Modern real-time embedded systems often involve computational-intensive data processing algorithms to meet their application requirements. As a result, there has been an increase in the use of multiprocessor platforms. The stream processing programming model aims to facilitate the construction of concurrent data processing programs to exploit the parallelism available on these architectures. However, most current stream processing frameworks or languages are not designed for use in real-time systems, let alone systems that might also have hard real-time control algorithms. This thesis contends that a generic architecture of a real-time stream processing infrastructure can be created to support predictable processing of both batched and live streaming data sources, and integrated with hard real-time control algorithms.

The thesis first reviews relevant stream processing techniques, and identifies the open issues. Then a real-time stream processing task model, and an architecture for supporting that model is proposed. An approach to the integration of stream processing tasks into a real-time environment that also has hard real-time components is presented. Data is processed in parallel using execution-time servers allocated to each core. An algorithm is presented for selecting the parameters of the servers that maximises their capacities (within an overall deadline) and ensures that hard real-time components remain schedulable. Response-time analysis is derived to guarantee that the real-time requirements (deadlines for batched data processing, and latency for each data item for live data) for the stream processing activity are met. A framework, called SPRY, is implemented to support the proposed real-time stream processing architecture. The framework supports fully-partitioned applications that are scheduled using fixed priority-based scheduling techniques. A case study based on a modified Generic Avionics Platform is given to demonstrate the overall approach. Finally, the evaluation shows that the presented approach provides a better schedulability than alternative approaches.


Introduction: A defect in any part of the body involving extensive soft tissue loss adversely affects the functional ability. With the advent of microvascular free tissue transfer in the reconstruction of large defects, the problem is going to be solved. However, studies are still going on about the different aspects of its success and failure. The present study is one such step to share our early experience. Methods: The study was carried out in the Department of Plastic Surgery, Chittagong Medical College Hospital from August 2009 to April 2010. We reviewed the operative experiences of free tissue transfer on 5 cases. Standard microvascular anastomotic techniques as well as peroperative & postoperative heparinization were maintained in all the cases. Follow up results were evaluated at varying periods following standard protocol. Results: Of the 5 cases reconstructed, 4(80%) had lesions in the maxillofacial region and 1(20%) in the ankle region. In terms of diseases they suffered, 3(60%) had squamous cell carcinoma and 2(40%) sustained mechanical injury. The outcome of treatment demonstrates that 3(60%) cases recovered uneventfully, one developed slight loss of sensation on the left thumb (20%) and another one failed to recover (20%). Conclusion: In this study successful microvascular free tissue transfer was possible in 80% cases. With the increase in experience we can expect increased success rate as well. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bdjps.v1i1.6485 Bangladesh Journal of Plastic Surgery (2010) Vol. 1 (1) pp.3-8


MOTIVATION
Image-based profiling combines high-throughput screening with multiparametric feature analysis to capture the effect of perturbations on biological systems. This technology has attracted increasing interest in the field of plant phenotyping, promising to accelerate the discovery of novel herbicides. However, the extraction of meaningful features from unlabeled plant images remains a big challenge.

RESULTS
We describe a novel data-driven approach to find feature representations from plant time-series images in a self-supervised manner by using time as a proxy for image similarity. In the spirit of transfer learning, we first apply an ImageNet-pretrained architecture as a base feature extractor. Then, we extend this architecture with a triplet network to refine and reduce the dimensionality of extracted features by ranking relative similarities between consecutive and non-consecutive time points. Without using any labels, we produce compact, organized representations of plant phenotypes and demonstrate their superior applicability to clustering, image retrieval and classification tasks. Besides time, our approach could be applied using other surrogate measures of phenotype similarity, thus providing a versatile method of general interest to the phenotypic profiling community.

AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION
Source code is provided in https://github.com/bayer-science-for-a-better-life/plant-triplet-net.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.


Recently, work in Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) group has targeted to focus on the development of the Next Generation Handheld (NGH) broadcast standard. It is highly probable that the new standard will be based on DVB-T2 standard. While DVB-T2 was already developed with portable receivers as one of the target user groups, there are still open issues which can be improved. In this paper authors, first, state requirements for optimal transmission of H.264/SVC services in mobile broadcasting scenario. Next, they analyze whether those requirements can be applied in DVB-T2 system and what kind of modification would be needed.


This work investigates energy transfers between electrons, vibrational and translational degrees of freedom and their effect on dissociation mechanisms in a N2 microwave plasma in the pressure range between 50 and 400 mbar. A novel self-consistent 0D plasma chemistry model describing vibrational kinetics via the vibrational energy equation and the Fokker–Planck approach is developed. It is used to simulate conditions achieved experimentally, providing good agreement with measured values of vibrational and gas temperature and electron density. Above 100 mbar, energy efficiency of dissociation increases with power density, due to the significant contribution of collisions between vibrationally excited N2 and electronically excited molecules. Energy transfer to vibrations is maximum at low power density and low pressure due to reduced gas heating.


A decision-feedback maximum a posteriori (MAP) receiver is proposed for code-division multiple-access channels with time-selective fading. The receiver consists of a sequence-matched filter and a MAP demodulator. Output samples (more than one per symbol) from the matched filter are fed into the MAP demodulator. The MAP demodulator exploits the channel memory by delaying the decision and using a sequence of observations. This receiver also rejects multiple-access interference and estimates channel fading coefficients implicitly to give good demodulation decisions. Moreover, computer simulations are performed to evaluate the bit-error rate performance of the receiver under various channel conditions.


TiO2:Au (Titanium dioxide conjugated Gold) crystal is a new materials was grown from aqueous solution. Solubility of the crystal has a positive temperature coefficient facilitating growth by slow cooling. Transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy are used to study the morphological studies of the crystals. Second harmonic generation (SHG) conversion efficiency of up to 2.56 times that of a phase matched conjugate crystal was achieved when the (TiO2:Au) crystal was rotated about c axis, by 9.1 in the clockwise direction. Furthermore, the method was tested by the artificial urine samples, indicating its greater performances for monitoring and diagnosis of urolithiasis in point-of-care applications.


Membrane ion permeability to sodium cations and phosphate anions, acid resistance and phospholipid composition were studied in erythrocytes frozen and thawed with 15% glycerol and 10% solution of polyethylene oxide 1500. An increase in membrane permeability to 22Na and HPO4(2-) against a background of reduction in phospholipids and total acid resistance was observed after rapid freezing-thawing and removing of cryoprotectants.


Survey results from IEA PIRLS (2011),OECD PISA (2012) and by further research conducted by the University of Salerno, have shown that the reading performance of Southern Italian students is below the national average. This worrying scenario led to a research initiative aimed at creating inclusive didactic methods and tools to aid in the development of reading competence on the basis of simplex didactics. This theoretical framework sustains our assumption that reading is an ability that does not form part of the natural development of the individual but needs to be learnt; hence is considered as an adaptive strategy (Berthoz, 2012). Therefore, simplex didactics, understood as a method based on the principles that guide the organisms' adaptation to the surrounding environment, was a natural choice. The research project is divided into four main phases: a preliminary phase, a design phase, field research, followed by the analysis and evaluation of results. It is important to highlight that the scope of this article is to present the initial phase of the research and is intended to: 1. provide an analysis of the context to assess the effective need to introduce a teaching method able to face the critical situation described; 2. explore possible mapping between reading competence and simplex didactics to provide teachers with initial didactic guidelines; 3. introduce the research perspectives upon which the project will be developed. Keywords reading competence; didactics; inclusion; simplexity; teacher education


As a the brench of dendrochronology, dendroclimatology assesses the climate in the past and uses tree rings and weather data, mainly precipitation and temperatures, to assess future climate change. The rate of publications on

dendroclimatology was slow during the first half of the 20th century, but it has grown exponentially since the 1960s. More than 3,000 of the 12,000 scientific publications now listed in the dendrochronology's online bibliography contain the word "climate".

The purpose of the paper is to review the history of dendro-climatology and its basic provisions. The American astronomer A.I. Douglas at the beginning of the 20th century developed the methods and principles that we use today.

The basic principles of dendrochronology are borrowed from general ecology: the uniformitarian principle, the principle of limiting factors, the principle of aggregate tree growth, the principle of ecological emplitude, the principle of crossdating, the principle of cite celection.

The basic methods in dendrochronology are: selection of research sites, selection of cores, cross-dating, indexation of tree-ring chronologies. Statistical methods for quantifying tree to climate ratios are briefly discussed, as well as correlation analysis and response function. Examples of dendroclimatological studies are given. F.G. Kolyshchuk proposed an original technique for the study of radial pine growth in the Carpathian Mountains. He found that during the last 200 - 230 years different species of pine (Pinus mughus Scop., Sembra L.) growing in the high mountains and inter-forested marshes (P. Silvestris L., P. Mughus Scop.) In the Ukrainian Carpathians it's revealed a similar growth rate in tree rings, which may be evidence of climatic conditioning of the dynamics of growth and the same response of these pine species to climate change. An example study of the response of pine radial growth to climate variations in the forest-steppe zone shows an increase in the sensitivity of stands due to climate warming.

Conclusions. Dendroclimatology is an interdisciplinary science that helps to determine how similar or not climate is today to the past and continues to play an extremely important role in the study of the response of forest ecosystems to climate change.


The expansion of angiosperm-dominated forests in the Cretaceous and early Cenozoic had a profound effect on terrestrial biota by creating novel ecological niches. The majority of modern fern lineages are hypothesized to have arisen in response to this expansion, particularly fern epiphytes that radiated into the canopy. Recent evidence, however, suggests that epiphytism does not correlate with increased diversification rates in ferns, calling into question the role of the canopy habitat in fern evolution. To understand the role of the canopy in structuring fern community diversity, we investigated functional traits of fern sporophytes and gametophytes across a broad phylogenetic sampling on the island of Moorea, French Polynesia, including > 120 species and representatives of multiple epiphytic radiations. While epiphytes showed convergence in small size and a higher frequency of non-cordate gametophytes, they showed greater functional diversity at the community level relative to terrestrial ferns. These results suggest previously overlooked functional diversity among fern epiphytes, and raise the hypothesis that while the angiosperm canopy acted as a complex filter that restricted plant size, it also facilitated diversification into finely partitioned niches. Characterizing these niche axes and adaptations of epiphytic ferns occupying them should be a priority for future pteridological research.


This study investigated the perception of upcycling for sensitive university students in regards to fashion trends. It was conducted through questionnaires delivered to male and female college students who majored in clothing related subjects from June 2012 to June 2013 in Gwangju. The contents for this research are general details, seriousness of environmental resources, awareness of upcycle, and purchasing intention for upcycling products. Most of the respondents said that recycling of resources is absolutely necessary due to the impact of environmental pollution and the consumption of resources. On the contrary, the experience of the respondents which purchased recycling products was low. The awareness of also was low, upcycling, internal upcycling brands and internal consumption groups, however, the decisions for subsequent purchases were positive. The reasons for the unsatisfactory of upcycling of products were due to quality and price. The reaction for many upcycle goods had the best question response rate in daily supplies part; subsequently, this study suggested 3 items, apparel products, fashion accessories, and daily supplies. In addition, a group which contains people who expend more for clothing had a lower awareness of upcycle and purchasing intention than other groups that contained some people who expend less. The results of the study can be used in data that recognize the necessary of upcycle education for university students, and develop educational programs. It can also encourage the purchase of upcycle products that reduce the consumption of resources.


1. The presence of two intense transitions in the optical absorption spectrum of the sulfide and 2-mercaptoethanol complexes of Cu(II) and Co(II)-substituted bovine carbonic anhydrase suggest that charge-transfer interactions between sulfur and an acceptor group of the protein play an important role in the stabilization of these complexes. 2. The spectra of Co(II) bovine carbonic anhydrase sulfides are very similar to the spectrum of Co(II) stellacyanin whilst the spectra of the corresponding Cu(II) enzymes are considerably different. A possible explanation is that Cu(II) is pentacoordinate in native stellacyanin unlike Cu(II) bovine carbonic anhydrase sulfides and Co(II) enzymes. Tetrahedral Co(II) stellacyanin is proposed as a model of the reduced copper site.


A play of joy and song of honour on the name day of Charles, AD 1701; How Estonia is connected with the beginning of the secularisation of name day celebration in Sweden The celebration of name days originates with the custom of commemoration of martyrs on the dates of their death, or birth into heaven. Later this custom was secularised, i.e. it became a celebration of the day of the year associated with a person's given name. In Sweden the process of name day secularisation started in the 17th century and exclusively involved the celebration of name days of members of the royal family, but later it was extended to any person's name day. The beginning of name day secularisation in Sweden in connected to Estonia by the performance of A Play of Joy and Song of Honour on the name day of King Charles XII of Sweden on 28 January 1701. The name day celebration took place in the winter quarters of the king in Laiuse, a rural community in eastern Estonia, and was organised by Count Magnus Stenbock who, by all probability, also is the author of the play. The play contains music, dance, and song with panegyrical praise of the king who successfully had defeated Czar Peter of Russia in the Battle of Narva on 19 November (30 November N.S.). It also includes some local, i.e. Estonian features: three Estonian glosses (kubias 'agent of a landlord', tidreken 'girl', and nisen 'breast') and a line in Estonian, which is analysed in the article.


We propose a method to combine a number of discrete-mode lasers to construct a complex network with a nontrivial topology. The topological properties of this network are only encoded in the selection of the active modes for each laser, while the optical fibre coupling between the lasers is trivial. In a very simplified model of this network, we establish the stability of the fixed point with all lasing modes switched on.


BACKGROUND
Little is known about how members of cancer-prone families think about genetic determinism and whether personal behavior can amplify or counter genetic risk for disease.

PURPOSE
Understanding how people think about the impact of personal behavior on disease risk may inform communications about genetic risks and their management.

METHODS
We assessed three sets of beliefs about the impact of behavior on genetic risk-interactive (unhealthful behaviors can amplify genetic risk), subtractive (healthful behaviors can reduce genetic risk), and deterministic (genes primarily determine health outcomes)-among 114 unaffected members of melanoma-prone families receiving genetic counseling (51.6% men, average age = 35.3). We examined whether these beliefs predicted changes in perceived control, motivation to manage melanoma risk, and sun-protection behavior one year later.

RESULTS
Participants strongly endorsed interactive and subtractive beliefs, but not deterministic beliefs. These beliefs generally did not change, even among those who received positive CDKN2A/p16 genetic test results conferring up to 76% lifetime melanoma risk. Controlling for age, sex, education, skin type, and genetic test result, interactive beliefs predicted sustained increases in perceptions of personal control, motivation to reduce sun exposure, use of multiple sun-protection methods, and reduction in objectively assessed tanning at the wrist one year following genetic counseling. Subtractive beliefs predicted increased personal control, motivation to manage risk, and sunscreen use, while deterministic beliefs were generally unrelated to outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS
Among people at highly elevated hereditary cancer risk, beliefs that unhealthful behaviors can amplify genetic risk seem to be especially motivating of behavioral risk-reduction efforts.


Controlled-release N (CRN) fertilizer is receiving interest as a possible nutrient best management practice (BMP) for Florida citrus production, but grower acceptance will be limited until cost decreases and familiarity with CRN materials increases. The objective of this study was to compare long-term citrus production resulting from N fertilizer programs containing isobutylidene diurea (IBDU) or methylene urea (MU) with a conventional water-soluble N fertilizer program to determine the magnitude of horticultural utility provided by CRN. We applied N to a newly planted 'Hamlin' orange (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) orchard using three sources (100% ammonium nitrate (AN); a 50/50 mixture of AN/IBDU; a 60/40 mixture of AN/MU) at four rates (0.25, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 or 1.5 times the recommended annual rate) in factorial combination, and continued for 7 years. During this period, AN was applied 31 times vs. about 15 times for CRN-con- taining fertilizers. We measured fruit yield, juice quality, and total soluble solids (TSS) yield in years 4 through 7 and found that they generally were not affected by N source, especially when year-to-year variation was taken into account. In year 7, fruit and TSS yields of well-fertilized trees reached 153 and 9.2 kg/tree, respectively. Maximum 4-year cumulative fruit and TSS yields (486 and 27.6 kg/tree, respectively) occurred at an N rate of 200 kg/ha. Maximum juice quality occurred at 180 kg N/ha. We feel the CRN materials tested could be used successfully in a nutritional BMP program that would maintain high yields while potentially decreasing N loss to the environment.


Recent long-term static-fatigue data at 33°C and 90% relative humidity by Wang and Zupko1 for an ultraviolet-cured epoxyacrylate coating on fused-silica fibers showed a hitherto unobserved change in slope from -0.05 at times to failure 104 min. These authors were unable to state whether this phenomenon is an inherent fatigue characteristic of the glass or a result of an interaction of the glass and coating material.


This paper studies the causes and effects of portfolio flows in Malaysia. We use Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) and Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) models to analyse the interactions among portfolio flows, global and domestic macro and financial variables within a common empirical framework. Three findings emerge: First, the SVAR estimations show that global and domestic factors play transitory roles in driving Malaysia's net portfolio flows. A subsample analysis from the ARDL model highlights that domestic factors play an increasingly important role in attracting portfolio inflows as Malaysia liberalised its exchange rate regime and capital flow restrictions. Second, higher net portfolio flows lead to exchange rate appreciation, higher equity prices and credit expansion. The effects are visible in the exchange rate, followed by equity prices and credit. Third, in the transmission of higher portfolio flows to growth, the positive effects from higher equity prices and credit are partially offset by the dampening effect from the appreciating exchange rate on output. While the contribution of portfolio flow's effects on output variance is low, the impulse responses of output does change to portfolio flow shocks, suggesting that portfolio flows are tail risks to growth and that the risks magnify when the flows are large and volatile.


The study of Arab political culture has been developed extensively in recent times in an attempt to test whether the lack of democracy in the Arab world can be ascribed to its political culture, in which religion plays a major role. There are divergent conclusions with regards to this question. In this article, using quantitative techniques, we have analyzed satisfaction with the way democracy is implemented in Algeria at the elite and general public levels. More specifically, we have looked at whether the demand for more religious influence within the state affects levels of satisfaction with the way democracy is being implemented within Algeria. Our results indicate that the low level of satisfaction with the way democracy is implemented in Algeria amongst elites and the public is not driven by political culture or religion specifically – but by a perception of a lack of respect for human rights in the country and, in the case of the general public, also by a lack of confidence in the Algerian state.


Abstract Hopkins, H.C.F. & Y. Pillon (2020). Virotia azurea (Proteaceae: Macadamieae), a striking new species endemic to New Caledonia and notes on V. francii and V. leptophylla. In English, English and French abstracts. Candollea 75: 89–98. Virotia azurea H.C. Hopkins & Pillon (Proteaceae), the seventh species in the endemic genus Virotia L.A.S. Johnson & B.G. Briggs from New Caledonia is described and illustrated. A distribution map and preliminary conservation assessment are provided. This new species occurs principally on non-ultramafic substrates in a restricted area of central Grande Terre. It has relatively long narrow leaves, often with distally undulate-sinuate or bluntly toothed margins and a pointed apex, plus blue flowers and laterally flattened, markedly beaked fruits containing seeds with blue to mauve cotyledons. Its characters are compared with those of other species of Virotia and a key to species is provided. A handful of specimens previously identified as Virotia francii (Guillaumin) P.H. Weston & A.R. Mast are determinated mostly as Virotia leptophylla (Guillaumin) L.A.S. Johnson & B.G. Briggs and other species; the former is now confined to ultramafic substrates in southern Grande Terre and the latter is more widespread, principally occurring on non-ultramafic substrates though occasionally found on ultramafic ones in the south of the island as well.


In this letter, a 2 × 2 pyramidal horn antenna array is presented to accomplish linear and circular polarizations with suppressed grating lobes using removable grid cover structures (GCSs) mounted on the top of the antenna array. The spacing between the unit cells becomes farther than a wavelength due to electrically large pyramidal horns and the feeding network. The proposed GCSs, called linear and circular GCS, in this arrangement act as a spacing reducer between the apertures of the horn antennas without the need of physical change of the spacings. Thereby, the desired array factor with newly created apertures can be realized. Although using both GCSs benefit to suppress the highest‐level grating lobe, the circular GCS also converts the polarization to circular. The feeding network, which also prevents a formal array factor due to its massive structure, is made up of equal power dividers with T‐junction waveguides. The proposed horn arrays, the feeding network, and both GCSs are fabricated, and the total antenna is measured to validate the simulation results. A good agreement is achieved between simulations and measurements.


The impact of different variability sources on the transistor performance increases as devices are scaled-down, being the metal grain granularity (MGG) and the line edge roughness (LER) some of the major contributors to this increase. Variability studies require the simulation of large samples of different device configurations to have statistical significance, increasing the computational cost. A novel Pelgrom-based predictive (PBP) model that estimates the impact of MGG and LER through the study of the threshold voltage standard deviation <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\left(\sigma V_{T h}\right)$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, is proposed. This technique is computationally efficient since once the threshold voltage mismatch is calculated, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sigma V_{T h}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> can be predicted for different gate lengths <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\left(L_{g}\right)$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, cross-sections, and intrinsic variability parameters, without further simulations. The validity of the PBP model is demonstrated for three state-of-the-art architectures (FinFETs, nanowire FETs, and nanosheet FETs) with different <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L_{g}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, cross-sections, and drain biases <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\left(V_{D}\right)$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. The relative errors between the predicted and simulated data are lower than 10%, in the 92% of the cases.


Abstract Background: In low-risk prostate cancer, the target volume for radiotherapy is the prostate gland only and prostate brachytherapy with an I-125 implant provides the most conformal radiotherapy. Methods: Patients underwent a pre-implant prostate volume study from which a treatment plan was developed 2 weeks prior to implant. A dosimetric study was performed 1 month following the implant. The prescription dose was 145 Gy with the 95% isodose line covering the entire target volume. The maximal dose to the urethra was less than 210 Gy. Follow-up included serum PSA and IPSS evaluation every 3 months during the first year and then every 6 months beginning in the second year. Results: During December 2000–March 2009, 181 patients with early prostate cancer underwent I-125 implant. The median post-implant PSA value of the entire cohort was 0.7 ng/ml. No patient developed clinical failure. In the follow-up, nine patients had biochemical failure according to the RTOG-ASTRO Phoenix definition (Nadir + 2.0 ng/ml). Of these, one patient refused hormonal therapy desiring to preserve sexual potency, and eight patients received hormonal therapy with a decreased serum PSA to 0.0 ng/ml. The treatment side effects were primarily urinary disturbances. Conclusion: An I-125 implant is an effective and well-tolerated treatment and should be recommended for patients with low-risk prostate cancer.


Broadcasting concerns the dissemination of a message originating at one node of a network to all other nodes. This task is accomplished by placing a series of calls over the communication lines of the network between neighboring nodes, where each call requires a unit of time and a call can involve only two nodes. We show that for bounded-degree networks determining the minimum broadcast time from an originating node remains NP-complete.


The morphological effects of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) on its p-doping kinetics with 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (F4-TCNQ) in solution are studied using optical absorption spectroscopy and stopped-flow technique. Two morphological forms, solubilized (s-P3HT) and nanowhiskers (nw-P3HT), are investigated. Both P3HT solubilized and aggregated solutions show similar characteristic near-IR absorption bands for integer charge transfer products with F4-TCNQ. Kinetic analysis on p-doping of s-P3HT with F4-TCNQ indicates that the doping reaction proceeds with a single reaction mechanism that is first order in s-P3HT. The doping kinetics of P3HT aggregate solution shows two distinctive reaction mechanisms. The slow mechanism has a reaction rate constant similar to that of solubilized P3HT solution, so it likely results from s-P3HT components that are present in the aggregate solution. The fast one is assigned to the nw-P3HT component, probably due to more efficient charge delocalization in the aggregated P3HT nanostructures. Additionally, the kinetic trends of the p-doping reactions are better fitted with the consideration of a Gaussian-like distribution of reactivities from P3HT, matching the complexity of polymeric systems originating from molecular weight and morphology variations. This study highlights the importance of considering different morphological forms of conjugated polymers on their charge-transfer reaction kinetics. The knowledge gained here should be fundamentally and practically important for future chemical doping applications in organic electronic device fabrications.


Gries H, Mützel W. Effect of structure on biological tolerance: comparison of triiodobenzene derivatives. Invest Radiol 1988;23 (Suppl 1):S97‐S100. Synthesis of basic structures of contrast media is reviewed. Biological tolerance of ionic and nonionic derivatives of triiodobenzene are related to the degree of withdrawal of electrons from their aromatic systems.


The East African region, in which Ethiopia is located, is commonly known as the Horn of Africa. It is branded for its economic underdevelopment and political instability. The region is economically poor, politically unstable and very volatile security wise. In lieu of this, it is prudent to describe the region as one that represents one of the most complex sub-regions in Africa. To resolve these and associated problems, states of the region are contributing a lot. interallia,, Ethiopia is striving level best possible individually and collectively via the regional framework. However, its role has been much challenged for its weak economy. Given this as it may, it's now in a good track record of fast economic growth that sets the foundation for its transformation plan to get realized in the near future. In lieu of this, if its objectives stated under the second growth and transformation plan (GTPII) are achieved, it will add a momentum in Ethiopia's regional role. But what is to be contributed? How? In which and what manner can the state is expected to play to the best of the regional scenario, are some of the very fundamental questions that the research is going to address throughout the research process. To address these questions and arrive at its research objective, the researchers have employed a proper methodological approach in terms of crafting theoretical paradigms, research design, techniques of data collection and analysis. Within this theoretical approach, the study has gleaned secondary data sources, and analytically examine them in a triangulated research design (descriptive, evaluative and document analysis). Hence, the study has examined Ethiopia's trend in a broader manner and explored viable prospects in redressing the Horn's much trouble pertaining to the nexus of security-peace-development challenges. According to the findings of the study, thus, Ethiopia will have the greatest propensity to play as a regional hegemony by complementing its missed link. Among others, it will create a new window of opportunity for increased interstate economic relations and viable conflict resolution approaches.

 Key words: Regional cooperation, horn of Africa, Ethiopia, hegemony.


BACKGROUND
Exposure to latex gloves and glove powder makes health care workers (HCWs) particularly susceptible to developing an allergy to latex.

AIMS
To assess the impact on the quality of life (QOL) of HCWs who are allergic to latex products before removal from latex exposure and after removal from exposure.

METHODS
We studied 39 latex allergic HCWs from the Health & Safety Executive south area. Twenty-nine attended for an assessment with the occupational physician and were asked to fill out a questionnaire. Spirometry, immunoglobulin E levels and latex radioallergosorbent test levels were measured.

RESULTS
In total, 29/39 (74%) of patients responded. All of the participants had a type 1 allergy to latex. All individuals reported a significant improvement of symptoms once latex was removed from their working environment. Of those that reported skin complaints, 83% reported that their skin no longer had an impact on their QOL once latex was removed. Over 90% (n = 26) of all participants stated that their eye/nose symptoms had no longer an impact on their QOL and 86% (n = 25) of all participants stated that their respiratory symptoms had no impact on their QOL following the removal of latex from their working environment. Overall, 45% of the respondents had changed jobs: 61% of this group changed to a completely nonclinical post.

CONCLUSIONS
On average, 86% of latex allergic HCWs reported that their QOL had improved significantly since their removal from latex. In employees who are latex allergic/sensitized, taking latex avoidance measures results in cessation or diminution of symptoms.


Academic self-concept is an important component of undergraduate student success. Academic self-concept refers to an individual's perception about their academic aptitude in a particular academic field. The purpose of this science education research study was to examine the effects of online and traditional (face-to-face) courses on academic self-concept. Undergraduate students enrolled in online and traditional science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses were administered the academic self-concept scale (ASCS). The ASCS measures students' perceptions of their capacity to attain academic success. Research findings indicate that online students were more likely to report a higher academic self-concept than traditional students enrolled in STEM courses. Future research studies will reveal the factors that underpin academic self-concept for students enrolled in STEM courses. Additional research on the mediators that influence positive academic self-concept are necessary to further inform online and traditional pedagogical strategies.


We study how the financial literature has evolved in scale, research team composition, and article topicality across 32 finance-focused academic journals from 1992 to 2021. We document that the field has vastly expanded regarding outlets and published articles. Teams have become larger, and the proportion of women participating in research has increased significantly. Using the Structural Topic Model, we identify 45 topics discussed in the literature. We investigate the topic coverage of individual journals and can identify highly specialized and generalist outlets, but our analyses reveal that most journals have covered more topics over time, thus becoming more generalist. Finally, we find that articles with at least one woman author focus more on topics related to social and governance aspects of corporate finance. We also find that teams with at least one top-tier institution scholar tend to focus more on theoretical aspects of finance.


This study was designed to analyze the cross-sectional comparison of the p16INK4A and Ki-67 immunocytochemical expression in negative and equivocal (atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US)) liquid-based cytology (LBC) samples testing positive for high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types with HC2 assay or polymerase-chain reaction (PCR). A series of 199 consecutive LBC specimens derived from the same number of women participating in the ongoing Latin American Screening Study at Leonor Mendes de Barros Hospital, São Paulo, were analyzed using immunocytochemistry for expression of p16INK4A and Ki-67 in negative and equivocal LBC samples testing positive for high-risk HPV types with hybrid capture II test (HC2) or PCR. All patients with at least one test positive (cytology, PCR, and/or HC2) were followed each 6 months for 3 years. The follow-up procedure consisted of visual examination, colposcopic inspection, cytology, and HC2 assay. Among the negative cytologic samples, 101 were HPV-positive and 55 HPV-negative. Of the HPV-positive group, 59 of 101 cases (58.4%) were positive for both p16 and Ki67 immunostaining, and 17 of 101 (16.8%) were negative for both. The proportion of Ki-67-positivity increased almost in parallel with the increasing grade of p16-positivity (p = 0.0001 for linear trend). In the HPV-negative group, both markers were negative in 41 of 55 cases (74.5%), and no statistical relationship was observed between the two markers (Pearson, p = 0.595). HPV-positive ASC-US samples demonstrated a simultaneous positive immunoreaction for p16 and Ki67 in 11 of 16 cases (68.7%), whereas 3 (18.7%) were concurrently negative. The relationship between the two markers was of borderline significance (Pearson, p = 0.053), but no linear relationship was found between the graded p16 and Ki-67 expression (p = 0.065 for linear trend). In the HPV-negative ASC-US group, there was no statistical association between the graded p16 and Ki-67 positivity (Pearson, p = 0.281). After 36 months of follow-up of the ASC-US patients, 6 women still displayed ASC-US smear, of which 4 of 6 were HPV-positive and expressed both p16 and Ki-67 markers. Two of 43 ASC-US smears had high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions diagnosed (4.6%), and 1 had low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (2.3%). All of those were positive for HPV, p16 and Ki-67. Patients with ASC-US diagnosis and positive high-risk HPV status and positive for p16INK4A Ki67 should be carefully observed to exclude occurrence of a squamous intraepithelial lesion. The combination of these two markers can be a useful implement for management of women with equivocal cytology.


Hexavalent chromium is a known inducer of DNA-protein cross-links (DPCs) that contribute to repression of inducible genes and genotoxicity of this metal. Lymphocytic DPCs have also shown potential utility as biomarkers of human exposure to Cr(VI). Here, we examined the mechanism of DPC formation by Cr(VI) and the impact of its main cellular reducers. In vitro reactions of Cr(VI) with one-electron reducing thiols (glutathione and cysteine) or two-electron donating ascorbate were all efficient at DPC production, indicating a dispensable role of Cr(V). No Cr(VI) reducer was able to generate DPC in the presence of Cr(III)-chelating EDTA or phosphate. A critical role of Cr(III) in DNA-protein linkages was further confirmed by dissociation of Cr(VI)-induced DPC by phosphate. EDTA was very inefficient in DPC dissociation, indicating its poor suitability for testing of Cr(III)-mediated bridging and reversal of complex DPC. Reactions containing only one Cr-modified component (protein or DNA) showed that Cr(III)-DNA adduction was the initial step in DPC formation. Cross-linking proceeded slowly after the rapid formation of Cr-DNA adducts, indicating that protein conjugation was the rate-limiting step in DPC generation. Experiments with depletion of glutathione and restoration of ascorbate levels in human lung A549 cells showed that high cellular reducing capacity promotes DPC yield. Overall, our data provide evidence for a three-step cross-linking mechanism involving (i) reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III), (ii) Cr(III)-DNA binding, and (iii) protein capture by DNA-bound Cr(III) generating protein-Cr(III)-DNA cross-links.


Existing medical image super-resolution methods rely on pairs of low- and high- resolution images to learn a mapping in a fully supervised manner. However, such image pairs are often not available in clinical practice. In this paper, we address super resolution problem in a real-world scenario using unpaired data and synthesize linearly \textbf{eight times} higher resolved Micro-CT images of temporal bone structure, which is embedded in the inner ear. We explore cycle-consistency generative adversarial networks for super-resolution task and equip the translation approach with Bayesian inference. We further introduce \emph{Hu Moment} the evaluation metric to quantify the structure of the temporal bone. We evaluate our method on a public inner ear CT dataset and have seen both visual and quantitative improvement over state-of-the-art deep-learning based methods. In addition, we perform a multi-rater visual evaluation experiment and find that trained experts consistently rate the proposed method highest quality scores among all methods. Implementing our approach as an end-to-end learning task, we are able to quantify uncertainty in the unpaired translation tasks and find that the uncertainty mask can provide structural information of the temporal bone.


The purpose of this essay is to outline re-occurring archetypes that are found within the confines of "Black Sitcoms" . This essay demonstrates how these archetypes perpetuate negative stereotypes about teenage, African American males, under the guise of comedy and entertainment. This is accomplished by introducing the two most utilized archetypes that represent the black, teenaged, male which are prevalent in black sitcoms, along with examples of said archetypes. In doing so, this article also demonstrates a dichotomy between these two character types, in an attempt to highlight disturbing acceptance of certain media narratives about the African American community. Furthermore, explanations are provided as to how each archetype preys upon negative stereotypes and sociological taboos within the African American community, which results in negative impacts on the social consciousness of the African American community. What is more, this essay examines the negative ideology and subsequent hegemony that these television shows produce. Finally, I conclude with my own thoughts, regarding these issues. Keywords:   African American, situational comedies, archetype, ideology, hegemony, stereotypes


Outreach of microfinance institutions has been saddled with the definition of who is poor specifically within the context of an individual's capability to access financial and non-financial services. This paper presents empirical results of the structure of the microfinance market in Ghana as per institutions and defines the market target of each of the institutions based on the socio-economic characteristics of the clients Using the Microfinance Poverty Assessment Tool, data on 2704 households comprising of 1104 and 1600 non-clients and clients respectively, are collected to compute the household level relative poverty scores. The computed scores unraveled the depth of outreach of each microfinance institution. Five broad categories of microfinance institutions where identified namely; Rural and Community Banks, Financial Non-Governmental Organizations, Savings and Loans Companies, Susu Associations and Collectors and Credit Unions. The study results showed that the rural and community banks and the financial NGOs reached out to all categories of clients ranging from the extremely poor in the lowest wealth quintile to the poor in the highest quintile. At the other end, savings and loans companies and susu collectors reached clients within the above average and highest quintiles, while credit unions reached out to clients from the average to the highest quintile. Among factors alluding to the different market niches include; source of funds, strategies for outreach and mission of the institution. The derived policy implication is to harness the relative market strengths of the institutions and design specific products to deepen each institutions capability.


The majority of current smart health applications are deployed on a smartphone paired with a smartwatch. The phone is used as the computation platform or the gateway for connecting to the cloud while the watch is used mainly as the data sensing device. In the case of fall detection applications for older adults, this kind of setup is not very practical since it requires users to always keep their phones in proximity while doing the daily chores. When a person falls, in a moment of panic, it might be difficult to locate the phone in order to interact with the Fall Detection App for the purpose of indicating whether they are fine or need help. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of running a real-time personalized deep-learning-based fall detection system on a smartwatch device using a collaborative edge-cloud framework. In particular, we present the software architecture we used for the collaborative framework, demonstrate how we automate the fall detection pipeline, design an appropriate UI on the small screen of the watch, and implement strategies for the continuous data collection and automation of the personalization process with the limited computational and storage resources of a smartwatch. We also present the usability of such a system with nine real-world older adult participants.


It is found that the normal mode amplitude time series consist of multi-frequency component by analyzing the structure of acoustical signal when internal wave propagation exists, and each frequency is the product of internal wave speed and the normal mode wave number difference between acoustical receivers and source. The amplitude of each component is proportional to the acoustic mode coupling coefficient. The structure of the normal mode coefficient time series is still complex even the internal waves do not reshape when they propagate from the acoustical receivers to the source. A method is presented to compute the AMCCM by the feature of IWs' motion and the relation between the AMCCM and the acoustical signal fluctuation amplitude. The IWs data measured in the 2001 Asia experiment (ASIAEX2001) is used to check the accuracy of this method by numerical simulation. It is show that the method is accurate to compute the AMCCM.


High demands for new drug development and advances in robotic technologies have led to automation of compound screening and biological culturing processes in life sciences. Nevertheless, not only cognitive skills during planning, programming, supervision, and evaluation are mandatory but also human manual skills are still essential for system performance in highly automated life science laboratories. Aim of this study was to assess the physiological workload response during simulated cell culturing tasks.20 healthy volunteers underwent a standardized test protocol including typical cell laboratory tasks. Cardio-respiratory parameters including heart rate (HR), breathing frequency, minute ventilation, oxygen uptake (VO2) and blood pressure (DBP, SBP) were measured and analyzed.There were strong effects of task condition on blood pressure (SBP: F(10,210)=30.8, p<0.001, η² = .618; DBP: F(10,210)=17.9, p=.000, η²= .485), HR (F(10,210)=34.5, p<0.001; η²= .793) and VO2 (F(10,210)=253.5, p<0.001; η²= .969). Especially during material transportation including static work components, SBP and DBP increased significantly, while HR and VO2 were significantly elevated during dynamic transportation tasks.We found significant increases of physiological activation during typical tasks in a modern life science laboratory. During transportation tasks including stepping stairs, average HR reached cut-offs for sustained effort (120 bpm), during all other tasks HR was well below these cut-offs. Episodes of static muscular work during charging and transportation where associated with blood pressure elevations. However, as these muscular loads occur only intermittent during a work shift these elevations seem to be uncritical. Nevertheless, individual assessment is advised for persons at risk.


All animals, whether vertebrate or invertebrate, must be capable of reacting to acute stressors, such as escaping from predators, and most do so with a suite of transient physiological changes that temporarily enhance survival. Some of these changes include mobilization of immune cells and increased cardiac output. A small but growing number of studies have begun to show that certain parasites appear capable of modifying such responses. We addressed this topic using a natural host and parasite system, that is, a nematode (Chondronema passali) that parasitizes horned passalus beetles, Odontotaenius disjunctus (family Passalidae), of the eastern United States. With a series of experiments, we sought to determine whether this parasite affects (1) the immune reaction to stress, (2) the output of stress-induced alarm calls, or (3) the increase in heart rate that occurs in response to acute stressors, with the stressors being mechanical or thermal. Results showed that hemocyte density increased after both stressors in nonparasitized beetles but did not increase in parasitized beetles. While mobilization of immune cells would enhance host immunity during stress, this would also be damaging to the nematode, so this scenario appears to benefit the parasite. We found no evidence that the nematode suppresses the overall reaction to stress (or prevents stress from occurring), since parasitized beetles did not differ from nonparasitized ones in alarm call rates or in heart beat frequency after exposure to mechanical stressors. Suppression of the host's normal immune reaction to stressful stimuli could translate to delayed or even reduced wound healing or pathogen resistance during these events. This project is a rare demonstration of parasite manipulation of host immune response to acute stress and should stimulate further investigations into the interactive nature of stress and parasites.


Abstract Background Psychotropic drugs are the cornerstone of schizophrenia treatment, often requiring lifelong treatment. Data on pharmacotherapy in inpatient settings are lacking. Methods Prescription data of schizophrenic inpatients within the time period 2000–2015 were obtained from the database of the Drug Safety Program in Psychiatry (AMSP). Data were collected at 2 index dates per year; the prescription patterns and changes over time were analyzed. Results Among 30 908 inpatients (mean age 41.6 years, 57.8% males), the drug classes administered most often were antipsychotics (94.8%), tranquilizers (32%), antidepressants (16.5%), antiparkinsonians (16%), anticonvulsants (14.1%), hypnotics (8.1%), and lithium (2.1%). The use of second-generation antipsychotics significantly increased from 62.8% in 2000 to 88.9% in 2015 (P < .001), whereas the prescription of first-generation antipsychotics decreased from 46.6% in 2000 to 24.7% in 2015 (P < .001). The administration of long-acting injectable antipsychotics decreased from 15.2% in 2000 to 11.7% in 2015 (P = .006). Clopazine was the most often used antipsychotic, having been used for 21.3% of all patients. Polypharmacy rates (≥5 drugs) increased from 19% in 2000 to 26.5% in 2015. Psychiatric polypharmacy (≥3 psychotropic drugs) was present in 44.7% of patients. Conclusions Combinations of antipsychotics and augmentation therapies with other drug classes are frequently prescribed for schizophrenic patients. Though treatment resistance and unsatisfactory functional outcomes reflect clinical necessity, further prospective studies are needed on real-world prescription patterns in schizophrenia to evaluate the efficacy and safety of this common practice.


We present a revised color-magnitude diagram of NGC 6624, a globular cluster coincident with the bursting X-ray source 3U 1820-30. The horizontal branch lies at V=16.05 mag; with the adopted reddening of 0.25 mag, we determine a revised distance of 8.3 +- 1.2 kpc. The (m/H) derived from the slope of the giant branch is --0.7, which makes NGC 6624 one of the more metal-rich clusters in the Galaxy. The one RR Lyrae variable star in the area may be a field star; a red variable near the cluster is probably a member


The conventional patch-clamp technique requires well-trained experimenter. Few commercial automated patch-clamp systems, designed for drug development, are better suited for large-scale research then for standard electrophysiological experiments. Here we describe a state machine for automated recognition of recording states of the patch-clamp experiment. The principle of the state machine is based on evaluation of the charge carried by membrane current during specific time segments in responses to square wave voltage stimulation. The state machine may serve for generating various sound alerts, signals for automated control of other devices, assistance in micromanipulation, internal pipette pressure control, and holding potential adjustments. Algorithm of the state machine, designed to cover wide variety of cell types, was successfully tested on rat ventricular myocytes.


The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) as a substitute for manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) in complete decongestive therapy (CDT) for treatment of advanced stages of breast cancer-related lymphedema. In this randomized, single-blind, controlled study, 46 patients with breast cancer-related lymphedema were divided into 2 groups. Both MLD with compression bandage (CB) group (n=24) and IPC with CB group (n=22) received treatment 3 days a week for 5 weeks. Home exercise program was also given to all patients. At the end of the 5th week, patients were treated with a daily 23-hour compression garment and home exercise routines. Assessments were taken at baseline, the fifth week, and the third month. Arm circumference was measured at 5 different areas, shoulder range of motion (ROM) was evaluated with a goniometer, pain, and tightness, and heaviness sensations were assessed with visual analog scale. Both groups had similar demographic and clinical characteristics (p<0.05). There were no significant differences between groups and both groups showed significant improvement (p<0.05) in the five measurement levels of the arm circumference at the fifth week and third month. Similarly, shoulder ROM, pain, tightness, and heaviness sensations improved in both groups (p<0.05). Both MLD and IPC as a component of CDT were found successful at 5 weeks and 3 months without superiority to each other.


Cationic blue‐emitting complexes with (2,4‐difluoro)phenylpyridine and different 1,2,3‐triazole ligands are synthesized with different counterions. The influence of the substituents on the triazole ligand is investigated as well as the influence of the counterions. The substituents do not change the emission energy but, in some cases, slightly modify the excited‐state lifetimes and the emission quantum yields. The excited‐state lifetimes, in apolar solvents, are slightly dependent on the nature of the counterion. A crystal structure of one of the compounds confirms the geometry and symmetry postulated on the basis of the other spectroscopic data. Light‐emitting electrochemical cell devices are prepared and the recorded emission is the bluest with the fastest response time ever reported for iridium complexes.


JikesNODE is an effort to create a Java operating system integrating the open source projects of the Jikes Research Virtual Machine (RVM) and the Java New Operating System Design Effort (JNODE), respectively a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and Java operating system. PearColator is a novel use of the Jikes RVM to execute not its intended Java bytecodes, but instead PowerPC binaries. Our endeavours are lead by the desire for an architecture neutral system that exposes new opportunities for dynamic optimisations. This paper presents the structure of our system, JikesNODE and its bootstrapping process, and the PearColator legacy code execution environment.


Background: The importance of medication reconciliation and the pharmacist's role within the interdisciplinary team at the point of transition to home hospice is understudied. A transitions of care pilot initiative was developed to streamline the transition for patients at end of life from inpatient cancer center care to home hospice. The initiative consisted of using a hospice discharge checklist, pharmacist-led discharge medication reconciliation in consultation with the primary team responsible for inpatient care, review of discharge prescriptions, and facilitation of bedside delivery of discharge medications. Methods: This was a single-center, prospective, pilot initiative. The objectives of this study were to characterize pharmacist interventions at the time of transition, to assess changes in hospice organizations' perceptions of discharge readiness, and to evaluate differences in representation rates with the implementation of the pilot discharge process. Results: Fifteen patients in the preimplementation period and 12 patients in the postimplementation period were included. One hundred eleven pharmacist interventions were captured, an average of 9.3 interventions per patient, with an acceptance rate of 82.9% by providers. There was a statistically significant (P = .035) improvement in hospice organizations' perceptions of discharge readiness. There was no difference in 30-day representation rates postdischarge (P = 1). Conclusion: This well-received pilot initiative demonstrated an improvement in local hospice's perception of patient readiness for discharge and a high percentage of accepted pharmacist interventions during discharge medication reconciliation. A larger sample size of patients and longer follow-up period may be needed to demonstrate statistically significant improvements in representation rates postintervention.


Abstract The keystone role of Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba Dana, in Southern Ocean ecosystems, means it is essential to understand the factors controlling their abundance and secondary production. One such factor that remains poorly known is the role of parasites. A recent study of krill diet using DNA analysis of gut contents provided a snapshot of the parasites present within 170 E. superba guts in a small area along the West Antarctic Peninsula. These parasites included Metschnikowia spp. fungi, Haptoglossa sp. peronosporomycetes, Lankesteria and Paralecudina spp. apicomplexa, Stegophorus sp. nematodes, and Pseudocollinia spp. ciliates. Of these parasites, Metschnikowia spp. fungi and Pseudocollinia spp. ciliates had previously been observed in E. superba, as had other genera of apicomplexans, though not Lankesteria and Paralecudina. In contrast, nematodes had previously only been observed in eggs of E. superba, and there are no literature reports of peronosporomycetes in euphausiids. Pseudocollinia spp., parasitoids which obligately kill their host, were the most frequently observed infection, with a prevalence of 12%. The wide range of observed parasites and the relatively high frequency of infections suggest parasites may play a more important role than previously acknowledged in E. superba ecology and population dynamics.


Environmental justice (EJ) is the equality in distribution and impact of environmental hazards. The overall goal of this research study was to perform a macro-scale environmental justice analysis for carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health effects in Cook County, IL to steer targeted interventions and health improvement measures for socio-economically disadvantaged communities with a high environmental pollution burden.
We aimed to accomplish our goals by collecting community-level risk perception data for environmental, neighborhood and health threats in Southeastern Cook County (SCC), calculating the diesel particulate matter (DPM) excess inhalation cancer and non-cancer risks throughout Cook County to determine if there are environmental justice areas due to exposure to DPM, and performing a macro-scale geostatistical data analysis to spatially analyze the USEPA's 2011 NATA Cancer Risk data, hazardous waste site data (Brownfield, Superfund, etc.), diesel particulate matter emissions and risk data, and demographic information for Cook County.
The environmental indicators/issues ranked the highest by all five community partners in SCC included air pollution from documented industrial sources, air pollution from undocumented industrial sources, surface water run-off from contaminated areas, and undocumented hazardous waste sites in the neighborhood. The neighborhood well-being indicators that were ranked as having the highest concern to all partners included accessibility to quality education, accessibility to healthy food options, employment opportunities for minimum wage to professional salaries, poverty rate in the neighborhood, and high unemployment rate in the neighborhood. The health endpoints of greatest concern were cancer incidence, heart disease, and asthma.
The Cook County census tract level DPM Excess cancer risks calculated are much greater than all the carcinogenic risk calculated in the 2011 NATA, which does not include the DPM risk. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients indicated that weak significant correlations were found between DPM cancer and non-cancer risks and percent Hispanic/Latino (0.2174 (p<.0001)).
Correlation rankings between the USEPA's 2011 NATA Cancer Risk data, hazardous waste site data (Brownfield, Superfund, etc.), diesel particulate matter emissions and risk data, and demographic information for Cook County do not indicate an overall statistically significant relationship between environmental pollution and hardship index.
These results support the combined macro and micro scale analysis approach, with the necessity for focus to be on both the entire county as well as more specific locations to steer public policy for exposure/risk reduction.


We investigate the existence of spatially localised solutions, in the form of discrete breathers, in general damped and driven nonlinear lattice systems of coupled oscillators. Conditions for the exponential decay of the difference between the maximal and minimal amplitudes of the oscillators are provided which proves that initial non-uniform spatial patterns representing breathers attain exponentially fast a spatially uniform state preventing the formation and/or preservation of any breather solution at all. Strikingly our results are generic in the sense that they hold for arbitrary dimension of the system, any attractive interaction, coupling strength and on-site potential and general driving fields. Furthermore, our rigorous quantitative results establish conditions under which discrete breathers in general damped and driven nonlinear lattices can exist at all and open the way for further research on the emergent dynamical scenarios, in particular features of pattern formation, localisation and synchr...


This thesis discusses the formation of metal-organic and organic structures grown on surfaces using bottom-up self-assembly techniques. Three systems are investigated primarily using scanning probe microscopy techniques.

The growth of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) on functionalised surfaces is investigated using high resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM). The earliest stages of MOF crystal nucleation are imaged using a layer-by-layer (LBL) growth technique and the ability to track the growth of individual nanocrystallites throughout the LBL process is demonstrated. This LBL method has been suggested as a route to fabricating epitaxially grown, oriented thin-films of MOFs. However, results from these studies indicate that, rather than a uniform crystalline layer, the morphology is that of a preferentially oriented but laterally polycrystalline film and the growth rates of the individual nanocrystallites exceed those expected for a LBL growth mode. This has significant implications for the fabrication of novel devices that incorporate MOFs due to the presence of domain boundaries and defects.

Self-assembled monolayers of light-harvesting porphyrin nanorings are investigated with scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and AFM. The nanorings are found to form large supramolecular networks in ambient conditions on graphite and boron nitride surfaces. The size and order of these networks is found to be dependent on the number of porphyrin macrocycles that make up each ring. In addition, simulations of isolated nanorings are also performed using Monte Carlo methods to model the distortion previously been observed for isolated nanorings on gold surfaces. These are discussed in the context of spectroscopic measurements which suggest that both size dependent and thermally induced distortion affects the lifetime and delocalisation of excited states in these molecules.

Graphene is grown on hexagonal boron nitride surfaces using high-temperature molecular beam epitaxy. Large domains of monolayer graphene are successfully grown and are investigated using AFM and Raman spectroscopy. These domains are found to exhibit hexagonal moire patterns on the graphene surface which is suggestive of orientational alignment with the underlying boron nitride substrate. Regions with high period and distorted moire patterns are also observed which suggest that the graphene is under tensile strain which is attributed to the high growth temperatures used. The strain is found to significantly affect the Raman spectrum of graphene and a relationship between the strain and the shifting of Raman spectral peaks is determined. Successful attempts are also made to modify the strain in the graphene monolayer using an AFM tip which is observed to relax when defects are introduced in a controlled manner to the graphene monolayer. These results represent new approaches to the introduction and control of strain in graphene which may be useful for the fabrication of high-performance graphene devices.


The architectural and circuit design aspects of a mixed analog/digital very large scale integration (VLSI) motion detection chip based on models of the insect visual system are described. The chip comprises two one-dimensional 64-cell arrays as well as front-end analog circuitry for early visual processing and digital control circuits. Each analog processing cell comprises a photodetector, circuits for spatial averaging and multiplicative noise cancellation, differentiation, and thresholding. The operation and configuration of the analog cells is controlled by digital circuits, thus implementing a reconfigurable architecture which facilitates the evaluation of several newly designed analog circuits. The chip has been designed and fabricated in a 1.2-/spl mu/m CMOS process and occupies an area of 2/spl times/2 mm/sup 2/.


This article explores how gendered Chineseness is represented, circulated, and received in Huangmei musical films for audiences in martial-law Taiwan. Focusing on Love Eterne (1963), the analysis examines how theatrical impersonations in the film provided a "queer" social commentary on aspects of Chinese nationalism that conflicted with the Kuomintang's military masculinities. Love Eterne features dual layers of male impersonations: diegetically, the female character Zhu Yingtai masquerades as a man to attend school with other men; nondiegetically, the actress Ling Po performs the male character Liang Shanbo, Zhu's lover. In addition to the "queer" imagination generated by Ling's cross-dressing performance, the author considers how the feminine tone of Love Eterne allowed the Taiwanese audience to escape from masculine war preparations. Although the Kuomintang promoted Ling as a model patriotic actress, it was her background, similar to many Taiwanese adopted daughters, that attracted the most attention from female audiences. This female empathy and the queer subjectivity arguably disturbed the Kuomintang's political propaganda. Hence, this study adds to the breadth of queerness in studies on the cinematic performance of same-sex subjectivities and invites new understandings of queer performance in Love Eterne as a vehicle that can inspire alternative imaginings of gendered selfhoods and nations.


Holter monitoring was used to detect the underlying mechanism among 53 patients referred for dizziness, fainting and/or syncope. The complaints were unexplained on clinical grounds in 38, suggestive of SSS in 11, and of pacemaker dysfunction in 4 patients who underwent pacemaker implantation for symptomatic A-V block. Occult dysrhythmias were revealed in 24 of 38 (61%) of the first group; the clinical impression of SSS was confirmed in 8 of 11 (72%) in the second, and ineffective pacing confirmed in 2 of 4 in the third group. Thus, the diagnosis was clarified in 34 of 53 (64%) of patients. It is concluded that Holter monitoring is most useful for detecting the underlying mechanism in the above mentioned conditions, especially in elderly subjects whose syncopal attacks remained unexplained despite routine cardiological and neurological examination. Holter monitoring should be carried out for at least 36 hours before ruling out dysrhythmias as a cause of dizziness and/or syncopal attacks.


The objective of this study was to identify changes of the vaginal epithelium in Mexican hairless sows, which ovulated during lactation, caused by the effect of the boar presence and the litter withdrawal. In order to determine the oestrus stage, an exfoliative vaginal cytology and 17b estradiol and progesterone determinations were carried out on the 8 day after the onset of lactation out accompanied with behaviour observations. Four groups of sows were used: Group 1 was not stimulated; Group 2, remained with the boar; Group 3 was separated from its litter for 4 h and Group 4 got both stimuli. Vaginal smear samples were collected every 24 h. for 5 days after stimulus. An ANOVA statistical analysis was performed for repetitive samples during the 5 days of the test. Stimuli used in group 4 caused significant modifications (P< 0·001) when compared to Groups 1, 2 y 3. Estradiol levels were higher than 30 pg/ml in Group 4 on day 10 post partum and 4.5 ng/ml of progesterone on day 11 and 12 post partum. It was evident that 100% of the sows in Groups 1, 2 and 3 did not show oestral activity when relating vaginal cytology with the oestral behaviour and hormone determination of the lactating sows, whereas 100% of the sows in group 4 presented oestrus 72 h. after the stimulus and ovulated 24 to 36 h after the oestrus onset, this was corroborated by estradiol and progesterone determinations, respectively.


Parkinson's disease (PD) is an incurable neurodegenerative disease of the elderly. Although the precise molecular mechanism is unknown, accumulative evidence suggests the involvement of mitochondrial dysfunction. Accordingly, a previous drug screening study was carried out in our group with the aim of identifying compounds that rescue mitochondrial function in fibroblasts from PD patients with parkin mutation. Based on the findings in that study, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) was presented as a putative novel treatment for PD. UDCA is an approved treatment for primary biliary cirrhosis. Therefore, its adoption should require less time and cost than de novo drugs.
The main aim of this project is to investigate the rescue effect of UDCA in the context of PD. Our group previously described increased activity in each of the individual respiratory chain enzymes following treatment with Ursocholanic acid (UCA), a structurally similar compound. Therefore, we first hypothesised that the rescue effect of UCA/UDCA involves upregulation in mitochondrial biogenesis. However, upon following the treatment protocol used with parkin patient fibroblasts, we were unable to demonstrate an increase in the expression of mitochondrial proteins and mtDNA copy number.
Subsequently, we investigated the ability of UDCA to activate the Nrf2 pathway, which is one of the most important antioxidant pathways in cells and has been reported to mediate the action of UDCA in hepatobiliary-related research. In this project we used a specifically designed reporter cell line to assess Nrf2 activation. As a transcriptional factor, activated Nrf2 binds to a distinct sequence (named antioxidant response element (ARE)) in the promotor of its targeted genes, and drives their transcription. The used reporter cells contain several repeats of the ARE sequence linked to green fluorescent protein (GFP) motif. Thus, the measurement of green fluorescence should correlate with the transcription of the ARE sequences. We found that UDCA increased green fluorescence in a dose-dependent manner. However, this increase was not translated into a reduction in oxidative stress in copper-stressed cells. Moreover, UDCA treatment did not rescue these reporter cells when they were stressed with mitochondrial toxins.
The reporter cells are not ideal for investigating treatments for PD since they are non-human and non-neuronal in nature. Therefore, the human neuroblastoma-derived SH-SY5Y cell line was subsequently used. UDCA significantly reduced cytotoxicity and increased ATP levels in SH-SY5Y cells stressed with the mitochondrial uncoupler, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazine (CCCP). To investigate whether this rescue effect is mediated via the Nrf2 pathway, we quantified the expression of Nrf2 downstream genes via RT-qPCR; however, no positive results were obtained.
Subsequent experiments showed that the rescue effect was associated with significant activation of the AKT pathway (a cell survival pathway that has been reported to mediate the action of UDCA). Interestingly, the inhibition of AKT abolished the beneficial effect on ATP but not the cytotoxicity, indicating that the mechanism of action of UDCA is not entirely dependent on AKT. The effect of UDCA treatment on the phosphorylation of selected AKT downstream targets was investigated using western blotting and immunocytochemistry; however, no positive results were obtained. More work is needed to identify AKT/non-AKT downstream targets that are activated/inhibited upon UDCA treatment.


The addition of conventional power factor improvement capacitors to large power plant electrical distribution systems is considered. Pertinent observations and benefits are presented based on a study conducted for a central power plant unit. A review of capacitor installation characteristics is included for general information. Recommendations for considering capacitor additions are made.


Isoprene is an unsaturated hydrocarbon and the most abundant non-methane hydrocarbon in Earth's atmosphere. Atmospheric oxidation of isoprene via reaction with ozone leads to formation of carbonyl oxide intermediates, known as Criegee intermediates. Methacrolein oxide (MACR-oxide, (CH2=C(CH3))CHOO), is a four carbon unsaturated Criegee intermediate produced in isoprene ozonolysis. The aim of this study is to obtain the UV-Visible absorption spectrum of MACR-oxide on a strong π*¬π electronic transition associated with the conjugated carbonyl oxide and vinyl groups. MACR-oxide is synthesized in the laboratory by photolyzing a diiodo alkene precursor (1,3-diiodo-2methylprop-1-ene) followed by reaction with oxygen that transiently forms a iodoalkene peroxy radical. Subsequent loss an iodine atom yields MACR-oxide in four conformational forms. MACR-oxide is produced in a quartz capillary reactor tube and cooled in a pulsed supersonic jet expansion. MACR-oxide is detected by photoionization using 118 nm VUV radiation on the m/z = 86 mass channel of a time of flight mass spectrometer. UV-Visible radiation is absorbed and promotes MACR-oxide from its ground state to an excited 11ππ* electronic state. This results in a ground state depletion that is detected as a reduction in the 118 nm photoionization signal. The UV-Visible spectrum of MACR-oxide is observed from 315 to 500 nm and peaks at 380 nm. Weak oscillatory structure is found in the long wavelength region of the spectrum, which can be attributed to vibrational resonances. Complementary Velocity Map Imaging experiments show that MACR-oxide dissociates rapidly upon UV-Visible excitation. This assures that the UV-Visible spectrum of MACR-oxide obtained by the depletion method is equivalent to a direct absorption measurement. The UV-visible spectrum of MACR-oxide is expected to have broad applicability as a sensitive probe of its unimolecular decay and bimolecular reactions with trace species relevant in the atmosphere.


Oral carcinogenesis is a multistep process characterized by a summation of multiple genetic and epigenetic alterations in key regulatory genes. The silencing of genes by aberrant promoter hypermethylation is thought to be an important epigenetic event in cancer development and progression which has great potential as a biomarker for early diagnosis, tumor molecular subtyping, prognosis, monitoring, and therapy. Aberrant DNA methylation has been detected in different liquid biopsies, which may represent a potential alternative to solid biopsies. The detection of methylated genes in saliva may have clinical application for noninvasive oral cancer screening and early diagnosis. Here, we review the current evidence on gene promoter hypermethylation in saliva.


In this paper, we present a high-efficiency tunable wide-angle multi-band reflective linear-to-linear (LTL) polarization converter, which is composed of an array of two L-shaped graphene patches with different size. In the mid-infrared region, the proposed converter can transform x-polarized wave into y-polarized wave at four resonant frequencies. The polarization conversion ratios of the four bands reach 94.4%, 92.7%, 99.3% and 93.1%, respectively. By carefully choosing the geometric parameter, triple-band LTL polarization conversion can also be realized. The three polarization conversion ratios reach 91.50%, 99.20%, and 97.22%, respectively. The influence of incident angle on the performances of the LTL polarization converter is investigated, and it is found that our polarization converter shows the angle insensitivity. Also, the dynamically tunable properties of proposed polarization converter are numerically studied by changing Fermi energy. All the simulation results are conducted by finite element method.


This paper focuses on supervised and unsupervised online label shift, where the class marginals $Q(y)$ varies but the class-conditionals $Q(x|y)$ remain invariant. In the unsupervised setting, our goal is to adapt a learner, trained on some offline labeled data, to changing label distributions given unlabeled online data. In the supervised setting, we must both learn a classifier and adapt to the dynamically evolving class marginals given only labeled online data. We develop novel algorithms that reduce the adaptation problem to online regression and guarantee optimal dynamic regret without any prior knowledge of the extent of drift in the label distribution. Our solution is based on bootstrapping the estimates of \emph{online regression oracles} that track the drifting proportions. Experiments across numerous simulated and real-world online label shift scenarios demonstrate the superior performance of our proposed approaches, often achieving 1-3\% improvement in accuracy while being sample and computationally efficient. Code is publicly available at https://github.com/acmi-lab/OnlineLabelShift.


The ultimate evolution of our case and its atypical features of unilateral blindness, bilateral involvement, and extensive involvement of the trigeminal nerve revealed the pathogenesis of this case of alternating painful ophthalmoplegia resembling the Tolosa-Hunt syndrome to be that of a parasellar pituitary adenoma. Similar cases of painful recurrent ophthalmoplegia should alert the clinician to the strong possibility of a parasellar syndrome involving a mass, even if the patient carries the clinical diagnosis of Tolosa-Hunt syndrome.


Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) diffusometry and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) were combined in a quantitative way in finite element calculations of water propagation in CLSM images obtained from a very heterogeneous emulsion. The propagators calculated on the basis of microstructure were Fourier transformed and subsequently compared with the echo decays obtained by the NMR diffusometry method. The results showed very good agreement between microstructure based calculations and experiments, indicating that the short gradient pulse approximation in the NMR diffusometry experiment holds for a certain q range. Furthermore, the CLSM was able to achieve a relevant two-dimensional microstructure although some discrepancy at low q values was noted. This effect is attributed to the inherent three-dimensional connectivity between the water domains in this type of structures, making the calculations slightly underestimate the water diffusion at longer distances.


ensure that a satisfactory airway is available, particularly if the bronchoscope is introduced through another tube. An endotracheal tube is probably unsuitable for this purpose. Insertion of the bronchoscope can be expected to produce a fall in Pao2, which may be large, but it will usually be corrected by giving additional oxygen. However, patients who are ill or have respiratory failure constitute a high risk group5 and must be identified, since either premedication or uncontrolled oxygen or both would be dangerous. All patients undergoing bronchoscopy need careful assessment beforehand including simple spirometry; ill patients and any patient with a forced expiratory volume in one second of less than 1 litre also need a measurement of arterial or mixed venous Pco2 (rebreathing method). If the Pco2 is raised the indications for bronchoscopy need to be reviewed, but if the investigation is essential premedication should be omitted, and the procedure is then probably best carried out with adequate ventilation under general anaesthesia with facilities available for ventilating the patient afterwards if necessary. These patients will need help from the physiotherapist and close attention for several hours after bronchoscopy. If such care is taken it should be possible to make a safe procedure even safer.


To suppress uterine contractions during cervical ripening induced by prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) gel, beta-mimetic drugs were given orally 30 minutes before PGE2 application to 17 patients with unripe cervix. This prevented the increase in contraction frequency observed during the first four hours after PGE2 application in 17 controls. Nevertheless, cervical ripening proceeded at a similar rate and the clinical outcome was comparable in both groups. Prostaglandin E2 application caused a transient rise in plasma levels of the PGE2 alpha metabolite (13,14-dihydro-15-keto), which was not prevented by pretreatment with beta-mimetics. Patients with premature rupture of the membranes had higher initial plasma PGF2 alpha metabolite levels than those with intact membranes but cervical ripening proceeded with the same rate, and the effect of beta-mimetics was the same in both groups. Thus, cervical ripening induced by PGE2 does not depend on uterine contractions, and increased production of PGF2 alpha is unrelated to the ripening process. There was no difference between the three beta-mimetic agents in the present study.


Critically ill patients can present at any time and location, and they demand high quality care. Historical experiences from military, wilderness, and disaster medicine settings have helped shape the modern concept of caring for the most severely ill with limited available resources. We introduce a method to help design a successful critical care medical support endeavor, which includes properly defining components of Navigation, Environment, Resupply, Energy, Unconventional problems, and Support (NEREUS). Additionally, we provide recommendations for optimal team personnel composition, including utilization of paramedics, critical care providers, nurses, and respiratory therapists across the spectrum of care provided at point of injury, en route to definitive care, and definitive care. A review of critical care principles relevant to the austere setting proceeds with a systematic organization according to airway, breathing, circulation, and neurologic management. Lastly, we employ our proposed method of organizing a critical care medical support endeavor to a post-hurricane scenario. In summary, this review provides the historical background, modern definition, and practical framework for successfully administering critical care in scenarios with limited available resources. We emphasize the need to appropriately adapt critical care concepts to meet the unique demands of a specific scenario.


Aim: To explore the nature of hydrogen peroxide at high dosage for denature-aggregation of tumor with drugs through aggregation in denatured tumor as a coagulum of drug depot for slow release and prolonged treatment effect of drug. Methods :Injection of oxidant mixed drug into tumor: 1) Preparation of two 5 mL of BLM-I131, one was diluted with 0.12 mL NS and 0.2 mL of Bleomycin (BLM) (0.2 m Ci =49.67 μg BLM) for tumor injection in control group; one was diluted with 0.12 mL of H2O2 (0.833 mg/mL) and 0.2 mL of BLM (0.2 m Ci=49.67 μg BLM) for tumor injection in experimental group; 2) Tumor imaging with BLM-I131 analyzed at different time points; 3) Radioactivity in tumor of mice analyzed under SPECT scanning imaging instrument at the 0, 5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 24, 48, 96, 120, 144 and 168 h time points. Activity of isotope I131 is representing the BLM retaining time in tumor; 4) Tumor sections was examined for cellular and extracellular matrix changes of histological structure. Results : It was observed that BLM-I131 with ROS in tumors sustained for 168 h while BLM-I131 with NS in tumors sustained for 8 h only. Radioactivity of BLM-I131 in tumors with ROS reached a peak in 1.5 h and second peak at 20 h and extended to 168 h in average, while radioactivity of BLM-I131 with NS reached the peak in 0.5 h, then decreased to 30% in 1.5 h and quickly to background in 8 h; We observed the extracellular matrix changes in experimental tumor while no changes in control tumor. Conclusion: A water soluble oxidant mixed with free drug can function as a biological scissors to chop tumor matrix, resulting in the denaturation of tumor matrix into coagulation for a drug depot. It was showmen that BLMI131 sustained in tumor for a long time; while oxidant plays an important role to punch holes on cell membrane and resulted in an enhanced permeabilization of drug and increased concentration of drug in cancer cells.


Cooperative communication has been recently proposed as a way to mitigate fading in wireless networks. A cross-layer adaptive cooperative MAC (CAC-MAC) protocol for IEEE 802.11 DCF-based wireless ad hoc networks is proposed. The novel aspect and core idea of our proposal is a cross-layer adaptive data transmission algorithm considering both the length of data frame at the MAC layer and instantaneous wireless channel conditions. Under this algorithm, direct transmission mode or proper cooperative transmission mode will be adaptively selected for data packets according to both MAC layer and physical layer information. Analytical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the adaptive data transmission algorithm. Simulation studies based on NS2 show that the CAC-MAC protocol can significantly improve network throughput and reduce packet delay compared with legacy IEEE 802.11 protocol, which illustrate a new paradigm for realistic cross-layer cooperative MAC protocol design for next-generation wireless ad hoc networks.


A product review is an essential metric to understand the acceptability level of users. This rating process is often implemented to measure the quality and excellence of a product. It also helps the decision-making processes of potential users regarding the implementation of applications, due to the observation of many options. Furthermore, a product review enables the comparison of applications before imminent subscription. In this case, potential users often analyze various rating levels and perform selection within the Google Play Store based on the experiences of other subscribers. The review is also found to benefit students and software developers, concerning the strengths and weaknesses of the applications. For developers, subsequent modifications of products are mostly supported by this rating process during development. From this context, users and developers need to incorporate Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) models, to understand the best and worst applications. Therefore, this study aims to assess the important criteria expected by users of seven educational service applications, by using the integrated Entropy Weight-VIKOR method. In this report, the service applications were selected based on the highest number of users in the Google Play Store.All criterion's mass was also calculated through the entropy weight method. To rank the application through eight selected criteria, the VIKOR method was subsequently used. The results showed that the best educational service application qualities were Khan Academy and Udemy, with Socratic being the lowest. Some criteria such as download (Cr 1 ), video (Cr 2 ), cost (Cr 3 ), and teacher (Cr 8 ) were also suggested for improvement. From these results, thev-value did not affect the rankings of Khan Academy, Udemy, or Socratic, although it influenced the positions of other applications. This indicated that Khan Academy and Udemy had excellent customer satisfaction levels, regarding functionality and few specific complaints. However, Socratic had high complaints from individuals and low users satisfaction. Based on these results, a comparative analysis was carried out with the baseline study, for analytical validation. In this case, better outputs were observed for the present study than the baseline analysis, due to having three stable ranking positions.


The aim of this qualitative study was to ascertain some teachers' perceptions of the "Writing to Read" (WTR) method from preschool class to grade 3. To find out how teachers can work with WTR, two teachers with experience of the method took part in the study. The teachers teach preschool class and grade 1 in two different schools. The method used in the study is participant observation and semi-structured interviews. The results present the teachers' attitudes to and experiences of the method. The teachers believe that there is a future for WTR in school since pupils who have not fully developed their fine motor skills benefit from using a computer when learning to read and write. The two teachers have found strategies of their own for working with WTR. They mix writing in pairs with individual writing, since they think that sometimes too much energy is expended on cooperation when the pupils are expected to write in pairs.


The importance of fire and emergency services professional development standards has never been more apparent than during the last few years. With the events of September 11, 2001, the need for improved leadership in the emergency services has become evident. The International Association of Fire Chiefs has introduced a professional development standards model, based on a definition of professional development, which is "the planned, progressive life-long process of education, training, self-development, and experience" (IAFC, 2003). Their standard recognizes that emergency response training activities are more prevalent in the early stages of a career and that organizational skills grow with a shift to an education emphasis. This article will introduce a new leadership model along with the International Association of Fire Chiefs' standard and discuss their relevance and importance in the fire and emergency services arena. By adopting this new model as an accepted industry standard and raising the level of expectation for those working in the field, a safer community, state and nation may be assured, improving the standard of living for all citizens.


Following timber harvests in bottomland mixed-oak (Quercus L.) stands, desirable oak advance regeneration can be overgrown by shade-intolerant pioneer species. We investigated the effects of group selection opening size on composition of tree regeneration 19 years postharvest in an oak-dominated bottomland forest and compared results with earlier findings to evaluate development trends. In response to six opening sizes (7–40 m radii), we evaluated regeneration density and dominance of four tree species groups: conifers, hard mast, shade-intolerant hardwoods, and shade-tolerant hardwoods. Our objectives were to determine the optimum gap size for regenerating oaks and test the delayed oak dominance hypothesis, in which oaks slowly gain dominance as pioneer species undergo self-thinning. Opening size influenced conifer regeneration but minimally affected hardwoods. Hard mast species density was less than that of either intolerant or tolerant species regardless of opening size. Future stem density trends suggest increasing intolerant species and constant mast and tolerant species. Modeled future height trends suggest increasing mast species dominance over intolerant pioneers after 30 years. Our results suggest that gap-based silviculture can be used to regenerate bottomland hardwood stands with desirable species including oaks; larger gaps favor conifers but there was no optimum size to enhance oak regeneration.


The apical sorting of the small intestinal membrane glycoprotein sucrase-isomaltase (SI) depends on the presence of O-linked glycans and the transmembrane domain. Here, we investigate the role of O-glycans carried by the Ser/Thr-rich stalk region of SI as an apical sorting signal and evaluate the spatial requirements for an efficient recognition of this signal. Several hybrid proteins are generated comprising the unsorted and unglycosylated protein, the rat growth hormone (rGH), fused to either the transmembrane domain of SI (GH-SITM), or the transmembrane and the stalk domains (GH-SISR/TM). Both constructs are randomly distributed over the apical and basolateral membranes of MDCK cells indicating that neither the transmembrane domain nor the O-glycans are sufficient per sefor an apical delivery. Only when a polyglycine spacer is inserted between the stalk region of SI and the luminal part of rGH in the GH-SIGly/SR/TM fusion protein does efficient apical sorting of an O-glycosylated protein as well as a time-dependent association with detergent-insoluble lipid microdomains occur. Obviously, the polyglycine spacer facilitates the accessibility of the O-glycans in GH-SIGly/SR/TM to a putative sorting receptor, whereas these glycans are inadequately recognized in GH-SISR/TM. We conclude that the O-glycans in the stalk region of SI act as an apical sorting signal within a sorting machinery that comprises at least a carbohydrate-binding protein and fulfills specific spatial requirements provided, for example by a polyglycine spacer in the context of rGH or the P-domain within the SI enzyme complex.


The authors aimed at characterizing dissertations and theses on nursing process in primary care. The theses were available in the database of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES). This is a bibliometric research. Data was collected throughout May 2013, in pairs, following research guidelines established and validated previously by the registered nurses. Of the 120 documents surveyed only six (5.0%) dealt with the interface between nursing process and primary care, and those constituted the research sample. The studies were then analysed