Anthropogenic activities are changing landscapes and the context in which predator–prey dynamics evolved, thereby altering key ecological processes and community structure. Yet, the specific mechanisms underlying such changes are rarely understood. We tested whether a mesopredator release explained increased rodent density and concomitant predation of songbird nests near natural gas development. From 2015 to 2016, we surveyed apex predators (coyotes, badgers, raptors, and corvids) and measured apparent survival and perceived predation risk of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus; a primary nest predator), at 12 plots spanning a gradient of surface disturbance caused by energy development in Wyoming, USA. Additionally, we measured densities of three nest predators: deer mice, least chipmunks (Tamias minimus), and thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus). Contrary to the mesopredator release hypothesis, counts of apex predators and perceived predation risk of deer mice increased with surface disturbance from energy development, whereas apparent survival of mice decreased. Densities of mice and ground squirrels, however, increased with surface disturbance, despite increased predation pressure. We therefore rejected the mesopredator release hypothesis as a potential mechanism underlying altered trophic dynamics near energy development. Our results suggest that apex predator control measures would not benefit declining songbirds on natural gas fields. Rather, apex predator abundance may be regulated from the bottom-up by rodents in this system. Our results corroborate a pattern showing weakened effects of mesopredator release in habitats modified by humans. Understanding how predator– prey dynamics may be altered in novel environments requires an understanding of how predators and prey alike respond to habitat change under different contexts.


Amines as organic molecules are able to form complexes with metals ions and this is the reason why we can use them to extract metals ions from hydrometallurgical solutions. Based on that, we have investigated the extraction of antimony and cobalt with N,N-dioctyl-1-octanamine from the mixture of elements prepared in artificial manner. We investigated the influence of HCl concentration and concentration of the salts (NaCl, NaI and CH3COONa) in extraction of two elements (antimony and cobalt) from water solutions. All extractions were done from water solutions of HCl with concentrations 3, 6 and 9 mol L-1 and in presence of NaCl, NaI and CH3COONa salts, Extraction of antimony from NaCl solution range from 80-100 %, from NaI solution 100 % and from CH3COONa solution 8.0 -100 %. Extraction of cobalt from NaCl solution move from 4.0-50.0 %, from NaI solution 0-25.0 % and from CH3COONa solution 0-40.0 %. As optimal condition to separate antimony from cobalt is the extraction of antimony from HCl solution with concentration 3 mol L-1 in presence of NaI. Using these condition 100 % of antimony was in organic phase and all of cobalt remains in water phase


An interesting challenge for the cryptography community is to design authentication protocols that are so simple that a human can execute them without relying on a fully trusted computer. We propose several candidate authentication protocols for a setting in which the human user can only receive assistance from a semi-trusted computer --- a computer that stores information and performs computations correctly but does not provide confidentiality. Our schemes use a semi-trusted computer to store and display public challenges $C_i\in[n]^k$. The human user memorizes a random secret mapping $\sigma:[n]\rightarrow\mathbb{Z}_d$ and authenticates by computing responses $f(\sigma(C_i))$ to a sequence of public challenges where $f:\mathbb{Z}_d^k\rightarrow\mathbb{Z}_d$ is a function that is easy for the human to evaluate. We prove that any statistical adversary needs to sample $m=\tilde{\Omega}(n^{s(f)})$ challenge-response pairs to recover $\sigma$, for a security parameter $s(f)$ that depends on two key properties of $f$. To obtain our results, we apply the general hypercontractivity theorem to lower bound the statistical dimension of the distribution over challenge-response pairs induced by $f$ and $\sigma$. Our lower bounds apply to arbitrary functions $f $ (not just to functions that are easy for a human to evaluate), and generalize recent results of Feldman et al. As an application, we propose a family of human computable password functions $f_{k_1,k_2}$ in which the user needs to perform $2k_1+2k_2+1$ primitive operations (e.g., adding two digits or remembering $\sigma(i)$), and we show that $s(f) = \min\{k_1+1, (k_2+1)/2\}$. For these schemes, we prove that forging passwords is equivalent to recovering the secret mapping. Thus, our human computable password schemes can maintain strong security guarantees even after an adversary has observed the user login to many different accounts.


The alpine grassland ecosystem accounts for 53% of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) area, which is an important ecological protection barrier, but fragile and highly vulnerable to climate change. Therefore, continuous monitoring of the aboveground biomass (AGB) of grassland is necessary. Although many studies have mapped the spatial distribution of AGB over the QTP, the results vary widely due to the limited ground samples and mismatches with satellite pixel scales. This paper proposed a new algorithm using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as a bridge to re-estimate the grassland AGB over 20 the QTP from 2000 to 2019. The innovations were as follows: 1) In the aspect of ground data collection, the spatial scale matching among the traditional ground quadrat sampling, UAV photos, and MODIS pixels was fully considered. From 2015 to 2019, 906 pairs of ground-UAV sample data at the quadrat scale and 2,602 sets of UAV data matching the MODIS pixel scale were collected. A total of more than 37,000 UAV photos were captured at the height of 20 meters. Therefore, the ground validation samples was sufficient and scale matched. 2) In terms of model construction, the traditional quadrat scale 25 (0.25m2) was successfully upscaled to the MODIS pixel scale (6,2500 m2) based on the random forest method and stepwise upscaling scheme. Compared with previous studies, the scale matching of independent and dependent variables was realized, effectively reducing the impact of scale mismatch. At the pixel scale, the AGB value estimated by UAV had a more linear correlation with the MODIS vegetation indices than the traditional sampling method. The multi-year independent crossvalidation results showed that the constructed pixel scale AGB estimation had good robustness, with an average R2 of 0.83 30 and RMSE of 34.13 g/m2. Our dataset provides an important input parameter for a comprehensive understanding of the QTP in the process of global climate change. The dataset is available from the National Tibetan Plateau/Third Pole Environment Data Center (https://doi.org/10.11888/Terre.tpdc.272587, Zhang et al., 2022). https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2022-210 Preprint. Discussion started: 8 July 2022 c © Author(s) 2022. CC BY 4.0 License.


The iron-manganese mixed monolithic catalysts were obtained by impregnation from nitrates as precursors. A monolithic support was studied with and without alumina as surface generator. The characterization consisted in XRD, SEM, Adherence test, SBET and TPR. The monolith was evaluated in the combustion of ethyl acetate. The preparation method was very satisfactory in terms of reproducibility and adherence of the deposited phase. The higher activity of IFeMnx with respect to Al3FeMnx may be attributed for the formation of the solid solution where the Fe is introduced to the bixbyite structure. However, the presence of defective MnOx species in monoliths without alumina which might help to improve their performance is observed.


In this paper we present early results from our investigation in whether the utilization of 3D objects brings added value in public transportation visualization systems. We describe the implementation of our easily generalizable WebGL based system titled "Virtual Bus", and the results of a preliminary evaluation. The evaluation consists of a small user study where the Virtual Bus system was compared to visualization capabilities of a commercial PTS information system. The results of the evaluation imply potential in 3D visualizations.


In the guinea-pig isolated, perfused lung, the effect of albumin on oedema formation and bronchoconstriction as well as on capsaicin-induced overflow of calcitonin gene-related peptide-like (CGRP-LI) immunoreactivity has been examined. CGRP was used as an indicator of sensory nerve activation since it is more stable than the tachykinins substance P and neurokinin A. As expected, the lung water content was significantly (P less than 0.001) higher in lungs perfused with albumin-free buffer than when the buffer contained 4.5% albumin. Also, in albumin-free buffer the baseline airway resistance (RL) was increased and dynamic compliance (CDYN) reduced (P less than 0.001). Capsaicin (1 x 10(-6) M) was about 100 times less potent as a bronchoconstrictor when preincubated with albumin for 45 min, and the associated overflow of CGRP-LI was inhibited (from 221.0 +/- 63.4 fmol to 8 fmol fraction-1). When CGRP (50-200 pM) was incubated for 60 min with albumin, the recovery of CGRP-LI was 48% lower (P less than 0.01) than in the absence of albumin, corresponding to a loss rate of about 1% min-1. Catabolism or binding of neuropeptides can therefore hardly explain the diminished bronchoconstrictor potency of capsaicin. Capsaicin was also less effective as a constrictor in isolated bronchi after preincubation with albumin, suggesting that capsaicin itself may be bound or absorbed to this macromolecule. The bronchoconstrictor response to adenosine was also diminished in the presence of albumin. Adenosine was about 1000 times less potent as a bronchoconstrictor if dissolved in albumin 45 min before infusion, but only 10 times less potent when administered as bolus doses to albumin buffer-perfused lungs. Metabolism of adenosine may be the reason for the decreased potency of adenosine. The enzymatic activity may have been associated with impurities in the albumin preparation used (bovine serum albumin fraction V is greater than or equal to 96% pure) or contained in the protein itself. Since the bronchoconstrictor effect of acetylcholine was not reduced in the presence of albumin, it is not likely that albumin affects directly the contractility of the smooth muscle. These data demonstrate the importance of studying the influence of albumin on the in-vitro actions of pharmacological agents. The absence or presence of albumin products in nutrient buffer solutions may mean dramatic differences in potencies of certain drugs. Furthermore, bolus injections of agents are preferable, and preincubation together with albumin should be avoided.


Renal tubular acidosis is a condition resulting from a defect in either hydrogen excretion or bicarbonate reabsorption from renal tubuli. Renal tubular acidosis may present with hypocalcemia, medullar nephrocalcinosis, recurrent calcium phosphate stones, growth retardation and rickets in children. Renal tubular acidosis type I is characterized with failure to lower urinary pH and metabolic acidosis, due either to excessive backdiffusion of hydrogen ions from the lumen or to inadequate excretion of hydrogen ions. Alkaline urine and metabolic acidosis with normal anion gap were detected in a ten-month-old patient admitted with the complaints of growth failure and vomiting. Nephrocalcinosis, calcium phosphate stones and rickets were detected on radiological and laboratory investigations. Alkali treatment was started with the diagnosis of renal tubular acidosis type I.


I-wave heat therapy produces microwave-like energy using a high-frequency electromagnetic field to achieve an optimal hyperthermia effect on the targeted organs. One of the advantages of this non-invasive and effective method is that it uses the body's natural response to the application of heat to produce a desired therapeutic effect. This innovative, non-invasive and very promising method, which also requires no anesthesia, is performed in the practitioner's office on an outpatient basis. Regarding urological indications, it is Benign Prostate Hypertrophy and inflammatory prostatitis including pelvic dysfunction that will be mainly treated. However, many other indications are applicable and some are under evaluation. In this paper, we present a review of one of these techniques concerning the principle of i-wave external thermotherapy. In a separate article we will present our patient group and the first clinical results in Switzerland.


In this study we developed the Spiritual Well-being Scale for Thai Buddhist Adults with Chronic Illness, based on Buddhist precepts. The development of a culturally and religiously appropriate measure of spiritual well-being with acceptable validity and reliability is essential for caring for this group of people since measures from the West are not appropriate without significant adaptation. In this paper we also explain some of the important Buddhist precepts that are critical for nurses and other health professionals to understand our perspectives of spiritual well-being. The study was divided into two phases. In the first phase, the spiritual well-being of Thai Buddhists with chronic illness was defined. Dimensions and items were then generated by a literature review and content analysis of in-depth interviews by seven experts. The preliminary Scale was designed using a Likert scale comprised of 34 items and then tested for content validity by the same seven experts. The content validity index of the 32-item revised draft was 0.97. In the second phase, the psychometric properties of the revised scale were tested by 200 Thai Buddhist adults with chronic illness. To test construct validity, exploratory factor analysis was performed resulting in three dimensions with 13 items that explained 61.67 % of the variance. The alpha coefficient of the entire scale was 0.88. This study showed that the Scale is well-validated and acceptably reliable for assessing spiritual well-being of Thai Buddhist adults with chronic illness. Thus, it can be used in nursing practice, education, research, and other health disciplines. However, further studies are required to test this Scale in other groups of Thai Buddhist adults with chronic condition who have the same characteristics as the samples in this study to confirm its construct and usability; as well as other age groups, in various regions of Thailand to strengthen the validity and reliability.


Nanosizedceria (n-CeO2) was synthesized by a facile method in 2-methylimidazolesolution. The characterization results of XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption, Raman and TEM indicate that n-CeO2 shows a regular size of 10 ± 1 nm, a high surface area of 130 m2·g−1 and oxygen vacancies on the surface. A series of CuO/n-CeO2 catalysts (CuCeOX) with different copper loading were prepared for the preferential oxidation of CO in H2-rich gases (CO-PROX). All CuCeOX catalysts exhibit a high catalytic activity due to the excellent structural properties of n-CeO2, over which the 100% conversion of CO is obtained at 120 °C. The catalytic activity of CuCeOX catalysts increases in the order of CuCeO12 < CuCeO3 < CuCeO6 < CuCeO9. It is in good agreement with the order of the amount of active Cu+ species, Ce3+ species and oxygen vacancies on these catalysts, suggesting that the strength of interaction between highly dispersed CuO species and n-CeO2 is the decisive factor for the activity. The stronger interaction results in the formation of more readily reducible copper species on CuCeO9, which shows the highest activity with high stability and the broadest temperature "window" for complete CO conversion (120–180 °C).


Chronic neutrophilic leukemia (CNL) is a very rare myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) of elderly characterized by sustained neutophilic leucocytosis (>25000/cumm). Considering its rare entity, herein we report a case of CNL in an 80year old man who presented with dyspnoea, pleurisy and PUO. Persistent neutrophilic leukocytosis in a case of PUO in an elderly patient similar to this case can lead to a mistaken underdiagnosis. Suspicion is therefore required, to diagnose a case as CNL, if a patient presents with sustained neutrophilic leukocytosis without any underlying cause, not responding to higher antibiotics.


Abstract : A description of the main morphological features permitting the differentiation between Sarcosporidia, Trypanosoma cruzi (leishman bodies) and Toxoplasma gondii in myocardial fibres is given: The cysts of Sarcosporidia contain spores of bolong and sometimes crescent shape, which are arranged in distinct compartments. The leishman bodies of T. cruzi found in 'pseudocysts' vary in size and shape depending on their stage of development; they are characterized by the rod-like kinetoplast, which may not be clearly discernible in tissue sections stained with hematoxylin. The cysts of T. gondii may be either round or oblong in shape and vary in size. Their membranes are formed by the parasites, and may exhibit protrusions. The parasites are small and of rather uniform round shape, their nuclei staining distinctly with hematoxylin. In the proliferating stage, the nests of T. gondii vary in size and shape, too, but the single parasites are clearly separated from each other. The parasitic manifestations listed may or may not be attented by myocarditis. In areas where Chagas' disease is endemic, the possibility of a Toxoplasma infection should be considered. (Modified author abstract)


We present a ray-tracing analysis of a smart motion detector based on a dynamically reconfigurable metasurface antenna (DMA). A DMA consists of an array of metamaterial radiators excited by a single-port waveguide or cavity. By incorporating simple switchable components into each element and addressing them individually, DMAs can generate a myriad of spatially distinct radiation patterns and alter them as a function of an applied voltage. These patterns have the potential to probe all regions of a room or set of rooms and detect motion, even when operating over an extremely narrow bandwidth. Through the acquisition of time-resolved measurements, the DMA sensor can retrieve temporal signatures and distinguish between different sources of movements. We investigate this sensing paradigm using a ray tracing simulation. We first replicate the trends obtained from recent experiments using our simulation platform to ensure that numerical ray tracing generates data that is a faithful representation of the real-life physics. We then demonstrate that temporal signals obtained in this manner carry information about the nature of the movement. Specifically, by using power spectra and filtering, we are able to extract features that correspond to specific motion patterns. These results constitute the first step toward incorporating DMAs into a smart sensor equipped with learning algorithms that can distinguish between human and non-human motion with high fidelity.


This project work is on the design and manufacturing of a sugarcane peeling machine.It is aimed at providing a base for the commercial production of a sugarcane peeling machine ,using locally available raw materials at a relatively low cost. The successful fabrication of a sugarcane peeling machine is one of the major, if not the major challenge in sugarcane processing. This work is intended to help solve some of the problems hindering a successful design or manufacturing of sugarcane peeling machine.
In recent development, machine designers, engineers intensified efforts toward finding last solution to the sugarcane peeling problem. Sugarcanes were graded into small, medium or large sizes. Machine was tested by abrasive tool and efficiency upto 59.67% was achieved.


Shareholder power in the US grew over recent decades due to a steep rise in concentrated institutional ownership. Using establishment-level data from the US Census Bureau's Longitudinal Business Database for 1982-2015, this paper examines the impact of increases in concentrated institutional ownership on employment, wages, shareholder returns, and labor productivity. Consistent with theory of the firm based on conflicts of interests between shareholders and stakeholders, we find that establishments of firms that experience an increase in ownership by larger and more concentrated institutional shareholders have lower employment and wages. This result holds in both panel regressions with establishment fixed effects and a difference-in-differences design that exploits large increases in concentrated institutional ownership, and is robust to controls for industry and local shocks. The result is more pronounced in industries where labor is relatively less unionized, in more monopsonistic local labor markets, and for dedicated and activist institutional shareholders. The labor losses are accompanied by higher shareholder returns but no improvements in labor productivity, suggesting that shareholder power mainly reallocates rents away from workers. Our results imply that the rise in concentrated institutional ownership could explain about a quarter of the secular decline in the aggregate labor share.


Uttering trees presents two hypotheses regarding the syntax-phonology interface within the framework of the Minimalist Program. One hypothesis, "Distinctness", states that if any pair of nodes in a spelled-out domain cannot be distinguished from each other, and are in an asymmetric c-command relation, the derivation crashes because the linearization procedure would include a contradictory statement of the form < α, α >. The other hypothesis, "Beyond strength and weakness", is an attempt to predict whether a language has overt wh-movement or wh-in-situ from the position of the interrogative C (initial vs. final) and its prosodic alignment structure (right vs. left-edge). The book consists of four chapters followed by notes, references, and index. Chapter 1 ("Introduction") gives an overview of the two hypotheses. Chapter 2 ("Distinctness") presents an argument for the Distinctness Hypothesis (1).


The benefits derived from the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA are strongly documented existing recommendations for their intake. Marine products, specifically fish, are the most obvious recommendation. However, the availability of this resource is at present increasingly limited. Marine oils rich in omega-3 fatty acids are also increasingly scarce and very expensive. Fish oil, which is highly susceptible to oxidation, can be protected by procedures of encapsulation, microencapsulation o nanoencapsulation, but the amount of omega-3 fatty acids provided by the last two technologies is very small, and capsules are not well tolerated by everyone. Marine algae and krill oil are another two alternatives for omega-3 availability and consumption. However, algae culture is expensive and krill oil is scarce and of high cost. The possibility to obtain residual phospholipids from fish meal is a technological alternative now under experimental investigation. The harvesting of terrestrial vegetables which produces fruits and/ or seeds with a high content of alpha linolenic acid (ALA), the metabolic precursor of EPA and DHA, is a novel interesting alternative to provide omega-3 fatty acids. However, it is necessary to demonstrate how effective the metabolic bioconversion of ALA into EPA and DHA is before encouraging the harvest and production of these vegetables oils, this being a pending challenge. The present work critically reviews the alternatives at present available to incorporate omega-3 fatty acid in our diet.


We have targetted the chick gene Flik with antisense oligodeoxynucleotide treatment at gastrular stages, when it is expressed in organiser-derived structures of the midline (K. Patel et al., 1996, Dev. Biol. 178, 327-342). A specific syndrome of deficient axial patterning and holoprosencephaly is produced. Most aspects of this syndrome can be understood as due to attenuation of dorsalising and neural-inducing signals during gastrulation, followed by failure to maintain the later signals from chordamesoderm/neural midline that pattern the mesodermal and neural cross sections during subsequent stages. Anatomical effects are first apparent at early neurula stages and correspond with what might be expected from a reduced counteraction of the ventralising Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) pathway at the earlier stages, coupled with inadequate Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signalling subsequently. Delay in the clearing of BMP-4 RNA expression from the presumptive neural region at gastrulation is indeed seen, though chordin RNA expression within organiser derivatives remains normal. Subsequently, specific attenuation of chordamesoderm and neural midline Shh expression is observed. Brief preincubation of stage 4 chick blastoderms in supernatant from Xenopus oocytes that have been injected with Flik RNA prolongs and enhances the competence of their peripheral epiblast to respond to neural inductive signals from grafted Hensen's nodes. This effect specifically mimics that recently observed using microg/ml solutions of recombinant Follistatin (D. J. Connolly et al., 1999, Int. J. Dev. Biol., in press), further suggesting that Flik protein might act in vivo by somehow modulating activity of signalling pathways through BMP or other TGFbeta-related ligands. We discuss the significance of the observations in relation to recent ideas about neural induction, about possible redundancy in gene action, and about subsequent patterning of the axial cross section, suggesting that a Flik function in autocrine/paracrine maintenance of later midline Shh signalling represents a role of the gene separate from that in primary dorsalisation/neural induction.


In this paper we examine the trends in housing conditions among the urban poor over the last decade, relate these trends to the economic environments of the cities, and compare the poor to other income groups. We find that there has been a substantial decrease in "housing independence" -- among the poor, the percentage of family heads who live with their parents has risen, and the percentage of family heads who are also household heads has fallen. In addition, the incidence of homeownership among the poor has decreased, and the incidence of multiple-family-unit households has increased. These same trends also show up among higher-income families, although they are typically smaller in magnitude. This paper provides little evidence for the popular hypothesis that changes in housing attributes over the last decade are predominantly related to changes in housing markets. Including a variety of economic variables does little to explain the trends in housing circumstances of different income groups.


This study compared 36 older adults with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), 22 older adults with subsyndromal anxiety symptoms, and 32 normal controls on criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) for GAD. GAD patients reported more frequent and uncontrollable worry, somewhat different worry content, higher prevalence of most associated symptoms, and more distress or impairment than the subsyndromal group or normal controls. Individuals with subsyndromal anxiety reported more excessive, frequent, and uncontrollable worry than asymptomatic individuals, along with more sleep disturbance, fatigue, and distress or impairment. Results indicate that the key features of late-life GAD are distress and impairment, frequency and uncontrollability of worry, muscle tension, and sleep disturbance and that clinicians treating older adults with GAD should monitor and treat residual symptoms.


Cleanliness is the priority property of an active fire-extinguishing agent for protection of expensive electronic equipment and high value materials. Halon 1301 was considered the most suitable clean agent to ensure industrial fire safety because it leaves no residue and allows a high level of extinction efficiency and human safety, as with many other extinguishing media. However, over 15 years ago, several studies showed that this agent damages the atmospheric ozone layer and causes global warming. As law has ruled out halon agents, a variety of clean fire suppression alternatives has surfaced over the past decade, but none of these has become the 'perfect' halon substitute. In this paper the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach is proposed as a tool to select the best halon alternative for fire protection. A hierarchical structure comprising 19 criteria is reported here to illustrate the performance and characteristics of several halon alternatives in order to define the most suitable agent for different fire risk situations.


Background. Antiobesity interventions have generally failed. Research now suggests that interventions must be informed by an understanding of the social environment. Objective. To examine if new social networks form between families participating in a group-level pediatric obesity prevention trial. Methods. Latino parent-preschool child dyads (N = 79) completed the 3-month trial. The intervention met weekly in consistent groups to practice healthy lifestyles. The control met monthly in inconsistent groups to learn about school readiness. UCINET and SIENA were used to examine network dynamics. Results. Children's mean age was 4.2 years (SD = 0.9), and 44% were overweight/obese (BMI ≥ 85th percentile). Parents were predominantly mothers (97%), with a mean age of 31.4 years (SD = 5.4), and 81% were overweight/obese (BMI ≥ 25). Over the study, a new social network evolved among participating families. Parents selectively formed friendship ties based on child BMI z-score, (t = 2.08; P < .05). This reveals the tendency for mothers to form new friendships with mothers whose children have similar body types. Discussion. Participating in a group-level intervention resulted in new social network formation. New ties were greatest with mothers who had children of similar body types. This finding might contribute to the known inability of parents to recognize child overweight.


Delta-Sigma ADCs comprising the modulator and decimation filter is a hot architecture for multi-standard wireless applications because of its re-configurability. This paper gives an overview on the considerations of the decimation filter design for six popular standards: GSM, WCDMA, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and WiMAX. We use two strategies of sample frequencies that lead to different solutions as cascaded decimation filters and verify them by Matlab. Through the comparison we can see how sampling frequency affects the complexity of the analog and digital in the receiver


We quantify weather effects on output and incomes for a panel of Kansas farmers. The effects of weather are largely asymmetric with negative temperature and precipitation values affecting output and income differently than above average observations. Precipitation effects depend on timing and seasonal averages. The number of days exceeding 32.2°C (i.e., the "hot" years) negatively impacts production and income measures, although the impact is positive for crop output in the cooler years. The results indicate the importance of including weather in predicting output and income and designing risk management instruments to mitigate weather trends and variability.


We examine the poset $P$ of 132-avoiding $n$-permutations ordered by descents. We show that this poset is the "coarsening" of the well-studied poset $Q$ of noncrossing partitions . In other words, if $x<y$ in $Q$, then $f(y)<f(x)$ in $P$, where $f$ is the canonical bijection from the set of noncrossing partitions onto that of 132-avoiding permutations. This enables us to prove many properties of $P$.


This study examines the effects of supplemental insurance on health care utilization and expenditures among cancer patients, who were hospitalized in a general hospital in Korea 2003. We find that those who purchase the supplemental insurance in addition to the social health insurance use more health care services and pay more than those who do not, suggesting insurance effects. This paper, however, cannot distinguish the moral effects of the health insurance from the selection effects due to adverse selection.ﲗヨ⨀ਆᘍ?܀㘱〮㜳㬅K䍄乍


Objective We aimed to determine the capacity of drug-eluting stent (DES) over-expansion in left main coronary artery disease. Methods Left main interventions with the largest available DES platforms (4.0 mm) and post-dilation performed with large non-compliant balloons (≥ 4.5 mm) were included. Maximal stent diameter (mm) and area (mm2) were measured using post-intervention intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). Stent diameter and area were calculated with the balloon diameter and inflation pressure. The diameter and area expansion indices were defined as follows: maximal/calculated stent diameter and maximal/calculated stent area, respectively. Results Twenty-three consecutive patients were included. The maximal stent diameter was 4.40 mm (4.30–4.80 mm), and 22 of 23 patients showed a diameter expansion index greater than 0.90. The area expansion index was 0.862. The expansion index < 0.85 group had a significantly higher percentage of calcification ≥ 90° on IVUS than did the expansion index ≥ 0.85 group (72.7% versus 16.7%, P = 0.007). One stent fracture occurred during over-expansion and one ischemic event occurred during follow-up. Conclusions DESs with a nominal diameter of 4.0 mm can be effectively over-expanded in left main coronary artery disease. Achievement of predicted stent area can be affected by calcification.


We previously demonstrated that urocortin 2 (Ucn 2) is expressed in the proopiomelanocortin (POMC) cells of rat pituitary. However, the regulatory mechanism of pituitary synthesis and secretion of Ucn 2 remained to be clarified. We hypothesized that hypothalamic hormones and glucocorticoids may control the expression and secretion of pituitary Ucn 2, as Ucn 2 is expressed in POMC-expressing cells in the pituitary. Thus, in the present study, we tested this hypothesis using primary culture of rat pituitary cells. The secretion of Ucn 2 from the anterior and intermediate pituitary cells was significantly increased by 50 mM KCl. In the anterior pituitary cells, corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) increased mRNA expression levels and secretion of Ucn 2, although arginine vasopressin (AVP) did not induce any significant change in Ucn 2 expression or secretion. Under these conditions, both CRF and AVP increased ACTH secretion, but only CRF increased the level of POMC mRNA expression. Dexamethasone inhibited Ucn 2 and POMC mRNA expression levels, while it inhibited the secretion of only Ucn 2. In the intermediate pituitary, CRF increased both the mRNA expression levels and secretion of Ucn 2. Furthermore, dopamine did not affect either the mRNA expression level or secretion of Ucn 2 although it inhibited beta-endorphin secretion in the intermediate pituitary cells. These results suggest that the mRNA expression and secretion of Ucn 2 in POMC cells of the pituitary are positively regulated by CRF and negatively regulated by glucocorticoids.


I present the results of published studies and original data and describe the functional outcomes of effects related to the interaction between vitamin D status and calcium intake. These effects fall into 3 broad categories: 1) synergistic effects of vitamin D status and calcium intake on calcium absorption; 2) effects of calcium intake on vitamin D status; and 3) largely observational data suggesting an association between calcium and vitamin D status and nonskeletal outcomes, such as cancer. To a considerable extent, both vitamin D status and the benefits associated therewith appear to be dependent on, or at least augmented by, calcium intakes at or above currently recommended levels.


This paper Investigated the characteristics of residual stress in weld is composed of typical specimens, are investigated by using three dimensional thermal elasto-plastic FEM analysis. Numerically calculated residual stresses in the gas welds were then compared with experimental results obtained by the hole-drilling method. Using the stress amplitude (σa)R at the hot spot point of gas weld, the relations obtained as the fatigue test results for typical specimens having various dimensions and shapes were systematically rearranged to obtain the (σa)R-Nf relationship. It was found that more systematic and accurate evaluation of the fatigue strength of plug- and ring-type gas-welded joints can be achieved by using (σa)R.


Gesture interaction is a natural way of communicating with a robot as an alternative to speech. Gesture recognition methods leverage optical flow in order to understand human motion. However, while accurate optical flow estimation (i.e., traditional) methods are costly in terms of runtime, fast estimation (i.e., deep learning) methods' accuracy can be improved. In this paper, we present a pipeline for gesture-based human-robot interaction that uses a novel optical flow estimation method in order to achieve an improved speed-accuracy trade-off. Our optical flow estimation method introduces four improvements to previous deep learning-based methods: strong feature extractors, attention to contours, midway features, and a combination of these three. This results in a better understanding of motion, and a finer representation of silhouettes. In order to evaluate our pipeline, we generated our own dataset, MIBURI, which contains gestures to command a house service robot. In our experiments, we show how our method improves not only optical flow estimation, but also gesture recognition, offering a speed-accuracy trade-off more realistic for practical robot applications.


The objective of this study is to examine the role of consumer global orientation and the inferior image of foreign brands in young, educated consumers' admiration for foreign brands and willingness to pay more for foreign brands. As its sample, this study used students of the University of Mataram, with data collected in a classroom setting following the end of lectures using a carefully developed instrument that was carefully developed and tested through a stepwise procedure. Its findings suggest that consumer global orientation and the inferior image of local brands have no direct effect on consumers' willingness to pay more for foreign brands. Nonetheless, they do indirectly affect consumer intentions by creating positive emotions about foreign brands. This positive emotion, i.e. foreign brand admiration, seems to have a critical role, as it fully mediates the effects of the two studied constructs. Consumer global orientation and the inferior image of local brands nurture consumers' positive views of foreign brands, which in turn increase consumer willingness to pay higher prices for foreign brands. The paper also conceptualizes consumer global orientation and provides important managerial and recommendations for future research. Keywords :  Consumer global orientation, inferior image of local brands, foreign brand admiration https://doi.org/10.21632/irjbs.11.2.81-92


The authors made an analysis of their experiences with treatment of 52 patients. The algorithm of examinations and treatment depending on the character of the injury of the esophagus and stomach is described. Positive results were obtained in 90% of the patients.


This thesis aimed at developing methods for tracking the environmental origins of microbial contaminants of the food chain. We worked on three targets: i) environmental mycobacteria ii) toxinogenic Bacillus species iii) post-harvest fungi in strawberry jam. Our aim was to develop methods for early detection of the above contaminants, which have the potential to endanger consumer health. We developed a novel method based on 16S rRNA hybridization for tracking the reservoirs of potentially pathogenic environmental mycobacteria in piggeries and soil. From 1010 to 1012 16S rRNA molecules of environmental mycobacteria were found per gram of peat, wood shavings and straw in piggeries with a high prevalence of infections. These beddings may thus be a source of mycobacteria for pigs. We found 1010–1011 of mycobacterial 16S rRNA molecules per gram of Finnish forest soil, indicating that the soil contained 107–109 mycobacteria per gram. These numbers exceed the previous cultivation-based estimates of mycobacterial content in Finnish soils. To elucidate the role of mastitis in the input of toxinogenic Bacillus into the dairy production chain, milks were sampled from mastitic cows. Twenty-three Bacillus isolates were screened for toxins using the sperm cell motility inhibition assay. Four of the six toxinogenic isolates found were identified as Bacillus pumilus and two as Bacillus licheniformis. The isolates produced toxic substances that were heat-stable (100 °C) and soluble in methanol, thus being of non-protein nature. The extracts prepared from the toxin-producing isolates disrupted the plasma membrane of exposed sperm cells at concentrations 1–15 μg ml-1 (B. pumilus) 20–30 μg ml-1 (B. licheniformis). The toxic action of the mastitis-associated B. licheniformis strains was similar to that of the lipopeptide lichenysin A. The genes for lichenysin synthetase were found in these strains by PCR. This study revealed that heat-stable toxin-producing strains of B. pumilus and B. licheniformis occur in milk of mastitic milking cows. They may enter the dairy production chain when milk of clinically healthy cows recovered from mastitis is sent to dairies. Many foodborne contaminant fungi are known to produce volatile organic compounds. We investigated the suitability of such metabolites as early indicators of fungal contamination of strawberry jam. We found that volatile organic compounds commonly produced by the contaminant fungi in strawberry jam were 2-pentanone, styrene, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 1,3pentadiene and ethanol. The results indicate that these compounds could be used to detect fungal contamination of jam.


Abstract:  In temperate zones, offspring born earlier in the breeding season might have more time to acquire resources before hibernation and consequently have higher survival rates. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that neonates born earlier in the birth season are smaller (in body size, mass, or both combined as body condition) than neonates born later, but that they have more time to acquire resources before hibernation. We used 43 laboratory-born litters of Thamnophis melanogaster and 21 litters of T. eques obtained from females collected from syntopic field sites. For both species, neonate body condition at birth differed within the birth season, such that sizes were smaller in the early portion, and larger in the later portion, of the season. When compared, only the snout–vent length and mass of neonates, averaged for each litter, did not change throughout the birth season. The temporal variation in neonate body condition found in the two species could explain increased offspring survival when neonates face challenging environmental conditions. If these differences reflect variations in the environment throughout the birth season, then body condition at birth could be relevant for neonate survival.


Precipitation intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) curves play a crucial role in the design and planning of urban infrastructure to reduce the risk of urban flooding and rainfall‐triggered landslides. However, changing rainfall characteristics in a warming climate render conventional IDF curves inappropriate due to the statistical assumption of stationarity. In this study, we develop vine copula‐based projections of future IDF curves at sub‐daily to multi‐day time scales with a multi‐model ensemble of five regional climate simulations over China. Stochastic spatiotemporal downscaling of precipitation is achieved to generate extreme precipitation simulations at a high spatial (0.1°) and temporal (3 hourly) resolution. These downscaled simulations are combined by the vine copula to improve the reliability and accuracy of climate‐model‐based IDF curves relative to historical observations. Our findings reveal that climate‐model‐based stochastic downscaling of precipitation reproduces the IDF curves well based on historical observations in China. The vine copula multi‐model ensemble approach outperforms Bayesian model averaging by generating more accurate and reliable IDF curves. The urban areas of 196 Chinese cities are projected to experience an increase in extreme precipitation of up to 30% in intensity and nearly two times the frequency of historical events under a high emission scenario (RCP8.5). The current urban infrastructure of more than half of the 196 cities would thus be inadequate to prevent losses caused by rainfall‐triggered hazards if designed solely based on historical precipitation observations. Compared to the climate‐model‐based IDF curves, we find that statistical IDF curves based on a nonstationary time covariate (i.e., extrapolating historical trends) are likely to underestimate the risk of urban infrastructure failures under a warming climate. This work highlights that urban infrastructure design guidelines in China should be upgraded to adapt existing IDF curves to the changing climate.


The first- and second-order monostatic cross sections of the ocean surface in the context of high-frequency ground wave radar operation are derived for a dipole source with a linear frequency-modulated continuous waveform. The Fourier coefficients of the rough ocean surface are described as zero-mean Gaussian random variables. The electric field equations for the reception of vertically polarized radiation scattered from the ocean surface are obtained. The range spectra are calculated by Fourier transforming the received signal within the sweep interval. Fourier transformation of the autocorrelations of the electric fields received from the time-varying surface gives the Doppler spectra (power spectral densities). The cross sections are obtained by direct comparison of the spectral results with the monostatic radar range equation.


OBJECTIVES
Accelerated orthodontic tooth movement is triggered by procedures that include mucoperiosteum flap surgery and surgical scarring of cortical bone. Our aim was to test whether fiberotomy by itself will accelerate orthodontic tooth movement and diminish relapse.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
In 34 Wistar rats, alveolar bone resorption and molar tooth movement were measured after fiberotomy, apical full-thickness flap without detachment of gingiva from the roots, or no surgery. Orthodontic appliance was installed at time of surgery and activated for 14 days, generating movement of the first maxillary molar buccal and then removed.

RESULTS
Percent of sections in which alveolar bone resorption was detected was significantly higher (p < 0.05) after fiberotomy (27%) in comparison with apical flap surgery (12%) or no surgery (6%), after 30 days. Also, at the end of active phase, the molar moved significantly faster (p < 0.01) and twice the distance after fiberotomy (0.54 ± 0.33) in comparison with apical surgery (0.26 ± 0.12) or no surgery (0.3 ± 0.09). Sixteen days after the appliance was removed, only 12% relapse was recorded in the fiberotomy group, while almost total relapse in other two groups.

CONCLUSION
We conclude that fiberotomy solely accelerated orthodontic tooth movement and diminished relapse.


This note uses techniques developed for aggregate games to characterize the set of equilib- ria for a beauty contest or prediction game in which the experts' preferences are quadratic, but with an otherwise unrestricted information structure for private signals and the state variable. We show that, on aggregate, the experts' collective estimate of the unknown parameter to be estimated is unbiased for every equilibrium.


The interrelationships between liver iron concentration, the duration of iron-loading, and hepatic fibrosis, assessed morphometrically, have been studied in 32 specimens of liver obtained from 19 heavily transfused patients with thalassaemia major whose age ranged from 4 to 19 yr. Similar observations were made in a matched group of thalassaemic patients treated with long-term chelation therapy. The degree of liver damage ranged from very slight increase in fibrous tissue to severe fibrosis and cirrhosis. The severity of the fibrosis was closely correlated both with liver iron concentration and with age. While the relationship between fibrosis and age was linear, both the severity and the rate of fibrosis were exponentially related to liver iron concentration, damage accelerating as liver iron concentration exceeded 3 per cent, dry weight. By producing a modest but significant reduction in liver iron concentration chelation therapy resulted in a disproportionate but predictable retardation in the progression of the fibrosis. The factors affecting the distribution of iron between parenchymal and reticuloendothelial cells were also examined. In general stainable iron was uniformly distributed between parenchymal and reticuloendothelial cells from the early stages of iron-loading. Parenchymal siderosis was relatively heavier in splenectomised patients and in patients with liver iron concentrations above 3 per cent, dry weight than in non-splenectomised patients or patients with liver iron levels of less than 3 per cent, dry weight, but this did not affect the severity of the fibrosis. The relevance of these findings to the traditional concepts of the pathology of transfusional siderosis is discussed.


The protein on ecdysone puffs (PEP) is associated preferentially with active ecdysone-inducible puffs on Drosophila polytene chromosomes and contains sequence motifs characteristic of transcription factors and RNA-binding proteins (S. A. Amero, S. C. R. Elgin, and A. L. Beyer, Genes Dev. 5:188-200, 1991). PEP is associated with RNA in vivo, as demonstrated here by the sensitivity of PEP-specific chromosomal immunostaining in situ to RNase digestion and by the immunopurification of PEP in Drosophila cell extract with heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) complexes. As revealed by sequential immunostaining, PEP is found on a subset of chromosomal sites bound by the HRB (heterogeneous nuclear RNA-binding) proteins, which are basic Drosophila hnRNPs. These observations lead us to suggest that a unique, PEP-containing hnRNP complex assembles preferentially on the transcripts of ecdysone-regulated genes in Drosophila melanogaster presumably to expedite the transcription and/or processing of these transcripts.


PURPOSE
To demonstrate that the crucial elements responsible for the spatial and temporal expression patterns of rhodopsin kinase (Rk) are contained within a narrow conserved segment immediately flanking the Rk transcription start sites.

METHODS
Sequences upstream of the mouse Rk gene were compared to the human sequence to identify areas of conservation. Transgenic mice carrying a segment of the conserved human DNA sequence linked upstream of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene were examined by fluorescence microscopy and RT-PCR to localize GFP expression in retina and pineal gland. Rk and GFP temporal expression patterns were further compared by immunostaining and real-time RT-PCR in transgenic eyes during development.

RESULTS
Comparison of the mouse and human 5' flanking sequence revealed only a small island of conserved sequence upstream of the respective Rk start sites. Uniform GFP expression was supported by a 0.2 kb fragment of the conserved human sequence in the transgenic mouse rods, cones, and pinealocytes. Developmental studies revealed an exponential rise in Rk and GFP transcripts in the first ten day postnatal period followed by a plateau later extending to adulthood. Rk and GFP proteins were first detected after postnatal day 10 and rose in parallel afterwards, overlapping in time with the maturation of photoreceptor outer segments and eye opening.

CONCLUSIONS
The conserved short enhancer/promoter immediately upstream of the Rk gene contains the key elements required for appropriate response to spatial and temporal cues during photoreceptor cell differentiation and fate determination. The above studies narrow the core sequences that govern gene expression in photoreceptors in vivo.


Objective
To analyze the supply and demand adaptation of nursery care services for children under 3 in Sichuan Province and to provide strategic suggestions for optimizing nursery care services in Sichuan Province.

Methods
Data on the supply and demand of nursery school services in all 21 cities (prefectures) of Sichuan Province were collected with questionnaires for nursery care institutions and family needs questionnaires. Applying the theory of supply and demand adaptability, we analyzed the adaptability of nursery care services in Sichuan Province in four dimensions, including relevance, adaptability, accessibility and quality.

Results
A total of 6883 valid institutional questionnaires and 41081 valid family questionnaires were collected. The analysis of the adaptability of supply and demand showed that there was insufficient adaptability in all four dimensions of relevance, adaptability, accessibility, and quality of nursery care services for children under 3 in Sichuan Province, which was characterized by the coexistence of insufficient supply and underutilization of services, the mismatch between the structure of services provided and the needs of families with children under 3, low economic accessibility for the general population, and low quality of services.

Conclusion
There is insufficient adaptability in the supply and demand of nursery care services for children under 3 in Sichuan Province. Demand-oriented supply-side reforms should be implemented to promote the construction of a system of government-subsidized affordable nursery care services, reinforced support for the care of infants and toddlers for families, standardized management of infant and toddler care institutions, and the implementation of various supportive policies so as to comprehensively meet the diversified needs of infant and toddler care and promote their healthy growth.


AIMS
The molecular mechanisms controlling heart function and rhythmicity are incompletely understood. While it is widely accepted that the type 2 ryanodine receptor (Ryr2) is the major Ca(2+) release channel in excitation-contraction coupling, the role of these channels in setting a consistent beating rate remains controversial. Gain-of-function RYR2 mutations in humans and genetically engineered mouse models are known to cause Ca(2+) leak, arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death. Embryonic stem-cell derived cardiomyocytes lacking Ryr2 display slower beating rates, but no supporting in vivo evidence has been presented. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that RYR2 loss-of-function would reduce heart rate and rhythmicity in vivo.

METHODS AND RESULTS
We generated inducible, tissue-specific Ryr2 knockout mice with acute ∼50% loss of RYR2 protein in the heart but not in other tissues. Echocardiography, working heart perfusion, and in vivo ECG telemetry demonstrated that deletion of Ryr2 was sufficient to cause bradycardia and arrhythmia. Our results also show that cardiac Ryr2 knockout mice exhibit functional and structural hallmarks of heart failure, including sudden cardiac death.

CONCLUSION
These results illustrate that the RYR2 channel plays an essential role in pacing heart rate. Moreover, we find that RYR2 loss-of-function can lead to fatal arrhythmias typically associated with gain-of-function mutations. Given that RYR2 levels can be reduced in pathological conditions, including heart failure and diabetic cardiomyopathy, we predict that RYR2 loss contributes to disease-associated bradycardia, arrhythmia, and sudden death.


Sulfonate esters, a class of potentially mutagenic drug impurities, are strictly regulated in pharmaceuticals. On the other hand, sulfite esters and sulfones, analogs of sulfonate esters, have limited safety concerns. However, previously developed analytical methods for sulfonate ester identification cannot be used to differentiate sulfonate esters from the isomeric sulfite esters and sulfones. A tandem mass spectrometric method is introduced here for the differentiation of these compounds. Diisopropoxymethylborane (DIMB) reacts with protonated sulfonate esters, sulfite esters, and sulfones (and many other compounds) in the gas phase to form the product ion [M + H + DIMB - CH3CH(OH)CH3]+. Upon collision-activated dissociation (CAD), these product ions generate diagnostic fragment ions that enable the differentiation of sulfonate esters, sulfite esters, and sulfones from each other. For example, SO2 elimination enabled the unambiguous identification of sulfite esters. On the other hand, elimination of CH3B═O followed by elimination of (CH3)2C═O was only observed for sulfonate esters. Neither type of diagnostic fragment ions was detected for the products of sulfones. However, the product ions formed for sulfones with an additional hydroxyl substituent underwent the elimination of another CH3CH(OH)CH3 molecule, which enabled their identification. Finally, ion-molecule reactions of DIMB with various other functionalities were also examined. Some of them yielded the product ions [M + H + DIMB - CH3CH(OH)CH3]+ but none of these product ions underwent the diagnostic CAD reactions discussed above. Quantum chemical calculations were employed to explore the mechanisms of the reactions. The limits of detection for the diagnostic ion-molecule reaction product ions in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)/mass spectrometry (MS2) experiments were found to range from 0.075 to 1.25 nmol.


The two classical steps of image or video classification are: image signature extraction and assignment of a class based on this image signature. The class assignment rule can be learned from a training set composed of sample images manually classified by experts. This is known as supervised statistical learning. The well-known Support Vector Machine (SVM) learning method was designed for two classes. Among the proposed extensions to multiclass (three classes or more), the one-versus-one and one-versus-all approaches are the most popular ones. This work presents an alternative approach to extending the original SVM method to multiclass. A tree of SVMs is built using a recursive learning strategy, achieving a linear worst-case complexity in terms of number of classes for classification. During learning, at each node of the tree, a bi-partition of the current set of classes is determined to optimally separate the current classification problem into two sub-problems. Rather than relying on an exhaustive search among all possible subsets of classes, the partition is obtained by building a graph representing the current problem and looking for a minimum cut of it. The proposed method is applied to classification of endomicroscopic videos and compared to classical multiclass approaches.


This article is the last in a three-part series on career management. Reasons to pursue and ways to choose a suitable second career are discussed. A stalled career, a lack of achievement, or a wrong job choice are three reasons why people pursue new jobs or careers. To ensure satisfaction in a second career, individuals must examine an ego ideal--an idealized image of what they would like to be in the future. When a pharmacist's career stalls, introspection can help reveal behavior that interferes with career success. Periodic introspection and self-assessment can help an individual adapt to changes in a career and in the profession throughout the various life stages. For the pharmacist who chooses the wrong job, self-assessment and research of alternative opportunities will increase the likelihood that a second career will be satisfactory. The traditional hospital pharmacy career is linear; the pharmacist starts at the bottom of the organization and rises to the top. A nonlinear career strategy is now suggested because of limited positions at the top and an abundance of well-trained individuals. The nonlinear strategy moves a person indirectly in a career; short-term career moves are designed to meet long-term goals. Pharmacists can grow in a current or second career by using introspection and self-assessment and by adapting to changes that occur in the profession.


Background The zygapophyseal (ZA) joints of the cervical spine are frequently affected in ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Longitudinal data about the development of damage in the ZA joints is limited. Objectives To investigate the prevalence of radiographic ZA joint involvement in the cervical spine and to explore the associations with patient characteristics, clinical assessments, and cervical radiographic damage according to the modified Stoke AS Spine Score (mSASSS) in AS patients with active disease. Furthermore, to investigate the incidence of ZA joint involvement during 4 years of TNF-α blocking therapy. Methods This study included consecutive AS patients with active disease from the Groningen Leeuwarden AS (GLAS) cohort with available lateral cervical radiographs at baseline and after 4 years of follow-up. Patients fulfilled the modified New York criteria for AS and the ASAS criteria to start TNF-α blocking therapy. ZA joints of C2-C3 up to C6-C7 were scored by two trained and independent readers blinded to patient characteristics and time sequence according to the method of de Vlam et al. (0=normal, 1=joint space narrowing or erosion, 2=partial blurring or ankylosis, 3=complete blurring or ankylosis). ZA joint involvement was present if at least one ZA joint had a score ≥1. The mSASSS was scored to assess radiographic damage of the vertebral bodies and the presence of bridging syndesmophytes. Independent samples T-test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Chi-square test were used to evaluate the relationship with patient characteristics, clinical assessments, mSASSS, and bridging syndesmophytes. Results 108 patients were included with a mean age of 43±11 years, median symptom duration of 17 (range 1-50) years, 76% was male, 84% was HLA-B27 positive, mean BASDAI was 5.9±1.7, and mean ASDAS was 3.8±0.8. At baseline, 45% of the patients had ZA joint involvement with on average 3 ZA joints involved. Complete ankylosis of at least one ZA joint or of the entire cervical spine was present in 19% and 2% of the patients, respectively. Ankylosis occurred most frequently at C2-C3 level. Patients with ZA joint involvement were significantly older (46 vs. 40 year), had longer symptom duration (22 vs. 15 years), larger occiput-to-wall distance (9 vs. 2 cm), higher mSASSS (median 16 vs. 4), and more often bridging syndesmophytes (57% vs. 22%). After 4 years of follow-up, 8% of the patients had developed new ZA joint involvement. Furthermore, 18% of the patients who already had ZA joint involvement developed damage in other ZA joints. Conclusions In this cohort of AS patients with active disease, radiographic ZA joint involvement was very common and associated with assessments of more longstanding disease. The incidence of ZA joint involvement was low during 4 years of TNF-α blocking therapy. Acknowledgements The GLAS cohort was supported by an unrestricted grant from Pfizer. Pfizer had no role in the design, conduct, interpretation, or publication of this study. Disclosure of Interest F. Maas: None declared, S. Arends Grant/research support from: Abbott, Pfizer, Wyeth, E. van der Veer: None declared, F. Wink: None declared, M. Efde: None declared, H. Bootsma: None declared, R. Chaudhry: None declared, E. Brouwer Grant/research support from: Abbott, Pfizer, Wyeth, A. Spoorenberg Grant/research support from: Abbott, Pfizer, Wyeth, Consultant for: Abbvie, Pfizer, UCB


Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) disturb bone remodeling during aging, and this process is accelerated in diabetes. However, their role in modulation of osteoclast-induced bone resorption is controversial, with some studies indicating that AGEs enhance bone resorption and others showing the opposite effect. We determined whether AGEs present at different stages of osteoclast differentiation affect bone resorption differently. Based on increased levels of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and cathepsin K (CTSK), we identified day 4 of induction as the dividing time of cell fusion stage and mature stage in RAW264.7 cell-derived osteoclast-like cells (OCLs). AGE-modified BSA (50-400 μg/ml) or control BSA (100 μg/ml) was then added at the beginning of each stage. Results showed that the presence of AGEs at the cell fusion stage reduced pit numbers, resorption area, and CTSK expression. Moreover, expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB (RANK) as well as the number of TRAP-positive cells, nuclei per OCL, actin rings, and podosomes also decreased. However, the presence of AGEs at the mature stage enlarged the resorption area markedly and increased pit numbers slightly. Intriguingly, only the number of nuclei per OCL and podosomes increased. These data indicate that AGEs biphasically modulate bone resorption activity of OCLs in a differentiation stage-dependent manner. AGEs at the cell fusion stage reduce bone resorption dramatically, mainly via suppression of RANK expression in osteoclast precursors, whereas AGEs at the mature stage enhance bone resorption slightly, most likely by increasing the number of podosomes in mature OCLs.


Yellow grain hybrids of high quality protein can provide a comparative advantage because carotenes found in these materials are more easily taken up compared to normal hybrids. This advantage could provide added benefits within the poultry Industry. In this study, 91 possible crosses coming from 14 endogamic lines from the CIMMYT maize hybrid program were evaluated. The single crosses demonstrated superior adaptation notable in the coastal plain of Guatemala having grain yields approaching 7.0 Mg/ha along with excellent agronomic traits, decreased ear rot and uniform plant type. Superior hybrids demonstrated increased yields (average increase of I Mg/ha) versus the best natural check. Inbred parents 2, 1 and 6 demonstrated the highest values for general combinability and they were also amongst the best specific crosses. The yield levels, agronomic characteristics and the expression of stability in the modified endosperm of the single crosses that can be used as females to produce seed for double and three way crosses, suggests anew production alternative that could enhance the use of yellow grain hybrids of high protein quality in the tropical lowlands of Guatemala.


approved: Redacted for Privacy Professor Hollis H. Wickman The adsorption of uranium ions from seawater could be of importance as reserves of uranium are depleted. The structure, chemical state, and concentration of uranium in seawater have been previously determined. Uranium exists as a charged ion, UO2(CO3)3 4. The concentration in seawater is 3.3 parts per'billion. Previous studies with titanium hydroxide as an adsorber have shown promising results, but the expense and reproducibility in synthesizing titanium hydroxide pose serious problems. Other types of adsorbents were tested in this study to determine which were potentially good adsorbents of uranium. Tests were carried out at the Oregon State University Marine Science Center using natural seawater. After exposure, samples were tested for uranium ion uptake by neutron activation analysis. A variety of ion exchange resins and adsorbents gave poor results. Silica gels gave results which led to further investigations. Methods for the preparation of silica gels are described. These methods were varied to alter the structure of the gels prepared. The gels were then tested for their ability to adsorb uranium ions from seawater. The gels and methods of preparation giving the best results were found. Commercially prepared gels gave the best results of any of the silica gels. Amounts adsorbed ranged from 3 to 5 ug uranium per gram silica gel. These commercial gels were used in a further study to determine the ability to reuse silica gels for the adsorption of uranium ions. Surface areas and pore sizes were measured after each cycle of exposure to seawater. Results demonstrated poorer adsorption as the cycles proceeded. Surface areas decreased markedly and pores became larger. The changes in surface areas and pore size distributions were related to the ability of the materials to adsorb uranium ions from seawater. Future success in adsorbing uranium will depend on obtaining an adsorbent that retains its physical structure and can be used repeatedly. THE ADSORPTION OF URANIUM IONS FROM SEAWATER


Web applications are increasingly processing critical data. Maintaining information security in them
is therefore a very important task. This is however a hard problem, as web applications typically
split their functionality between different components in a three-tier architecture. One promising
approach for this problem is to apply methods of Information Flow Control (IFC) across all tiers of
web applications. These methods go beyond the possibilities of traditional security mechanisms such
as access control and allow to tightly control where for example confidential information may or may
not end up. Embedded into current research at Chalmers, this thesis aims to put the theory into
practice: it first takes a closer look at what IFC actually means for web applications, which yields
a discussion of how IFC policies can be used to better protect trust relationships and the business
logic of the application. As a second step does the thesis use a given formal model for a security
type system and turn it into a working prototype that extends the F# programming language in an
unobtrusive way. Viability of this prototype is finally demonstrated by developing and discussing six
different case studies that touch different aspects of web application development. The results show
for the prototype that practical IFC requires a large initial effort but allows later a good integration
into existing languages and development processes.


The role of protein kinase C (PKC) in the successive steps of mouse oocyte meiotic process was investigated. We have used either OAG, an analog of diacylglycerol, or mezerein, a nonphorbol ester diterpene, less tumor promoting than phorbol esters, as PKC activators, and staurosporine as PKC inhibitor. Cumulus-free oocytes were cultured in minimum essential medium with each of these PKC modulators and maturation stages were screened every two hours until the end of the process. Both PKC activators prevented GVBD at each tested dose for 4 hr (OAG) and 8 hr (mezerein), and decreased the frequencies of PB oocytes. The inhibitory effects of both activators were dose dependent and reversible. The addition of OAG to the culture medium after GVBD occurrence (i.e., after 4 hrs) did not affect PB extrusion whereas similar addition of mezerein significantly decreased the frequency of PB oocytes. Inhibition of PKC by staurosporine accelerated GVBD and increased the frequency of PB extrusion. When staurosporine was added after GVBD, PB extrusion occurred earlier but PB oocyte frequency was not increased. Fertilizability was not affected when oocyte maturation occurred in the presence of any of these substances despite the delay in maturation process. These results clearly indicate that the PKC pathway is involved in mouse oocyte meiotic process: activation of the enzyme would arrest meiotic process whereas its inhibition would participate in meiosis induction.


Failures on demand of a reactor core isolation cooling (RCIC) system in BWRs are the most frequent events of limiting conditions for operation during 1982-2006 in Japan, according to data gathered in Nuclear Information Archives (NUCIA). In this work, probabilities of failures of the RCIC system are analyzed by using the hierarchical Bayes method. The failures on demand of the RCIC system are classified into two groups; one is related to the demand at a periodical inspection test, which is performed almost every 13 months at the end of the periodical inspection of the nuclear power plant, and the other is related to the monthly surveillance test during plant operation. The hierarchical Bayes analysis shows the characteristics of probabilities of failures of each Japanese plant and also that probabilities of failures at the periodical inspection test are quite different from those at the surveillance test, comparing Japanese nuclear power plants with American ones. This paper provides a new approach to analyzing sparse failure data taken from nuclear power plants in Japan.


Behind India's high recent growth rates lies a story of societal conflict that is scarcely talked about. Across its villages and production sites, state institutions and civil society organisations, the dominant and less well-off sections of society are engaged in antagonistic relations that determine the material conditions of one quarter of the world's 'poor'. Increasingly mobile and often with several jobs in multiple locations, India's 'classes of labour' are highly segmented but far from passive in the face of ongoing exploitation and domination. Drawing on over a decade of fieldwork in rural South India, the book uses a 'class-relational' approach to analyse continuity and change in processes of accumulation, exploitation and domination. By focusing on the three interrelated arenas of labour relations, the state and civil society, it explores how improvements can be made in the conditions of labourers working 'at the margins' of global production networks, primarily as agricultural labourers and construction workers. Elements of social policy can improve the poor's material conditions and expand their political space where such ends are actively pursued by labouring class organisations. More fundamental change, though, requires stronger organisation of the informal workers who make up the majority of India's population.


Family planning is commonly regarded as a highly cost-effective health intervention with wider social and economic benefits. Yet use of family planning services in Sierra Leone is currently low and 25.0% of married women have an unmet need for contraception. This study aims to estimate the costs and benefits of scaling up family planning in Sierra Leone. Using the OneHealth Tool, two scenarios of scaling up family planning coverage to currently married women in Sierra Leone over 2013–2035 were assessed and compared to a 'no-change' counterfactual. Our costing included direct costs of drugs, supplies and personnel time, programme costs and a share of health facility overhead costs. To monetise the benefits, we projected the cost savings of the government providing five essential social services – primary education, child immunisation, malaria prevention, maternal health services and improved drinking water – in the scale-up scenarios compared to the counterfactual. The total population, estimated at 6.1 million in 2013, is projected to reach 8.3 million by 2035 in the high scenario compared to a counterfactual of 9.6 million. We estimate that by 2035, there will be 1400 fewer maternal deaths and 700 fewer infant deaths in the high scenario compared to the counterfactual. Our modelling suggests that total costs of the family planning programme in Sierra Leone will increase from US$4.2 million in 2013 to US$10.6 million a year by 2035 in the high scenario. For every dollar spent on family planning, Sierra Leone is estimated to save US$2.10 in expenditure on the five selected social sector services over the period. There is a strong investment case for scaling up family planning services in Sierra Leone. The ambitious scale-up scenarios have historical precedent in other sub-Saharan African countries, but the extent to which they will be achieved depends on a commitment from both the government and donors to strengthening Sierra Leone's health system post-Ebola.


A new architecture for region of interest (ROI) image coding is proposed. ROIs are defined as image regions containing objects of interest, and an efficient algorithm proposed for the detection of such regions. This algorithm is based on the principle of discriminant saliency, under which salient regions are the image regions of strongest response for a set of features that discriminate the object class of interest from all others. The resulting ROI masks are fully compatible with the JPEG2000 standard. Experimental results are presented for images of complex scenes, which contain both objects and background clutter, demonstrating significant gains for object-based ROI coding, in terms of both subjective image quality and SNR. The proposed ROI-based coder is also shown to be trainable with small, informally collected, image collections (e.g. by simple Web search). This suggests the possibility of user-trained image coders.


We present a very general argument that the analogue of a heavy pentaquark (a state with the quantum numbers of a baryon combined with an additional light quark and a heavy antiquark Q) must exist as a particle stable under strong interactions in the combined heavy quark and large N{sub c} limits of QCD. Moreover, in the combined limit these heavy pentaquark states fill multiplets of SU(4)xO(8)xSU(2). We explore the question of whether corrections in the combined 1/N{sub c} and 1/m{sub Q} expansions are sufficiently small to maintain this qualitative result. Since no model-independent way is known to answer this question, we use a class of realistic hadronic models in which a pentaquark can be formed via nucleon-heavy-meson binding through a pion-exchange potential. These models have the virtue that they necessarily yield the correct behavior in the combined limit, and the long-distance parts of the interactions are model independent. If the long-distance attraction in these models were to predict bound states in a robust way (i.e., largely insensitive to the details of the short-range interaction), then one could safely conclude that heavy pentaquarks do exist. However, in practice the binding does depend very strongly on the details of the short-distancemore » physics, suggesting that the real world is not sufficiently near the combined large N{sub c}, m{sub Q} limit to use it as a reliable guide. Whether stable heavy pentaquarks exist remains an open question.« less


The paper analyzes the problem of data cleansing and automatically identifying potential errors in data sets. An overview of the diminutive amount of existing literature concerning data cleansing is given. Methods for error detection that go beyond integrity analysis are reviewed and presented. The applicable methods include: statistical outlier detection, pattern matching, clustering, and data mining techniques. Some brief results supporting the use of such methods are given. The future research directions necessary to address the data cleansing problem are discussed.


Inspired by recent multiscale modeling of void/microvoid interaction in ductilefracture, a new analysis of literature data on ultrahigh strength martensitic steelsshows that JIC toughness normalized by primary inclusion mean spacing isparabolically related to the measured critical primary void size ratio. Interpretingthis critical ratio as a measure of the critical intervoid ligament strain forprimary void coalescence by finer scale microvoid instability, calculation of thecritical strain from Rice-Tracey void growth shows that JIC toughness isexponentially related to the critical microvoid instability strain. This represents afar stronger sensitivity to critical strain than the previously assumed linearscaling. An approximate correlation of this critical strain to macroscopic fractureductility allows an estimate of fracture toughness.


The amount and the rate of inorganic phosphate incorporation into mono-, di- and triphosphoinositides and into total phospholipids of ileum smooth muscle were studied at various time of exposure to physiological concentrations of acetylcholine and substance P. The data obtained show a phase character of the mediator influence on the phosphate incorporation into mono and triphosphoinositides-a stimulation initial period, an inhibition during the desensitization period and a return to the normal level after the mediator elimination.


Plots of quadratic residues display some visual features that are analyzed math- ematically in this paper. The graphical patterns of quadratic residues modulo m depend only on the residues of m modulo the lowest positive integers.


Objective Evaluate ustekinumab, an anti-interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-23 antibody, effects on radiographic progression in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Methods We conducted preplanned integrated analyses of combined radiographic data from PSUMMIT-1 and PSUMMIT-2 phase 3, randomised, controlled trials. Patients had active PsA despite prior conventional and/or biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (≥5/66 swollen, ≥5/68 tender joints, C-reactive protein ≥3.0 mg/L, documented plaque psoriasis). Patients (PSUMMIT-1, n=615; PSUMMIT-2, n=312) were randomised to ustekinumab 45 mg, 90 mg, or placebo, at weeks (wk) 0, 4 and every (q) 12 wks. At wk 16, patients with <5% improvement in tender/swollen joint counts entered blinded early escape. All other placebo patients received ustekinumab 45 mg at wk 24 and wk 28, then q 12 wks. Radiographs of hands/feet at wks 0/24/52 were assessed using PsA-modified van der Heijde-Sharp (vdH-S) scores; combined PSUMMIT-1 and PSUMMIT-2 changes in total vdH-S scores from wk 0 to wk 24 comprised the prespecified primary radiographic analysis. Treatment effects were assessed using analysis of variance on van der Waerden normal scores (factors=treatment, baseline methotrexate usage, and study). Results Integrated data analysis results indicated that ustekinumab-treated patients (regardless of dose) demonstrated significantly less radiographic progression at wk 24 than did placebo recipients (wk 0–24 total vdH-S score mean changes: 0.4-combined/individual ustekinumab dose groups, 1.0-placebo; all p<0.02). From wk 24 to wk 52, inhibition of radiographic progression was maintained for ustekinumab-treated patients, and progression was substantially reduced among initial placebo recipients who started ustekinumab at wk 16 or wk 24 (wk 24 – wk 52, total vdH-S score mean change: 0.08). Conclusions Ustekinumab 45 and 90 mg treatments significantly inhibited radiographic progression of joint damage in patients with active PsA.


Wheat (Triticum sp.) straw is being evaluated as a potential component in soilless container mixes either alone or combined with compost to replace a significant portion of the substrate currently supplied by pine bark and peat moss. The objective of this study was to evaluate wheat straw and horse manure compost, locally available resources, as components of container media for establishing and overwintering daylily (Hemerocallis fulva 'Stella D'Oro'). A standard commercial, sphagnum peat-based substrate was amended with either wheat straw, horse manure compost, or a combination of the two. Stella D'Oro daylily divisions were grown in each substrate mix and overwintered in an unheated structure for eight months. Physical properties of the mixes were determined to be within production standards and media shrinkage was minimal. Daylilies in all substrate combinations were of comparable vigor to the non-amended substrate when growth resumed in the spring.


The lithofacies analysis of the Tertiary rocks reveals two ancient subbasins at the north and southeast of the northeastern district, Western Desert. The southeastern subbasin seems deeper than the northern one as it received relatively thicker Paleocene and early and middle Eocene rocks. The lithofacies of the Paleocene and early and middle Eocene sections are mainly calcareous. The clastic ratio ranges from 0.05 to 1. Shale predominates in the late Eocene rocks. The clastic ratio is more than one everywhere. The Paleocene rocks seem to have accumulated in a lagoonal environment of epineritic depths. Semi-restriction of water circulation at the southeastern subbasin was caused by an elongated ridge, separating the two subbasins. The Paleocene rocks of the northern subbas n indicate accumulation on an unstable shelf, i.e., slow deposition in a rapidly subsiding basin or at least slow deposition in an overall carbonate aerobic environment. Widening of the northern subbasin occurred during the early Eocene. The Paleocene environmental conditions seem to have prevailed during the early and middle Eocene. During the late Eocene, rocks of shallow-water and current-agitated environments accumulated. The lower clastic layers of the Oligocene, having a sand/shale ratio less than one, indicate a clastic shoreline environment-lagoonal subenvironment. The sediments of such an environment are brought down by rivers and reworked by waves and currents. The Oligocene clastics are overlain by a basaltic sheet at the eastern part of the district. The depocenter of the nor hern middle Miocene subbasin lies farther north. The sand/shale ratio increases to the south, being more than one. The middle Miocene lithofacies indicate rock accumulation in a contemporaneously subsiding basin under lagoonal or delta-front conditions at the southern part of the district. Marine stagnant-bottom-water conditions prevailed during the accumulation of the middle Miocene rocks at the northern parts. The Pliocene shoreline shifted farther northward. The Pliocene rocks seem to have accumulated in lagoons, where the inflow exceeded evaporation and alternating periods of exposure and flooding by either fresh or saline water of poor circulation prevailed. The tectonic instability of the district was initiated by volcancity during the late Oligocene. This volcanic activity was acc mpanied by uplifting, folding, and faulting of Oligocene and older rocks. The uplifting of the southern part was accompanied with subsidence of the northern one. The subsidence was associated with vertical block movements of the basement rocks. Basaltic magma climbed along faults. The folds are of the brachyanticlinal type, affected by faulting forming a median horst block. This block remained high for a great period of time. The axes of folding are parallel to the fault trends due to their association with the vertical block movements of the basement. The northern flanks of the folds are relatively steeply dipping. The middle Miocene and Pliocene rocks are not affected by faulting. The source lands of those sediments are deduced as nearby low elevated lands affected by the same tectonic events that affected the depositional basin itself during different epochs. End_of_Article - Last_Page 456------------


This paper investigates and examines theoretical questions from the process of bilingual lexicography. One of the urgent objectives of bilingual lexicography is seeking and describing relations of lexical equivalences between two compared languages. From this point of view, equivalent relationship among language units is classified into three types: complete equivalence, not complete equivalence, and false equivalence. Not complete equivalence also has three subtypes: 1) More detailed segmentation in the source language, 2) Less detailed segmentation in the source language, 3) specific segmentation of definite reality in a given language. The last type, false equivalence is shown in one of the following two subtypes: 1) subtype occurred by mismatched national and cultural features in different languages, 2) subtype of incidental coincidences of external forms. This research can correctly and systematically describe a complicated mechanism of lexical equivalence in different languages. In the process of seeking and describing lexical equivalence, it is necessary to pay attention to national and cultural features of lexeme in a given language, because these characteristics are realized differently in other languages.


In this paper, updating algorithms for solving linear systems of equations are presented using a systolic model. First, a parallel algorithm for computing the inverse of rank-one modified matrix using the Sherman-Morrison formula is proposed. This algorithm is then extended to solving the updated systems of linear equations on a linear systolic array. Finally, the generalisation to the updates of higher rank is shown.


The Heihe River is the second longest inland river in China, which is one of the most important inland river basins in the northwest area. The effect of drought on ecological environment can be exacerbated by climate change. Eco-water diversion project was implemented since 2000 to solve the increasingly serious problem of ecological environment deterioration in the lower reaches of Heihe River Basin. In order to reveal whether the eco-water diversion project solve the ecological environment deterioration thoroughly, the change of hydrology and vegetation were investigated and compared by using the remote sensing data, field surveys, monitoring and statistics data. Our results showed that the soil water content, groundwater level and vegetation coverage increased after eco-water diversion, especially in 0-20cm, the value increased 30.05%, which results vegetation restoration in some area. However, the seasonal distribution of eco-water diversion is extremely uneven, 70% of the runoff is mainly concentrated in January to March, and September to October. Water was seriously insufficient in the critical water demand period of plants such as germination and fruit period due to river cutout. Moreover, some areas were degraded due to salinization. In addition, the extreme change of soil water is not conducive to plant growth, but will increase the waste of water resources due to the increasing of ineffective surface evaporation. It is difficult to improve the quantity of discharged water in the upper reaches of Heihe River, so the distribution time and mode is very important for stable and healthy development of vegetation in the downstream. Therefore, eco-water diversion project is not a simply measure to improve the ecological environment. We suggested that hydrological processes should be consistent with ecological processes in the lower reaches of Heihe River, otherwise, the most important significance of eco-water diversion project will be lost. Exploring this will be helpful in formulate scientific and reasonable water dispatching scheme, achieve water resources allocation and water demand matching, improve ecological benefits.


Abstract Background: Goji berry (Lycium barbarum) has been used as traditional Chinese medicine and a functional food in China. Goji tea may interact with drugs such as warfarin by inhibiting the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C9, and this study was undertaken to characterize the effect of Goji products on CYP2C9/19-, CYP2D6 *1/*10-, CYP3A4/5/7-, CYP19-, and flavin-containing monooxygenase (FMO) 3-mediated metabolism. Methods: Goji juice, water, and ethanol extracts were examined for their effect on CYP2C9/19-, 2D6-, 3A4/5/7-, 4A11-, CYP19-, and FMO3-mediated metabolism by using in vitro bioassay. The mechanism-based inactivation (MBI) of Goji juice on CYP3A4 was also examined. Results: Data indicates that both fresh juice and commercially available juice caused strong inhibition (over 75 %) of most of the major CYP450 enzymes and moderate inhibition of FMO3 (30–60 %). Compared to juice, the Goji cold/hot water extracts effected low inhibition (below 30 %) of these enzymes. Ethanol (80 %) extracts exhibit the strongest inhibition on CYP2C9 and 2C19 (over 90 %). The inhibition pattern of dried and fresh berry extract and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-UV fingerprints were similar. Conclusions: These findings suggest that Goji products (berries, tea, tincture, and juice) can inhibit phase I drug metabolism enzymes and have the potential to affect the safety and efficacy of therapeutic products.


What does the decorous lawyer Walter Dove, inventively sailing the globe solo, have in common with the lonely spinster Rose Lightfoot, busy with her paintbrush beside the canals of Venice? And what has either to do with the outback Boer War veteran Jim Bird? The answer is love of a luminous kind.


A weight system on graph homology was constructed by Rozansky and Witten using a compact hyperkk ahler manifold. A variation of this construction utilizing holomorphic vector bundles over the manifold gives a weight system on chord diagrams. We investigate these weights from the hyperkk ahler geometry point of view.


This article illustrates that due to the complexity of educational practices and of the educational system, their scientific study constitutes a crossroads for dialogue and possible conflicts among a variety of disciplines. The article focuses on school education. A first illustration shows how analyzing and improving classroom practices requires collaboration with and among different sub-disciplines of psychology. In the next section the recent domain of educational neuroscience is discussed as a crossroads of educational science, psychology and neuroscience. Thereafter, it is argued that research on mathematics education calls on the contribution of many disciplines such as mathematics, pedagogy, the psychology of cognition and math-related beliefs, and anthropology. The final example focuses on educational technology that requires interaction between educational science, psychology, computer science, economics, etc.


BACKGROUND
The traditional management of children with proteinuric kidney disease is treatment with high dose steroids regardless of comorbid conditions such as obesity. This study evaluated the effect of angiotensin blockade (AB) alone as the sole management of children with non-diabetic proteinuric kidney disease.

METHODS
Retrospective chart analysis was performed in 146 children. Seventeen were identified to have received angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and/or angiotensin receptor blocker exclusively for management of proteinuria. Total proteinuria (Upr/cr), albuminuria (Ualb/cr), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), serum potassium and blood pressure were assessed at baseline and at 3-month intervals for over 24 months.

RESULTS
Mean age was 11.2+/-4.8 years with 12 females. Eleven of 17 patients (65%) were overweight or obese. There was a significant decline in total proteinuria and albuminuria after 3-6 months of AB therapy and a further decline with longer duration of treatment (P<0.001). Although single vs dual AB were similarly effective in lowering total proteinuria, dual therapy was more effective in lowering albuminuria (single 57+/-23% vs dual 71+/-15%; P<0.02). The eGFR decreased from 'hyperfiltration' levels prior to initiation of AB to normal at the end of the treatment period (145+/-41-111+/-17 ml/min/1.73 m2; P=0.01). Systemic blood pressures remained normal throughout the study period.

CONCLUSIONS
Angiotensin blockade alone appears to effectively control proteinuria and stabilize kidney function in children. This may provide an alternative to more toxic therapies, especially corticosteroids, in children with glomerular disorders such as those associated with obesity.


Scabies is very often parasites dermatosis. Diagnostic problems are not rare considering the fact that the clinical picture of scabies in infant population is different compared to the adult population. The scabies that is untreated or non-adequately treated has a long course followed by complications. In hospital in Tuzla in a period 1995-1997 we have done retrospective study which included 64 infants with scabies followed with complications. Skin changes have appeared approximately 2-6 months before admission to the hospital. In 55.3% cases the scabies stayed unrecognized and the aforementioned patients were treated under other diagnosis: Dermatitis allergic 50%, Piodermia 30%, Dermatitis seborrhoica 10%, Dermatosis 10%. Problem is the medical treatment of only sick child, and not of complete family. That makes possibility for inter-family infestation and prolongs course of scabies as disease as well as its medical treatment. In infants with skin changes we should also consider possibility of infection by parasite Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis. Medical treatment and appropriate diagnostic as well as treatment of all members of the families without the matter of existence of skin changes makes the course of disease shorter.


Seasonal forecasts are commonly issued in the form of anomalies as departures from average in a specified multiyear reference period (climatology). The model climatology is estimated as average of retrospective forecasts over the hindcast period. However, different operational centers providing seasonal ensemble predictions use different hindcast periods based on their own model climatology. In addition, the hindcast period of recently developed/upgraded newer models tends to shift to the recent years. In this paper, we discuss recent challenges faced by the APCC multi-model ensemble (MME) operations, especially changes in the hindcast period for individual models. Based on the results of various sensitivity experiments for the MME prediction, we proposed to change the hindcast period that is the most appropriate solution for the APCC operations. It makes the newly developed models join the MME and increase the total number of participating models, which facilitates the skill improvement of the MME prediction