Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 45, 2004

4799

Expression monitoring using microarrays is a tool for characterizing gene function in cancer. We hypothesized that a mathematical approach that emphasized the underlying data structure would aid in mapping specific groups of genes to particular sample classes. Our objective was to evaluate our new tool designed to mine large scale multi dimensional data, termed, Sorting Points Into Neighborhoods (SPIN) ., We used the Affymetrix U133A GeneChip to study 144 microdissected samples from patients with colon cancer for whom clinical, pathological and outcome information is available. The samples included: 47 primary carcinomas; 24 adenomas; 22 normal colons; 16 liver metastasis; 19 lung metastasis; 11 normal liver; and 5 normal lung. SPIN utilizes traits of distance matrices to order data in a way that highlights their underlying structure. For gene array experiments SPIN provides two-way sorting, using the genes to order the samples and vice versa . Graphical output generated by SPIN includes a two-way sorted expression matrix, sorted distance matrices and PCA images colored according to the order suggested by the algorithm. SPIN' s advantage over traditional methods (e.g., hierarchical clustering) is that the color-coded images allow the user to infer not only the partition into clusters, but also observe their shapes and relative relationships. After log-transformation and variance filtration, thousands of genes and the 144 samples were sorted by SPIN . The reordered expression matrix clearly separates the samples according to tissue types (colon, lung, liver), and also tumors from normal tissue, and adenomas from adenocarcinomas. Genes partition into several clusters; some are tissue-specific and others are associated with clinical and pathological disease state. Colon tissue that was isolated from liver metastases arrayed into an elongated, ellipsoid cluster extending from colon samples towards liver samples (a similar picture is seen for lung metastasis). The genes that induced the elongation were characteristic of liver (or lung), suggesting that this pattern reflects admixture of the metastasis samples with cells from the liver or lung. With appropriate calibration, the proportion and origin of contaminating cells can be specified. SPIN also revealed that normal colon samples arrayed in an elongated cluster. The genes responsible for this shape represented residual non-epithelial tissue. Primary colon tumor samples exhibit this pattern of elongation to a lesser extent (less admixture); however, their cluster is extended in an orthogonal direction, encompassing many cell-cycle genes. This variation apparently captures the relative quantities of proliferating cells in the samples, which are significantly higher in the tumors. Therefore, SPIN can also be utilized to estimate the proportion and type of abnormal cells in a complex mixture and to associate particular sample groups with specific changes in gene expression.


In this paper, we introduce the concept of doubt fuzzy subinclines(ideals) of incline algebras and some related properties are investigated. We also state the doubt product of doubt fuzzy subinclines(ideals), and the injections of doubt fuzzy subinclines(ideals). Moreover, we discuss the chain condition of subinclines(ideals). 1.Introduction and Preliminaries An incline algebra is a set H with two binary operations denoted by " + " and " ∗ " satisfies the following axioms for all x, y, z ∈ H: (i) x + y = y + x (ii) x + (y + z) = (x + y) + z (iii) x ∗ (y ∗ z) = (x ∗ y) ∗ z (iv) x ∗ (y + z) = x ∗ y + x ∗ z (v) (y + z) ∗ x = y ∗ x + z ∗ x (vi) x + x = x (vii) x + (x ∗ y) = x (viii) y + (x ∗ y) = y For convenience, we pronounce " + "(resp. " ∗ ") as addition (resp. multiplication). Every distributive lattice is an incline. An incline is a distributive lattice(as simiring) if and only if x ∗ x = x for all x ∈ H. Note that x ≤ y if and only if x + y = y for all x, y ∈ H. A subincline of an incline H is a subset M of H closed under addition and multiplication . An ideal in an incline H is a subincline M ⊂ H such that if x ∈ M and y ≤ x then y ∈ M. By a homomorphism of incline H into an incline I such that f (x + y) = f (x) + f (y) and f (x ∗ y) = f (x) ∗ f (y) for all x, y ∈ H. 2. Doubt fuzzy subinclines(ideals) In what follows, F (H) denotes the set of all fuzzy subsets in H, i.e., maps from H into ([0, 1],∨,∧),where [0, 1] is the set of reals between 0 and 1 and x ∨ y = max{x, y}, x∧ y = min{x, y}. Definition 2.1. A ∈ F (H) is called a doubt fuzzy subincline of H if A(x + y)∨A(x ∗ y) ≤ A(x) ∨ A(y) for all x, y ∈ H. A fuzzy subset A ∈ F (H) is said to be order preserving if A(x) ≤ A(y) whenever x ≤ y. Definition 2.2. A fuzzy set subincline A is called a doubt fuzzy fuzzy ideal of H if it is order preserving. Example 2.3. Note that for any x ∈ H, the set M = {a|a ≤ x} is an ideal of H. Define A ∈ F (H) by A(x) = { 0.3 if x ∈ M 0.8 otherwise


Pernicious anemia can cause motor and sensory loss, abnormal tone, memory deficits, and other changes in mental status.1 This article presents the case report of a 60-year-old woman with pernicious anemia and discusses the physical findings associated with the disease, the expected course of the disease, and the role of the physical therapist in rehabilitating patients with pernicious anemia.

PERNICIOUS ANEMIA

Pernicious anemia, also called primary anemia, combined systems disease, subacute degeneration of the cord, and funicular myelitis, accounts for 85 percent of all vitamin B12 deficiency disorders. Patients with this disease have a defect in production of an enzyme, the intrinsic factor, which is necessary for absorption of vitamin B12 into the distal small bowel. This lack of absorption leads to a malfunction of the enzymatic reactions involved in DNA synthesis and fatty acid metabolism.…


Values are the bedrock of family business culture and have great power to shape behaviours, decisions and priorities in these companies. Notwithstanding this, previous research has been unable to fully explain, how values are perceived and passed on in family firms. Additionally, scholars have not yet thoroughly explored the role of storytelling, for values transmission in family companies. Research in this area is important to better understand how values affect ownership, management and work in family firms. This thesis, based on an ethnographic case study of a Swedish hotel, investigates how values are conveyed through storytelling in a family-run business. It also examines how storytelling uncovers different perceptions of values – and how the notion of "family" occurs within the stories. Fieldwork was carried out during a sixmonth period and included participant observation and thirty-three semistructured interviews. Narrative analysis was used to interpret the findings, which reveal that the family and their firm are closely intertwined; the company's values are strongly linked to the family. It also shows how storytelling plays an important role in transmitting values in the family business. This research makes a substantial contribution to existing knowledge. Firstly, it shows how values are disclosed and passed on in a family business. This increases knowledge of the process through which values are conveyed through storytelling and offers a thorough understanding of the complexity of this process. Secondly, this research reveals how the values of the organisation are embraced and exhibited – i.e. personified – in different ways. It suggests that this personification of values is linked to autonomy, which adds important knowledge to family business, and hospitality, research. Thirdly, this study makes a vital methodological contribution. The ethnonarrative approach and its focus on storytelling allowed for a deeper understanding of how values are conveyed, perceived and personified in family business.


We present a study of the ionization and thermal structure of neutral hydrogen clouds located in the Galactic halo, immersed in the extragalactic background radiation field, and supposed to be in pressure equilibrium with the surrounding (presumably) hot medium. The problem is solved numerically, but an useful analytical approximation has been derived as well. We discuss the two main parameters of the problem, i.e., the radiation field and the halo pressure, in the framework of the current models for the halo/disk interaction. We find a well defined relation between a critical column density at which the cloud starts to develop a cold central core with the cloud linear size. Making use of this relation, we suggest a straightforward method to derive the distance to the cloud. We discuss the possible sources of error in this determination and it is found that the method is particularly suitable for those clouds which are subsonic with respect to the surrounding medium, while for the supersonic ones, the method can only give a lower limit to the distance. The Hα emission from the partially ionized edge of the cloud is calculated and compared with the available observations; this measure is a powerful indicator of the possible presence of a shock in the cloud.


The history of endowments in the Kenyan coast dates back to the advent of Islam in this region. The first endowments in the Kenyan coast were mosques made of mud. This is because the early Muslims (Arabs) were business merchants who were not permanently living within the coast. They often used to come to the coast and set off for the Arabian Peninsula. The first endowment to be established in this region was the Friday congregational mosque at Shanga – a village in Pate island in Lamu county, dating back to 870 A.D. Later on, Muslims endowed the agricultural lands after noticing that the region's land was fertile and suitable for agriculture, experiencing adequate rainfall and had a moderate climate throughout the year. However, these agricultural lands had been leased out for 99 years wherein the waqf commission received very little rent throughout this period until the expiry of the contract. Moreover, a large number of tenants refused to pay an annual rent for the real estates. So, Muslims incurred a great loss due to lack of proper usage of their resources. In order to avoid these problems, the researcher sees the need to establish agricultural projects such as the growing of mangoes, oranges, and bananas so that the income obtained can be used to benefit the Muslim community.
Keywords: Endowments, Agricultural lands, Kenyan Coast.
https://doi.org/10.31221/osf.io/s973g


Remembering Japanese Baseball: An Oral History of the Game transports us onto diamonds and into dugouts on the other side of the globe, where the vigorous sportsmanship of the game and the impassioned devotion of its fans transcend cultural and geographic borders and prove that baseball is fast becoming an international pastime. Called Yakyu, baseball has been played in Japan since the 1890s but has only recently gained a substantial global following. Robert K. Fitts chronicles the nation's distinctive version of the sport as recounted by twenty-five of its players. Fitts's careful choice of subjects represents the experiences of a mix of American and Japanese players - including stars, titleholders, and members of the Japanese Hall of Fame. Informal, candid, and remarkably specific, these recollections describe teammates and opponents, corporate owners and loyal fans, triumphs and frustrations, collectively capturing all the spirit and emotion engendered by the game from decidedly personal vantage points. Throughout, readers glimpse the unique traits of baseball in Japan and discern how the game has evolved since its inception as well as how it differs from its American counterpart. An unparalleled introduction for an American audience, Remembering Japanese Baseball is augmented by photos of its twenty-five interviewees and a timeline demarking milestone moments in the game's Japanese history. Robert Whiting, author of You Gotta Have Wa! and The Meaning of Ichiro, provides the foreword.


The present study aimed to examine how expressions of spirituality were stimulated and reflected in an online creative arts intervention for older adults during COVID-19 lockdowns. The online process focused on the creation of digital photocollages together with narrative elements of dignity therapy. Twenty-four Israeli and Italian community-dwelling older adults aged 78–92 participated in a three-session online intervention involving the production of three photocollages. The visual and verbal data (participants' chosen photos and photocollages, and transcripts of the sessions) were qualitatively analyzed within an abductive framework. Four themes were generated, representing the four domains of spirituality that were stimulated by and expressed in the process: (1) Connectedness with the self, (2) connectedness with others, (3) connectedness with the environment, and (4) connectedness with the transcendent. The findings show how photographs can serve as projective visual stimuli which elicit personal content through spontaneous thinking, and they reveal the multifaceted nature of spirituality, wherein each domain nourishes the others. Overall, the findings illustrate how creative arts intervention guided by the tenets of dignity therapy can contribute to the spiritual care of older adults during periods of social isolation, or to the spiritual support provided in palliative care.


The article is divided into two parts. In the first part, I present the main assumptions of foundationalism and, using selected examples from general reflection on law, reconstruct related strategies of justifying claims. Then, I discuss the anti-foundationalist method of justifying the universalism of human rights. Referring to the arguments of Hannah Arendt and Alessandro Ferrara, I give the example of the Holocaust as the so-called point of no return, whose exemplary validity justifies the idea of human rights without the need to refer to substantive human dignity. In the second part of the article, I use the anti-foundationalist argument to build a conception of anti-authoritarian legal education. The proposed concept of education based on a collaborative, democratic, nonhierarchical, and pluralistic discussion of historical examples should complement traditional legal education.


What is a "Request for Preliminary Criminal History Evaluation"? A Request for Preliminary Criminal History Evaluation is a non-mandatory, non-binding evaluation of an individual's self-reported criminal history, by the agency's educator investigations staff.  The evaluation is a service provided to the request


Tamoxifen (TAM) is the endocrine treatment of choice in the first-line therapy for all stages of breast cancer, in both pre- and postmenopausal women. Some clinical studies indicated a small but significant increase in the risk of subsequent endometrial carcinoma in breast cancer women who take TAM as an adjuvant therapy. In this study, we present two cases of breast cancer patients in whom endometrial cancer was diagnosed during TAM treatment; the current status of knowledge on the relationship between TAM use and the risk of endometrial cancer is reviewed.


Introduction People represent the world in terms of two constructs: how something appears on the surface (appearance) and what it is underneath that surface (reality). Both constructs are central to various bodies of literature. What has not been done, however, is a systematic look at this collection of literature for overarching themes. Motivated by this research gap, the present scientometric review aimed to identify the common themes that penetrate through a century of scholarly work on appearance and reality. In doing so, this review also sketched a scientometric outline of the international network, pinpointing where the work was carried out. Methods With CiteSpace software, we computed an optimized document co-citation analysis with a sample of 4,771 documents (1929–2022), resulting in a network of 1,785 nodes. Results and discussion We identified impactful publications, summarized major intellectual movements, and identified five thematic clusters ("Perception of Counseling Services", "Appearance and Reality in Sociocultural Evolution," "Cultural Heritage and Identity," "Media and Culture," and "Cultural Identity"), all with theoretical and pragmatic implications which we discuss. A deeper look at these clusters reveals new empirical questions and promising directions for future research.


Motivated by the concept of Structure Gene (SG) [1] which is defined as the smallest mathematical building block of a structure, a new approach named mechanics of structure genome (MSG) is applied to characterize the bending stiffness of honeycomb sandwich structure in this paper. The constitutive modeling is conducted over a honeycomb sandwich SG by MSG to obtain the equivalent plate properties. Then, on the one side, analytical formulas are derived to directly calculate bending stiffness by the equivalent flexural rigidity and shear rigidity found in the equivalent plate properties. On the other side, the equivalent plate properties can also be applied to shell element for simulation of bending test, which can be handled by a standard finite element analysis (FEA) package such as Abaqus or ANSYS. The MSG approach including both analytical formula and FEM are compared with experiment and direct numerical simulation (DNS). The results show that MSG approach gives good agreement with experiment and DNS while being much more efficient than DNS. The main improvement of MSG approach lies in the absence of ad hoc assumptions and efficiency for both analytical and FEM prediction.


Abstract In this study, experimental alpha attenuation data were obtained in polycarbonate which is essentially identical to tissue in ionization potential. Alpha transmission and stopping power data were developed for the radon daughters RaA (218Po) and RaC' (214Po). The experimental stopping power measurements were found to be in agreement with values calculated using the Bethe-Bloch equation and the Bragg additivity rule. Experimental alpha attenuation data were also obtained in a gas with the same composition as ICRP tissue and were found to be identical with that in the solid tissue equivalent. The experimental data were then applied to determine the spatial distribution of alpha dose in bronchial epithelium when the alpha activity is present in mucus on the tracheobronchial surfaces. Dose curves as a function of depth into the bronchial epithelium were developed for two different airway diameters. The alpha dose from exposure to radon daughters was computed using the bronchial activities derived by Altshuler for a radon concentration of 100 pCi/l. The new dosimetry yields results which are lower by about 20 %. An independent dose calculation for radon daughters was also performed incorporating more recent data on mine atmospheres. The alpha dose to bronchial epithelium using these factors was found to be considerably lower than any calculated previously for the same radon concentration. A few alpha doses were also computed in terms of working level units. It was shown that the alpha dose for one working level may be widely different depending upon the ratios of the radon daughters.


One of the most striking features of the first decades of open Jewish resettlement in England is the speed with which Jews managed to integrate themselves into so many different spheres of English life. From the first appointment of a Jew as a broker on the Exchange in 1657 to the first Jewish knighthood in 1700, the story is one of a dramatic rise in the acquisition of rights, privileges and special consideration. So, too, had Jews long been a part of English intellectual and academic life, but before Cromwell's tacit permission of Jewish residence in 1656 only Jewish converts to Christianity dared to make their appearance at English universities. This pattern was broken with the Abendana brothers, Jacob (d. 1685) and Isaac (d. 1699), Hebrew scholars and bibliophiles who came to London from Holland after the Restoration. Jacob Abendana, in the last four years of his life, was rabbi of the Sephardic community in London; Isaac, from at least 1663, taught Hebrew at Oxford and Cambridge. Both men were very much in demand by English scholars, who turned to them to solve Hebraic problems of various kinds and to procure Hebrew books for themselves and for university libraries. Both brothers worked on the first translations of the Mishnah into European languages and thus helped make available to Christian scholars this central core of the Talmud, the Jewish 'oral' law. Finally, it was Isaac Abendana who invented the Oxford diary and thereby made a permanent mark on the social habits of the university in which he laboured.


This study presents an original method for estimating the rate of resin content in orthotropic layered composite materials while avoiding their destruction. The composite materials considered, commonly used in aeronautic, result of the impregnation of fibre reinforced by epoxy resin. Thermal or mechanical analyses using numerical tools are essential to optimize their implementation, and to better understand their behaviour. The prediction quality of these tools requires the knowledge of input parameters with enough accuracy. Usually dedicated to the identification of the thermal diffusivity, the proposed approach consists in comparing the responses obtained on thermal resin and these obtained on pre-impregnated fibres under periodic thermal waves. An experimental device has been developed and a test campaign has been conducted. The modelling of heat transfer through the complex temperatures method has also been implemented.


We present a rendering algorithm for the forward projection of volume deformations. Spatial deformations are modeled by allowing the user to define curve skeletons inside the target object. Our rendering method utilises modern consumer graphics hardware and is integrated into an easy to use interface. In addition, we give an analysis of spatial transfer functions computed on the GPU, and give a solution to the problem of cracks appearing in image space when samples are pulled apart.


AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 18-22, 2009; Denver, CO

Introduction: Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related mortality in the U.S, with a majority of deaths due to metastatic disease. There have been few in vivo models which allow for the study of metastasis. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of EGFR activation and attenuation of the TGF\#946; pathway in FET, a weakly tumorigenic human colon cancer cell line, in an orthotopic model. Methods: FET cells were transfected with TGF\#945; cDNA with a tetracycline off promoter to create a tumorigenic line, FET\#945;. FET and FET\#945; were transfected with a Dominant Negative RII construct to form FETDNRII and FET\#945;DNRII. The DNRII construct in FETDNRII also had a Tet off promoter. 7 x 106 cells of each line were injected into BALB/c nude male mice to form xenografts. The xenografts were explanted, cut into 1mm³ pieces and subserosally implanted onto the colons of other male mice. The treated mice had a 3mg/ml tetracycline in 5% glucose solution starting post-operative day 2. Mice were necropsied at 7 weeks. Tissues were formalin fixed and paraffin embedded for HEDNRII and FETDNRII had similar apoptotic rates on TUNEL staining, but when compared to FET\#945;, were significantly decreased. Ki-67 staining showed no proliferative difference amongst the 3 lines. Conclusion: EGFR activation transforms a non-tumorigenic cell line (FET) to a tumorigenic one (FET\#945;). With TGF\#946; pathway attenuation, the tumorigenic line becomes metastatic. Loss of EGFR activation in a TGF\#946; inhibited line results in a decreased metastatic burden, but importantly, alters the organotropic homing from lung to liver in vivo. This is further confirmed by the metastatic pattern of FET\#945;DNRII where the EGFR activation was turned off. Redundancy in survival signaling is suggested by FETDNRII + Tet\#8217;s metastatic ability. Thus, these in vivo models offer a way to study the effects of EGFR activation and TGF\#946; signaling in colorectal metastasis.

Citation Information: In: Proc Am Assoc Cancer Res; 2009 Apr 18-22; Denver, CO. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; 2009. Abstract nr 4433.


Stress is defined as the physiological or psychological tension that - to the disturbances in physical, emotional and psychological well-being
of the elderly people .If the stress is not treated initially, it may lead to
many complications like depression, suicide etc. Laughter therapy aims
to get people laughing in both group and individual sessions and can
help to reduce stress, make people happier and more committed, as well
as improve their interpersonal skills.
TITLE
This study is aimed to assess the effectiveness of laughter therapy
in reduction of stress among the elderly people at selected old age home
at Chennai .The research design used was pre experimental one group
pretest and posttest design.
METHODS
The sample was selected by non-probability convenient sampling
technique (n=60) and pre-existing level of stress among the elderly were
assessed by structured questionnaire. After pre-test, laughter therapy
was practiced with elderly people. On the 14th day post-test was done by
using the same questionnaire. After 4 weeks of laughter therapy, the
levels of stress among the elderly people were analyzed by student
RESULTS
The results on post- test showed significant reduction of stress (p=
0.001) in score. The overall pre-test stress score among elderly people
was 62.6% whereas in post-test it was 29.9%. So the significance
difference between pre-test and post- test stress score is 32.6%.
CONCLUSION
The above finding revealed that laughter therapy was effective
and helped the elderly people to reduce their stress level.


Abstract The crystal chemistry of Fe in four nontronites (Garfield, Panamint Valley, SWa-1, and NG-1) was investigated by chemical analysis, X-ray goniometry, X-ray absorption pre-edge spectroscopy, powder and polarized extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS, P-EXAFS) spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The four reference nontronites have Fe/(Fe + Al + Mg) ratios ranging from 0.58 to 0.78, and are therefore representative of the different chemical compositions of dioctahedral ferruginous smectites. Pre-edge and powder EXAFS spectroscopy indicate that NG-1 contains 14 to 20% of tetrahedrally coordinated Fe3+, whereas the other three samples have no detectable IVFe3+. The partitioning of VIFe3+ between cis (M2) and trans (M1) sites within the octahedral sheet was determined from the simulation of X-ray diffraction patterns for turbostratic nontronite crystallites by varying the site occupancy of Fe. Based on this analysis, the four nontronite samples are shown to be trans-vacant within the detection limit of 5% of total iron. The in-plane and out-of-plane local structure around Fe atoms was probed by angular P-EXAFS measurements performed on highly oriented, self-supporting films of each nontronite. The degree of parallel orientation of the clay layers in these films was determined by texture goniometry, in which the half width at half maximum of the deviation of the c* axis of individual crystallites from the film plane normal, was found to be 9.9° for Garfield and 19° for SWa-1. These narrow distributions of orientation allowed us to treat the self-supporting films as single crystals during the quantitative analysis of polarized EXAFS spectra. The results from P-EXAFS, and from infrared spectroscopy (Madejova et al. 1994), were used to build a two-dimensional model for the distribution of Fe, and (Al,Mg) in sample SWa-l. In this nontronite, Fe, Al, and Mg atoms are statistically distributed within the octahedral sheet, but they exhibit some tendency toward local ordering. Fe-Fe and (Al, Mg)-(Al,Mg) pairs are preferentially aligned along the [010] direction and Fe-(Al,Mg) pairs along the [31̅0], and [3̅1̅0] directions. This distribution is compatible with the existence of small Fe domains separated by (Al,Mg), and empty octahedra, which segregation may account for the lack of magnetic ordering observed for this sample at low temperature (5K) (Lear and Stucki 1990).


Because aging is frequently associated with medical conditions likely to impair sexual performance, there is a tendency to view sexual changes in older men as the result of pathology, overlooking the effect of natural processes of aging in sexuality. This article discusses the sexual responses in the aging male, the physiologic aspects of aging male sexuality, psychologic aspects of aging and sexuality, studies on aging male sexuality, a psychobiological investigation of healthy aging men, medical causes of erectile dysfunction in elderly men, and the effect of medications on the sexual functioning of aging men.


Cross-country comparisons show that family policies supporting the work-family combination are related to higher fertility in industrialised countries. We argue that within each country, there is a dominant norm about the care of small children, linked to the shape of family policy, that influences individuals' fertility decisions whatever their gender roles attitudes and practices. We compare western Germany and France, which have different family policy and child care contexts, and also different fertility levels, but exhibit similar attitudes and practices towards gender roles as measured in surveys. Using qualitative data (62 interviews), we show that in each national sample, most individuals manage to agree with the national norm about child care, on top of their varying attitudes towards, and practices of, gender roles. These national norms about child care shape fertility decisions, independently of the provision of child care. In western Germany, where mothers are seen as the best child care providers, women who want or need to work prefer to forgo having children rather than using other possible sources of child care. In France, where child care is seen as best when shared, individuals find child care solutions allowing women to work, even in cases where no institutional care is available.


The Worldwide Port System (WPS) Regional Integrated Cargo Database (ICDB) is a major military computer system that provides visibility over international cargo. Development started in early 1993 and implementation began on the West Coast in August of 1995. The Design Plan coordinated developmental efforts for the ICDB and its related processes. A Design Plan was especially important because the ICDB was developed at multiple sites by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Military Traffic Management Command personnel. A Design Plan was essential to ensure that a consistent design was maintained throughout all modules, that functional and technical requirements were accomplished, that all components and processes worked together successfully, and that the development schedule was met. This plan described ICDB modules and tasks within each module. It documented responsibilities and dependencies by module and presented a schedule for development, testing, and integration.


A single intravenous dose of Cephalotine, given at the start of operations, significantly reduces the incidence of postoperative wound infections. The concentration of Cephalotine was maintained throughout operation. The occurrence of other infections was also reduced. The results of this study imply that operations on patients with higher infectious risk should be accompanied by antibiotic prophylaxis.


Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are active soft matter-based materials with strong stimulus responsiveness and reversible, large-shape morphing capabilities. LCEs have demonstrated broad and growing applications in soft robotics, wearable devices, artificial muscles, and optical machines. The actuation intelligence and advanced functionality of LCEs depend on the smartness and properties of structures. In this review, we discuss recent advances in structure-induced intelligence of LCEs, specifically the integration of structural properties with the alignment and processing of LCEs. The structural design principles for three categories consisting of common structures (film, fiber, and tubule), smart structures (origami, kirigami, mechanical metamaterial, topology, and topography), and complex structures (monolithic and integrated) are presented. Various alignment controls of LCEs, including mechanical, surface, field-assisted, and shear alignment, are capable of inducing structural properties. The coupling and collaboration mechanisms of the LCE structures and the generated functions are discussed. The review concludes with perspectives on current challenges and emerging opportunities.


Abstract The chain ladder is considered in relation to certain recursive and non-recursive models of claim observations. The recursive models resemble the (distribution free) Mack model but are augmented with distributional assumptions. The non-recursive models are generalisations of Poisson cross-classified structure for which the chain ladder is known to be maximum likelihood. The error distributions considered are drawn from the exponential dispersion family. Each of these models is examined with respect to sufficient statistics and completeness (Section 5), minimum variance estimators (Section 6) and maximum likelihood (Section 7). The chain ladder is found to provide maximum likelihood and minimum variance unbiased estimates of loss reserves under a wide range of recursive models. Similar results are obtained for a much more restricted range of non-recursive models. These results lead to a full classification of this paper's chain ladder models with respect to the estimation properties (bias, minimum variance) of the chain ladder algorithm (Section 8).


The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the partial replacement of the conventional diet with maniçoba (Manihot glaziovii Muell. Arg.) hay on the performance and carcass quality of free-range broiler chickens. 192 animals, from four different strains were used: Master Griss Plum, Barred Plymouth Rock, Naked Neck Label Rouge and New Hampshire, with initial age of 38 days. The birds were distributed in a completely randomized design with three treatments (replacement of 0.0, 7.5 and 15.0% of the basal diet with maniçoba hay) and four replications consisting of 16 birds (two pairs of each strain). There was a decrease in protein intake and an increase in fiber intake with the increase of hay in the diet, and the birds fed with 15.0% of hay had lower weight gain (1476.56 g bird-1), higher food conversion (2344.19 g), lower carcass percentage (70.74%) and absolute breast weight (417.03 g). It was observed that the use of up to 7.5% of ration replacement with maniçoba hay is a viable alternative.


Sport fishes at the apex of aquatic food webs are indicators of mercury in the environment. However bioaccumulation of mercury in fish is a complex process that varies in space and time. Both large-scale climatic and environmental, as well as biological factors are drivers of these space-time variations. In this study, we avail a long-running monitoring program from Ontario, Canada to better understand spatiotemporal variations in fish mercury bioaccumulation. Focusing on two common large-bodied fishes (Walleye and Northern Pike), the data were first stratified by latitudinal zone (north, mid, and south) and eight temporal periods (between 1975 & 2015). A series of linear mixed-effects models (LMEMs) with latitudinal zone, time period, and their interactions as random effects were used to capture the spatial, temporal, and spatiotemporal variations in mercury bioaccumulation. The random slopes from the best-fitting LMEM were used to define bioaccumulation index and capture trends in space and time. Given the generally warming climate trend over the past 45 years, the role of growth dilution in modulating the bioaccumulation trends was also evaluated. The full model comprising of space, time and space-time interactions was the best-fit with interaction effects explaining most of the variation. Spatiotemporal trends showed overall similar patterns for both species. Growth dilution in conjunction with estimated rates of warming for different latitudinal zones failed to explain the spatiotemporal trends. Temporal trends showed contrasting bioaccumulation patterns-increasing in Northern Pike and decreasing in Walleye, suggesting temperature-driven growth dilution is more likely in latter. However, a space-for-time substitution revealed only a weak presence of growth dilution in Walleye, and it was not attributable to temperature differences. Overall, our study summarizes broad-scale variations in fish mercury and explores the role of growth dilution in shaping the observed patterns.


Although work-related driving is associated with high accident rates, limited research has investigated the factors influencing driving crashes in the work setting. This study explored multilevel influences on self-reported crashes in the workplace by surveying a sample of work-related drivers (n = 380), their workgroup supervisors (n = 88), and fleet managers (n = 47). At the driver level of analysis, safety motivation predicted self-reported crashes. In turn, drivers' perceptions of their fleet managers' safety values (but not drivers' perceptions of their supervisors' safety values), their own attitudes, and their own efficacy beliefs predicted motivation to drive safely. Furthermore, the influence of supervisors and fleet managers interacted such that drivers were more motivated to drive safely if they perceived both their supervisor and fleet manager to value safety. This study also explored the cross-level relationships between supervisors' and fleet managers' perceptions of organizational safety values and drivers' perceptions of managerial safety values and found a relationship between fleet managers' perceptions of organizational safety values and drivers' perceptions of fleet managers' safety values. These results illustrate that perceptions of workplace safety values are transmitted across levels of the organization.


Schistosomiasis is one of the major communicable diseases of public health and socioeconomic importance in the developing world. It is a waterborne disease in which Biomphalaria alexandrina snails are known to be the intermediate molluscan host for Schistosoma mansoni: the causative agent of human intestinal schistosomiasis. Therefore, snail control is one of the cornerstones of schistosomiasis control programs. Several methods have been used to eliminate snail hosts. One of these methods is chemical molluscicides, which have undesirable effect to nontarget organisms. Consequently, the search for biologically derived molluscicides to complement the use of synthetic molluscicides is a top priority. In this concern, this study is the first to evaluate the molluscicidal potency of Cyanobacterial Phycocyanin (C-PC) as a virtually untapped source. Laboratory assessment of three freshwater Cyanobacterial strains: Anabaena oryzae SOS13, Nostoc muscorum SOS14, and Spirulina platensis SOS13-derived C-Phycocyanin as a biocontrol agent against freshwater mollusks; B. alexandrina snails were performed. Also, the safety of tested C-PC on nontarget organisms (Tilapia fish) was assessed. Results reveal that C-PC extracted from all tested Cyanobacteria strains showed a promising molluscicidal activity (the mortality rate was 100% at 100 μg/mL concentration). Out of the examined strains, A. oryzae SOS13 phycocyanin was found to be the most potent strain (LC50 and LC90 were 38.492 and 49.976 μg/mL, respectively). Moreover, C-PC extracts from all tested strains have been found to be safe to Tilapia fish as the survival rate was 100% at the effective molluscicidal concentrations. We can conclude that C-PC extracts are the first promising microbial biopesticides for the control of freshwater B. alexandrina snails.


Internet marketing is becoming a pervasive strategy adopted by both Multinational and Small and Medium sized companies in this recent times. Companies introduce this strategy into their already traditional strategies for a number of reasons; to increase their profit base, increase their interaction with customers, and others. This notwithstanding, some customers are still derailed in their expectations from companies in terms of e-marketing. The bane of the unsatisfied expectations is rooted in the inefficient and ineffective manner these strate-gies are deployed by companies. One company that prides itself in e-marketing and has a global recognition is Unilever. Uni-lever has many divisions across the world with varied focal attention depending on the cultural identification of the locality. Unilever Ghana is one such division located in all the western part of Africa. The company has branches in all the ten regions of Ghana. Unilever Ghana produces both consumable and non-consumable goods. It is regarded as one of the long-standing companies in Ghana with variety of products. This project presents a theoretical background of e-marketing strategies of Unilever Ghana. The project also presents an introductory analytical part fundamentally on internet usage in Ghana. The project did an in-depth analysis on the expectations and perceptions of cus-tomers towards the use of internet in online purchasing using the SPSS statistical tool with its Fisher's exact test of dependence algorithm. The dependence of Age, Educational level, income status as well as Gender with the magnitude of online buying behavior of custom-ers in Ghana was tested. It was statically proven that there is a dependence of the afore-mentioned variables against the use of internet in Ghana. In line with this, a project was embarked upon to identify the weak areas of e-marketing strategies in Unilever Ghana, analyze the depth of weakness and proffer pragmatic measures to practicalise the strategies for accelerated growth and customer retention. The project considered time, cost and risk in its formulation and execution. The project was found to be beneficial to Unilever Ghana in restructuring its e-marketing strategies.


The effects of one night's total sleep deprivation were examined using the Wilkinson vigilance task and four 10 min duration performance tests. A repeated measures design was used in which eight male subjects experienced one night of sleep loss, the order of sleep loss being balanced across subjects. The four short duration performance tests consisted of choice reaction time, simple reaction time, short-term memory, and a motor task, handwriting. The results confirm the effects of one night's sleep deprivation on the vigilance task and also show that performance on the two reaction time tests was significantly impaired by the loss of sleep, but not at such a high level as for the vigilance. The short-term memory test failed to show any adverse effects of sleep loss and similarly for the handwriting. The experiment shows that two portable and brief (10 min) performance tests are sensitive indices of sleep loss and should be particularly useful for assessing levels of alertness in the field.


The data on the study of genetics of the monofloret-cluster trait in fodder beet were presented. Three alleles of monofloret mc4, mc5 and mc6 were selected and described. Available monofloret sources of fertile fodder beet was tested on allelism.


Literature and our own data on structural and functional state of neocortex and hippocampus during both entrance in hibernation of ground squirrel (Spermophilus undulates) and Wistar rats in hypothermia were generalized. During hibernation when body temperature is about 2-4 degrees C the suppression of both bioelectrical and protein-synthesizing activity, the decrease of neuronal cell bodies and the branching of dendrites, retraction of dendritic spines, and a decrease of postsynaptic active zones of synapses were observed. Similar changes in those parameters were triggered for rats during hypoxia-hypercapnia at body temperature 17-19 degrees C. Hypoxia-hypercapnia facilitates the entrance in torpid state for hole animals. Nonhibernating animals during cooling and hypoxia-hypercapnia trigger functioning some mechanisms similar hibernators during entrance in hibernation. Similar morphological and functional changes for both hibernators and nonhibernators at low temperature state show similarity of mechanisms which induce a low level of brain activity of different animals.


The in vivo three-dimensional architecture of lymph node and spleen interdigitating cells (IDCs) has been studied in mice by means of a computer reconstruction program and polystyrene models. Tissue fragments treated with an osmium-zinc iodide fixative solution, which gives a brilliant and quite specific impregnation of IDCs, were embedded in Epon and cut into 2 microns thick serial sections. The data was transferred into a "MOP-Videoplan 3D-cell reconstruction" software program and both tridimensional plottings and morphometric measurements were obtained. Then polystyrene models were assembled. Our findings show a cell population of high spatial complexity. IDCs are large cells whose numerous cytoplasmic processes form an extensive three-dimensional network which envelopes lymphoid cells. The most characteristic feature of IDC' architecture is the large, flattened, sheet-like processes which expand for several microns from the cell body, embracing numerous lymphocytes and lymphoblasts. In certain cases surface invaginations create channel-like structures which cross through the IDC peripheral cytoplasm. The impressive extension of the IDC membranous network provides a powerful anatomic strategy which facilitates the interaction between IDCs and T-lymphocytes and creates a unique microenvironment for T-cell activation and proliferation. This study gives new morphological evidence for the strict physical interaction between IDCs and T-lymphocytes and supports the concept that IDC-T lymphocyte aggregation represents a very special microanatomical and functional unit.


News On Demand System using speech technology usually employs automatic speech transcriptions to retrieve the news data. In the retrieval, users specify a few keywords or sentences as a query and the related news data can be retrieved using the speech transcription. However when users can't give a query clearly, a video shot of news program which users are watching will become a good query to retrieve the related news data. As one of such kinds of news data retrieval, we propose here to employ video captions as a query and to retrieve the related news data using speech transcription. We call this kind of retrieval as cross media retrieval due to its media cross over. Conventionally available method in cross media retrieval is standard cosine measure in vector space model. In this conventional method, there is a problem of impossibility of semantic level retrieval. To solve this problem, we propose here an expanded vector space model based on a word space. Experimental results found that the expanded vector space model based on the word space has superiority to the conventional vector space model.


The ion optical properties of the crossed toroidal electric and inhomogeneous magnetic fields as a mass spectrometer are discussed. By means of Fermat's principle, the equations of ion trajectory are derived. The second order aberration are calculated for the crossed fields mass spectrometer.


This paper approaches innovation from an evolutionary perspective. Literature spanning a broad range of traditions in economics is considered, to include Institutionalist, Schumpeterian, post-Keynesian, and growth theorists. Key systemic changes are examined in the context of prevailing technological and social institutions. It is argued that expectation-fixing effects such as path-dependence in investment and innovation provide structure to a social network of market institutions that seek to validate money contracts. The institution of money is considered as a center of power in the system and affects the course of innovation. Money as the unit of account becomes the object of desire in a system of monetary production. Innovation, Markets, and Evolution


Summary
We have investigated the capacity of the avian adenovirus CELO to induce interferon in primary chicken embryo fibroblasts. The multiplicity of infection appeared to be an important factor in the induction of interferon.
U.v. irradiation of the virus at 1 or 2 × 104 ergs/mm2 completely inhibited virus replication, but had no effect on interferon synthesis. Interferon production was decreased by 50% when CELO virus was irradiated with a dose of 5 × 104 ergs/mm2.
Treatment of the infected cells with cytosine arabinoside inhibited new DNA synthesis and virus replication, but had little effect on interferon production. Cytosine arabinoside, also, did not inhibit interferon production in chicken cells infected with human adenovirus type 7. It can be concluded that at appropriate multiplicities of infection the parental CELO virus was responsible for interferon induction.


E-selectin, a selectin expressed on activated vascular endothelium, supports rolling and stable adhesion of leukocytes at sites of inflammation. Previously, we have reported that leukocyte adhesion to cultured endothelial cells induces association of the cytoplasmic domain of E-selectin with cytoskeletal elements, suggesting that outside-in signaling may occur during E-selectin-mediated adhesion. To investigate this potential signaling function of E-selectin, HUVEC activated with recombinant human IL-1beta (10 U/ml, 4 h) were labeled with [32P]orthophosphate, and E-selectin was immunoprecipitated using mAb H18/7. Autoradiography revealed constitutive phosphorylation of E-selectin in these cells and time-dependent dephosphorylation following adhesion of HL-60 cells. Cross-linking of cell surface E-selectin using H18/7 and a polyclonal secondary Ab induced E-selectin dephosphorylation, as did adhesion of beads coated with recombinant P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1), an E-selectin ligand. Using adenoviral vector-mediated transfection in HUVEC of a tail-less E-selectin and phosphoamino acid analysis, we documented phosphorylation occurring exclusively within the cytoplasmic domain and involving serine residues. Additional experiments using a series of cytoplasmic domain mutants of E-selectin expressed in COS-7 cells localized the regions that were constitutively phosphorylated. Preincubation with okadaic acid and sodium vanadate abrogated adhesion-induced dephosphorylation of E-selectin. Thus, E-selectin, which is constitutively phosphorylated in cytokine-activated human endothelial cells, undergoes an enzymatically regulated dephosphorylation following leukocyte adhesion. This process appears to be triggered by multivalent ligand binding and/or cross-linking of cell surface E-selectin. Ligand-dependent regulation of the phosphorylation of E-selectin's cytoplasmic domain provides additional evidence for a transmembrane signaling function of this molecule during leukocyte-endothelial interactions.


In this paper, a modified fuzzy c-means (FCM) clustering for medical image segmentation is presented. A conventional FCM algorithm does not fully utilize the spatial information in the image. In this research, we use a FCM algorithm that incorporates spatial information into the membership function for clustering. The spatial function is the summation of the membership function in the neighborhood of each pixel under consideration. The advantages of the method are that it is less sensitive to noise than other techniques, and it yields regions more homogeneous than those of other methods. This technique is a powerful method for noisy image segmentation. Originality of this research is the methods applied on a normal MRI brain image and a glioma MRI brain images, and analyze the area of tumor from segmented images. The results show that the method effectively segmented Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) brain images with spatial information, and the segmented normal and glioma MRI brain images can be analyzed for diagnosis purpose. And, the area of abnormal mass is identified from 9.65 to 27.71 cm. Index Term— Adaptive image segmentation, fuzzy logic, FCM clustering, MRI brain image, spatial information


The insertion of a transtympanic ventilation tube prevented the occurrence of vertiginous attacks in 82% of a series of 28 patients suffering typical Ménière's syndrome with incapacitating vertigo resistant to medical treatment. The follow-up time exceeds 2 years for all cases. It ranges from 2 to 4 years with an average of 2.5 years. This treatment had no effect on drop attacks. Also, hearing loss does not seem to be influenced. The presence of a transtympanic ventilation tube has not caused any major complications in these patients. Obstruction or loss of the tube was in some cases followed by the reappearance of vertigo. It is therefore important to check the patency of the tube before concluding that treatment has failed. The apparent benefit of ventilation tubes in reducing the occurrence of vertiginous attacks suggests that patients with endolymphatic hydrops are particularly sensitive to middle ear pressure.


ABSTRACT Abraham Flexner contended that "something more than a degree or claim" is needed to make a profession. He further asserted that the definitions of a profession require recasting over time. This article critically considers recasting licensing as something more for social work. Analysis of past and present discourse on licensing in social work revealed three overarching themes: (a) advocacy and rationale for licensing, (b) scrutiny and critique of licensing, and (c) the disconnect and dissonance between professional licensing and social work education. Moving forward, we suggest recasting social work's professional paradigm in the common framework of competency, with licensing part of the continuum of professionalization. This recasting can promote critical congruence between social work education and ongoing professional competency.


Document knowledge plays a very important role in many document image understanding methods. In these methods, the document knowledge is utilized to classify/extract individual item data interpretatively from paper-based sheets as a kind of document model: these days, this knowledge is specified into the document image understanding system in advance. In this paper, we propose an experimental method to acquire the layout knowledge automatically from sample document images. In particular, we focus on the acquisition of the layout of business cards. Our idea is to generate the layout knowledge of business cards from a predefined logical structure, which is used as a kind of meta-knowledge to interpretatively generate the layout knowledge of given business cards.


Controllable regulation of enzyme activity is an important prerequisite for the in-depth application of enzymes, especially in today's intelligent era. However, irreversible regulation and cumbersome operation make this goal difficult to achieve. Here, by adopting magnetism and a harmless, noncontact, and time- and space-controllable physical element, we developed a system that could conveniently and reversibly regulate the activity of DNAzyme. In this system, the strands of the DNAzyme could be stretched or folded by applying or removing a magnetic field. Thereby, the conformation-dependent endonuclease activity of the DNAzyme could be facilely switched between an "OFF" and "ON" state. This system provides a reusable platform for the control of enzyme catalytic activity through magnetism, which provides guidance for further application in some related scientific research, especially the regulation of the activity of conformation-dependent polymers (DNAzymes, aptamers, and peptides).


We studied the structure and dynamics of porcine laryngeal aggrecan in solution using a range of noninvasive techniques: dynamic light scattering (DLS), small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), video particle tracking (VPT) microrheology, and diffusing wave spectroscopy (DWS). The data are analyzed within the framework of a combined static and dynamic scaling model, and evidence is found for reptation of the comb backbones with unentangled side-chain dynamics. Small-angle neutron scattering indicated standard polyelectrolyte scaling of the mesh size (xi) with concentration (c) in semidilute solutions for the whole aggrecan aggregate, xi = Ac(-0.47+/-0.04), with the prefactor (A) implying there is on average 60 nm between the aggrecan subunits along the backbone. VPT demonstrated large exponents for the power law dependence of the intrinsic viscosity (eta) on the polymer concentration in the semidilute concentration regime, eta approximately c(alpha); with alpha equal to 2.04 +/- 0.06 and 1.95 +/- 0.08 for the assembled and disassembled aggrecan aggregates, respectively. DWS at high frequencies (10(4)-10(5) Hz) gave evidence for internal Rouse modes of the aggrecan monomers, independent of the degree of self-assembly of the molecules.


Acrylic acid anhydride (AAA) and tetreathylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDM) were employed as labile and permanent crosslinking monomers for poly(ethyl acrylate), respectively. Upon partial or total hydrolysis of the AAA crosslinks, various states of viscoelastic creep and stress relaxation were brought about. The use of chemically active monomers for crosslinking permits new polymer structures to be synthesized. In this case, decrosslinking converts a thermoset polymer into its thermoplastic counterpart. The relationship between the present decrosslinking study and a new nomenclature theory of grafted and crosslinked polymers is explored.


Development of plaques compositions caused by atherosclerosis inside of coronary arteries is known as coronary artery disease. Its treatment includes the possibility of stent deployment through operation called percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. In this procedure stent is delivered using a balloon catheter and then inserted across the lesion. The new stent design development or optimization of existing ones requires the performance of many expensive mechanical tests which are always followed by their time-consuming analysis. Thus, the possibility of those tests to be performed on computer, i.e., in-silico, instead of in reality, i.e. invitro could remove the necessity of a greater number of in-vitro tests. With in-silico mechanical testing the analysis of all mechanical characteristics could be performed which would drastically decrease both the time and the expenses of the process and even gives the possibility to compare two or more designs. In this study, recently introduced material model of PolyL-Lactic Acid (PLLA) fully bioresorbable vascular scaffold and recently accredited numerical InSilc platform were used to perform in-silico mechanical tests on different stent designs that have different geometrical and material characteristics. In-silico tests include radial compression (RCI), inflation, three-point bending and two plate crush test whose results could provide well-grounded conclusions and thus a notable contribution in stent design and optimization.


We investigated which determinants (socioeconomic, early life factors, body composition changes, fitness changes and/or physical activity changes) best predicted longitudinal outcomes in cardiometabolic risk profile (Z-score change) in adolescents with OW/OB who underwent a 13-month multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention. A total of 165 adolescents (13–16 y; 46% boys) from the EVASYON study were included. Socioeconomic variables and early life factors were obtained from the medical records. Body composition was assessed using anthropometry. Fitness and physical activity were measured with field-based tests and questionnaires. Cardiometabolic risk factors (fasting glucose, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure and waist circumference) were derived from standard methods in the hospital. Body weight changes, sex and mother's education were selected in the stepwise process as the most important determinants of changes in cardiometabolic risk profile (R2 = 0.26, p = 0.002; R2 = 0.14, p = 0.013; and R2 = 0.14, p = 0.017, respectively). Both boys and girls showed a lower cardiometabolic risk score with the reduction in body weight (r = 0.535, p = 0.009 and r = 0.506, p = 0.005, respectively). There was no interaction between sex and body weight change (p = 0.614). In conclusion, the simple measure of changes in body weight should be considered to track changes in cardiometabolic risk profile in adolescents with OW/OB.


Copper is widely used to make cables, printed circuit boards and various structural components. However, copper tends to form thin film of oxide or sulfide on its surface, presenting tarnished appearance or undesired effects such as lowering of electrical characteristics. The present study elucidates the growth mechanism of such film through analysis of the influence of temperature, humidity, contaminating substance, surface treatment and impurity gases (SO2, HCl, H2S) on the growth speed of the film. It was found out that the long-established cathodic reduction technique was the simplest and yet considerably accurate analyzing method.


Abstract The environmental problems of synthetic plastics in food packaging have led researchers to synthesize biodegradable films. In this study, nanocomposite alginate‐based films containing TiO2 nanoparticles (1%) and cumin essential oil (CEO, 2%) were fabricated and the potential of these films to protect beef from chemical [pH, total volatile base nitrogen (TVBN), peroxide value, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBA)] and microbial [total viable count, Enterobacteriaceae, lactic acid bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes, and Pseudomonas spp.] spoilage was evaluated during 24 days of storage (4°C). The active films significantly induced the reduction in lipid oxidation, microbial growth, and TVBN values, improved the sensory attributes of treated samples, maintained the redness of meats for a longer time, and increased the shelf life of beef from 4 to 16 days. The results of this study showed that TiO2/CEO alginate‐based nanocomposite film has a great potential for application in meat and meat products.


The use of 10-V Josephson voltage standard based on 10-V array enables us more convenient and reliable 10-V calibration compared to 10:1 divider system at KRISS. Consistency between the two systems was successfully tested with using a 10-V Zener voltage standard. The uncertainty of the new 10-V Josephson array system was estimated to be less than 0.01/spl times/10/sup -6/(k=2).


The objective of this study was to chemically modify the pregelatinized cassava starch to obtain resistant starches to the action of α-amylase present in the egg and evaluate their application in cold cheese bread dough. In this study native cassava starch was cross-linked with sodium trimetaphosphate in a concentration of 0.5% (d.b.). The cross-linked starch was oxidized with sodium hypochlorite (2.0%), hydrogen peroxide (2.0%) and combinations of hydrogen peroxide with potassium permanganate (0.1%), ferrous sulfate (0.05%) and ozone (1.0 g/h). All oxidations occurred during a period of 2 hours at room temperature. The modified starches were pregelatinized for 30 minutes at 95 ° C and spray dried. The solubility index and water absorption, content of carboxyl groups and the enzymatic susceptibility to α-amylase of the modified starches were evaluated. Cheese bread dough was prepared with pregelatinized modified starch and stored under refrigeration (8 °C) for sixteen days. The tackiness index of the dough, which represents its stability during refrigerated storage, and physical characteristics of the cheese breads were evaluated. The starches studied exhibited lower susceptibility to enzymatic hydrolysis. During refrigerated storage, doughs showed a lower rate of tackiness, good consistency and the cheese breads exhibited good appearance, however they had lower specific volume and rate of expansion. The results of the study show that the characteristics of the modified starch during the storage period, promoted better product stability. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14685/rebrapa.v4i2.124


In this letter, we analyze experimentally the responsivity of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) to backscattered Doppler radiation. Their responsivity is strongly enhanced by at least 10 dB with the selection of one polarization state in the detection beam and by the presence in VCSELs of polarization bistability. When the VCSELs are operated inside the bistable region, they emit square wave pulses at the Doppler shift frequency in both polarization states. When they are operated outside the bistable region, they emit the normal saw-tooth pulses in both polarization states. These unique features, absent in conventional edge-emitting lasers, make them suitable for new applications in laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV).


Working from home for a long time during the Covid-19 pandemic led to many complaints of musculoskeletal disorders, such as lower back pain. This is caused by stress or spasm in the back muscles which makes the stability of the abdominal and lower back muscles decrease. Treatments include the muscle energy technique (MET) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). MET can reduce pain through the provision of post-isometric relaxation stimulation, stimulating the proprioception and neurophysiology, and causing a hypoalgesic effect in the lower back area, while TENS blocks pain-conducting nerves. Studies have not yet determined conclusively which treatment is most effective. In this literature review, relevant articles published from 2015-2020 were found by searching in Google Scholar and PubMed. The keywords used included low back pain, muscle energy technique and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. The population, intervention, comparison group, outcome and study design were considered in the selection of the articles. There were 6 journal articles that met the research criteria, namely 3 that examined the MET intervention and 3 for the TENS intervention. The results showed that MET with a dose of 3-5x/session can reduce pain after the second day, while TENS, when placed locally, can take roughly a month to reduce lower back pain. The findings showed that MET is more effective in reducing lower back pain than TENS.
Keywords: low back pain, muscle energy technique, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation


When designing an auto-focusing actuator for use in cell phone cameras, it is essential to minimize the device size, maximize the positioning repeatability, and minimize the power consumption. In a previous study, we presented a miniature auto-focusing voice coil motor (VCM) actuator for cell phone camera applications in which the lens was precisely positioned by a closed-loop feedback signal generated by a Hall element. Our study characterizes the performance of this device by using an experimental approach. The results show that the proposed actuator is not only smaller than a conventional VCM actuator with an open-loop positioning system, but also has improved positioning repeatability, a more rapid response, and lower power consumption.


This article undertakes a comparative analysis of five ASEAN 1 Free Trade Agreements and the ASEAN Economic Community to analyse the ease or difficulties in negotiating and developing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement by 2015 and beyond. The analysis suggests that the ASEAN Economic Community and the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement are the most comprehensive agreements and have deeper commitments as compared to the other ASEAN regional Free Trade Agreements (FTA). Despite some broad commonalities, there are significant differences across them in terms of the negotiating framework, coverage of issues, deadlines and depth of commitments. This lack of coherence across the ASEAN 1 Free Trade Agreements and varying domestic interests of negotiating countries would be a difficult task to harmonize under the RCEP agreement. Adding to this complexity are the geopolitics in the Asian region and the emergence of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, which involves seven of the RCEP members. The article concludes that the potential success of the RCEP negotiation would depend on the extent to which countries that are part of this partnership can reach a consensus on – substantial tariff elimination coverage, a common market access schedule, comprehensive coverage of WTO-plus issues and behind-the-border integration measures that enable both physical and institutional connectivity.


This research sets out to identify the patterns of communication and the implementation of decision making in Parti Keadilan Rakyat (the People's Justice Party) of Malaysia. This study utilized a qualitative method of inquiry, namely phenomenography with the software Nvivo as a tool for analysis to reveal the communication pattern and decision making based on findings from interviews conducted towards members in the People's Justice Party (PKR).
The research results show that the formal, i.e. upward and downward, and informal, i.e. horizontal communication, cross channel/diagonal communication and grapevine. These patterns are affected by three factors, i.e. context, as well as the experience and authority of the persons in the organization.
As a phenomenographic study, this study's limitations lie mainly in its use of interviews as means to collect data. First, it is difficult for the researchers to confirm that the information is indeed true experience. Human attitudes and actions can always be changed. Second, the researchers have limitations in accessing full information from the informants. Finally, in order not to sacrifice depth of data, informants were limitedly selected and thus cannot be claimed as representing the communication patterns implemented by everyone in the party.

Keyword : communication pattern, decision making, political party, organizational communication, phenomenography


OBJECTIVES
To obtain neurogenic vestibular evoked potentials (NVESTEPs) with surface scalp recording using a tone pip auditory stimulus.

METHODS
Fourteen neurologically normal volunteers (Age range 26-45 years, 10 females and 4 males), and two patients with sensorineural hearing loss and possible multiple sclerosis respectively, were examined. Two channel recordings were obtained, the first channel being P3 referred to Fpz, and the second channel being P4 referred to Fpz. A 1 kHz tone pip stimulus with two cycles was delivered via headphones monoaurally with contralateral masking noise.

RESULTS
A consistent negative wave with a mean absolute latency of 4.72 msec was obtained, which we have named N5. 25% of the ears tested had better responses at the ipsilateral parietal electrode. In the patient with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, NVESTEPs was present, suggesting that the NVESTEP is not a cochlear response. In the patient with possible multiple sclerosis, an abnormal NVESTEP response and a normal BAEP response were found.

CONCLUSION
Use of a tone-pip rather than a click auditory stimulus allows a lower click intensity to be used in the production of NVESTEP responses, leads to a shorter testing time, and is therefore more comfortable for the patient. This study adds to our impression that the NVESTEP may be a physiological response that can be used to assess the vestibular system and is different from the BAEP response. Further testing in patients with symptoms of dizziness and with disorders specific for the vestibular nerve is required.


Knowing the execution-time characteristics of a program is fundamental to the successful design, validation and deployment of real-time systems. This chapter deals with the problem of how to estimate, measure and analyze the execution time of embedded real-time programs. Of particular interest is the worst-case execution time (WCET). It covers the reasons for program execution time variation, including both the software and hardware complexity inherent in today's embedded systems. It gives an overview of various techniques used to derive execution time estimates. Finally we summarize a number of industrial case-studies of timing analysis, to show how timing analysis works in practice.


This paper presents the synthesis of gadolinium aluminate (GdAlO3), an oxide compound with a perovskite structure, for applications as a capacitive and/or resistive humidity sensor. Gadolinium aluminate was synthesized by the sol-gel self-combustion method. This method allowed us to obtain a highly porous structure in which open pores prevail, a structure favorable to humidity sensors. Most of the materials studied as capacitive/resistive humidity sensors have significant sensitivities only with respect to one of these types of sensors. In the case of the studied gadolinium aluminate with p-type electric conductivity, the relative humidity of the air has a significant influence on both capacitive and resistive types of electric humidity sensors. The capacity increases about 10,000 times, and the resistance decreases about 8000 times as the relative humidity increases from 0 to 98%. The investigated gadolinium aluminate can be used successfully to obtain high-sensitivity capacitive and/or resistive humidity sensors.


Religious Courses in Germany are carried out under the responsibility and control of religious communities. After Alawi Unions Federations of Germany had the right to teach Alawism Religious Course, in different states, curriculum studies have been made. The Courses have been put into practice and they will also be tested in the future. In this article, Curriculum of Alawism Religious Course now in effect has examined in a qualitative way. Curriculums have been evaluated through content analysis. It has been concluded as a result of content analysis that the content taught in Alawism Religious Course includes interpretations and practices that differ from the traditional Understanding of Islamic


Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a debilitating chronic disorder marked by the progressive obliteration of the pre-capillary arterioles. This imposes a pressure overload on the right ventricle (RV) pushing the latter to undergo structural and mechanical adaptations that inexorably culminate in RV failure and death. Thanks to the advances in molecular biology, it has been proposed that some aspects of the RV and pulmonary vascular remodeling processes are orchestrated by a subversion of developmental regulatory mechanisms with an upregulation of a suite of genes responsible for the embryo's early growth and normally repressed in adults. In this review, we present relevant background regarding the close relationship between overactivation of fetal genes and cardiopulmonary remodeling, exploring whether the reawakening of developmental factors plays a causative role or constitutes a protective mechanism in the setting of PAH.


About 90% of male infertile patients are complaint of semen with poor quality, and of which majority are caused by idiopathic disturbance of spermatogenesis. To date, various trials have been made to stimulate spermatogenesis by means of pharmaceutical administrations, their efficacies were, however, poor as expected. The treatment of the patients with poor quality semen is, therefore, mainly focused on artificial insemination, such as intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET), etc. (1) To inseminate the sperm artificially, it is necessary to separate progressively motile sperm with normal morphology from seminal plasma, immotile and abnormal sperm, leucocytes and bacteria. There are two methods for separating progressively motile sperm, one is the density gradient centrifugation and another is the diffusion by their own motility. We have developed various types of density gradients using Percoll, a modified silica gel; the mono-layer Percoll method and the cushion method are employed for sperm concentration, and the discontinuous Percoll density gradient with 4 steps and the continuous-step density gradient are capable of separating progressively motile sperm. The continuous-step density gradient have been employed for 271 cases of IUI, and successful 84 pregnancies were obtained with the pregnancy rate of 30.9%. (2) Cryopreservation of sperm produce various advantages in the treatment of male infertility. Cryoaccumulation of oligozoospermic semen is effective for obtaining a sufficient number of sperm, and frequent insemination with cryopreserved sperm increase the chance of fertilization. To improve the quality of cryopreserved sperm, ejaculated semen was concentrated prior freezing by means of the continuous-step density gradient.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Abstract Children and young people constitute more than one quarter of all plaintiffs in rights-based strategic climate litigation cases filed globally up to 2021. This article examines the implications of this development for children's environmental rights inside and outside the courtroom, relying on the analysis of case documents, media coverage, and the broader literature on strategic climate litigation and children's rights. The article finds that children are well placed to make powerful arguments for intergenerational justice. Conversely, children's rights arguments that address their current-day grievances are under-utilized. More consistent inclusion of these types of claim could strengthen children's environmental rights, clarifying and enforcing legal obligations towards children in the context of the climate crisis as it unfolds. The involvement of children in strategic climate litigation, moreover, can advance the critical role of this demographic as stakeholder in climate solutions. However, the participation of children also raises ethical and practical dilemmas, which are currently poorly understood and only haphazardly addressed.


This paper focuses on how the latest changes in corporate financial reporting have an impact on the stakeholders i.e. the shareholders, employees, management, creditors, auditors, suppliers, and the public in general. Financial information serves as an important input and guides for informed decision-making in an economic environment. The financial statements are one of the most important bases on which the internal and external stakeholders reach effective decisions. The idea of "General Purpose Financial Reporting" is directed to the common information needs of users and stakeholders. This study attempts to assess whether the stakeholder's confidence and satisfaction are enhanced by the nature and extent of information that is made available to the stakeholders and the practices of corporate disclosure in annual accounts.


Abstract. The characteristics of the reactive gaseous mercury (RGM) and particulate
mercury (HgP) in the marine boundary layer (MBL) are poorly understood,
due in part to sparse data from the sea and ocean. Gaseous elemental Hg (GEM),
RGM, and size-fractionated HgP in the marine atmosphere, and dissolved gaseous
Hg (DGM) in surface seawater, were determined in the South China Sea (SCS)
during an oceanographic expedition (3–28 September 2015). The mean
concentrations of GEM, RGM, and Hg2.5P were 1.52±0.32 ng m−3, 6.1±5.8 pg m−3, and 3.2±1.8 pg m−3,
respectively. A low GEM level indicated that the SCS suffered less influence
from fresh emissions, which could be due to the majority of air masses
coming from the open oceans, as modeled by back trajectories. Atmospheric
reactive Hg (RGM + Hg2.5P) represented less than 1 % of total
atmospheric Hg, indicating that atmospheric Hg existed mainly as GEM in the
MBL. The GEM and RGM concentrations in the northern SCS (1.73±0.40 ng m−3 and 7.1±1.4 pg m−3, respectively) were
significantly higher than those in the western SCS (1.41±0.26 ng m−3 and 3.8±0.7 pg m−3), and the Hg2.5P and
Hg10P levels (8.3 and 24.4 pg m−3) in the Pearl River estuary
(PRE) were 0.5–6.0 times higher than those in the open waters of the SCS,
suggesting that the PRE was polluted to some extent. The size distribution
of HgP in PM10 was observed to be three-modal, with peaks around
< 0.4, 0.7–1.1, and 5.8–9.0 µm, respectively, but the
coarse modal was the dominant size, especially in the open SCS. There was no
significant diurnal pattern of GEM and Hg2.5P, but we found that the
mean RGM concentration was significantly higher in daytime (8.0±5.5 pg m−3) than in nighttime (2.2±2.7 pg m−3), mainly due to
the influence of solar radiation. In the northern SCS, the DGM
concentrations in the nearshore area (40–55 pg L−1) were about twice as
high as those in the open sea, but this pattern was not significant in the
western SCS. The sea–air exchange fluxes of Hg0 in the SCS varied from
0.40 to 12.71 ng m−2 h−1 with a mean value of 4.99±3.32 ng m−2 h−1. The annual emission flux of Hg0 from the SCS to the
atmosphere was estimated to be 159.6 t yr−1, accounting for about
5.54 % of the global Hg0 oceanic evasion, although the SCS only
represents 1.0 % of the global ocean area. Additionally, the annual dry
deposition flux of atmospheric reactive Hg represented more than 18 % of
the annual evasion flux of Hg0, and therefore the dry deposition of
atmospheric reactive Hg was an important pathway for the input of
atmospheric Hg to the SCS.


To determine whether anti-transferrin (Tf) receptor monoclonal antibodies might be useful in treatment of human solid tumors, in vitro effects of immunoglobulin A (42/6) and immunoglobulin G (B3/25) anti-Tf receptor antibodies on human solid tumor growth were examined. In colony and liquid cultures containing 10% serum, B3/25 did not inhibit growth of melanoma or ovarian carcinoma cell lines. 42/6 caused modest dose-dependent inhibition in colony cultures (maximum inhibition approximately 50%), and slowed growth of melanoma, ovarian carcinoma and epidermoid carcinoma cells in liquid culture. Inhibition was more pronounced in low (1%) serum, and was abrogated by 200 micrograms/ml iron-saturated Tf or 50 microM ferric nitriloacetate. All cells displayed high affinity Tf receptors (4-20 X 10(4)/cell). Cells grown in 1% serum and epidermoid carcinoma cells displayed more receptors, and susceptibility to 42/6 inhibition appeared related to higher receptor number. After culture with anti-Tf receptor antibodies, solid tumor cells showed a 57-93% reduction in surface Tf-binding sites. Tf uptake by cells grown for 24 h in B3/25 was approximately 50% of control, but was reduced to less than 10% of control with 42/6. Immunofluorescence staining of melanoma and HL60 promyelocytic leukemia cells suggested greater heterogeneity of Tf receptor display on melanoma than on leukemia cells. Previous studies showed 42/6 completely blocked blood cell Tf internalization and is a potent inhibitor of hemopoietic cell growth. In contrast, in solid tumor cells, inhibition of Tf uptake and growth inhibition are subtotal. Solid tumor resistance to 42/6 may be due in part to greater heterogeneity of Tf receptor display by proliferating cells. However, responses to iron-saturated Tf and ferric nitriloacetate in the presence of 42/6 also differ in hemopoietic and solid tumor cells, suggesting possible differences in Tf processing or iron growth requirements.


This article draws its primary motivation from the steady rise in the participation and involvement of venture capital/private equity (VC/PE) funds in the Indian IPO market over the last couple of decades. The study explores the involvement quality of the VC/PE managers and its impact on the long-run equity and operating performance of Indian firms issuing securities through initial public offerings (IPOs). Using data for 173 IPOs backed by VC/PE funding (out of a total of 625 IPOs) from 2000 to 2016, the authors show that post-issue, both equity market performance and operating performance of these VC/PE-backed IPOs are unimpressive in general. The information asymmetry, mispricing, and "timing the market" do not seem to be reasons for such long-term underperformance. The authors argue that it may be a case of too much money chasing too few winners in the Indian VC/PE-backed IPO market. The study utilizes a unique, hand-collected data set (from IPO prospectuses) on VC/PE firms' involvement quality. Findings indicate that the duration and the size of the stake that the VC/PE firms hold in the pre-issue period positively affect the post-issue performance of IPOs. These findings lend support to the previously theorized "monitoring" and "certification" role of VC/PE firms. Key Findings ▪ Both long-term market and operating performance of VC/PE-backed IPOs in India from 2000 to 2016 were unimpressive. ▪ The quality of VC/PE involvement has some impact on the post-IPO performance of investee firms. ▪ The VC/PE-backed IPOs are not engaged in timing (hot and cold periods) the market.


Adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRTase) is an important enzyme for its ability to convert adenine, a byproduct of many biochemical reactions, into AMP. By functional complementation of an Escherichia coli mutant, cDNAs encoding two APRTases have been cloned from Arabidopsis thaliana. One of the cDNAs (ATapt1) has been previously identified while the second (ATapt2) is of a previously unknown type. Kinetic analysis of the two enzymes purified from E. coli expressing the two cDNAs indicates that ATapt2 has a higher affinity for cytokinin than the ATapt1. RNase protection studies indicate that the ATapt2, is not expressed in leaves. Analysis of the gene structure indicates that ATapt2 has identical intron positions to ATapt1, but neither the intron sequence nor intron size are conserved between the two genes. The implications of a second, differentially expressed APRTase with affinity for both adenine and cytokinin are discussed.


The tricyclic title compounds, 4 and 5, were synthesized by initial alkylation of the lithium monoenolates of N,N,N',N'-tetramethylbutanediamide (6) and N,N,N',N'-tetramethylpentanediamide (19) with 2-iodobenzyl chloride in liquid NH(3) at -60 degrees C to afford 2-(2-iodobenzyl)-N,N,N',N'-tetramethylbutanediamide (9) and 2-(2-iodobenzyl)-N,N,N',N'-tetramethylpentanediamide (20) in yields of 88 and 87%, respectively. Treatment of 9 with KNH(2) in liquid NH(3) resulted in formation and intramolecular arylation of the less-substituted alpha-enolate to produce trans-1,2-bis(N,N-dimethylcarboxamido)indane (10a) in 60% yield. Selective hydrolysis of 10a with aqueous Na(2)O(2) gave trans-1-(N,N-dimethylcarboxamido)indane-2-carboxylic acid (17), which was then converted to bridged succinimide 4 by transformation to trans-1-(N,N-dimethylcarboxamido)indane-2-carboxamide (10c) followed by cyclization of this mixed primary/tertiary amide by means of NaH in refluxing THF. Treatment of 20 with KNH(2) in liquid NH(3) led to intramolecular arylation and accompanying ammonolysis to afford trans-1-(N,N-dimethylcarboxamido)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene-3-carboxamide (21b). Conversion of 21b to 5 was similarly effected by means of NaH. Experiments designed to test the mechanistic aspects of the intramolecular arylations provided evidence for competing aryne and SET pathways.


It has been known for many years that the vertebrate striated muscle A-bands and I-bands both contribute to the observed equatorial X-ray diffraction patterns. Despite this, the observed equatorial patterns, with the exception of the clearly distinct Z-reflection, have often been analysed as coming solely from the A-band, since it has not been possible to separate the observed intensity distribution into individual A-band and I-band contributions. Here we show, for the case of diffraction from the highly ordered muscles in bony fish, that it is possible to separate these contributions to the diffraction patterns from intact muscles and to compute separate electron density maps for the A and I-bands. Difference A-band density maps between resting and active muscles are distinctly altered when the I-band contribution is removed from the observed equatorial intensity. Results from resting and fully active fish muscle A-bands are compared and interpreted in terms of myosin crossbridge movement; the observations are consistent with specific crossbridge labelling of actin filaments, with a strong azimuthal component of crossbridge movement towards actin. From electron microscopy of freeze-substituted fish muscle, it is shown that the I-band X-ray diffraction pattern probably arises mainly from the thin filament arrangement immediately adjacent to the Z-band.


Dispersals versus vicariance events and the presence of subgenus Brassospora in New Caledonia are two riddles of Nothofagus biogeography, a genus also distributed in New Guinea, New Zealand, South America, Southeast Australia, and Tasmania. Within a cladistic framework using the software COMPONENT 2.0, we demonstrate that most parsimonious area cladograms (areagrams) sensu cladistic biogeography need not always be the most plausible explanation nor reflect alternative geological hypotheses. The most parsimonious Nothofagus history sensu historical biogeography is reconstructed where a minimum of dispersed taxa is hypothesized and vicariance events are identified. A fully resolved well‐established Nothofagus phylogeny was reconciled with three geological hypotheses (geograms) of East Gondwana break‐up: (a) the conventional view, (b) an Australian—New Caledonian relationship, and (c) a biotic interchange between New Guinea and New Caledonia. Fossils determined to subgenus were optimized to the predicted lineages in the reconciled tree. Due to extensive extinctions, a maximum of three vicariance events are inferred, all being basal in the subgenera, an indication of subgeneric diversification prior to the break‐up of Gondwana. Two taxa, N. gunnii and N. menziesii, are hypothesized as being long‐distance dispersed. The most parsimonious solution suggests a close relationship between New Guinea and New Caledonia, supporting a Brassospora colonization route, but this hypothesis fails to predict numerous extinct lineages observed in the fossil record and thus must be rejected. The traditional break‐up sequence of Gondwana is not the most parsimonious solution, indicating one incongruent node, but causes no overall incongruence with the fossil record. Considering all parameters, the occurrence of Brassospora in New Caledonia is most parsimoniously explained as a single colonization event from New Zealand where the subgenus subsequently went extinct in the Pliocene.


The authors assessed the occurrence of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, major depression, and substance abuse in a sample of 424 apparently healthy college students 16-19 years old. Major depression and substance abuse were independent and interactive risk factors for suicidal ideation and for suicide attempts; substance abuse had a particularly deleterious effect on men. A prolonged desire to be dead was a more specific risk factor for a suicide attempt than was a thought of suicide. The authors conclude that suicidal ideation in the presence of major depression and/or substance abuse in older adolescents should call forth greater concern for lethality.


Abstract:Eckert (2008) rightly points out that context, variation, and indexicality are inextricably bound. This work—an in-depth case study of the social significance of the English definite article—presents a picture whereby semantic meaning is part of that same web of interrelations. The primary empirical claim of this work is that using the with a plural NP (e.g. the Americans) to talk about all or typical members of a group of individuals tends to depict that group as a monolith separate from the speaker, and to an extent that using a bare plural (e.g. Americans) does not. I present two variationist, corpus-based studies that provide clear evidence of this effect. I then provide a principled account of the effect, building on the insights of sociolinguistic and pragmatic research and extending their collective reach. As I show, the effect is largely rooted in crucial differences between the semantic meaning of the-plurals and that of related alternative expressions. As with a broad range of associated phenomena, the exact interpretation of a particular the-plural on a given occasion of use depends importantly upon its indexical character, the beliefs of the speech participants, and myriad other contextual factors, but is nonetheless constrained in a principled way.


A series of nanocomposite scaffolds of poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) and starch with a range of porosity from 50 to 90% were fabricated with a solvent-casting/salt-leaching technique, and their physical and mechanical properties were investigated. X-ray diffraction patterns and Fourier transform infrared spectra confirmed the presence of the characteristic peaks of PCL in the fabricated scaffolds. Microstructure studies of the scaffolds revealed a uniform pore morphology and structure in all of the samples. The experimental measurements showed that the average contact angle of the PCL/starch composite was 88.05 ± 1.77°. All of the samples exhibited compressive stress/strain curves similar to those of polymeric foams. The samples with 50, 60, 70, and 80 wt % salt showed compressive-load-resisting capabilities in the range of human cancellous bone. With increasing porosity, a significant decrease in the mechanical properties of the scaffolds was observed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43523.


The advance of Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp) and Internet of Things (IoT) brought a new set of Non-Functional Requirements (NFRs), especially related to Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). Invisibility is one of these NFRs, and it refers to either the merging of technology in the user environment or the decrease of the interaction workload. This new NFR may impact traditional NFRs (e.g., Usability), revealing positive correlations, when one NFR helps another, and negative correlations, when a procedure favors an NFR but creates difficulty for another one. Software engineers need to know about these correlations, so they can select appropriate strategies to satisfy Invisibility and traditional NFRs. Correlations between NFRs are usually stored in catalogs, which is a well-defined body of knowledge gathered from previous experience. Although Invisibility has been recently cataloged with development strategies, the literature still lacks catalogs with correlations for this NFR. Therefore, this work aims at capturing and cataloging invisibility correlations for UbiComp and IoT systems. To do that, we also propose to systematize the definition of correlations using the following well-defined research methods: Interview, Content Analysis and Questionnaire. As a result, we defined a catalog with 110 positive and negative correlations with 9 NFRs. This well-defined body of knowledge is useful for supporting software engineers to select strategies to satisfy Invisibility and other NFRs related to user interaction.


Despite the severity of the accident at the Fukushima I plant, nuclear reactor designers don9t expect the same type of backlash against the nuclear industry as occurred a generation ago after Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Their confidence rests on the fact that the reactors being built or planned today are quite different—and they say much safer—than those that are still smoldering in Japan.


Context. In coded mask techniques, reconstructed sky images are pseudo-images: they are maps of the correlation between the image recorded on a detector and an array derived from the coded mask pattern. Aims. The INTEGRAL/IBIS telescope provides images where the flux of each detected source is given by the height of the local peak in the correlation map. As such, it cannot provide an estimate of the flux of an extended source. What is needed is intensity sky images giving the flux per solide angle as typically done at other wavelengths. Methods. In this paper, we present the response of the INTEGRAL IBIS/ISGRI coded mask instrument to extended sources. We develop a general method based on analytical calculations in order to measure the intensity and the associated error of any celestial source and validated with Monte-Carlo simulations. Results. We find that the sensitivity degrades almost linearly with the source extent. Analytical formulae are given as well as an easy-to-use recipe for the INTEGRAL user. We check this method on IBIS/ISGRI data but these results are general and applicable to any coded mask telescope.


We investigate the dynamics of two interaction electrons confined to one-dimensional quantum dot array in an ac electric field. We find that initially localized electrons will remain localized in the absence of Coulomb interaction if the ratio of the ac field magnitude to the frequency is a root of the ordinary zero-order Bessel function. In contrast to the case without Coulomb interaction, no matter what the value is, the electrons are delocalized and the delocalization effect depends on the ratio U/omega and eaE/omega, where U is the strength of Coulomb interaction, a is the lattice constant, and E and omega are the ac held amplitude and frequency, respectively.


ABSTRACT Estrogens are effective in the treatment of prostate cancer; however, the effects of estrogens on prostate cancer are enigmatic. In this study, we demonstrated that estrogen (17β-estradiol [E2]) has biphasic effects on prostate tumor growth. A lower dose of E2 increased tumor growth in mouse xenograft models using DU145 and PC-3 human prostate cancer cells, whereas a higher dose significantly decreased tumor growth. We found that anchorage-independent apoptosis in these cells was inhibited by E2 treatment. Similarly, in vivo angiogenesis was suppressed by E2. Interestingly, these effects of E2 were abolished by knockdown of either estrogen receptor β (ERβ) or Krüppel-like zinc finger transcription factor 5 (KLF5). Ιn addition, E2 suppressed KLF5-mediated transcription through ERβ, which inhibits proapoptotic FOXO1 and proangiogenic PDGFA expression. Furthermore, we revealed that a nonagonistic ER ligand GS-1405 inhibited FOXO1 and PDGFA expression through the ERβ-KLF5 pathway and regulated prostate tumor growth without ERβ transactivation. Therefore, these results suggest that E2 biphasically modulates prostate tumor formation by regulating KLF5-dependent transcription through ERβ and provide a new strategy for designing ER modulators, which will be able to regulate prostate cancer progression with minimal adverse effects due to ER transactivation.