Selenium (Se), an essential antioxidant trace element, is reported to play a role in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, there is a lack of systematic studies on different Se forms against PD. Our study is designed to compare the neuroprotective effects of inorganic and organic Se in two classical PD mice models and investigate the underlying mechanisms for their potentially differential actions against PD. In this study, different dosages of inorganic sodium selenite (Se-Na) or organic seleno-L-methionine (Se-Met) were fed to either acute or chronic PD mice models, and their neuroprotective effects and mechanisms were explored and compared. Se-Na provided better neuroprotective effects in PD mice than Se-Met administered at the same but at a relatively low Se dosage. Se-Na treatment could influence GPX activities but not their mRNA expressions in the midbrains of PD mice. The enhanced GPX activities caused by Se-Na, but not Se-Met, in PD mice could be the major reason for the positive actions of inorganic Se to prevent dopaminergic neuronal loss in this study. In vivo bio-distribution experiments found MPTP injection greatly changed Se bio-distribution in mice, which led to reversed alterations in the bioavailability of Se-Met and Se-Na. Se-Na had higher bioavailability than Se-Met in PD mice, which could explain its better neuroprotective effects compared to Se-Met. Our results proved that Se forms and dosages determined their biological actions in mouse models of PD. Our study will provide valuable scientific evidence to researchers and/or medical professionals in using Se for PD prevention or therapy.


The living circumstances of the elderly are closely related to the social changes in society. The aim of this research is to firstly, identify the impact of social changes on the spatial organization of dwellings and housing from the perspective of the elderly within the framework of social ageing, and secondly to examine the reasons for relocation of the elderly to sheltered housing. Using this data, some recommendations are made about a suitable barrier-free housing model for the elderly based on traditional Finnish rural housing. In addition to the need for barrier-free design criteria in the design process of future dwellings, understanding the social and psychological aspects of the traditional housing of the northern outreach can provide a new perspective for developing and modifying current living environments of the network society. Dwelling architecture already contains a versatile spatial order and a productive identity to constitute different levels of social order and integration. Applied in the network society, the traditional Finnish housing feature known as "tupa" has the capability of exceeding the physical boundaries of home to integrate the service possibilities of the cyberworld. This "tupa" model, both on the dwelling unit level and on the housing level, is not only suitable for the lifestyle of the network society, but also for the elderly who are gradually growing fragile. The "tupa" model functions as a suitable space for the elderly; firstly, as a place to grow old as productive members of the society after retirement and, secondly, as a place to function as active members fostered by the housing community and by the facilities of the network society. "Theme housing" model which is a reinterpretation of the principles of Finnish rural housing, provides a model which can both facilitate social interaction, and the productivity of different generations, while avoiding isolation and social exclusion in the network society.


The estimation of nonlinear structural models is not trivial. One reason for this is that a closed form solution of the likelihood may not be feasible or does not exist. We propose to estimate nonlinear structural models using the efficient method of moments, as generating data according to the models is often very easy. A simulation study of the interaction model of Kenny–Judd shows promising results, for example, the bias of the parameter for the interaction effect is less for the efficient method of moments compared to quasi-maximum likelihood (QML) and characteristic function estimator (CFE) (Blom & Christoffersson 2001) and comparable to latent moderated structural equations (LMS) (Schermelleh-Engel, Klein, & Moosbrugger, 1998).


. Firn from an ice cave in the highest mountain of Greece, Mt. Olympos, was sampled and analysed to determine the tritium content in order to estimate rates of accumulation and to date the ice plug. The presence of a sharp raise of tritium content because of the nuclear testing era was expected to be preserved into ice beds. This peak did not appear in the analysed samples providing an age estimation of less than 50 years. It is suggested that the rate of melting is responsible for the absence of older firn layers.


Abstract Background: Urinary vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) and homovanillic acid (HVA) are biomarkers for the diagnosis and follow-up of neuroblastoma, whereas urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) is used to assess a carcinoid tumor. These analytes are conventionally analyzed in a single run by chromatography (LC) coupled with electrochemical detection (LC-ECD) using commercial kits. A rapid dilute-and-shoot LC tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assay was validated in order to replace the LC-ECD method and therefore improve analytical specificity and throughput. Methods: Sample preparation was carried out by dilution of the urine sample with a solution containing the deuterated internal standards. The separation was achieved on an ultra-high pressure LC system with MS detection using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. The method was validated according to the current EMA and FDA guidelines. Results: The full chromatographic run was achieved in 8 min. The method validation showed excellent linearity (r2>0.999 for all three analytes), precision (CV <15%), negligible matrix effect (recoveries >90%), low carryover (<1%) and LLOQ of 0.25, 0.4 and 0.4 μM for VMA, HVA and 5-HIAA, respectively. Deming fits and Bland-Altman analyses showed no significant differences between the values obtained between the two assays. Conclusions: The LC-MS/MS method proposed in this study is fast and robust, and the simple sample preparation saves time and avoids the additional costs of dedicated kits used for the LC-ECD assays by switching to LC-MS/MS. Additionally, the near-perfect correlation observed herein between both assays allows the previously established reference ranges to be maintained.


This study involved nursing (NSG) and optometry (OPT) students from the School of Health Sciences (HS), Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP), Singapore. It aimed to understand the effect of service-learning (SL) engagements on the social awareness of HSN and OPT students. The study examined two different modes of SL engagement: The first SL activity was a voluntary (outside of curriculum) Health and Eye Screening for migrant workers at their dormitory (N-118). The second SL activity was a compulsory (in-curriculum) social survey of foreign workers (FWs) (N-208) on their rest day outside of their dormitory. The quasi-experimental prepre test design was chosen where the two experimental groups served as their own control groups during the course of the research. The results of the study highlighted keywords service-learning nursing education migrant workers in Singapore empathy education critical thinking training social inequality awareness training 02_CTL_14.2_Masduki_143-160.indd 143 30/08/19 8:45 AM Chong Ching Liang | Celestine Seet | Nur Farzana Jupri ... 144 Citizenship Teaching & Learning that not all SL activities were created equal in their impact on learning. Of the two experimental groups – Experimental Group 1 (compulsory) and Experimental Group 2 (voluntary), the nature of SL engagement indicated that there is a higher positive impact on the social awareness level of the former (Experimental Group 1). The mode of engagement is a very short engagement with the community-in-need (five hours). The results of this study help to throw up for discussion the potential benefits of a high-impact but extremely brief SL engagement by students. Pending further validation, this strategy might be a potential solution for educational institutions juggling the twin tensions of timetabling and meaningful SL activities to further their students' learning experience.


The environmental services of forests. The way society relates with forests and the services they offer has changed in the course of History. The inclusion in mainstream Forestry of total value concepts derived from Economics, together with the enlargement of its focus of interest to other disciplines has opened the door to a renewed appreciation of forest ecosystem services. There is an attempt to develop mechanisms to capture part of this value as a way to conserve and sustainably manage forests. In the present article we review the valuation and marketing of forest environmental services. We conclude analyzing some limitations experienced while implementing these methods in practice and discussing the role that environmental services may play in the future of forests.


The Niobrara Formation produces commercial quantities of oil from fractures in several places in the Denver basin. The Niobrara in this basin is an oil-prone, mature source rock having as much as 3.4% TOC, and has been in the generating window since early Eocene. This implies that hydrocarbon generation from the Niobrara is partly contemporaneous with the Laramide orogeny. The Laramide was a multiple-phase orogenic event that began with compression directed to the east-northeast during the Late Cretaceous to Paleocene and ended with compression directed to the northeast during the Eocene. We believe the Eocene phase activated northeast-trending extension fractures that may have acted as loci for storage and migration of hydrocarbons, locally generated in the Niobrara. The auto-fracing pressures related to hydrocarbon generation in the Niobrara theoretically would preferentially open and fill this northeast-trending fracture system. Examination of Landsat imagery shows that zones of northeast-trending lineaments are present throughout the basin. Numerous northeast-trending faults are present in the basin, and many overlie older zones that were reactivated during the Laramide. This suggests that these lineaments are previously unrecognized fracture zones. We have defined an exploration fairway within the basin based on subsurface isopach and resistivity mapping. We believe that mapping of northeast-trending fractures can help identify leads (within this fairway) prospective for Niobrara production. Support of this concept is the location of several apparently productive Niobrara wells along a zone of northeast-trending lineaments. End_of_Article - Last_Page 288------------


Electric propulsion (EP) thrusters are highly important for both commercial and scientific applications due to their high ~pecific impulse, high controllability and proven reliability. Europe is developing scvcral types of EP thrusters that provide thrust levels between 1 pN up to 200 mN. Design, manufacturing and testing of such thrusters is a complex xtivity that requires a great effort, especially in the testing field. Full characterization, qualification and plume ~nteraction tests are mandatory for the full assessment of this technology. The Electric Propulsion Laboratory at ESA has set up three facilities that are currently used in the preparation of several missions requiring electric propulsion thrusters. This paper will describe these test facilities, the diagnostics employed and some important results.


Kinetic modelling played a key role in the development of subcritical water extraction for bioactive compounds such as: shogaol and gingerol from ginger waste. Liquid-solid extraction kinetics could predict the extraction phenomenon and increase the efficacy of extraction process. The aim of this study was to develop a mathematical model of leaching kinetics and determine the rate constant of extraction process (k) of shogaol and gingerol in ginger pulp which is in the subcritical water phase. The research was carried out in two work stages, namely modeling and experimentation. The modeling was done by comparing three extraction kinetic models, namely pseudo first order, pseudo second order and the distribution coefficient. The model was postulated and validated with experimental data using Matlab. The subcritical water extraction process of shogaol and gingerol in ginger waste was occurred at 140 ℃ with a pressure of 3.5 bar. The extracts had been separated from raffinate and further analyzed using HPLC-MS. The results showed that the pseudo first order kinetic model described well the phenomenon of subcritical water extraction with regression values was 0.9882 for gingerol and 0.9682 for shogaol respectively. The rate constant of extraction process (k) for gingerol and shogaol were 0.1101  and 0.3130 , respectively. This showed that the shogaol extraction rate was higher than the gingerol extraction rate.


Abstract Graduate nursing students faced numerous stressors while pursuing their education during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many working clinically while studying. The purpose of this pilot was to explore support strategies and decrease stress in first-year students enrolled in a doctor of nursing practice program during a time of uncertainty and crisis. Graduate students were assigned to practice a three-minute mindfulness activity and connect with a fellow student for a month. Students reported mindfulness benefits and social support. Modeling healthy practices is critical to support mastery of skills that will promote positive reactions to challenges in their future practice settings.


A 68 year old man with a creatinine clearance rate of only 15 ml/min took twice the recommended dose of tripotassium dicitrato bismuthate (TDB) as DeNol liquid; 10 ml qds; a total of 864 mg bismuth daily for two months. Whole blood bismuth concentrations rose to 880 micrograms/l and he developed global cerebral dysfunction with hallucinations, ataxia, and an abnormal EEG. Renal clearance of bismuth rose from 0.24 to 2.4 ml/min when the heavy metal chelator 2-3 dimercapto-1 propane sulphonic acid (DMPS) was given by mouth. Bismuth was measured by a novel method involving inductively coupled plasma source mass spectrometry. Fifty days after stopping TDB, whole blood bismuth concentrations fell to 46 micrograms/l and the patient's EEG returned to normal. His mental function also recovered completely. The case serves as a timely reminder that TDB should not be administered to patients with renal disorders, as stated in the data sheet.


Aqueous proton batteries (APBs) have emerged as one of the most promising batteries for large-scale energy storage technology. However, they usually show an undesirable electrochemical performance. Herein, we demonstrate a novel aqueous catalytic hydrogen gas powered organic proton (HOP) battery, which is driven by hydrogen evolution/oxidation redox reactions via commercial nanocatalysts on the anode and coordination/decoordination reactions of C═O with H+ on the cathode. The HOP battery shows an excellent rate capacity of 190.1 mAh g-1 at 1 A g-1 and 71.4 mAh g-1 at 100 A g-1. It also delivers a capacity of 96.6 mAh g-1 after 100000 cycles and operates at temperatures down to -70 °C. Moreover, the HOP battery is fabricated in a large-scale pouch cell with an extended capacity, exhibiting its potential for practical energy storage applications. This work provides new insights into the building of sustainable APBs, which will broaden the horizons of high-performance aqueous batteries.


Fuhlbrigge AL, Guilbert T, Spahn J, Peden D, Davis K. Pediatrics. 2006;118:619–625 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY. To examine the asthma-related health burden in US children. STUDY POPULATION. Participants were US children (aged 4 to 18 years) with current asthma during February to May, 2004, identified in a telephone-based survey. Asthma was defined as ever having a physician diagnosis of asthma and either using current asthma medication or having asthma symptoms in the past year. METHODS. In this telephone-based study, 41 433 households were screened to provide 1089 children reporting current asthma and 801 completed interviews. Interviews were completed by parents for children 4 to 15 years old (84.6%) and the children themselves when they were 16 to 18 years old (14.6%). Symptoms, perceived level of control, activity limitation, health care use, medications, disease management, and knowledge were assessed. Global asthma-symptom burden was composed of short-term symptom burden (4-week recall), long-term symptom burden (past year), and functional impact (activity limitation) based on National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) guidelines. Asthma was classified on the basis of symptoms in 3 categories: mild-intermittent, mild-persistent, and moderate/severe-persistent (combined into 1 category) asthma. RESULTS. Eighty percent of the children were classified as having mild-intermittent asthma on the basis of daily symptoms; however, this percentage decreased to 64% when nighttime symptoms were considered. In contrast, on the basis of the global asthma-symptom burden, only 13% of the children were classified as having mild-intermittent disease, whereas 62% were classified as having moderate/severe disease. Of children with moderate/severe asthma, 54% reported complete asthma control despite meeting criteria for more moderate/severe-persistent disease. Asthma impact on daily activity was substantial, with 47% of the children avoiding exertion and 34% staying inside to control asthma symptoms. CONCLUSIONS. The majority of children had not achieved the goals of asthma treatment based on NAEPP guidelines. In addition, parents and their children overestimated the child's asthma control and commonly restricted activities to control asthma symptoms. REVIEWER COMMENTS. Why is there a rift between what patients or their parents perceive as their level of asthma control and their actual control measured against NAEPP-guideline goals? The level of control perceived by patients and their parents seems worse when more detailed or specific questions are asked about asthma burden. As demonstrated by this study, limitation in activity level or staying indoors are "common" methods to control asthma symptoms despite contradictory reporting that exercising and participating in outdoor activities are important to children. Unfortunately, many children are not meeting the NAEPP guidelines' goals of removing self-imposed limitations to control a child's asthma. It is notable that this study did not account for current asthma medications that could result in underclassification of disease burden. This study provides another wake-up call that asking specific questions during patient encounters and education regarding symptom-control expectations are worthwhile, because there can be misperception of control by patients and their parents.


In this paper, the observations from CHAMP radio occultation (RO) and Planar Langmuir Probe (PLP) during 2002–2008 and Constellation Observing System for Meteorology Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC) observations during 2007.090–2007.120 are used to evaluate the orbit altitude electron density estimation and its effect on the Abel inversion from RO measurements. Comparison between PLP observed and RO estimated orbit electron density on board CHAMP shows that RO estimation tends to overestimate the true orbit electron density by 10% averagely. The average relative deviation is ∼20% and decreases slightly with the increase of the ionospheric peak height and the satellite orbit. It is larger at nighttime than daytime and peaks around sunrise time. Simulations based on COSMIC observations using NeQuick model indicate that the solar activity and the satellite orbit altitude variations will not influence the ratio of the successfully retrieved electron density profiles to the observed occultation events and the relative Abel inversion error of the electron density as well. Different orbit electron density derivation methods, including estimation by the RO total electron content, given by an independent on orbit observation, and assumed to be equal to the topmost point, will have no essential influence on the Abel retrieved electron density. Adding an on orbit observation even has a negative effect on the Abel retrieved electron density around the orbit altitude, which is contrary to our imagination.


The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether active Cl- secretion in the pigmented rabbit conjunctiva was subject to cAMP, Ca2+ and protein kinase C (PKC) modulation. The excised pigmented rabbit conjunctivas were mounted in the modified Ussing-type chambers for measurement of unidirectional 36Cl fluxes under the open-circuit condition and of the short-circuit current (Isc), potential difference, and transconjunctival electrical resistance. The results indicate that Cl- secretion across the conjunctiva was abolished by mucosal application of 1 mM N-phenylanthranilic acid and was reduced by 40% by serosal application of 10 microM bumetanide. Net Cl- flux was stimulated by 133% by 1 mM 8-Br cAMP, 107% by 10 microM A23187, and 87% by 1 microM phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), suggesting that cAMP, Ca2+, and PKC all modulated active Cl- secretion, respectively. There existed a linear correlation between measured changes in net Cl- flux and observed changes in Isc (r2=0.99). The serial treatment of the conjunctiva with (a) 1 mM 8-Br cAMP and 10 microM A23187 and (b) 10 microM A23187 and 1 microM PMA resulted in sequence-independent, additive stimulation of Isc. In the case of 1 mM 8-Br cAMP and 1 microM PMA, additive stimulation of Isc was observed only when 1 mM 8-Br cAMP was added prior to 1 microM PMA. These results suggest that a given pharmacological agent may affect more than one channel type and that there might be a possible connection among the channels at the signal transduction level. In summary, Cl- appears to enter the pigmented rabbit conjunctiva from the serosal fluid via Na+-(K+)-2Cl- cotransport process and exit to the mucosal fluid via channels, resulting in active Cl- secretion. Active Cl- secretion in the pigmented rabbit conjunctiva appears to be modulated by cAMP, Ca2+, and PKC.


In this paper we report the study of boron substituted SmFe2 compounds belonging to the family of giant magnetostrictive materials RFe2(R=Tb, Dy, Sm). The dc magnetization up to fields of 60 kOe and low field ac sucsceptibility has been measured in the temperature range 5-300 K. In SmFe2, the temperature dependence of magnetization shows two magnetic transitions at 190 K and 80K in the zero field cooled state. The lower temperature transition is suppressed by the addition of even 1at%B as observed from the dc magnetization. The ac susceptibility shows a pronounced maximum close to 80 K in both the parent compound and in 1 at% B substituted one. This transition presumably occurs due to freezing of domain wall motion.


Abstract Probiotics and their fermentation products are increasingly been focused on due to their health-boosting effects. Exopolysaccharides (EPS) synthetized by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are widely applied as texture modifiers in dairy, meat and bakery products owning to their improved properties. Moreover, LAB-derived EPS have been confirmed to possess diverse physiological bioactivities including antioxidant, anti-biofilm, antiviral, immune-regulatory or antitumor. However, the low production and high acquisition cost hinder their development. Even though LAB-derived EPS have been extensively studied for their production-improving, there are only few reports on the systematic elucidation and summary of the relationship among biosynthesis pathway, strain selection, production parameter, structure-function relationship. Therefore, a detailed summary on biosynthesis pathway, production parameter and structure-function relationship of LAB-derived EPS is provided in this review, the structural modifications together with the current and potential applications are also discussed in this paper.


Business processes and, tberefore, workflow models are often adapted. Adaptations can be caused eitber by procedural changes, affecting all future cases or on an ad-hoc basis for individual cases. Eitber way, cases witb similar but different definitions will coexist in an organization. One can conserve tbe Similarity of such cases by considering tbem as extensions or reductions of one and tbe same common ancestor. The extension/reduction concept is based on selectively blocking and skipping tasks, combined witb delay bisimilarity. Views can be defined and used for monitoring tbe flow of cases on a high level. An example case study is given, using Petri Nets as tbe modeling framework.


Abstract Introduction In today's society, social alcoholism is growing in the female population. It causes symptoms and affects their consumption behaviour of alcoholic beverages. The habit of close relatives, especially that of their husband, friends and close associates, has a decisive influence on the model of female behaviour. The features of everyday behaviour of women who use alcohol can be used as potential markers of alcoholism. This article highlights the malignancy and severity of alcoholism in women compared with men. Conclusion Every woman should be informed about alcoholism as a disease leading to inevitable premature death.


The purpose of this paper is to assess experimentally system stability of the 154 kV transmission systems due to the current of the forthcoming ac high-speed railway (HSR) era. It introduces a simple method to evaluate the system stability. The proposed method shows the relationship between stability and power losses, and the stability indices made by the numerical process is used to assess whether a system can be stabilized or not. This paper also presents the improvement of the stability via loss reduction using STATCOM. Reactive power compensation is often the most effective way to improve both power transfer capability and system stability. The suitable modeling of the traction power system should be applicable to the PSS/E. In the case study, the proposed method is tested on a practical system of the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) which is expected to accommodate the heavy HSR load. Furthermore, it proves that the compensation of voltage drop and its by-product, loss reduction is closely related to improvement of system stability.


This study aims to identify factors important in explaining the nature of community nursing care received by patients in their homes because little is known about the relation between individual characteristics of patients receiving nursing care and the nature of care delivered by community nurses. During a period of 2 weeks a representative sample of 137 community nurses and 49 community nurses' auxiliaries at 47 different locations paid a total number of 12,847 home visits to provide care to 3,315 patients. For each home visit, patient's characteristics, the nature of care delivered by the nurse and the length of the home visit was recorded. The results suggested that three groups of patients could be identified in terms of the nature of nursing care received at home. First, patients who were older, who were also receiving informal care and did not suffer from psychosocial problems, were most likely to receive assistance in their activities of daily living. Second, patients suffering from multiple disorders, whose situation was assessed as unstable, and those who did not suffer from psychosocial problems were most likely to receive technical nursing care. These patients were visited most often. Finally, male patients suffering from multiple disorders, whose situation was assessed as unstable, especially when new mental or social problems emerged, were most likely to receive psychosocial support and education from the community nurse. These visits appeared to be the most time-consuming.


An increased sensitivity to epinephrine-induced aggregation has been observed both in platelets obtained from patients with type IIa hyperlipoproteinemia and in normal platelets following incubation with cholesterol-rich lecithin dispersions. We have reported previously that the membrane fraction of platelets is enriched with cholesterol relative to phospholipid under each of these conditions. To further explore the effect of cholesterol on platelet membranes, we have examined the fluidity (microviscosity) of whole platelets and platelet subcellular fractions using a hydrophobic fluorescent probe, 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH), under conditions in which the cholesterol-to-phospholipid mole ratio (C/PL) of platelets was varied by incubation with various cholesterol-lecithin sonicated dispersions. The C/PL of platelets directly influenced the rotational diffusion of DPH, as indicated by changes in fluorescence polarization. This was reflected in an increase in microviscosity at 37 degrees C (ETA37) from 2.84 P in normal platelets to 4.06 P in platelets with a 118% increase in C/PL. Conversely, platelets with a 43% decrease in C/PL had a 13% decrease in eta37. A strong correlation (r = 0.94) existed between C/PL and eta37 throughout this entire range. However, C/PL had no effect on the excited-state fluorescence lifetime of DPH. Both C/PL and eta37 were lower in isolated platelet membranes than in the platelet granule fraction. When platelets were incubated for 20 h with cholesterol-rich dispersions, there was an increase in C/PL and eta37 in both the membrane and granule fractions. However, this occurred more rapidly in membranes so that, at 5 h (a time when an increased sensitivity of whole platelets to epinephrine is evident), membrane C/PL had increased 55% and eta37 had increased 42%, whereas granule C/PL and eta37 had changed minimally. Cholesterol-rich platelets and subcellular fractions had a lower fusion (or flow) activation energy for viscosity (deltaE), reflecting a higher degree of order, and the converse was true in cholesterol-poor platelets. Moreover, a strong negative correlation existed between the percent change in deltaE and the percent change in eta37 induced either by cholesterol incorporation or depletion. These data demonstrate that cholesterol influences the fluidity and the degree of order within the hydrophobic core of platelet membranes. Changes induced in these physical properties by an excess of cholesterol relative to phospholipid may underlie the abnormal reception or transmission of the aggregation stimulus in cholesterol-rich platelets.


The demand for video services in mobile networks is rapidly increasing. In fact, is expected that video transmissions will account for more than 69% of mobile data traffic by 2018[1]. Along these lines, the challenging requirements of such multimedia applications and, at the same time, the centralized organization typical of current cellular technologies motivate the investigation of enhanced advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) for supporting the driver experience in terms of safety driving comfort. In this context, in this paper we focus our attention of a new realistic scenario, in which all users share video contents from the surrounding environment with the aim to create a global 3D video content useful for ADAS systems. Once that such video content is created, we assume that the LTE eNodeB may come in help for making it available through streaming transmissions towards all vehicles in that area with the use of Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services (MBMS). Obtained results, show that multicast transmissions based on subgrouping techniques are able to overcome the legacy solutions where conservative and opportunistic schemes are used.


By means of experiments with simulated rainfall the influence of aspect on runoff and erosion dynamics is analysed in a basin where the vegetation is distributed within a mosaic of Stipa tenacissima L. shrubs and inter-shrubs. In the inter-shrubs areas three different types of areas exist: Stone pavement (with rack fragments), Crusted surfaces (with surface crust) and vegetation covered areas (Brachypodium retusum).
The erosion and runoff rates are very low beneath the vegetation (Esparto tussocks and Brachypodium retusum grass), while in the intershrubs areas (Crusted and Stone pavement) rates are higher. The vegetation controls runoff generation through its effect on the infiltration rates.
Both runoff and erosion processes are influenced by aspect. The northjacing slopes have higher infiltration rates, and runojf is attenuated and reduced. The soil losses are neglegible in compararison to the southjacing slope. Vegetation cover is inversely and non-linearly related to the volume of overland flow, and the relationship exhibit a threshold due to the patch distribution of the vegetation. Modelling and predictioning the geomorphological processes under semiarid conditions is very complicated due to the high spatial variability of bis factors, specially the vegetation.


Two hundred of one day old chickens were divided into four equal groups and kept for the end of experiment. The first group was kept as control negative, the second group received 1 ppm of dietary aflatoxin from day zero of chick life till the end of present study, while the third group was given 4x104 sporulated oocysts of Eimeria sp., the group four were obtained coccidial oocysts and aflatoxin in their rations. The combination of aflatoxin and coccidia, produced higher mortality rate, higher faecal scores and increased oocysts output than those chicks received aflatoxin or coccidia only. Body weighs and efficiency of feed utilization were decreased in all treated groups. The maximal losses of body weight and efficiency of feed utilization were noticed in chicks infected with Eimeria sp. and at received aflatoxin in their ration. The levels of total serum proteins, gamma globulins, calcium and phosphorus were decreased in chicks infected with coccidia and received dietary aflatoxin. Total bilirubin and SGOT activity were higher in chicks infected with Eimeria sp, and obtained aflatoxin.


In this study, a newly developed nanoscale modulus mapping is applied in order to visualize the 2D‐distribution of mechanical characteristics in the aragonitic nacre layer of Perna canaliculus (green mussel) shells. Modulus maps provide lateral resolution of about 10 nm. They allow the aragonitic mineral (CaCO3) tablets and the interfaces between them to be clearly resolved, which are filled by an organic substance (mainly beta‐chitin). The experimental data are compared with finite element simulations that also take into account the tip radius of curvature and the thickness of organic layers, as measured by means of scanning electron microscopy with back‐scattered electrons. Based on this comparison, the Young modulus of beta‐chitin is extracted. The obtained number, Eβ = 40 GPa, is higher than previously evaluated. The collected maps reveal that the elastic modules in the nacre layer change gradually across the ceramic/organic interfaces within a spatial range four times wider than the thickness of the organic layers. This is possibly due to inhomogeneous distribution of organic macromolecules within ceramic tablets. According to the data, the concentration of macromolecules gradually increases when approaching the organic/ceramic interfaces. A behavior of this type is unique to biogenic materials and distinguishes them from synthetic composite materials. Finally, three possible mechanisms that attempt to explain why gradual changes of elastic modules significantly enhance the overall resistance to fracture of the nacre layer are briefly discussed. The experimental findings support the idea that individual ceramic tablets, comprising the nacre, are built of the compositionally and functionally graded ceramic material. This sheds additional light on the origin of the superior mechanical properties of biogenic composites.


A research was conducted to develop and evaluate a highly compressible micro-structured filler- binder for direct compression tableting. Tapioca starch (TS) was annealed, hydrolyzed and coprocessed with α -lactose monohydrate (α-LMH) and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) to yield a novel microcrystarcellactose (MSCL B3). The powder suspensions were prepared at a concentration of 40 %w/w in five separate conical flasks. The TS granules were annealed for 1 h and subsequently hydrolyzed with α-amylase at 58 o and pH 7 for 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 h respectively. The reaction was terminated and neutralized with 0.1 N HCL and 0.1 N NaOH respectively. The enzyme hydrolyzed starch (EHS) at 3 h, sieved fraction >75-250 μm was coprocessed with α-LMH and MCC and compressed with load ranging from 2.5 to 12.5 KN. MSCL B3 (component ratio of EHS, α-LMH, and MCC '35: 35:30') possessed improved functionality over direct physical mixture of the excipients. The Py (yield values) are: Cellactose (24.2 MNm -2 ) > MCC (25 MNm -2 ) > MSCL B3 (50.0 MNm -2 ) > Starlac (143 MNm -2 ). The degree of plastic deformation occurring "Pk" are in the following order: MSCL B3 (17.0 MNm -2 ) = Cellactose ® (17.0 MNm -2 ) > MCC (18.6 MNm -2 ) > Starlac ® (19.1 MNm -2 ). MSCL B3 is as good as Cellactose ® and more superior in functionality than Starlac ® and MCC. The dilution potential for MSCL B3 in PCM and AA tablets were: 45% and 50 % respectively. MSCL B3 can be used to formulate softer tablet of both poorly compressible API and moisture sensitive API Keywords: Microcrystarcellactose; Coprocessed excipient; Directly compressible excipient; Highly functional fillerbinder; Tapioca starch


Conversional NMO and stack method is based on the assumption that the surface and subsurface are all horizontal. But most of the cases, this assumption can't be satisfied. So, velocity estimated by this method is not accurate sufficiently for other attribute analysis. Ellipse evolving common reflection point method is an innovative stack method. It implements tangent intervening and stacking by evolving seismic signals to isochrones along elliptic trajectory under some velocity distribution to obtain real zero-offset section. This paper, introduces this method into velocity analysis. It introduces detailed principle of velocity estimation for the homogeneous and heterogeneous media respectively. It reasons rigorously out that estimated velocity is the true CRP stack velocity with practical geological meaning. Hanging together with theoretical models computing and practical seismic data processing, makes sure that we can use ellipse evolving CRP velocity analysis method to estimate more accurate CRP stack velocity and other velocities of complex geology sections, and to detect interval velocity anomaly more clearly. It is a good assistant method of reservoir prediction and oil and gas detection.


Objective. Despite the use of anticoagulation during left atrial (LA) ablation procedures, ischemic cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs) are recognized as a serious complication. Heparin is usually given after safe transseptal access has been obtained, resulting in a short unprotected dwell time of catheters within the LA, which may account for CVAs. We investigated the frequency of CVAs and LA thrombus formation as detected by intracardiac ultrasound (ICE) depending on the timing of heparin administration. Methods and Results. Sixty LA ablation procedures with the use of ICE were performed in 55 patients. Patients were grouped by heparin administration after (Group I, n = 13) and before (Group II, n = 47) transseptal access. Group I patients were younger (56.6 ± 13.7 versus 65.9 ± 9.9 years, P = .01); other clinical and echocardiographic characteristics did not differ between groups. Early thrombus formation was observed in 2 (15.4%) of group I patients as compared to 0% of group II patients (P = .04). One CVA (2.1%) occurred in one group II patient without prior thrombus detection, and none occurred in group I patients (P = ns). Conclusion. Early administration of heparin reduces the risk of early intracardiac thrombus formation during LA ablation procedures. This did not result in reduced rate of CVAs.


Non-traumatic orbital pathology can often have overlapping imaging features and challenging timely diagnosis. Prompt recognition is necessary due to potential risk of permanent visual loss. In this article we present systematic evaluation of non-traumatic orbital pathology with attention to key imaging features, pathogenesis and potential complications.


Two load cell designs are presented using resonant strain gauges providing a frequency output. One design is based on a four-point beam deflection jig. It offers high sensitivity, but suffers from robustness and impractical geometries for a broad force range. A modified planar design (typical dimensions 1-10 mm) removes these drawbacks and in addition features built-in force reduction, overload protection and compensation of common mode effects. Load ranges vary from high (1500 N) to very low (0.03 N), with theoretically achievable resolutions as high a 1 part in 107.


Objective: A congenital craniofacial anomaly (CFA) is expected to impact upon several domains of psychological, emotional and social functioning, yet no recent reviews have comprehensively summarised the available literature. Further, existing reviews tend to draw upon literature in the field of cleft lip and palate, and do not give substantive attention to other types of CFAs. Design: A review of 41 papers published between January 2000 and March 2016 pertaining to psychological adjustment to CFAs. Main outcome measures: Findings are presented according to key psychological domains: General Psychological Well-being, Quality of Life, Behaviour, Emotional Well-being, Social Experiences, Appearance, and Treatment-Related Experiences. Results: Current literature offers a contradictory picture of adjustment to CFAs. Psychological adjustment appeared to be comparable to norms and reference groups in approximately half of the papers related to non-syndromic CFAs, while more variation was found across domains among samples with syndromic CFAs. Associations were found between adjustment, physical health and cognitive function in several papers. The review identified a number of gaps in the literature, such as the inclusion of a wide range of diagnoses within research samples. Conclusions: This review demonstrates the complexity of findings, both within and across domains, and highlights a number of methodological challenges.


Ytterbium laser oscillations at 980.6 nm and 983.0 nm are observed by high intensity 978.1 nm pumping of around 1 MW/cm at room temperature. Corresponding quantum defects are 0.26 % and 0.50 %, respectively.


We propose detection of deepfake videos based on the dissimilarity between the audio and visual modalities, termed as the Modality Dissonance Score (MDS). We hypothesize that manipulation of either modality will lead to dis-harmony between the two modalities, e.g., loss of lip-sync, unnatural facial and lip movements, etc. MDS is computed as the mean aggregate of dissimilarity scores between audio and visual segments in a video. Discriminative features are learnt for the audio and visual channels in a chunk-wise manner, employing the cross-entropy loss for individual modalities, and a contrastive loss that models inter-modality similarity. Extensive experiments on the DFDC and DeepFake-TIMIT Datasets show that our approach outperforms the state-of-the-art by up to 7%. We also demonstrate temporal forgery localization, and show how our technique identifies the manipulated video segments.


Pressure transient analysis has been extensively applied to detect anomalies in a reservoir system. These anomalies may be presented in the form of an intersection of the crestal and the antithetic fault associated with a growth fault. Interpretation of this fault can only be achieved through the use of pressure transient analysis. The objective of the research work is to analyze and test the faulted crest, depth of the anticline structure and examine the near well bore conditions in order to evaluate whether the well productivity is governed by wellbore effects (skin effects + well bore effect) or the reservoir at large. A case study of a well in the Niger delta is considered with a series of build up test carried out in two intervals of both upper and lower gauge readings. In this study, a computer aided design which uses a pressure derivative approach is used in this work to match the pressure derivative of an intersecting fault (angle) model to the field data, and the model assumes the characteristics of the reservoir. Based on the result of the interpreted data, simulation is done by using a non linear regression method (least square). The simulated data interpreted are achieved through the regression coefficient which provides a quantitative measure of the agreement between field data and the model. In conclusion, the best cases are taken from all the results and a nodal analysis is performed to diagnose the inflow performance of the well through the transient analysis in order to optimize the recovery of the oilfield.


The universe is smooth on large scales but very inhomogeneous on small scales. Why is the spacetime on large scales modeled to a good approximation by the Friedmann equations? Are we sure that small-scale non-linearities do not induce a large backreaction? Related to this, what is the effective theory that describes the universe on large scales? In this paper we make progress in addressing these questions. We show that the effective theory for the long-wavelength universe behaves as a viscous fluid coupled to gravity: integrating out short-wavelength perturbations renormalizes the homogeneous background and introduces dissipative dynamics into the evolution of long-wavelength perturbations. The effective fluid has small perturbations and is characterized by a few parameters like an equation of state, a sound speed and a viscosity parameter. These parameters can be matched to numerical simulations or fitted from observations. We find that the backreaction of small-scale non-linearities is very small, being suppressed by the large hierarchy between the scale of non-linearities and the horizon scale. The effective pressure of the fluid is always positive and much too small to significantly affect the background evolution. Moreover, we prove that virialized scales decouple completely from the large-scale dynamics, at all orders in the post-Newtonian expansion. We propose that our effective theory be used to formulate a well-defined and controlled alternative to conventional perturbation theory, and we discuss possible observational applications. Finally, our way of reformulating results in second-order perturbation theory in terms of a long-wavelength effective fluid provides the opportunity to understand non-linear effects in a simple and physically intuitive way.


Abstract We estimate the ecosystem service value of water supplied by the San Bernardino National Forest in Southern California under climate change projections through the 21st century. We couple water flow projections from a dynamic vegetation model with an economic demand model for residential water originating from the San Bernardino National Forest. Application of the method demonstrates how estimates of consumer welfare changes due to variation in water supply from public lands in Southern California can inform policy and land management decisions. Results suggest variations in welfare changes over time due to alterations in the projected water supply surpluses, shifting demand limited by water supply shortages or surpluses, and price increases. Results are sensitive to future climate projections—in some cases large decreases in welfare due to supply shortages—and to assumptions about the demand model.


The role of lateral diffusion of proteins in the membrane in the context of function has not been examined extensively. Here, we explore the relationship between protein lateral diffusion and channel activity of the general protein import pore of mitochondria (TOM-CC). Optical ion flux sensing through single TOM-CC molecules shows that TOM-CC can occupy three ion permeability states. Whereas freely diffusing TOM-CC molecules are preferentially found in a high permeability state, physical tethering to an agarose support causes the channels to transition to intermediate and low permeability states. This data shows that combinatorial opening and closing of the two pores of TOM-CC correlates with lateral protein diffusion in the membrane plane, and that the complex has mechanosensitive-like properties. This is the first demonstration of β-barrel protein mechanosensitivity, and has direct conceptual consequences for the understanding of the process of mitochondrial protein import. Our approach provides a novel tool to simultaneously study the interplay of membrane protein diffusion and channel dynamics.


A thirty-eight-year-old uncontrolled diabetic with a recent COVID-19 infection presented with extensive bowel ischemia and gangrene with a microscopic diagnosis of intestinal and mesenteric mucormycosis. Although there are a few reported cases of primary gastrointestinal mucormycosis, our case showing involvement of the intestine and/or mesentery, that too in a post-COVID patient, is quite uncommon. The immunosuppressive effect of the COVID-19 disease, uncontrolled diabetes, and the use of corticosteroids for the treatment of severe COVID are the most probable reasons for the emergence of severe opportunistic infections, both as a coinfection and as a sequalae to COVID.


Purpose On our picture archiving and communication system worklist, there was no way to differentiate body imaging (BI) from musculoskeletal (MSK) MR pelvis examinations. They were listed on only the BI worklist. This resulted in 'lost' MSK MR pelvis studies with high report turnaround time (TAT). Some exams had preliminary reports with substantiative changes made days later when found. The goals of this project were to create a solution to prevent 'lost' exams and improve TAT. Methods A report of 3 months of MR pelvis studies was reviewed to determine time to first view by MSK radiologists, time of completion, time of preliminary report and time of final signature. Mean TAT was calculated and exams with delays in reporting resident misinterpretation recorded. An MSK reserve flag was created for the BI radiologists to use when they found an MSK study on their worklist. The flag moved them onto the MSK reserve worklist. A second intervention included technologists placing the reserve on examination completion. After this, another 3 months of data was analysed. Results There was a significant improvement (p=0.0018) in time to view by MSK from preintervention mean of 1125 min (n=107) to postintervention mean of 526 min (n=127). There was also a significant improvement (p=0.0033) in time to view inpatient and Emergency department cases from 927 min to 357 min. Time from study completion to final signature also improved from a mean of 1764 min to 838 min, though not statistically significant (p=0.08). There were five cases of delay in reporting resident misinterpretation preintervention and none postintervention. Conclusion Our intervention shows the importance of modifying human and informatics factors to solve a patient safety issue.Introduction


Positioning and navigation represent relevant topics in the field of robotics, due to their multiple applications in real-world scenarios, ranging from autonomous driving to harsh environment exploration. Despite localization in outdoor environments is generally achieved using a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver, global navigation satellite system-denied environments are typical of many situations, especially in indoor settings. Autonomous robots are commonly equipped with multiple sensors, including laser rangefinders, IMUs, and odometers, which can be used for mapping and localization, overcoming the need for global navigation satellite system data. In literature, almost no information can be found on the positioning accuracy and precision of 6 Degrees of Freedom Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) localization systems, especially for real-world scenarios. In this paper, we present a short review of state-of-the-art light detection and ranging localization methods in global navigation satellite system-denied environments, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages. Then, we evaluate two state-of-the-art Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) systems able to also perform localization, one of which implemented by us. We benchmark these two algorithms on manually collected dataset, with the goal of providing an insight into their attainable precision in real-world scenarios. In particular, we present two experimental campaigns, one indoor and one outdoor, to measure the precision of these algorithms. After creating a map for each of the two environments, using the simultaneous localization and mapping part of the systems, we compute a custom localization error for multiple, different trajectories. Results show that the two algorithms are comparable in terms of precision, having a similar mean translation and rotation errors of about 0.01 m and 0.6°, respectively. Nevertheless, the system implemented by us has the advantage of being modular, customizable and able to achieve real-time performance.


Providing quality-of-service (QoS) for video delivery in heterogeneous wireless networks is a challenging problem. To have QoS provision at application level, effective congestion control is very necessary. We investigate this problem and present a network-aware scalable video congestion control mechanism in heterogeneous wireless networks. The mechanism not only adapts to the dynamical network condition, but also improves the perceived visual QoS. In this control mechanism, first, each layer of the scalable video is given different protection in terms of packet loss and delay. Secondly, we monitor or model the bottle link to estimate the available network bandwidth dynamically. Thirdly, the QoS mapping module translates the QoS exponents to the effective capacity according to the effective capacity theory. Lastly, the congestion control mechanism adjusts the scalable video according to the compare result between the estimated bandwidth and the requested effective capacity. Finally, simulation results demonstrate effectiveness of our congestion control mechanism


It is shown how linear time-varying systems can be modeled in several different ways by discrete-time wavelets or, more generally, by some set of functions. Interpretation of physical meanings, possible efficiency, and other characteristics of the modeling are considered. System identification minimizing the mean square output error is studied. Optimal coefficients and the corresponding minimum mean square error are found, and they are, in general, time varying. Least-mean-square adaptive filtering algorithms are derived for on-line filtering and system Identification. Theoretically and by simulations, the advantages of using wavelet-based filtering are shown: separation of adaptation effects from unknown time-varying system behavior and fast convergence. Adaptive coefficients estimated by a recursive-least-square algorithm can tend toward constants, even in the case of time-varying systems. Time-invariant system identification and adaptive filtering is given as a special case of the general time-varying setting.


The escalating expenditure on patients with HIV/AIDS within an inadequately funded public health system is tending towards crowding out care for patients with non-HIV illnesses. Priority-setting decisions are thus required and should increasingly be based on an explicit, transparent and accountable process to facilitate sustainability. South Africa's public health system is eroding, even though the government has received extensive donor financing for specific conditions, such as HIV/AIDS. The South African government's 2007 HIV plan anticipated costs exceeding 20% of the annual health budget with a strong focus on treatment interventions, while the recently announced 2012–2016 National Strategic HIV plan could cost up to US$16 billion. Conversely, the total non-HIV health budget has remained static in recent years, effectively reducing the supply of health care for other diseases. While the South African government cannot meet all demands for health care simultaneously, health funders should attempt to allocate health resources in a fair, efficient, transparent and accountable manner, in order to ensure that publicly funded health care is delivered in a reasonable and non-discriminatory fashion. We recommend a process for resource allocation that includes ethical, economic, legal and policy considerations. This process, adapted for use by South Africa's policy-makers, could bring health, political, economic and ethical gains, whilst allaying a social crisis as mounting treatment commitments generated by HIV have the potential to overwhelm the health system.


This study aims to investigate the influence of stitch density and stitch thread thickness on compression after impact (CAI) strength of stitched composites. Unstitched laminated composites and specimens stitched with varying stitch density and stitch thread thickness are subjected to impact damage and then compressive loading. It is shown that stitched composites have higher CAI strength than unstitched counterpart due to smaller impact-induced delamination area, where local buckling occurs during compressive failure. However, it is revealed that the effectiveness of stitching in suppressing delamination growth and inhibiting sublaminate buckling under compressive loading is intimately related to stitch density. It is also found out that stitch thread thickness has little influence on CAI strength at low impact energy level, but has considerable effect at high impact energy level.


BACKGROUND: Nasal Nitric Oxide (nNO) measurement is a sensitive supplementary tool in diagnosis of Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD). Tidal Breathing (TB) nNO requires minimal cooperation, has potential as more widespread targeted case-finding tool for PCD in all age groups, and discriminative capacity between PCD and non-PCD has been previously established using stationary nNO analyzer (Marthin JK and Nielsen KG. Eur Respir J 2011; 37: 559-565). AIM: Assess validity of hand-held TBnNO in a selected population. METHODS: TBnNO was measured in PCDs, cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and healthy subjects (HS) using both an electrochemical hand-held device, NIOX MINO® Nasal equipped with a nasal research application, and two chemiluminiscence stationary systems: NIOX® and ANALYZER CLD 88sp®. All systems allow passive nasal sampling at a flow rate of 5 ml/s during tidal breathing. 2 ml/s sampling is an additional option with NIOX MINO® Nasal. Data were analysed by ROCC and Bland-Altman plots. RESULTS: TBnNO values were compared in 41 subjects between 0.3 and 57 years: 15 PCDs, 13 CF patients, and 13 HS. MINO discriminated significantly between PCD and HS (P CONCLUSION: Hand-held TBnNO separated significantly between PCD and HS, and between PCD and CF, with cut off value and sensitivity/specificity comparable to those of stationary systems.


A mouse monoclonal antibody (HC1/1) specific for a differentiation marker of human monocytes and granulocytes has been generated by using as immunogen the monocytic cell line U937 differentiated with phorbol esters. This differentiation antigen has been characterized as the p150/95 member of the CD11 family of glycoproteins by cellular distribution studies, immunoprecipitation and competition experiments with MAb 3.9 specific for the CD11c antigen. Immuno-alkaline phosphatase staining of normal tissue sections with the HC1/1 MAb demonstrated that the CD11c antigen is a useful macrophage marker. Furthermore, the MAb HC1/1 stains specifically populations of macrophages on skin and lymph node sections from different pathologies such as Sarcoidosis, Granuloma annulare, Lepromatous leprosy and Toxoplasmosis.


Pursuant to the requirements of Pennsylvania General Assembly House Bill 2751 of 1992 (Act 166 of 1992), the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is required to study the use of a range of options for decentralizing the Department's vehicle registration and driver licensing activities. The legislation mandates that PennDOT investigate the methods other states use for decentralized vehicle registration and driver licensing services, opportunities available for providing these services in Pennsylvania through the use of private entities, and the available technological means to provide decentralized services. In addition, PennDOT must institute at least three pilot programs utilizing private entities to provide the decentralized services. PennDOT must report the results of these activities back to the General Assembly by November 30, 1994. This report provides an executive summary of the results to date of these activities. The decentralized services (pilot programs) that were evaluated are third-party host services at car dealers, main-frame computer access for messenger services, self-service telephone renewals, decentralized driver information services, community driver licensing offices, and self-service terminals.


We report measurements of the low frequency conductivity and dielectric permittivity of quasi-one-dimensional organic (TMTTF)2X salts with non-centrosymmetrical anions X = ReO4 and SCN. We show that the `structureless transition' at 227.5 K in (TMTTF)2ReO4 is due to charge ordering and has a ferroelectric character. The anion ordering transition strongly affects the dielectric response: it suppresses the polarizability in (TMTTF)2ReO4 and induces probably an antiferroelectric state in (TMTTF)2SCN.


We propose an efficient clustering scheme for a wireless ad hoc network, based on the moving characteristics of the mobile nodes. The instantaneous mobility behavior for a node equipped with a mobility measuring tool, such as GPS, is readily available. However, for a mobile node without such tool or one in an environment where the measuring tool cannot function properly, we develop a simple heuristic mechanism to derive the mobility index, used for characterizing its instantaneous nodal mobility. The developed mobility estimation algorithm is fully distributed and self organized. Performance results via simulations reveal that the estimated mobility index of a node follows a linear relation with its own real speed in various networking environments. Next, we apply the obtained mobility index to derive the mobile awareness based cluster selection scheme. In general, we choose the currently slowest moving node as the primary candidate for the clusterhead. Compared with other well known clustering schemes, performance results have demonstrated that our mechanism can achieve a more efficient and stable clustering architecture for different networking topologies.


. The present work examines the local structure and downstream evolution of both longitudinal vortexes behind the vortex generators and the helical tip vortices generated by the rotating 3-bladed rotor. Both wakes flow with the strong longitudinal or helical vortices have been studied by stereo PIV measurements in a wind tunnel or a water flume accordingly. The vorticity field was calculated from the measured velocity fields. The downstream development of vortex local cores investigates by using self-similarity scaling arguments and local helical symmetry tests simultaneously. It was analyzed Batchelor's vortex and 2-D vortex with a helical vortex to use a combined vortex model of the helical self-similarly for a comparison with the experimental data. The experimental study of the shape of both vortices was carried out to describe the downstream development of the expanding vortex core by the new combined vortex model based on the experimental observations triggered by previous studies of wakes behind vortex generators and rotors. It was established that the local helical symmetry with a simple correspondence between the axial and azimuthal velocity in the cores exists in all cross-sections along of both longitudinal and helical vortices. It is also found that the averaged vorticity profiles inside the core of both vortices are self-similar. This knowledge is important for the fundamental understanding of the vortex flows, as well as for the aspect of applications, for which parametric descriptions can be substantially reduced in terms of required time and cost by easing engineering models.


In most commercial development projects, there are more candidate requirements subject to implementation than available time and resources allow for. A carefully chosen set of requirements must therefore be selected for implementation. A systematic approach for prioritizing candidate requirements is a very useful means to provide necessary and useful input for the crucial selection decision.This thesis provides results from the development and applications of different approaches for prioritizing requirements in close collaboration with Ericsson Radio Systems AB. A pairwise comparison approach for prioritizing requirements according to multiple criteria has been developed and applied. To overcome the high number of comparisons that the approach often required in projects with many requirements, different candidate approaches have been investigated and applied for reducing the required effort. An approach for managing requirement interdependencies and their implications for the prioritizing approach has been developed. A support tool packaging the prioritizing approach and automating much of the manual work in the approach has been developed and evaluated in practice.Qualitative results indicate that the proposed approach is an effective means for selecting among candidate requirements, for allocating resources to them and for negotiating requirements. The approach further enables knowledge transfer and visualization, helps to establish consensus among project members and creates a good basis for decisions. Quantitative results indicate that the requirements actually selected for implementation have a profound impact on the final product. In several projects where requirements were prioritized according to the criteria value for customer and cost of implementation, implementing the requirements which optimize the relation of value for customer to cost of implementation would reduce the development cost and development time. Software systems with substantially the same value for customer can consequently be delivered with a reduction in cost and lead-time when the proposed prioritizing approach is deployed carefully.


Aalto University, P.O. Box 11000, FI-00076 Aalto www.aalto.fi Author Juho-Kusti Kajander Name of the doctoral dissertation Evaluation of sustainability innovations in the construction sector Publisher School of Engineering Unit Department of Real Estate, Planning and Geoinformatics Series Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS 158/2016 Field of research Real Estate Business Manuscript submitted 4 May 2016 Date of the defence 16 September 2016 Permission to publish granted (date) 8 June 2016 Language English Monograph Article dissertation Essay dissertation Abstract The climate change mitigation market offers huge business opportunities for new construction services and products that improve sustainability in the built environment. In spite of the opportunities provided by sustainability, the construction sector is slow in producing innovations. Earlier studies suggest that the evaluation of innovation is a critical stage of the construction innovation implementation process and a major capacity development area for the whole sector. The aim of this research is to examine the evaluation of sustainability innovations in the construction sector as well as demonstrate managerial practises for the evaluation of sustainability innovations for construction companies. The research utilizes a mixed-method research strategy. Both quantitative and qualitative data is collected and analysed with qualitative and quantitative methods to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the reseach topic. The study analyses sustainability innovations in the construction sector by using empirical data from innovation and construction projects. This dissertation finds that construction companies can evaluate sustainability innovations by investigating their potential monetary benefits and makes the following proposals: (i) Construction companies should evaluate sustainability innovations together with clients and value networks to systematically manage the development and adoption of sustainability innovations; and (ii) construction companies can demonstrate the monetary benefits of sustainability innovations to shareholders with the event study method, and the benefits to clients and tenants with real option analysis. This dissertation presents and tests two new tools that construction companies can use to evaluate sustainability innovations. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on construction innovation and to its practice by examining the evaluation of sustainability innovations in the construction sector. It does so by investigating the evaluation of sustainability innovations in construction projects and in the context of business management. Moreover, the present study demonstrates new managerial tools for the evaluation of sustainability innovations, i.e., event study and real option analysis. The research experiences of the present study indicate that real option analysis has major potential as a tool for design target setting in construction projects, which represents a very interesting avenue for future research. More research is also needed to develop and to validate the use of the demonstrated tools for the evaluation of sustainability innovations in different empirical settings and with larger data sets. Finally, future research should establish a practical innovation evaluation theory for construction managers.The climate change mitigation market offers huge business opportunities for new construction services and products that improve sustainability in the built environment. In spite of the opportunities provided by sustainability, the construction sector is slow in producing innovations. Earlier studies suggest that the evaluation of innovation is a critical stage of the construction innovation implementation process and a major capacity development area for the whole sector. The aim of this research is to examine the evaluation of sustainability innovations in the construction sector as well as demonstrate managerial practises for the evaluation of sustainability innovations for construction companies. The research utilizes a mixed-method research strategy. Both quantitative and qualitative data is collected and analysed with qualitative and quantitative methods to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the reseach topic. The study analyses sustainability innovations in the construction sector by using empirical data from innovation and construction projects. This dissertation finds that construction companies can evaluate sustainability innovations by investigating their potential monetary benefits and makes the following proposals: (i) Construction companies should evaluate sustainability innovations together with clients and value networks to systematically manage the development and adoption of sustainability innovations; and (ii) construction companies can demonstrate the monetary benefits of sustainability innovations to shareholders with the event study method, and the benefits to clients and tenants with real option analysis. This dissertation presents and tests two new tools that construction companies can use to evaluate sustainability innovations. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on construction innovation and to its practice by examining the evaluation of sustainability innovations in the construction sector. It does so by investigating the evaluation of sustainability innovations in construction projects and in the context of business management. Moreover, the present study demonstrates new managerial tools for the evaluation of sustainability innovations, i.e., event study and real option analysis. The research experiences of the present study indicate that real option analysis has major potential as a tool for design target setting in construction projects, which represents a very interesting avenue for future research. More research is also needed to develop and to validate the use of the demonstrated tools for the evaluation of sustainability innovations in different empirical settings and with larger data sets. Finally, future research should establish a practical innovation evaluation theory for construction managers.


The EM modeling of large phased arrays is a topic of increasing interest. One objective is to reduce the numerical effort that accompanies an element-by-element full-wave analysis based on integral equations which are structured around the ordinary free space Green's function; when applied to a periodic array this array Green's function is composed of the sum over the individual dipole radiations. As an alternative, we explore replacement of the element-by-element Green's function by the array Green's function (AGF) which represents the collective field radiated by the elementary dipoles. The efficient calculation of the AGF is accomplished via a Floquet wave (FW) representation. With this representation, the wave radiation from, or scattering by, finite phased arrays is interpreted as the radiation from a superposition of continuous equivalent FW-matched source distributions extending over the entire finite array aperture. The asymptotic treatment of each FW sectoral aperture distribution leads to a FW that is truncated at the array edges, plus FW-modulated diffracted contributions from the edges and vertex of the array. This approach is extended here to a right-angle sectoral planar phased array of dipoles which is the basic constituent for the treatment of planar rectangular arrays.


Background: Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is an autoimmune disease and often complicated with other metabolic disorders. It has been shown that HT patients have higher levels of antibodies against proinsulin than controls. The incidence of HT in T2DM patients is unclear and has never been studied whether beta cell function differ between T2DM patients alone and complexed with HT. Methods: 8T2DM patients who were recruited between November 2015 till June 2016 to Endocrinology Center in Lu He hospital were analyzed. HT was diagnosed if either serum TPO antibody or TG antibody exceeded the normal range. After a 12-hour overnight fast, venous blood samples were obtained to measure total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-c, FBG, insulin and Scr. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was examined in the patients and serum c-peptide levels were quantified at 0, 1, 2, and 3 hours after glucose administration. Results: 8T2DM patients were included in the study. 249 patients were diagnosed HT.Compared with non-HT subjects, T2DM with HT were more males (44.7% vs. 35.2%, p=0.02) and had higher values of systolic blood pressure (133.8 mm Hg vs . 131.1 mmHg, p=0.03). Although age, body mass index, HbA1c, serum cholesterol and serum triglyceride did not differ between two groups (p≥0.17 for all), fasting C-peptide levels were lower in T2DM complicated with HT than T2DM alone (1.09 ±0.90 nmol/L vs . 1.28±0.98 nmol/L, p=0.004). To further compare beta cell function, patients were performed OGTT test. Serum C-peptide levels remained lower at 1 and 2 hours after oral administration of 75-g glucose in T2DM with HT than T2DM alone (1 hour: 2.10±1.77 nMol/L vs. 2.33 ±1.84 nMol/L, p=0.03; 2 hours: 3.04±2.56 vs . 3.47±2.77 nmol/L, p=0.02). Serum C-peptide levels were comparable three hours after 75-g glucose intake (3.16±2.45 nmol/L vs . 3.50±2.78 nMol/L, p=0.49). Conclusion: The prevalence of HT is relatively high in T2DM patients, which was associated with reduced beta cell function. Disclosure Y. Zhang: None. R. Sun: None. L. Zhang: None. Y. Fang: None. C. Yu: None. S. Yuan: None. Y. Feng: None. D. Zhao: None.


Rice milling is the process of removing the husk and part of the bran from paddy in order to produce edible rice. Parboiled rice production requires a larger amount of water. This water, if not properly treated, could give rise to water pollution. The limitations in the physic-chemical methods and biological methods make Electrocoagulation the favourable alternatives for the removal of pollutants from the industrial effluents. The maximum removal of COD (Chemical oxygen Demand), Oil and Greece, Turbidity and TSS (total suspended solids) has been considered in the present investigation. The process variables are pH, current density and inter space between electrodes. As a part of study this paper presents effect of pH on removal of COD, Oil and Greece, Turbidity and TSS.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the surgical techniques and results of open reduction and internal fixation for the treatment of Sanders type III, IV calcaneal fractures.

METHODS
From January 2004 to January 2010, 58 feet of Sanders type III, IV in 51 patients were treated with open reduction and plate fixation through L incision. There were 29 males and 22 females,the age ranged from 17 to 58 years with an average of 29.5 years old. The time between injury and operation ranged from 7 to 14 days (mean, 10 days). All the patients underwent systematic CT scan with coronal and horizontal images and sagittal reconstruction. The classification of the fractures by the Sanders scale showed that there were 26 feet of type III, 32 feet of type IV. The Böhler angle and Gissane angle were compared before and after operation. The clinical results were evaluated with the Maryland foot score: pain (45 scores), function (55 scores: distance walked 10 scores, stability 4, support 4, limp 4, shoes 10, stairs 4, terrain 4, cosmesis 10, motion 5).

RESULTS
All 58 feet in 51 patients were followed up,and the duration ranged from 6 to 24 months,with an average of 13 months. The incidence of complications was 13.8% (8/58). Incision superficial necrosis in 2 feet,choronicity pain in 4 feet,subtalar joint arthrositis of advanced stage in 2 feet. According to Maryland foot score, the results were excellent in 23 feet, good in 27, fair in 5, poor in 3.

CONCLUSION
The surgical techniques and results of internal fixation to fractures are related to anatomic features of calcaneus and their injury mechanism. It is an effective method for the treatment of calcaneal fractures with Sanders type III, IV.


We investigate determinants of having a second child in Austria, a country which reached below replacement fertility in the early 1970s. In line with the findings for third-birth intensities by Hoem, Prskawetz, and Neyer (2001) we find that a mother's socio-demographic status like religiousness and her number of own siblings are important determinants of second-birth intensities while her socioeconomic status like educational attainment and labour force attachment before childbirth lose significance once we control for her partner's characteristics. Despite a strong two-child norm that prevailed for women of the birth cohorts we are studying, the incompatibility between motherhood and increasing labour force participation (as evidenced by lower birth intensities for mothers currently working) holds for second births in a similar way as for third births.


Minimizing memory requirements for program and data are critical objectives when synthesizing software for embedded DSP applications. Previously, it has been demonstrated that for graphical programs based on the widely-used synchronous dataflow model, an important class of minimum code size implementations can be viewed as parenthesizations of lexical orderings of the computational blocks. Such a parenthesization corresponds to the hierarchy of loops in the software implementation. In this paper, we present a dynamic programming technique for constructing a parenthesization that minimizes data memory cost from a given lexical ordering of a synchronous dataflow graph. For graphs that do not contain delays, this technique always constructs a parenthesization that has minimum data memory cost from among all parenthesizations for the given lexical ordering. When delays are present, the technique may make refinements to the lexical ordering while it is computing the parenthesization, and the data memory cost of the result is guaranteed to be less than or equal to the data memory cost of all valid parenthesizations for the initial lexical ordering.


This chapter exposes the need for improved mainstreaming of the environment in policy and decision making. Recognising that the term 'mainstreaming' itself is poorly understood and uncritically used, the chapter also seeks to also improve mainstreaming's theoretical rigour. Initially, a series of case studies are presented that illuminate 'disintegrated development' posing significant barriers for mainstreaming efforts. It is here that the interface between spatial planning and ecosystem science is seen as a theoretical and practical opportunity space in response. This is formalised within an inductively derived mainstreaming continuum by the author which reflects different mainstreaming states according to capacity, capability and overall acceptability. Using examples from Birmingham City Council and South Downs National Park, the mainstreaming continuum is unpacked, revealing the importance of leadership, political buy-in, willingness to experiment outside established comfort zones and a collective appetite for social learning. Additionally, the concepts of 'hooks' and 'bridges' as translational mechanisms to help understand complex environmental lexicon and provide traction for wider engagement as a necessary prerequisite for mainstreaming success. This approach has global application to help improve the way the environment is respected and taken account of in planning systems nationally and globally.


We present the discovery of three new quasars at z > 6 in ∼ 1300 deg2 of Sloan Digital Sky Survey imaging data, J114816.64+525150.3 (z = 6.43), J104845.05+463718.3 (z = 6.23), and J163033.90+401209.6 (z = 6.05). The first two objects have weak Lyα emission lines; their redshifts are determined from the positions of the Lyman break. They are only accurate to ∼0.05 and could be affected by the presence of broad absorption line systems. The last object has a Lyα strength more typical of lower redshift quasars. Based on a sample of six quasars at z > 5.7 that cover 2870 deg2 presented in this paper and in Paper I, we estimate the comoving density of luminous quasars at z ∼ 6 and M1450 < -26.8 to be (8 ± 3) × 10-10 Mpc-3 (for H0 = 50 km s-1 Mpc-1, Ω = 1). Hubble Space Telescope imaging of two z > 5.7 quasars and high-resolution, ground-based images (seeing ∼0.″4) of three additional z > 5.7 quasars show that none of them is gravitationally lensed. The luminosity distribution of the high-redshift quasar sample suggests the bright-end slope of the quasar luminosity function at z ∼ 6 is shallower than Ψ ∝ L-3.5 (2 σ), consistent with the absence of strongly lensed objects.


Objective: This study investigated the interrater reliability of the Fitness Interview Test (FIT), revised edition, a semistructured interview that assesses fitness to stand trial. Method: Physicians, forensic psychologists, nurses, and graduate students in psychology were trained in the FIT, and they subsequently viewed 2 videotaped interviews of actual fitness assessments. Using the FIT, they rated the fitness of each defendant portrayed in the videotapes. Results: For overall judgment of fitness, the average intraclass correlation based on the full samples of raters was found to be 0.98, and for most items on the FIT, intraclass correlations fell within the 0.80s and 0.90s. Reliability estimates were high across professional groups. Conclusions: Overall, this study provides further support for the psychometric properties of the FIT, as well as for the ability of various professionals to conduct reliable fitness assessments using the FIT.


One alternative destination agrotourism in Bali is Agrowisata Pesuteraan alam Sutera Sari Segara located in the village Sibangkaja , District Abiansemal. The agrotourism is a potential to be developed in the world of tourismin Bali . Market segmentation is still dominated by 99 percent students are very massive factor in the development of the market in Bali . The purpose of this study was to determine the diversity of the work done by agrotourism , internal and external factors that influence the development of agrotourism , and alternative development strategies and priorities in agrotourism. Respondents in this study were dividedin to two , namely the respondent's internal and external respondents . Internal respondents were employees of agrotourism taken by census and external respondents that visitors and government who have a relationship with agrotourism . The results of research to get 5 alternative strategies witheach priorityi san alternative way of running the promotion of agrotourism by way of advertising and media selection through brochures , synergy between agrotourism and stakeholders by way of synergy between agrotourism with the private sector , the expansion of market segments using market segmentation way , improving the quality of HR by way of provision of qualified work force , and the quality of agrotourism attractions and silk fabric by settin gquality standards . Suggestions that cangive authors in this study is the use of alternative strategies and priorities that are used to further develop agrotourism . Alternative promotion of agrotourism means of advertising that holds the highest value can be used to developth is agrobusiness. Selection of media for advertising such as brochures media is the most efficient and effective way to convey information to tourists or potential tourists.


The effects of the magnetic field on the valence bond property of the double-quantum-dot molecule are numerically studied by the finite element method and perturbation approach because of the absence of cylindrical symmetry in the horizontally coupled dots. The calculation results show that the energy value of the ground state changes differently from that of the first excited state with increasing magnetic field strength, and they cross under a certain magnetic field. The increasing magnetic field makes the covalent bond state change into an ionic bond state, which agrees qualitatively with experimental results and makes ionic bond states remain. The oscillator strength of transition between covalent bond states decreases distinctly with the increasing magnetic field strength, when the molecule is irradiated by polarized light. Such a phenomenon is possibly useful for actual applications.


Abstract Two new species of rhopalopsyllid fleas: Ectinorus lareschiae, n. sp. and Ectinorus morenoi, n. sp. are described from Laguna Blanca National Park, Neuquén Province, Argentina. Ectinorus lareschiae was collected from the sigmodontid rodents Phyllotis xanthopygus (Waterhouse) and Reithrodon auritus (Fischer), while E. morenoi was also collected from P. xanthopygus in addition to the sigmodontid rodent Abrothrix longipilis (Waterhouse) and the didelphid marsupial Thylamys pallidior (Thomas). The female sex of E. lareschiae is unknown. During these studies, it was noted that Beaucournu and Gonzalez (2005) did not include Ectinorus alejoi Hastriter, 2002 (in Hastriter et al. 2002) in their diagnosis of Ectinorus lagidium. A diagnostic character is therefore provided to distinguish males of E. alejoi from males of E. lagidium. A listing of all known species of Ectinorus is included to facilitate future work.


Inbreeding depression, the reduction of fitness and performance, is due to an increase in the mating of related individuals. Based on the purge hypothesis, inbreeding and breeding over generations reduce the effect of deleterious alleles responsible for inbreeding depression. Thus, recent inbreeding is assumed to be more harmful than ancestral inbreeding. This study aimed at evaluating the effects of new and ancestral inbreeding on milk, fat and protein production in Iranian Holstein cattle. The secondary objective was to examine the changes in predicted breeding values when the inbreeding effect was included in the model's analysis. To this end, inbreeding coefficients were calculated using the pedigree of 2,394,517 Holstein cattle to achieve these goals. In addition, 419,132 records of milk, fat and protein yields of first parity cows were collected to assess inbreeding depression and breeding values. The average inbreeding coefficients were 0.83% and 1.68% for the whole population and the inbred animals, respectively. A 1% increase in classical pedigree-based inbreeding coefficient was associated with a decrease of 11.99 kg in milk, 0.39 kg in fat and 0.29 kg in protein. The effect of ancestral inbreeding was more detrimental to performance traits than the effect of new inbreeding. This result contradicted the hypothesis of purging. By including the inbreeding coefficient in the model, the rank of animals remained unchanged, but the average predicted breeding values increased. In general, inbreeding depression was observed in Iranian Holstein cows; however, no evidence of purging was observed. The average of inbreeding coefficients was not high in this population, although accounting for inbreeding coefficients in the analytical model did significantly increase the predicted breeding values. It is recommended that the analytical model incorporate the inbreeding coefficient to improve the accuracy of genetic evaluation. In future studies, inbreeding depression should be assessed using genomic data for performance and reproduction traits.


Macroinvertebrates were sampled from riffles upstream and downstream of the Blue Rock Dam construction site and inundation area in late November/early December 1979 (before construction) and 1982 (late in construction). Changes in the downstream fauna were much less than at some other large dam sites in Australia, probably because of improved erosion control. At the downstream sampling stations the total number of taxa collected was similar in both years, but there was a 30-40 per cent reduction in faunal density; no significant change in density occurred at the upstream station. Multivariate analysis showed that the degree of change in faunal composition between years was similar at upstream and downstream stations. The proportion of fine (<4 mm) inorganic sediment in the streambed increased significantly at downstream stations over the study period, while there was no signficant change upstream. Silt (<250μm) also increased significantly downstream, but never exceeded 1 per cent of inorganic bed material.


SRISK methodology recently proposed in the literature is refined and extended. The refinement is to define systemic risk using a formalised stress testing framework including a stress function. Baseline risk and the stress risk are in terms of the ordinary and stressed expectation. Stressed expectation is expectation computed under a hypothetical stress, modelled with the stress function and scenarios. Systemic stress is defined in terms of a stress function and systemic scenarios impacting on a number of firms or financial entities. Stress functions are chosen by the practitioner and typically exaggerate undesirable extreme outcomes. Properties and characterisations of stress and stress related quantities are displayed and explored. Application is made to the study of the stability of Australian banks using daily time series data.


Antibody‐mediated rejection is responsible for 30%‐50% of renal graft failures. Differentiation of B cells into antibody‐producing plasmablasts depends on the collaboration of follicular helper T cells (Tfh). We analyzed circulating Tfh (cTfh) in kidney recipients and studied cTfh relationship with anti‐HLA antibody production and graft outcome. cTfh were longitudinally analyzed in a prospective cohort of patients (n = 206), pre‐ and posttransplantation. Clinical data, HLA sensitization, and cTfh function were recorded. Both pretransplant and 6‐month posttransplant cTfh were able to derive IgG‐producing plasmablasts. Pretransplant cTfh was decreased in patients, especially in those who received dialysis. However, these cells were increased in patients with previous allograft or transfusions and in HLA‐sensitized recipients. After transplantation cTfh expanded, significantly more in patients who developed de novo anti‐HLA antibodies than in patients who remained unsensitized. Augmented pretransplant cTfh positively correlated with higher intensity of pretransplant anti‐HLA class I and with de novo anti‐HLA class I and anti‐HLA class II antibodies. Consistently, pretransplantation cTfh were higher in patients who experienced acute rejection (HR = 1.14 [1.04‐1.25]). Thus, we show a role for Tfh in anti‐HLA sensitization and rejection. Multicenter studies with additional patient cohorts are needed to validate these results. Immunosuppressive drugs targeting Tfh could be useful to improve outcomes.


Dalbergia nigra is a Brazilian native species with relevant economic and ecological roles. Due to its indiscriminate exploration is an endangered species. Besides the great demand for seedling production, only a few aspects of D. nigra germination have been explored. Thus, this study aimed to determine how harvesting immature fruits, fruits processing, and substrate could influence Dalbergia nigra germination process. Five thousand immature, and five thousand mature fruits evenly distributed between two replicas of each of tree 3 treatments; integral fruits, fruits with edges cut, and direct seed sowing in vermiculite. Seeking to evaluate substrate influence over germination, 252 seeds were strewed in the prepared organic substrate. No fruits harvested in visually green appearance did germinate under any of treatments. Integral fruits and cut procedure presented the same time for the first germination, almost two times the amount observed to direct seeds sowing. Besides that, the germination rate was not statistically affected. We found that different substrates also influence the germination pattern, as seen to seed processing when using vermiculite as a substrate, germination starts earlier but the germination rate was not statistically affected. Harvest of Dalbergia nigra green fruits is not an adequate procedure seeking seedling production. The reduction on germination time and better seedling quality, indicate that direct seed sowing procedure is adequate seeking seedling production. Vermiculite substrate gave better results, reducing the time required to germination process. Besides that, this substrate did not affect the germination rate during this study period.


A new mathematical problem-the Cauchy problem involving noncommutative quantities-is encountered in solving higher-order operator equations of nonabelian gauge theories and quantum gravity. In order to make this problem analyzable, a new mathematical technique is introduced, and its effectiveness is demonstrated by showing that the Heaviside-Mikusinski operational calculus is extended to the case involving noncommutative quantities. In a simple nonlinear field-theoretical model, it is explicitly shown how systematically its operator solution is obtained by this technique. only tree and one-loop graphs are encountered in the conventional perturbation theory.


Large-scale, full-wave modeling of multistatic target imaging in a rough ground environment is described. The emulation methodology employs a parallelized three-dimensional "near-field" finite-difference time-domain algorithm in characterizing the electromagnetic scattering from the ground surface and buried and on-surface targets in the form of landmines and unexploded ordnances; subsequent focusing of the scattered fields into an image is obtained with the time-reversal technique. The emphasis of this study is on investigating the detectability of discrete ground targets in the presence of distributed variable ground clutter as relevant to performance prediction for ultra-wideband forward-looking radar applications.


In this paper, a simple method allowing optimization of the CMOS ring oscillator frequency dispersion and power consumption is discussed. It is shown, that for range of tens of MHz and less, the power consumption and variation of the frequency can be considerably reduced by using 3-stage, resistively coupled ring oscillator, with minimum channel width W and large channel length L MOS transistors. In addition, a simple analysis allowing to estimate the oscillator frequency from the process and transistor parameter values is provided.


A recent study raised concern about increase of resting blood pressure after a 35 min exposure to the radiofrequency (RF) field emitted by a 900 MHz cellular phone. In this randomized, double blind, placebo controlled crossover trial, 32 healthy subjects were submitted to 900 MHz (2 W), 1800 MHz (1 W) cellular phone exposure, and to sham exposure in separate sessions. Arterial blood pressure (arm cuff method) and heart rate were measured during and after the 35 min RF and sham exposure sessions. We evaluated cardiovascular responses in terms of blood pressure and heart rate during controlled breathing, spontaneous breathing, head‐up tilt table test, Valsalva manoeuvre and deep breathing test. Arterial blood pressure and heart rate did not change significantly during or after the 35 min RF exposures at 900 MHz or 1800 MHz, compared to sham exposure. The results of this study indicate that exposure to a cellular phone, using 900 MHz or 1800 MHz with maximal allowed antenna powers, does not acutely change arterial blood pressure and heart rate. Bioelectromagnetics 25:73–83, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Circular RNAs (CircRNAs) are a class of regulatory RNA transcripts, which are ubiquitously expressed in eukaryotes. CircRNA dysregulation has been shown to disrupt the interaction of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, which regulates several biological processes involved in tumorigenesis, thereby contributing to the development and progression of cancer. Interactions of tumor-derived circRNAs with the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway provide both clinical diagnostic biomarkers and promising therapeutic targets. In this review, we outlined current evidence on the roles of circRNAs associated with the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in regulating lung cancer formation and development. We believe that our findings will assist in the advancement or establishment of circRNA-based lung cancer therapeutic approaches.