Abstract Epidemiological studies indicate that patients suffering from atherosclerosis are predisposed to develop osteoporosis. Accordingly, atherogenic determinants such as oxidized low density lipoprotein (OxLDL) particles have been shown to alter bone cell functions. In this work, we investigated the cytotoxicity of lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC), a major phospholipid component generated upon LDL oxidation, on bone-forming MG-63 osteoblast-like cells. Cell viability was reduced by lysoPC in a concentration-dependent manner with a LC50 of 18.7 ± 0.7 μM. LysoPC-induced cell death was attributed to induction of both apoptosis and necrosis. Since impairment of intracellular calcium homeostasis is often involved in mechanism of cell death, we determined the involvement of calcium in lysoPC-induced cytotoxicity. LysoPC promoted a rapid and transient increase in intracellular calcium attributed to mobilization from calcium stores, followed by a sustained influx. Intracellular calcium mobilization was associated to phospholipase C (PLC)-dependent mobilization of calcium from the endoplasmic reticulum since inhibition of PLC or calcium depletion of reticulum endoplasmic with thapsigargin prevented the calcium mobilization. The calcium influx induced by lysoPC was abolished by inhibition of transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV) channels with ruthenium red whereas gadolinium, which inhibits canonical TRP (TRPC) channels, was without effect. Accordingly, expression of TRPV2 and TRPV4 were shown in MG-63 cells. The addition of TRPV2 inhibitor Tranilast in the incubation medium prevent the calcium influx triggered by lysoPC and reduced lysoPC-induced cytotoxicity whereas TRPV4 inhibitor RN 1734 was without effect, which confirms the involvement of TRPV2 activation in lysoPC-induced cell death.


To evaluate the impact and process of introducing Circle Solutions (Circles) in six primary schools.Many frameworks for social and emotional learning (SEL) aim to develop individual skills. Circle Solutions is based on a collective approach with a specific pedagogy. This paper explores the impact that Circle Solutions have on belonging and inclusion.Teachers in six primary schools were trained in Circle Solutions and asked to run the intervention once a week for up to six months, with three additional schools providing a waitlist control condition. A mixed-method approach was used to evaluate changes in pupils social-emotional skills, behaviour and connectedness. Five teachers completed the Teacher Attitudes to Social Emotional Learning survey (TASEL) prior to and following the intervention. 157 pupils completed a modified version of the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) plus two open-ended questions.Although quantitative findings did not indicate statistically significant differences, qualitative responses suggested that the introduction of Circle Solutions increased inclusiveness and valuing of others, developed students' emotional awareness, enhanced a positive sense of self and stimulated student engagement. Teachers increased their sense of efficacy for teaching social emotional skills and identified improvements in teacher-student relationships as well as in student confidence, peer relationships, empathy, kindness, and student engagement.Issues with systemic implementation were identified.Circle Solutions appears to have the potential to improve relationships, contributing to more connected and inclusive classrooms where children feel valued and appreciate others. Consideration needs to be given to sustainability and methodology in the evaluation of such programmes. There is a role for educational psychologists in establishing and supporting this intervention as happened throughout this study.


Mutations in ARO1 and ARO2 genes coding for enzymes involved in the common part of the aromatic amino acid pathway completely block the sporulation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae when in a homozygous state, whereas mutations in all the other genes of the same pathway do not. This effect is not due to the lack of any intermediate metabolite but rather to the accumulation of a metabolite preceding chorismic acid. Shikimic acid or one of its precursors was identified as the possible inhibitor. The presence of the three aromatic amino acids in the sporulation medium restores the ability to undergo meiosis. This seems not to be due to a feedback inhibition of the first enzymes of the pathway but rather to a competition between aromatic amino acids and the inhibitor on a site specific for the meiotic process. The inhibition of sporulation seems to occur at a very early step in meiosis, as indicated by the lack of premeiotic DNA synthesis in aro1 and aro2 mutants.


This article presents an overview of highway cooperative collision avoidance (CCA), which is an emerging vehicular safety application using the IEEE- and ASTM-adopted Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) standard. Along with a description of the DSRC architecture, we introduce the concept of CCA and its implementation requirements in the context of a vehicle-to-vehicle wireless network, primarily at the Medium Access Control (MAC) and the routing layer. An overview is then provided to establish that the MAC and routing protocols from traditional Mobile Ad Hoc networks arc not directly applicable for CCA and similar safety-critical applications. Specific constraints and future research directions are then identified for packet routing protocols used to support such applications in the DSRC environment. In order to further explain the interactions between CCA and its underlying networking protocols, we present an example of the safety performance of CCA using simulated vehicle crash experiments. The results from these experiments arc also used to demonstrate the need for network data prioritization for safety-critical applications such as CCA. Finally, the performance sensitivity of CCA to unreliable wireless channels is discussed based on the experimental results.


Danburite is a calcium borosilicate that forms within the transition zones of metacarbonates and pegmatites as a late magmatic accessory mineral. We present here trace element contents obtained by femtosecond laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-mass spectrometry for danburite from Mexico, Tanzania, and Vietnam. The Tanzanian and Vietnamese samples show high concentrations of rare earth elements (∑REEs 1900 µg∙g−1 and 1100 µg∙g−1, respectively), whereas Mexican samples are depleted in REEs (<1.1 µg∙g−1). Other traces include Al, Sr, and Be, with Al and Sr dominating in Mexican samples (325 and 1611 µg∙g−1, respectively). Volatile elements, analyzed using a CHNS elemental analyzer, reach <3000 µg∙g−1. Sr and Al are incorporated following Ca2+ = Sr2+ and 2 B3+ + 3 O2− = Al3+ + 3 OH− + □ (vacancy). REEs replace Ca2+ with a coupled substitution of B3+ by Be2+. Cerium is assumed to be present as Ce4+ in Tanzanian samples based on the observed Be/REE molar ratio of 1.5:1 following 2 Ca2+ + 3 B3+ = Ce4+ + REE3+ + 3 Be2+. In Vietnamese samples, Ce is present as Ce3+ seen in a Be/REE molar ratio of 1:1, indicating a substitution of Ca2+ + B3+ = REE3+ + Be2+. Our results imply that the trace elements of danburite reflect different involvement of metacarbonates and pegmatites among the different locations.


In recent years, quantum computing has emerged as the next frontier in computational and information technologies. Even though it has found potential applications in solving complex problems in fields such as chemistry, machine learning, and cryptography, among other fields, there has been little research conducted on its applications for music and acoustic technologies. This paper will discuss the use of a quantum internet protocol in the context of networked music performance in which quantum computing could play a role in processing musical data via a cloud-based music software application. We also propose an example model for a beat-making performance network using a smart music playlist application deployed on a simulated quantum internet. In the proposed system design and architecture, several beat-makers located remotely from each other are connected live over a simulated quantum internet in a distributed networked music performance. Each beat-maker node transmits and receives audio sample time slices of beat patterns from one another to use in their local performances. This model provides a proof of concept for implementing quantum algorithms, standards, and protocols in music software and network applications when a quantum internet becomes available.


The LUX femtosecond light source concept would support pump-probe experiments that need to synchronize laser light pulses with electron-beam-generated X-ray pulses to less than 50 fs at the experimenter endstations. To synchronize multiple endstation lasers with the X-ray pulse, we are developing a fiber-distributed optical timing network. A high frequency clock signal is distributed via fiber to RF cavities (controlling X-ray probe pulse timing) and mode-locked lasers at endstations (controlling pump pulse timing). The superconducting cavities are actively locked to the optical clock phase. Most of the RF timing error is contained within a 10 kHz bandwidth, so these errors and any others affecting X-ray pulse timing (such as RF gun phase) can be detected and transmitted digitally to correct laser timing at the endstations. Time delay through the fibers will be stabilized by comparing a retro-reflected pulse from the experimenter endstation end with a reference pulse from the sending en d, and actively controlling the fiber length.


This paper empirically investigates the relationship of class design level object-oriented metrics with fault proneness of object-oriented software system. The aim of this study is to evaluate the capability of the design attributes related to coupling, cohesion, complexity, inheritance and size with their corresponding metrics in predicting fault proneness both in independent and combine basis. In this paper, we conducted two set of systematic investigations using publicly available project datasets over its multiple subsequent releases to performed our investigation and four machine learning techniques to validated our results. The first set of investigation consisted of applying the univariate logistic regression (ULR), Spearman's correlation and AUC (Area under ROC curve) analysis on four PROMISE datasets. This investigation evaluated the capability of each metric to predict fault proneness, when used in isolation. The second set of experiments consisted of applying the four machine learning techniques on the next two subsequent versions of the same project datasets to validate the effectiveness of the metrics. Based on the results of individual performance of metrics, we used only those metrics that are found significant, to build multivariate prediction models. Next, we evaluated the significant metrics related to design attributes both in isolation and in combination to validated their capability of predicting fault proneness. Our results suggested that models built on coupling and complexity metrics are better and more accurate than those built on using the rest of metrics.


Track-to-track fusion is an important part in distributed multisensor-multitarget tracking. The centralized and distributed tracking configurations were studied in (H.Chen et al., Proc. of SPIE Conf. on Signal and Data Processing of Small Targets, vol. 4048, 2000) using simulated air-to-air scenarios, and in (K.C. Chang, et al, IEEE Transact. on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 1271-1276, 1997) with analytical results based on /spl alpha/-/spl beta/ filters. The current work generalizes the results in the latter to the cases with more than 2 sensors. As the number of sensors increases, the performance of the distributed tracker is shown to degrade compared with the centralized estimation even when the optimal track-to-track fusion is used. An approximate track-to-track fusion is presented and compared with the optimal track-to-track fusion with performance curves for various numbers of sensors. These performance curves can be used in designing a fusion system where certain trade-offs need to be considered. Finally, these results are compared with simulation results for a realistic air-to-air encounter scenario.


Indoor and outdoor concentrations of PM2.5, OC, EC and BC were investigated at three rural sites during the winter of 2007 and the summer of 2008 in Shaanxi, China. The average indoor concentrations of PM2.5, OC, EC and BC were found to be higher in winter (237.2 µg/m 3 , 61.1 µg/m 3 , 6.2 µg/m 3 , and 14.3 µg/m 3 , respectively) than in summer (99.0 µg/m 3 , 18.0 µg/m 3 , 2.8 µg/m 3 , and 7.4 µg/m 3 , respectively). The average indoor/outdoor (I/O) ratios for PM2.5 and EC were close to or less than 1.0 and those for OC and BC were above 1.0. The correlation coefficients of PM2.5 and carbon species also indicated that the indoor concentrations of PM2.5 and carbonaceous aerosol were correlated with the corresponding outdoor concentrations. Average OC/EC ratios ranged from 4.6 to 23.6 with an average of 9.1 during winter and from 4.2 to 12.0 with an average of 6.3 during summer. The results of this study showed that the OC and EC concentrations and OC/EC ratios in rural areas were higher than those of an urban area in Xi'an. These findings showed that improving energy efficiency and structure will be very important in reducing emissions in rural areas of Shaanxi.


Although thiazolidinediones suppress hyperglycemia in diabetic (NON x NZO)F1 males, these mice exhibit unusual sensitivity to drug-induced exacerbation of an underlying hepatosteatosis only rarely experienced in human patients. To establish the pharmacogenetic basis for this sensitivity, a panel of recombinant congenic strains (RCSs) with varying degrees of obesity and diabetes was generated by fixing selected NZO HlLt alleles on the diabetes- and hepatosteatosis-resistant NON/Lt background. Four new strains in this panel were exposed to chronic rosiglitazone treatment. Only one, NONcNZO8 (designated RCS8), exhibited an F1-like hepatosteatotic response. In both the F1 and RCS8 males, this adverse effect correlated with rosiglitazone suppression of already impaired hepatic phosphatidylcholine biosynthetic enzymes in both arms of the biosynthetic pathway, the phosphatidylethanolamine methyl- transferase pathway, and the CDP-choline pathway, including choline kinase and CTP-cholinephosphate cytidylyltransferase. This adverse response was not reproduced by CL316,243, a beta3-adrenergic receptor agonist with potent antihyperlipemic effects. Genome comparison showed that RCS8 differed from the other strains in carrying NZO-derived genome on virtually all of chromosome 16 and in smaller segments on chromosomes 6, 14, and 17. Thus, these RCSs present a panel of new mouse models exhibiting differential levels of obesity and diabetes as well as different drug responses. This panel can be used to screen for treatments for type 2 diabetes and its complications.


In the USA, the cost-effective use of health-care dollars is currently of great importance. The routine use of technology such as ultrasound will undergo great scrutiny. Both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the US National Institutes of Health have recommended that ultrasound be used only for indicated reasons because of concerns about safety and efficacy.


Spontaneous flame acceleration leading to explosion triggering in open tubes/channels due to wall friction was analytically and computationally studied. It was first demonstrated that the acceleration is affected when the thermal expansion across the flame exceeds a critical value depending on the combustion configuration. For the axisymmetric flame propagation in cylindrical tubes with both ends open, a theory of the initial (exponential) stage of flame acceleration in the quasi-isobaric limit was developed and substantiated by extensive numerical simulation of the hydrodynamics and combustion with an Arrhenius reaction. The dynamics of the flame shape, velocity, and acceleration rate, as well as the velocity profile ahead and behind the flame, have been determined.


DDoS is a spy-on-spy game between attackers and detectors. Attackers are mimicking network traffic patterns to disable the detection algorithms which are based on these features. It is an open problem of discriminating the mimicking DDoS attacks from massive legitimate network accessing. We observed that the zombies use controlled function(s) to pump attack packages to the victim, therefore, the attack flows to the victim are always share some properties, e.g. packages distribution behaviors, which are not possessed by legitimate flows in a short time period. Based on this observation, once there appear suspicious flows to a server, we start to calculate the distance of the package distribution behavior among the suspicious flows. If the distance is less than a given threshold, then it is a DDoS attack, otherwise, it is a legitimate accessing. Our analysis and the preliminary experiments indicate that the proposed method- can discriminate mimicking flooding attacks from legitimate accessing efficiently and effectively.


Rabbit corneal endothelial pH and electrical potential have both been determined using tracer distribution techniques. Intercellular pH was measured using the dimethyloxazolidine-dione method and intracellular potential was measured using tetraphenylphosphonium bromide. Intracellular pH was determined as 7.10 in an ambient solution of pH 7.5. The only solution variations which altered intracellular pH were variations in the external solution pH, bathing in sodium-free or bicarbonate-free solution, incubation for 3 hours with 10(-6) or 10(-4) M ouabain or for 1 hour with 10(-4) M ouabain or in a high (60 mM) bicarbonate solution. The data indicate a close correlation between sodium and bicarbonate needs for the endothelium which corresponds with known effects of these ions on transendothelial ion fluxes. Intracellular potentials were measured of -34 mV, which were stable in the face of all environmental perturbations except 1 mM acetazolamide and 10(-6) M ouabain exposure for 3 hours. These newer techniques may be employed to provide some clues into the mechanism of endothelial transport systems.


The fast and efficient selection of food-approved solvents is required for a growing number of flavonoids that are continuously being tested for their nutraceutical properties. Solid–liquid equilibrium is an essential source of information for the design of extraction, precipitation, or crystallization processes in the food industry. In this context, the nonrandom two-liquid segment activity coefficient thermodynamic model showed to be an appropriate tool to represent the solubility of several key flavonoids (apigenin, genistein, hesperetin, luteolin) in pure solvents, suggesting its ability to predict solubility in solvents not considered during the correlation procedure. For substances with unknown melting properties the reference solvent approach was successfully applied. Additionally, new solubility data of S-hesperetin in the pure solvents acetone, ethanol, ethyl acetate, methanol, and acetonitrile was measured, between 25 and 40 °C, by the shake-flask method.


Smith-Magenis syndrome is characterized by a range of minor physical and facial abnormalities and is caused by a de novo deletion on chromosome 17. Most children function in the moderate to severe ranges of mental retardation. Results of a survey on adaptive skills, communicative competence and behavioural abnormalities in 20 children are reported. The findings suggest a strong desire to get in social contact and maintain conversations in spite of their limited cognitive processing. As a group, children with SMS are presenting with severe behavioural abnormalities, e.g. self-injury, extreme irritability, ritualistic behaviour. Behaviour problems are more severe than in other genetic syndrome groups as a comparison with Prader-Willi- and Fragile-X-syndrome children reveals. However, functional analysis suggests that it is not independent from situational variables. There is a strong need for behavioural intervention planning as part of family services.


The trajectory of histology at the cusp of the twentieth century in Portugal and Spain is investigated to draw a parallel between the contributions of Santiago Ramón y Cajal and Marck Athias, both of whom were instrumental in the development of experimental medicine in the Iberian Peninsula and recognized as pillars of a new European scientific mindset at the dawn of the twentieth century. In this case study we reflect on the vicissitudes of the construction of science in the "periphery" of Europe, in the context of the historiographical category of center-periphery developed by STEP (Science and Technology in the European Periphery), contrasting the reality in Iberia with the model of German science in the period under study.


Wellbeing advocates state that it provides a more holistic, humanistic focus for public policy. Paradoxically, however, wellbeing debates tend to be dominated by highly quantitative, de-contextualized statistical methods accessible to only a minority of technical experts. This paper argues the need to reverse this trend. Drawing on original primary mixed method research in Zambia and India it shows the critical contribution of qualitative methods to the development of a quantitative model of subjective perspectives on wellbeing. Such contributions have a political, ethical and practical urgency if subjective measures of wellbeing are to be used in policy.


Enhancing the heat transfer by the use of helical coils has been studied and researched by many researchers because the fluid dynamics inside the pipes of a heat exchangers offer certain advantages over a straight tubes, shell and tube heat exchanger, in terms of better heat transfer and mass transfer coefficients After validating the methodology of CFD analysis of a heat exchanger against the numerical results available in literature, the effect of considering the actual fluid properties instead of a constant value is established. The characteristics of heat transfer inside a helical coil for different boundary conditions are compared. The flow field through the helically coiled tube is simulated by solving the appropriate governing equations: conservation of mass, momentum and energy. The turbulence is taken by Shear Stress Transport (SST) k-ε of closure.SST k-ε has a blending function which acts as a standard k-ε in main stream flow and as standard k-ε near the boundary layer where the gradient is much steeper. It is observed that the specification of a constant temperature or constant heat flux boundary condition for an actual heat exchanger does not yield proper modelling. Hence, conjugate heat transfer and temperature dependent properties of heat transport media are considered for the analysis of the heat exchanger. The CFD calculation results are obtained using the CFD package FLUENT 14.0.Since the above work necessitates the knowledge in CFD package FLUENT, a sample model of the helical coil heat exchanger is made using FLUENT before taking up the abovementioned project. The present report summarizes few of the studies thus made. The report also mentions the work performed with regard to the project problem


Four new chiral polymers of BINOLSalen-cobalt ACHTUNGTRENNUNG(III) salt complexes have been designed, synthesized and applied to the direct fabrication of chiral propylene carbonate from racemic propylene oxide. The (R/S)-polymer catalyst 2 and (S/R)-polymer catalyst 4 exhibit better enantioselectivity than the (R/R)-polymer catalyst 1 and the (S/S)-polymer catalyst 3 and have been recovered and reused more than ten times without loss of activity and enantioselectivity.


Background The American Academy of Neurology Parkinson Disease (PD) quality measures include an annual diagnostic review. Objective To investigate the frequency and pattern of changes in diagnoses between PD and other causes of parkinsonism. Methods This prospective longitudinal cohort study included consented patients diagnosed with PD at least once and a minimum of two times at the Movement Disorders Center between 2002 and 2017. Movement disorder specialists confirmed and documented diagnoses at every visit. Longitudinal changes in diagnoses were identified across visits. Results Of 1567 patients with parkinsonism, 174 had non-PD parkinsonism with no change over time. Of 1393 patients diagnosed with PD at least once, 94% (N = 1308) had no change of diagnosis over time and 6% (N = 85) had a change of diagnosis including PD ⟷ drug-induced parkinsonism (DIP) (27.1%), PD ⟷ multiple system atrophy (MSA) (20.0%), PD ⟷ progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) (18.8%), PD ⟷ Lewy body dementia (DLB) (16.5%), PD⟷ vascular parkinsonism (9.4%), more than two diagnoses (4.7%), and PD ⟷ corticobasal syndrome (CBS) (3.5%). The direction of diagnostic switches was as follows: PD ⟶ other parkinsonism diseases (36.5%), other parkinsonism diseases ⟶ PD (31.8%), and 31.8% of multiple switches. There were no significant differences in duration of follow-up, age at first visit, gender, race, marital status, education, income, cognition, or employment between the stable and unstable groups. Diagnostic change was associated with greater PD severity and greater medical comorbidity. Conclusion Over a 15-year period, movement disorder specialists changed their clinical diagnosis of PD in 6% of patients. The most common diagnostic switches, to or from PD, were DIP, MSA, PSP, and DLB. This study describes routine clinical diagnostic patterns in the absence of pathologic confirmation. The presence of diverse diagnostic changes over time underscores the value of confirming PD diagnosis.


Clinical Ophthalmology: A Text and Colour Atlas is an introductory text primarily intended for the nonophthalmologist physician, medical student, and others looking for a short yet well-rounded overview of the specialty. While boasting numerous superb color photographs, however, this book is more than just an atlas. The ophthalmologic examination, symptom-related diagnosis, and common pathologic conditions affecting the eye are addressed in a succinctly written fashion. The book comprises 15 chapters. The first discusses the techniques and instrumentation used for the eye examination. Special attention is given to direct ophthalmoscopy. After brief chapters devoted to refractive errors, color vision defects, and aging changes in the eye, a well-illustrated review of eyelid conditions is presented. In this latter section, as throughout the book, the photographs are reproduced in an appealing and clearly illustrative manner. The subsequent chapters deal with the causes of epiphora and the red eye, briefly discussing both common and


Q-learning is a popular reinforcement learning algorithm. This algorithm has however been studied and analysed mainly in the infinite horizon setting. There are several important applications which can be modeled in the framework of finite horizon Markov decision processes. We develop a version of Q-learning algorithm for finite horizon Markov decision processes (MDP) and provide a full proof of its stability and convergence. Our analysis of stability and convergence of finite horizon Q-learning is based entirely on the ordinary differential equations (O.D.E) method. We also demonstrate the performance of our algorithm on a setting of random MDP along with an application on smart Grids.


This article explores the practice so far in the application of the 2006 Guidelines on Fines of the European Commission. The different steps in the calculation are examined in separate sections, and the analysis also takes into account the most recent case law of the European Union (EU) Courts. This article concludes that the current level of fines is by no means excessive, while at the same time the guidelines offer the necessary modulations to allow account to be taken of the particularities of each case and the liability of each undertaking. The value of sales, a possible different percentage for gravity, the multiplier for duration, and the application of adjustments all ensure that proper account is taken, where appropriate, of more intense or limited participation by a given undertaking. The application of the 2006 Guidelines to past cases does not breach the principle that no heavier penalty will be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the offence was committed.


The study examines the public private partnership policy in Nigeria as a panacea to the development and management of electricity in Nigeria. The study is descriptive and its objective is proposing an alternative policy that will ensure the sustainable development of electricity in Nigeria. The heavy presence of government in energy development did not seem to encourage desirable development in the sector. The SAP, Vision 2010, and NEP 1999 proposed deregulatory approach relying on private sector led development approach for the development of utilities. The NEEDS 2004 clearly and specifically proposes the PPP approach under the deregulatory devices. PPP as a contractual arrangement between the public and private sectors operators constitutes an approach to achieve well defined and shared objectives in a well-managed, cost-effective, efficient and sustainable manner, hence, is con-sidered in the paper. Findings suggest that forms of the PPP are given for consideration to bail Nigeria out of the impacts of poor quality, unreliable and limited availability of power-supply, presumed partly due to government led-development approach. The paper contains some policy issues such as the encouragement of private sector participation in the provision of energy infrastructure within the public- private- partnership policy (PPP) framework.


Environmental and natural resource issues are often framed in multiple ways by multiple stakeholders. This is especially the case in relation to Arctic natural resource development: a complex issue bearing the hallmarks of modern sustainability challenges. With the increasing attention placed towards the Arctic's natural resources comes a growing number of diverse voices, producing a discursive environment fertile for frame-conflicts and susceptible to misunderstanding, confusion and conflation. For many, the central challenge in tackling socio-ecological problems deriving from these complex issues centres on conflicting frames: from how problems are initially defined to what are appropriate solutions, these issues are social and political constructs and arenas for deep disagreement. As such, if policy efforts to meet the sustainability challenges associated with Arctic natural resources are to be successful, an understanding of frames proves essential. This thesis contributes towards this important research area by undertaking a frame-analysis of contemporary Arctic natural resource development.

This thesis consists of three empirical strands. The first examines media-frames in international news media coverage surrounding natural resources in an Arctic context. Using Greenland as a case-study, it illustrates a media portrayal of a close-knit relationship between a warming climate and natural resource development. The second strand uses Q-Methodology to explore frame-conflicts within a group of Arctic stakeholders around the issue of Arctic offshore petroleum, finding significant divergence across framings, with some bridges of consensus evident that could potentially facilitate collaborative policymaking. The third strand examines the role of scale-frames within the discussion around Arctic offshore petroleum, identifying several scale-challenges often related to the Arctic's nebulous relationship with scale. Themes emerging across these three strands point to a need for alternative conceptual approaches to space that capture the inter-relational complexity behind Arctic natural resource development. Relational geographies and assemblage-thinking are presented as useful conceptual lens in which to engage with this complexity.

This thesis argues that despite its inherent complexity, an understanding of the various ways Arctic natural resources are framed can offer guidance for policymakers such as highlighting the risks of dominant tropes, the existence of potential bridges and the need for more refined terminology when necessary. In doing so, this thesis highlights the utility of mixed-methods frame analysis as a heuristic tool to better understand complex socio-ecological issues.


It is usually assumed that the relation between the moment m t of a collimator magnet used in determining the horizontal component of the earth's magnetic field is dependent on the temperature, the relation being given by the equation m t = m o (1 — qt—q't2). The evidence, however, upon which this assumption is based not appearing conclusive, the writer was led to make an independent investigation of the subject, and the present paper is an account of the experiments carried out with that object on a Kew collimating magnet of the ordinary type about 20 years old. One of the difficulties in any magnetometer observations arises from the variability of the earth's field. Variations may be either those of a widespread nature, such as are generally dealt with under the name of diurnal variation, or those of purely local origin, due to the proximity of electric trams, dynamo-electric machinery, electric mains, or like causes Among these disturbances we may include those arising from earth currents, since these currents, to whatever cause they may be due, are often of much more considerable magnitude that is usually suspected.


Spermatozoa provide an unusual character system, with a limited number of components organized in a single cell. Similar spermatozoa occur in groups widely separated in the phylogenetic tree of Metazoa. Nevertheless, the character system contains phylogenetic information. Hexapoda have acquired spermatophores along with the switch from aquatic to terrestrial habitats, and related to this, a multitude of different sperm types. The aim of this study is a formal evaluation of the phylogenetic information content of spermatozoa. For the first time, sperm characters are coded for formal phylogenetic analyses. Different approaches are used and compared. Mainly due to a high level of homoplasy, the evaluation of sperm characters alone is insufficient for a reconstruction of the phylogeny of the group. Yet, a reliable reconstruction of the evolution of insect sperm is possible when character transformations are assessed using a phylogeny based on extensive molecular data. Important changes took place in the early evolution of Hexapoda. Sperm characters support some major clades (e.g. Hexapoda, Dicondylia, Polyneoptera, Psocodea), but important steps in the evolution are not reflected by transformations of spermatozoa, notably the rise of Pterygota or Holometabola. Important innovations are the formation of mitochondrial derivatives and the acquisition of accessory microtubules. Some features are conservative, whereas others evolved rapidly (e.g. presence or absence of the acrosome vesicle). Some groups are conservative in their sperm features (e.g. Odonata, Heteroptera), whereas the evolution of spermatozoa was distinctly accelerated in others (e.g. Ephemeroptera). The rate of evolution can change drastically in closely related groups. Profound changes in the morphologically uniform Zoraptera underline that sperm evolution can follow a pattern very different from the general somatic morphology. The mode of character reconstruction preferred here will be useful for the evaluation of specialized morphological character systems and strengthen the concept of evolutionary morphology.


A screening instrument used to identify young children at risk for behavioral and emotional difficulties, the Behavioral and Emotional Screening System Teacher Rating Scale–Preschool was examined. The Rasch Rating Scale Method was used to provide additional information about psychometric properties of items, respondents, and the response scale. Using a representative U.S. sample of 1,485 children, the structure of the screener, performance of the rating scale, and coverage of the Maladaptive Behavior construct were investigated to identify children with emerging behavioral and emotional difficulties. Items measuring Internalizing and Externalizing Problems indicated greater efficiency for assessing at-risk behavioral and emotional problems, whereas items measuring emerging school problems or adaptive skills contributed little to the assessment of risk. Differential item functioning was examined for by age and found to be present for roughly one third of the items. Implications for scale development, screening young children, and use of screening information are discussed.


Electric vehicle routing problems (E-VRPs) deal with routing a fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) to serve a set of customers while minimizing an operational criterion, for example, cost or time. The feasibility of the routes is constrained by the autonomy of the EVs, which may be recharged along the route. Much of the E-VRP research neglects the capacity of charging stations (CSs) and thus implicitly assumes that an unlimited number of EVs can be simultaneously charged at a CS. In this paper, we model and solve E-VRPs considering these capacity restrictions. In particular, we study an E-VRP with nonlinear charging functions, multiple charging technologies, en route charging, and variable charging quantities while explicitly accounting for the number of chargers available at privately managed CSs. We refer to this problem as the E-VRP with nonlinear charging functions and capacitated stations (E-VRP-NL-C). We introduce a continuous-time model formulation for the problem. We then introduce an algorithmic framework that iterates between two main components: (1) the route generator, which uses an iterated local search algorithm to build a pool of high-quality routes, and (2) the solution assembler, which applies a branch-and-cut algorithm to combine a subset of routes from the pool into a solution satisfying the capacity constraints. We compare four assembly strategies on a set of instances. We show that our algorithm effectively deals with the E-VRP-NL-C. Furthermore, considering the uncapacitated version of the E-VRP-NL-C, our solution method identifies new best-known solutions for 80 of 120 instances.


AIMS
About 15% of patients with the hypersensitive carotid sinus syndrome (CSS) have no clinical improvement after permanent pacemaker implantation. We aimed to assess the outcome of patients with CSS treated with pacemaker and to determine predictors of symptoms' recurrence.

METHODS AND RESULTS
A retrospective analysis of 138 patients in whom pacemaker was implanted for CSS was carried out from February 1990 to October 2008. Data were collected from clinical records. Mean age was 69 ± 10.7 years and 104 patients (75.4%) were men. Mean follow-up period was 4.9 ± 4.4 years. Twenty-one (15.2%) patients presented mixed CSS and 117 (84.8%) cardioinhibitory CSS. The head-up tilt test (HUTT) was performed in 93 patients (67.4%). After pacemaker implantation, 115 (83.3%) patients had no further symptoms, 8 (5.8%) presented minor symptoms and in 15 (10.9%), the symptoms remained unchanged. Among patients with symptoms' recurrence, 8 (38.1%) had mixed CSS and 15 (12.8%) cardioinhibitory CSS. Mixed CSS was the only independent predictor of symptoms' recurrence in total population {hazard ratio (HR) 2.84 [95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.20-6.71]; P = 0.017} and in patients who performed HUTT [HR 1.84 (95% CI 1.01-3.35); P = 0.045]. Although the HUTT result was not related to symptoms' recurrence, patients with mixed CSS were more likely to present a vasodepressor response (61.9 vs. 19.4%; P < 0.001) and a reproduction of spontaneous symptoms (28.6 vs. 2.8%; P = 0,001) on HUTT.

CONCLUSIONS
Permanent pacemaker is an effective treatment for CSS. However, the recurrence of symptoms was two- to three-fold more frequent in patients with mixed CSS, probably due to the persistence of vasodepressor component.


The paper proposes a design and construction of a special plated capacitor exhibiting very good high-frequency characteristics. The capacitor is designed to minimize the parasitic parameters like ESR (equivalent series resistance) and ESL (equivalent series inductance) and to be suitable for power industry applications. The paper describes the fabrication process and discusses technical issues related to technology of manufacturing and assembling. It also provides an experimental verification and the quality evaluation based on frequency characteristics compared to existing commercial high-quality capacitor.


BACKGROUND
Recently, there has been a growing awareness of the importance of the roles of fathers in understanding normative developmental processes. Increased attention has been given to the roles of fathers in the area of clinical child research and therapy. However, the presence of fathers in research and treatment in pediatric psychology has not been fully examined.

OBJECTIVE
To explore the status of including fathers in both research and treatment in the area of pediatric psychology.

METHOD
An extensive review of published research.

RESULTS
The findings suggest that pediatric psychology research lags even farther behind clinical child research in including fathers in research designs and analyzing for maternal and paternal effects separately. There is also a concomitant lack of inclusion of fathers in family-based interventions in pediatric psychology.

CONCLUSION
These patterns are discussed, with an emphasis on strategies to increase the inclusion of fathers in research and treatment of pediatric psychology issues. Future directions for researchers and clinicians are also included.


A review is given on the formation mechanisms and the properties of Si/Ge nanostructures that have been synthesized by self-assembling and self-ordering during heteroepitaxy of \mbox{silicon-germanium} alloys on single-crystal silicon substrates. The properties of electronic subbands in smooth strained Si/SiGe quantum well structures are presented as a basis for characterizing coherent Si/Ge nanostructures with free motion of carriers in a reduced number of dimensions. The low-dimensional band structure of valence band states confined in strained Si/Ge and Si/SiGe nanostructures is analysed by optical and electrical spectroscopy. The nanostructures presented were fabricated by self-assembly induced by elastic strain relaxation without applying any patterning technique. Misfit lattice strain of SiGe material deposited on Si substrates can relax by bunching of atomic surface steps with SiGe agglomeration at the step edges or by nucleation of Ge-rich islands in the Stranski-Krastanow growth mode. The size, density and composition of such Si/Ge nanostructures representing quantum wires and dots, respectively, can be tuned in a wide range by the growth parameters. Local strain fields extending into the Si host influence the nucleation and the lateral arrangement of nanostructures in subsequent layers and can be applied for self-ordering of nanostructures in the vertical as well as the lateral direction. Interband and intra-valence-band photocurrent, absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy as well as C-V and admittance measurements reveal a consistent view of the band structure in Si/Ge quantum dot structures. This is in good agreement with model calculations based on band offsets, deformation potentials and effective electron masses known from earlier studies of Si/SiGe quantum well structures. The effective valence band offsets of hole states within Si/Ge nanostructures reach about 400 meV. Typical quantization energies of about 40 meV due to lateral confinement and Coulomb charging energies up to about 15 meV were observed for holes confined in 20 nm sized Si/Ge dots. Future applications of Si/Ge nanostructures such as photodetectors with improved performance or novel functionality are discussed.


The virial theorem is written by using the canonical equations of motion in classical mechanics. A moving particle with an initial speed in an n-particle system is considered. The distance of the moving particle from the origin of the system to the final position is derived as a function of the kinetic energy of the particle. It is thought that the considered particle would not collide with other particles in the system. The relation between the final and initial distance of the particle from the origin of the system is given by a single equation.


Energy consumption of transport modes are partly dependent on the chosen travel mode. For specific OD pairs a comparison of travel modes in terms of energy consumption gives an idea of the possibilities to change the energy budget of a city. In this study a comparison of transport modes in terms of energy consumption is given for two chosen routes in the case study of Ankara, Turkey. The results show that there are differences with respect to chosen travel mode in terms of energy use and travel cost reflected to traveler for a certain OD couple.


Self-reported feelings of anxiety after separate administrations of ethanol (0.75 mL/kg), low-dose diazepam (0.12 mg/kg), high-dose diazepam (0.20 mg/kg), and placebo were evaluated over four laboratory sessions in the same 90 male volunteers, who used the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Significant increases in the state anxiety scores were observed after administrations of diazepam and ethanol, while a significant decrease in the feelings of tension was reported after administration of placebo. Consistent with previous work from our laboratory, there were similarities in the intensity and time course of change observed for a number of measures following low-dose diazepam and ethanol infusions. The potential importance of these findings to the understanding of intoxication and abuse of benzodiazepines is discussed.


Recently, the web has rapidly emerged as a great source of financial information ranging from news articles to per- sonal opinions. Data mining and analysis of such financial information can aid stock market predictions. Traditional approaches have usually relied on predictions based on past performance of the stocks. In this paper, we introduce a novel way to do stock market prediction based on sentiments of web users. Our method involves scanning for financial message boards and extracting sentiments expressed by in- dividual authors. The system then learns the correlation between the sentiments and the stock values. The learned model can then be used to make future predictions about stock values. In our experiments, we show that our method is able to predict the sentiment with high precision and we also show that the stock performance and its recent web sentiments are also closely correlated.


An approximate semi-analytical approach is presented which uses line-of-sight measurements of D-D fusion neutrons from beam heated Tokamak plasmas to infer the behaviour of the fast ion population at sawtooth collapses. Application to recent results on JET confirms that a large fraction of the central fast beam ions are expelled from the central plasma. The approach provides an approximate but computationally fast and convenient complement to presently used inversion techniques.


The composition of intestinal microbiota commonly varies among animal hosts and may affect host health. However, we have limited knowledge about the different relative roles of assembly processes, such as drift, dispersal and environmental selection, for the composition of gut microbiota. Here, we conducted a field study analyzing intestinal microbial communities of two fish species that either have (perch) or lack (roach) a stomach. We used a suite of statistical tools to evaluate the role of different assembly processes for intestine microbiota, including null model analysis (Chase et al., 2011; Fine and Kembel, 2011; Stegen et al., 2013), SourceTracker analysis (Knights et al., 2011) and several multivariate analyses, such as pRDA and PLS analysis. Drift, dispersal (i.e., microbes associated with food sources) and environmental factors (i.e., diet, host habitats), appeared to be of equal importance for the assembly of intestinal microbial communities in roach, while drift appeared most important in perch, followed by dispersal and environmental selection. Furthermore, we found that microbes associated with macroinvertebrates had a positive association to fish body condition (weight/length3) whereas microbes associated with zooplankton had a negative association to fish body condition. These results emphasize the important combined roles of drift, dispersal and environmental selection in shaping the host-associated microbial communities. We conclude that general conclusions about fish as a whole are not justified since different species differ in the relative roles of these important drivers of community assembly.


A low-protein, low-phosphorus diet (LPD) has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity in uremic patients; however, this improvement has not been studied at low physiologic concentrations of plasma insulin, and the metabolic pathways concerned with this improvement have not been located. We used the glucose clamp technique at a low (0.25 mU.kg-1.min-1) level of hyperinsulinemia associated with the infusion of D[6,6-2H2] glucose to assess the insulin sensitivity of endogenous glucose production (EGP). Eight nondialyzed uremic patients were studied before and after 3 mo on an LPD providing 0.3 g/kg protein, 5-7 mg P/kg, and 146 kJ/kg (67% of energy as carbohydrates and 30% as lipids) per day, supplemented with ketoanalog amino acids. Postabsorptive plasma glucose and insulin declined after 3 mo of the diet (plasma glucose: 5.0 +/- 0.1 mmol/L before compared with 4.7 +/- 0.1 mmol/L after the LPD, P < 0.05; plasma insulin: 82.4 +/- 20.7 pmol/L before compared with 48.8 +/- 6.0 pmol/L after, P < 0.05). Postabsorptive glucose turnover rates did not change with the diet (2.06 +/- 0.14 mg.kg-1.min-1 before compared with 2.11 +/- 0.17 mg.kg-1.min-1 after LPD; NS). The insulin metabolic clearance rate was enhanced after the diet, so a lower level of hyperinsulinemia was obtained during the clamp (168.8 +/- 28.1 pmol/L before compared with 115.2 +/- 14.7 pmol/L after; P < 0.05). However, EGP was more easily inhibited after the diet (0.90 +/- 0.31 mg.kg-1.min-1 before compared with 0.30 +/- 0.17 mg.kg-1.min-1 after; P < 0.05), providing evidence of an improved insulin sensitivity of this parameter. This beneficial influence takes place at a physiologic level of hyperinsulinemia, and it probably plays an important role in the better glucose tolerance that has been reported in uremic patients on an LPD. An abnormal insulin sensitivity of EGP may participate in the disturbances of glucose metabolism in chronic renal failure.


List of Figures. List of Tables. Introduction. Book Conventions. 1. Juniper Networks. Juniper Networks Markets. Customer Services. Education Services. Technical Certification. Professional Services. Juniper.net. Internet and E-mail Contact Information. 2. JUNOS Internet Software Overview. JUNOS Processes. Routing Protocol Process. Interface Process. Chassis Process. SNMP and MIB II Processes. Management Process. Supported Networking Standards. 3. Juniper Networks Router Overview. Router Architecture. Hardware Components. Chassis. Flexible PIC Concentrators. Physical Interface Cards. Routing Engine. Power Supplies. Cooling System. Cable Management System. Field-Replaceable Units. T640 Internet Routing Node. T320 Internet Router. M160 Internet Router. M40e Internet Router. M40 Internet Router. M20 Internet Router. M5 and M10 Internet Routers. 4. Router Installation and Basic JUNOS Setup. Preparing for Installation. Rack Requirements. Power and Grounding Cable Requirements. Network Cable Requirements. Site Wiring Guidelines. Fiber-Optic Connection Guidelines. Unpacking the Router. Installing the Router. Initially Configuring the Software. Installing the Software. Upgrading Software Packages. Upgrading Individual Software Packages. Basic Software Setup. Configuring User Accounts. Configuring Login Classes. Configuring User Authentication. Configuring Time. 5. CLI and System Management. Using the CLI. CLI Screen Output. Filtering Screen Output. CLI Operational Mode. Setting the Date and Time. Displaying CLI Command History. Monitoring Who Uses the CLI. Controlling the CLI Environment. CLI Configuration Mode. Configuration Statements and Identifiers. How the Configuration Is Stored. Entering and Exiting Configuration Mode. Moving among Levels of the Hierarchy. Displaying the Current Configuration. Creating and Modifying the Configuration. Running Operational Mode CLI Commands from Configuration. Displaying Configuration Mode Command History. Verifying and Committing a Configuration. Saving a Configuration to a File. Loading a Configuration. Returning to a Previously Committed Configuration. Getting Help. Adding Comments in a Configuration. System Management with SNMP. Management Information Base. SNMP Traps. JUNOS SNMP Agent Features. System Logging for SNMP Traps. Configuring SNMP. Configuring System Information. Configuring the SNMP Community String. Configuring SNMP Trap Options. Configuring the Interfaces on Which SNMP Requests are Accepted. Configuring MIB Views. Tracing SNMP Activity. 6. Interfaces and Class of Service. JUNOS Interface Terminology. Configuring Interfaces on the Router. Configuring Physical Interface Properties. Configuring Logical Interface Properties. Configuring Family and Address Interface Properties. Configuring ATM Interfaces. Configuring E1 and E3 Interfaces. Configuring Encryption Interfaces. Configuring Ethernet Interfaces. Configuring Ethernet Physical Interface Properties. Configuring 802.1Q VLANs. Configuring Static ARP Table Entries. Configuring VRRP. Configuring the Management Ethernet Interface. Configuring the Internal Ethernet Interface. Configuring Aggregated Ethernet Interfaces. Configuring Frame Relay. Configuring the Loopback Interface. Configuring Multilink Interfaces. Configuring Multilink Properties. Configuring Physical and Logical Multilink Interfaces. Configuring SONET/SDH Interfaces. Configuring SONET/SDH Physical Interface Properties. Configuring APS. Configuring the Media MTU. Configuring the Clock Source. Configuring Receive and Transmit Leaky Bucket Properties. Damping Interface Transitions. Configuring Interface Encapsulation. Configuring Aggregated SONET/SDH Interfaces. Configuring T1 and T3 Interfaces. Configuring Tunnel Interfaces. Configuring a Unicast Tunnel. Configuring a Multicast Tunnel. Configuring a VPN Tunnel for Route Table Lookup. Configuring a VPN Tunnel for VRF Table Lookup. Configuring PIM Tunnels. Configuring Channelized Interfaces. Configuring Channelized DS-3 to DS-0 Interfaces. Configuring Channelized DS-3 to DS-1 Interfaces. Configuring Channelized E1 Interfaces. Configuring Channelized OC-12 Interfaces. Configuring Channelized OC-3 and STM-1 Interfaces. Configuring Class of Service (CoS). Defining Code-Point Aliases. Configuring Forwarding Classes. Classifying Packets by Behavior Aggregate Class. Configuring Scheduling Policy Maps. Configuring RED Drop Profiles. Rewriting Packet Header Information. Configuring CoS-Based Forwarding. 7. IP Security (IPSec). Configuring IPSec Global and Proposal Properties. Configuring Security Associations. Configuring Dynamic Security Associations. Configuring IKE. Configuring an IPSec Proposal. Configuring an IPSec Policy. 8. Routing Policy and Firewall Filters. Policy Terminology. Comparison of Routing Policies and Firewall Filters. Routing Policy Framework. Configuring Routing Policy. Defining Routing Policies. Applying Routing Policies. Applying Routing Policies to the Forwarding Table. Configuring AS Path Regular Expressions. Configuring Communities. Configuring Prefix Lists and Route Lists. Configuring Route Lists. Configuring Subroutines. Configuring the AS Path Prepend Action. Configuring BGP Route Flap Damping. Configuring Per-Packet Load Balancing. Configuring Firewall Filters. Applying Firewall Filters to Interfaces. Configuring Policing. Configure Accounting. Configuring Filter-Based Forwarding. Configuring Traffic Sampling and Forwarding 3. Configuring Per-Flow Load Balancing Information. Configuring Traffic Sampling Output Files. Tracing Traffic Sampling Operations. Configuring Flow Aggregation (cflowd). Configuring Port Mirroring. 9. Routing and Routing Protocols. Routing Protocols Concepts. Creating Routing Tables. Configuring Static, Aggregate, and Generated Routes. Specifying Policy with Aggregate and Generated Routes. Configuring Martian Addresses. BGP. BGP Messages. Configuring BGP. IS-IS. IS-IS Packets. Configuring IS-IS. OSPF. OSPF Routing Algorithm. OSPF Packets. Configuring OSPF. RIP. RIP Packets. Configuring RIP. Tracing RIP Protocol Traffic. Multicast Protocols Overview. PIM. PIM Packet Formats. Configuring PIM. DVMRP. DVMRP Packet Formats. Configuring DVMRP. IGMP. IGMP Packets. Configuring IGMP. Tracing IGMP Protocol Traffic. SAP and SDP. SAP and SDP Packets. Configuring SAP and SDP. MSDP. MSDP Packets. Configuring MSDP. Configuring MSDP Peers. Multicast Scoping. Configuring Multicast Scoping. 10. IPv6. IPv6 Packet Headers and Addressing. Configuring IPv6. Configuring Interfaces. Configuring Firewall Filters. Configuring Routing Policy. Creating IPv6 Routing Tables. Configuring IPv6 Routing Protocols. IPv4-to-IPv6 Transition Mechanisms. Dual IP Layer. Configured Tunnels. 11. MPLS Applications. Traffic Engineering. Traffic Engineering Components. MPLS. Types of LSPs. Flexible LSP Calculation and Configuration. Labels. Routers in an LSP. How a Packet Travels along an LSP. Constrained-Path LSP Computation. Fate Sharing. IGP Shortcuts. Advertising LSPs into IGPs. IP and MPLS Packets on Aggregated Interfaces. MPLS Applications for Traffic Engineering. MPLS and Routing Tables. MPLS and Traffic Protection. Per-Prefix Load Balancing. Automatic Bandwidth Allocation. Configuring MPLS-Signaled LSPs. Configuring the Ingress Router for MPLS-Signaled LSPs. Configuring LDP Tunneling. Using Fate Sharing to Configure Alternate Backup Paths. Enabling RSVP. Configuring MPLS over GRE Tunnels. Configuring Static LSPs. Configuring Explicit-Path LSPs. Configuring Miscellaneous MPLS Properties. Popping the Label on the Ultimate-Hop Router. Configuring Traffic Engineering for LSPs. Configuring MPLS to Gather Statistics. Controlling MPLS System Log Messages and SNMP Traps. Tracing MPLS Protocol Packets and Operations. RSVP. Enabling RSVP. Configuring RSVP Aggregation. Configuring the RSVP Hello Interval. Configuring RSVP Authentication. Reserving Bandwidth on an Interface. Configuring RSVP Timers. Preempting RSVP Sessions. Tracing RSVP Protocol Traffic. Configuring RSVP and MPLS. LDP. Enabling LDP. Configuring the LDP Hello Interval. Configuring the LDP Hold Time. Configuring the LDP Keepalive Interval. Configuring the LDP Keepalive Timeout. Configuring LDP Route Preferences. Popping the LDP Ultimate-Hop Router. Filtering Inbound and Outbound LDP Labels. Enabling LDP over LSPs Established by RSVP. Configuring the Transport Address Used by LDP. Configuring LDP Egress Policy. Configuring FEC Deaggregation. Configuring LDP to Use the IGP Route Metric. Tracing LDP Protocol Traffic. Circuit Cross-Connect. Configuring Layer 2 Switching Cross-Connects. Configuring MPLS LSP Tunnel Cross-Connects. Configuring LSP Stitching Cross-Connects. 12. Layer 2 and Layer 3 VPNs. VPN Concepts. Configuring Layer 2 VPNs. Configuring Layer 3 VPNs. Configuring Policy for the PE Router's VRF Table. Configuring VPN Routing between the PE and CE Routers. Configuring Layer 3 VPN Tunnel Interfaces. 13. Monitoring Commands. System Management. SNMP. Chassis. Accounting Options. Interfaces. Firewall Filters. Forwarding Options. Class of Service. Protocol-Independent Routing. Routing Policy. IS-IS. OSPF. BGP. Generic IP Multicast Information. PIM. DVMRP. IGMP. MSDP. Multicast Scoping. MPLS. RSVP. LDP. Layer 2 VPNs. Layer 3 VPNs. IP Security (IPSec). 14. Sample JUNOS Configurations. ATM Interface Configuration. BGP Configurations. Basic BGP Configuration. BGP Routing Policy. Route Aggregation. Controlling Peering. Route Flap Damping. Route Reflectors. Confederations. IS-IS Configurations. Basic Configuration. Export Static Routes. Simple Authentication. Interface-Level Hello Authentication. Passive Interfaces. Layer 3 VPN Configurations. Appendix. Additional Resources. Glossary. Index. 0321122445T09252002


Numerical renormalization-group and conformal-field-theory work indicate that the two-impurity Kondo Hamiltonian has a non-Fermi-liquid critical point separating the Kondo-screening phase from the interimpurity singlet phase when particle-hole (P-H) symmetry is maintained. We clarify the circumstances under which this critical point occurs, pointing out that there are two types of P-H symmetry. Only one of them guarantees the occurrence of the critical point. Much of the previous numerical work was done on models with the other type of P-H symmetry. We analyze this critical point using the boundary conformal-field-theory technique. The finite-size spectrum is presented in detail and compared with about 50 energy levels obtained using the numerical renormalization group. Various Green's functions, general renormalization group behavior, and a hidden SO(7) are analyzed.


Kanagawa Prefecture is located in the southwestern part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Region . In this prefecture, urbanization and industrialization have been proceeding remarkably, and so there has been a large increase in population engaged in urban jobs . Kanagawa Prefecture had a popula tion of 3,443, 162 in 1960, but it increased to 7,431 , 974 in 1985. On the contrary, the number and the population of farm households have been decreasing . In these 25 years the farming population showed a 50% decrease. The rate of decrease in agricultural land was 54.7% in the same period . Miura is the only exception: although it is located just inside the commuting zone of Tokyo , the area of agricultural land has shown a slight decrease only. It is well known for producing watermelons , cabbages and radishes shipped to the Tokyo metropolitan markets . The area of orchards increased from 1960 to 1975 in Kanagawa Prefecture . Since 1975, however, the area has been decreasing slightly. Citrus orchards , especially of mandarin oranges, occupy the majority of orchards. They are found mostly on the slopes at the foot of mountains in the western part, some being used as tourist orchards. Stock raising as dairying, pig raising and poultry raising have decreased in terms of number of farmers since 1960. However, the number of cows, pigs and layers has not changed so much since 1975, resulting in a remarkable increase in the per-raiser productivity . By applying WEAVER's method modified by Dot, types of agricultural income according to loca tion from 1960 to 1985 have been clarified. There were many municipalities or statistical units where the income from vegetables ranked at the top among agricultural incomes: they were found in the rapidly urbanizing eastern and central parts. Meanwhile , many western municipalities were charac terized by income from fruits in top rank. The number of units with the category of flowers in the crop combination has increased in the central part. The western part , however, has seen an increase of nursery trees, whereas the eastern and central parts have increasingly more places with the categories of dairy farming, pig raising, and poultry raising. Most of the agricultural products here are sold to the Tokyo metropolitan markets.


Family Planning (Keluarga Berencana/KB) is closely related to reducing Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR). MMR is maternal death during pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium. Reproductive behavior is a contributor to MMR in this case the 4Ts: too many pregnancies, too close distance, too young, and too old. The 2012 Demographic and Population Survey showed that around 32.5 percent of MMR occurred as a result of giving birth too old and too young, and around 34 percent due to too many pregnancies (more than 3 children). East Sumba Regency MMR in the last 5 years is quite high, number 1 or 2 is the highest in NTT Province after TTS. To determine the characteristics of maternal mortality in 2014 – 2018, pregnancy planning for mothers who died in East Sumba Regency and the relationship between maternal mortality and pregnancy planning in East Sumba Regency in 2014 – 2018. The type of research used is Analytical Descriptive Research with Cross-sectional Method. The population and sample are total maternal mortality from 2014 - 2018 which is 50 in urban and rural areas. Methods of collecting data using interviews using questionnaires to husbands/families of deceased mothers, Village Midwives and Coordinator Midwives regarding complete identity, age, education, occupation, parity, spacing of Acceptor card ownership, information obtained from the Midwife is detailed and systematic before choosing contraception. Most mothers have planned pregnancy but there is a tendency to follow the wishes of the client. Maternal mortality is not related to planning for pregnancy, but pregnant women who do not plan pregnancy well are at greater risk of death than mothers who plan to become pregnant conclusions and implications for nursing practice


We have proposed an 8PSK modulator based on three microring modulators (MRM). The design consists of three MRMs, each with a radius of 11.1μm. Of these three, two MRMs are connected in parallel and they together generate a QPSK (Quadrature phase shift keying) signal. While at the output port of the QPSK, a third MRM is connected in series works as an angle modulator, which is basically a 45o phase shift modulator; i.e., the output of the MRM varies by 45o depending on the bit pattern fed to it, '0'or '1' respectively. In the result section, we have simulated and shown the performance of the proposed 2.5 GBaud 8PSK modulator after transmitting the modulated signal through various lengths of optical fiber. The bit error rate (BER) vs. optical signal to noise ratio (OSNR) curve shows that, 10−3BER has been achieved at 13.5dB OSNR.


Th is paper explores the agri-food export dynamics in the New Member States and the Old Member States of the European Union during the enlargement process. Th e analysis relies on two diff erent approaches based on the similarity and the sophistication indices of exported goods using a disaggregation at 95 items. Th e analysis shows that diff erent and somehow divergent paths are in place. On the one side, the Czech Republic and Poland are involved in a quality catching up process and increase their competitiveness. On the other side, Bulgaria and Romania seem to be still trapped in the low-quality segment of the agri-food market with a decreasing competitiveness performance in the richest segment of the European market.


In studies on artificial bandwidth extension (ABE), there is a lack of international coordination in subjective tests between multiple methods and languages. Here we present the design of absolute category rating listening tests evaluating 12 ABE variants of six approaches in multiple languages, namely in American English, Chinese, German, and Korean. Since the number of ABE variants caused a higher-than-recommended length of the listening test, ABE variants were distributed into two separate listening tests per language. The paper focuses on the listening test design, which aimed at merging the subjective scores of both tests and thus allows for a joint analysis of all ABE variants under test at once. A language-dependent analysis, evaluating ABE variants in the context of the underlying coded narrowband speech condition showed statistical significant improvement in English, German, and Korean for some ABE solutions.


Size‐structured population models (SSPMs) are widely used in ecology to account for intraspecific variation in body size. Three characteristic features of size‐structured populations are the dependence of life histories on the entire size distribution, intrinsic population renewal through the birth of new individuals, and the potential accumulation of individuals with similar body sizes due to determinate or stunted growth. Because of these three features, numerical methods that work well for structurally similar transport equations may fail for SSPMs and other transport‐dominated models with high ecological realism, and thus their computational performance needs to be critically evaluated. Here, we compare the performance of four numerical solution schemes, the fixed‐mesh upwind (FMU) method, the moving‐mesh upwind (MMU) method, the characteristic method (CM), and the Escalator Boxcar Train (EBT) method, in numerically solving three reference problems that are representative of ecological systems in the animal and plant kingdoms. The MMU method is here applied for the first time to SSPMs, whereas the three other methods have been employed by other authors. Our results show that the EBT method performs best, except for one of the three reference problems, in which size‐asymmetric competition affects individual growth rates. For that reference problem, the FMU method performs best, closely followed by the MMU method. Surprisingly, the CM method does not perform well for any of the three reference problems. We conclude that life‐history features should be carefully considered when choosing the numerical method for analyzing ecologically realistic size‐structured population models.


DANIEL LACOMBE. Extension de la notion de fonction ricursive aux fonctions d'une ou plusieurs variables rielles. Ibid., vol. 240 (1955), pp. 2478-2480, and vol. 241 (1955), pp. 13-14, 151-153. DANIEL LACOMBE. Remarques sur les opirateurs ricursifs et surles fonctions recursives d'une variable rielle. Ibid., vol. 241 (1955), pp. 1250-1252. In these notes the author begins a concise sketch of a form of recursive real analysis. Let R be the set of reals, compactified by including 4oo. Let S be the set of partial functions; that is, functions with domain and range subsets of the natural numbers. Let ?0 . ? i . • • • be one of the usual effective enumerations without repetitions of the rationals. A q> in S is called an approximation if there exist reals a, b, a ^b, such that : qi < a implies q>(i) = 0, gt > b implies q>(i) = 1, a < q{ < b implies <p(i) is undefined. If a = b, <p is called perfect. (Of course, a perfect <p is partial recursive if and only if b is a recursive real.) If R' c R, a map /: R'->R is (potentially partial) recursive if there exists a partial recursive operator on S to S which maps approximations to approximations and is such that the image of a perfect approximation to an r in R' is a perfect approximation to f(r). The set of recursive / : R^-R is closed under composition and includes polynomials with recursive coefficients, \x\, l/\x\, e*, log \x\, and arctg x. Any recursive / : R-*R is continuous, and the moduli of uniform continuity can be found effectively; if a, b, m are recursive reals with a £| b, m between f(a) and /(&), then there is a recursive c, a g c ^ b, such that f(c) = m; the absolute maximum value of / is a recursive real, but is not necessarily attained at any recursive real abscissa. Among the other topics taken up is the possibility of an alternate, treatment based on Cauchy sequences rather than Dedekind cuts. These notes greatly overlap recent papers of Cejtin, Grzegorczyk, Meschkowski, Uspenskij, and Zaspavskij, but still constitute by far the neatest published treatment of the subject. A. NERODE


Rio Convention produces 3 UN Conventions, i.e.: Convention on Biodiversity, Convention on Combating Desertification/Land Degradation, and Convnetion on Climate Change. These three conventions are linked to each other. The three UN Conventions needs implemention at local level. Although the three conventions have been rectified at national levels, at local levels the implementation is very limited. Capacity Development for Implementing Rio Conventions through Enhancing Incentive Mechanisms for Sustainable Watershed/Land Management or CCCD project aims at implementing these three conventions at local and national levelsas well.
Direktorat PEP DAS No 13/PEPDAS/P2DAS/KLN.0/3/2018 has directed that the project be implemented Sub Sub DAS Way Khilau, Sub-DAS Bulok, DAS Sekampung, and is called Model DAS Mikro. Although small in area (600 ha), Sub-DAS Way Khilau plays important role in maintaining watershed in lower area (downstream).
Sub-DAS Way Khilau is overlapped with Bayas Jaya village with has population of 986 families,or3897peoplewhichconsistsof1942maleand1955female. Withitsareaof525ha,Bayas Jaya population density is then 650 population/km2 which is considered high density. The population pressure on land is very high. This year, 651 families or more than 70% of Bayas Jaya population are receiving Rice for Welfare Program (Rastra) suggesting that the majority of the population in Bayas Jaya is considered poor.
The objective of the study included: (1) to prepare baseline information of socio-economics as well as gender status, (2) to identify significant indicators to be considered for CCCD project implementation, (3) to develop set of recommendation for CCCD project. This study involved 113 respondents from 7 hamlets and 6 household small scale industries. Data was collected through direct interview, Focus Group Discussion (FGD), and direct observation. The study employs (1) descriptive analysis for socio-economic data, (2) harvard approach for gender analysis, and (3) KAP (knowledge, attitude, dan practice) approach to understand community's knowledg, attitude and pracitice on cross cutting issue of Rio Convention.
Level of education is generally low, completing and not completing elementary school. However, some few are able to complete undergraduate degree. Some population has no land (land less) whether in marga land or forest land.
Agriculture is the main source of income of family in Bayas Jaya. Cocoa farming is main source of income for most family in this village. Average monthly income per capita per month is Rp 550.419 whilst average monthly expenditure is Rp 567.300 per capita. This number suggests there is a slight gap between expenditure and income. Farmers may work as a farm labor and getting rice subsidy from government aid in order to match the gap. Main family expenditure is allocated for food (46%) followed with expenditures for transportation, education, health, electrical bill (just recently), and clothing.
In terms of farmers group, there are 9 forest farmer groups that were assisted and established by KPHL Pesawaran in 2017. These institutions are new and needed to be strengthened. One united farmers group or gapoktan with 6 farmers group as well as one women farmers group are also still weak and need for assistance. Srengthening these groups shall be a priority and strategic step for CCCD project.
Women plays very crucial and indespensible roles for domestic activities such as preparing meals, caring childred, taking care of education and health of children. Women is also plays equally important with men in agricultural activities, and even dominant in activities such as harvesting and post harvesting of choco farming. However, women has no political leverage in decision making process at hamlet or village levels. All village apparatus are male.
Illegal logging, illegal poaching, and bird hunting are still happened though intensity has been less. Several factors that drive the illegal activities, including: lack of patrol from authority, lack of community's participation as community avoids to have problem with the perpetrators, market price of
iv
specific wood, price of deer and hog meat, price of birds, and above all there is always demand for such commodities from outside.
The study recommends 5 directions, i.e.: for Kabupaten/disttrict, village, social, economic, and gender aspects. Details are as follows:
1. For Kabupaten level, the project should assissted of socialization of PUG (Pengarusutamaan
Gender) and ARG (Anggaran Responsive Gender).
2. For village, the study recommends that the project shaould (1) assist the development of village
regulation on natural resources and watershed issues, (2) assist the village to become pro-climate village, (3) assist standard operating procedure on managing natural dissaster, and (4) facilitate the creation of forums on river, water, and forest care,
3. For social aspect, the project should (1) assist 3 existing KTH to be Commnity Forest Group, (2) undertake non-farm skill trainings to reduce poverty level under 10% by the end of project, (3) assit 3 women groups to be more active, (4) facilitate training for youths to improve awareness of 3 Rio Conventions, (5) facilitate training on climate adaptation, (6) facilitate demplot on sustainable land management in Cirompang and Sinar Jaya hamlets, (7) produce publications to improve awareness of the 3 Rio Conventions, such as: producing bulletins, facebook fanpage, television and radio talkshow, (8) undertake training on domestic waste management in Hamlet 1 (Bayas) and Hamlet 2 (Cong Kanan), (9) asisst the establishment of new KTH in Sinar Jaya, Serkung Sintuk, and Serkung Tengos hamlets,
4. For economic aspect, it is recommended that the project should (1) initiate activities that could increase family income by 20%, (2) undertake training on godd agrcultural practices of cocoa farming, (3) facilitate activities that could increase non-farm income, (4) assist improvement of community clean water services, (5) assist the development of ecotourism of waterfall.
5. For gender aspect, the study suggests that the proyek should (1) assist wpmen to develop non-farm business, (2) assist the roles of women in KTH and regular farmers group, and (3) assist improvement of women participation in decision making process.


General and governmental interest in cooking has increased recently. In part this may be because the acquisition of food preparation skills may make individuals less dependent on processed foods and reduce risks of overweight and obesity. However, little research has been conducted on consumers' interests in learning about cooking. Therefore in 2012 an online survey was conducted in Australia among 1023 adult food preparers with the aim of determining what and how they wanted to learn to cook. Questions were asked about interest in learning about cooking-related topics, specific main meals and cooking techniques, preferred ways to learn, and their demographic characteristics. Frequency and cross-tabulation analyses were used to compare the responses across demographic categories, and content and correspondence analyses were used to analyse meal preferences and age-related differences. The findings show that 71% of the sample wanted to learn more about cooking. Respondents wanted to learn to cook a wide range of evening meals, especially ethnic dishes (e.g. Chinese, Thai, Italian, 'Asian'). Most preferred to learn from television (68%), newspapers and magazines (41%), although attendance at cooking classes (34%), YouTube (27%) and special newsletters (24%) were also popular. There were few, weak associations between interest in cooking and the respondents' demographic characteristics. The findings are discussed in relation to the common problems faced by all domestic food preparers and the major opportunities to communicate about cooking.


By 2025 India will be the leading country for such chronic illness as hypertension, cardio vascular diseases and diabetes mellitus.There is a high level of prevalence of non-communicable diseases,such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hypertension diabetes, mental problems, injuries, etc. Organ transplantation is evolving very fast -as a mode of: treatment for end-stage diseases. Every week, many people die waiting for an organ transplant. These lives could be saved by improving knowledge of organ donation and recovery among health team members and lay public alike. Nurses are in a unique position to advocate for donation and to educate theirpatients on the importance of being an organ donor.


The concept of Public Value is a popular mean for evaluating the performance of public services. Public organizations create value by efficiently operating the organizations for meeting citizens desire (Moore, 1995). Many governments have been introduced websites to deliver public services in efficient and effective manner. E- Government is considered as the use of Information Communication Technology for the delivery of public services. According to the annual report of the Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) (in 2011) in Sri Lanka, the investment for E-government in 2011 was 2045 million Sri Lanka Rupees which is incurred from the taxes. The take up rate of the E-government services by citizens in Sri Lanka is 22.3% (Karunasena and Deng, 2009). A recent study of the UN (2012) highlighted that 77.7% citizens are not aware of E-government in Sri Lanka. In order to improve the E-government adoption rate, governments have to improve the Public Value of E-government. Thus this study examines Public Value of e- government in Sri Lanka. The Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs in Sri Lanka serves both general public and public employees. The Ministry is responsible for human resource management of Ministries, Departments, and District and Divisional secretariats. It is the focal point of human resource management in the National level public services in Sri Lanka. Therefore, this Ministry was selected to examine the public value of e-government. Thus, the main objective of this study is to find out the determinants of Public Value of e-government and suggest policy recommendations to increase the Public Value of e-government of the Ministry. The data was collected during the first quarter of 2014 using a structured questionnaire. Population of this study was the Sri Lanka administrative Service officers (2204 officers) and the sample is 10% from the population. Both postal mail and email survey was conducted and analyzed using SPSS 16.0 version. The validity and reliability of the data were ensured by using the factor analysis and reliability analysis. The frequency analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis were used to analyze the data. According to the study results, the most significant determinant of the Public Value is the Service Delivery. The Efficiency, User friendliness, Quality and Content are the four main dimensions of the Service Delivery. The factors Equity, Responsiveness, Openness and Environment Sustainability are not statistically significant with the Public Value. Updating the website regularly, publishing all the contents in three languages following international web standards when publishing information, developing facilities to conduct online transactions and increase the transactional speed and the service delivery are essential to enhance the Public Value of the e-government of the selected Ministry.


In this paper, a 3D compression method based on separable wavelet transform is discussed in detail. The most commonly used digital modalities generate multiple slices in a single examination, which are normally anatomically or physiologically correlated to each other. 3D wavelet compression methods can achieve more efficient compression by exploring the correlation between slices. The first step is based on a separable 3D wavelet transform. Considering the difference between pixel distances within a slice and those between slices, one biorthogonal Antoninin filter bank is applied within 2D slices and a second biorthogonal Villa4 filter bank on the slice direction. Then, S+P transform is applied in the low-resolution wavelet components and an optimal quantizer is presented after analysis of the quantization noise. We use an optimal bit allocation algorithm, which, instead of eliminating the coefficients of high-resolution components in smooth areas, minimizes the system reconstruction distortion at a given bit-rate. Finally, to remain high coding efficiency and adapt to different properties of each component, a comprehensive entropy coding method is proposed, in which arithmetic coding method is applied in high-resolution components and adaptive Huffman coding method in low-resolution components. Our experimental results are evaluated by several image measures and our 3D wavelet compression scheme is proved to be more efficient than 2D wavelet compression.


When airways constrict, the surrounding parenchyma undergoes stretch and distortion. Because of the mechanical interdependence between airways and parenchyma, the material properties of the parenchyma are important factors that modulate the degree of bronchoconstriction. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of changes in transpulmonary pressure (Ptp) and induced constriction on parenchymal bulk (k) and shear (mu) moduli. In excised rat lungs, pressure was measured at the airway opening, and pressure-volume curves were obtained by imposing step decreases in volume with a calibrated syringe from total lung inflation. Calculation was made of k during small-volume oscillations (1 Hz). Absolute lung volume at 0 cmH2O Ptp was obtained by saline displacement. To calculate mu, a lung-indentation test was performed. The lung surface was deformed with a cylindrical punch (diameter = 0.45 cm) in 0.25-mm increments, and the force required to effect this displacement was measured by a weight balance. Measurements of k and mu were obtained at 4 and 10 cmH2O Ptp, and again at 4 cmH2O Ptp, after delivery of methacholine aerosol (100 mg/ml) into the trachea. Values of k and mu in rat lungs were similar to those reported in other species. In addition, k and mu were dependent on Ptp. After induced constriction, k and mu increased significantly. That k and mu can increase after induced constriction has important implications vis a vis the factors modulating airway narrowing.


To assess the association between relatively low levels of size-fractioned particulate matter (PM) and hospitalization for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), we conducted a time-series analysis among elderly people 65 yr of age or more living in Vancouver between June 1995 and March 1999. Measures of thoracic PM (PM10), fine PM (PM2.5), coarse PM (PM10−2.5), and coefficient of haze (COH) were examined over periods varying from 1 to 7 days prior to hospital admissions. Generalized additive models (GAMs; general linear models, GLMs) were used, and temporal trends and seasonal and subseasonal cycles in COPD hospitalizations were removed by using GLM with parametric natural cubic splines. The relative risks were calculated based on an incremental exposure corresponding to the interquartile range of these measures, and were adjusted for daily weather conditions and gaseous pollutants. PM measures had a positive effect on COPD hospitalization, especially 0 to 2 days prior to the admissions, before copollutants were accounted for. For 3-day average levels of exposure the relative risk estimates were 1.13 (95% confidence interval: 1.05–1.21) for PM10, 1.08 (1.02–1.15) for PM2.5, 1.09 (1.03–1.16) for PM10−2.5, and 1.05 (1.01–1.09) for COH. The associations were no longer significant when NO2 was included in the models. We concluded that the particle-related measures were significantly associated with COPD hospitalization in the Vancouver area, where the level of air pollution is relatively low, but the effects were not independent of other air pollutants.


The Bell numbers count the number of different ways to partition a set of n elements while the graphical Bell numbers count the number of non-equivalent partitions of the vertex set of a graph into stable sets. This relation between graph theory and integer sequences has motivated us to study properties on the average number of colors in the non-equivalent colorings of a graph to discover new non trivial inequalities for the Bell numbers. Example are given to illustrate our approach.


CONTENTS I. Introduction 290 II. The scope of the synthesis of fluorine-containing aminoacids 290 III. Preparation of fluorine-containing aminoacids by classical methods for aminoacid synthesis 290 IV. Syntheses of fluorine-containing aminoacids by the introduction of fluorine into aminoacids or their derivatives 295 V. Special methods for the synthesis of fluorine-containing aminoacids 296


Quantum networks (QNs) are a promising platform for secure communications, enhanced sensing, and efficient distributed quantum computing. However, due to the fragile nature of quantum states, these networks face significant challenges in terms of scalability. In this paper, the scaling limits of quantum repeater networks (QRNs) are analyzed. The goal of this work is to maximize the overall length, or scalability of QRNs such that long-distance quantum communications is achieved while application-specific quality-of-service (QoS) requirements are satisfied. In particular, a novel joint optimization framework that aims at maximizing QRN scalability, while satisfying QoS constraints on the end-to-end fidelity and rate is proposed. The proposed approach optimizes the number of QRN repeater nodes, their separation distance, and the number of distillation rounds to be performed at both link and end-to-end levels. Extensive simulations are conducted to analyze the tradeoffs between QRN scalability, rate, and fidelity under gate and measurement errors. The obtained results characterize the QRN scaling limits for a given QoS requirement. The proposed approach offers a promising solution and design guidelines for future QRN deployments.


Abstract - Growth Regulating Factors (GRFs) comprise a transcription factor family with important functions in plant growth and development. They are characterized by the presence of QLQ and WRC domains, responsible for interaction with proteins and DNA, respectively. The QLQ domain is named due to the similarity to a protein interaction domain found in the SWI2/SNF2 chromatin remodeling complex. Despite the occurrence of the QLQ domain in both families, the divergence between them had not been further explored. Here, we show evidence for GRF origin and determined its diversification in angiosperm species. Phylogenetic analysis revealed 11 well-supported groups of GRFs in flowering plants. These groups were supported by gene structure, synteny, and protein domain composition. Synteny and phylogenetic analyses allowed us to propose different sets of probable orthologs in the groups. Besides, our results, together with functional data previously published, allowed us to suggest candidate genes for engineering agronomic traits. In addition, we propose that the QLQ domain of GRF genes evolved from the eukaryotic SNF2 QLQ domain, most likely by a duplication event in the common ancestor of the Charophytes and land plants. Altogether, our results are important for advancing the origin and evolution of the GRF family in Streptophyta.


Background: There are limited data on the broader impact of PAH, beyond the physical symptoms, on the lives of patients and carers. Aims & objectives: To better understand how and to what extent PAH affects four main areas of patients' and carers' lives: physical, practical, emotional and social, including information needs. Methods: An international, self-reported survey was developed in collaboration with a multidisciplinary steering committee of PAH specialists and patient association representatives. The survey comprised a qualitative phase 1: patient (n = 25) and carer (n = 15) interviews to identify themes, and a quantitative phase 2: online/postal questionnaire completed by patients (n = 326) and carers (n = 129) in five EU countries. Recruitment was mainly via patient associations. Results: 56% of patients and 57% of carers felt that PAH had a very significant impact on their daily lives. Patients frequently described feelings of anger and frustration and emotions commonly associated with depression. Patients also felt isolated, primarily because PAH is not a 'visible' disease. PAH also has a marked impact on intimacy and relationships for patients and carers. Employment was affected for patients (85%) and carers (29%), resulting in a reduced household income for many families. Patients and carers described a lack of information from healthcare professionals on the wider aspects of PAH, stating that patient associations are the most important source for this information. Conclusions: PAH has a major global impact on patients and carers. Survey results highlight the need for multidisciplinary and multidimensional care, focusing on QoL and including collaboration with patient associations.


UNLABELLED
A group of 43 patients (pts) from a larger group 451 pts with coronary artery disease (CAD) confirmed by coronary angiography were recatheterized because of deterioration of symptoms. After the first angiography patients had no indications to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or gave no consent to surgery. The group comprised 3 women and 40 men aged 27 to 62 years (mean age 45 +/- 8 years). The mean interval between coronarography was 35 +/- 22 months. Four independent reviewers evaluated 15 segments of coronary arteries according to American Heart Association. The coronary lesions were scored on the basis of reduction in luminal diameter as follows: 0 point = 0-29%, 1 = 30-49%, 2 = 50-69%, 3 = 70-98%, 4 = 90-99%, 5 = 100% occlusion. The influence of the following risk factors on the progression was evaluated: age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, lipid disturbances, smoking, hyperuricaemia, family history. The patients were divided into 3 groups: group I--no or slight progression (0 to 4 points) in two successive coronary angiographies, group II--moderate progression (5 to 9 points) and group II--significant progression (10 points or more). The number of patients in these groups was 14, 12 and 17 respectively. In such isolated groups, the clinical events were compared: unstable angina, myocardial infarctions, need for CABG, cardiac deaths within follow-up period. The ejection fraction of the left ventricle was also evaluated.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
was conducted by multiple regression model.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Since hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) share transmission routes, dual infection could be frequent. In Spain, HTLV underdiagnosis is highlighted by the high proportion of patients presenting either with tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP) or adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) at first diagnosis. We examined whether the renewed efforts for expanding HCV testing may provide a sentinel population that might selectively be targeted to unveil asymptomatic HTLV carriers. The presence of anti-HTLV antibodies was examined in 3,838 consecutive individuals with reactive HCV serology attended during the last three years at 13 hospitals distributed across the Spanish geography. Overall 71% were male and the median age was 41-years old. Foreigners represented 9% of the study population. A total of 50 individuals (1.3%) were seroreactive for HTLV, being 30 confirmed as HTLV-2 and two as HTLV-1 (0.12%). The remaining 18 had indeterminate Western blot patterns. Most individuals with HTLV-2 and HTLV indeterminate serology were HIV-positive, former injection drug users and native Spaniards. In contrast, the two HTLV-1 infections were found in men coming from Brazil and the Dominican Republic, respectively. In summary, the overall prevalence of HTLV infection in individuals living in Spain seropositive for HCV is 1.3%, more than 10-fold greater than in general outclinics in Spain. However, immigrants from HTLV-1 endemic regions and former injection drug users with HTLV-2 infection are by far the major contributory groups in HCV patients. Therefore, testing for HTLV in newly diagnosed HCV individuals would not contribute much to improve late HTLV diagnosis in Spain.


A computer-derived treadmill exercise score that quantifies the electrocardiographic response to exercise has been reported to have a high sensitivity (87 per cent) and specificity (92 per cent) in patients with a high prevalence of coronary artery disease. To test its accuracy in young, asymptomatic men with a low prevalence of coronary artery disease, we evaluated the responses of 377 military officers (mean age, 36.6 years) by two independent methods. According to standard electrocardiographic criteria, 45 of the subjects (12 per cent) had positive tests, whereas the treadmill exercise score indicated that only 3 (less than 1 per cent) had positive tests. Since two of these three had left ventricular hypertrophy and met only the criteria for the latter without associated coronary artery disease, the treadmill exercise score predicted that only 1 of 377 subjects would have clinically important coronary artery disease. Coronary arteriography, performed in 10 persons with the most positive scores on standard treadmill tests and the highest scores for risk factors, showed that nine subjects did not have coronary artery disease and that one had single-vessel disease (the same subject who the treadmill score predicted would have mild disease). The treadmill exercise score appears to improve the diagnostic specificity of exercise electrocardiography and may be more useful than values on standard stress tests in screening asymptomatic populations for coronary artery disease.