobile, ad hoc routing protocols, offer two response mechanisms, passive - to singularly determine if a node is intrusive and act to protect itself from attacks, or active - to collaboratively determine if a node, is intrusive and act to protect all of the nodes of an ad hoc cluster. We have implemented our extensions using the GloMoSim simulator and detail their efficacy under a variety of operational conditions.


We estimate the rate of dark matter scattering in collapsed structures throughout the history of the Universe. If the scattering cross-section is velocity independent, then the canonical picture is correct that scatterings occur mainly at late times. The scattering rate peaks slightly at redshift z ∼ 6, and remains significant today. Half the scatterings occur after z ∼ 1, in structures more massive than 1012 M⊙. Within a factor of 2, these numbers are robust to changes in the assumed astrophysics, and the scatterings would be captured in cosmological simulations. However, for particle physics models with a velocity-dependent cross-section (as for Yukawa potential interactions via a massive mediator), the scattering rate peaks before z ∼ 20, in objects with mass ≲104 M⊙. These precise values are sensitive to the redshift-dependent mass–concentration relation and the small-scale cut-off in the matter power spectrum. In extreme cases, the qualitative effect of early interactions may be reminiscent of warm dark matter and strongly affect the subsequent growth of structure. However, these scatterings are being missed in existing cosmological simulations with limited mass resolution.


[reaction: see text] An efficient one-step amination of cyclic amides and ureas has been developed. Treatment of cyclic amides and cyclic ureas with BOP in the presence of DBU in various solvents led to the formation of cyclic amidines and cyclic guanidines in good to excellent yields. Concise syntheses of biologically intriguing kinetin and potent kinase inhibitor olomoucin were thus achieved in just one and two steps, respectively.


Businesses worldwide are faced with different kinds o f challenges which if not properly handled can lead to the business making losses or even to wind up. It is in this context thus that businesses try to develop strategies and attributes which will enable them become competitive in order to outperform the competition and make higher profits. The aim of this study was to establish if location is used as a basis of competitive advantage by grain milling firms in Nairobi and Mombasa. To this end, this exploratory study was conducted to establish if the locations picked by grain millers to set up their business gives an advantage over businesses located in different locations. The study was a census of the grain milling firms located in Nairobi and Mombasa. Data was collected from a total of 31 firms. The grain milling firms purposively selected for this study constituted of 19 [61.3%] from Nairobi and 12 [38.7%] from Mombasa. Data was collected using a comprehensive questionnaire which was administered to respondents. The study used both structured and close ended questions. The respondents included different line managers who had different academic qualifications and business experience concerning developing business strategies for the milling firms to enable the business remain competitive and grow to new levels. These included sales, operations and marketing managers. Generally, the findings o f this study was that location o f a firm was only a competitive advantage if that location was near factors like relevant technology and provided access to a good transportation network. Otherwise, location did not act as basis for competitive advantage. Many respondents stated that factors like brand power and packaging offered a potent strategy for competitive advantage.


Abstract Objective COVID-19 social isolation restrictions have accelerated the need to adapt clinical assessment tools to telemedicine. Remote adaptations are of special importance for populations at risk, e.g. older adults and individuals with chronic medical comorbidities. In response to this urgent clinical and scientific need, we describe a remote adaptation of the T-RES (Oron et al. 2020; IJA), designed to assess the complex processing of spoken emotions, based on identification and integration of the semantics and prosody of spoken sentences. Design We present iT-RES, an online version of the speech-perception assessment tool, detailing the challenges considered and solution chosen when designing the telehealth tool. We show a preliminary validation of performance against the original lab-based T-RES. Study sample A between-participants design, within two groups of 78 young adults (T-RES, n = 39; iT-RES, n = 39). Results i-TRES performance closely followed that of T-RES, with no group differences found in the main trends, identification of emotions, selective attention, and integration. Conclusions The design of iT-RES mapped the main challenges for remote auditory assessments, and solutions taken to address them. We hope that this will encourage further efforts for telehealth adaptations of clinical services, to meet the needs of special populations and avoid halting scientific research.


Heritage represents the meanings and representations conveyed in the present day upon artifacts, landscapes, mythologies, memories and traditions from the past. It is a key element in the shaping of identities, particularly in the context of increasingly multicultural societies. This Research Companion brings together an international team of authors to discuss the concepts, ideas and practices that inform the entwining of heritage and identity. They have assembled a wide geographical range of examples and interpret them through a number of disciplinary lenses that include geography, history, museum and heritage studies, archaeology, art history, history, anthropology and media studies. This outstanding companion offers scholars and graduate students a thoroughly up-to-date guide to current thinking and a comprehensive reference to this growing field.


Neutrophil (PMN) transepithelial migration is dependent on the leukocyte beta(2) integrin CD11b/CD18, yet the identity of epithelial counterreceptors remain elusive. Recently, a JAM protein family member termed JAM-C was implicated in leukocyte adhesive interactions; however, its expression in epithelia and role in PMN-epithelial interactions are unknown. Here, we demonstrate that JAM-C is abundantly expressed basolaterally in intestinal epithelia and localizes to desmosomes but not tight junctions. Desmosomal localization of JAM-C was further confirmed by experiments aimed at selective disruption of tight junctions and desmosomes. In assays of PMN transepithelial migration, both JAM-C mAbs and JAM-C/Fc chimeras significantly inhibited the rate of PMN transmigration. Additional experiments revealed specific binding of JAM-C to CD11b/CD18 and provided evidence of other epithelial ligands for CD11b/CD18. These findings represent the first demonstration of direct adhesive interactions between PMN and epithelial intercellular junctions (desmosomes) that regulate PMN transepithelial migration and also suggest that JAM-C may play a role in desmosomal structure/function.


Cortical excitability, the variable response to a given cortical input, is widely studied in neuroscience, from slice experiments and in silico modeling work to human clinical settings. However, a unifying definition and a translational approach to the phenomenon are currently lacking. For example, at the onset of epileptic seizures, cortical excitability may impair resilience to perturbations (external or endogenous). In this study, we tested in vivo whether changes in cortical excitability quantified as evoked response to small perturbation corresponded to changes in resilience to larger perturbations. To do so, we used both cell-type circuit specific optogenetic stimulation in mice and direct intracranial stimulation in one human subject and quantified 1) evoked cortical responses to single pulses of varying intensity, and 2) evoked cortical facilitation and suppression to paired pulses at varying intervals. In the presence of a gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) agonist or antagonist, we found that 1) cortical response to single pulses and 2) cortical facilitation decreased and increased, respectively. Additionally, using trains of opto-pulses in mice in the presence of a GABA agonist, we found increased resilience to the induction of seizures. With this study, we provide evidence for a tight correlation between cortical excitability and resilience, exploring a range of cortical dynamics, from physiological excitability, to pathological discharges. Our study carried out with two different stimulation methods in two species suggests that varying cortical excitability can be tracked with simple protocols involving minute short-lived perturbative stimuli.