Three-dimensional (3-D) point clouds are widely considered for applications in different fields. Various methods have been proposed to generate point cloud data: LIDAR and image matching from static and mobile platforms, including, e.g., terrestrial laser scanning. With multiple point clouds from stationary platforms, point cloud registration is a crucial and fundamental issue. A standard approach is a point-based registration, which relies on pairs of corresponding points in two-point clouds. Therefore, a necessary step in point-based registration is the construction of 3-D local descriptors. One of the (many) challenges that will specifically affect the performance of local descriptors with local spatial information is the point displacement error. This error is caused by the difference in the distributions of points surrounding a (potentially) corresponding center point in the two-point clouds. It can occur for various reasons such as 1) distortions caused by the sensors recording the data, 2) moving objects, 3) varying density of point cloud, 4) change of viewing angle, and 5) different of the sensors. The purpose of this article is to develop a new 3-D local descriptor reducing the effect of this type of error in point cloud coarse registration. The approach includes an improved local reference frame and a new geometric arrangement in point cloud space for the 3-D local descriptor. Inspired by the 2-D DAISY descriptor, a geometric arrangement is created to reduce the effect of the point displacement error. in addition, directional histograms are considered as features. Investigations are performed for point clouds from challenging environments, which are publicly available. The results of this study show the high performance of the proposed approach for point cloud registration, especially in more challenging and noisy environments.


The seeds and the seed oil of the herbaceous Euphorbia lathyris L. (Euphorbiaceae) are used as diuretic and purgative drugs in traditional Chinese medicine and in homoeopathy against rheumatism and acute skin disease (1). In recent years, E. lath yris has become increasingly interesting as a source of hydrocarbons for fuel (2) and as a potential source of industrial raw materials (3). Esters of the diterpenoid parent alcohols ingenol and 16-hydroxyingenol detected in seed oil and latex of the plant were found to be highly irritant and tumor-promoting in mouse skin (4). For screening and quantification of ingenol and esters at trace levels, analytical methods were developed using high pressure liquid chromatography. After extraction of the ingenol esters from the materials with methanol and transesterification of the extract with 0.1 M sodium methoxide in methanol to yield ingenol, the reaction mixture was passed through a silica gel cartridge by washing with ether-petroleum ether and eluting with ethyl acetate. In the effluent ingenol was esterified with 3,5-dinitrobenzoyl chloride/acetonitrile/triethylamine. Without further purification steps, the resulting mixture was chromatographed on reversed phase material (ODS) with gradient elution using acetonitrile-water as the mobile phase, and UV-detection at 228 nm. To obtain the calibration curve, the derivatization procedure was applied to standard solutions of ingenol. TLC of the collected fractions with an authentic reference was used as a confirmatory test. For a more specific determination of the ingenol mono-esters 3-HI, Euphorbia factor L6, and 20-HI, the materials were extracted with methanol, concentrated, purified by passage through a silica gel cartridge and elution with ethyl acetate. Analysis is undertaken on an ODS column with a linear gradient of methanol-water (30 mm), monitoring at 210 nm, and using 3-HI as an external standard. Validation of these methods is reported including reproducibility and recovery of added 3-hexadecanonoylingenol (3-HI). These methods have been used to evaluate the seed and seed oil of Euphorbia lathyris L. The results will be reported.


Recent research has shown that neural networks (NNs) or self-organizing fuzzy NNs (SOFNNs) can enhance the separability of motor imagery altered electroencephalogram (EEG) for brain-computer interface (BCI) systems. This is achieved via the neural-time-series-prediction-preprocessing (NTSPP) framework where SOFNN prediction models are trained to specialize in predicting the EEG time-series recorded from different EEG channels whilst subjects perform various mental tasks. Features are extracted from the predicted signals produced by the SOFNN and it has been shown that these features are easier to classify than those extracted from the original EEG. Previous work was based on a two class BCI. This paper presents an analysis of the NTSPP framework when extended to operate in a multiclass BCI system. In mutliclass systems normally multiple EEG channels are used and a significant amount of subject-specific parameters and EEG channels are investigated. This paper demonstrates how the SOFNN-based NTSPP, tested in conjunction with three different feature extraction procedures and different linear discriminant and support vector machine (SVM) classifiers, is effective in improving the performance of a multiclass BCI system, even with a low number of standardly positioned electrodes and no subject-specific parameter tuning.


Abstract Extract Opinions have been expressed in recent years that birds, particularly aquatic birds, in this country, are a potential reservoir of Salmonella spp. for domestic stock. At Ruakura Agricultural Research Centre, Hamilton, several species of birds and wild mammals have been examined for evidence of salmonella infection. This paper reports the results of bacteriological examinations of aquatic birds from three environments, and rats from three sheep farms.


In order to study the Effect of Biological and Chemical Fertilizers of Nitrogen and Phosphorus on some physiological, morphological and phenological traits of sunflower this study was carried out in Eivanegharb (Ilam province) in summer of 2011. Treatments were arranged in split factorial based on RCBD with three replications. The main plot include 4 levels of phosphorus and nitrogen chemical fertilizer (0, 33, 66 and 100% of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer requirements) and subplot includes factorial of Nitroxin and Phosphate Barvare2 application with two levels (inoculation and noninoculation) The results showed Ntroxin application had a significant increase (8.4 percent) in a chlorophyll. Chemical fertilizers use had a significant effect on sunflower morphological characters, so that the use of 100% required chemical fertilizer compared to the control increased sunflower stem height 4.92 percent. Nitroxin and Phosphate Barvare2 Interaction had a significant decrease effect on GDD needed until budding, so that in Nitroxin absence, Phosphate Barvare2 application, reduced the amount GDD needed until budding sunflower (38 units). Seed ccompared to the non-inoculation increased GDD needed for sunflower grain filling 2.25 and 2.60 percent Respectively. Finaly base on this study can explain that sunflower seed inoculation with Nitoxin and Phosphat barvar2 biofertilizer in addition chemical fertilizer application, yield will increase trough improvement of different traits


Cyclodextran glucanotransferase (CITase) synthesized cyclodextrans (CIs) from the substrate dextran. A new assay method of CITase by the convenient measurement of its cyclization reaction was devised by using ODS C18 cartridge (Sep-Pak). By this method, the kinetic parameters of CITase for the cyclization reaction were measured. The Km values for the dextrans T-40, T-110, and T-500 were 7.5, 1.3, and 0.5 mM glucose equivalent, and the Vmax values were 122.3, 72.2, and 48.5 dumol of glucose/min, respectively. Moreover, the hydrolysis reaction of CITase was measured with dextrans and CIs by the reducing sugar assay of the Neocuproine method, and the Km values for the hydrolysis of dextrans were almost comparable with the values for cyclization reaction.


An enantioselective α-amination of aryl oxindoles catalyzed by a dimeric quinidine has been developed. The reaction is general, broad in substrate scope, and affords the desired products in good yields with good to excellent enantioselectivities. This study provides the first examples of a general organocatalytic method for the creation of nitrogen-containing, tetrasubstituted chiral centers at C(3) of various aryl oxindoles. Furthermore, new catalysts and insights into structural elements of the catalysts that significantly influence enantioselectivities are disclosed.


The release of polymorphonuclear leukocyte proteinases in buffy-coat-depleted red cell concentrates was examined during a storage period of 35 days. Collagenase, gelatinase and elastase predominantly induce breakdown of connective tissue. However, when released by cell disintegration during red cell concentrate storage, the considerable proteolytic activities of these enzymes might influence the quality of the stored blood. During the observation period a considerable decrease in the polymorphonuclear leukocyte count was observed, accompanied by increases in the levels of collagenase, gelatinase and elastase. Compared with the enzyme levels on the day of red cell concentrate preparation, collagenase increased 20-fold, gelatinase 6-fold and elastase 100-fold during the storage period. When cells were treated with the chemoattractant hexapeptide, N-formyl-nle-leu-phe-nle-tyr-leu, and the degranulation promoting cytochalasin B, gelatinase exhibited the highest secreted concentration in the freshly prepared red cell concentrate, exceeding the maximum of spontaneously released elastase by 4- to 6-fold. However, these compounds stimulated enzyme release only during the first day after red cell concentrate preparation. Thereafter, no differences between stimulated and non-stimulated samples were observed. The data indicate that polymorphonuclear leukocytes contain a large storage pool of proteolytic enzymes. These enzymes together with other polymorphonuclear leukocyte enzymes, e.g. hydrolases and oxidoreductases, might alter the erythrocyte membrane surface and thus influence the storage quality of the prepared red cell concentrate.


In fast ignition laser fusion experiments, it is important to know the implosion hydrodynamics and the heating mechanism of imploded core. However, it is difficult to measure the imploded core and heating laser injection at the same time because of their large spectral differences. In this paper, we propose a simultaneous measurement of an implosion process and an injection time of heating laser by using X-ray framing camera (XFC).


To solve the problems of Voting algorithm's no output and no high accuracy, a voting algorithm based on testing information and historical record values has been designed. The algorithm can immediately extract services runtime error message from the memory and arithmetic logic unit and improve voting accuracy combined with the copy-computers's recently history record values. The experiments prove that the improved voting algorithm has more accurate output than the effective weight voting which is based on a copy. It can provide continuous service, improve the integrity of the system and is more suitable for intrusion-tolerant system.


(1) Background: The nutritional status of women during pregnancy can have a considerable effect on maternal and fetal health, and on the perinatal outcome. Aim: to assess the changes occurring in dietary iodine intake, potassium iodide supplementation, and smoking habit, and the impact of these changes on the urinary iodine concentration (UIC) during pregnancy in a population of women in Catalonia (Spain). (2) Methods: Between 2009–2011, an observational study included a cohort of women whose pregnancies were monitored in the public health system in the Central and North Metropolitan areas of Catalonia. Women received individual educational counseling, a dietary questionnaire was completed, and a urine sample was collected for iodine determination at each trimester visit. (3) Results: 633 (67.9%) women answered the questionnaire at all 3 visits. The percentage of women with a desirable UIC (≥150 μg/L) increased from the first to the second trimester and remained stable in the third (57.3%, 68.9%, 68%; p < 0.001). Analysis of the relationship between UIC ≥ 150 μg/L and the women's dietary habits showed that the percentage with UIC ≥ 150 μg/L increased with greater consumption of milk in the first trimester, and the same was true for iodized salt use in all three trimesters and iodine supplementation in all three. (4) Conclusion: During pregnancy, increased intake of milk, iodized salt, and iodine supplements were associated with an increase in the UIC.


This chapter, from the forthcoming Research Handbook on the Economics of Corporate Law, examines the influence of the law and economics movement on takeover theory. Beginning in 1965 with Henry Manne's famous theory of the market for corporate control and ending with the 2011 decision in Air Products v. Airgas, this chapter is an intellectual history of the law and economics field as applied to takeovers. It is also about possible new directions and topics for this field and its future use in structuring and analyzing takeover theory.


An Improved Gene Expression Programming (IGEP) is proposed in this paper. It has some new features: 1) introducing a new individual coding; 2) introducing a new way of creating constants; 3) introducing a hybrid self-adaptive crossover-mutation operator, which can enhance the search ability and exploit the optimum offspring. To validate the performance of IGEP, this paper applies IGEP into the solution of the macro-economic predictions. The experimental results demonstrate that Improved GEP can automatically find better Optimization Model, based on which prediction will be generated much more exactly.


Having a correct view of the effective factors on climatic changes by explanation of a considerable part of the total variance in data with limited number of principal components the analytical methods of decreasing data dimensions, such as PCA are important tools in water resources planning. In this study PCA method as a projection tool for projecting the information space on the limited and specific axes, ward's method as a hierarchical clustering and k-mean as partitioning clustering method has been applied in this research. Using this methods and application of daily precipitation data of 60 meteorological stations during a 35 years period (1970-2004), 4 types of delineated regions were come out on the basis of daily precipitations, distance-quantity index, time intervals and rainy days series. S statistic test algorithm was used for homogeneity test of the regions. Results showed the nature of the PCA method is such that projects the data space on the main axes and shows the real space. But in the hierarchical methods, clusters do not describe the real structure. Therefore we do expect that the resulting clusters of PCA would be more realistic than that of methods. But hierarchical methods have the advantage of containing the wider clustering information on the basis of homogeneity than the others.


This paper proposed an algorithm for image authentication and verification. The algorithm is based on public key. The owner of image extracts the information as watermark information from the image which he wants to transmit to others. The owner embeds the watermark information into the image with public key. Anyone can judge the valid of the watermarked image, and locate the place which has been tampered. Experimental results show that the algorithm is better than the approximate image message authentication codes (IMACs).


Alternative gene splicing (AS) is a process by which a single gene can give rise to different protein isoforms, generating proteome diversity. Despite recent advances in our understanding of AS in basic cellular processes, the role of AS in drug resistance and fungal pathogenesis is poorly understood. In Candida albicans, approximately 6% of the genes contain introns. Considering this low and random distribution of introns, we focused our study on alternative splicing (AS) and its impact on the development of drug resistance, an area largely unexplored in this yeast. We performed comparative RNA sequencing of sequential isogenic azole sensitive and resistant isolates of C. albicans. The analysis revealed differential expression of splice junctions/isoforms in 14 genes, between the drug sensitive and resistant isolates. Furthermore, C. albicans WT cells exposed to antifungal drugs, heat stress or metal deficiency also showed differential expression of isoforms for the genes undergoing AS. In this study we present data on the effect of AS on the function of SOD3. The C. albicans SOD3 has a single intron and is important for the removal of superoxide radicals. The overexpression of the two isoforms of SOD3 in its null background highlighted importance of spliced isoform in complementing the susceptibility to menadione. However, the two isoforms did not differ in rescuing the susceptibility of sod3Δ/Δto Amphotericin B. Collectively, these data suggest that AS may be a novel mechanism in C. albicans for stress adaptation and overcoming drug resistance.


Summary

Converting experimental or assumed heating parameters of one container size to another using the so-called conversion factor, CF, is an important practical step in the initial design of thermal processes. However, the current prevailing approach for conversion is limited to cans where the two containers are of metal and are processed essentially in the same heating medium. The present study develops the theoretical equations, verified experimentally, for the conversion factors in a broader spectrum of containers (e.g., glass jars to metal cans and vice versa) and different processing media (e.g., water to steam and vice versa). The developed relationships enable the thermal process engineer to use conversion factors in a simple manner for most practical processing conditions.


Procambarus (Ortmannicus) verrucosus Hobbs, first identified from specimens collected in Alabama south of Tuskegee in the Alabama River drainage, has been collected from five locations in two Georgia counties in the Chattahoochee River drainage. Associated crayfish species and a possible eco- logical equivalent are identified. Under laboratory conditions, P. verrucosus specimens reproduced from May through August. It appears that the Georgia range of this species may be quite limited, rendering this a species of possible conservation concern.


BACKGROUND
Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) are highly concerning MDR pathogens. Horizontal transfer of broad-host-range IncN plasmids may contribute to the dissemination of the Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC), spreading carbapenem resistance among unrelated bacteria. However, the population structure and genetic diversity of IncN plasmids has not been fully elucidated.

OBJECTIVES
We reconstructed blaKPC-harbouring IncN plasmid genomes to characterize shared gene content, structural variability, and putative horizontal transfer within and across patients and diverse bacterial clones.

METHODS
We performed short- and long-read sequencing and hybrid assembly on 45 CRE isolates with blaKPC-harbouring IncN plasmids. Eight serial isolates from two patients were included to assess intra-patient plasmid dynamics. Comparative genomic analysis was performed to assess structural and sequence similarity across plasmids. Within IncN sublineages defined by plasmid MLST and kmer-based clustering, phylogenetic analysis was used to identify closely related plasmids.

RESULTS
Comparative analysis of IncN plasmid genomes revealed substantial heterogeneity including large rearrangements in serial patient plasmids and differences in structure and content across plasmid clusters. Within plasmid sublineages, core genome content and resistance gene regions were largely conserved. Closely related plasmids (≤1 SNP) were found in highly diverse isolates, including ten pST6 plasmids found in eight bacterial clones from three different species.

CONCLUSIONS
Genomic analysis of blaKPC-harbouring IncN plasmids revealed the presence of several distinct sublineages as well as substantial host diversity within plasmid clusters suggestive of frequent mobilization. This study reveals complex plasmid dynamics within a single plasmid family, highlighting the challenge of tracking plasmid-mediated transmission of blaKPC in clinical settings.


Glauconite sand, otherwise known as 'greensand', is a challenging sediment type that can pose significant risks to foundation installation and performance. This is due to its tendency to transform from a stiff, high permeability coarse-grained material to a weak, low permeability fine-grained material due to particle crushing. Glauconite is an iron potassium mica, characteristically green and often found in peloidal form. It forms under reducing conditions within shallow marine depositional environments and has been found in coastal regions of the USA including locations along the Atlantic Continental Shelf associated with offshore wind farm developments. Due to its friable nature, glauconite affects the geotechnical properties of the sediments in which it forms. Geotechnical laboratory tests performed on glauconite sand samples reveal a wide range in particle size gradation and high specific gravity. Intact glauconite sand exhibits high strength, but under moderate disturbance it readily degrades into a clay-like material, increasing plasticity, reducing shear strength, and exhibiting strong thixotropic behavior. Given its tendency to crush, in situ testing with cone penetrometers produces high tip resistance and high sleeve friction, limiting the usefulness of standard soil classification charts. This paper presents an overview of the geological basis for glauconite sand formation, describes its depositional environment and maturation process, and presents results from recent tests performed on glauconite sands from the USA. Implications on pile installation and performance are discussed.


Abstract In Korea, August 15 marks both the liberation from colonialism (1945) and the promulgation of the South Korean state (1948). As a memorial day, 8.15 became to be narrated mostly as the day of liberation, while 1948 plays only a minor role. However, in the 2000s, the emergence of the New Right brought new debates on how to evaluate post-liberation history. A historical view proposing public memory on 8.15 centred on the "foundation" of South Korea emerged (kŏn'guk view). Combined with attempts to re-name 8.15 into a foundation day (kŏn'gukchŏl), an intense dispute between proponents and opponents of the re-narration was the result. This paper outlines the emergence of the New Right and traces the origins and politicisation of the kŏn'guk view and demonstrates how adopting the kŏn'guk narrative in state commemoration events led to a broad dispute in South Korean society. I trace this view's origin to 2003 and argue that it got politicised in early 2008 during the early Lee Myung-bak administration. The politicisation resulted in a dispute in politics, civil society, and newspapers, whose progress and characteristics I analyse in detail. As a result of the 2008 Kŏn'gukchŏl Dispute, the issue of how to narrate the events of 1948 became actively discussed in academic scholarship since 2009.


Experiments were conducted comparing the individual removals of cadmium, copper, nickel, zinc and chromium from water via biosorption using Scendesmus obliquus, a common green alga. The goal was to characterize the biological treatment of water contaminated with heavy metals using life aquatic species and the effect of different concentrations of these metals on chlorophyll a content. In addition, experiments were performed to measure cell viability as a function of metal concentration and also to compare removal using living cells to nonliving ones. The data indicate that both living and nonliving cells of Scendesmus obliquus removed nearly all heavy metals from water, living alga cells significantly outperformed nonliving one in case of Cd metal removal. The alga exhibited high uptake capacities for five metal ions. Maximum Cr (VI) removal reached around 97%, Cu (II) removal was at its maximum value which reached 98.5 % of its original initial concentration, as for Cd (II), Ni (II) and Zn (II), similar removal ratios were obtained ranging between 88% and 99.4% .


We demonstrate that electrons at energies below the threshold for electronic excitation (<3 eV) effectively decompose gas phase uracil generating a mobile hydrogen radical and the corresponding closed shell uracil fragment anion (U-H)(-). The reaction is energetically driven by the large electron affinity of the (U-H) radical. This observation has significant consequences for the molecular picture of radiation damage, i.e., genotoxic effects or damage of living cells due to the secondary component of high energy radiation.


Prepared for the Summit-University Planning Council. Sponsored by Neighborhood Planning for Community Revitalization, Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota.


Safely exploring an unknown dynamical system is critical to the deployment of reinforcement learning (RL) in physical systems where failures may have catastrophic consequences. In scenarios where one knows little about the dynamics, diverse transition data covering relevant regions of state-action space is needed to apply either model-based or model-free RL. Motivated by the cooling of Google's data centers, we study how one can safely identify the parameters of a system model with a desired accuracy and confidence level. In particular, we focus on learning an unknown linear system with Gaussian noise assuming only that, initially, a nominal safe action is known. Define safety as satisfying specific linear constraints on the state space (e.g., requirements on process variable) that must hold over the span of an entire trajectory, and given a Probably Approximately Correct (PAC) style bound on the estimation error of model parameters, we show how to compute safe regions of action space by gradually growing a ball around the nominal safe action. One can apply any exploration strategy where actions are chosen from such safe regions. Experiments on a stylized model of data center cooling dynamics show how computing proper safe regions can increase the sample efficiency of safe exploration.


In this paper, we report on the development of a projection mapping system that can project RGB light patterns that are enhanced for three-dimensional (3-D) scenes using a GPU-based high-frame-rate (HFR) vision system synchronized with HFR projectors. Our system can acquire 512×512 depth images in real time at 500 fps. The depth image processing is accelerated by installing a GPU board for parallel processing of a gray-code structured light method using infrared (IR) light patterns projected from an IR projector. Using the computed depth images, suitable RGB light patterns to be projected are generated in real time for enhanced application tasks. They are projected from an RGB projector as augmented information onto a 3-D scene with pixel-wise correspondence even when the 3-D scene is time-varied. Experimental results obtained from enhanced application tasks for time-varying 3-D scenes such as (1) depth-based color mapping and (2) augmented reality (AR) spirit level, confirm the efficacy of our system.


911-Pos Board B711 Topological Properties and Variations of Cells in Proliferating Epithelia: Impact of Mechanical Force and Division Orientation Yingzi Li, Hammad Naveed, Sema Kachalo, Jie Liang. Proliferating epithelia are sheets of dividing cells that tightly adhere to each other in many metazoans. Regulation of cell division is important for both normal and diseased epithelia. Quantitative analysis of epithelia shows significant conservation in the dominance of hexagonal cells in both animal and plant. However, there exist species with significant varied amount of hexagonal cells. The mechanism controlling these distributions is poorly understood. In this study, we use a computational method called cellGPS (cell global pattern simulator) to study the dynamic process of proliferating epithelia based on a mechanical off-lattice cellular model. This method keeps track of full geometric and biomechanical properties of epithelia. It models cell shape, area, perimeters and surface tension. Two biologically relevant division rules, namely, the orthogonal orientation found in plants and the largest-side orientation found in the mitotic spindle in human cells, are also incorporated in the division process. With this method, we found that regardless of division rules, our mechanical model can produce the common epithelia pattern of the dominance of hexagonal cells. In addition, we found that division rule of largestside orientation lead to the formation of cell pattern with around 45% hexagons, which is observed in many animal epithelia and some plant tissues. This suggests that reducing stress on the cell wall by dividing the largest side is widely used in animal epithelia. The percentage of hexagons from division following orthogonal orientation is found to be about 60%, consistent with observations found in certain plant tissues. We conclude that both mechanical force and division orientation play important roles during epithelial proliferation. Mechanical model itself leads to topological dominance of hexagonal cells, and different rules of division orientation lead to varying amount of hexagonal cells.


The development of carbon nanobelts and related belt-shaped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons has gained momentum in recent years. This review focuses on the synthetic strategies used in constructing these aesthetically appealing molecular nanocarbons. Examples of carbon nanobelts and related belt-shaped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons reported in recent years as well as some representative synthetic attempts in earlier times are discussed.


Background: Hallux valgus deformity is the lateral deviation of the metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint and is the most common pathology of the great toe, affecting 2%-4% of the population. It is commonly believed that the condition progresses over time both in the magnitude of deformity and development of arthritic changes. To our knowledge, there are rare studies describing the rate of deformity progression and the development of arthritic changes. Our aim is to quantify the progression of hallux valgus and associated arthritic changes in an adult population using radiographs. Methods: Patients who are 18 years of age and older (mean age: 61.7 years and range: 18.6-94.2) who presented to our institutions between January 1, 2004, and December 1, 2019, were included. Patients were included in the study if they had hallux valgus on weight-bearing radiographs and two such radiographs at least six months apart. Hallux valgus angle (HVA), intermetatarsal angle (IMA), metatarsophalangeal (MTP) arthritis, tarsometatarsal (TMT) osteoarthritis, Hardy-Clapham sesamoid position, and round sign were collected per patient in the initial and final radiographs. Included cases were first studied together in a whole group. Then, cases were separated into three groups based on the time between initial and final radiographs. Results: A total of 52 radiographic records for 43 patients were included. HVA and IMA progress with time; however, progression does not follow a direct relationship with the time elapsed between initial and final radiographs (p = 0.92 and p = 0.35, respectively). The progression of TMT osteoarthritis, sesamoid position, and round sign do not show a dependence on the time elapsed (p = 0.20, p = 0.11, and p = 0.42, respectively). An increase of one sesamoid unit position over baseline is associated with a 0.85-degree increase in IMA. A one-unit progression of sesamoid position at baseline raises the odds of MTP osteoarthritis progression at the follow-up visit by 2.14 (OR = 2.14, p = 0.0007, CI = [1.35, 3.83]). A HVA increase of one degree increases the odds of TMT osteoarthritis progression at follow-up by a factor of 1.17 (OR = 1.17, p = 0.0005, CI = [1.07, 1.34]). Patients with MTP arthritis at the initial visit have 3.77 times higher odds of round sign progression on their follow-up visit (OR = 3.77, p = 0.027, CI = [1.16, 13.13]). Discussion: Hallux valgus progression can be quantified. Upon their first visit, a patient's hallux valgus parameters can be utilized to demonstrate expected progression. Progression of the deformity and arthritic changes is slow. Nonetheless, the results should be considered by surgeons and patients when developing a treatment plan with patients.


In this paper we explore the properties of two dimensional Cellular Automata based on its matrix characteristics. In general, Cellular Automata is divided into two classes: group and nongroup Cellular Automata, each of which has its own matrix characteristics with the different properties. In this paper we restrict our study to nongroup Cellular Automata because of its uniqueness properties. The nongroup Cellular Automata will evolve unpredictably when its matrix characteristics is not uniform, as a consequence it yields a tree structure with cycles and/or loops, or none. Two Dimensional Cellular Automata is more complex than that of one dimensional CA, so we need to simplify this model by reducing the number of its neighbourhoods and use a particular type of CA, i.e. Additive Cellular Automata.


Purpose: We assessed CureCancer's feasibility and patients' and HCPs' satisfaction. CureCancer is a patient-centric/driven platform, which enables patients to self-create their profile, report symptoms and communicate with physicians.Methods: Patients from 18 Centers were asked to register at CureCancer, upload their data and complete a questionnaire on demographics, disease and treatment characteristics, and their satisfaction. Results: 159 patients were enrolled and 144 (90.6%) registered. 114 of 144 (79.1%), 63 males and 51 females, median age 54.5 years, completed the questionnaire. 64 patients were University and 35 were high School graduates. 46 patients had metastatic disease, 87 were on active treatment and 51 received supportive care. All patients also visited non-oncology HCPs. Nineteen patients changed work status and 49 had children below 24 years. Registration was "very/very much" easy for 98 (86.0 %) patients. File uploading was "very/very much" easy for 47 (41.2%) patients. Over 80% of patients and physicians preferred the digital way. 99 patients and all HCPs will recommend CureCancer to others. Easy data access, improved communication, feeling safe, treatment adherence, interventions from distance, particularly during covid-19 pandemic and saving time and money, were highly commented by patients and HCPs. Conclusion: CureCancer was feasible and patients and HCPs were satisfied. File uploading changed to become more user friendly. Integration of CureCancer in the routine practice is expected to improve cancer care and reduce cancer costs. Patients' self-reporting, with CureCancer, can increase the accuracy of clinical trial results and map social/work/economic issues following cancer diagnosis to assist health care policy.


The proliferation of phasor measurement units (PMUs) presents new challenges in archiving and processing large amounts of synchrophasor data which necessitates advanced data compression methods. This paper proposes a singular value decomposition (SVD)-based method for compression of synchrophasor data, including magnitude, phase-angle, and complex phasor. The proposed method includes a dimensionality evaluation and reduction technique and a real-time progressive partitioning algorithm. The proposed dimensionality reduction technique employs the measurement uncertainty of PMUs and introduces a threshold criterion on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of SVD modes. Singular modes with high SNR are retained, and those dominated by measurement error are discarded to achieve a high compression ratio (CR) while preserving the critical information with adequate accuracy. The proposed progressive partitioning separates the data corresponding to normal and disturbance conditions by monitoring the dimensionality variations in real-time. The partitions containing the data of similar dimensionality are separately compressed to further improve the accuracy and CR. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated and benchmarked against state-of-the-art methods using both field and simulated PMU data. The results show that the proposed method provides high CR while accurately preserving the critical information of events and disturbances.


A specimen of the palaeoryctid Pararyctes (Mammalia: Eutheria), from Paleocene strata of Alberta, shows nearly the complete replacement pattern of the dentition. Unexpectedly, premolars at two positions are seen replacing dP4, whereas the premolars at the anteriormost three positions seem not replaced or shed. The resulting total of concurrently functional teeth at five premolar and three molar positions, while mimicking that in certain ancestral eutherians, is clearly a derived character state, achieved independently. Furthermore, this pattern is inconsistent with the assumptions that deciduous and permanent teeth need belong to the same tooth families and that identical adult dental formulae are secure guides to homology.


Akt is a determinant of cisplatin [cis-diammine-dichloroplatinum (CDDP)] resistance in ovarian cancer cells, and this may be related to the regulation of p53. Precisely how Akt facilitates CDDP resistance and interacts with p53 is unclear. Apoptotic stimuli induce second mitochondria-derived activator of caspase (Smac) release from mitochondria into the cytosol, where it attenuates inhibitor of apoptosis protein-mediated caspase inhibition. Whereas Smac release is regulated by p53 via the transactivation of proapoptotic Bcl-2 family members, it is unclear whether p53 also facilitates Smac release via its direct mitochondrial activity. Here we show that CDDP induces mitochondrial p53 accumulation, the mitochondrial release of Smac, cytochrome c, and HTR/Omi, and apoptosis in chemosensitive but not in resistant ovarian cancer cells. Smac release was p53 dependent and was required for CDDP-induced apoptosis. Mitochondrial p53 directly induced Smac release. Akt attenuated mitochondrial p53 accumulation and Smac/cytochrome c/Omi release and conferred resistance. Inhibition of Akt facilitated Smac release and sensitized chemoresistant cells to CDDP in a p53-dependent manner. These results suggest that Akt confers resistance, in part, by modulating the direction action of p53 on the caspase-dependent mitochondrial death pathway. Understanding the precise etiology of chemoresistance may improve treatment for ovarian cancer.


The main purpose of this research is to examine the impact of board gender diversity and foreign institutional investors on the corporate social responsibility engagement of Chinese listed companies by considering a sample from the China Stock Market and Accounting Research (CSMAR) database of all non-financial firms listed on the Shanghai stock exchange and the Shenzhen stock exchange during the period from 2008–2015. The CSR is engaged by using the data from the CSMAR database at the firm level, and ranks the CSR disclosures of Chinese companies separately. The recent CSR promotion in China produced a visible increase in attracting female members on the board and members as foreign institutional investors by Chinese listed companies. The findings also showed that the greater the presence of female directors on the board, the stronger the CSR engagement would be. According to critical mass theory and team dynamics, these findings further broaden the accounts that emphasize social networks based on gender. Hence, female members on the board of directors emerged to be significant as a gender mix with extending CSR change. Therefore, our results added a new aspect to the emerging literature on CSR-engagement and gender especially in China. Due to intense political forces and networks in the Chinese listed entities, foreign institutional investors (FIIS) have less incentive to enhance CSR engagement further. Thus, the impact of foreign institutional investors on CSR engagement is as yet unknown, but we improved our knowledge about how the international aspects affect CSR in China. Furthermore, our results are robust, which concern control variables under consideration.


This paper presents the quasi-TEM characteristics of microshield lines with practical cavity sidewall profiles. A conformal mapping method is used for the derivation of the electrical parameters of the structures. In this study, numerical results for the characteristic impedances of air-suspended microshield lines with both positive and negative sidewall slopes are presented. Simple and explicit CAD-oriented expressions are proposed for the design and analysis of rectangular-shaped microshield line. Comparisons are made between the results obtained by these formulas and by a standard numerical technique. Furthermore, the sensitivities of the electrical parameters of a rectangular-shaped microshield line to an imperfect sidewall etching process, leading to nonvertical sidewall profiles, are also examined.


The terpenoid profile could give information about the water status in Scots pine, especially for trees growing in the same geographical area but under contrasting local environmental conditions. Terpenes were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in needles, twigs and wood of ten affected and ten unaffected Scots pines in the southern "Sistema Iberico" range (Teruel, Spain), where forest decline has been recently reported. Soil depth and secondary growth was also studied in both types of trees. Needles and twigs total resin acids were significantly higher in affected trees. The pimarane type resin acids were also higher in the twigs of affected trees. Secondary growth was lower in affected trees and it showed higher climate sensitivity. The use of the terpenoid profile may be used as an additional tool for the estimation of the water status, especially for situations inducing moderate but relatively prolonged stress conditions.


Background: Promising results have been observed in our previous phase-II study evaluating the combination of Bendamustine plus Rituximab (B-R) in patients with relapsed/refractory indolent or mantle cell lymphomas. An overall response rate (ORR) of 90%, including a 60% rate of complete remissions (CR) was documented. Objective: In October 2003, we initiated a multicenter randomized phase-III study to compare efficacy and safety of the combination B-R versus CHOP plus Rituximab (CHOP-R) as first-line therapy for follicular, indolent and mantle cell lymphomas. Methods: Patients (pts) were randomized to receive Rituximab 375 mg/qm (day 1) plus either Bendamustine 90 mg/qm (days 1+2) every 28 days or the standard CHOP regimen every 21 days for a maximum of 6 cycles. The primary endpoint was event-free survival (EFS). The trial was calculated to power the study to demonstrate a non-inferior EFS associated with B-R treatment, as defined by a difference in EFS between the two regimes of less than 10% after 3 years. An event was defined by a response less than a partial response, disease progression, relapse, or death from any cause. The study is closed according to the planned recruitment schedule. Results: 546 patients have been randomized. For this second interim analysis, 437 patients are evaluable for response (B-R: n=221; CHOP-R: n=212). Median patient age is 64 years. Histologies are equally distributed between arms: follicular 52%, mantle cell 20%, and other indolent lymphomas 28% in both treatment groups, each. The ORR for pts treated with B-R was similar to that associated with CHOP-R (94% vs 93%, respectively). CR was also similar at 41% for B-R compared to 33% for CHOP-R. The median follow-up time for both groups is 28 months. Thus far, 50 deaths have been observed (B-R: 25; CHOP-R: 25). Progressive or relapsed disease has been documented during the follow-up period: 58 in pts treated with B-R and 75 in the CHOP-R group. The median EFS for B-R is not yet reached, the median EFS for CHOP-R is 39 months with no statistical significant difference for the EFS between both groups. The B-R regimen appears to have a better toxicity profile, as evidenced by a lower rate of total alopecia (0% with B-R vs. 89% CHOP-R) and a lower number of infectious complications (number of patients with infections of any grade were 56 (25%) in the B-R group vs. 78 (37%) in CHOP-R group). Correlating, the CHOP-R regimen was more hematotoxic: WHO grade 3/4 leukocytopenia was reported in 36% CHOP-R treated pts compared with 19% in pts treated with B-R, while in the CHOP-R group more frequently G-CSF was used. Conclusions: In this second interim analysis, the combination of Bendamustine plus Rituximab appears to be non-inferior to the standard CHOP-R while showing a better tolerability profile. Further updated results will be presented at this time.


Early recognition of the importance of roots for drought resistance, and the diversity in rice root architecture, provided a strong foundation for drought research at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). IRRI was founded in 1960, and large efforts for research on root growth in response to drought were ongoing by the mid-1970s, with an emphasis on deep root growth, formation of coarse nodal roots, and the root pulling force method. In the 1980s, aeroponic studies on root morphology and anatomy and line-source sprinkler field studies were commonly conducted. The use of crosses to better understand the genetics of root traits started in the 1980s. Further characterization of the genetics behind root traits was conducted in the 1990s, specifically the use of molecular markers to select for root trait QTLs. A shift toward rainfed lowland experiments in addition to upland conditions began in the 1990s, with increased recognition of the different types of drought stress environments and characterization of root water uptake. In the 2000s, drought breeding efforts moved from selection of root traits to direct selection for yield under drought. Today (the 2010s), we have identified two major drought-yield QTLs to be related to root traits, and phenotyping for association mapping of genes related to root traits and functions is underway. After direct selection for yield during the past decade that is now approaching impact at the farm level, we are seeing that root traits are indeed involved in improved yield under drought.


Stimulation of the auricle of the human ear has been used as medical remedy since the ancient times, both in the East and in the West. In 1957, Nogier described a new therapy called "auriculotherapy", which could treat several pathologies including the relief of pain. According to Nogier, the different areas of the body, as well as the viscera, are represented with a well-defined somatotopic organisation on the auricle, in a pattern that resembles an upside-down fetus. The points of auricular acupuncture are found in a region where points of low electrical impedance have been described. A double-blind study was conducted using Sprague-Dawley rats to study whether low frequency auricular electroacupuncture (EA) inhibits acute local inflammation in the carrageenan-induced paw edema and the mechanisms involved in the anti-inflammatory effect. Methyl atropine, a muscarinic receptor antagonist, and naloxone, an opioid antagonist, were investigated for the involvement of the parasympathetic and the opioid system on the effects of auricular EA. Rats were divided into 4 groups: a control group (CA), an acupuncture group (CA+EA), an acupuncture group pretreated with naloxone (CA+EA +NX) (5mg/kg i.p.) and an acupuncture group pretreated with methyl atropine (CA+EA +MA) (0.2 mg/ml i.p). Bilateral stimulation was applied at the 12 o'clock position of the "anterior conchae" of the rats at an intensity of 0.8 mA, which is within the range of clinical application of electroacupucture. Prior to the CA injection and at 1 hour intervals for 4 hours after the injection, paw volume was measured with the use of a plethysomometer (Ugo Basile, Comerior, Italy) to record the changes in paw edema. Results showed that the rats which received auricular acupuncture (CA+EA) showed significant reduction in inflammation over the control group (CA) as shown in the lower levels of edema observed in the CA+EA group. The CA+MA group showed increased edema over the CA group. Although no significance was seen between the CA+EA+MA group and CA+MA group, a trend was seen where the CA+EA+MA group showed a decrease in edema to the CA+MA group. Studies with naloxone were not conclusive in the involvement of the opioid system because the CA+NX group showed a decrease in edema in comparison to the CA group; it is unknown what anti-inflammatory effect naloxone itself has. The results showed that low frequency auricular acupuncture does inhibit acute local inflammation, but the mechanisms of the anti-inflammatory effect remains to be clarified.


Abstract Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is connected with high level of psychiatric comorbidity in paediatric population. Depressive disorder is common comorbid disorder co-existing with ADHD. Atomoxetine is worldwide approved for treatment of ADHD in paediatric population; in addition atomoxetine is effective and safe in treatment of some comorbid disorders in ADHD. Pharmacotherapy of depression is limited and residual symptoms are common. Fluoxetine is currently considered to be the gold standard of treatment of depression, but effectiveness of acute phase of treatment is not sufficient. Atomoxetine as a selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor or olanzapine as a multi receptors antagonist drug in combination with fluoxetine could be perspective augmented treatment strategy of depression just for their antidepressant effect. The aim of our following study is to evaluate and compare effectiveness and safety of monotherapy and combined/augmented therapy in acute phase of depression treatment in adolescence, as well as introduce complex modern research methodology of effectiveness and safety of treatment.


Braided river, sheetflood, and playa lake sediments of the Tynemouth Creek Formation (Lower Pennsylvanian) show superficial synsedimentary faulting and subsurface post-depositional sediment remobilization. A prominent palaeosol has been offset 90 cm on two faults, movement on which clearly preceded deposition of the overlying beds. Seventeen to 25 m below this horizon, large load structures, upward-branching siltstone intrusions, and three types of sandstone dike are recognised. Intrusion occurred on several occasions at different depths of burial and was the result of rapid, probably earthquake-induced dewatering. This interpretation is supported by the location of the study area, only a few kilometres to the north of the Cobequid–Chedabucto Fault, on which major strike-slip movement occurred during the Pennsylvanian.


The on-going economic development of EU-countries as well of the countries in the C&E European region has been leading to a significant use of a great deal of natural resources as well as to noticeable environmental problems. The lack of a wide-spread environmental awareness from the side of those acting in various sectors (industry, public administration, users) sometimes inhibit the implementation of legislation already available as well as the introduction of new technologies deriving, from example, from marine research. An example of this state of affairs is seen in respect of the implementation of the recommendations deriving from Baltic 21 and VASAB 2010, which illustrate the advantages from a cross-sectorial, open mechanism for the dissemination of environmental information in the region. There are various organisations today which act as suppliers of environmental information in the Baltic Sea Region. However, few, if any, are providers concerned with the various ways in which information on matters related to sustainable development is being used by various groups and audiences. This state of affairs makes it necessary to enhance the current mechanisms and approaches in place, so as to enable the wide-range of environmental information available today from areas such as marine research, to be more widely used. It is equally important that the didactic or educational potential of such information be exploited, so as to not only inform, but also to educate various groups and the general public on matters concerned with the environment in European closed seas and give information to planners and politicians to prepare decisions. In order to address such needs, the project "Baltic Environmental Information Dissemination System (BEIDS)" was set in motion. BEIDS has been taking advantage of the most modern information technologies and has been acting as a focal point for the circulation of intelligent information on aspects of the marine environment, but also emphasising related areas such as transport and sustainable development issues, among a sample of six BSR countries: Denmark, Finland, Germany, Sweden (EU) and Lithuania and Poland (non-EU), contributing to networking and know-how exchange, complementing efforts towards transregional cooperation in sustainable spatial planning on the basis of Baltic 21. The results reached to date include: increased awareness of matters related to sustainable development in the six participant countries; enhanced communication exchange and networking among the sample nations; improved information flow and increased participation in events, activities and programmes across the Baltic Sea Region. BEIDS is a prime example of the feasibility of using environmental informatics as a tool for sustainable development.


We report a case of a 63-year-old man who presented an end stage hip osteoarthritis 42 years after a proximal femoral osteotomy performed for the treatment of an intracapsular femoral neck fracture. A cemented total hip arthroplasty was implanted using a standard posterior approach. The osteotomy hardware was totally covered with a new cortical bone formation. A layer of bone tissue was removed, the screw heads were broken and the nail plate was also removed. The screw threaded portions were retained because they did not interfere with cemented femoral stem implantation. Fourteen years after total hip arthroplasty, the patient reported no pain and expressed high satisfaction with the surgery. The hip radiograph showed wear of the polyethylene cup and no periprosthetic osteolysis. Retention of hardware can be considered, especially in patients who have had hardware for several years, without any negative symptoms.


We introduce Superconductive Quantum Arrays and propose to use these structures as active Electrically Small Antennas (ESA). Several prototypes of the active ESA were fabricated using Nb process with a critical current density of 4.5 kA/cm2 and experimentally evaluated. The magnetic field to voltage transfer function linearity up to 70 dB was measured, and transfer factor dV/dB up to 6.5 mV/μT was observed for the ESA prototype containing 560 cells.


We propose a technique for effective extraction of bilingual phrases from word alignments using morphological processing. Morphological processing leads to an increase of the frequency of words in the corpus, consequently reduces Alignment Error Rate (AER). Intuitively, better word alignments enhance the quality of bilingual phrases extracted. Using alignments of a stemmed corpus for phrase extraction, instead of alignments of a raw one, shows significant improvements in translation quality, especially with small corpora.


A number of single-frequency resonant modes in click evoked otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) was investigated. The OAE modes were identified by means of an adaptive approximation method based on the matching pursuit (MP) algorithm. The signals were decomposed into basic waveforms coming from a very large and redundant dictionary of Gabor functions. The study was performed on transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) from left and right ears of 108 subjects. The correspondence between waveforms found by the procedure and resonant modes was shown (both for simulated noisy data and for single-person TEOAEs). The decomposition of TEOAEs made distinction between short and long-lasting components possible. The number of main resonant modes was studied by means of different criteria and they all led to similar results, indicating that the main features of the signal are explained on average by 10 waveforms. The same number of resonant modes for the right ear accounted for more energy than for the left ear.


Machine learning and data analysis have been used in many robotics fields, especially for modelling. Data are usually the result of sensor measurements and, as such, they might be subjected to noise and outliers. The presence of outliers has a huge impact on modelling the acquired data, resulting in inappropriate models. In this work a novel approach for outlier detection and rejection for input/output mapping in regression problems is presented. The robustness of the method is shown both through simulated data for linear and nonlinear regression, and real sensory data. Despite being validated by using artificial neural networks, the method can be generalized to any other regression method


This chapter examines majority-immigrant relations through the prism of welfare provision to glean insight into the extent to which the welfare system influences the integration of immigrants into Greek society. Does welfare provision help lead to social cohesion between the majority society and immigrant minorities? Are existing majority-immigrant tensions abated, or exacerbated, by the welfare system? What is the role of welfare provision in relation to other integration factors such as labour market participation, naturalisation, and broadening conceptions of host society identity? These questions are addressed through in-depth qualitative research conducted in a Greek town. The research indicates that immigrant integration is largely influenced by local level policies and by immigrants' daily encounters with people who carry these out.


Enteroparasites in fecal and subungual matter from food handlers, Parana State, Brazil. This study shows the presence de enteroparasites in fecal and subungual material of 343 food handlers in the city of Cascavel, Parana State, Brazil, from both genders and ages between 14 and 75 years. Fecal samples were analyzed using Lutz, modified Ritchie and ZiehlNeelsen techniques, and subungual material was analyzed using the Ritchie method. Fecal samples were positive in 131 (38.2%) handlers. Species with highest prevalence were Endolimax nana (67.9%), Entamoeba coli (35.9%), Blastocystis sp. (28.2%), Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (10.1%) and Giardia duodenalis (8.4%), with E. nana being significantly different (p = 0.00) from the others. The infection by protozoa was greater than by helminths (p = 0.00). Association was observed between the positive results for some parasites and the male gender and professional category (p ≤ 0.05). The subungual material was positive in 17 individuals (5.0%), who had E. nana (2.9%), E. coli (1.2%), G. duodenalis (0.3%) and the association of E. nana and E. coli (0.6%), with no convergence observed between it and fecal material. The occurrence of enteroparasites in food handlers in Cascavel is high, indicating improper hygienicsanitary conditions and the need for effective educational measures, to avoid the propagation of pathogenic organisms to food by manipulation.


In the absence of a flowmeter or due to its inaccuracy, the flow rate at the discharge section of the pipeline following the observed pump can be roughly estimated if the pressure can be measured instead. To use the proposed procedure two main conditions should be achieved: (1) a manometer should be installed at the discharge pipeline between the pump and the flow regulation valve, and (2) the actual curve that relates pressure and flow for the observed pump unit should be known in advance. The described example is from Serbia, but it is of interest for any water pumping station with a submersible pump (installed in wells or tanks) where a limited number of adequate places for the measuring of flow are available (if any are available at all), but where the pressure at the discharge pipe of the observed pump can be measured. This simplified method can find applicability in installations in remote rural regions where limited resources are available. The results show that the calculated values of the flow obtained by the presented method deviate greatly in relation to the measured values provided by the portable ultrasonic flowmeter, up to 60% at one of the measuring points. However, in relation to the measured values provided by the permanently installed flowmeter the discrepancy is significantly lower (0.6–6.8%).


The paper provides a survey of neuropharmacological fundamentals for the use of beta-adrenolytics in the treatment of psychiatric and neurological diseases. In particular there are discussed results of animal- and clinical-pharmacological experiments carried out in order to assess the influence of betaadrenolytics in disorders and diseases such as anxiety, psychoses, tremor, some kinds of addiction, migraine and epilepsy. The conclusion is that in spite of some ascertained clinical indications on the one hand and a variety of neuropharmacological results on the other the mode of action of betaadrenolytics at the level of the CNS remains still insufficiently explainable.


Bore components within electromagnetic launchers (EMLs) experience very high heating rates during and after the shot of a projectile. This is a challenge for the next-generation EML which will shoot projectiles repetitively within a specified time frame. Direct integration of three-dimensional flat-plate oscillating heat pipes (3D FP-OHPs) for thermal management of EML bore components is proposed. Unlike conventional heat pipes, the 3D FP-OHP contains no wick structure and can operate at higher heat fluxes with fewer limitations. Proof-of-concept experiments were performed on a copper 3D FP-OHP (130.18 mm × 38.10 mm × 2.86 mm) filled with HPLC-grade water at a filling ratio of 72%. The 3D FP-OHP was found to have an effective thermal conductivity that increased with heat input - approaching 15,000 W/m-K at heat inputs on-the-order of 0.3 kW. This experimentally-determined thermal conductivity was used for numerically analyzing the thermal performance of a longer 3D FP-OHP configured for axial EML thermal management. These results indicate that the high thermal conductivity of 3D FP-OHP coupled with an external, active cooling solution (h ~ 50,000 W/m2-K) can provide for peak heat transfer rates on-the-order of 10 kW. Based on these results, the 3D FP-OHP is appealing for future EML thermal management solutions, however significant work is required for their optimal integration.


Four isocarloric and isonitrogenous diets were formulated to contain 0%, 33.3%, 66.7% and 100% cassava leaves to replace equal weight of maize meal. All the four treatment diets were fed to catfish (Clarias gariepinus) fingerlings in replicate for 16 weeks. The best growth response was
obtained in fish fed 66.7% cassava leaves inclusion. Fish fed 100% cassava leaves had the lowest growth response. All the treatment diets showed that growth due to increasing dietary cassava leaves were significant (P<0.05). The results revealed that optimum requirement of cassava leaves
level in the formulation of practical diets for the improve growth of Clarias gariepinus was 66.7% cassava leaves


CONTEXT
Day procedures are preferred by many surgeons for minor and intermediate procedures in fit patients. It is however considered to transfer the burden of care to care-givers and other healthcare providers.

AIM
The aim of the following study is to assess the tendency of day care patients seeking attention from health care providers and their ability to ambulate in the first week.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN
Prospective study in a tertiary health facility in South-South Nigeria.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Patients in American Society of Anesthesiologists class I and II undergoing day-care procedures in a surgery unit were assessed at one week for the effects of the procedure on ambulation and their likelihood to seek medical attention. Data on the sex, type of procedure, pain, bleeding and ambulation was analyzed. A visual analog pain score of 0- 3 (mild); 4-6 (moderate) and 7-10 (severe) was used. Bleeding was defined as complete soaking of the two-layered gauze dressing with blood.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Analysis was performed with SPSS 17 for Windows (SPSS Inc. Chicago, Illinois) and presented as percentages, mean and tables.

RESULTS
A total of 99 patients comprised of 47 males and 52 females registered in the study; with a mean age of 38 years (range 16-70); 76 patients (77%) complained of pain at the operation site while 23 (23%) had no complaints. Pain was mild in 59 (78%) and moderate 17 (22%). None had severe pain or bleeding from the operation site; 85 patients (86%) could ambulate easily, 14 (14%) partially and none completely unable to ambulate.

CONCLUSION
Day procedures in selected patients has minimal affects on their ambulation and no increased risk of seeking medical attention in the first week and would appear not to transfer the burden of care to the community.


Although nutritional therapy is essential for the treatment of childhood cancer, it remains a challenge, especially within the developing world, where there are many barriers to optimizing treatment. The oral route is the first approach to nutritional support, however challenging this might be in children with cancer. Oral supplements are indicated in moderate evaluated nutritional risk patients and its use should consider the family's social conditions and access to industrialized oral supplements. If unavailable, homemade oral supplements can be used respecting regional accessibility, local foods, and culture. Nonetheless, many patients cannot sustain nutritional status on oral feeding alone and need to be supported by enteral tube feeding. Enteral feeding may be modified to accommodate the financial constraints of institution in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In some oncologic situations, however, enteral nutrition is not possible and parenteral nutrition is indicated, although only if the need for nutritional support is anticipated to be longer than 5-7 days. Nutritional support in pediatric oncology remains a challenge, especially in LMICs, however, it can be undertaken by getting the best out of the available resources.


Summary Statement An autologous thrombin activated 3-fold PRP, mixed with a biphasic calcium phosphate at a 1mL:1cc ratio, is beneficial for early bone healing in older age sheep.

Introduction The management of bone defects continues to present challenges. Upon activation, platelets secrete an array of growth factors that contribute to bone regeneration. Therefore, combining platelet rich plasma (PRP) with bone graft substitutes has the potential to reduce or replace the reliance on autograft. The simple, autologous nature of PRP has encouraged its use. However, this enthusiasm has failed to consistently translate to clinical expediency. Lack of standardisation and improper use may contribute to the conflicting outcomes reported within both pre-clinical and clinical investigations. This study investigates the potential of PRP for bone augmentation in an older age sheep model. Specifically, PRP dose is controlled to provide clearer indications for its clinical use.

Methods Eighty 11mm diameter defects of 20mm in depth were created in the cancellous bone within the epiphyseal region of the medial proximal tibia and distal femur of twenty five-year-old sheep. The defects were treated with three doses of an autologous thrombin activated PRP combined with a biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP). Activated platelet poor plasma (PPP) and the BCP alone provided reference groups, while the autograft and empty defects served as controls. All animals were sacrificed at four weeks post-operatively for radiographic assessment, micro-computed tomography quantification, histological assessment, histomorphometric quantification of new bone area and bone ingrowth, and weekly fluorochrome bone label quantification. TGF-β1 concentrations were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.

Results The PRP had a 2.9-fold (0.4) increase in platelet concentration, a 0.57-fold (0.09) decrease in leukocytes, and a 0.65-fold (0.11) decrease in fibrinogen. After activation, the PRP had an 8.9-fold (1.5) increase in TGF-β1 serum concentration above baseline. Eleven (11) mm diameter cancellous bone defects in the hind legs of five-year-old sheep do not spontaneously heal within four weeks. PRP dose had a significant effect on the radiographic grade. The highest dose of PRP treatment had a significantly greater micro-CT BV/TV over the BCP alone (PRP: 30.6±1.8%; BCP: 24.5±0.1%). All doses of PRP treatment were significantly greater than the BCP alone for both the histomorphometric new bone area (PRP: 14.5±1.3%; BCP: 9.7±1.5%) and bone ingrowth depth (PRP: 2288±210µm; BCP:1151±268µm). From week two onwards, PRP had a significant effect on the weekly bone ingrowth over BCP, however, autograft had the greatest amount of fluorescently labelled bone within the first three weeks. PRP has a significant effect on the shape and density of osteoblasts within the central region of the defect compared to the BCP alone, however, was not significantly different to autograft. TGF-β1 appeared a better predictor of healing outcomes than platelet concentration, however both had relatively weak correlations (r<.324).

Conclusion PRP induces new bone formation with a dose dependant response at four weeks when used with a biphasic calcium phosphate in older age sheep.


This paper introduces the most recent techniques that have been developed for pre-stressed strengthening of metallic members. Details of utilization of new advanced materials such as carbon-fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP), NiTiNb- and Fe-shape memory alloys (SMAs) and hybrid SMA/CFRP for pre-stressing existing metallic members are given. The paper begins with presenting the works on strengthening of metallic members using pre-stressed bonded CFRP material. Furthermore, a pre-stressed un-bonded retrofit system is described. The paper continues with explaining a new strengthening method using un-bonded pre-stressed Fe-SMA strips. Finally, an innovative prestressing system that uses a hybrid system of NiTiNb-SMA/CFRP material is presented. At the end, the paper provides some suggestions for future studies on this topic.


Late preterm infants are defined as those born between 34(0/0) and 36(6/7) weeks of gestation. This population represents a growing proportion of preterm deliveries and traditionally has been neglected as thought to behave similarly to term infants. However, studies in the last decade have shown that they are vulnerable not only during the first few weeks of life but also later on in infancy and childhood. The aim of this review is to summarize the published literature in the field of the long-term outcomes of the late preterm delivery. The main areas that are affected are the respiratory function and the neurodevelopment of these babies due to the early arrest in the lung and brain development, respectively. Moreover, the overall general health of this population is affected in the long-term and ongoing follow up studies are required to provide a better understanding in the field. Continuous efforts should also be made so that the needs of these infants are recognized and managed in a timely appropriate manner.


Inheritance in the form of subtyping is considered in the framework of a polymorphic type discipline with records, variants, and recursive types. We give a denotational semantics based on the paradigm that interprets subtyping as explicit coercion. The main technical result gives a coherent interpretation for a strong rule for deriving inheritances between recursive types. Comments University of Pennsylvania Department of Computer and Information Science Technical Report No. MSCIS-89-63. This technical report is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/cis_reports/855 Denotational Semantics For Subtyping Between Recursive Types MS-CIS-89-63 LOGIC & COMPUTATION 12 V. Breazu-Tannen C. A. Gunter A. Scedrov Department of Computer and Information Science School of Engineering and Applied Science University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104-6389


The application of artificial neural networks (ANN) to power systems has resulted in an overall improvement of solutions in many implementations. This paper presents a new approach for adaptive out-of-step detection of synchronous generators based on neural networks. The paper describes the ANN architecture adopted as well as the selection of the input features for training the ANN. A feedforward model of the neural network based on the stochastic backpropagation training algorithm has been used to predict the out-of-step condition. Due to power network configuration changes, the performance of the protective relays can vary. Consequently, an adaptive out-of-step prediction strategy is suggested in this paper. The capabilities of the proposed strategy have been tested through computer simulation for a typical case study. The results reveal acceptable classification performance.


Now-a-days street light have become a vital aspect including road safety. A lot of electricity is consumed by street lights. So it is imperative to save the power as much as we can. The cost of electricity continues to increase as wastage of energy increases. It has become very crucial for saving power. Street light monitoring control is system designed to improve the efficiency by automatically controlling the switching of street light. This project describes a new solution for street light control system. It consists of wireless technology. The street lights are controlled by the base server by just sending a notification by using wireless network. It consists of a client-server application. The primary motive behind implementing this project is to save the energy.


Flow-induced vibration is a common phenomenon in shell-and-tube heat exchangers. The resulting vibration can lead to component failure by fretting wear due to tube-to-tube support impact or by fatigue. Due to manufacturing considerations, many parameters such as support clearance, alignment, and friction at the supports are not exactly known and are represented by statistical distributions. This makes the use of deterministic equations inaccurate. This paper presents a methodology that can be used during component operation to monitor known flaws and ensure safe operation. The methodology incorporates Monte Carlo simulations to predict remaining service life of a vibrating heat exchanger tube with a small circumferential through-wall crack next to the tube sheet. Vibration excitation includes turbulence and low-level fluid-elastic forces. Leakage calculations are made on the through-wall crack as it grows to fracture. A Weibull distribution is given for the time-to-fracture and for the time for the leak rate to reach a threshold value. This statistical information can then be used to assess the remaining service life and whether LBB criteria will be met.


Compressive sensing is a new technology for modern computational imaging systems. In comparison to widespread conventional image sensing, the compressive imaging paradigm requires specific forensic analysis techniques and tools. In this regards, one of basic scenarios in image forensics is to distinguish traditionally sensed images from sophisticated compressively sensed ones. To do this, we first mathematically and systematically model the imaging system based on compressive sensing technology. Afterwards, a simplified version of the whole model is presented, which is appropriate for forensic investigation applications. We estimate the nonlinear system of compressive sensing with a linear model. Then, we model the imaging pipeline as an inverse problem and demonstrate that different imagers have discriminative degradation kernels. Hence, blur kernels of various imaging systems have utilized as footprints for discriminating image acquisition sources. In order to accomplish the identification cycle, we have utilized the state-of-the-art Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) approaches to learn a classification system from estimated blur kernels. Numerical experiments show promising identification results. Simulation codes are available for research and development purposes.


BACKGROUND: Evidence-based management (EBMgt) is agrowing literature concept in management sciences which claimsthat management decision-making must be based on the bestavailable evidence. The aim of this paper is to present andprovide an evidence-based framework for EBMgt to improvedecision-making in healthcare organizations.METHODS: A two-round Delphi survey was used to collect thefactors affecting EBMgt. Purposive and snowball samplingmethods were used in both rounds. In round 1, we conducted asystematic review and a series of semi-structured interviews(n=45). In round 2, a specific questionnaire with four main partswas designed. The experts (n=21) were asked to rate on a 9-pointLikert scale the importance of each factor. The data wascollected through Google Forms (n=11) and paper forms (n=10).RESULTS: Participants were mostly men (73%). Overall, 126factors were selected in round 1. Factors were classified into 4categories: facilitators, barriers, the sources of evidence andEBMgt process that consisted of 48, 46, 22 and 10 factors,respectively. In round 2, based on median scores, many factors(n=114) were found to be very important. Only, 12 factors have amedian score of less than 3 and were excluded from the study.Finally, 114 factors were confirmed.CONCLUSIONS: Confirmed factors played significant roles inaffecting the practice of EBMgt among healthcare managers. Wetried to facilitate interaction between these factors in theframework. Depending on the type of problem, using six steps ofEBMgt process, managers will select the best evidence among sixsources of evidence.


One sided leaf area index (LAI) and above ground woody biomass are important parameters for describing the function and productivity of forested ecosystems. It is well known that remotely sensed reflected solar radiation can be related to the LAI of a vegetation canopy. Recently, studies have demonstrated that synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can be used to estimate above ground standing biomass. The authors describe the development of algorithms for using optical and microwave data to infer LAI and biomass by using a forest succession model to simulate forest canopy parameters for use with optical and microwave remote sensing models. Models for canopy reflectances and backscatter coefficients were used separately to develop relationships with LAI and biomass, respectively. The algorithms were applied to Airborne Visible-InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) and AirSAR images over a forested area in central Maine, USA. The resultant images ate evaluated and combined into a map related to potential ecosystem productivity.<<ETX>>


The objective of this thesis was to assess whether human and nonhuman animals can learn about serial order by observation of a conspecific performing a task designed to assess sequence knowledge. With regard to human sequence learning, two questions were asked. The first, whether procedural knowledge of sequences, typically acquired following direct practice, can be gained following observation, the second, how such knowledge is represented and by which mechanisms. Using an adaptation of a serial reaction time task (Nissen and Bullemer 1987) and a free generation task the implicit versus explicit knowledge distinction was examined. Evidence reported in this thesis suggests that humans are capable of observational sequence learning on an implicit task and sequence knowledge is stored in terms of a motor code. However, experiments suggest that observational sequence learning may be limited to situations where the sequences are unique in structure and where there are 16 exposures of the sequence per block of trials. There was no evidence for a dissociation in observer performance between measures designed to assess procedural and declarative knowledge and it was concluded that this was not an appropriate distinction to make when characterising observer performance on the SRT task. The experiments with animals were pursued using a two lever method, and both free operant and fixed trial procedures. Under free operant conditions, there was no evidence of observational sequence learning following observer pretraining on individual sequence items or when pretraining was dispensed with. There was, however, evidence of learning individual sequence items in the form of recency effects. The fixed trial procedure, designed to enhance the salience of the demonstrated sequence, decreased the delay inherent in the free operant procedure between the observation and testing phases and to reduce the effects of olfactory cues, yielded no observational sequence learning. Under these conditions a primacy effect emerged. The fixed trial procedure is a significant innovation to social learning research and recommendations are made as to how this procedure can be improved.


Conducting polymer hydrogels combine electrical conductivity and tunable water content, rendering them strong candidates for a range of applications including biosensors, cell culture platforms, and energy storage devices. However, these hydrogels are mechanically brittle and prone to damage, prohibiting their use in emerging applications involving dynamic movement and large mechanical deformation. Here, we demonstrate that applying the concept of architecture to conducting polymer hydrogels can circumvent these impediments. A stereolithography 3D printing method is developed to successfully fabricate such hydrogels in complex lattice structures. The resulting hydrogels exhibit elastic compressibility, high fracture strain, enhanced cycling stability, and damage-tolerant properties despite their chemical composition being identical to their brittle, solid counterparts. Furthermore, concentrating the deformation to the 3D geometry, rather than polymer microstructure, effectively decouples the mechanical and electrical properties of the hydrogel lattices from their intrinsic properties associated with their chemical composition. The confluence of these new physical properties for conducting polymer hydrogels opens broad opportunities for a myriad of dynamic applications.


The Competitive Industries and Innovation Program (CIIP) aims to develop and pilot a joint approach to Global Value Chain analysis that is relevant and applicable to developing country contexts. Each value chain activity has different potential to catalyze economic development and productive transformation. Therefore as we move into a new, more uncertain phase of industrialization, it is important to understand where and how value is created within the global value chain so as to know which value chain activities to compete for.


Bacillus subtilis can grow on glycerol or glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) as the sole carbon and energy source. The glpD gene encodes G3P dehydrogenase which is required for the catabolism of glycerol and G3P. In the non-coding leader sequence of glpD there is an inverted repeat followed by a run of AT basepairs which has been shown to function as a Rho-independent terminator (a stem-loop structure followed by a run of U residues). The glpP gene encodes an antiterminator protein which together with G3P induces readthrough of the terminator. GlpP mutants cannot grow on glycerol or G3P. Revertants of GlpP mutants that could grow on glycerol were studied. A majority of them carried suppressor mutations in the inverted repeat of the glpD leader and expressed glpD constitutively. Some of the revertants had a temperature sensitive (ts) phenotype, i.e. they grew on glycerol at 32oC but not at 45oC. This was shown to be due to a destabilisation of their glpD mRNA. The mRNA was stabilised in the presence of GlpP. Expression of glpD is subject to glucose repression but in the above revertants it is glucose insensitive. Introduction of a functional glpP gene into the revertants restored glucose repression, indicating that GlpP is the mediator. When the glpD leader and the glpP gene were transferred to E. coli, expression from the glpD leader was subject to catabolite repression which supports the notion that GlpP is important for this control. Two non ts revertants were studied. Their mutations, a point mutation and a 8 bp duplication, respectively, were situated in the sequence of the glpD leader that corresponds to the stem of the terminator, whereas the mutations of the ts revertants involve the loop. glpD transcripts from the non ts revertants had longer half-lives than wild-type and ts glpD transcripts in the presence of GlpP. GlpP did not increase the half-lives of the non ts glpD transcripts. The glpD leader carrying the point mutation could not titrate GlpP in vivo which indicates that the mutation interferes with binding of GlpP. The GlpP protein was His-tagged and purified. It bound specifically to glpD leader mRNA in native gel shifts. Specific binding of GlpP to glpD leader mRNA in vivo was demonstrated in titration experiments. Fusions between different glpD leaders and lacZ were made. Transcripts from these fusions had the same stability as the corresponding glpD transcript, proving that the glpD leader is a major stability determinant for the fusion transcripts. glpD leader-lacZ fusions were integrated into the E. coli chromosome and steady state levels and half-lives of the fusion transcripts were determined. Transcripts from a ts glpD leader were considerably more stable in E. coli than in B. subtilis. GlpP caused antitermination also in E. coli but it had no stabilising effect of glpD leader mRNA as it has in B. subtilis. The results point to differences in the mRNA degrading machinery of the two bacteria. (Less)


Innovative replacement of incontinence surgery (IRIS) is a polypropylene tape that is placed beneath the midurethra to restore urinary continence. We evaluated the long-term efficacy and safety of the IRIS procedure and compared it with tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence. We included all 66 consecutive women who underwent IRIS (n=34) or TVT (n=32) between February 2002 and April 2003 and followed them up for at least 3 yr postoperatively. The 3-yr success rate was 94.1% for the IRIS and 93.8% for the TVT, and the satisfaction rates were 91.2% and 90.6%, respectively. Intraoperative complications for the IRIS group included 3 cases of bladder perforation, and there were 3 cases of bladder perforation in the TVT group. The postoperative complications for the IRIS group included 2 patients with de novo urgency and one patient with mesh erosion. Three patients with TVT developed de novo urgency. One case of each group showed temporary voiding difficulty. On the basis of our results, the IRIS may be an effective and safe procedure as compared to TVT, with a high success rate and a low complication rate.


Storck, Roger (The University of Texas, Austin). Nucleotide composition of nucleic acids from fungi. II. Deoxyribonucleic acids. J. Bacteriol. 91:227–230. 1966.—The nucleotide composition of the deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA) present in extracts of 30 species of fungi was determined. The results were analyzed, together with those in the literature. It was found that the content, in moles per cent of guanine plus cytosine (GC content), varied from 38 to 63% in a distribution composed of 9 species of zygomycetes, 14 of ascomycetes, and 9 each of deuteromycetes and basidiomycetes. The GC content ranges were: 38 to 48% for the zygomycetes, 38 to 54% for the ascomycetes, 47 to 62% for the deuteromycetes, and 44 to 63% for the basidiomycetes. The GC content ranged from 38 to 40% for four Mucor species. The base composition of fungal DNA appears, therefore, to have a taxonomic and phylogenetic significance.


We propose two iterative schemes for three $G$-nonexpansive mappings and present their convergence analysis in the framework of a convex metric space endowed with a directed graph. Some numerical examples are given to support the claim that the proposed iterative schemes converge faster than all of Mann, Ishikawa and Noor iteration schemes. Our results generalize and extend several known results to the setup of a convex metric space endowed with a directed graphic structure, including the results in [S. Suantai, M. Donganont, W. Cholamjiak, Hybrid methods for a countable family of $G$-nonexpansive mappings in Hilbert spaces endowed with graphs, Mathematics (2019)].


Five experiments investigated an apparent misalignment effect in 90 degrees arc figures. Preliminary observations showed that the effect occurs also in chevron figures, in an afterimage of the arc figure, and haptically in arc- and chevron-shaped objects. The experiments showed that the effect is greater with 3 radial lines than with 2, absent without them, and present in a figure consisting of only 3 radial lines. The effect with arc figures was consistently greater than that with chevron figures, a difference found not to be due to an apex marking the midpoint of the latter, and it was of intermediate size in figures with 1 arc boundary and 1 chevron boundary. The misalignment was also greater in narrow, elongated figures. The issues singled out for discussion are the effect of context on the misalignment effect with 3 radial lines, a possible explanation in terms of perceptual compromise, the difference in the effect between arcs and chevrons, and the relationship between this illusion and the Morinaga illusion.


ABSTRACT
Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKis) are promising medications that the Food and Drug Administration recently approved for treatment of atopic dermatitis in January 2022. These medications offer a novel therapeutic mechanism and may be an additional treatment avenue for patients who are currently reliant on conventional immunosuppressants, such as cyclosporine A, methotrexate, or mycophenolate mofetil, or newer medications, such as dupilumab. However, redundant treatment puts patients at risk for excessive toxicity and polypharmacy, whereas abrupt tapering of a preexisting regimen may cause flares of the disease. Thus, transitioning to JAKis should be implemented strategically to retain the therapeutic benefit and minimize the risk of flares. Herein, we outline gradual transition schemas for patients needing to transition to JAKis from conventional immunosuppressants or dupilumab. There is no evidence-based guideline to instruct this transition to JAKis, and our recommendations are based on expert experience and the review of efficacy data from pivotal trials.


This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of pre-treatment on fishy flavor and odor removal of gelatin extracted from sutchi catfish (Pangasius sutchi) skin. Pre-treatment of the skin involved soaking at 4°C in distilled water (GC), lime followed by tamarind (GLT) or salt followed by activated carbon (GSC) prior to extraction in warm distilled water (50°C) for 12 hrs. Yield, physical properties and sensory were determined. Results showed that GLT produced highest yield (19.72%) compared to GSC (15.01%) and GC (15.81%). Although, GLT exhibited lowest gel strength (282.29g), viscoelasticity (14.1oC) and setting point (10.46oC) compared to other pre-treatments, fishy flavor and odor of the gelatin were almost absent obtaining the score of 1.68 and 1.74, respectively. These values were below those of reference which are 1.87 (fishy flavor) and 2.71 (fishy odor) denoting from 'absent to weak'. Since fishy flavor and odor were almost absent, soaking sutchi catfish skin in lime followed by tamarind could be a good method to obtain gelatin with the desired sensory attributes.


To secure the sustainable use of nature, governments track nature ' s health and develop regulations and policies. Although there is a seeming abundance in observation-recordings, decision- and policy-makers are constrained by the lack of data and indicators, mostly as a result of barriers preventing existing data from being found, accessed, made suitable for (automated) processing and reused, but also due to missing visualisations targeted at answering questions asked by policy makers. This paper explores the process and principles for developing a biodiversity web-platform that informs policy and management on the state and trends of nature, based on experiences with the Dutch Caribbean Biodiversity Database (DCBD). The DCBD supports the assessment of the state of nature and guarantees long-term data availability in an environment that experiences a high turnover in project funds and personnel. Three principles made DCBD ' s uptake and growth possible: The platform is funded, promoted and used by national and regional policy makers, it simpli fi es tasks of local management and rap-porteurs, and it is continuously being adapted to changing needs and insights. Stronger dissemination of DCBD ' s narratives in social arenas (e.g. newspapers, social media) may make Caribbean nature and biodiversity more politically and societally relevant.


Critical process industries like semiconductor fabrication have spent billions on industrial automation hardware to improve product quality and increase productivity. This, coupled with plant expansions into countries where the utility power grid is taxed by rapid expansion, has created growing concern over the impact of a utility power problem that affects the "at risk" or "in-process" value of the business. In many critical process industrial businesses, there is a belief that utility power providers have not kept pace with the supply of quality power. In fact, most utilities have spent millions of dollars to improve the quality of their supply. Today's sophisticated electrical loads require that the utility service be customized to provide an electrical power source matched to the needs of the load. For critical load businesses, the mitigation of utility power problems is a "site-by-site" decision. The characteristics of the utility distribution system, geographic location and weather conditions dictate the appropriate solution. This paper addresses advances in power electronics that have made energy storage options available to large load (greater than 2 MW) users to improve power quality and reliability.


: In this paper we review, and draw some lessons from, the UMTS-auctions that have taken place in Europe during 2000 and 2001. We address several design issues and, in particular, focus attention on asymmetries between the bidders and on possibilities for collusion. An outlook is provided to several other auctions in which the stakes may not be so high, but the design issues perhaps somewhat more complex. D44, L96


A novel meta-regression method, precision-effect test and precision-effect estimate with standard errors (PET-PEESE), predicts and explains recent high-profile failures to replicate in psychology. The central purpose of this article is to identify the limitations of PET-PEESE for application to social/personality psychology. Using typical conditions found in social/personality research, our simulations identify three areas of concern. PET-PEESE performs poorly in research areas where there are only a few studies, all studies use small samples, and where there is very high heterogeneity of results from study to study. Nonetheless, the statistical properties of conventional meta-analysis approaches are much worse than PET-PEESE under these same conditions. Our simulations suggest alterations to conventional research practice and ways to moderate PET-PEESE weaknesses.


AIM
DNA methylation plays important roles in various kinds of carcinogenesis. Vitamin C could induce Tet-dependent DNA demethylation in embryonic stem cells. Therefore, the antagonizing activity of vitamin C on ultraviolet (UV)-induced apoptosis was investigated in this study.

METHODS
Apoptosis of human epidermoid carcinoma A431 cells and p16-knockout (KO) or p21-KO fibroblasts was assessed by a fluorescence-activated cell sorter. Real-time PCR and western blot were used to determine the relative expression levels of p12, p21, and Tet1/2/3 genes. The global DNA methylation levels were determined using MethylFlash Methylated DNA Quantification Kit in A431 cells with or without vitamin C treatment. To examine the DNA demethylation activity of vitamin C, DNA immunoprecipitation (DIP)-qPCR was performed to determine the relative levels of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) or 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) in p16 and p21 promoter regions containing cytosine-phosphorothiolated guanine (CpG) islands.

RESULTS
The increasing apoptosis of A431 cells under prolonged UV irradiation was remarkably decreased by the combination of vitamin C treatment, suggesting that vitamin C protects against UV-induced apoptosis. Concurrently, vitamin C induced a significant reduction of global DNA methylation in a time- and dose-dependent manner in A431 cells. Vitamin C also reactivated the expression of p16 and p21 at mRNA and protein levels. Mechanistically, about 27% 5hmC-positive cells were observed in vitamin C-treated A431 cells, and the 5hmC enrichment at p16 and p21 promoter regions was also largely increased by vitamin C. Moreover, the expression of p16 and p21 was decreased in Tet1/2 double-knockdown cells, in which the inhibitory effect of vitamin C on UV-induced apoptosis was dismissed. Furthermore, the inhibition of UV-induced apoptosis on vitamin C treatment nearly disappeared in p16- or p21-knockout primary cultured fibroblasts.

CONCLUSION
These results demonstrate that vitamin C effectively antagonizes UV-induced apoptosis through regulation of Tet activity, DNA demethylation, and subsequent tumor suppressor gene activation in skin cancer cells.