Water-soluble rare earth ion (Ce3+, Tb3+)-doped LaF3 nanoparticles with the ability to bind to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) were prepared by the refluxing method in a glycerol/water mixture and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoluminescence (PL) spectra, and so on. The obtained LaF3:Ce3+, LaF3:Tb3+ and LaF3:Ce3+, Tb3+ nanoparticles are well crystallized with a hexagonal structure and composed of spherical particles with an average size from 11 to 19 nm. The as-prepared samples can be dispersed into water to form a colloidal solution. Under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation, the emission lines of Tb3+ in the co-doped LaF3:Ce3+, Tb3+ are evidently strengthened compared to those in the single-doped LaF3:Tb3+ nanoparticles, which is due to the energy transfer from Ce3+ to Tb3+ ions in the LaF3:Ce3+, Tb3+ samples. The biological experiment confirms that the water-soluble LaF3:Ce3+, Tb3+ nanoparticles can be bonded to the DNA molecules and emit visible light under UV irradiation. These luminescent nanoparticles could be used similarly to ethidium bromide (EtBr), which has been used extensively as a DNA staining reagent. The advantage that LaF3:Ce3+, Tb3+ nanoparticles have lower toxicity than EtBr makes them a potential reagent instead of EtBr in the DNA staining in biological experiments.


This research was carried out to determine how honey samples are grouped based on physicochemical characteristics. A total of 36 honey samples, collected from January of 1999 to June of 2000, in the northern coast of Bahia State, were evaluated. with regard to humidity, color, protein, pH, acidity, formol index, electrical conductivity, ash, diastase number, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), total sugar, reducing sugars, sucrose, and types of pollen. The results indicate that HMF, reducing sugar and total sugars are the characteristics that most influenced the grouping. Two plant genera, Eucalyptus and Mimosa, were observed as predominant bee plants in the region.


This article deals with [the] settlement of immigrants from Chile and Bolivia in a town in the province of Buenos Aires [Argentina] far away from the borders and from the metropolitan area. Although underrepresented when compared with the overall percentage of immigrants from those two countries in Argentina the interest of this case lies in the possibility of understanding settlement of new immigrants in dynamic areas of the country. Chilean immigrants live in Tandil in greater number than Bolivian immigrants but are also older. Though a certain mobility is not unknown they usually hold low skilled jobs and are only by exception granted social security and medical insurance. (EXCERPT) (SUMMARY IN ENG)


We prove a bounded decomposition for higher order Hankel forms and characterize the first order Hochschild cohomology groups of the disk algebra with coefficients in the space of bounded Hankel forms of some fixed order. Although these groups are non‐trivial, we prove that every bounded derivation is inner and necessarily implemented by a Hankel form of order one higher. In terms of operators, this result extends the similarity result of Aleksandrov and Peller. Both of the main structural theorems here rely on estimates involving multilinear maps on the n‐fold product of the disk algebra and we obtain several higher order analogues of the factorization results due to Aleksandrov and Peller. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 47B35, 46E15, 46E25.


Canada is a democratic country, yet it keeps a social democratic system in which the government is in charge of welfare of its people. And this is one of the most significant features about the country. Her public and private pension system has been effective since the 1920s, securing its people's fundamental income. In particular, the public medical system applies to its every citizen and performs its role. This system is called the National Medical System as well as 「MEDICARE」 named after its related law. However, there has been a significant change in the national medical and welfare policy due to the budget deficit. In other words, the policy was mainly implemented to welfare facilities in the past, but the policy changed to a welfare policy for the elderly with a concentration on the support for self-reliance of senior citizens since the reform. The purpose of this study is to provide data and implications for Korea through the analysis of the current situation and distinct features of the housing welfare system in Canada. This study has researched the literature on the subject with an analytic focus on three aspects that are the fundamental frame of the system, essential content (support for self-reliance and facility composition), and distinct features of the housing for the elderly. In other words, they are, first, how the fundamental frame of the housing welfare system for the elderly is composed; second, how the service for self-reliance welfare and facility service are composed; and third, what their scale and distinct spatial features of general houses for the elderly with self-reliance are. A comparative study was conducted in detail on courses and characteristics of the housing welfare system for senior citizens in Canada and the USA of North America. In particular, it reveals the scale and distinct spatial features of public houses for the elderly with self-reliance in British Columbia (BC) which is one of the main provinces of Canada.


OBJECTIVE
To identify suitable reference genes for gene expression studies in rat dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons.

METHODS
The raw cycle threshold (Ct) values of 12 selected reference genes were obtained via quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in neurons at different developmental stages or under different treatments. Two strategies were employed to screen the most stable reference genes: the genes were ranked according to the coefficient of biological variation and further validated using geNorm and NormFinder programs. The stable and unstable reference genes were subsequently used as internal controls to assess their effects on target gene expression.

RESULTS
All reference genes showed varying degrees of fluctuation in Ct values during the growth process of neurons or after different treatments. 18S ribosomal RNA (Rn18s) and β-actin (Actb) exhibited the most significant changes, while ubiquitin C (Ubc), hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase (Hprt), and mitochondrial ribosomal protein L10 (Mrpl10) showed relatively minor changes. The most stable and unstable genes obtained by different evaluation methods varied slightly. Overall, Actb was found to be the most unstable reference gene, while Hprt was the relatively most stable reference gene. The use of unstable reference genes Actb and ankyrin repeat domain 27 (Ankrd27) as internal controls led to high variability within the control group, ultimately affecting the determination of target gene expression. In contrast, the stable reference gene Hprt had small inter-assay variation and high stability.

CONCLUSIONS
Our observations indicate that Hprt is a proper endogenous reference gene for qRT-PCR analysis in rat DRG neurons and thus provides a critical molecular basis for the genetic characterization in neurological disorders.


In recent years, the concept of compact cities has permeated the sustainability discourse under the premise that compact high density developments can effectively reduce car use levels and promote use of alternative modes such as transit and non-motorized means. However, these arguments hinge on the existence of a true causal mechanism between built environment and travel behavior. Using panel data from a survey on new movers to a high density mixed use development in the Kashiwanoha area, Chiba prefecture, several models are estimated to test the effect of changes in the built environment on activity frequency by mode. Findings suggest that even after controlling for residential self-selection, the built environment exerts a significant effect on activity frequency for some activity types such as shopping and eating-out conditional on travel modes. Mode substitution effects were observed between frequencies of nearby activities reached by non-motorized means and faraway activities reached by car given changes in accessibility levels around home location. Nonlinear effects of car ownership on activity frequency were also identified. Findings provide a good insight on the potential effects of retrofitting low density suburban areas through densification and land use mixes, an issue of critical importance in the context of rapidly ageing and depopulating cities and regions in Japan.


COMMENT: As no absolute HO2 measurement was available, the analysis is necessarily restricted to comparing the relative HO2 values obtained by the different instruments. As the basic approach used was the same in each case (LIF detection of OH following HO2 conversion through addition of NO) concern may remain that the absolute accuracy of HO2 measurements has not been tested. This is noted in the manuscript, and is unavoidable given the experimental issues with MIESR, but should be more clearly


Introduction: Although previous studies have shown that the recipients exhibit improvements in exercise capacity and performance after heart transplantation (HTx), the recipients often have a lower exercise capacity than normal healthy age and gender-matched controls in the early period or long after HTx. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the effects of the recipient and donor risk factors on the patient's exercise capacity early after HTx. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 50 HTx recipients transplanted from April 2010 to November 2016 at National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center (NCVC) in Japan. Patients' medical records were reviewed retrospectively for clinical parameters, including demographics of the recipient, recipient nutritional risk factors, demographics of the his/her donor and other risk factors for the donor heart. Three weeks after HTx, if patients have no episode of rejection or other adverse events, three-month program of rehabilitative exercise under the supervision of experienced personnel was initiated. Each recipient underwent symptom-limited cardiopulmonary exercise test at the entry and the end of 3-month program. Results: The peak VO2 was significantly increased after 3-months program in patient irrespective of recipient risk factors, such as recipient age, underlying heart disease, type of LVAD implanted for bridge to transplant, cerebrovascular complications during awaiting HTx, and several nutritional factors, such as serum choline esterase, serum albumin, blood lymphocyte counts and Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index as well as donor risk factors, such as donor age, history of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, total ischemic time, low left ventricular ejection fraction of the donor heart, and inotrope dosage prior to procurement surgery. Younger recipient age, higher serum choline esterase and higher blood lymphocyte counts at the entry were significantly associated with higher peak VO2 at the entry and end of 3-momths program. Conclusion: 3-months rehabilitation exercise increased peak VO2 irrespective of main recipient or donor risk factors predictive on heart recipient survival, which included the type of LVAD and marginal donor heart factors. Only recipient age and several nutrition factors at the entry of 3-months exercise were associated with peak VO2 at the entry or the end of 3-months program, and these data suggested that nutrition management and rehabilitation at bedside between the time of HT and the entry of 3-months program play a significant role in increasing peak VO2 at the entry of rehabilitation program.


Introduction: Leakage from process equipment and the entrance of flammable fluids to surrounding atmosphere may cause flammable gas cloud. The coincidence of flammable gas cloud with ignition source could make flash fire or vapor cloud explosion that cause injury and fatality. The concept of reduction of confluence of flammable gas cloud and potential sources of ignition is known as hazardous area classification. Several standards have provided methods regarding hazardous area classification; however, of the disadvantages of them are lack of an accurate determination of hazardous areas due to potential leakage sources which is because of low flexibility in process condition variation and equipment layout and also not considering effect of weather conditions and cumulative effects of release sources. Material and Method: In this paper, risk-based hazardous area classification is optimized using parameters such as the number of influencing release sources and weather condition probabilities. In this method, the determining factor of hazardous area boundary is the probability of acceptable ignition for every specific location. This probability is calculated using quantitative risk assessment with PHAST RISK software version 6.7 on the gas boosting unit of a gas refinery as a case study. Result: The results of this method showed the full dependency of hazardous area boundary to cumulative effects of potential sources of release and the prevailing wind direction and it also demonstrated that the suggested optimized method can consider wind direction probabilities and cumulative effects of potential sources of release in risk-based hazardous area classification calculation. Conclusion: Comparing the results of this method with the usual method determines that this method has some advantages such as considering all sources of release and cumulative sources of release and considering wind direction probabilities in determining boundary of zone 2 which makes the hazardous area classification very precise and flexible.


Prediction has long been a vibrant topic in modern probability and statistics. In addition to finding optimal forecast and model selection, it is argued in this paper that the prediction principle can also be used to analyze critical phenomena, in particular, stationary and unstable time series. Although the notion of nearly unstable models has become one of the important concepts in time series econometrics, its role from a prediction perspective is less developed. Based on moment bounds for the extreme-value (EV) and least squares (LS) estimates, asymptotic expressions for the mean squared prediction errors (MSPE) of the EV and LS predictors are obtained for a nearly unstable first-order autoregressive (AR(1)) model with positive error. These asymptotic expressions are further extended to a general class of nearly unstable models, thereby allowing one to understand to what degree such general models can be used to establish a link between stationary and unstable models from a prediction perspective. As applications, we illustrate the usefulness of these results in conducting finite sample approximations of the MSPE for near unit-root time series.


After almost 40 years of seemingly endless war, and several failed attempts to build a sustainable peace in Angola, hope for peace now appears to lie in the hands of Angola's emerging civil society. Non- governmental organisations, such the Inter-Denominational Committee for Peace in Angola, have called for the involvement of all Angolan citizens in the search for peace and reconciliation. Despite numerous difficulties and a restrictive political atmosphere, there are various groups in Angolan civil society that are currently working towards achieving peace.


The origins of the political thought of the neo-conservative movement stem from non-American European references, and non-Christian Jewish theological beliefs, especially the ideas of Leo Strauss, the German Jewish thinker, and Leo Trotsky, the Russian Jewish thinker who formulated the idea of the neo-conservative movement with this conclusion that drew its horizons to the world, especially the Middle East from In order to achieve the greatness of the American Empire, its hegemony and its sovereignty over the whole world, and because the theological references of the movement are of Jewish fundamentalism (Strauss and Trotsky), this opened the door of ideological affiliation to the movement in front of the Jews of America and Europe. And then, in a geopolitical way, it affected the Middle East, where securing the existence of (the Zionist entity) / "the State of Israel" required that intervention in the affairs of the countries of the Arab region as neighbors of the Zionist entity, and demanded a just solution to the Palestinian issue, and this influence is one of the most prominent pillars and foundations of the political thought of the neo-conservative movement In the USA and the world.
It seems that the influence of the revolutionary Trotskyite philosophy is more evident in neo-conservative thought than the influence of Straussian philosophy, although this reference was not explicitly declared in the literature of American political thought or political thought critical of neo-conservative thought, which is what we perceive in this study as new, especially if We looked at the origins of the Zionist movement in its infancy with "Leo Pinsker", "Theodor Herzl", "Vladimir-Raif Jabotinsky" who write down the most socialist whose heirs from the Zionists benefited from the exploitation and employment of Trotsky's socialist ideas to a greater extent than Strauss, and they presented the socialist system over the liberal in formulating the idea Zionism


Workplace health interventions have predominantly been designed around visualizations of physical activity data in the work routine. Yet, contextual factors, such as computer-based activity, appears to be crucial to support healthier behaviors at work. In this research, we explore the effect of visualizing computer-based activity to prompt physical activity at work, through desktop-based ambient displays. Based on our prototypes Yamin and Apphia, we conducted an exploratory qualitative user study in a lab setting with office workers (N=16). Results showed that visualizing one's computer-based activity could potentially increase the awareness, self-reflection, and social interactions for individuals to become physically active. With our findings, we discuss design implications for using computer activity data in a physical form as a motivational factor to encourage physically active workstyles. We present directions for future field studies to gain further insights on this topic.


Recent experimental developments of high-intensity, short-pulse extreme ultraviolet light sources are enhancing our ability to study electron-electron correlations. We perform time-dependent calculations to investigate the so-called "sequential" regime (variant Planck's over 2piomega > 54.4 eV) in the two-photon double ionization of helium. We show that attosecond pulses allow us not only to probe but also to induce angular and energy correlations of the emitted electrons. The final momentum distribution reveals regions dominated by the Wannier ridge breakup scenario and by postcollision interaction.


1. As earlier report suggests that, there is strong influence of agro-climatic conditions on yield and oil content. Our study also shows similar conclusion. In Maharashtra, Marathwada, Vidarbha and Western Maharashtra agro-climatic regions are suitable for plantation of J. curcas. Therefore, it is recommended plantation should be promoted in these regions. 2. Morphological, Biochemical and Molecular diversity estimated moderate to high genetic diversity exist in Maharashtra, thus, it can be recommended that, there is ample scope for selection and genetic improvement of the species, through i. Mass selection ii. Mutation breeding iii. Inter-specific hybridization iv. Alien gene transfer 3. Potential of the new varieties has to be further tested for their performance through multi-location trials. 4. The tissue culture protocol serves as prelude for genetic improvement through biotechnological tools. Reported protocol in this book is quite efficient for production of elite Jatropha plantlets on large-scale with high multiplication rate. 5. Tissue culture protocol will be useful in somatic hybridization, inter-specific crosses limited by crossability barriers somatic embryogen


We address the problem of automating 1) the analysis of existing similar model variants and 2) migrating them into a software product line. Our approach, named MoVaPL, considers the identification of variability and commonality in model variants, as well as the extraction of a CVL-compliant Model-based Software Product Line (MSPL) from the features identified on these variants. MoVaPL builds on a generic representation of models making it suitable to any MOF-based models. We apply our approach on variants of the open source ArgoUML UML modeling tool as well as on variants of an In-flight Entertainment System. Evaluation with these large and complex case studies contributed to show how our feature identification with structural constraints discovery and the MSPL generation process are implemented to make the approach valid (i.e., the extracted software product line can be used to regenerate all variants considered) and sound (i.e., derived variants We address the problem of automating 1) the analysis of existing similar model variants and 2) migrating them into a software product line. Our approach, named MoVaPL, considers the identification of variability and commonality in model variants, as well as the extraction of a CVL-compliant Model-based Software Product Line (MSPL) from the features identified on these variants. MoVaPL builds on a generic representation of models making it suitable to any MOF-based models. We apply our approach on variants of the open source ArgoUML UML modeling tool as well as on variants of an In-flight Entertainment System. Evaluation with these large and complex case studies contributed to show how our feature identification with structural constraints discovery and the MSPL generation process are implemented to make the approach valid (i.e., the extracted software product line can be used to regenerate all variants considered) and sound (i.e., derived variants which did not exist are at least structurally valid).which did not exist are at least structurally valid).


A novel expression for the evaluation of L/sub 2/-sensitivity is developed for the cases of linear discrete-time systems, linear continuous-time systems, and two-dimensional (2-D) state-space digital filters. This is accomplished by introducing the concept of general controllability and observability Gramians in each case. Moreover, the L/sub 2/-sensitivity measures obtained here contain the conventional L/sub 1//L/sub 2/-sensitivity measures as a special case. An iterative procedure for constructing the optimal coordinate transformation matrix that minimizes the L/sub 2/-sensitivity measure is then presented in each case. This procedure is advantageous since the initial estimate and the estimate at each iteration can be calculated analytically. Finally, three numerical examples are given to illustrate the utility of the proposed techniques.


BACKGROUND
There is evidence that the pressure pain threshold (PPT) is reduced in children with migraine and that it varies according to age, sex, and region of the body. However, in view of the lack of consensus in the literature, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the PPT in children with migraine of both genders aged 6-12 years.

METHODS
Fifty children with migraine without aura and 50 children without headache were studied. The PPT was evaluated using an algometer at nine bilateral anatomical sites.

RESULTS
Comparison of children with migraine to children without headache did not show differences in PPT, except for the points of insertion of occipital muscles and the anterior aspect of C5-C7, where the values were lower in the children with migraine. Analysis according to gender revealed that both girls and boys had a lower PPT in at least one region evaluated.

CONCLUSION
Comparison of the PPTs between sites revealed that the pericranial and cervical regions showed a lower PPT than the extracephalic sites in children with migraine.


The polarizability of an array of metallic spheres embedded in a dielectric host sphere is obtained by means of a quasi-static analysis of the electromagnetic interaction. The proposed model is validated through comparisons with the results obtained with software based on the finite element method. A parametric study of the polarizability as a function of the number of inclusions, their radii, and their positions is presented. An analysis of the plasmon resonances of the particle as a function of the same parameters is performed.


Web crawling, a process of collecting web pages in an automated manner, is the primary and ubiquitous operation used by a large number of web systems and agents starting from a simple program for website backup to a major web search engine. Due to an astronomical amount of data already published on the Web and ongoing exponential growth of web content, any party that want to take advantage of massive-scale web data faces a high barrier to entry. We start with background on web crawling and the structure of the Web. We then discuss different crawling strategies and describe adaptive web crawling techniques leading to better overall crawl performance. We finally overview some of the challenges in web crawling by presenting such topics as collaborative web crawling, crawling the deep Web and crawling multimedia content. Our goals are to introduce the intelligent systems community to the challenges in web crawling research, present intelligent web crawling approaches, and engage researchers and practitioners for open issues and research problems. Our presentation could be of interest to web intelligence and intelligent agent technology communities as it particularly focuses on the usage of intelligent/adaptive techniques in the web crawling domain.


Fatigue life prediction of Inconel 718 fabricated by laser powder bed fusion was investigated using a miniature specimen tests method and machine learning algorithms. A small dataset-based machine learning framework integrating thirteen kinds of algorithms was constructed to predict the pore-influenced fatigue life. The method of selecting random seeds was employed to evaluate the performance of the algorithms, and then the ranking of various machine learning algorithms for predicting pore-influenced fatigue life on small datasets was obtained by verifying the prediction model twenty or thirty times. The results showed that among the thirteen popular machine learning algorithms investigated, the adaptive boosting algorithm from the boosting category exhibited the best fitting accuracy for fatigue life prediction of the additively manufactured Inconel 718 using the small dataset, followed by the decision tree algorithm in the nonlinear category. The investigation also found that DT, RF, GBDT, and XGBOOST algorithms could effectively predict the fatigue life of the additively manufactured Inconel 718 within the range of 1 × 105 cycles on a small dataset compared to others. These results not only demonstrate the capability of using small dataset-based machine learning techniques to predict fatigue life but also may guide the selection of algorithms that minimize performance evaluation costs when predicting fatigue life.


Global regulation increasingly relies on alternatives to legal rules, variously termed "soft law,""best-practice rules," or "standards." Such voluntary best-practice rules can be highly effective. Standards influence users by virtue of the expertise on which they are based and because of their enforcement by public and private actors. Standards globally proliferate because they are more compatible with regulatory autonomy of states than binding directives. When global standards are effective, the question of how to subject them to democratic control often arises. The prospects for holding global standard setters accountable largely depend on how decisions on standards are made. These insights are illustrated by examples of the global regulation of financial markets. The preliminary evidence suggests that standards need to be taken more seriously by students of global regulation.


OBJECTIVE
To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on behavior, pathomorphology and brain cell apoptosis in traumatic brain injury (TBI) rats, so as to explore its mechanisms underlying treatment of TBI.

METHODS
Male SD rats were randomly divided into control (n=10), sham (n=30), model (n=30) and EA (n=30) groups, the latter three groups were further divided into 3, 7, 14 d subgroups (n=10). TBI model was established by using a free fall brain injury striking device after exposing the local cranial bone (to induce the left parietal cerebral contusion). Twenty-four hours after modeling, EA (2 Hz, 1 mA) was applied at "Quchi"(LI11), "Neiguan"(PC6), "Zusanli"(ST36) and "Yongquan" (KI1) combined with acupuncture at "Shuigou"(GV26) and "Baihui"(GV20) for 15 min, once a day for 14 consecutive days. After 3, 7, and 14 days treatment, the behavioral function (balance, walking, nerve, and limb retraction) of the rats was evaluated. The histopathological changes of the injured brain tissue were observed by HE staining. TUNEL method was used to detect the apoptosis of cells in the brain injury area.

RESULTS
After modeling, the scores of balance and walking in the model group were higher than those in the sham group (P<0.01, P<0.05), the neurological function score and the right limb retraction force were lower than those in the sham group(P<0.01). After 3 days treatment, the neurological function score and the right limb retraction force in the EA group were higher than those in the model group (P<0.05). After 7 and 14 days treatment, the scores of balance and walking function in the EA group were lower than those in the model group (P<0.05, P<0.01), while the scores of nerve function and right limb retraction force were higher (P<0.05, P<0.01). HE staining showed that modeling induced pathological changes such as the inflammatory cell infiltration, interstitial edema, necrosis, nuclear pyknosis and nuclear lysis were relatively milder in the EA group on the 7th and 14th day. Compared with the sham group, the cell apoptosis of brain injury area was higher in the model group (P<0.01); while it was lower on day 7 and 14 in the EA group in comparison with the model group (P<0.01, P<0.05).

CONCLUSION
EA can improve the behavioral function, reduce the apoptosis of brain cells in the injured area, and promote the rehabilitation of craniocerebral injury.


Summary form only given. Applications of computing are traditionally conceived in terms of developing programs for devices that reliably implement computational rules. This conception is ill-suited to understanding computing in relation to the broader context of agency in the social and natural world. The challenges this poses have long been evident in traditional software development but are even more acute in contemporary applications, where human and machine agency are being blended in quite unprecedented ways. Empirical Modelling is an approach to computing applications that gives greater priority to the human perspective on agency in the world. Its focus is on developing interactive artefacts (`construals') that enable us to make connections which are grounded in personal experience. This gives broader scope for addressing meaning that is better suited to engineering and constructivist perspectives than traditional approaches. This short talk reviews applications of Empirical Modelling to topics such as digital TV, timetabling and the development of open educational resources, identifies key areas of application for making construals that are being promoted under the auspices of the ongoing EU Erasmus+ CONSTRUIT! project, and highlights those features of Empirical Modelling that promise to deliver computing applications with innovative potential.


A question answering (QA) system provides direct answers to user questions by consulting its knowledge base. In recent decade, there is an explosion in the freely available information, improvements in information technology and the increase in people's desire for the better information access. One question arises related to information "meaning" while giving the exact answer of the question instead of the large document freely available information, which has created the emergence of a wide variety of computational models for modeling the meaning of words based on the underlying assumption of the distributional hypothesis, that the meaning of word can be inferred from its use. This paper explores the role of distributional semantic models (DSM) in Question Answering (QA) system. The idea is to compute the relatedness between the user question and the candidate answer retrieved by the search module. One of the shortcomings of DSMs found while applying for larger linguistic unit is "bag-of-words" limitation. A result of semantic compositionality is boost up when used with multiplication operator.


Water resources in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, support wildlife, visitors, and staff, and play a vital role in supporting the native ecology of the park. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Park Service, completed field work in 2018 for a study to address concerns about water availability and possible sources of groundwater contamination for seeps and springs in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The objective of the study was to improve hydrologic knowledge and determine the water composition of 11 seeps and springs in the park by collecting water-chemistry data at springs, streams, wells, and rain collectors. Water samples were collected at 26 sites at springs, streams, wells, and rain collectors in the North and South Units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Samples in the North Unit were collected at 5 springs, 1 stream, 2 wells, and 1 rain collector. Samples in the South Unit were collected at 6 springs, 2 streams, 8 wells, and 1 rain collector. Samples from springs, streams, and wells were collected in May, July, and September 2018. Samples from rain collectors were collected when enough daily precipitation accumulated in the collectors. Sampled precipitation events during the study period were in May, June, July, August, and September 2018. Physical properties of sampled water—temperature, pH, and specific conductance—were measured in the field. Water samples were analyzed for stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen and for chloride concentration. Recharge rates for aquifers supplying springs were determined using precipitation volume and chloride concentrations for a 12-day period before the sample-collection date. Multivariate statistical analysis methods used on water-chemistry data included principal component analysis, cluster analysis, and end-member mixing analysis. Water composition was used to determine the spring type and contributing aquifers for 11 springs in the North and South Units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park from analyses of water-chemistry data between May and September 2018. In the North Unit, Achenbach Spring was classified as a filtration spring with water from an unconfined part of the upper Fort Union aquifer and infiltration of precipitation. Hagen Spring, Mandal Spring, and Stevens Spring were classified as contact springs supplied by semiconfined parts of the upper Fort Union aquifer. Overlook Spring at one time may have been a natural spring or seep but now is a developed spring that behaves like a flowing artesian well completed in a confined part of the upper Fort Union aquifer. In the South Unit, six springs were classified into two spring types: filtration and contact springs. Boicourt Spring and Sheep Butte Spring were classified as filtration springs that have water supplied by unconfined parts of the upper Fort Union aquifer and infiltrated precipitation. Big Plateau Spring, Lone Tree Spring, Sheep Pasture Spring, and Southeast Corner Spring were classified as contact springs that receive waters from a semiconfined part of the upper Fort Union aquifer.


: The use of plastic, in many forms, is ubiquitous. Plastic is found in many of our day-to-day products and even though plastic has several useful applications, plastic waste has a detrimental impact on the environment and is life-threatening to humans, animals, and many marine species. The main aim of this exploratory study is to investigate the influence of internal (environmental knowledge and concern), and external factors (interpersonal influence and media) on Gen Y Thai consumers' environmental attitude and behavior relating to plastic pollution. Gen Y consumers are the focus of this study because they account for nearly a third of Thailand's population with high income and spending potential. A total of 550 questionnaires were distributed to Gen Y consumers in 7 areas in the Central Business District of Bangkok, of which 396 were considered valid and used for the analysis. Three hypotheses posited in the study were tested using Simple Regression analysis. The findings showed that both external factors (environmental knowledge and environmental concern) as well as internal factors (interpersonal influence and media) influenced environmental attitude. Environment attitude, in turn, was found to have a significant influence on behavior related to plastic pollution. The findings provide several useful suggestions for policymakers, marketers, and the general public toward inculcating better waste management practices in the Thai context.


Abstract Standard strategic asset allocation procedures usually neglect market interaction. However, returns are not generated in a vacuum but the result of the market's price discovery mechanism. Evolutionary finance accounts for this and endogenizes asset prices. This paper develops a multi-asset evolutionary finance model. Requiring little more than dividend and interest rate data, it provides a valuable guide to this class of models. While traditional mean/variance optimization is concerned with finding the optimal allocation, evolutionary finance's focus is on finding the optimal strategy. This paper shows that yield-based strategies outperform competing alternatives and are evolutionarily advantageous for multi-asset investors.


Industry–academia projects exist in complex contexts of various stakeholders, time perspec-tives, and goals. In order to analyze projects and communicate about them, we have defined an "architectural" model for industry– academia collaboration, inspired by Kruchten's software architecture model. The model has four views of i) time, ii) space, iii) activity and iv) domain, corresponding to the ques-tions: when, where, how and what. The +1 view is the scenario, binding the other four to-gether. We illustrate the model by applying it to the Industrial Excellence Center EASE and the Sigrun Software Innovation and Engineering Institute. The model helps analyzing industry–academia collaboration projects, to find gaps and reduce redundant work.


CNNs have made an undeniable impact on computer vision through the ability to learn high-capacity models with large annotated training sets. One of their remarkable properties is the ability to transfer knowledge from a large source dataset to a (typically smaller) target dataset. This is usually accomplished through fine-tuning a fixed-size network on new target data. Indeed, virtually every contemporary visual recognition system makes use of fine-tuning to transfer knowledge from ImageNet. In this work, we analyze what components and parameters change during fine-tuning, and discover that increasing model capacity allows for more natural model adaptation through fine-tuning. By making an analogy to developmental learning, we demonstrate that growing a CNN with additional units, either by widening existing layers or deepening the overall network, significantly outperforms classic fine-tuning approaches. But in order to properly grow a network, we show that newly-added units must be appropriately normalized to allow for a pace of learning that is consistent with existing units. We empirically validate our approach on several benchmark datasets, producing state-of-the-art results.


The condition of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the emergence of feelings of anxiety, distress, and stress. One of the impacts of COVID-19 on mental health is the emergence of self-stigma in patients who have recovered from COVID-19. Self-stigma can lead to negative attitudes towards oneself for their condition. This study is aimed to describe the self-stigma incidence in post-COVID-19 patients in Kaliwates Subdistrict. This research design was descriptive quantitative with 86 post-COVID-19 patient respondents domiciled in Kaliwates Subdistrict determined by purposive sampling technique. Data collection was conducted by the Self Stigma Scale (SSS) questionnaire. The results showed that the median value of self-stigma was 30.50 with a minimum value of 0 and a maximum value of 56. A total of 14 people had a total score of 0 which means that 14 respondents (16%) did not experience self-stigma, while 72 others (84%) felt the existence of self-stigma with a different total score. This research is important to detect self-stigma to support the recovery process of post-COVID-19 patients. Nurses are expected to be able to carry out the further follow-up, act as counselors and provide interventions such as cognitive therapy for post-covid-19 patients who experience self-stigma.


The clinical significance of the patient genetic characteristics in the individual pharmacological response to oral anticoagulants is considered. Possible tactics of warfarin dosing and new oral anticoagulants choice on the basis of pharmacogenetic testing as well as indications for this approach in clinical practice are discussed. It should increase efficacy and safety of anticoagulant therapy.


The multidisciplinary analysis (dating, texture, total mineralogy) of two deep cores collected in the Donana National Park (SW Spain) allows to distinguish the main features of three tsunami deposits found in three different paleoenvironmental scenarios (TSU-1: inner area of an open lagoon; TSU-2: inner area of a restricted lagoon; TSU- 3: outer area of a restricted lagoon). The main textural feature of the inner lagoonal tsunami deposits is the increase in bioclastic sands, while the outer TSU-3 is composed almost entirely of medium and fine sands without bioclasts. The mineralogical analysis of TSU-1 and TSU-2 reveals a decrease in phyllosilicates in the basal layers of these tsunami deposits and a parallel increase of quartz, feldspars, dolomite and sometimes calcite. Silica is the main component of TSU-3, whose mineralogical composition changes progressively due to the action of tidal currents in the inlet lagoon on which it is deposited. This rich- SiO2 outer tsunami deposit is derived from the erosion of the adjacent aeolian systems, while the inner TSU-1 and TSU-2 were generated by the transport of bioclastic sands from the outermost parts through the lagoon (TSU-1), or through a nearby tidal channel (TSU-2).


A case is presented of an elderly man with stage D2 cancer of the prostate who responded dramatically to hormonal manipulation utilizing LH-RH agonist. This case has three exceptional features: absence of bone metastasis; massive pulmonary metastasis; and rectal ulceration due to prostatic neoplasm. Although any type of hormonal manipulation could have achieved the same results, the use of LH-RH agonist has distinct advantages: minimal side effects and good patient tolerance.


Postpartum thyroiditis is a destructive thyroiditis induced by an autoimmune mechanism that begins within the first few months after delivery. Postpartum thyroiditis can also occur after spontaneous abortion, here we report three documented episodes of recurrent postpartum thyroiditis, one of which developed after pregnancy loss. Our patient is a 33-year-old woman who complained of discomfort with palpitations two months after her first delivery. Laboratory examination of thyroid function tests (TFT) revealed transient hyperthyroidism followed by hypothyroidism and then recovery (a classic triphasic pattern). Two years later, the patient suffered a spontaneous abortion of her second pregnancy at 16 weeks gestation. Three months after the loss of this second pregnancy, TFT showed the classic triphasic pattern again. Two years following the spontaneous abortion, the patient gave birth to her second child, and three months after delivery, the patient complained of heat intolerance and irritability. Laboratory tests during this time showed an elevated FT4 and a low TSH. Tc-99m scintigraphy showed nonvisualization of both thyroid lobes, and 24-hour radioactive iodine uptake was 0.2%. This patient in this case presented with the classic triphasic pattern in all three episodes. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4021/jmc1060w


In this article, we revisit the history of accounting for goodwill in the United Kingdom, the United States, France, and Japan following the conclusions and predictions of Ding, Richard and Stolowy (2008). We aim at verifying whether the four phases of development of the accounting for goodwill between 1880 and 2005 are actually determined by the global change from a stakeholder model of corporate governance to a shareholder model. An extended time frame of analysis (until 2016) is considered in this study, which includes Japan among the country-specific accounting systems investigated. Our findings do not support Ding et al.'s predictions for Japan and demonstrate a disagreement between those countries which consider goodwill as a depleting asset and those which consider goodwill as a permanent asset. This observation might explain better the current debate concerning international harmonization on goodwill.


Recently a new type of cosmological singularity has been postulated for infinite barotropic index w in the equation of state p = wp of the cosmological fluid, but vanishing pressure and density at the singular event. Apparently the barotropic index w would be the only physical quantity to blow up at the singularity. In this talk we would like to discuss the strength of such singularities and compare them with other types. We show that they are weak singularities.


Using the relativistic concept of time dilation we show that a superposition of gravitational potentials can lead to nonunitary time evolution. For sufficiently weak gravitational potentials one can still define, for all intents and purposes, a global coordinate system. A probe particle in a superposition of weak gravitational fields will, however, experience dephasing due to the different time dilations. The corresponding instability timescale is accessible to experiments, and can be used as a degree of macroscopicity. Finally, we suggest an experiment with smoothly tunable amplification in a microwave interferometer that allows a quantitative study of the quantum to classical boundary.


This paper reports a comparative experimental evaluation of one non-model-based proportional derivative (PD) 3-degree-of-freedom (3-DOF) controller and one model-based 3-DOF controller designed to enable an underactuated underwater vehicle to perform exact X-Y position and velocity tracking. We report a comparative experimental evaluation of the two controllers in free motion experiments. We conclude that the model-based controller's mean absolute position and velocity tracking error is significantly smaller than the non-model-based PD controller for coupled maneuvers.


Control of aquatic pollution is critical for improving coastal zone management and for the conservation of fisheries resources. Countries in the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR) generally lack monitoring capacity and do not have reliable information on the levels and distribution of pollutants, particularly chemical contaminants, and the ecological and/or human health risks. Given the substantial cultural and economic importance of coastal environments to WCR communities, this should be cause for serious concern. This paper describes two studies determining persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in 1) the white grunt fish (Haemulon plumieri) and 2) three oyster species. It highlights lessons learned on improving capacity for environmental monitoring of POPs and how to build an effective south-south network involving academic institutions, laboratories and management agencies. Data are reported for Jamaica, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, and the Caribbean coast of Mexico. Overall, PCB and organochlorine concentrations were low relative to consumption guidelines used to protect the health of humans consuming contaminated seafood. However, since both monitoring organisms occupy low to mid-trophic levels in the marine food web, there is a risk of higher contaminant concentrations accumulating in top trophic levels, such as piscivorous fish and birds. Identified sources of contaminants include domestic sewage, agriculture and industry, large continental rivers and atmospheric deposition. For example, data indicate that atmospheric deposition is a likely source of POPs in Belize, while there is evidence of point sources of POPs in St. Lucia. Currently, these are the only data available on POPs contamination in fish and oysters distributed across the WCR, but will hopefully lead to future studies, increased awareness and strengthening of coastal pollution management.


This thesis examines the behavioral, structural, cellular, and epigenetic changes observed in offspring exposed to different prenatal stressors. A number of questions were answered in this thesis that contribute to a basic understanding of the mechanisms by which early experiences alter long-term outcomes. These include: 1) What epigenetic modifications are associated with prenatal stress? 2) What are the structural and cellular changes in the brains of offspring that correspond to prenatal stress exposure? 3) How do these epigenetic and structural changes manifest as behavioral changes? And 4) What are the consequences of varying the level of prenatal stress? The key findings were that not all prenatal stress is the same. Variations to the intensity and nature of the stress dramatically alter offspring outcomes. Second, prenatal stress produces changes at many levels and these changes can be functionally related. Expression changes were identified in genes involved in altering dendritic morphology, which in turn modifies behaviour. For the first time, a comprehensive examination of brain plasticity occurred following prenatal stress. Additionally, this thesis demonstrated that brain changes related to prenatal stress are age-dependent and sex-dependent. The effects of prenatal stress on the pre-weaning brain are dramatically different than those observed in adulthood. Also, the sex of the offspring significantly influences neuroanatomical and epigenetic modifications. This finding is of critical importance because a majority of prenatal stress research is conducted on male offspring only. Taken together these discoveries emphasize that perturbations to development during the prenatal period produce persistent changes in the structure and functioning of the brain that will influence all subsequent experiences.


The authors explore a number of issues surrounding multicultural education in "societies in transition", emerging from their experiences during a TEMPUS project that took place in the Slovak Republic. The TEMPUS project entailed the development of a multicultural education curriculum for teacher trainers, as a response to the conditions for entry into the European Union. The paper provides background information on the position of ethnic minorities in Slovakia, in particular the Hungarian and Roma population and the development of policies, especially in education, for combating racism. In examining the challenges to educators in developing a more open system than the command education of the recent past, issues such as the predominance of traditional pedagogies, multiculturalism and antiracism, the problems of "other isms" and of giving voice to minorities are considered.


Abstract—The mechanisms by which persistent proteinuria induces interstitial inflammation and fibrosis are not well known, although nuclear factor-&kgr;B (NF-&kgr;B), which regulates the transcription of many genes involved in renal injury, could be implicated. In rats with intense proteinuria, we studied the renal activation of NF-&kgr;B as well as the potential involvement of the vasoactive hormones angiotensin II (Ang II) and endothelin-1 (ET-1). Uninephrectomized Wistar-Kyoto rats receiving 1 g/d of BSA had proteinuria but no renal morphological lesions at day 1. By contrast, tubular atrophy and/or dilation and mononuclear cell infiltration were observed after 8 or 28 days of BSA administration, coinciding with maximal proteinuria. In relation to control uninephrectomized rats, the renal cortex of nephritic rats showed an increment in the activation of NF-&kgr;B at all time periods studied. By in situ Southwestern histochemistry, NF-&kgr;B activity was mainly localized in proximal tubules, interstitial mononuclear cells, and, to a lesser extent, the glomeruli. The administration of the ACE inhibitor quinapril plus the ETA/ETB receptor antagonist bosentan during 28 days to BSA-overloaded animals diminished proteinuria, renal lesions, and NF-&kgr;B activity more markedly than single drugs. Cultured tubular epithelial cells exposed to BSA revealed an intense NF-&kgr;B activation in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Incubation of cells with receptor antagonists of Ang II (AT1: losartan and AT2: PD-123,319) or ET-1 (ETA: BQ123 and ETB: IRL1038) inhibited significantly the BSA-induced NF-&kgr;B activity (90%, 75%, 90%, and 60% of inhibition versus basal, respectively). Our results show that overload proteinuria causes NF-&kgr;B activation in tubular epithelial cells both in vivo and in vitro. The vasoactive peptides Ang II and ET-1 appear to be implicated in this effect. The results reveal a novel mechanism of perpetuation of renal damage induced by persistent proteinuria.


During the French Revolution, a cry began to spread: "Oh, Freedom, How many crimes are committed in your name!" Today, in Arab and Muslim lands, we appear to need a similar rallying call: "Oh Islam, How many crimes are committed in your name!"
The Arab and Islamic worlds do not have the right any longer to disregard or pass over in silence the crimes that sweep across the planet on a daily basis in the name of Islam. It is not only a matter of mistakes and excesses committed under the false banner of jihad for Islam. These are unspeakably crazed and wanton crimes, sordid and full of treachery. There can be no doubt that they are committed to the beat of Satan's drumming the Satan who is the enemy of both God and Man. They are terrifying events that defame Islam's reputation and disgrace Muslims, and distort the meaning and objectives of the Quranic message and key terms such as al-jihad, as well as other words that are arbitrarily wrested from their context in a Holy Quranic verse to be deployed in political skirmishes.


SUMMARY
The objectives of this study were to evaluate the assessments of maxillofacial surgeons, orthodontists, and laypersons on the predicted aesthetic outcome of various surgical options in Class III correction and the associations between certain initial cephalometric values and the judges' preferred option. Pre-surgical lateral headfilms and coloured profile photographs of 18 skeletal Class III Caucasian adult patients (10 males and 8 females) with a mean age of 24.5 years were used. The headfilms were hand traced and digitized. Conventional cephalometric analysis was performed. Computerized predictions of three surgical options, mandibular setback, Le Fort I advancement, and bimaxillary surgery, were made. For each case, the pre-surgical profile photograph with the three predictions was presented on a printed page. The questionnaire was sent to 51 maxillofacial surgeons (response rate 45.1 per cent), 78 orthodontists (response rate 71.8 per cent), and 61 laypersons (response rate 100 per cent) to aesthetically evaluate the pre-surgical photographs and the surgical predictions by placing a mark along a 10-graded visual analogue scale (VAS) using a standard profile for calibration. Confidence interval was calculated for each patient. An independent samples t-test was used to detect initial cephalometric values associated with the judges' preferred option and analysis of variance/Tukey's honestly significant differences to evaluate differences between judges. Intra-observer reliability was assessed with a paired t-test. All treatment predictions led to improved scoring of facial aesthetics with the exception of the setback option for three patients. For 14 patients, general agreement for the preferred option existed between the three groups of judges. Laypersons tended to give lower improvement scores than professionals. Overjet, nasofacial, and nasomental angles were important in decision making between the mandibular setback and Le Fort I options (the more negative the overjet, the larger the nasofacial angle, the smaller the nasomental angle, the greater the preference for the Le Fort I option). Wits appraisal seemed to be important in decision making between the mandibular setback and bimaxillary options (the more negative the Wits appraisal, the greater the preference for the latter option).


• The results of palliative treatment of prostatic carcinoma were observed in 1,249 patients followed for five years or more. The high incidence of this disease makes rectal examinations advisable in all men over 50 years of age. The shortness of life expectancy and the amount of suffering seen when the treatment has been palliative argue in favor of radical prostatectomy. The advent of radical retropubic prostatectomy has made total extirpation more generally available; it has also shed new light on the mode of spread of the growth. Such spread was found in 30 out of 100 patients without elevated acid phosphatase levels in the blood or evidence of bone involvement. Interstitial irradiation with a colloidal form of radiogold (Au198) has been done in 389 patients with prostatic carcinoma that had extended too far locally to be operable but had not yet metastasized to the bones. It has been found possible to avoid radiation injury to the bladder and rectum, and of the first 100 patients in this series 22 are alive without clinical evidence of disease. Endocrine therapy has often given dramatic though temporary improvement, and the relief from pain has in some cases been lasting. The modern treatment of prostatic carcinoma requires the combined resources of surgery, chemistry, endocrinology, and radiology.


Background Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is highly endemic in mainland China, and has extended from rural areas to cities recently. Beijing metropolis is a novel affected region, where the HFRS incidence seems to be diverse from place to place. Methodology/Principal Findings The spatial scan analysis based on geographical information system (GIS) identified three geo-spatial "hotspots" of HFRS in Beijing when the passive surveillance data from 2004 to 2006 were used. The Relative Risk (RR) of the three "hotspots" was 5.45, 3.57 and 3.30, respectively. The Phylogenetic analysis based on entire coding region sequence of S segment and partial L segment sequence of Seoul virus (SEOV) revealed that the SEOV strains circulating in Beijing could be classified into at least three lineages regardless of their host origins. Two potential recombination events that happened in lineage #1 were detected and supported by comparative phylogenetic analysis. The SEOV strains in different lineages and strains with distinct special amino acid substitutions for N protein were partially associated with different spatial clustered areas of HFRS. Conclusion/Significance Hotspots of HFRS were found in Beijing, a novel endemic region, where intervention should be enhanced. Our data suggested that the genetic variation and recombination of SEOV strains was related to the high risk areas of HFRS, which merited further investigation.


The purpose of this study is to investigate if non-US/non-Canada (international) equity listings in the Canadian stock exchanges increased with the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Canada. A question of interest is whether the adoption of common global accounting standards (IFRS) was beneficial in attracting international firms to the Canadian exchanges.,The authors use difference-in-difference ordinary least square methodology to conduct inter-country (between Canada and the USA) and intra-country (between the Toronto Stock Exchange [TSX] and the TSX Venture Exchange [TSXV]) tests to investigate whether there is increased listings of international firms on Canada's exchanges associated with mandatory adoption of IFRS in Canada compared to such listings in the American exchanges.,The authors did not find evidence of a relative increase in listings by international firms on the TSX and the TSXV after Canadian adoption of IFRS, but they did find that listings by international firms on the TSX, Canada's primary exchange, increased when the authors include the year before mandatory Canadian adoption as part of the IFRS adoption period. The authors also find that international listings from outside the North American, European and Australasian regions increased on the TSXV, consistent with IFRS adoption making the smaller Canadian exchange more attractive to listers from these regions.,With the increasing use of IFRS throughout the world, US regulators, the US Congress and other capital market participants seek to understand the costs and benefits of potential IFRS adoption in the USA. The authors contribute to this debate by examining the effect of Canada's adoption of IFRS on growth in international stock listings in the Canadian stock exchanges.


A few problems in the present calculation methods in the aspects of insulation flashover criteria, influence of operating voltages, induced overvoltage component, and shielding failure in China are briefly analyzed and discussed. Lightning performance of 500-kV double-circuit line schemes (nine tower types and thirteen schemes of insulation disposition) for the Three-Gorge Project is computed and compared with the existing operation experience of double-circuit lines. Different schemes are compared with each other. The cause of the remarkable increase of the total lightning outage rate of the usual unbalanced double-circuit lines, with one circuit insulation reduced, in the operation is analyzed. Different from the usual unbalanced insulation lines, a one-circuit insulation enhanced scheme is proposed in this paper. It is emphasized in the paper that the key of the lightning protection of double-circuit transmission lines is to reduce the double-circuit simultaneous trip-out rate and to keep a reasonable total trip-out rate at the same time. It can be achieved by choosing the proper insulation disposition scheme referring to the order of the weighted trip-out rate values. The viewpoints and methods in the paper would be useful to others working in this field.


OBJECTIVE
Our aims were to estimate 1) the costs of hospital treatment and 2) the value of lost production due to early death associated with overweight and obese patients, and then to extrapolate the findings to national costs.

METHODS
We use regression models to analyze survival, expected number of days in hospital treatment for patients with different body mass index (BMI), and costs with data obtained from screening of 33,196 middle-aged subjects living in Malmö, Sweden, and collected during a 15-year follow-up period. We subsequently scale up costs to national aggregate level using the BMI prevalence data from the screening project to the national population.

RESULTS
The total excess hospital (somatic, psychiatric) care cost (Swedish krona or SEK) for the national health-care budget, excess as compared to normal weight patients for obese (BMI > 30) and overweight (25 < or = BMI < 30) was estimated to SEK2155 million per annum (269 million dollars, assuming 1 dollar = SEK8), or about 2.3% of total hospital care costs in Sweden. The corresponding indirect costs due to early death were estimated to SEK2935 million (367 million dollars). For males at age 55, the potential hospital costs saving, excluding costs of the intervention that could be gained by an intervention that successfully and safely could alter the weight of an obese individual to become normal weight, was estimated on average to SEK4434 (554 dollars) per annum.

CONCLUSION
Hospital treatment costs are found to be higher for obese and overweight patients than for normal weight patients indicating potential cost savings especially on indirect costs by effective, safe and low cost weight-loss intervention.


The pioneering transcription factor C/EBPα coordinates cell fate and cell differentiation. C/EBPα represents an intrinsically disordered protein with multiple short linear motifs and extensive post-translational side chain modifications (PTM), reflecting its modularity and functional plasticity. Here, we combined arrayed peptide matrix screening (PRISMA) with biotin ligase proximity labeling proteomics (BioID) to generate a linear, isoform specific and PTM-dependent protein interaction map of C/EBPα in myeloid cells. The C/EBPα interactome comprises promiscuous and PTM-regulated interactions with protein machineries involved in gene expression, epigenetics, genome organization, DNA replication, RNA processing, and nuclear transport as the basis of functional C/EBPα plasticity. Protein interaction hotspots were identified that coincide with homologous conserved regions of the C/EBP family and revealed interaction motifs that score as molecular recognition features (MoRF). PTMs alter the interaction spectrum of multi-valent C/EBP-motifs to configure a multimodal transcription factor hub that allows interaction with multiple co-regulatory components, including BAF/SWI-SNF or Mediator complexes. Combining PRISMA and BioID acts as a powerful strategy to systematically explore the interactomes of intrinsically disordered proteins and their PTM-regulated, multimodal capacity. Key points Integration of proximity labeling and arrayed peptide screen proteomics refines the interactome of C/EBPα isoforms Hotspots of protein interactions in C/EBPα mostly occur in conserved short linear motifs Interactions of the BAF/SWI-SNF complex with C/EBPα are modulated by arginine methylation and isoform status The integrated experimental strategy suits systematic interactome studies of intrinsically disordered proteins


Azaleucine is a naturally occurring amino acid antibiotic that can be incorporated into proteins by mimicking leucine. In spite of its highly toxic character, the contrast between the hydrophobic side-chain of leucine and the basic side-chain of azaleucine suggested a mechanism for rescuing certain mutants. We constructed a thymidine auxotrophic mutant of Escherichia coli by replacing an arginine residue with leucine in the catalytic centre of thymidylate synthase, and indeed showed that activity could be restored by incorporation of azaleucine. This result extends the current scope of phenotypic suppression to mischarging with amino acid analogues. Microbial strains with a clear-cut requirement for an additional amino acid, as reported here, should be instrumental for widening the genetic code experimentally.


We propose a system-on-chip (SoC) architecture for reconfigurable applications based on the AMBA high-speed bus (AHB). The architecture features multiple low-area flyby DMA blocks for transferring configuration data. Furthermore, the architecture eliminates the use of energy-consuming instructions used in comparable commercial reconfigurable SoCs. The flyby DMA blocks achieve a reduction of up to 98% in the number of gates found in general-purpose DMA controllers. The DMA blocks also achieve the flyby throughput which halves the number of clock cycles used in conventional DMA for data transfer. We also demonstrate the presence of parallel processing which contributes to improved system performance of the proposed architecture over commercial comparatives.


This paper analyzes the symbolic conformation of Rome and Romanism as important factors in the affirmation of the power of fascism, especially after the proclamation of the Empire in 1936. Within this framework, it explores the role of science in legitimizing the direct correlation of this symbolic universe with a praxis that exalted racial superiority inherited from Ancient Rome. It investigates the links between the eugenic discourse and the exercise of power behind the "biology policy", including fascist organicism and racism. In fact, Rome was the essence of an empire that was reborn after fifteen centuries and, between its historical legacy and the new scenarios created by fascism for disciplining the population, Romanism had to condense all of the merits of the race, encouraging military conquests and promoting responsibility for maintaining racial purity and avoiding "unwanted miscegenation" with conquered peoples. The idea of Romanism also encouraged a continuation of the persecution of Jews started in Germany. Hence, science ratified a widespread idea of the Romanization as a crusade to impose a force, exaggerated on racial grounds, which integrated confidence in environmental factors with a crude biological determinism.


This meeting was the result of a 2015 proposal to the Tromp Foundation (foundation for biometeorological research) within the International Society of Biometeorology (ISB) where opportunities were identified for gaining critical insight into the prospects of the incorporation of biometeorology into higher education. Specific topics were highlighted regarding how to effectively integrate biometeorological concepts, learning modules, and pedagogical techniques into undergraduate and graduate courses and curricula worldwide—and to learn the best practices by which to do so.


Background: More effective biomarkers for use intuberculosis prevention,diagnosis, and treatmentare urgently needed. The potential of miRNAsfor use as biomarkers of human disease has received much attention; however, suitable miRNA biomarkers for use in tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis and treatment have not yet been identified. Methods: We used human miRNA arrays to identify miRNAs in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) that are differentially expressed in subjects with active disease, those with latent TB infections (LTBI) and healthy individuals. The relationship between differentially-expressed miRNAs and mRNAs was examined using Tar- getScanS, Pic-Tar and miRanda. The expression profiles of selected miRNAs in subjects with active disease, those with LTBI and healthy individuals were validated by qRT-PCR. Results: miRNA array analysis of PBMCs from subjects with active disease, those with LTBI and healthy individuals identified 26 differentially-expressed miRNAs. Analysis of gene expression levels in THP-1 cells using mRNA arrays identified 87 differentially-expressed genes, 80 of which were up-regulated (ratio >2) and 7 of which were down-regulated (ratio In silico miRNA target prediction identified target mRNAs for 15of the 26 differentially-expressed miRNAs. Differentially-expressed miRNAs were identified for 90 of the 178 differentially-expressed genes. has-miR-21* and has-miR-26b had the highestnumbers of differentially-expressed target mRNAs.PCR validation of has-miR-21* and has-miR- 15b* demonstrated the fidelity of our microarray results. Conclusion: Whole-genome transcriptional profiling identified differentially-expressed mRNAs and miRNAs. Differentially-expressed miRNAs combined with predicted differentially-expressed mRNAs from the same whole-genome transcriptional profiling may be used as the new ways to better understand TB disease.This discovery of differentially-expressed miRNAsand mRNAs provides a resource for further studies on the role of miRNAs in tuberculosis.


Abstract Tissue factor (TF) is the core reagent in the prothrombin time (PT) assay. In this study, expression and α-factor mediated secretion of three forms of tissue factor (full-length TF (Full-TF), extracellular plus transmembrane domain (TED-TF), and only extracellular domain (ED-TF) were investigated in Pichia pastoris. The amino acid sequence of TF was obtained from the UniProt database, back-translated and codon-optimized for expression in Pichia pastoris. The Full-TF sequence was synthesized but the ED-TF, TED-TF coding fragments were extracted from the Full-TF by PCR. All the coding sequences were cloned into pPICZαA vector in-frame with the α-factor; and electroporated into KM71H. The culture supernatants and the cell lysates were analyzed using SDS-PAGE, dot-blotting, and Western-blotting for expression of TF. The Full-TF and TED-TF expression vector pPICZαA were successfully inserted into the KM71H, but the product was not detected in the SDS-PAGE analysis of the culture supernatant. However, ED-TF expression and secretion was verified by SDS-PAGE, dot blotting, and Western blotting. It seems that the TM domain in the Full-TF and TED-TF have an important role in impairing α-factor-mediated secretion of TF. Therefore, further investigation is necessary to overcome challenges of expressing Full-TF as a heterologous protein in P. pastoris.


The social work profession has been undergoing a period of change and has been encouraged to prove the effectiveness of clinical interventions by scientific evidence. This study was therefore designed to describe the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of a sample of Romanian social work professionals to evidence-based practice (EBP). 62 social workers were required to complete a 37-item closed ended questionnaire, which collected information on demographic data, practice settings, knowledge, attitudes and beliefs regarding EBP. Respondents agreed that the use of EBP was necessary and that the quality of patient care was better when evidence was used, with the younger physiotherapists at the fore front. About 50% of the respondents had access to online information; the majority of these respondents only had time to access the internet more at home rather than at work place. The primary barrier to implementing EBP was insufficient time. The respondents had a positive attitude towards EBP and were interested in improving the skills necessary to implement EBP. There was a need to increase the use of EBP in clinical practice and decision making among social workers. The respondents who were recently licensed and those with post-graduate education expressed more positive attitudes toward EBP than those who were not. Results also point out the issue of appreciative inquiry (AI) as a key-component in successful implementation of EBP in social work clinical settings.


Olive oil contains many different compounds which are responsible for its nutritional and sensorial value. However, some compounds present in olive oil at very low amounts have not yet been identified. Here, the detection of tetrahydrogeranylgeraniol and dihydrogeranylgeraniol, in both the total aliphatic alcohol and waxy fractions of extra virgin olive oil, is reported for the first time using GC and GC-MS methodologies. It was suggested that tetrahydrogeranylgeraniol and dihydrogeranylgeraniol do not originate from the hydrolysis of the chlorophyll but are present as diterpenic esters.


The study results of lung volume seasonal changes in skiers of mass categories in the conditions of European North are presented. Respiratory system study was carried out in September, January, April and July in the same group of 38 men skiers aged 18-22 (middle age: 19,6 (19,2; 21,7)), born and permanently residing in Arkhangelsk (64°32'n.l., 40°32'e.l.) and Severodvinsk (64°34'n.l., 39°51'e.l.). Survey sample had experience in cross-country skiing for 3-5 years and 1-2 senior degree. Spirograph «Dinamit-С» (Complex КМ-АР-01) was used for pulmonary function test. Lung volume was esteemed: respiratory volume (RV), inspiratory (IRV) and expiratory (ERV) reserve volume, inspiratoty capacity (IC), lung capacity (LC), as well as indices of lung ventilation: respiratory rate (RR) and respiratory minute volume (RMV). It is stated that skiers have seasonal functional alternation in the external respiration system. Thus, LC maximum was in winter, LC minimum - in spring, with difference 1,21 l. RV minimum was in summer, maximum - in winter, with difference 0,58 l. IRV was maximum in autumn, ERV and IC - in winter. Not only statistic lung volumes indices, but their nature of communication change in seasonal dynamic in surveyed sportsmen skiers. Percentage ratio calculation from RV to LC showed that breathing in rest conditions skiers use from 17 % in autumn and summer to 21-23,5 % LC in winter and spring. Comparison of the results obtained in skiers and people not engaged in sport activities revealed that seasonal changes of lung volume in skiers are more evident.


Cupper plays an important role in synthesis of hemoglobin and activity of respiratory chain enzymes. Cupper deficiency reduces production of red globule. Also cupper deficiency causes to abortion, weakening of body defensive system, skin and secondary infection. From other physiologic roles of cupper, it can be referred to production of blood, bone, formation of connective tissue, central nerves system and skin pigmentation. In this study in middle of each season 10 cc blood was drawn from caudal and neck vessels of apparently healthy sheep. After determination of the age of cow from dental formula in different areas and level of copper was determined by Randox kits by spectrophotometer method and finally the data of each season were compared. The mean of serum copper level according to ppm was 1.06± 0.04 in the spring and 1.48±0.06 in the summer and 0.88± 0.04 in the fall and 0.93±0.3 in the winter. There was a significant difference between serum copper in different seasons and copper level was low in the spring and fall due to increase of rainfall and consumption of low quality grass (p<0.01). The highest copper level was obtained in summer that this finding is consistent to studies in other areas. However our results indicated that the highest amount of copper was in the summer, and the lowest one was in fall, and in all areas copper deficiency normally were exist.


The growth of the Internet has been accompanied by the growth of Web services (e.g. e-commerce, e-health). This proliferation of Web services and the increasing regulatory and legal requirements for personal privacy have fueled the need to protect the personal privacy of Web service users. We advocate a privacy policy negotiation approach to protecting personal privacy (Yee and Korba, 2003; ). We provided semiautomated approaches for deriving personal privacy policies (Yee and Korba, 2004). However, it is evident that approaches are also needed to ensure that providers of Web services comply with the privacy policies of service users. In this paper, we examine privacy legislation to derive requirements for privacy policy compliance systems. We then propose an architecture for a privacy policy compliance system that satisfies the requirements and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of our proposed architecture.


Reactions of bifunctional perfluoroarylsilanes, p- and m-C6F4(SiMe3)2 as well as o-BrC6F4SiMe3, with substituted perfluoroarenes having electron-withdrawing groups were investigated using NMR and density functional theory calculation techniques. The C–F bond in perfluoroarenes was activated by the para-position of an electron-withdrawing group, such as CF3, C6F5, CN, and NO2. The reaction of C6F4(SiMe3)2 mainly occurred at the para-position of the perfluoroarenes and also occurred at the ortho-position of C6F5CN and C6F5NO2. Two equivalent reactions of perfluoroarenes with bifunctional p- and m-C6F4(SiMe3)2 provided disubstituted perfluoroarenes, along with a small amount of protonated monosubstituted perfluoroarenes. The reaction of o-BrC6F4SiMe3 with the CF3- and CN-substituted pentafluorobenzenes provided unexpected coupling products between C–Br and C–F bonds, in addition to the coupling products between C–SiMe3 and C–F bonds.


Transforming growth factor betas are a group of polypeptide growth factors that have a wide range of activities in the musculoskeletal and immunological systems. They are thought to play an important role in the development, induction, and repair of bone. This family of closely related genes includes the five known transforming growth factor betas and also the bone morphogenetic proteins. With the development of new techniques to analyze gene expression, the broad range of cellular activities regulated by transforming growth factor beta is beginning to be understood. The critical role that transforming growth factor beta plays in the regulation and stimulation of mesenchymal precursor cells for chondrocytes, osteoblasts, and osteoclasts is now emerging based on a series of in vitro studies. Although transforming growth factor betas appear to stimulate proliferation of precursor cells, it appears that transforming growth factor betas have an inhibitory effect on mature cell lines. In vivo studies indicate the presence of transforming growth factor beta protein and transforming growth factor beta gene expression in normal fracture healing, whereas exogenous transforming growth factor beta administration stimulates the recruitment and proliferation of osteoblasts in fracture healing. Although the cascade of events that leads to bone formation and repair is not completely understood, transforming growth factor beta's central role in the regulation of fracture healing is not disputed.


The objective of this study was to evaluate the variation in nutrient composition of cassava pulp from four different sources (starch manufacturers) in Thailand. Moisture content varied with drying process, being lowest in the oven-dried product and highest in the sample that was sun-dried. Gross energy content ranged between 16.2 and 16.84 MJ kgG1 while fat, crude protein starch contents were approximately 0.4-0.9, 2.0-4.0 and 37.0-75.0%, respectively. The sun-dried pulp from Chonburi contained the highest concentration of calcium, sodium, magnesium, iron and manganese. Phosphorus and potassium were 0.32-0.63 and 2.28-8.86 mg kgG1, respectively. The amino acid contents in cassava pulp were low, in line with the protein content (1.39-2.45%). Lysine, methionine and isoleucine were 0.82-1.24, 0.06-0.18 and 0.54 -1.40 mg gG1, respectively. Most of the Non-Starch Polysaccharides (NSP) were in insoluble forms (approximately 40-90 g kgG1) whereas soluble NSP was between 13.93 and 16.21 g kgG1. The main sugars in the insoluble NSP were xylose, galactose and mannose.


A nonlinear interior-point optimal power flow (OPF) method based on a current mismatch formulation in rectangular coordinates is proposed. In contrast to the classical way of solving the Newton equation that is involved, using a power mismatch formulation, the basic advantage of the proposed method is that, in the current mismatch formulation, some second derivatives become zero and some first derivatives become constant. In current mismatch formulation the elements Hij of the Hessian matrix are zero and the Jacobian elements Jii, Jij, Jji and Jjj are constant whereas in the power mismatch formulation for both cases those elements are functions of the voltage. These features make the computer code simpler. A theoretical comparison between the current mismatch formulation and the power mismatch formulation in rectangular coordinates is presented to point out their differences. Numerical examples on the IEEE 14-bus, IEEE 30-bus, IEEE 57-bus, IEEE 118-bus and IEEE 300-bus systems are presented to illustrate the nonlinear interior-point OPF method based on the current mismatch formulation. Preliminary results indicate that the two methods are comparable in terms of CPU time with the current mismatch formulation method having less computational complexity per iteration.


SUMMARY Post-mortem examination continues to play an important surveillance role in the bovine tuberculosis (bTB) eradication programme in Northern Ireland. It is estimated that 18–28% of new bTB herd breakdowns are disclosed by the detection of bTB lesions in animals routinely slaughtered. The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of different slaughterhouses in Northern Ireland in detecting bTB-lesioned animals at routine slaughter (LRS) and to apply the findings to maximize the sensitivity of bTB slaughterhouse surveillance. Univariate statistical analysis on cattle slaughtered in Northern Ireland during 2011–2013 revealed that the risk of LRS disclosure varied between slaughterhouses, ranging from 0·08% to 0·54%. Furthermore, the risk of confirmation of these LRS as bTB varied between slaughterhouses, ranging from 57·9% to 72·4%. Logistic regression modelling of selected risk factors found that the risk of LRS disclosure increased with age, and was higher in purchased animals, during winter months, in animals coming from high bTB incidence areas and in animals slaughtered from herds with a bTB restriction in the last 2–3 years. Adjusting for these selected factors, the risk of LRS disclosure and bTB confirmation changed very little from the univariable analysis, suggesting that differences in disclosure risks between slaughterhouses were likely to be due to factors related to the slaughterhouses, rather than to the risk status of the animals presented. Examination of procedures within these slaughterhouses is recommended to identify ways that could increase the sensitivity of their bTB surveillance.


Recently, patient safety has gained popularity in the nursing literature. While this topic is used extensively and has been analyzed thoroughly, some of the concepts upon which it relies, such as risk, have remained undertheorized. In fact, despite its considerable use, the term 'risk' has been largely assumed to be inherently neutral - meaning that its definition and discovery is seen as objective and impartial, and that risk avoidance is natural and logical. Such an oversight in evaluation requires that the concept of risk be thoroughly analyzed as it relates to nursing practices, particularly in relation to those practices surrounding bio-political nursing care, such as public health, as well as other more trendy nursing topics, such as patient safety. Thus, this paper applies the Evolutionary Model of concept analysis to explore 'risk', and expose it as one mechanism of maintaining prescribed/ proscribed social practices. Thereby, an analysis of risk results in the definitions and roles of the discipline and profession of nursing expanding from solely being dedicated to patient care, to include, in addition, its functions as a governmental body that unwittingly maintains hegemonic infrastructures.


This paper identifies the requirements for future surveillance and data communication for the next generation air transportation system. It explores how key capabilities, such as 4D trajectory negotiation, drive the system requirements and design. The paper explores the need for a secure, transactional data link along with the need to maintain compatibility with existing transport class, general aviation and military equipage. The proposed multilateration, ADS-B and data link concept provides a robust foundation for future capability while delivering tangible benefits today


It is pointed out that there are a number of incompatible energy balances used in the study of fracture and fracture toughening. The original Griffith theory is based on the second law of thermodynamics and in the framework of this law a cracked body is in unstable equilibrium when the appropriate thermodynamic potential reaches a maximum value. This energy balance allows the identification of both the thermodynamic driving forces for crack extension and the forces resisting crack growth. A second, and widely used, energy balance is based on the first law of thermodynamics which is simply one of energy conservation and can yield no information about crack instability without further assumptions. The two energy balances are considered in relation to the effect of energy dissipating processes on fracture. It is shown that a crack extension force cannot be defined by dividing the sum of all the energy increments arising from all the processes accompanying crack extension by the increment of crack area since this gives rise to paradoxical results. It is concluded that the energy changes brought about by processes such as plastic deformation which accompany crack extension should not be included in the definition of a crack extension force. A local energy balance is used to define a crack extension force which yields results identical to crack shielding calculations in fracture toughening studies. It is shown that the work done by energy dissipating processes per unit area of crack surface does not act to increase the crack resistance or the 'effective surface energy'. Energy dissipating processes have their effect on fracture by virtue of the fact that they alter the state of stress around the crack tip and thus reduce the thermodynamic driving force for crack growth.


In budding yeast, septin plays as a scaffold to recruits protein components and regulates crucial cellular events including bud site selection, bud morphogenesis, Cdc28 activation pathway, and cytokinesis. Phosphorylation of Bni5 isolated as a suppressor for septin defect is essential to Swe1-dependent regulation of bud morphogenesis and mitotic entry. The mechanism by which Bni5 regulates normal septin function is not completely understood. Here, we provide evidence that Bni5 phosphorylation is important for interaction with septin component Cdc11 and for timely delocalization from septin filament at late mitosis. Phosphorylation-deficient bni5-4A was synthetically lethal with hof1Delta. bni5-4A cells had defective structure of septin ring and connected cell morphology, indicative of defects in cytokinesis. Two-hybrid analysis revealed that bni5-4A has a defect in direct interaction with Cdc11 and Cdc12. GFP-tagged bni5-4A was normally localized at mother-bud neck of budded cells before middle of mitosis. In contrast, at large-budded telophase cells, bni5-4A-GFP was defective in localization and disappeared from the neck approximately 2 min earlier than that of wild type, as evidenced by time-lapse analysis. Therefore, earlier delocalization of bni5-4A from septin filament is consistent with phosphorylation-dependent interaction with the septin component. These results suggest that timely delocalization of Bni5 by phosphorylation is important for septin function and regulation of cytokinesis.


Summary Introduction Although the benefits of vaccinations have been extensively demonstrated, vaccination coverage remains unsatisfactory as result of many people's poor knowledge and negative perception of vaccination. We evaluated the impact of an education course on vaccinations in a population of pregnant women. Methods A total of 214 pregnant women were invited to participate in this project, which was undertaken at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department of Careggi University Hospital in Florence (Italy). Anonymous questionnaires were administered to women before and after the intervention. A descriptive and statistical analysis was carried out in order to compare the responses obtained before and after the intervention. Results Adherence to the initiative was good (98%): initially, the respondents were not hostile to vaccinations, though many (43%) were poorly or insufficiently informed. The educational intervention had a positive impact. After the intervention, the number of women who rated their level of knowledge of vaccinations as poor or insufficient had decreased by 30% and the number of "hesitant" respondents had decreased with respect to all aspects of the study, especially the decision to be vaccinated during pregnancy. Conclusions Hesitancy stems from a lack of accurate information. Healthcare professionals need to improve their communication skills. Appropriate education during pregnancy, when women are more receptive, may have a highly positive impact. These observations need to be considered in the planning of courses to prepare pregnant women for delivery also in other maternal-foetal centres in Italy.


Many patients fail to respond to one or more trials with a single antidepressant. In such cases polypharmacy is often necessary and beneficial, although there may be an increased risk of complications. Four case reports are presented of patients with refractory depression treated successfully with the combination of the tricyclic antidepressant nortriptyline and the newer agent bupropion.


The objective of this study is to assess the effects of a follower's conflict behavior (FCB) on work engagement (WE), as well as how transformational leadership (TL) governs the link between dimensions of FCB problem-solving behavior (PSB), dominating conflict behavior (DCB) with WE and moderating impact of prosocial motivation on the relationship between dimensions of followers' conflict behavior (PSB & DCB) with TL.
Data was collected using a quantitative technique and a cross-sectional survey method for hypothesis testing. The data was gathered from 307 individuals in Karachi's various service sectors. Smart Pls 4 was used to analyze the data in this investigation. The study indicated that followers' problem-solving behavior is positively related to work engagement but dominating conflict behavior found a negative impact on work engagement. Moreover, transformational leadership found no mediating impact between problem-solving behavior, dominating conflict behavior, and work engagement. Prosocial motivation shows the moderating impact on the relationship between followers' Problem-solving behavior. Dominating conflict behavior towards Transformational leadership leads to work engagement.


Spontaneous pneumothorax is a relatively common disease in the clinical practice setting and is generally recognized to occurs most often in slender young men. However, spontaneous pneumothorax that occurs bilaterally and simultaneously and progresses to tension pneumothorax has rarely been documented. Although spontaneous pneumothorax can be diagnosed based on the patient's medical history or information from ambulance personnel, it should be remembered that there are some rare cases of bilateral tension pneumothorax. Prompt and appropriate diagnosis and treatment are necessary for patients with such conditions, which may can be life-threatening.


Nine mid-Tertiary calc-alkaline stocks, a subvolcanic porphyry system, and coeval volcanic rocks are exposed in a 45-km-long east-trending belt across the central Wasatch Mountains, Utah. The intrusions vary systematically from west to east in texture, style of emplacement, extent of contact metamorphism, hydrothermal alteration, and mineralization. Pressure-depth estimates based on metamorphic mineral assemblages, stratigraphic reconstructions, and fluid inclusion data indicate a regular variation in paleodepths ranging from about 11 km on the west to less than 1 km on the east. These data indicate that the central Wasatch Mountains have been tilted down to the east about 20 degrees during the late Cenozoic. Fluid inclusion populations in igneous quartz also vary systematically with paleodepth; high-salinity (halite-saturated) fluid inclusions are present in the eastern porphyry stocks and in the upper parts of the Alta and Clayton Peak stocks in the center of the belt but are absent in the deeper parts of the Alta and Clayton Peak stocks and in the Little Cottonwood stock on the west side of the belt. In the Alta and Clayton Peak stocks, nearly planar high-paleosalinity horizons, presently dipping 15 degrees to 20 degrees east, separate rocks containing high-salinity fluid inclusions (above the high-paleosalinity horizon) from those lacking such fluid inclusions. Comparison of fluid-inclusion populations in igneous and vein quartz in the Alta and Clayton Peak stocks indicates that high-salinity fluids predated most of the vein-forming hydrothermal activity and provide the earliest record of fluids to circulate in these stocks. High-salinity fluids probably formed either by boiling of fluids released during the late stages of crystallization in the parts of the intrusions where pressure was less than about 1,300 bars or by exsolution of immiscible high-salinity brines from the crystallizing magmas. Most hydrothermal mineralization associated with the intrusions, including Ag-Pb-Zn ores in the Park City district, are associated spatially with parts of the intrusions where high-salinity fluids were present. The major exception is the porphyry molybdenum system in the eastern part of the Little Cottonwood stock, which probably was at too great a depth (approximately 7 km) to form high-salinity brines and is dominated by low-salinity CO 2 -rich fluids.


An experiment utilizing a double fragmentation reaction was performed to study isobaric analogue states in A similar to 50 nuclei approaching the proton drip-line. gamma-ray spectroscopy will be used to identify excited states in the neutron-deficient nuclei produced in the second fragmentation reaction. Excited state level schemes will be obtained, through comparison with states in their well-known mirror partners, along with information on Coulomb effects through measurements of the Coulomb energy differences between isobaric analogue excited states. The validity of isospin symmetry for nuclei approaching the proton drip-line can also be investigated and the information gained will aid in testing and improving fp shell model calculations. The analysis of the collected data is at a preliminary stage and current status of this work is reported.