Drought, a major stress for crop plants, is expected to increase in frequency due to climate change. Drought can alter crop growth and levels of secondary plant metabolites, which in turn can affect herbivores, but this latter point is still controversial. This study used three different polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000) levels (0%, 1%, and 3%) to simulate drought stress and evaluated their effects on cotton plants and the impacts on the performance of the cotton aphid Aphis gossypii. Cotton plants under drought stress showed decreased water content, above-ground biomass, and nitrogen content and increased soluble protein, soluble sugar, and tannin contents. Based on analysis of the developmental time and fecundity data from individuals and at the population level, a significantly lower fecundity and population abundance of A. gossypii were detected on cotton plants with drought stress, which supports the "plant vigor hypothesis". The poor development of A. gossypii is possibly related to lower xylem sap and phloem ingestion under drought stress. In addition, the increased tannin content of cotton plants induced by drought and lower detoxification enzyme activities of A. gossypii may have affected the responses of aphids to drought-stressed plants. Overall, the results showed that drought stress altered the physiological characteristics of the cotton plants, resulting in adverse bottom-up effects on cotton aphid performances. This implies that the adoption of drip irrigation under plastic film that can help alleviate drought stress may favor the population growth of cotton aphids.


A series of Mn-doped ZnO films have been prepared in different sputtering plasmas by using the inductively coupled plasma enhanced physical vapour deposition. The films show paramagnetic behaviour when they are deposited in an argon plasma. The Hall measurement indicates that ferromagnetism cannot be realized by increasing the electron concentration. However, the room-temperature ferromagnetism is obtained when the films are deposited in a mixed argon-nitrogen plasma. The first-principles calculations reveal that antiferromagnetic ordering is favoured in the case of the substitution of Mn2+ for Zn2+ without additional acceptor doping. The substitution of N for O (NO−) is necessary to induce ferromagnetic couplings in the Zn-Mn-O system. The hybridization between N 2p and Mn 3d provides an empty orbit around the Fermi level. The hopping of Mn 3d electrons through the empty orbit can induce the ferromagnetic coupling. The ferromagnetism in the N-doped Zn-Mn-O system possibly originates from the charge transfer between Mn2+ and Mn3+ via NO−. The key factor is the empty orbit provided by substituting N for O, rather than the conductivity type or the carrier concentration.


JC virus is etiologically associated with a fatal demyelinating disease known as PML. JCV produces persistent infections in the kidney and is excreted in the urine of healthy individuals and in the urine of PML patients. The characteristics of the JCV excreted in the environment have been studied by analyzing sewage samples from divergent geographical areas. The intergenic region of JCV strains detected in the sewage of Barcelona (Spain), Umeå (Sweden), Nancy (France), Pretoria (South Africa), Patras (Greece), Cairo (Egypt), Washington, D.C. (USA), and diverse areas of Northern India has been sequenced, and the phylogenetic analysis showed their relationships with JCV strains previously described in urine or clinical samples in these geographic areas. The JCV regulatory region of the JCV DNA detected in sewage presented archetypal or archetypal-like regulatory regions with the exception of one of the twenty clones obtained from a sewage sample of the area of Washington, D.C. that presented a tandem repeated structure. Infectivity studies showed that archetypal JCV present in the urine of a pregnant woman productively infected SVG cells. Also JC viral particles showed considerable stability in sewage at 20°C and in front of treatments with acidic pH and trypsin. The high prevalence of JCV in urine and in sewage and the stability of the viral particles observed suggests that contaminated water, food, and fomites could be the vehicles of JCV transmission through the oral route. Virions partially degraded or noninfectious could be a source of JCV DNA and may represent an additional mechanism of entry of viral genes into cells.


Liver injury occurs after ischemia and reperfusion (IR), as seen in transplant settings. Sex hormones have been implicated in many pathophysiological mechanisms in females and this could lead to liver protection under inflammatory reperfusion conditions where an excessive immune response occurs. Despite such assumptions, this fact needs to be further investigated. To address this, female and male C57BL/6J mice (8-12 weeks old) were studied. Bilateral ovariectomy (OVX) was performed in females to decrease estradiol levels. IR was performed, and after two weeks, all animals underwent a sham control operation or IR with euthanasia at the following time points after reperfusion: 6, 12, 24, and 48 h. IR triggered an inflammatory process in the liver with recruitment of neutrophils into the parenchyma of male mice. The female sham mice were protected against liver IR presenting no alteration of aminotransferase (ALT) levels compared to males. OVX caused loss of protection, increasing hepatic injury as represented by increased ALT levels and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. Female sham mice showed increased Akt phosphorylation and activation, while males showed reduced Akt activation. Estradiol pretreatment recovered ALT levels after IR injury, which was associated with decreased liver injury.


A model calculation of the hemopoiesis of the mouse based on known hematologic data leads to the conclusion that approximately 3% of all nucleated bone marrow cells are stem cells (pluripotent plus committed stem cells). By a new 125IUdR labeling technique on radiation chimeras, a relative number of 2%-7% stem cells was determined. In previous studies with test systems for stem cells using colony formation in vivo or in vitro, a relative number of stem cells of at least one order of magnitude lower has been estimated. In this study the stem cells are found to have a turnover time of about 4.3 days in the donor mice. This turnover time remained unchanged even after transfusion of marrow cells into lethally irradiated recipient mice. Radiosensitivity determinations yielded a D0 of 80 rad for stem cells in S-phase and D0 of 185 rad for stem cells distributed throughout the entire cell cycle. The respective extrapolation numbers were 1.23 and 1.14. Experiments using an 3H-TdR suicide technique revealed different cell cycle parameters for bone marrow stem cells seeding to the spleens and to the femurs of lethally irradiated recipients, primarily a shortening of S-phase in cells seeding to femurs. The method described here provides a new approach to hematologic stem cell research.


A highly luminescent freestanding film composed of the quantum cluster, Au(15), was prepared. We studied the utility of the material for specific metal ion detection. The sensitivity of the red emission of the cluster in the composite to Cu(2+) has been used to make a freestanding metal ion sensor, similar to pH paper. The luminescence of the film was stable when exposed to several other metal ions such as Hg(2+), As(3+), and As(5+). The composite film exhibited visual sensitivity to Cu(2+) up to 1 ppm, which is below the permissible limit (1.3 ppm) in drinking water set by the U.S. environmental protection agency (EPA). The specificity of the film for Cu(2+) sensing may be due to the reduction of Cu(2+) to Cu(1+)/Cu(0) by the glutathione ligand or the Au(15) core. Extended stability of the luminescence of the film makes it useful for practical applications.


SUMMARY
GeneCruiser is a web service allowing users to annotate their genomic data by mapping microarray feature identifiers to gene identifiers from databases, such as UniGene, while providing links to web resources, such as the UCSC Genome Browser. It relies on a regularly updated database that retrieves and indexes the mappings between microarray probes and genomic databases. Genes are identified using the Life Sciences Identifier standard.

AVAILABILITY
GeneCruiser is freely available in the following forms: Web service and Web application, http://www.genecruiser.org; GenePattern, GeneCruiser access has been integrated into our microarray analysis platform, GenePattern. http://www.genepattern.org.


B lymphocytes have been implicated in the development of insulin resistance, atherosclerosis and certain types of hypertension. In contrast to these studies, which were performed under pathological conditions, the present study provides evidence for the protective effect of B lymphocytes in maintaining vascular homeostasis under physiological conditions. In young mice not exposed to any known risk factors, the lack of B cells led to massive endothelial dysfunction. The vascular dysfunction in B cell-deficient mice was associated with an increased number of neutrophils in the circulating blood. Neutrophil depletion in B cell-deficient mice resulted in the complete normalization of vascular function, indicating a causal role of neutrophilia. Moreover, vascular function in B cell-deficient mice could be restored by adoptive transfer of naive B-1 cells isolated from wild-type mice. Interestingly, B-1 cell transfer also reduced the number of neutrophils in the recipient mice, further supporting the involvement of neutrophils in the vascular pathology caused by B cell-deficiency. In conclusion, we report in the present study the hitherto undescribed role of B lymphocytes in regulating vascular function. B cell dysregulation may represent a crucial mechanism in vascular pathology.


A mixed-crystal full-molecule disorder situation is revisited in Parkin et al. [Acta Cryst. (2023), C79, 77–82]. A new interpretation of the data leads to the conclusion that the crystal structure is more likely to be a three-component superposition of enantiomers and the meso isomer of an organic compound and the article is thus a good learning example for dealing with a highly disordered structure.


A crucial fold test for magnetizations measured in Bajocian through Kimmeridgian limestones from the Jura Mountain region shows that rare blue-gray limestones found in this sequence preserve a prefolding magnetization. In contrast, tan limestones, which predominate in this sequence, contain secondary magnetizations acquired after folding in the late Miocene. The postfolding magnetizations in tan limestones appear to be carried in goethite and, because reversed as well as normal polarity directions are present, the magnetization in these limestones is probably a post-Miocene, pre-Brunhes (>700,000 yr) chemical remanent magnetization (CRM). Field relations between tan and blue-gray limestones, which are present in some cases in the same rock unit (for example, the Hauptrogenstein), suggest that the tan limestones may have formed from alteration of blue limestones. Whereas goethite pseudomorphs after pyrite are found in tan limestones, the occurrence of pyrite in the blue limestones supports this model, indicating that goethite could have formed from oxidation of pyrite. Abundant meteoric water probably was available for such an oxidation process during uplift of these strata subsequent to deformation.

Natural remanent magnetization in blue limestones appears to be carried in magnetite. The positive fold test for the characteristic magnetization in these rocks is significant at the 99% confidence level (k values for 24 site-mean directions before and after tilt correction are 9.3 and 43.2, respectively). The simplest interpretation for the origin of observed remanence in magnetite in the blue limestones is a primary magnetization of depositional or biogenic origin. Characteristic directions in these rocks yield a mean paleopole position of 77.7N, 148.4E (K = 26.0, A95 = 5.9). This pole is in reasonable agreement with one other Upper Jurassic pole from western Europe and with other Middle to Upper Jurassic poles from the Atlantic-bordering continents after rotation of these continents to a reconstructed configuration for Middle to Late Jurassic time.


Parking space is a public facility available at an agency or office that serves to temporally store vehicles, the vehicle that enters the parking area is become tens or even thousands, because tahat reason parking system and management area is needed. Such arrangements able parking procedures and even other support systems such as adequate parking facilities and infrastructure, other functions is making and developing parking systems in general for provide security and comfort, bacause the condition vehicle will be well organized in terms of vehicle placement and security and safety can be used for 24 hours.

Constraints this time increasing number of vehicles requires a wider parking area or space, the slow pace of vehicle data collection because the technology used is still carried out vehicle license plate validation manually, another problem is the placement of large areas, this limitation is based on the number of parking attendants in the field is very limited, so extra time are needed to arrange and check the vehicles that have entered the parking area.

This problem can be handle using image processing and OCR algorithm techniques, this technique has been implemented in several developed countries that are used to manage they parking system, image processing is used to record and monitor the number of vehicles in the area by reading the number plate, scanning techniques using OCR (Optical Character recognition techniques) , data from a vehicle plate image is converted into text or numbers and can be stored inside database, data from the vehicle plate that has been stored is then matched with a vehicle photo, with help the system can be integrated with the camera so that the supervision of the parking area can be carried out directly for a long time, the system is able to display data visually.


ABSTRACT Extracellular nucleotides are signaling molecules whose receptor-mediated effects are involved in a variety of physiological responses in mammalian tissues. An overwhelming body of data indicate that inflammatory and other immune responses can be modulated by the availability and local concentrations of nucleotides via nucleotide receptor signaling, but this is only just beginning to be investigated in the context of infectious disease. Evidence is provided here that the parasitic nematode Trichinella spiralis can catalyze the conversion and thus modulate both the availability and concentration of extracellular nucleotides by means of the following secreted exoenzymes: apyrase, 5′-nucleotidase, and adenosine deaminase. These enzymes were characterized in terms of substrate specificity, kinetic behavior, pH, divalent cation preferences, and response to a series of compounds. The secreted 5′-nucleotidase was identified as a protein with an apparent molecular mass of 67 kDa after N-terminal amino acid sequencing of the purified protein. The presence of adenosine deaminase was confirmed in the secreted products by Western blotting with an antibody against a mammalian enzyme, as a protein with an apparent molecular mass of 38 kDa. These secreted proteins constitute an enzymatic cascade which catalyzes the degradation of extracellular nucleotides, with a potential physiological role in the regulation of purinergic signaling.


Between February 1990 and February 1991, a wild population of Austropotamobius pallipes (L.) inhabiting a large, shallow, freshwater pool in Staffordshire, central England, experienced environmental fluctuations in water temperature (1–21°C) and pH (8.2-9.5). Moulting was seasonal, with crayfish entering pre- and postmoult between May and August. Haemolymph pHa levels declined in the spring when temperatures increased from 8 to 18°C (deltapH/deltat=−0.013 pH units°C-1). This decrease was accompanied by a fall in [HCO3-] (of 4.12 mmol l-1) and [lactate] (of 4.71 mmol l-1) and a premoult elevation in PCO2 to 0.59 kPa. After ecdysis, when water temperatures and pH were at their maxima, pHa levels increased, they continued to increase as temperature fell in late summer, reaching 7.97 in intermoult crayfish at 13°C during September. This increase was accompanied by a decrease in PCO2 to 0.22 kPa at constant [HCO3-] (5–6 mmol l-1). Between September (13°C) and October (11°C) pHa fell to 7.87 with an elevation in PCO2 (of 0.18 kPa) and [lactate] (of 1.84 mmol l-1). As temperature continued to decrease (11–1°C), pHa remained unchanged despite an elevation in [HCO3-] by 2.4 mmol l-1 at constant PCO2. A mechanism accounting for the unvarying haemolymph pH values at low temperatures is proposed, stressing the importance of temperature-related seasonal changes in CO2 solubility and measured values for pK1′ in addition to adjustments in [HCO3-] and PCO2. These were apparently unaffected by changes in collecting and holding protocols.


We present an analysis of the interference coherence effects on the performance of an antenna array processor, which maximizes the output signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for a coherent wave. The analytical expression for the optimal weight vector, directional pattern and output SNR is derived as a function of the coherence coefficient, interference power and parameters of the adaptive processor. We show how different models of interference coherence affect the array performance. Finally, to illustrate the theory, several numerical results are given.


Like many other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, this sub-group of West and Central African countries has experienced relatively fast drops in mortality but persistently high levels of fertility, which implies continued high rates of population growth, which represent an important challenge to development prospects. At the micro level, families will face challenges to ensure that their children are well educated, nourished and healthy. At the macro level, governments will face enormous pressures to keep pace with additional cohorts of schoolchildren to educate, new entrants into the labor market, and a general rise in demand for health and social services that will outstrip the capacity of fragile systems in these countries. The authorities in thesecountries have an important window of opportunity for addressing demographic issues systematically as part of their broader economic development plans and long-term vision documents.


The need to simulate complex electromagnetic (EM) wave interactions by multiple radar targets, transmitters, and receivers to better study the performance of radar systems, antenna designs, and/or stealth technologies has grown over time. High performance computing (HPC) based emulators can be used to model the scattering from multiple stationary and moving targets for radar applications. These emulators rely on the Radar Cross Section (RCS) of the targets being available in complex scenarios. Representing the RCS using tables generated from EM simulations is often times cumbersome leading to large storage requirement. An alternative approach is to represent the targets as a collection of isotropic or anisotropic scatterers. In this paper we present a method to represent the RCS of complex targets using a 3D anisotropic scatterer model, where we use the analytical RCS representation of a large ellipsoid as the basis function to determine the angular dependency of the RCS from each scatterer. The scatterer model that best represents the RCS data is obtained by solving a least square inverse problem. To improve the correlation with EM solvers, we further break down the optimization problem by considering shadowing effect and use multiple models, each representing a subset of the RCS data. The results show that the scatterer model can effectively represent the RCS data of complex targets.


Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), a Pestivirus in the family Flaviviridae, is an economically important pathogen of cattle worldwide. The primary propagators of the virus are immunotolerant persistently infected (PI) cattle, which shed large quantities of virus throughout life. Despite the absence of an acquired immunity against BVDV in these PI cattle there are strong indications of viral variability that are of clinical and epidemiological importance. In this study the variability of E2 and NS5B sequences in multiple body compartments of PI cattle were characterized using clonal sequencing. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that BVDV exists as a quasispecies within PI cattle. Viral variants were clustered by tissue compartment significantly more often than expected by chance alone with the central nervous system appearing to be a particularly important viral reservoir. We also found strong indications for a genetic bottleneck during vertical transmission from PI animals to their offspring. These quasispecies analyses within PI cattle exemplify the role of the PI host in viral propagation and highlight the complex dynamics of BVDV pathogenesis, transmission and evolution.


The monograph Implementation of the principle of the best interests of the child in mediation in matters concerning the exercise of parental authority and contacts, edited by Joanna Mucha is based on the thesis that in court proceedings in matters relating to a child and mediation in matters concerning the exercise of parental rights and contact with a child, the primary value to be protected should be the best interests of the child. The analysis and research allowed the researchers to determine the extent to which the applicable regulations and mediation practice implement this principle and what instruments adopted in legal regulations and used in mediation serve to respect it.

The authors emphasised that in many acts of international law and the provision of Art. 72 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, the order to protect the best interests of the child is a fundamental and overriding principle of the Polish system of family law. All regulations in the sphere of relations between parents and children are subordinated to this principle. It signifies the primacy of the child's best interests over the interests of other people, especially parents, and is the purpose of exercising parental authority and contacts. This analysis was supplemented with positions based on other legal systems – Ukraine and Italy. In both cases, the importance of the best interests of the child was confirmed in the procedures for resolving conflicts related to the separation of parents.


Many engineering technology programs in the United States employ part-time faculty to augment the work of full-time faculty, manage enrollment and employment fluctuations, and provide subject-matter-expertise that may otherwise be lacking in a particular context, among other reasons. The preparation, performance, and impact of part-time faculty is significant, as higher education leaders and external stakeholders press for quality, accountability, and continuous improvement of programs and institutions. Thus, a challenge for engineering technology programs is to make certain that part-time faculty members possess both the academic and professional qualifications for employment, and to ensure that these colleagues are appropriately supported in order to be effective in their role. This paper presents results of a qualitative study of part-time faculty members in engineering technology and other disciplines, notably liberal arts, at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). The rationale for employing part-time faculty, institutional types that most heavily rely on part-time faculty, the strengths and challenges associated with part-time faculty, and the relationships between full-time faculty and part-time faculty will be described. Specific attention will be paid to the reasons part-time faculty seek affiliation with the institution, the expectations part-time faculty have concerning their role, and the self-reported satisfaction levels of part-time faculty. Examples of part-time faculty perspectives from engineering technology will be examined, compared, and contrasted with those of other disciplines, and a series of recommendations for key stakeholder groups will be provided. Introduction and Significance Both two-year and four-year higher education institutions employ part-time faculty in large numbers, and this is especially true for engineering/technology disciplines located in urban and metropolitan settings. Two U.S. Department of Education studies conducted in 1992 and 2003 provided statistics that support the fact that the percentage of part-time faculty in higher education is remaining constant 1 . According to the later study, 43.7 % of all faculty and instructional staff were employed on a part-time basis. Higher education institutions employ faculty on a part-time basis for a variety of reasons, which often revolve around cost saving measures 2,3 . Part-time faculty can also be hired quickly when there are unexpected increases in enrollment because there is more flexibility in their hiring process 4,5,6,7 . With nearly half of all faculty employed part-time, research and the need for more information on this group has increased. However, much of that research has emphasized working conditions and portrays part-time faculty as individuals who cannot obtain a full-time teaching position. Thus, there is a gap in the literature as to why part-time faculty choose to teach part-time, their satisfaction and commitment 8 . Wallin 9 said it is important for college administrators to understand what motivates part-time faculty. The large number of part-time faculty and this literature gap regarding part-time faculty satisfaction and the need to understand their motivation led to the desire to discover the motivation of part-time faculty at the large, urban university that is the focus of this study.


Suboptimal nonlinear detectors for known small signals in non-Gaussian noise are investigated. It is assumed that either the locally optimal nonlinearity is too complex to use or that the noise density is not known precisely. A memoryless suboptimal nonlinearity (ZNL) can be chosen, and the family of densities for which it is optimal is found. A member of this family is then fitted to the observed noise, and the corresponding detector is used. When a rational function is chosen for the nonlinearity, the Pearson family is the set of solution densities. This is not only a general family which contains many common univariate densities, but for nearly Gaussian noise the method of moments can be used efficiently to fit a member density to the noise. The coefficients of a ZNL are estimated for several (non-Pearson) densities using the first four noise moments. >


A model for the analysis of the resistive losses due to current flow through the bus-bar and external connections, mainly focused on III-V high-concentrator solar cells, is presented. Initially, a formulation that takes two-dimensional current flow into account in the bus-bar is proposed for calculating the bus-bar equivalent resistance. Next, a simplification assuming a one-dimensional (1-D) current flow is considered and a fully analytical model is obtained. Then, both models are compared and the applicability range of the 1-D approximation is established. The model is then applied to the analysis of the inverted square grid with several configurations for the external connections. Finally, the potential of the model is illustrated with a set of simulations carried out using a 1000/spl times/ concentrator GaAs solar cell and a number of conclusions of practical and technological interest are extracted.


Compositional verification, the incremental generation and composition of the state graphs of individual processes to produce the global state graph, tries to address the state explosion problem for systems of communicating processes. The main problem with this approach is that intermediate state graphs are sometimes larger than the overall global system. To overcome this problem, interfaces [JL97], and refined interfaces [Lan06], which take into account a system's environment have been developed. The number of states of these interfaces plays a vital role in their applicability in terms of computational complexity, which is proportional to the number of states in the interface. The direct use of complete subcomponents of the global system as interfaces, thus usually fails, and it is up to the system designer to describe smaller interfaces to be used in the reduction. To avoid having to verify the correctness of such manually generated interfaces, we propose automatic techniques to generate correct interfaces. The challenge is to produce interfaces small in size, yet effective for reduction. In this paper, we present techniques to structurally produce language over-approximations of labelled transition systems which can be used as correct interfaces, and combine them with refined interfaces. The techniques are applied to a number of case-studies, analysing the trade-off between interface size and effectiveness.


This article describes the progression of steps followed to demonstrate a gender difference associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) and to gain an understanding of the basis, mechanisms, and implications of this gender specificity. First, a review of the literature on PD shows a greater incidence in men. Next, data are presented from a series of laboratory studies in animal models of PD that suggest a basis for this gender difference: estrogen appears to act as a neuroprotectant of the striatal dopaminergic system. One mechanism for this effect may be that estrogen inhibits the uptake of neurotoxins capable of producing degeneration within dopaminergic neurons. Finally, some of the potential neurologic implications of manipulating estrogen in premenopausal and postmenopausal women are considered.


This is the first report on alkane degradation in Pseudomonas frederiksbergensis by certain genes cluster of hydroxylase system. The gene encoding alkane hydrolyse of Pseudomonas frederiksbergensis was cloned and characterized. The gene organization in the gene cluster of alkane hydroxylase gene in Pseudomonas frederiksberghensis was a unique one that was different from all known alkane hydroxylases gene families that were found in other alkane degrading bacteria. The alk gene cluster containing homologues to alkane monooxygenase (alkB) was oriented in the same direction, whereas alcohol dehydrogenase (alcDH) was oriented in the opposite direction. The gene encoding alcohol dehydrogenase (alcDH) in Pseudomonas frederiksbergensis was cloned in E. coli and biochemically characterized. It was located in one gene cluster together with alkB on the chromosome of Pseudomonas frderikbergensis. The other genes scattered on the chromosome. Therefore, the study of this gene has been interesting since it has represented a unique phenomenon in genetic engineering and molecular biotechnology to this bacteria.


A proposed suprageneric classification of the class Rhizopodea is given, with particular revision to the order Foraminiferida. The subclass Lobosia contains the orders Amoebida, Arcellinida, and Mycetozoida. The subclass Filosia includes the orders Aconchulinida and Gromida, and the subclass Granuloreticulosia includes the orders Athalamida, Monothalamida, Foraminiferida, Xenophyophorida, and Proteomyxida. The order Foraminiferida includes 7 superfamilies based on wall composition and structure, and method of test growth: Lagynacea (gelatinous to chitinous tests) Astrorhizacea (non-sepate, agglutinated test), Lituolacea (septate and agglutinated), Parathuramminacea (non-septate, with wall of calcareous granules in calcareous cement), Endothyracea (septate, with granular or fibrous calcareous wall, generally with two distinct layers), Fusulinacea (basically three distinct wall layers), Miliolacea (porcellaneous). The so-called calcareous perforate foraminifera represent ten superfamilies, six of which have radially built walls: the Nodosariacea (with basically radiate aperture), Buliminacea (high spired test and commonly with internal toothplate), Asterigerinacea (enrolled, no-canalicula e, walls and septa single layered), Rotaliacea (canaliculate, enrolled), Globigerinacea (planktonic), Orbitoidacea (with double walls and primarily formed double septa). The last four superfamilies include the Cassidulinacea (walls of perforate granular calcite), Carterinacea (walls of calcareous secreted spicules), Robertinacea (wall of aragonite and chambers internally subdivided) and Spirillinacea (wall optically acts as a single crystal of calcite). A complete synonymy of all suprageneric categories has been compiled, in order to determine the correct family group names to be utilized, on a priority basis. End_of_Article - Last_Page 133------------


OBJECTIVE
To analyze the difference of subjective hearing threshold and objective hearing threshold, and to discuss the importance of standard for hearing evaluation in forensic medicine.

METHODS
Three hundred and fifty-five cases (387 ears) of forensic medical identification with hearing impairment were retrospectively analyzed including the items entrusted and hearing test results. All cases were collected from 2004 to 2012 in the forensic science center.

RESULTS
In the 387 ears, 218 ears (56.3%) were evaluated the degree of disability and 106 ears (27.4%) were identified the degree of damage. In the disability degree evaluation, the subjective hearing threshold and the objective hearing threshold were significant different in 120 ears (55.0%), while in damage degree evaluation, the subjective hearing threshold and the objective hearing threshold were significant different in 69 ears (65.1%).

CONCLUSION
Because of camouflaging or exaggerating the hearing impairment by the wounded, the subjective hearing threshold can't accurately assess the existence and the degree of hearing impairment. In the forensic identification, auditory brainstem response, 40 Hz auditory event related potential and auditory steady-state response should be combined in the application to evaluate the hearing impairment for the wounded in order to ensure the reliability of the evaluation of hearing impairment.


Background: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in nationwide lockdowns, cessation of school and work, and social distancing. Reducing the negative impacts, such as weight-gain, has garnered global attention.Methods: In this dual-center retrospective observational study of 12,889 students (aged 18-20), who performed a national student physical fitness battery between December 1, 2019, to January 20, 2020, and completed a follow-up online questionnaire beginning on May 1, 2020, and ending on May 23, 2020, and examined the associations between weight-gain and COVID-19 induced stress, depression and self-reported physical activity, dietary habits and sedentary time. Results: Participants gained an average of 2.6 kg (95% CI: 2.0 to 3.2 kg) for males and 2.1 kg (1.9 to 2.4 kg) for females. An increase in overweight and obese individuals according to Asian cut-off points as a demographic percentage by 4.5% and 2.7% and 4.8% and 3.4% in males and females respectively (P<0.001). Weight change was associated with sedentary time, COVID-19 induced stress, and depression score. Conclusion: These findings suggest that limiting sedentary time during lockdowns and strategies aimed t improve lifestyle habits and psychological health may be warranted to mitigate weight-gain during the pandemic.Registration: Registered with ChiCTR, registration no.: ChiCTR2000033514


Phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), an isotonic solution with a physiologic pH can be considered an example of a biocompatible dialysis fluid. This study compared the biocompatibility of PBS with that of Dianeal 3.86% (Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Deerfield, IL, U.S.A.), using a model of peritoneal dialysis in the rat. In an acute experiment, after catheter implantation, rats were infused on day 1 with PBS, on day 5 with standard dialysis solution (Dianeal 3.86%), and on day 7 again with PBS. When rats were injected with Dianeal 3.86%, the inflammatory reaction was suppressed as compared with PBS. The cell count was lower with Dianeal (-85%, p < 0.001), the neutrophil:macrophage ratio in dialysate was 80% lower (p < 0.01), total protein concentration in the Dianeal dialysate was 73% lower (p < 0.01), and the dialysate nitrite level was 45% lower (p < 0.01). In a chronic experiment, after catheter implantation, rats were dialyzed for four weeks with PBS or with Dianeal 3.86%. At the end of the study, a 1-hour peritoneal equilibration test (PET) was performed. As evaluated on a semiquantitative scale, macroscopic changes in the peritoneum were more severe in rats exposed to PBS than in those exposed to Dianeal 3.86% (8.6 +/- 3.2 vs 5.2 +/- 2.6, p < 0.05). The thickness of the visceral peritoneum was comparable in both groups; but, in PBS-treated rats, the peritoneal interstitium contained more inflammatory cells and more new vessels. During the 1-hour PET, peritoneal permeability to water and solutes was comparable in the two groups. Despite a more physiologic composition, PBS is a less biocompatible peritoneal dialysis solutions than is standard, acidic, hypertonic dialysis solution.


Contamination by cadmium in the environment is of great concern because of its toxicity and threats to human and animal health. The current study was conducted to investigate the effects of a cadmium contaminated diet on the osmoregulation and urine concentration mechanisms of the semi-desert rodent Meriones shawi and eventual accumulation of this metal in vital organs such as the kidneys, which are directly implicated in water regulation. Originally, we used Differential Pulse Anodic Stripping Voltammetry (DPASV) to avoid the matrix interference due to the highly organic content in the biological samples. Our results show that Meriones shawi successfully maintained a homeostasis state and presented a special adaptation to regulate urine volume during cadmium exposure by decreasing diuresis and increasing urinary osmolality. The plasma osmolality and hematocrit remained constant throughout the experiment. The stripping signals of cadmium are linear up to 0.3-100 μg L(-1) range, with a detection limit of 0.28 μg L(-1). The DPASV technique was useful for easy, fast, selective and sensitive determination of Cd, which permits working at cellular concentration. This gives us more information about the chemical form in which Cd is introduced into the organ, as well as the intracellular Cd quantities. This study has potential importance if this valuable novel animal model, imitating human and animal environmental chronic exposure to Cd, could serve as an appropriate terrestrial biomonitor for Cd contaminated sites. These results are encouraging in the context of developing a low-cost and fast technology for the detection of pollutants and for studying the impairment caused by their effects.


There is little investigation on the independent effects of left-behind experience (LBE) on self-esteem and aggressive behavior in Chinese young adult populations, or the interaction effects of LBE and self-esteem on aggressive behavior. Thus, a school-based health survey was conducted in Anhui province in China in 2017. A total of 4,154 college students completed standard questionnaires which contain details of left-behind–related characters, self-esteem, aggressive behavior, and sociodemographic profile. Of included students, 55.3% were those with LBE (LBEs). Compared to students without left-behind experiences (NLBEs), LBEs had significantly increased scores of aggressive behavior and decreased score of self-esteem. The increased aggression in LBEs was highly related to longer left-behind duration, younger age of left-behind for the first time, and decreased self-esteem. On the other side, the aggressive behavior was demonstrated negatively correlated with self-esteem in both LBEs and NLBEs. There was an interaction effect of left-behind duration and self-esteem on physical aggression and of frequency of contacting with parents and self-esteem on verbal aggression. Besides, the interaction of primary caregiver and self-esteem on hostility and aggression toward self were also observed, respectively. Our results indicated LBEs and low self-esteem are associated with increased risk of aggressive behavior in Chinese young adults. The increased aggressive behavior in LBEs were highly related to longer left-behind duration, younger age of left-behind for the first time and decreased self-esteem. In those LBEs with some certain left-behind–related characters, aggressive behavior decreased more prominently with the increase of self-esteem. Strategies to improve self-esteem, particularly among young adults who have certain characters of LBE, should be a significant component of prevention and interventions of aggressive behavior.


The Mu2e calorimeter consists of 1348 pure CsI crystals coupled to two large area UV-extended Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) organized in two separate annular disks. An intense R&D phase has been pursued to check if this configuration satisfies the Mu2e requirements. In May 2017, a dedicated test has been performed at the Beam Test Facility (BTF) in Frascati (Italy) where the large calorimeter prototype (Module-0) has been exposed to an electron beam in the energy range between 60 and 120 MeV. The prototype consists of 51 crystals, each one readout by two Mu2e SiPMs. We present results for timing and energy resolution both for electrons at normal incidence (0°) and at a grazing impact angle (50°) more similar to the experiment configuration. At 100 MeV, an energy resolution of 5.4% (7.4%) at normal (grazing) incidence has been achieved in good agreement with Monte Carlo expectation. In the same energy range, a time resolution of ∼ XX ps (∼ YY ps) has been measured at normal incidence with 1 GHz (250 MHz) sampling rate. Dependence of time and energy resolutions as a function of beam energy and impinging angle are also presented.


The transcripts of tape-recorded interviews of pediatric endocrinologists and patients with Turner's syndrome and their parents were reviewed in consultation with child psychoanalysts in order to evaluate certain aspects of communication between patients and doctors. The transcripts showed that the doctors often talked at cross purposes with the parents and their patients, evading emotional issues in favor of quasi-scientific explanations which the patients and parents did not understand. Parts of the discourse, at times unconscious, have been shown to be of great importance as means of communication. Reviewing the transcripts of the doctor-patients discourse is an excellent way of improving one's therapeutic communication with the patient. The same material can be used for teaching purposes.


Observations of two radio stars, Cygnus A and Cassiopeia A, and of two satellites, Cosmos I and Transit 4A, have yielded data on lower and upper atmospheric irregularities. The frequencies studied have included 20 Mc, 40 Mc and 54 Mc for satellite transmissions, and 30 Mc to 3000 Mc for radio star signals. The antennas used have ranged from a dipole to a 150-foot parabola. The irregularities in refractive index in the lower atmosphere produce amplitude fluctuations up to several times average with a fading rate of 3 to 0.5 per minute while ionospheric amplitude fluctuations can increase several decibels, with rates from 1 to 60 per minute. Lower atmosphere scintillation rates increase as the elevation angle increases and generally disappear above 50 of elevation. During intense magnetic storms, the ionospheric scintillation rate is a function of wavelength in the UHF range. Ionospheric scintillations are functions of both magnetic conditions and of the subionospheric latitudes of the irregularities; they are observed at zenith at the geomagnetic latitude of the Sagamore Hill Radio Observatory (54°). Using spaced receivers, heights of single irregularities have ranged from about 100 to 600 km and representative sizes from about 0.1 to 4 km. Irregularities constitute the prime factor affecting the level, phase and angle of arrival of signals propagated through the auroral regions.


Secretion of choriogonadotropin (hCG) remains until now the more accurate biochemical label of trophoblastic disease and a close follow-up is possible by means of sensitive and specific radioimmunoassays. After hydatidiform moles, drawing the decreasing curve of hCG concentrations by weekly measurements in plasma or urine, would generally allow distinguishing within a few weeks cases with and without retention of active trophoblastic tissue, although in only 30 p. 100 of moles hCG spontaneously disappears within a month. In some choriocarcinoma under therapy, low persisting hCG levels (lower than 100 or 50 I.U./24 hours) could only be evidenced by repeated radioimmunoassays. Even with apparently physiological hLH/hCG concentrations, the use of anti-beta hCG antiserum could demonstrate, if any, a secretion of choriogonadotropin. In castrated women the same technique would elude the interference of hLH and make easier the diagnostic of relapses.


In order to deliver value, maintain competitiveness and remain profitable, construction professionals need to develop their capabilities for managing innovation and technical change. This new book presents a rich historical framework for understanding how to manage contemporary changes. It starts in the Machine Age, showing how a sophisticated set of industries and design processes have evolved to work with new materials, components and systems, culminating in the experiences and skills needed to integrate systems in the Digital Age. The book compares approaches and draws lessons from Europe, Japan and North America. It addresses the role of government policies and professional institutions in supporting innovative approaches aimed at improving performance in construction. It concludes with lessons for the management of technology and innovations in project based firms, assessing skills and forms of business organisations needed to compete in today's dynamic markets.


In recent years, the concept of "global cardiovascular risk assessment" has grown in interest for its role in primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Interventions for reducing the risk of relapse for persons with cardiovascular past history are well agreed-on. But for persons without such a history, the risk of a first attack varies greatly and this variability implies a range in the intensity of interventions. In several countries, guidelines for general practitioners have been diffused about pharmaceutical prescriptions in the different risk classes. In particular, in Italy, a governmental drug management commission has established that Statins, the most used cholesterol lowering medicines, can be refunded by the National Healthcare System only if they are prescribed to hyper-cholesterol patients with a global risk greater than 20%. The question is: how to calculate the risk? We performed a review of both the web and the literature and we found a lot of different "risk calculators". By means of a simulation study, we showed that these tools, when used for the same person, may lead to very different results. We estimated the economic impact of using one or another calculator.


In tree-based hierarchical key management schemes, scalability is achieved by reducing the number of messages exchanged during a rekeying operation. A single server manages the entire tree structure in such schemes. Failure of that server leads to single point failure which interrupts the group communication. In this paper we propose a method to avoid single point failure by distributing user information among set of X number of servers and use (t,X) threshold scheme to reconstruct the tree. The new auxiliary keys and group key are computed partly by the users which reduces number of encryptions required to communicate new set of keys to the remaining group members.


In this paper; non-linear analysis of steel frames subjected to seismic forces is presented. The analysis adopts the beam-column approach. The formulation of beam-column element is is based on Eulerian approach. Changes in member chord length due to axial strain and flexural bowing are taken into account. A modified tangent stiffness matrix which takes into consideration the geometrical non-linearity is used. A special form to formulate the seismic forces and the monotonic load-deflection response of frames is traced using the incremental load control Newton-Raphson iterative technique. It was concluded that considering large displacements tend to reduce the collapse loads of steel frame in the order of (4-40%) depending upon the number of stories of the frame.


Purpose
This study aims to present a method to carry out technological foresight exercises in university technological research and development centers (TRDCs). The results support the organizational planning process.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors review the literature on the frameworks of foresight. The authors propose the use of quantitative (bibliometrics) and qualitative (expert meeting, Delphi) techniques. The authors apply this method to each research topic of interest of the TRDCs.

Findings
The application of the method to a research topic allows us to analyze the relevant knowledge areas for the development of that topic and its global trend. For each area, the authors identify the specific lines of research with the greatest growth and relevance. Considering these lines, the authors make a diagnosis of the TRDC situation regarding how to provide knowledge to decision-makers.

Research limitations/implications
The paper reviews the results of the application in the Engineering Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and in the research topic "Seismic risks in civil engineering." It is necessary to adjust the application of the method in other TRDCs to the conditions of the organization and to the development achieved by the TRDCs in the analyzed research topic.

Originality/value
There is no detailed literature on technological foresight exercises in university TRDCs that support the planning process of the organization. The method represents a proposal to establish priority research topics and specific research lines in research institutes, particularly universities. The authors present the application in a university TRDCs in Mexico.


We develop a sound and complete tableau-based decision procedure for the full coalitional multiagent tempora lepistemic logic of branching time CMATEL(CD+BT) that extends logicCTL with epistemic operators for common and distributed knowledge for all coalitions of agents referred to in the language. The procedure runs in exponential time, which matches the lower bound established by Halpern and Vardi for a fragment of our logic, thus providing a complexity-optimal decision procedure and a complete deductive system for our logic.


The Competition Board launched a fully-fledged investigation into 10 ready-mixed concrete companies active in the city of Izmir, which had been accused of undertaking a concerted practice for…


Coherent scatter X-ray imaging is a technique that provides spatially-resolved information about the molecular structure of the material under investigation, yielding material-specific contrast that can aid medical diagnosis and inform treatment. In this study, we demonstrate a coherent-scatter imaging approach based on the use of coded apertures (known as coded aperture coherent scatter spectral imaging1, 2) that enables fast, dose-efficient, high-resolution scatter imaging of biologically-relevant materials. Specifically, we discuss how to optimize a coded aperture coherent scatter imaging system for a particular set of objects and materials, describe and characterize our experimental system, and use the system to demonstrate automated material detection in biological tissue.


Chronic hepatitis B infection increases the risk of developing liver failure, liver cancer or cirrhosis, leading to death in case of bad management of the infection. Polymerase chain reaction assays for measuring HBV DNA has been used for many years for diagnosis and monitoring purposes in patients with chronic hepatitis B, but they are too expensive. Quantitative Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) had been suggested as a similar biomarker with HBV DNA. Recent studies and emerging data have shown that HBsAg levels change dynamically during the natural course of a chronic HBV infection. The aims of this study are to show the correlation between quantitative HBsAg and HBV-DNA levels and to analyze if quantitative HBsAg assay can possibly substitute HBV-DNA assay to optimize the management of chronic hepatitis B patients in our daily clinical practice. A total of 200 samples (52 females and 148 males) from different patients with chronic hepatitis B infection, without starting the treatment, are involved in this study. These specimens were tested for quantitative HBsAg, HbeAg, anti-Hbe, anti-Hbc and anti-Hbc-IgM levels with Cobas 6000 Roche instrument and HBV DNA levels with Cobas Taq Man instrument, at "Intermedica" Medical Clinic, in Tirana, Albania. Furthermore, the results were statistically processed with SPSS program (version 15.0; SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL). The evaluation of the results showed a different correlation between quantitative HBsAg assay and HBV DNA assay at different phases of chronic hepatitis B infection; at Immune-Tolerant phase (IT), the correlation was good [r=0.676 (p<0.01)]. The quantitative HBsAg and HBV DNA relationship was stable in patients that resulted positive for HBeAg. This means a stable relationship between viral replication and HBsAg levels (ccDNA levels) before the immune-clearance phase. There was no correlation between these assays during the other phases of infection. In conclusion, there is a weak correlation between quantitative HBsAg assay and HBV DNA assay and quantitative HBsAg assay cannot substitute the HBV DNA assay, it cannot be used as the only biomarker for chronic hepatitis B infection.


A lane departure sensing system with uncalibrated camera is proposed in this paper. The study focuses on urban traffic scenes with varieties of lane marks instead of simple highway scenes. A distance map and non-symmetrical 2-D Gaussian distribution matrix are used to generate various voting value for Hough transform, so that the lane marking and lane signs are excluded and the accuracy of lane boundary detection is improved. Lane width and lane boundary continuity are obtained for better reliability and quality of lane detection for urban traffic scenes. The result of lane boundary detection is then used to establish a lane departure sensing system, which can be used to enhance driving safety. Experimental results of urban road scenarios have demonstrated feasibility and robustness of the proposed method.


We address several estimation problems in quantum optics by means of the maximum-likelihood principle. We consider Gaussian state estimation and the determination of the coupling parameters of quadratic Hamiltonians. Moreover, we analyze different schemes of phase-shift estimation. Finally, the absolute estimation of the quantum efficiency of both linear and avalanche photodetectors is studied. In all the considered applications, the Gaussian bound on statistical errors is attained with a few thousand data.


Hydrothermal vent fluids are highly enriched in iron (Fe) compared to ambient seawater, and organic ligands may play a role in facilitating the transport of some hydrothermal Fe into the open ocean. This is important since Fe is a limiting micronutrient for primary production in large parts of the world`s surface ocean. We have investigated the concentration and speciation of Fe in several vent fluid and plume samples from the Nifonea vent field, Coriolis Troughs, New Hebrides Island Arc, South Pacific Ocean using competitive ligand exchange - adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (CLE - AdCSV) with salicylaldoxime (SA) as the artificial ligand. Our results for total dissolved Fe (dFe) in the buoyant hydrothermal plume samples showed concentrations up to 3.86 µM dFe with only a small fraction between 1.1% and 11.8% being chemically labile. Iron binding ligand concentrations ([L]) were found in µM level with strong conditional stability constants up to log K[L],Fe3+ of 22.9. Within the non-buoyant hydrothermal plume above the Nifonea vent field, up to 84.7% of the available Fe is chemically labile and [L] concentrations up to 97 nM were measured. [L] was consistently in excess of Felab, indicating that all available Fe is being complexed, which in combination with high Felab values in the non-buoyant plume, signifies that a high fraction of hydrothermal dFe is potentially being transported away from the plume into the surrounding waters, contributing to the global oceanic Fe budget.


Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a poor prognosis due to the usually advanced stage at diagnosis. Sustained activation of the MYC oncogene is implicated in the development of HCC; however, the molecular mechanisms of MYC deregulation in HCC are poorly understood. Here, real‐time PCR and western blotting were used to measure the expression of hematological and neurological expressed 1 (HN1) in HCC cells. Expression of HN1 and MYC in clinical specimens was analyzed using immunohistochemistry. The role of HN1 in HCC proliferation, migration, and invasion was explored in vitro and in vivo. MYC expression was measured using real‐time PCR and western blotting. MYC transcriptional activity was assessed using a luciferase reporter system. Expression of MYC target genes was quantified using real‐time PCR. Protein interaction between MYC and HN1 was assessed using co‐immunoprecipitation and western blotting. We identified HN1 as a novel regulatory factor of the glycogen synthase kinase (GSK) 3β–MYC axis. HN1 expression is elevated in liver tumor tissues and cells, and significantly correlates with poor survival in HCC patients. Upregulation of HN1 promotes, and silencing of HN1 represses, the proliferation and metastasis of liver cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, our results demonstrate that HN1 sustains stabilization and persistent activity of MYC via interaction with GSK3β in HCC. Importantly, the tumor‐promoting effects of HN1 on HCC cells were attenuated by suppressing MYC. In conclusion, constitutive activation of MYC by HN1 promotes the progression of HCC; therefore, HN1 might be a novel therapeutic target for HCC.


The VA Midwest Health Care Network, VISN 23, is one of 21 veteran integrated health service networks (VISN) under the Department of Veterans Affairs. There are approximately 300,000 imaging studies generated per year and currently more than 14,000 picture archiving and communication system (PACS) users in VISN 23. Biomedical Engineering Services within VISN 23 coordinates the provision of medical technology support. One emerging technology leverages network connectivity as a method of calibrating and continuously monitoring clinical display monitors in support of PACS. Utilizing a continuous calibration monitoring system, clinical displays can be identified as out of Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) compliance through a centralized server. The technical group can receive immediate notification via e-mail and respond proactively. Previously, this problem could go unnoticed until the next scheduled preventive maintenance was performed. This system utilizes simple network management protocols (SNMP) and simple mail transfer protocols (SMTP) across a wide area network for real-time alerts from a centralized location. This central server supports and monitors approximately 320 clinical displays deployed across five states. Over the past three years of implementation in VISN 23, the remote calibration and monitoring capability has allowed for more efficient support of clinical displays and has enhanced patient safety by ensuring a consistent display of images on these clinical displays.


Wildfire is known to create the pre-conditions leading to accelerated soil erosion. Unfortunately, its occurrence is expected to increase with climate change. The objective of this study was to assess the impacts of fire on runoff and soil erosion in a context of global change, and to evaluate the effectiveness of mulching as a post-fire erosion mitigation measure. For this, the long-term soil erosion model LandSoil was calibrated for a Mediterranean catchment in north-central Portugal that burnt in 2011. LandSoil was then applied for a 20-year period to quantify the separate and combined hydrological and erosion impacts of fire frequency and of post-fire mulching using four plausible site-specific land use and management scenarios (S1. business-as-usual, S2. market-oriented, S3. environmental protection and S4. sustainable trade-off) and an intermediate climate change scenario Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 by 2050. The obtained results showed that: (i) fire had a reduced impact on runoff generation in the studied catchment (<5%) but a marked impact on sediment yield (SY) by about 30%; (ii) eucalypt intensification combined with climate change and fires can increase SY by threefold and (iii) post-fire mulching, combined with riparian vegetation maintenance/restoration and reduced tillage at the landscape level, was highly effective to mitigate soil erosion under global change and associated, increased fire frequency (up to 50% reduction). This study shows how field monitoring data can be combined with numerical erosion modeling to segregate the prominent processes occurring in post forest fire conditions and find the best management pathways to meet international goals on achieving land degradation neutrality (LDN).


Affluenza which is perceived as a culture that places a high value on and being addicted to wealth is a social condition that affects the cognitions, emotions and academic behavior of youths in our contemporary society. These youths are negatively influenced by the affluence and wealth of their parents to the detriment of their academic pursuit. This study is therefore carried out to ascertain the effects of cognitive restructuring (Rational Emotive Therapy (RET), confrontation (CON) and Thought Stopping (TS) in bringing sanity and discipline on Nigerian youths by curbing their affluenza syndrome. The study adopted quasi experimental design. Two research hypotheses guided the study. The sample is made up of 48 students from Imo State University Owerri, Nigeria 2014/2015 academic year struck by affluenza syndrome. Data were collected using researcher- made questionnaire titled "Affluenza Syndrome Identification Questionnaire" (ASIQ). Data collected were analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The result showed that the three techniques of Cognitive Restructuring Treatment Package-RET, CON and TS were very effective in lowering the level of affluenza syndrome in participants. The result also reveals that there is no gender effect on affluenza syndrome of participants. A finding that translates to the fact that both male and female participants benefited maximally from the three treatment approaches. Useful recommendations were made based on the findings from the study.


Intelectins (Itlns) are secretory lectins found in several chordate species that recognize carbohydrates on the bacterial cell surface depending on Ca2 + . In newly hatched larvae of Rana ornativentris (R. orn), Bufo japonicus formosus (B. jpn), and Cynops pyrrhogaster (C. pyr), an anti-Itln monoclonal antibody (mAb) labeled a subset of epidermal cells in whole-mount immunocytochemical assays. In western blot analyses, the mAb identified protein bands at approximately 33–37 kDa in the larval extracts and concentrated larval culture media. Using RT-PCR and RACE techniques, we isolated cDNAs from newly hatched larvae that encoded proteins of 343 (R. orn), 336 (B. jpn), and 337 (C. pyr) amino acids having 70%, 71%, and 60% identities with that of the Xenopus laevis embryonic epidermal lectin (XEEL), respectively. The proteins, designated REEL, BEEL, and CEEL, showed characteristics conserved among reported Itln proteins, and their amino acid sequences following the signal peptides were identical to those of the N-terminal peptides determined on Itln proteins in the respective larval extracts. Recombinant REEL (rREEL), rBEEL, and rCEEL proteins produced by HEK-293T cells were homo-oligomers of 34–37 kDa subunit peptides, which were similar to the Itlns found in the newly hatched larvae. The rEELs showed carbohydrate-binding specificities similar to that of XEEL and agglutinated Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus cells depending on Ca2 + . These results suggest that REEL, BEEL, and CEEL are Itlns produced and secreted by epidermal cells of R. orn, B. jpn, and C. pyr larvae, respectively, and that Itlns have a conserved role as pathogen recognition molecules in the larval innate immune system.


A medical risk management company provides medical claim assessment and payment for large medical insurers within Africa. The industry currently lacks cost and payment benchmarks, leading to abuse and significant continent-wide variation. A database of paid claims, covering 18 African countries with 3128 medical providers, was mined and statistically analysed. This paper presents a model which was developed to provide a basic tariff and pricing structure for monitoring and capturing claims. The model provides an appropriate-cost-threshold based on tolerable probability settings. This was partially achieved by inflation and exchange rate normalisation (including purchasing power parity). The model estimates and evaluates cost based on the country of treatment, medical condition and benefit option selected. It further provides decision support for appropriate currency of reimbursement. A preferential provider (Key accounts) list was developed using the model, to facilitate tariff and price negotiation. The model was tested on third party data and significant initial savings were identified.


The dynamic vertical coupling in the middle and lower thermosphere (MLT) is documented over the Maïdo observatory at La Réunion island (21°S, 55°E). The investigation uses data obtained in the framework of the Atmospheric dynamics Research InfraStructure in Europe (ARISE) project. In particular, Rayleigh lidar and nightglow measurements combined with other observations and modeling provide information on a mesospheric inversion layer (MIL) and the related gravity waves (GWs) on 9 and 10 October 2017. A Rossby wave breaking (RWB) produced instabilities in the sheared background wind and a strong tropospheric activity of GWs on 9–11 October above La Réunion. The MIL was observed on the night of 9 October when a large amount of tropospheric GWs propagated upward into the middle atmosphere and disappeared on 11 October when the stratospheric zonal wind filtering became a significant blocking. Among other results, dominant mesospheric GW modes with vertical wavelengths of about 4–6 km and 10–13 km can be traced down to the troposphere and up to the mesopause. Dominant GWs with a wavelength of ~2–3 km and 6 km also propagated upward and eastward from the tropospheric source into the stratosphere on 9–11 October. Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) temperature and OH profiles indicate that GW activity in the middle atmosphere affects the upper atmosphere with waves breaking at heights below the MIL and in the mesopause. Several techniques are illustrated on nightglow images to access GW activity and spectral characteristics at the mesopause for high and low frequency GWs on the nights of 9–10 October. In conclusion, intense tropospheric activity of GWs induced by RWB events can be linked with MILs at the subtropical barrier in the South-West Indian Ocean during austral winter.


Reform of the Lithuanian health system is a challenging process. The aim of this article is to assess the role of health managers in the process of health reform, evaluating the perception of health management and their training needs, as the possible determinants for the success of the reform. The results of several questionnaire surveys of Lithuanian health managers, particularly the one carried out in 2002 are used. The studies demonstrate great diversity in the conceptual understanding of health management, with prevailing rational and technical understanding. This might be associated with the rapid structural and organizational changes in the early stages of health reform and insufficient involvement of health managers in the planning and management of changes. General management, health policy, economic and law are considered as the most important study areas for health managers. The major lacking knowledge is in the subjects of law, economics and health financing. Health managers should act as mediators between politicians and health professionals. Enlargement of the area of competences, increasing autonomy in solving problems and meeting of the training needs of health managers is essential.


Eight healthy nonsmoking volunteers underwent terpene exposure (450 mg/m3 air) on 4 different occasions within a 2 week period. Total exposure time was 12 hours. Before and after the sequences of exposure, bronchoalveolar lavage was performed. Twenty hours after the exposure there was a significant (p < 0.05) increase of the alveolar cell concentration (median pre-exposure value 76 x 10(6) cells/L, post-exposure value 126 x 10(6) cells/L), predominantly due to an increment of the macrophages (from 72 x 10(6) cells/L to 121 x 10(6) cells/L). The mast cells also increased from 1/10 to 5/10 visual fields. No elevated concentrations of albumin, fibronectin, hyaluronan (hyaluronic acid), and tryptase were observed. We conclude that terpene exposure, in a concentration regarded as moderate, induces an acute alveolar cellular reaction in healthy subjects.


ABSTRACT: Dry land plants owing to their capability to grow under stressful environment have shown higher allelopathic potential as compared to cultivated plants. An experiment was conducted to investigate the herbicidal potential of aqueous extracts of four dry land plants viz. fruit and vine of Citrullus colocynthis, and above ground parts of Rhazya stricta; Crotalaria burhia and Calligonum polygonoides, with four concentrations (25, 50, 75 and 100%) of initially prepared extracts against Lathyrus aphaca, a common weed of wheat in the studied region. These plants were collected from dry land area (30.03° N and 70.38° E, 129 m above sea level, almost desert conditions) of Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab, Pakistan. All the four plants exhibited pronounced herbicidal potential with 9 to 91% suppression of different parameters in L. aphaca). Maximum inhibition was recorded in germination (36-91%). Significant suppression in leaf count (9-65%), shoot length (12-59%), root length (4-62%), shoot fresh weight (17-71%), root fresh weight (10-60%), shoot dry weight (15-72%), root dry weight (13-64%), and nodule numbers (34-89%) was also observed. The highest inhibition was exhibited by R. stricta followed by C. colocynthis: fruit. However, in case of nodulation maximum suppression was produced by C. burhia extract. Least suppressant activity was observed for the C. polygonides extract. These results encourage the potential use of locally available dry land plants possessing strong allelochemical properties for nonchemical control of weeds ultimately reducing reliance on chemical control.


Nutraceutical, a portmanteau of the words "nutrition" and "pharmaceutical", is a food or food product that reportedly provides health and medical benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease. Based on various aspects we may understand that " Nutraceutical is a product isolated or purified from foods that is generally sold in medicinal forms not usually associated with food. A nutraceutical is demonstrated to have a physiological benefit or provide protection against chronic disease ". Such products may range from isolated nutrients, dietary supplements and specific diets to genetically engineered foods, herbal products, and processed foods such as cereals, soups, and beverages. With recent developments in cellular-level nutraceutical agents, researchers, and medical practitioners are developing templates for integrating and assessing information from clinical studies on complementary and alternative therapies into responsible medical practice. In this review article, multifocal aspects of the nutraceutical, their usages and regulatory status in European Union are discussed.


This paper investigates the influence of eddy currents on the dynamic behavior of a novel hybrid-reluctance-force actuator for tip/tilt systems. The effects of eddy currents on the mechatronic system dynamics are identified and modeled by a first order system approximation. Their influence on the achievable performance of a closed loop controlled system is studied by investigating two configurations of the ferromagnetic actuator yoke. An initial solid steel configuration of the yoke is compared to a layered yoke structure with isolated steel sheets, with the aim to improve the system bandwidth, which is limited by the eddy currents. Robust PID feedback controllers are designed for controlling the mover position of both system configurations, resulting in comparable phase margins. Experiments demonstrate that the closed loop bandwidth of the prototype setup can be increased from 370 Hz to 1 kHz by changing the yoke structure, which equals a bandwidth improvement by a factor of 2.8.


Quality improvement (QI) is a priority for general practice, and GPs are expected to participate and provide evidence of QI activity. Pressures on the primary care workforce require approaches to QI to prioritise efficiency and effectiveness.This project aimed generate and scale up bespoke QI reports for GP practices contributing data to CPRD.CPRD is a UK government research service facilitating public health research using anonymised primary care data. A pilot report was designed with stakeholders and covered two indicators from the RCGP Patient Safety Toolkit. The reports enabled GPs to identify patients needing case review and to benchmark data on practice-level prescribing. Reports for 12 practices, containing real patient data, were sent to GPs and feedback was obtained via interviews. The report was scaled up to 457 practices and a survey sent out to request feedback.GPs used the reports to review the care of individual patients, and to implement QI actions such as adding flags to patients notes. One participant used the report as evidence for their annual appraisal. Survey response was limited (n = 31.7%) but overwhelmingly positive. Responders highlighted the importance of clinical input when developing indicators and ensuring the tone of the reports is supportive.The collaborative RCGP/CPRD QI reports are unique in their ability to provide benchmarking and case-finding on a national scale. The indicators selected must lead to actionable reports. Clinical input is required to ensure code lists are appropriate and that reports are clinically relevant. CPRD aims to send out two reports annually.


Tuber melanosporum known as Black Truffle is a mycorrhizal fungus that grows in symbiosis with certain trees and shrubs. Due to its delicate mycorrhization process, the cultivation of this fungus represents a challenge for its large-scale production. The black truffle has a maturation time of 8 to 12 months from its inoculation and is totally dependent on the interaction it carries out with the host plant. Truffle characteristics such as color, odor and flavor can vary depending on the plant with which it is associated, the most commonly used for its cultivation being oaks (Quercus ilex ssp. ilex, Q. ilex ssp. ballota), oaks (Quercus pubescens, Q. cerrioides, Q. petrae, Q. robur), gall oak (Q. faginea), Kermes oak (Q. coccifera), and hazel (Corylus avellana), although associations with other plants have been found in the wild. Similarly, Tuber melanosporum is influenced by the climate in which it grows, the ideal being the Mediterranean climate with hot summers and a high rainfall and winters and autumns with temperatures above -9°C with occasional rainfall. Favorable soils for the cultivation of Tuber melanosporum are limestone soils with clayey, loamy and sandy characteristics, not compacted, which allow the passage and filtration of water, essential for the truffle. Tuber melanosporum has a great value in the gastronomic industry, reaching very high prices depending on its availability, being able to reach prices between 200 and 800 euros per kilogram, however, subsequent processes such as packaging, food preparation and shipping can raise these figures even higher. This project seeks to design a methodology for the in vivo cultivation of Tuber melanosporum, which allows better results in its inoculation and mycorrhization through the use of Tuber melanosporum spores and roots of young hazelnut (Corylus avellana) seedlings, for subsequent transplantation in substrates with the appropriate characteristics for both organisms.


Network virtualization gives each "tenant" in a data center its own network topology and control over its traffic flow. Software-defined networking offers a standard interface between controller applications and switch-forwarding tables, and is thus a natural platform for network virtualization. Yet, supporting numerous tenants with different topologies and controller applications raises scalability challenges. The FlowN architecture gives each tenant the illusion of its own address space, topology, and controller, and leverages database technology to efficiently store and manipulate mappings between virtual networks and physical switches.


Research background: We develop a conceptual framework based on a systematic and comprehensive literature review on smartphones as consumption tools globally.
Purpose of the article: Building our argument by drawing on data collected from Comscore, Econsultancy, and Statista, we performed analyses and made estimates regarding the adoption of Internet-enabled devices for shopping purposes: selected retail and shopping activities of EU smartphone users, most popular mobile shopping apps in the U.S. (by reach), adults in the EU who never make purchases on mobile devices (by gender), and consumers who use a mobile device for product research while shopping in-store worldwide (by country).
Methods: The data for this research were gathered via an online survey questionnaire and were analyzed through structural equation modeling on a sample of 4,200 respondents.
Findings & Value added: Smartphones have permeated the online community swiftly. The difficult task retailers confront is in obtaining consumers' mutual support in supplying the information required to provide a customized shopping experience. Mobile payment privacy is associated with apprehensions that users may have concerning what will become of the data supplied when they adopt mobile payment. A satisfactory array of facilitating circumstances brings about greater purpose to adopt mobile shopping applications, especially when diverse viable functions such as convenience and swift purchase are provided. Intention to raise subsequent benefits from mobile buying should harmonize the lasting value predisposition of the mobile purchasers. The essential issue encountered by the service suppliers is how to turn the developing mobile payment operation into financial earnings.


Patients who require critical care, including those with burns, are affected by a systemic inflammatory reaction, which at times has consequences such as multiple organ dysfunction and failure. It has become increasingly evident that other factors important in the development of organ dysfunction are disturbances at the tissue level, in the microcirculation. Such disturbances activate cascade systems including stress hormones, all of which have local effects on organ function. Despite this knowledge, monitoring and treatment in critical illness today relies mainly on central haemodynamics and blood sampling. Microdialysis is a minimally invasive technique that enables us to study the chemical composition and changes in biochemistry in the extracellular, extravascular space in living tissues. Most of our current experience is from animal models, but the technique has also been used in humans and has become routine in many neurosurgical intensive care units to monitor brain biochemistry after severe injury. In skin, this experience is limited. During the first half of this thesis we studied the injured and uninjured skin of severely burned patients. The results show that there are severe local metabolic disturbances in both injured and uninjured skin. Most interesting is a sustained tissue acidosis, which is not detectable in systemic (blood) sampling. We also recorded considerable alterations in the glucose homeostasis locally in the skin, suggesting a cellular or mitochondrial dysfunction. In parallel, we noted increased tissue glycerol concentrations, which indicated appreciable traumainduced lipolysis. We also examined serotonin kinetics in the same group of patients, as serotonin has been claimed to be a key mediator of the vasoplegia and permeability disturbances found in patients with burns. We have shown, for the first time in humans to our knowledge, that concentrations of serotonin in skin are increased tenfold, whereas blood and urine concentrations are just above normal. The findings support the need for local monitoring of substances with rapid local reabsorption, or degradation, or both. The results also indicate that serotonin may be important for the systemic response that characterises burn injuries. In the second half of the thesis we evaluated the effects of microdosing in skin on metabolism and blood flow of vasoactive, mainly stress-response-related, drugs by the microdialysis system. The objectives were to isolate the local effects of the drugs to enable a better understanding of the complex relation between metabolic effects and effects induced by changes in local blood flow. In the first of these two studies we showed that by giving noradrenaline and nitroglycerine into the skin of healthy subjects we induced anticipated changes in skin metabolism and blood flow. The results suggest that the model may be used to examine vascular and metabolic effects induced locally by vasoactive compounds. Data from the last study indicate that conventional pharmacodynamic models (Emax) for time and dose response modelling may be successfully used to measure the vascular and metabolic response in this microdosing model. We conclude that the microdialysis technique can be successfully used to monitor skin metabolism and iso late a mediator (serotonin) of the local skin response in burned patients. It was also feasible to develop a vascular model in skin based on microdialysis to deliver vasoactive substances locally to the skin of healthy volunteers. This model provided a framework in which the metabolic effects of hypoperfusion and reperfusion in skin tissues could be examined further.


Two epidemiologic studies regarding the prescription and the absorption of fluorides have been conducted: one among pediatricians, the other among parents of children under 3 years registered in day-nurseries. The results show that even though more pediatricians and parents are aware of the importance of correct dental care in children, they are often badly informed. Fluoride tablets should be prescribed at birth diluted in feeding-bottles of water. This prescription should be continued for 5 years, because of its systematic and effective action. Later, it should be replaced by a fluoride tooth paste which however may be used from the age of 2 years when fluoride tablets are not given. Pediatricians have a responsibility to ensure that parents are knowledgeable on the use and importance of fluoride for their children.


Which of the two forces, past trends or future expectations plays a more dominant role in exchange market volatility? This hypothesis is econometrically tested here for four advanced industrial countries, France, UK, Japan and Germany over the period 1985 to 1995.


The effect of chitosan with different molecular weights as coatings for shelf-life extension of fresh fillets of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and herring (Clupea harengus) was evaluated over a 12-day storage at refrigerated temperature (4 +/- 1 degrees C). Three chitosan preparations from snow crab (Chinoecetes opilio) processing wastes, differing in viscosities and molecular weights, were prepared; their apparent viscosities (360, 57, and 14 cP) depended on the deacetylation time (4, 10, and 20 h, respectively) of the chitin precursor. Upon coating with chitosans, a significant (p < or = 0.05) reduction in relative moisture losses of 37, 29, 29, 40, and 32% was observed for cod samples coated with 360 cP chitosan after 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 days of storage, respectively. Chitosan coating significantly (p < or = 0.05) reduced lipid oxidation as displayed in peroxide value, conjugated dienes, 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and headspace volatiles, chemical spoilage as reflected in total volatile basic nitrogen, trimethylamine, and hypoxanthine, and growth of microorganisms as reflected in total plate count in both fish model systems compared to uncoated samples. The preservative efficacy and the viscosity of chitosan were inter-related; the efficacy of chitosans with viscosities of 57 and 360 cP was superior to that of chitosan with a 14 cP viscosity. Thus, chitosan as edible coating would enhance the quality of seafoods during storage.


Rain attenuation shows a considerable temporal and spatial variability. To simulate fade mitigation techniques such as route diversity, a space-time channel model which accounts for the spatial and temporal variation of rain attenuation is needed. In this paper we investigate the space-time correlation of rain attenuation utilizing 42 GHz star-like network measurements. By combining the spatial and temporal correlation properties of rain attenuation, a simulation model for generating multiple correlated rain attenuation time series based on the Maseng-Bakken model is developed. The model is validated by comparing the statistical and angular diversity properties of the model with those of measurements and theoretical diversity gain models. Furthermore, parameters for the Maseng-Bakken dynamic rain attenuation model were extracted from the star-like network measurements. In addition, using a systematic multivariable technique a model for the parameter betas which controls the dynamics of rain attenuation in the Maseng-Bakken model was developed. Moreover, using available rain attenuation measurements the advantage of route diversity with selection combining is investigated.


AbstractAn objective climatology of anticyclones over the greater Mediterranean region is presented based on the Interim ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim) for a 34-yr period (1979–2012) and the Melbourne University automatic identification and tracking algorithm. The scheme's robustness and reliability for the transient extratropical propagation of anticyclones, with the appropriate choices of parameter settings, has been established and the results obtained here present new research perspectives on anticyclonic activity affecting the Mediterranean. Properties of Mediterranean anticyclones, such as frequency, generation and dissipation, movement, scale, and depth are investigated. The highest frequency of anticyclones is found over continental areas, while the highest maritime frequency occurs over closed basins exhibiting also maxima of anticyclogenesis. There is a significant seasonality in system density and anticyclogenesis maxima, this being associated with the seasonal variations of the larger-scale a...


In this paper, we present an analytical noise modeling methodology for lateral nonuniform MOSFET. We demonstrate that the noise properties of lateral nonuniform MOSFETs are considerably different from the prediction obtained with the conventional Klaassen-Prins (KP)-based methods which, at low gate voltages, depending on the doping profile can overestimate the thermal noise by 2-3 orders of magnitude. We show that the presence of lateral nonuniformity makes the vector impedance field (the quantity responsible for noise propagation) position and bias dependent. This insight clearly explains the observed discrepancy and shows that the bias dependence of the important noise parameters cannot be predicted by conventional KP-based methods.


We propose a new approach to adaptive multi-period trade execution which can be viewed as an extension of Grinold and Kahn (1995) and Almgren and Chriss (1999). Our methodology does not rely on any exogenous switching criteria but instead explicitly includes trading acceleration and deceleration depending on market conditions into equations describing the trading strategy. In other words, we consider adaptive trading strategies that (among other factors) condition on a current price and therefore are stochastic before the price is revealed. The new approach enables us to specify multi-period mean variance style utility function where expectations are taken over all possible realizations of the price process. Consequently while actual trading will still have stochastic nature, we can compute expected portfolio trading costs as well as optimal response to all market conditions on a pre-trade basis.


The mechanical alloying process is used to form poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA)-5 vol.% magnesium (Mg) composites by high-energy ball milling the blends for up to 10 hours. The milling products and their compacted composites are characterized and compared with milled pure PMMA. Mechanical alloying can cause degradation of the amorphous thermoplastic polymer in the powder mixture but also allows for increasingly fine dispersion of Mg in the PMMA matrix with milling. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and image analysis of optical micrographs show that the magnesium remains crystalline, and its particle size reduces with milling time from an average of 200 microns to under 10 microns after 10 hours milling. Additionally, peak broadening from XRD analysis shows decreasing crystallite size within the particles. The hardness of the composite increases with milling time by up to 7%, whereas the hardness of the milled pure PMMA decreases with milling time by about 5%.


Third-order optical nonlinearities of two squarylium dyes with benzothiazole donor groups (BSQ1 and BSQ2) in chloroform solution are measured by a picosecond Z-scan technique at 532 nm. It is found that the two compounds show the saturation absorption and nonlinear self-focus refraction effect. The molecular second hyperpolarizabilities are calculated to be 7.46 × 10−31 esu and 5.01 × 10−30 esu for BSQ1 and BSQ2, respectively. The large optical nonlinearities of squarylium dyes can be attributed to their rigid and intramolecular charge transfer structure. The difference in γ values is attributed to the chloro group of benzene rings of BSQ2 and the one-photon resonance effect. It is found that the third-order nonlinear susceptibilities of two squarylium dyes are mainly determined by the real parts of χ(3), and the large optical nonlinearities of studied squarylium dyes can be attributed to the nonlinear refraction.


This study reviews the development and change of main entry principle in German cataloging codes, with special emphasis on RAK. With rerard to the functions of catalog, comparison between the traditional title main entry in the Orient and author main entry in the West has been made. The analysis confirms in this study that various criteria in choice of the entries in RAK have been adopted. In case of works where the persons who have played different roles in the works are named on the title page, as well as related works and works of mixed responsibility, the criteria of entry determination are complex and time consuming process and have no absolute value. And there are also various kinds of problems in corporate entries including confirmation of originator(Urheber), choice of either the territorial authority corncerned or corporate bodies as an entry depending on the nature of the publications, and a unique bibliographical situation of treaties. This means the code is absence of absolute value in selecting entries, and this results in adoption of main entry principle which has lost its significance for the purpose of cataloging. With emergence of the ISBD and actualization of automated cataloging, morever, all entries are equal as points of access. It would eliminate the need for personal judgements required in choice of main entry by the present code. In doing so, it would bring uniformity and standardization to cataloging practice. In direct approach to works, title entry is more developed finding device than author entry in cataloging theories. Thus introduction of unit card system beginning with title which is adopted in KCR3 would be desirable, the complicated rules for the choice of entry could be abandoned from cataloging codes. Most of the user studies show that catalog users have placed higher value on the title entry as a finding device and each entry is equal as access points through unit entry. This means that choice of a given entry as a main entry is unnecessary in cataloging codes. Title entry would be a rather simple standard and direct approach for works. This study proves that the traditional title entry of Korea is superior to author main entry in the Western world in cataloging theory. Thus recommendation to be made is that abandonment of author main entry from cataloging codes should be considered in the future.


The Chinese/English Political Interpreting Corpus (CEPIC) is a new electronic and open access resource developed for translators and interpreters, especially those working with political text types. Over 6 million word tokens in size, the online corpus consists of transcripts of Chinese (Cantonese & Putonghua) / English political speeches and their translated and interpreted texts. It includes rich meta-data and is POS-tagged and annotated with prosodic and paralinguistic features that are of concern to spoken language and interpreting. The online platform of the CEPIC features main functions including Keyword Search, Word Collocation and Expanded Keyword in Context, which are illustrated in the paper. The CEPIC can shed light on online translation and interpreting corpora development in the future.


A positive association between tobacco and colorectal adenomas has been suggested. Smoking is, however, also associated with 'poor' dietary habits, which in turn may be related to risk of adenomas. It is therefore of interest to study the relationship between smoking, diet and risk of colorectal adenomas in follow-up studies. We compared 87 adenoma cases to 35 'hospital' and 35 healthy controls (all controls were age- and sex-matched and proven to be free of adenomas). Smoking data were collected by an interview and a self-administrated questionnaire with a time interval of at least one month. After 3 years of follow-up, all polyps were removed. Our data indicate that smoking is associated with adenoma prevalence, but not necessarily with size, multiplicity, growth or recurrence of adenomas. Compared to both sets of controls, cases reported to have smoked more than 15 pack-years, or who are current smokers, had a fourfold increased frequency of adenomas (odds ratios 3.6-5.9). Smokers with adenomas had dietary habits that may also be associated with adenomas. The smoking estimates remained largely unchanged even after adjustments for dietary variables in multivariate analysis. This study lends support to the theory of an initiating role of tobacco smoke in neoplasia formation.


From the Publisher:
"Grokking the GIMP" is for the serious user of the GNU Image Manipulation Program, a premiere digital image editing and painting program. It covers the GIMP in depth, and complex tasks are intuitively presented and explained using an interactive approach. In addition to emphasizing the theory and core concepts of image manipulation, "Grokking the GIMP" beautifully illustrates the practical aspects of working with digital images. This fully 4-color book presents nine major projects and a collection of many smaller ones that illustrate the core and advanced uses of this powerful open-source application. Numbered steps and an abundance of color images walk the reader through real-world examples of color correction, image enhancement, collage, photo montage, rendering, and Web-graphics creation.


Objective: To propose a protocol for minimizing medical complications associated with the use of cyproterone, medroxyprogesterone, and depot leuprolide to treat paraphilia. Method Review of the relevant literature. Results Certain patient populations should not be treated with these medications, and medical complications associated with each can be detected early and avoided. Conclusions For each drug, a series of screening tests prior to use and scheduled testing during use can minimize potential medical complications.


Research on plant molecular biology, genetic engineering, and crop molecular breeding involves various manipulations of plant genomic DNAs (gDNAs). These studies require preparing gDNAs from plant materials using suitable methods according to the yield, intactness, and purity of the resultant gDNA samples. Here we describe protocols for preparation of rice plant gDNAs for various applications including: (1) maxipreps and (2) minipreps of gDNAs for restriction analysis, gene cloning, PCR amplification, genomic sequencing, and genotyping; (3) preparation of megabase-sized nuclear DNA for construction of large-insert genomic libraries and long-range physical mapping; and (4) 96-well-format high-throughput gDNA preparation for PCR-based genotyping. The methods are also suitable for other plant species including dicots. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.