Recent experiments on thin films and hetero-structures of ionically conducting oxides have indicated enhancement of oxygen ion conduction typically ascribed to strain-related effects. We performed density functional theory (DFT) calculations with Hubbard U correction to investigate the effects of biaxial lattice strain on the oxygen anion diffusivity in Sm-doped ceria (SDC). Here we found that the migration barriers are strongly affected by the applied strain. The changes in the migration barriers can almost be linearly correlated with cation–anion bond-lengths between the migrating oxygen and its nearest neighbor cations. In this work, we reported various possible dopant configurations for oxygen ion migrations at the vicinity of the oxygen vacancy. Our results indicate that the ionic migration barriers can be lowered by both compressive and tensile strains. The insight gained from this study may enable us to engineer and to improve oxygen ion migration in ceria-based solid electrolyte materials by compr...


The presence of microbes in the atmosphere and their transport over long distances across the Earth's surface was recently shown. Precipitation is likely a major path by which aerial microbes fall to the ground surface, affecting its microbial ecosystems and introducing pathogenic microbes. Understanding microbial communities in precipitation is of multidisciplinary interest from the perspectives of microbial ecology and public health; however, community-wide and seasonal analyses have not been conducted. Here, we carried out 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing of 30 precipitation samples that were aseptically collected over 1 year in the Greater Tokyo Area, Japan. The precipitation microbial communities were dominated by Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria and were overall consistent with those previously reported in atmospheric aerosols and cloud water. Seasonal variations in composition were observed; specifically, Proteobacteria abundance significantly decreased from summer to winter. Notably, estimated ordinary habitats of precipitation microbes were dominated by animal-associated, soil-related, and marine-related environments, and reasonably consistent with estimated air mass backward trajectories. To our knowledge, this is the first amplicon-sequencing study investigating precipitation microbial communities involving sampling over the duration of a year.


Introduction: Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women after lung cancer. Breast cancer survival varies by racial and ethnic factors, stage at diagnosis, tumour grade, molecular subtypes and the treatment received. Molecular subtyping provides prognostic and predictive information about the risk of recurrence and is an essential tool in formulating guidelines in therapy. Aim: To identify the histopathological variants of Carcinoma (Ca) breast in women and to determine the various molecular subtypes by Immunohistochemistry (IHC). Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study from January 2019 to December 2020 was done on 100 cases of invasive carcinoma breast at the Department of Pathology in a tertiary care center of Government Medical College, Ernakulam, Kerala. IHC was done on paraffin processed tissue sections of tumour using anti-Oestrogen Receptor (ER), anti-Progesterone Receptor (PR), anti-Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2 (HER2/ neu) and Ki-67 antibodies. Molecular subtypes of Luminal-A, Luminal-B, HER2 enriched and triple negative (basal-like) were determined. The association between molecular subtypes and tumour grade, size, stage was analysed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0 software. Chi-square test used for categorical variables, p-value <0.05 assumed to be significant. Results: Total 100 female cases of invasive carcinoma breast with mean age 49.3±12.2 years were included. Histologic subtypes of carcinoma were: Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC) of No Special Type (NST) (89%), Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC) (1%), Invasive ductal with Lobular carcinoma (IDC-L) (1%), metaplastic (2%), papillary (4%), IDC with medullary like features (3%). Tumour size was pT1 in 27%, pT2 in 38%, pT3 in 33%, pT4 in 2%. Tumour grades were: grade-I (28%), grade-II (29%) and grade-III (43%). Lymph node metastasis was seen in 52% cases. Positive expression of Oestrogen (ER) in 46%, Progesterone (PR) in 38%, HER2/neu in 23% and low Ki-67 labeling index (<14%) in 32% cases were observed. The molecular subtypes were Luminal-A (32%), Luminal-B (14%), HER2 enriched (16%) and triple negative (38%) in the present study. Conclusion: The most common molecular subtype was triple negative. Luminal-A subtype was associated with lower histologic grade and non luminal subtypes were associated with higher histologic grades. To determine molecular subtypes, IHC is useful as a surrogate for molecular testing.


We studied the internalization of [125I]insulin into circulating human monocytes, a cell type widely used for insulin binding studies. The internalization of [125I]insulin was assessed by both an acid extraction technique, which removes surface-bound insulin but not intracellular insulin, and by a trypsinization technique, which removes cell surface-bound hormone. After 5 h of incubation at 22 C, over 40% of the total cell-associated [125I]insulin was internalized into monocytes of normal subjects. This internalization was temperature dependent; the fraction of internalized hormone was progressively decreased when the incubation temperature was reduced from 37 to 4 C. Treatment of monocytes with increasing concentrations of 2,4-dinitrophenol also decreased [125I]insulin internalization, whereas dansylcadaverine, an inhibitor of transglutaminase, had no effect. Analysis by gel filtration of the internalized labeled hormone after 4 h of incubation at 22 C indicated that 50-60% of the label was degraded insulin, but detectable intact insulin was still present. Internalization of insulin was then studied in monocytes from eight obese patients (161% of ideal body weight) with type II diabetes mellitus. After 4 h of incubation at 22 C, the specific total monocyte-associated [125I]insulin was decreased compared to that in cells from 7 normal subjects [6.02 +/- 0.38% (+/- SE) vs. 3.91 +/- 0.31% of the total; P less than 0.001]. Moreover, the percentage of hormone that was internalized was also decreased from 41.4 +/- 1.2% of the total to 28.9 +/- 1.8% (P less than 0.001). In 20 nondiabetic obese subjects, specific cell-associated [125I]insulin was reduced to 3.9 +/- 0.3% (P less than 0.001). However, compared to that in normal subjects, the percentage of hormone that was internalized was not decreased (39.7 +/- 3.51% of the total). The present findings indicate that human circulating monocytes internalize [125I]insulin; this process is temperature and energy dependent; and monocytes from obese type II diabetic patients have a significantly decreased ability to internalize insulin. This decreased internalization may play a role in the cellular resistance to insulin that occurs in these patients.


Background: Helicopter air ambulance crews are influenced in their selection of the destination hospital for their patients by several factors including: distance from the scene; facilities, on site specialties, and senior cover of the receiving hospital; and the proximity of the helicopter landing area to the emergency department (ED). Only a limited number of hospitals have landing sites adjacent to the ED from which patients can be taken directly into the department (primary landing sites). Helicopter crews will often elect to over fly hospitals that do not have primary landing sites because secondary land transfers will add delays in delivering patients. Birmingham Heartlands Hospital has an elevated helideck adjacent to the ED. In October 2003, the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA) service was launched; the hospital sits on the western periphery of the area served by the service. Methods: Prospective data was collated on all patients brought by WNAA to Heartlands Hospital between 1 October 2003 and 31 August 2004. Results: In the 10 month period after the launch of the service, the helicopter delivered 83 patients to the ED; 74 of these were "off patch". This additional workload generated 163 ward days, 19 operative procedures, and 85 intensive care unit, high dependency unit, or coronary care unit days. The direct costs of this additional workload approached £160 000. Conclusions: In future discussions on the cost effectiveness of air ambulances, it will be important to consider both the direct and indirect costs to the receiving hospitals arising from the redistribution of emergency workload.


The Sand Engine was constructed in 2011 with the main goal to enhance the natural dune growth. It is the first mega nourishment in the world comprising of 21.5 Mm3 of sediment. There is a large difference between the predictions of the dune growth (25 ha in 20 years) and the actual measurements (1 ha in 4 years). Therefore a more advanced method is needed to predict the dune growth due to the Sand Engine. At the Sand Engine the aeolian sediment transport is determined by the availability limiting processes, e.g. sediment sorting and hydraulic mixing, instead of the wind transporting capacity. AeoLiS is a model that calculates the aeolian sediment transport based on the availability limiting processes. From a sediment budget analysis at the Sand Engine it can be concluded that 58% of all sediments deposited in the dunes originate from the low lying beaches that are regularly reworked by waves. For this reason a model is needed that takes the interaction between both the aeolian and hydrodynamic processes into account. An Integrated Hydro- Aeolian- Morphodynamic (IHAM) model is used to combine the two processes. The main objective of this research is to verify and applicate the IHAM model applied at the Sand Engine (approx. 8 km of coastline). The IHAM model uses AeoLiS for the aeolian sediment transport, Delft3D Flexible Mesh (FM) for the subaqueous sediment transport and SWAN for the wave transformation calculation. The variables that are exchanged are the wave height calculated by SWAN, the water level calculated by FM and the bed level changes calculated by AeoLiS and FM. When an aeolian and hydrodynamic model are integrated there is a mixed area in which both models are relevant. An additional calibration is required on this mixed area. If the IHAM model applied at the Sand Engine is compared to the measurements available between 2011 - 2016 a total Brier Skill Score of 0.8 is obtained, which is judged as 'excellent' according to the classification of Sutherland2004. Especially the tip of the peninsula and the area just north of the tip show large morphological activity that are accurately modelled by the IHAM model. However, the modelled areas south of the Sand Engine and the adjacent coastal areas show larger differences. Overall, the dune growth prediction of the IHAM model compares very well with the measured dune growth between 2012 - 2015. The measured dune growth varies between 14 - 19 m3/m/yr, while the IHAM model computes an average dune growth of 14 m3/m/yr. If the dune growth prediction of the AeoLiS standalone model is compared to the IHAM model a 3 times smaller dune growth prediction is obtained. For the IHAM model an additional transport from the mixed area towards the dunes is taken into account, due to the inclusion of waves and surge levels, which results in a much better dune growth prediction. Emphasising the need to integrate aeolian and hydrodynamic models. If the IHAM model, applied at the Sand Engine, is extended to a period of 10 years by repeating the boundary conditions of the first 5 years the IHAM model shows reliable dune growth predictions. After approximately 10 years the IHAM model shows excessive erosion and can no longer be applied. If the IHAM model is applied at the entire Delfland coast, the dune growth prediction of 11 m3/m/yr is close to the measured dune growth of 7.5 ±2 m3/m/yr. However, excessive erosion is observed at the coastal areas away from the Sand Engine. During the final stage of this thesis it became apparent that the excessive erosion is most likely due to a bug in the bed load transport calculation of FM. The bed load and suspended load transport are in balance at the adjacent coastal areas, resulting in a more or less stable coastline location. At the Sand Engine this balance results in erosion of the peninsula. Therefore a possible bug in FM that undermines the balance and results in erosion, will have a larger influence on the adjacent coastal areas than on the Sand Engine. Despite the bug in FM the IHAM model results of the Sand Engine are very well aligned with the measurements of the first 5 years and show reliable predictions for approximately 10 years. When the bug is fixed the IHAM model will most likely be able to show accurate model results for the entire Delfland coast and for simulation periods longer than 10 years.


Chemotherapy is an effective treatment for many tumors; however, some tumors begin to exhibit a wide range of resistance after a few cycles of chemotherapy, which is known as phenotype of resistance to multiple drugs (multidrug resistance - MDR). The MDR phenotype arises through various mechanisms, but often is associated with an increased efflux of hydrophobic cytotoxic drugs. Therefore, the search for more selective and efficient antitumor compounds in the elimination of cancer cells boosts the research in oncology area. Studies of genes and pathways that are deregulated in tumors and that are essential to their growth may provide new strategies that lead to the development of therapeutic agents that target these pathways. Previous data from our research group have shown potent toxic activity of metformin, an oral hypoglycemic used for more than 30 years for the treatment of type II diabetes, on chronic myeloid leukemia cells (CML), potentiating the effects of imatinib mesylate, the standard chemotherapy used in the treatment of CML. CML cells treated with these agents showed changes in expression of proteins associated with the MDR phenotype. In this way, this project aimed to evaluate the expression of ABCB1 (Pgp) e ACP1 (LMWPTP) by Polymerase Chain Reaction in real time (qPCR) in LCM K562 cells and Lucena before and after treatment with metformin and/or imatinib mesylate, seeking to verify the effects of metformin, alone or in combination with Imatinib mesylate in the expression of these genes in Lucena in K562 cells. We found statistically significant differences in expression between treatments compared to control and between K562 and Lucena cells. It is possible to conclude that these genes may be associated with MDR phenotype. Citation Format: Ligia P. Oliveira, Rafael G. Ferro, Ana CSS Galvao. Gene expression analysis of P-glycoprotein and LMWPTP in chronic myeloid leukemia cells treated with metformin and imatinib mesylate. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1846.


BACKGROUND
Stem cells have attracted the researchers increasing interest, due to their applications in regenerative medicine. Their self-renewal, capacity for multipotent differentiation, and immunomodulatory properties make them unique to significantly contribute in tissue repair and regeneration applications. Recently, cells have shown increased proliferation when irradiated with low level laser therapy or Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT), which induces the activation of intracellular and extracellular chromophores and the initiation of cellular signaling. The purpose of this study was to evaluate this phenomenon in the literature.

METHOD
The literature investigated the articles written in English in four electronic data bases of PubMed, Scopus, Google scholar and Cochrane up to April 2019. Stem cell was searched by combining the search keyword of 'low level laser therapy' OR 'low power laser therapy' OR 'low intensity laser therapy' OR 'photobiomodulation therapy' OR 'photo biostimulation therapy' OR 'LED'. In total, 46 articles had eligibility to be evaluated.

RESULTS
Studies demonstrated that red to near-infrared light is absorbed by the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Mitochondria are the significant sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Mitochondria play an important role in metabolism, energy generation, and are also involved in mediating the effects induced by PBMT. PBMT may result in the increased production of (ROS), nitric oxide (NO), adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). These changes in turn initiate cell proliferation and induce the signal cascade effect.

CONCLUSION
The findings of this review suggest that PBMT -based regenerative medicine could be a useful tool for future advances in tissue engineering and cell therapy.


This publication provides a brief overview of the materials of developments in promising areas of hydrogen energy and hydrogen technologies carried out by scientists and specialists at the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", in particular: - plasma, plasma-chemical, beam technologies, hydrogen energy technologies to ensure environmental safety and environmental protection, including:methods and technologies based on plasma-chemical processes for the processing and synthesis of organic compounds, modeling of plasma and plasma-chemical processes;development of plasma-melt technologies for gasification of solid organic raw materials, • development of a plasmatron complex for waste processing;elements of hydrogen (atomic-hydrogen) energy, including plasma ones, which ensure an increase in energy efficiency and environmental safety in energy (including renewable energy) in transport; • plasma catalytic systems for the conversion of organic fuels;fuel cells and electrolytic cells with solid polymer electrolyte; • membrane and membrane catalytic systems for hydrogen production and purification;nanostructured electrocatalysts;ensuring hydrogen safety.The Kurchatov Institute is the founder and undisputed leader and coordinator of research and development in our country in a number of key areas of hydrogen energy.


The calculation of outage probability is discussed in relation to cochannel interference problems inherent in mature cellular radio systems. Outage probability equations for coverage only and for single cochannel interferer situations are reviewed briefly, and examples of the application of these results to the estimation of the service area of a typical cellular base station are given. An analytical technique for multiple uncorrelated interferers in a Rayleigh fading environment is presented and the effect of several cochannel Rayleigh interferers on the service area of a cellular base station is examined.


The problem of adaptive array beamforming with multiple-beam constraints in the presence of steering error caused by random sensor position errors is considered. First the statistical relationship between the random sensor position errors and the induced random phase perturbation is derived. Based on the result, a cost function consisting of terms which utilise a posteriori information owing to the received array data and a priori information owing to the probabilistic distribution of the resulting phase perturbation, respectively, is constructed. Then, an appropriate estimate of the actual phase angle vector associated with each of the desired signals can be obtained by performing a nonlinear optimisation problem. An implementation algorithm is further presented to solve iteratively the problem. Theoretical analysis regarding the convergence property of the iterative procedure is also investigated. Finally, several computer simulation examples are provided for demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed technique.


Inner Strength of Female Characters in Loitering with Intent and The Public Image by Muriel Spark Women characters in Muriel Spark's novels are diverse, some strong and powerful, some weak and unable to make decisions. And there are characters who develop throughout the novel and learn from their own mistakes. From being passive, they gradually start acting and making their own choices. Loitering with Intent and The Public Image present women characters who go through metamorphosis, from being dependent on others into living their own lives and freeing themselves from former influences. Such kaleidoscopic change enables them not only to be able to finally make their own decisions but also to overcome many difficult situations threatening their future life. Fleur Talbot, a heroine in Loitering with Intent, finds herself at a point in which she thinks that everything she cares for is lost. Chronically passive and naïve, she cannot imagine another way of being until she understands that she is being cheated, that her life will be ruined if she does not act. Everyone around her seems to be in conspiracy against her; only taking a firm stand and opposing her surrounding world can help. Fleur's life has become totally dependent on her ability to be strong and decisive. She knows that if she remains what she is, her career and prospects for the future will be lost, so she decides to prove her determination and her will to be finally happy. Her transformation into a powerful character saves her dignity and makes her a successful writer. Annabel, a character in The Public Image is the same type of person as Fleur, as she lacks self-confidence and has no support from anybody, even her own husband. Muriel Spark, however, presents her as another example of a heroine who develops as the action progresses, able to evoke strength in herself when her situation seems hopeless. Annabel, at first treated as a puppet in the hands of other people, who use her image for their own benefit, shows that she is capable of anything by the book's end. When her career and reputation are threatened and her privacy invaded, she decides to leave the country. This requires both effort and sacrifice, as she has to leave behind everything she has worked for all her life, but this is the necessary price for her freedom. The ability of both female characters to show so much determination reveals an inherent inner strength, and their weakness and vulnerability as just superficial. When the situation requires it, both Annabel and Fleur are ready to fight for their rights, for their freedom and self esteem, and they discover that they are indeed capable of changing their lives.


The vegetation of Texas.-BRAY4 has made a presentation in a most attractive booklet of the various ecological features of the Texas vegetation. The style of the work is popular, inasmuch as the design of the author was to make the general features of the vegetation of the state a matter of interest to students in the schools and citizens generally. First the factors of plant environment are considered, detailed application being made to the familiar plants of the state. Next follows an account of the plant societies, treated chiefly after the order of SCHIMPER. It is here especially that one may see the astonishing variety that is to be found in Texas. The woodlands range from the fine bottomland and pine forests of the southeast, through post-oak or live-oak forests to the western chaparral. Again in the mountains the characteristic conifer forests of the Rocky Mountains are to be found. There are also extensive areas of prairie and desert. Last of all is considered the vegetation of the water, halophytic areas, and dunes. It is probable that somewhere in Texas any citizen of the entire country (except the far west) could find familiar plant formations, so great is the variety. It is to be hoped that this most excellent work will be made of great use throughout the state. For the purpose it is probably the best work that any of our states possesses. There are some good maps, and a number of photographic representations of characteristic landscapes and vegetation types.-HENRY C. COWLES.


Automated pavement crack image segmentation presents a significant challenge due to the difficulty in detecting slender cracks on complex pavement backgrounds, as well as the significant impact of lighting conditions. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for automated pavement crack detection using a multi-scale feature fusion network based on the Transformer architecture, leveraging an encoding-decoding structure. In the encoding phase, the Transformer is leveraged as a substitute for the convolution operation, which utilizes global modeling to enhance feature extraction capabilities and address long-distance dependence. Then, dilated convolution is employed to increase the receptive field of the feature map while maintaining resolution, thereby further improving context information acquisition. In the decoding phase, the linear layer is employed to adjust the length of feature sequence output by different encoder block, and the multi-scale feature map is obtained after dimension conversion. Detailed information of cracks can be restored by fusing multi-scale features, thereby improving the accuracy of crack detection. Our proposed method achieves an F1 score of 70.84% on the Crack500 dataset and 84.50% on the DeepCrack dataset, which are improvements of 1.42% and 2.07% over the state-of-the-art method, respectively. The experimental results show that the proposed method has higher detection accuracy, better generalization and better crack detection results can be obtained under both high and low brightness conditions.


We analyze the principal component combining with differential detection (PCC-DD) with weight estimation for the demodulation of DPSK signals in diversity systems. The estimated weight vector is considered to be the principal component of the exponentially weighted sample correlation matrix of the signals at diversity channel outputs. We arrive at closed form expressions for the approximate bit error rate (BER) for the scenario where channel gains are fixed, and the approximate average BER for the scenario where channel gains are independent identically Rayleigh distributed. The analysis provides accurate BER approximation, and is justified by the results from computer simulations. We also arrive at a rule of thumb about the value of the forgetting factor of the exponentially weighted sample correlation matrix should be selected for PCC-DD to yield good performance under time varying Rayleigh fading channels


Fuel-cells can be a valuable alternative to fossil-fuel non-renewable energy sources since H2 and O2 are used as fuel and comburant, respectively, and H2O is the main product. O2 is entailed at the cathode of the cell and it undergoes a reduction reaction, which however reveals to be the bottle neck step in a common proton exchange membrane fuel cell. High costs and scarcity make Pt-based materials no longer desirable catalysts for ORR. Among many non-platinum group materials, metal-coordinating nitrogen atoms dispersed in mesoporous carbonaceous matrix (MNx) exhibit remarkable catalytic activity. In the Volcano-like plot describing the correlation between the number of d electrons and the reduction potential of MN4 metal centre, iron lays at the top in accordance with Sabatier's principle of catalysis. There is however a general lack in understanding the O2 reduction mechanism occurring at FeNx sites so that collecting information about the Fe-N active sites holds a primary relevance in understanding the O2 reduction reaction pathway. On this regard, Metal-centred phthalocyanines and porphyrins are known to act as catalysts for ORR since 1960's. They are indeed good model systems for mimicking a specific class of MNx sites, namely MN4. In this thesis project, FeN4 macrocycles were used to functionalise an Au(111) single crystal, which allowed to evaluate their performance towards ORR thanks to the well-known inertness of Au towards oxygen chemistry.
Fe(II)-phthalocyanine, Fe(III)-phthalocyanine chloride and Fe(III)-tetramethoxyphenyl porphyrin chloride were examined in their ability to promote the O2 reduction reaction by means of electrochemical scanning tunnelling microscopy (EC-STM), as well as by cyclic voltammetry (CV).
From CV investigations in Ar purged electrolyte, the redox behaviour of the Fe centres was pointed out as a basic step in the active site formation, which was assigned to the low-oxidation state Fe(II). By further registering cyclic voltammograms of FeN4/Au electrodes in O2 saturated electrolyte, a clear reduction peak was observed at potentials close to the previously found Fe(III)Fe(II) peak potentials. Therefore, a "redox-catalysis" mechanism holds, in which the reduction of the metal centre from (III) oxidation state to (II) is first required to then allow the O2 reduction.
EC-STM revealed to be a powerful tool to explore the self-assembly processes at the solid/liquid interface characterising the studied systems. Moreover, the O2 adsorption step will be actually visualised, succeeding in distinguishing the end-on and/or the side-on adsorption geometry. Potentiodynamic imaging enabled to correlate the intense reductive current revealed by CV at a definite applied potential to the system response at single sites provided by EC-STM.
The effect of chloride in altering the adsorption behaviour of FeN4 molecules, as well as in modifying the O2 catalytic activity, was encountered by comparing Fe(II)Pc and Fe(III)Pc-Cl, and dedicated CV investigation were carried out to gather further information.


Prostate cancer remains significant public health concern amid growing controversies regarding prostate specific antigen (PSA) based screening. The utility of PSA has been brought into question, and alternative measures are investigated to remedy the overdetection of indolent disease and safeguard patients from the potential harms resulting from an elevated PSA. Multiparametric MRI of the prostate has shown promise in identifying patients at risk for clinically significant disease but its role within the current diagnostic and treatment paradigm remains in question. The current review focuses on recent applications of MRI in this pathway.


The effects of sintering temperature of an LSCF-samarium-doped ceria carbonate (SDCC) cathode composite film on its
polarization resistance (Rp) were evaluated in this study. An LSCF-SDCC composite cathode was prepared for cathode
film development by electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The LSCF-SDCC composite cathode was prepared at 50:50 weight
percentage ratio. An EPD suspension which is based on an organic aqueous solution was used, and a mixture of ethanol
and deionized water was used as medium with poly diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (PDADMAC) as a dispersing
agent. SDCC substrate was used, and EPD was performed on both sides. A symmetrical cell with cathode composite LSCFSDCC
films on both sides of the substrate was subjected to sintering at five different temperatures (from 550°C to 750°C).
A symmetrical cell was painted using silver paste before undergoing electrochemical performance test (air condition), in
which the impedance, Z data, was measured. The effects of sintering temperature change on element content and film porosity
were first investigated by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and J-image
analysis. Ceramic-based cathode LSCF-SDCC that was sintered at 600°C exhibited the lowest Rp at a value of 0.68 Ω when
operated at 650°C. This study proved that EPD has potential in developing IT-LT solid oxide fuel cell cathode components
with high electrochemical performance in terms of Rp values.


AIM
To evaluate short-term outcomes following intraoperative biliary lavage for hepatolithiasis.

METHODS
A total of 932 patients who were admitted to the West China Medical Center of Sichuan University between January 2010 and January 2014 and underwent bile duct exploration and lithotomy were retrospectively included in our study. The patients were divided into the lavage group and the control group. Related pre-, intra-, and postoperative factors were recorded, analyzed, and compared between the two groups in order to verify the effects of biliary lavage on the short-term outcome of patients with hepatolithiasis.

RESULTS
Amongst the patients who were included, 678 patients with hepatolithiasis were included in the lavage group, and the other 254 patients were enrolled in the control group. Data analyses revealed that preoperative baseline and related intraoperative variables were not significantly different. However, patients who underwent intraoperative biliary lavage had prolonged postoperative hospital stays (6.67 d vs 7.82 d, P = 0.024), higher hospitalization fees (RMB 28437.1 vs RMB 32264.2, P = 0.043), higher positive rates of bacterial cultures from blood (13.3% vs 25.8%, P = 0.001) and bile (23.6% vs 40.7%, P = 0.001) samples, and increased usage of advanced antibiotics (26.3% vs 38.2%, P = 0.001). In addition, in the lavage group, more patients had fever (> 37.5 °C, 81.4% vs 91.1%, P = 0.001) and hyperthermia (> 38.5°C, 39.7% vs 54.9%, P = 0.001), and higher white blood cell counts within 7 d after the operation compared to the control group.

CONCLUSION
Intraoperative biliary lavage might increase the risk of postoperative infection, while not significantly increasing gallstone removal rate.


While the history of interest in voice quality dates back at least as far as Henry Sweet (e.g. 1890), there was for many years little agreement on how to classify voice quality or how to transcribe it as part of a phonetic transcription. Indeed, there is not even agreement on precisely what the term covers in that it is often restricted to aspects of voice quality derived from vocal fold activity, rather than the fuller meaning which encompasses features derived from supralaryngeal settings of the articulators. Authors such as Nolan (1983) have used the phrase long-term quality as an alternative; however, in this article we will retain the traditional term but with a wide application to account for voice quality derived from airflow features, vocal fold activity, and supralaryngeal activity.


We present a new catalog of 9318 Lyα emitter (LAE) candidates at z = 2.2, 3.3, 4.9, 5.7, 6.6, and 7.0 that are photometrically selected by the SILVERRUSH program with a machine learning technique from large area (up to 25.0 deg2) imaging data with six narrowband filters taken by the Subaru Strategic Program with Hyper Suprime-Cam and a Subaru intensive program, Cosmic HydrOgen Reionization Unveiled with Subaru. We construct a convolutional neural network that distinguishes between real LAEs and contaminants with a completeness of 94% and a contamination rate of 1%, enabling us to efficiently remove contaminants from the photometrically selected LAE candidates. We confirm that our LAE catalogs include 177 LAEs that have been spectroscopically identified in our SILVERRUSH programs and previous studies, ensuring the validity of our machine learning selection. In addition, we find that the object-matching rates between our LAE catalogs and our previous results are ≃80%–100% at bright NB magnitudes of ≲24 mag. We also confirm that the surface number densities of our LAE candidates are consistent with previous results. Our LAE catalogs will be made public on our project webpage.


Collaboration between human supervisors and remote teams of robots is highly challenging, particularly in high-stakes, distant, hazardous locations, such as off-shore energy platforms. In order for these teams of robots to truly be beneficial, they need to be trusted to operate autonomously, performing tasks such as inspection and emergency response, thus reducing the number of personnel placed in harm's way. As remote robots are generally trusted less than robots in close-proximity, we present a solution to instil trust in the operator through a `mediator robot' that can exhibit social skills, alongside sophisticated visualisation techniques. In this position paper, we present general challenges and then take a closer look at one challenge in particular, discussing an initial study, which investigates the relationship between the level of control the supervisor hands over to the mediator robot and how this affects their trust. We show that the supervisor is more likely to have higher trust overall if their initial experience involves handing over control of the emergency situation to the robotic assistant. We discuss this result, here, as well as other challenges and interaction techniques for human-robot collaboration.


Ever since Charles Darwin, biologists have been building trees to show how organisms are related to one another. Now, computational biologists have come up with a tree that outdoes all trees. Called OneZoom, the approach works like Google Maps: A user can drill down the tree9s trunks, branches, and tips to view ever-finer details, and the structure can incorporate an infinite amount of information.


ABSTRACT Structured treatment interruptions (STIs) have been proposed as a potential treatment strategy during human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) antiretroviral therapy. This still-experimental intervention requires a close monitoring of patients' plasma viremia and CD4+-T-cell counts during the treatment interruption phase. By using signal amplification of a heat-dissociated p24 antigen (p24Ag) assay, we compared p24Ag levels with levels of HIV RNA in plasma. One hundred seventy-four plasma samples were obtained from 51 chronically HIV-infected patients: 117 from patients who underwent STIs and 57 from patients who did not. Partial immune complex dissociation and clearance of those complexes by the erythrocytes were also investigated. A significant association between the two assays was observed (β = 0.23, 95% confidence interval = 0.18, 0.28; P < 0.0001), but the association was smaller in the subset of samples from patients undergoing STIs. Moreover, discordant results and lack of longitudinal intrapatient correlation between levels of p24Ag and HIV-1 RNA were higher in this group. Incomplete immune complex dissociation and binding of those complexes to erythrocytes could be contributing factors involved in the diminished detection of p24Ag. Therefore, signal amplification of a heat-dissociated p24Ag had a positive association with current HIV RNA assays in a population-based analysis. However, it might not be sensitive enough to monitor longitudinal intrapatient viremia during STIs in patients with high CD4+-T-cell counts potentially due to the production of high-affinity anti-p24 antibodies and clearance of immune complexes by erythrocytes.


PURPOSE
This overview summarises the diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results both from the experimental animal model studies and clinical investigations in acute cerebral ischemic stroke.

DATA SOURCES
An English literature searched using MEDLINE (1990-1997).

STUDY SELECTION
Over 80 papers and reviews published in the last eight years and our partial results were selected.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) has been extensively used to study acute cerebral ischemia both in experimental animal models and in patients. DWI yields signal intensity contrast modulated by water molecular self-diffusion. By recording a series of DWI with different amplitudes of the displacement encoding gradient, the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) can be quantitatively mapped. DWI combined with quantitative ADC mapping can provide earlier and more precise evaluation of the ischemic zones. However, the biophysical mechanisms behind the decreased ADC in acute cerebral ischemia are still not fully understood.


Ankyrin B (AnkB) is a scaffolding protein, acting as a bridge between ion channels and cytoskeleton networks. AnkB variants are associated with cognitive disorders including autism spectrum disorder and epilepsy. In the brain, AnkB interacts with Cav2.1, the pore-forming subunit of P/Q type voltage gated calcium channels. However, how AnkB regulates Cav2.1 is not fully understood. Using HEK293T cells, we discovered that AnkB increases Cav2.1 expression levels but does not change Cav2.1 surface levels. AnkB p.S646F increases Cav2.1 to an even greater level of expression, again without impacting Cav2.1 surface levels. Looking at a partial loss of AnkB in glutamatergic neurons, overall Cav2.1 levels decreased at P30 but the synaptosomal fraction was not impacted. Our findings indicate that AnkB plays a role in regulating an intracellular pool of Cav2.1 but does not affect the surface or the synaptosomal pools of Cav2.1. This intracellular pool of Cav2.1 may play an important role in neuronal function and homeostasis, suggesting a mechanism for neuronal pathogenicity of AnkB variants.


Multiplication is an important function of logic operation, and all-optical high-speed multiplication logic operation will lay the foundation for future high-speed optical computing and optical logic processing chip. In this article, by introducing the structure of canonical logic units-based programmable logic array (CLUs-PLA), we propose a scheme to realize all-optical 2 × 2-bit multiplier. In our scheme, different types of CLUs are generated using bidirectional multichannel four-wave mixing (FWM), then the results of multiplier at the operation of 40 Gb/s can be obtained by simple power coupling of corresponding CLUs. Eye diagrams of logic results are widely open, and the extinction ratios are more than 9.4 dB. Comparing with multiplier based on traditional hierarchical computing, multiplier based on parallel computing in our scheme can reduce the number of AND gate by 4, and avoid further deterioration of signal quality due to three-order cascade of AND gate. Moreover, the scheme has the potential to realize m × n-bit ($m + n \leq 9$, m and n are positive integers) multiplier at higher operation rate in the integrated platform, paving the way towards multi-bit high-speed compact complex logic devices for future high-performance optical computing and optical logic processing chip.


A paediatric clinical trial conducted in a developing country is likely to encounter conditions or illnesses in participants unrelated to the study. Since local healthcare resources may be inadequate to meet these needs, research clinicians may face the dilemma of deciding when to provide ancillary care and to what extent. The authors propose a model for identifying ancillary care obligations that draws on assessments of urgency, the capacity of the local healthcare infrastructure and the capacity of the research infrastructure. The model lends itself to a decision tree that can be adapted to the local context and resources so as to provide procedural guidance. This approach can help in planning and establishing organisational policies that govern the provision of ancillary care.


We conduct an incentivized experiment on a nationally representative US sample \\ (N=708) to test whether people prefer to avoid ambiguity even when it means choosing dominated options. In contrast to the literature, we find that 55\% of subjects prefer a risky act to an ambiguous act that always provides a larger probability of winning. Our experimental design shows that such a preference is not mainly due to a lack of understanding. We conclude that subjects avoid ambiguity \textit{per se} rather than avoiding ambiguity because it may yield a worse outcome. Such behavior cannot be reconciled with existing models of ambiguity aversion in a straightforward manner.


Does experiencing a mass uprising during one's formative years shape attitudes toward post-uprising institutions? Existing research on cohorts has not examined settings of ongoing statelessness. We focus on Palestinians who witnessed the First Intifada and subsequent Israeli-Palestinian negotiations during their youth-to-adulthood transition. Analyzing a pooled sample of surveys conducted between 1996 and 2000, we observe that men from this cohort – using a youth-based definition of one's formative years – evaluated the Palestinian police more negatively than did other men, ceteris paribus. We test two, potential explanations. We find support for the proposition that men from this cohort held distinctive views about coercion and resistance that shaped their evaluations. We conclude that experiencing mass mobilization and transition during one's formative years can influence attitudes, but additional work is needed to test for their long-term endurance. Further, a younger operationalization of one's impressionable years may be salient in settings of insecurity.


Methods of making non-solvated lithium, sodium, and potassium salts of hydroperoxides in hydrocarbon media are considered. Results on the kinetics and mechanism of thermal decomposition of alkali organic peroxides and the reactions of these compounds with alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, and nitriles are discussed. The role of complex formation by the alkali salts of hydroperoxides with donors of protons and Lewis bases is considered. Methods of making organic and organoelemental peroxides based on salts of the hydroperoxides are discussed. 167 references.


Palm Vein Authentication Technology is one of the newest biometric techniques researched today. Biometrics, such as with vein recognition, refers to methods for recognizing individual people based on unique physical and behavioural traits. Physiological biometrics is one class of biometrics that deals with physical characteristics and attributes that are unique to individuals. Vein recognition is a type of biometrics that can be used to identify individuals based on the vein patterns in the human finger. It is used in hospitals, law enforcement, military facilities and other applications that require very high levels of security. Vein recognition biometric devices can also be used for PC login, bank ATM identification verification, and many other applications such as opening car doors. The vein detection process consists of an easy to implement device that takes a snapshot of the subject's veins under a source of infrared radiation at a specific wavelength.


While invasively recorded brain activity is known to provide detailed information on motor commands, it is an open question at what level of detail information about positions of body parts can be decoded from non-invasively acquired signals. In this work it is shown that index finger positions can be differentiated from non-invasive electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings in healthy human subjects. Using a leave-one-subject-out cross-validation procedure, a random forest distinguished different index finger positions on a numerical keyboard above chance-level accuracy. Among the different spectral features investigated, high β-power (20-30 Hz) over contralateral sensorimotor cortex carried most information about finger position. Thus, these findings indicate that finger position is in principle decodable from non-invasive features of brain activity that generalize across individuals.


In socially assistive robotics, an important research area is the development of adaptation techniques and their effect on human-robot interaction. We present a meta-learning based policy gradient method for addressing the problem of adaptation in human-robot interaction and also investigate its role as a mechanism for trust modelling. By building an escape room scenario in mixed reality with a robot, we test our hypothesis that bi-directional trust can be influenced by different adaptation algorithms. We found that our proposed model increased the perceived trustworthiness of the robot and influenced the dynamics of gaining human's trust. Additionally, participants evaluated that the robot perceived them as more trustworthy during the interactions with the meta-learning based adaptation compared to the previously studied statistical adaptation model.


ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of selected protozoa on the degradation and concentration of chitin and the numbers of fungal zoospores in the rumen fluid of sheep. Three adult ewes were fed a hay-concentrate diet, defaunated, then monofaunated with Entodinium caudatum or Diploplastron affine alone and refaunated with natural rumen fauna. The average density of the protozoa population varied from 6.1 · 104 (D. affine) to 42.2 · 104 cells/ml rumen fluid (natural rumen fauna). The inoculation of protozoa in the rumen of defaunated sheep increased the total activity of chitinolytic enzymes from 2.9 to 3.6 μmol N-acetylglucosamine/g dry matter (DM) of rumen fluid per min, the chitin concentration from 6.3 to 7.2 mg/g DM of rumen fluid and the number of fungal zoospores from 8.1 to 10.9 · 105 cells/ml rumen fluid. All examined indices showed diurnal variations. Ciliate population density was highest immediately prior to feeding and lowest at 4 h thereafter. The opposite effects were observed for the numbers of fungal zoospores, the chitin concentration and chitinolytic activity. Furthermore, it was found that chitin from zoospores may account for up to 95% of total microbial chitin in the rumen fluid of sheep. In summary, the examined ciliate species showed the ability of chitin degradation as well as a positive influence on the development of the ruminal fungal population.


This paper presents a novel approach for the identification of continuous-time systems. The proposed method is based on the projection of measured signals onto the finite-dimensional signal subspace whose basis is determined by the structure of the parameterized model of the target system. This structure-dependent basis enables us to estimate the specific parameter of the target system efficiently, and this aspect is especially useful in continuoustime system identification because parameters of such systems often correspond directly to physical parameters of the target system. Also, the proposed method can handle the closed-loop setting, which is frequently demanded in practical applications, as the specific structure of the model. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated through a numerical example of closed-loop identification for an unstable magnetic levitation system with known physical constants.


The ever-continuing explosive growth of on-demand content distribution has imposed great pressure on mobile/wireless network infrastructures. To ease congestion in the network and to increase perceived user experience, caching of popular content closer to the end-users can play a significant role and as such this issue has received significant attention over the last few years. Additionally, energy efficiency is treated as a fundamental requirement in the design of next-generation mobile networks. However, there has been little attention to the overlapping area between energy efficiency and network caching especially when considering multipath routing. To this end, this paper proposes an energy-efficient caching with multipath routing support. The proposed scheme provides a joint anchoring of popular content into a set of potential caching nodes with optimized multipath support whilst ensuring a balance between transmission and caching energy cost. The proposed model also considers different content delivery modes, such as multicast and unicast. Two separated Integer-Linear Programming (ILP) models are formulated for each delivery mode. To tackle the curse of dimensionality we then provide a greedy simulated annealing algorithm, which not only reduces the time complexity but also provides a competitive performance. A wide set of numerical investigations reveal that the proposed scheme reduces the energy consumption up to 80% compared with other widely used caching approaches under the premise of network resource limitation. Sensitivity analysis to different parameters is also meticulously discussed in this paper.


In this work, we use a ceiling-mounted omni-directional camera to detect people in a room. This can be used as a sensor to measure the occupancy of meeting rooms and count the amount of flex-desk working spaces available. If these devices can be integrated in an embedded low-power sensor, it would form an ideal extension of automated room reservation systems in office environments. The main challenge we target here is ensuring the privacy of the people filmed. The approach we propose is going to extremely low image resolutions, such that it is impossible to recognise people or read potentially confidential documents. Therefore, we retrained a single-shot low-resolution person detection network with automatically generated ground truth. In this paper, we prove the functionality of this approach and explore how low we can go in resolution, to determine the optimal trade-off between recognition accuracy and privacy preservation. Because of the low resolution, the result is a lightweight network that can potentially be deployed on embedded hardware. Such embedded implementation enables the development of a decentralised smart camera which only outputs the required meta-data (i.e. the number of persons in the meeting room).


Abstract Wireless Video Sensor Networks (WVSNs) are networks of low-cost, low-power camera sensor nodes. These nodes communicate locally and process information to meet an application's goal. WVSNs are extensively used in diverse monitoring applications, such as security, military, industrial, medical, and environmental monitoring. However, the transmission of large amounts of data collected by video sensor nodes in WVSNs poses challenges in terms of energy consumption, bandwidth usage, and network congestion. Reducing energy for processing and transmitting data in WVSNs is difficult due to the huge amount of sensed data in real-time. To address this issue, this paper proposes an Online Data Transmission Reduction Scheme (ODaTReS) for energy conservation in WVSNs. The data reduction by the ODaTReS is based on two phases: the sensing phase and the transmission phase. ODaTReS adapts the frame rate to limit the number of video frames captured during the sensing phase. It does this by using three efficient techniques: ORB (Oriented FAST and Rotated BRIEF), Brute-Force (BF) Matcher, and Grid-based Motion Statistics (GMS). During the transmission phase, we use an adaptive transmission threshold that is responsible for deciding whether to transmit the current captured frame or remove it. Several experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the ODaTReS. The proposed ODaTReS outperforms the FRABID method in terms of data reduction and energy consumption. The results reveal that ODaTReS reduced the transmitted data by 80%, compared to 43% for the FRABID method. This reduction in data transmission contributes to a decrease in the total energy consumed, which is reduced to 141.22 joules compared to the FRABID method, which consumes 173.16 joules of energy.


The early ultrasound detection of fetal urinary dilatations raises dilemmas about their physiological and pathological meanings. Dilatation does not always mean pathological obstruction of the urinary tract. The chronology of the embryology of the Wolffian system is partially unknown and some hypotheses can be developed concerning the urine drainage in the fetus. The physiology of the fetal kidney is also unclear because of the inadequacy of the functional assessments and their dependence on the mother's parameters. The study of the pressures inside the different segments of the fetal urinary tract could be an efficient tool in the understanding of its progressive permeabilization. The difference between primary kidney dysgenesis and kidney dysplasia secondary to urine hyperpressure appears to be of paramount importance in the fetal treatment of these dilatations and in the long-term prognosis. Thus one can better understand how difficult the decision of shunting the fetal urine toward the amniotic cavity. Can be no one can prove its benefit for the fetal development and some lethal complications of these in utero procedures have been described. However, this new approach of the fetal urinary tract obstruction leads us to a change in the therapeutic attitudes in newborns, which stresses a better understanding of this development.


Several foraminiferal assemblages are recognized in Spartina-Salicornia marshes along the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts. Continuous recordings in one Pacific marsh show considerable diurnal and seasonal variation in pH, oxygen, water temperature, and salinity. This is related to tidal flushing, air temperature variations, sunlight duration, and marsh plant metabolism.


The first results of a collaborative study aimed at collecting all French families affected by oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD) and their genealogy are presented. The study was carried out in 28 families in whom the diagnosis of OPMD in the propositus was confirmed by the presence of typical intranuclear tubulo-filamentous inclusions in the muscle biopsy. Results suggest that the prevalence of OPMD in France is at least of 1/200,000. The disease has been observed in many countries but to our knowledge no epidemiological studies have been reported so far. However, it is known to be particularly frequent in the French-Canadian community living in Canada and USA. In the present study genealogical researches were carried out in 18 families. Three families were of Italian and two of Armenian origin. Amongst the 13 families of French ascent, 3 familial relationships were found: one from a couple married in 1783. In the other 10 French families, no interlineage was discovered in a genealogical enquiry pursued back to the 18th century. Further studies are needed to find out whether there was only one mutation responsible for all French cases or whether several mutations occurred in France, as suggested by the present study. It would be also interesting to ascertain whether there is a parental link between the French and the French-Canadian OPMD patients, the latter considered to be descendants of a couple who emigrated to Quebec in 1634.


Background: The effects of body mass index (BMI) and blood groups on immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) are not clearly known. This study aims to investigate the effect of BMI and blood groups on the treatment of ITP.
Materials and Methods: All cases included in this study were primary ITP patients. Body measure-ments, treatment history, demographic, and laboratory data were recorded. The data obtained were analyzed after the patients were divided into groups based on BMI and blood groups.
Results: The study included 68 (100%) cases, 53 of which were female (77.9%). The median age of the cases was 44 years (min: 18, max: 87). The median BMI was 28.05 (min: 17.6, max: 51.4), and patients with normal weight, overweight, and obesity were found in 24 (35.3%), 20 (29.4%), and 24 (35.3%) cases, respectively. According to blood groups, 29 (42.6%), 20 (29.4%), 11 (16.2%), and 8 (11.8%) cases had blood groups A, O, B, and AB, respectively. The analysis of BMI and blood groups together with demographic and laboratory variables revealed that patients with obesity had a higher mean age (p=0.049) and lactate dehydrogenase levels (p<0.001) than other BMI groups. In the analysis of treat-ment responses, it was found that using eltrombopag in the second-line treatment in the patients with normal weight group was associated with a better response than other BMI groups (p=0.025).
Conclusions: This is the first study to look investigate the relationship between BMI and ITP therapy. According to the results of our study, we believe that BMI should be considered in the selection of second-line therapy for ITP.


Language skills has four components that constitute a unity . However, one aspect that must be mastered to speak is to speak , because speaking skills to support other skills (Tarigan , 1986:86 ) . But the problem is happening on the ground is not all students have the ability to speak well . So the teachers as educators must deal with this situation smart . Therefore , in this study digunakkan Review Course Horay learning model to train students' speaking skills . The problems of this research is how the results of the skills learned to speak German to use learning model Horay Review Course in class XI IPS 1 SMA 3 Kediri ? This study is a qualitative research method that focuses on conversational skills learning . Data were obtained from tests of student learning outcomes in the form of pre-test and post -test . The results obtained from the study of learning before and after learning using learning model Horay Review Course , with the breakdown as follows : From the Pre -test results show 7 out of 36 students only students who have met the chief engineer with the average grade 40.97 categorized as very lower . While the Post - test results showed 33 students from as many as 10 students have met the KKM with an average of 50.75 with a grade 4 student learning outcomes decreased . Based on these data it can be seen that there is an increase in the average classroom but still in the same category as well as decreasing the learning outcomes . And it can be concluded that the method Course Review is the method can not be used to practice speaking skills .


We propose in this paper, STANLEY, a STochastic gradient ANisotropic LangEvin dYnamics, for sampling high dimensional data. With the growing efficacy and potential of Energy-Based modeling, also known as non-normalized probabilistic modeling, for modeling a generative process of different natures of high dimensional data observations, we present an end-to-end learning algorithm for Energy-Based models (EBM) with the purpose of improving the quality of the resulting sampled data points. While the unknown normalizing constant of EBMs makes the training procedure intractable, resorting to Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) is in general a viable option. Realizing what MCMC entails for the EBM training, we propose in this paper, a novel high dimensional sampling method, based on an anisotropic stepsize and a gradient-informed covariance matrix, embedded into a discretized Langevin diffusion. We motivate the necessity for an anisotropic update of the negative samples in the Markov Chain by the nonlinearity of the backbone of the EBM, here a Convolutional Neural Network. Our resulting method, namely STANLEY, is an optimization algorithm for training Energy-Based models via our newly introduced MCMC method. We provide a theoretical understanding of our sampling scheme by proving that the sampler leads to a geometrically uniformly ergodic Markov Chain. Several image generation experiments are provided in our paper to show the effectiveness of our method.


We propose a PHY-MAC cross-layer based dynamic-resource allocation (DRA) scheme with diverse QoS guarantees for heterogeneous mobile users over MIMO-OFDM wireless network downlinks. Our scheme differentiates real-time users (e.g., audio/video) from non-real-time users (e.g., data). At the PHY layer, the DRA adaptively allocates transmit antennas and modulation levels for real- and non-real-time users to increase the spectral efficiency while guaranteeing the distinct BER-QoS requirements. Combining with the proposed PHY-layer infrastructure, the DRA at the MAC layer treats real- and non-real-time users differently: (1) it dynamically assigns time-slots for real-time users in a TDM-mode to guarantee the bounded delays; (2) it adaptively allocates subcarriers for non-real-time users in an FDM-mode to maximize the system throughput while retaining fairness among users. We analytically derive the admission-control and time-slot allocation conditions to guarantee the statistical delay-bound for real-time users using the effective bandwidth theory. Also, extensive simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of our proposed scheme.


CD Features Practice Essentials Exam, IT Tech Practice Exam, Depot Practice Exam, and Remote Support Practice ExamIn This Book You'll Learn How To: Recognize the different types and forms of computer memory Identify different computer cables and connectors Troubleshoot IRQ conflicts and other computer resource problems Identify and troubleshoot common computer motherboard components Install core PC components, such as motherboards, processors, and memory Install and maintain multiple computer peripherals Identify network architectures and topologies Troubleshoot operating system problems Describe the core functions of Windows NT/2000/XP and Windows 9x operating systems Discover effective DOS commands excellent for troubleshooting Use the DOS operating system or command lines when your GUI is unavailable Recover from system startup failures Use and troubleshoot Windows Networking Effectively prepare yourself for exam dayCD Features Practice Exams!Ready to test your skills? Want to find out if you're ready for test day? Use the practice tests supplied on this CD to help prepare you for the big day. Test yourself, and then check your answers. Coupled with the in-depth material in the book, this is the ultimate one-two A+ study preparation package!Charles J. Brooks is currently co-owner and vice president of Educational Technologies Group Inc., as well as co-owner of eITPrep LLP, an online training company. He is in charge of research and product development at both organizations. A former electronics instructor and technical writer with the National Education Corporation, Charles taught and wrote on post-secondary EET curriculum, including introductory electronics, transistor theory, linear integrated circuits, basic digital theory, industrial electronics, microprocessors, and computer peripherals. Charles has authored several books, including the first five editions of A+ Certification Training Guide, The Complete Introductory Computer Course, and IBM PC Peripheral Troubleshooting and Repair. He also writes about networking, residential technology integration, and convergence.U.S. $44.99CAN. $55.99U.K. £31.99 (inc. of VAT)


Introduction : Thanks to the consolidation of the Internet, users have access to many sources of information on health issues, including pharmaceutical influencers who disseminate and create content based on scientific knowledge. Objective : This research focuses on analyzing the communication management of pharmaceutical influencers on Instagram during the Coronavirus crisis in Spain. Methodology: The publications made by 6 pharmaceutical professionals are analyzed. The analysis is based on observing what type of content is published in terms of subject matter, formats and engagement. Results : Some of the most relevant data is that the video format, although present in fewer numbers, is the one that generates the most interaction and, on the other hand, that in no case has it been possible to identify whether the observed influencers work with sponsored content. The informative infographics and the explanatory content that seeks to inform the population about different aspects related to the virus appeared, due to the number of interactions, as very useful in raising public awareness of the seriousness of the situation. Conclusion : Finally, it is concluded that not all the influencers observed, during the period of the current health crisis, have focused mainly on generating content related to COVID-19.


We study the Fourier-Walsh spectrum $\{\hat\mu (S); S\subset\{1, ..., n\}\}$ of the Moebius function $\mu$ restricted to $\{0, 1, 2, ..., 2^n-1\}\simeq \{0, 1\}^n$ and prove that it is not captued by levels \{\hat\mu (S)| \, |S|< n^{\frac 23-\epsion}\}. An application to correlation with monotone Boelean functions is given.


This study examines the integration of sustainable development in the holistic design of higher education online degree programmes for national cross-studies in Finland. The methodology adopted is design-based research. The literature combines works from the fields of online degree programme design and sustainable development. The empirical data is collected from an Online Degree Working Group representing various online degree expertise in applied higher education. The results of this study highlight the importance of national level collaboration in efforts to reach sustainable development goals in online degree programmes for national cross-studies in higher education. Key sustainability competencies are combined into online degree programme design to reveal new considerations for sustainable development in the online degree education context. The results can be utilised by managers, administrators, and educators of online degree programmes in higher education organisations who are interested in implementing sustainable development in the design phase of the online degree programmes.


'Oregon 605' Pea (Pisum sativum L.) was developed primarily for commercial freezing in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. It is resistant to the enation mosaic-red clover vein mosaic virus complex, a limiting factor in Western Oregon pea production. 'Oregon 605' is also resisitant to powdery mildew., an advantage in seed production areas and possible processing areas such as Northeastern Oregon and Southeastern Washington. 'Oregon 605' was released jointly by the Oregon and Washington Agricultural Experiment Stations.


Abstract Experimental data were collected on the solubility equilibrium of the mineral of bone, tooth enamel and calcium phosphate renal stones. Evaluation in the form of potential diagrams of Ca(OH)2 versus H3PO4 shows that Ca/P ratios of 1, 4/3, 10/7, 3/2 and 5/3, related to phases like brushite, octocalcium phosphate, whitlockite, defective apatite and hydroxyapatite respectively can be important. These facts allow the interpretation that many of these calcium phosphates are present simultaneously in biominerals or that they are formed during the equilibration.


Background: Consistent with the concept of the gut-brain phenomenon, observational studies have reported a pattern of co-occurring relationship between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and a range of gastrointestinal tract (GIT) traits. However, it is not clear whether the reported association reflects a causal or shared genetic aetiology of GIT disorders with AD. While AD has no known curative treatments, and its pathogenesis is not clearly understood, a comprehensive assessment of its shared genetics with diseases (comorbidities) can provide a deeper understanding of its underlying biological mechanisms and enhance potential therapy development. Methods: We analysed large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) summary data (sample size = 34,652 – 456,327) to comprehensively assess shared genetic overlap and causality of GIT disorders with the risk of AD. Further, we performed meta-analyses, pairwise GWAS analysis; and investigated genes and biological pathways shared by AD and GIT disorders.Results: Our analyses reveal significant concordance of SNP risk effects across AD and GIT disorders (Ppermuted = 9.99 × 10−4). Also, we found a significant positive genetic correlation between AD and each of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), peptic ulcer disease (PUD), medications for GERD or PUD (PGM), gastritis-duodenitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and diverticular disease, but not inflammatory bowel disease. Mendelian randomisation analyses found no evidence for a significant causal association between AD and GIT disorders. However, shared independent genome-wide significant (Pmeta-analysis < 5 × 10-8) loci (including 1p31.3 [near gene, PDE4B], 1q32.2 [CD46], 3p21.31 [SEMA3F], 16q22.1 [MTSS2], 17q21.33 [PHB], and 19q13.32 [APOE]) were identified for AD and PGM, six of which are putatively novel. These loci were replicated using GERD and PUD GWAS and reinforced in pairwise GWAS (colocalisation) as well as gene-based analyses. Lipid metabolism, autoimmune system, lipase inhibitors, PD-1 signalling, and statin mechanisms were significantly enriched in pathway-based analyses. Conclusions: These findings support shared genetic susceptibility of GIT disorders with AD risk and provide new insights into their observed association. The identified loci and genes—PDE4B, CD46 and APOE, especially—and biological pathways—statins and lipase inhibitors, in particular—may provide novel therapeutic avenues or targets for further investigation in AD, GIT disorders, or their comorbidity.


I have examined 20 different kinds of references of Kagok, Kasa and Shijo in the music textbooks ranging from the third grade of primary school to the first grade of high school(10th grade) which are used as educational materials for the current music study. Shijo is introduced in the listening part in the textbook of the 5th grade in primary school for the first time and Kagok and Kasa including Shijo in the textbook of the first grade of middle school(7th grade). In the first grade of high school Kagok, Kasa and Shijo are introduced in the listening part with the staff notation of Pyoung-Shijo as a song to be taught. Those textbooks with Kagok, Kasa and Shijo, include the origin, singers and listeners, categories and musical characteristics of the songs in the listening past with some explanations and comparative tables. And the melodic lines and rhythmic patterns of them are introduced partially in the staff notations and Chungganbo(Korean traditional score). I have examined the explanations of music of Kagok, Kasa and Shijo in the textbooks; the esthetics, origin, lyrics, tonal system, categories, performance style, and rhythmic pattern in detail. I also analyzed the Pyoung-Shijo of Seoul style with the staff notation; the key signature, pitch, tempo, vibrato, musical skill, rest and syllable arrangement.


Next generation passive prechamber spark plugs for high BMEP natural gas engines require long ignition delay for durability, fast combustion for efficiency, and low COV for lean engine operation. Additionally, a successful plug should have long life, low cost, and have a robust knock margin, with best-in-class NOx vs. fuel consumption.This paper discusses the underlying physics of the novel passive prechamber spark plug, the Woodward–Lean Quality Plug (WW-LQP.) The WW-LQP has demonstrated good ignition delay, fast combustion, and low COV at λ > 1.8+, while improving fuel consumption by more than 1% on a lean natural gas engine.The key operating principles are developed for achieving complete combustion of the prechamber "charge", leading to high prechamber pressure rise and resulting in high velocity turbulent flame jets, which in-turn provides for fast combustion in the main chamber. The design physics are verified by CFD simulations and on-engine experiments, including pressure measurements in both the prechamber and main combustion chamber.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


To 21st century readers, 19th century depictions of death look macabre if not maudlin - the mourning portraits and quilts, the postmortem daguerreotypes, and the memorial jewelry now hopelessly, if not morbidly, distressing. Yet this sentimental culture of mourning and memorialising provided opportunities to the bereaved to assert deeply held beliefs, forge social connections, and advocate for social and political change. This culture also permeated the literature of the day, especially the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Walt Whitman. In Communities of Death, Adam C. Bradford explores the ways in which the ideas, rituals, and practises of mourning were central to the work of both authors. While both Poe and Whitman were heavily influenced by the mourning culture of their time, their use of it differed. Poe focused on the tendency of mourners to cling to anything that could remind them of their lost loved ones; Whitman focused not on the mourner but on the soul's immortality, positing an inevitable reunion. Yet Whitman repeatedly testified that Poe's Gothic and macabre literature played acentral role in spurring him to produce the transcendent Leaves of Grass. By unveiling a heretofore marginalised literary relationship between Poe and Whitman, Bradford rewrites our understanding of these authors and suggests a more intimate relationship among sentimentalism, romanticism, and transcendentalism than has previously been recognised. Bradford's insights into the culture and lives of Poe and Whitman will change readers' understanding of both literary icons.


In this paper, we derive some of the stochastic properties of a universal linear predictor, through analyses similar to those generally made in the adaptive signal processing literature. A. C. Singer et al. (see IEEE Trans. Signal Proc., vol.47, no.10, p.2685-2700, Oct. 1999) introduced a predictor whose sequentially accumulated mean squared error for any bounded individual sequence was shown to be as small as that for any linear predictor of order less than some maximum order m. For stationary Gaussian time series, we generalize these results, and remove the boundedness restriction. In this paper we show that the learning curve of this universal linear predictor is dominated by the learning curve of the best order predictor used in the algorithm.


Generation of an optical frequency comb (OFC) based on two cascaded dual-parallel polarization modulators (DPPolMs) is proposed for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The proposed method offers superior spectral flatness and improved side-comb suppression ratio (SCSR), and requires low radio frequency drive voltage compared to two cascaded polarization modulators based on OFC generation found elsewhere in the literature. Detailed investigation is carried out through theory and simulation for 25, 49, 81, and 121 comb lines generated with the proposed two-stage OFC generator. Theoretically obtained parameters are used in the simulation to obtain the desired results. In particular, for 49 lines of OFC generation, 1 dB power fluctuation in amplitude and 16.5 dB SCSR are obtained at a comb frequency spacing of 3.5 GHz, which outperforms any polarization modulator-based OFC generator.


The newly developed high resolution Fourier-transform intra-cavity laser absorption spectroscopy (FT-ICLAS) was utilized to record the νOD=5 stretching overtone of HOD at a resolution of 0.05 cm-1 in the region 12550–12900 cm-1. The spectrum was rotationally analysed and the spectroscopic parameters were derived from nonlinear least-squares fitting. Good agreement of the observed with the calculated energy levels was achieved.


In this article, a spell corrector has been designed for the Hausa language which is the second most spoken language in Africa and do not yet have processing tools. This study is a contribution to the automatic processing of the Hausa language. We used existing techniques for other languages and adapted them to the special case of the Hausa language. The corrector designed operates essentially on Mijinguini's dictionary and characteristics of the Hausa alphabet. After a brief review on spell checking and spell correcting techniques and the state of art in the Hausa language processing, we opted for the data structures trie and hash table to represent the dictionary. The edit distance and the specificities of the Hausa alphabet have been used to detect and correct spelling errors. The implementation of the spell corrector has been made on a special editor developed for that purpose (LyTexEditor) but also as an extension (add-on) for OpenOffice.org. A comparison was made on the performance of the two data structures used.


Socioeconomic analysis of youth employment in Japan sheds light on the factors that
might explain the level of labour force participation among young people and the conditions
under which such participation takes place. In particular, it highlights the linkage between
employers' labour force flexibilisation strategies and the family dependence mechanisms in
which young people have their part to play. In our view, the increasing difficulties being
experienced by young Japanese people in the labour market can be explained by the way in
which youth employment is socially constructed rather than by any hypothetical change in
the work ethic.


The development of solid materials which are able to upconvert optical radiation into photons of higher energy is attractive for many applications such as photocatalytic cells and photovoltaic devices. However, to fully exploit triplet-triplet annihilation photon energy upconversion (TTA-UC), oxygen protection is imperative because molecular oxygen is an ultimate quencher of the photon upconversion process. So far, reported solid TTA-UC materials have focused mainly on elastomeric matrices with low barrier properties because the TTA-UC efficiency generally drops significantly in glassy and semicrystalline matrices. To overcome this limit, for example, combine effective and sustainable annihilation upconversion with exhaustive oxygen protection of dyes, we prepare a sustainable solid-state-like material based on nanocellulose. Inspired by the structural buildup of leaves in Nature, we compartmentalize the dyes in the liquid core of nanocellulose-based capsules which are then further embedded in a cellulose nanofibers (NFC) matrix. Using pristine cellulose nanofibers, a sustainable and environmentally friendly functional nanomaterial with ultrahigh barrier properties is achieved. Also, an ensemble of sensitizers and emitter compounds are encapsulated, which allow harvesting of the energy of the whole deep-red sunlight region. The films demonstrate excellent lifetime in synthetic air (20.5/79.5, O2/N2)-even after 1 h operation, the intensity of the TTA-UC signal decreased only 7.8% for the film with 8.8 μm thick NFC coating. The lifetime can be further modulated by the thickness of the protective NFC coating. For comparison, the lifetime of TTA-UC in liquids exposed to air is on the level of seconds to minutes due to fast oxygen quenching.


Background and aims Gait abnormalities are a frequent [I.A.1] complaint that gets children to the emergency department (4 per 1000[I.A.2] presentations in a single department). When thinking about etiologies, one can take into account a large number of causes: from developmental, trauma to infectious, inflammatory. The aim of this paper is to present 3 cases with progressive chronic nonspecific gait abnormalities and highlight the clinical clues that help guide the investigations towards the correct aetiology, as well as the positive diagnosis. Methods We searched the hospital records going back 5 years for patients seen in our paediatric neurology department, presenting with nonspecific walking disorders, for which the etiological diagnosis turned out to be of neoplastic[I.A.3] origin. We identified a total of three cases that we are going to present. Results The three patients were two girls and a boy, ages ranging from 1 to 4 years 6 months old. For all of them the main reason for seeking a medical evaluation was the gait abnormalities, slowly progressive to the point of losing ambulation. Other complaints included pain to the lower limbs, weight loss or diminished appetite, irritability. Duration of the disease was between 1 to 8 months, two of the three patients had been previously examined in a paediatric setting. Conclusions It is important to raise awareness on having an overview about the cases. One can have non-specific signs and symptoms, which can aid to formulating the investigation plan and therefore to an early correct diagnosis. A careful medical history, especially to the affliction at hand, can always reveal very useful information.


Aiming at the problem of salt corrosion of concrete used in bridge and foundation in the salted areas of Qinghai province in our country,we study the performance of the prevention of salts corrosion and anti-freeze durability of concrete itself and concrete daubed waterproof materials outside or mixed the materials inside.The high-performance concrete made in this article used waterproof materials to prevent brine penetration and set multi-channel protection. The high-performance concrete specimens for comparison,the specimens daubed waterproof material, and rhe specimens mixed waterproof material inside are made to study the changing regularity under single factor and double factors(freeze and melt + chemical attack, carbonize + freeze and melt). The research results show the high-performance concrete made in this article has good anti-freeze durability and the protective covering of waterproof material can form multi-channel protection and effectively slow frozen corrosion of the concrete.


Many clinical procedures involve the use of minimally invasive devices such as needles and catheters. Providing increased information about tissues that are adjacent to the device tips could reduce the probability of complications in these procedures. Optical fibres are well suited for integration into medical devices and they can be used to provide information relevant to tissue characterisation. This dissertation is centred on the integration of optical fibres into needles and catheters to obtain information about haemoglobin. In two studies, reflectance spectroscopy was performed. Two optical fibre geometries were tested, and for each, Monte Carlo simulations were used to estimate the reflectance values and the pho- ton penetration depths. In the first study, reflectance spectroscopy was performed with a double clad fibre. Experiments using expired human red blood cells were performed to determine the sensitivity of the measurements to oxygen saturation variation at physiological levels. Distinction between normal oxygen saturation values in veins and arteries was possible, making this fibre potentially useful to verify needle placement during a venous catheterisation or during a transseptal puncture. In the second study, two polymer optical light fibres were directly integrated into an epidural catheter. This optical catheter was tested during an ex-vivo swine laminectomy in the lumbar region. Another ex-vivo experiment was performed on chicken wings to discern blood vessels from other tissues. This information could be used during anaesthesic procedures to reduce the risk of toxicity from an intravascular injection. With reflectance spectroscopy, the depth in tissue from which signal is obtained is limited by the inter-fibre distance. This limitation motivated a third study, in which photoacoustic imaging was used to obtain image contrast for haemoglobin. The results of the three studies suggest that the integration of optical fibres into medical devices during minimally invasive procedures can allow for clinically relevant measurements of tissue properties in real-time.


involving lCs, a radioactive cesium isotope. The authors compared subjects exposed to low levels of ionizing radiation, subjects who experienced anticipatory stress from fear of radiation exposure, and a non-irradiated control group. Results indicated the presence of chronic stress, as measured by psychological, behavioral, and neuroendocrine indices, in subjects who were exposed as well as in subjects fearful of potential radiation exposure. Anticipatory stress associated with potential exposure to ionizing radiation resulted in a level of stress similar to that from actual exposure to ionizing radiation. These findings have implications for past and future radiation accidents.


It is our great pleasure to welcome you to the first ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play -- CHI PLAY'14. CHI PLAY is a new international and interdisciplinary conference series for researchers and professionals across all areas of play, games and humancomputer interaction (HCI), we call it: "player-computer interaction." This conference is the first of its kind and we see CHI PLAY as a great opportunity to highlight and foster discussion of current high quality research in games and HCI as foundations for the future of digital play. This year is the inaugural year of this symposium and is bound to set future traditions of being the premier forum for presentation of research results and experience reports on leading edge issues of novel game interaction, player experience evaluations, neurogaming, gamification, exertion games, games user research, player psychology, social game systems, serious games, game developer applications, interaction design and theory. The mission of the symposium is to share insights into game interaction design and analysis that fulfill the needs of developers, researchers and designers and identify new directions for future research and development in HCI and games. CHI PLAY gives researchers and practitioners a unique opportunity to share their perspectives with others interested in the various aspects of HCI in games. The conference provides a meeting place of practitioners and academics for presenting and discussing peer-reviewed academic papers and the latest breaking results and approaches from industry.

The call for papers attracted submissions from Asia, Canada, Australia, Europe, and the United States. We selected a program committee of experts in human-computer interaction and game research to lead the scientific review process. All full papers were blind reviewed by peer reviewers as well as a committee member. Accepted papers are published in the ACM Digital Library.


Abstract:To align this study with the scholarship on disaggregating the monolithic concept of nationalism in the Chinese context, the authors differentiate economic and cultural nationalisms, and conceptualise them as the manifestations of nationalistic sentiments in economic and cultural domains. Using data from the supplemental survey of the 2008 Chinese General Social Survey, findings have shown that economic and cultural nationalisms are weakly associated; age and education have greater effects on cultural nationalism than on economic nationalism; social status is negatively associated with economic nationalism but has no effect on cultural nationalism.


Directed by Professor Dr. Kurt Siehr, Professor Dr. Wolfgang Ernst, and Dr. Andrea F. G. Raschèr, the seminar exposed the legal fundaments of art auctions and provided an overview of some underlying problems currently faced by practitioners and legal scholars. The seminar was followed by a panel discussion called the "Boon and Bane of Auction Houses for the Art Market," gathering directors of auction houses as well as art market and art law experts.


In this contribution, hierarchical CoFe2O4 particles are successfully prepared via a modified polyol elaboration method with NaBH4 and a proposed heat treatment process. Here, new as-prepared CoFe2O4 particles with sizes in the range of 5 μm show highly uniform characteristics in their size, shape and cubic spinel crystal structure according to X-ray diffraction (XRD), whole pattern fitting and Rietveld refinement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We discovered that the CoFe2O4 microparticles prepared in the certain size range of 5 μm show exciting configurations of grain and grain boundaries under particle heat treatment at the high temperature 900 °C. Finally, CoFe2O4 ferrite particles with various well-defined micro and nanoscale structures were produced after appropriate heat treatment processes under high temperature, and which have a high coercive field, HC, around 416–888 Oe, and the highest saturation magnetization, MS, of about 74–91 emu g−1 at room temperature (RT) for all of the as-prepared samples measured using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Here, the magnetic behavior has shown persuasive evidence that the desirable ferrimagnetic properties of CoFe2O4 oxides do not only depend on their size but also on the spinel structure of the CoFe2O4 oxides as well. Finally, the as-prepared CoFe2O4 particles with the formula CoO·Fe2O3 were regarded as the best inverse ferrimagnetic materials with magnetic parameters of HC at 896 Oe, MR/MS squareness around 0.420, and MS around 92 emu g−1 at 20 kOe for the downward part of the hysteresis loop.


Dengue is a viral disease that has been feared by people globally. Due to its rapid prevalence and increasing threat, this study explored on the use of data mining techniques together with decision support system to develop prediction models of dengue survivability. This study was focused on three important points namely: identify significant predictor attributes to dengue survivability prediction, development of a rule-based and decision tree models for dengue survivability prediction, and the development of a dengue survivability platform for prediction purposes. The developed rule-based and decision tree models were compared according to accuracy and they underwent the 10-fold cross validation procedure and were integrated in the system to provide a platform to predict the survivability of a patient given the input medical data using a client-server configuration via the Internet. The result of the prediction for the dengue survivability may be used as an intervention by medical practitioners in the general management of dengue cases.


Cellular internalization and intracellular trafficking of particles depend on their specific physicochemical properties. Godanti Bhasma (GB) is a traditional Indian medicine formulation prepared by heating of gypsum powder with herbal extracts. Chemically, GB is anhydrous calcium sulfate. During formulation it obtains unique physicochemical properties that lead to its rapid cellular internalization and induction of massive cytoplasmic vacuolation. Interestingly, no cellular internalization was found with parent gypsum particle. Flow cytometry analysis and live tracking of GB treated cell showed particle internalization, vacuole formation, particle dissolution and later vacuolar turnover. GB particle dissolution in acidic cell free solution mimics intravacuolar environment where GB was disintegrated under acidic pH suggesting lysosomal enzymes might have no role in GB degradation. Vacuolation often accompany with the sign of cell death whereas, in our study, massive vacuolation by GB did not induce any cell death. Moreover, GB treated cells survive with complete vacuolar process, which was reversed following post-treatment with vacuole inhibitors in GB treated cells, suggesting normal vacuolar function is essential for cell survival. In immunoblotting, upregulation of LC3-II was found in GB treated cells. Treatment of the cells with GB was also found to induce translocation of the LC3 protein from the nucleus to vacuolar membrane by immune-cytochemistry, indicating LC3 associated phagocytosis (LAP) like function. This was found to be reversed in the cells treated with vacuole inhibitors. The vacuolar function essential for cell survival, preserves mechanistic correlation with LC3 lipidation on vacuolar membrane, intracellular controlled and slow degradation of GB particle and further vacuolar turnover limiting swelling pressure in cells.


Patrick Glenn's final writings on the idea and practice of the 'cosmopolitan state' might seem as something of a departure for the world-famous comparativist, but they are in fact strongly continuous with his earlier work, and all the more fascinating for that. For Glenn, comparative law was always a subject in part defined against itself. For it was as much an examination of what connects and integrates different legal doctrinal streams and systems as of what distinguishes and divides them. And so it was quite natural that he should finally come to study systematically the ever more powerful web of transnational and global connections and commonalities that make the contemporary state - in his words - 'cosmopolitan' rather than 'national'. His investigation paints a powerful picture of a global cosmopolitan practice that, against the vision of stronger versions of cosmopolitanism, is not itself globally located; rather it is rooted in different state subsoils, linked together through a matrix of legal, institutional and cultural factors. Yet the question arises how robust his confident defence of state-centred cosmopolitan attachments would be in the face of the very recent upsurge in a nativist populism for whom 'cosmopolitanism' is the pejorative label of choice. In concentrating on the high political and cultural dimensions of cosmopolitanism, Glenn, like other cosmopolitan champions, might be read, fairly or not, as feeding the nativist prejudice that cosmopolitanism is a predominantly elite project and, in particular, one insufficiently attuned to the economic dimension of global (in)justice. Glenn, however, was a supple as well as a subtle thinker, and it is interesting to contemplate how he might have risen to the renewed challenge to what he had understood as the gradual consolidation of cosmopolitanism as the key political orientation of late modernity.